brakelite

Jesus Christ does. We are always called to rebuke (nicely, of course, as much as possible) those who choose to follow a church that follows bad teachings and practices No, He does not. He told us that by our fruits...our character...we would be recognised. Not our motives and conscience. How coud you possibly know me so intimately? But if you judge me because I obey God's commandments, then.... Indeed He did,observing the Sabbath even in death...which is rest. Of course, which is why the commandment started with the word 'remember',knowing most would not. There is where I differ. What evidence do you have that the first day is "The Lord's Day"? Only in Revelation is there any reference to the "Lord's Day" but no indication that it was the first day. There is more evidence that the Lord's Day continues to be the Sabbath as so often quoted by many, Jesus saying "I am the Lord of the Sabbath Day". You left out a word, and I would alter one of your words. First, I don't forget...I remember, which is what the commandment is calling us to do. Second, I wouldn't use the word religiously, I prefer faithfully. No need to make it sound ritualistic or a command of the church as opposed to God. Third, we are called not simply to keep a day, as you said above. We are asked to keep that day holy. How we do that is first by refraining from work that day. We set that day apart, not because we have power to do ourselves, but because God did so in the beginning. And nowhere does scripture anywhere say that has changed, as you rightly pointed out.

That is one of the nicest things anyone said about me. A Jihadist. Fanatical Bible thumping extremist.

I have wondered if this "quirk" so called is actually the way we all were once before the human race was degraded by sin. Same with being ambidextrous. And above genius level in intelligence. And have super strength without the need for massive amounts of adrenaline in emergencies. And be able to have vision like eagles...etc. Not so sure about the webbed feet...sorry. Oh, yeah. 3 frienduffs. The mind boggles. As for me, the only extraordinary thing about me is that I am extraordinarily normal.

And who gave you authority to police my motives and conscience? If you truly wanted to show me the way to truth, you would not ignore Jesus's own declaration that the laws of God have not been cast aside as so many here believe, which includes the 4th commandment. You seem to think like someone else here that even the sermon on the mount was only meant for Jewish listeners. And why is it that while everyone of you and your friends here agree that keeping the Sabbath is wrong, yet cannot agree on why, nor on what the alternative is? Nor can any of you agree on most anything else. And you want me to leave my church and join you?

Sometimes we indulge anger because it satisfies the cravings of the fleshly old man that has yet to be fully crucified with Christ. We actually tend to enjoy bitterness because it seems by doing so, we are 'getting back' at those who antagonise us. We take God's place and role as the Mediator, and seek to inflict our own punishment on others...but in reality hurting only ourselves in the process. And sometimes we include God as our target of what we defend as our 'self-righteous indignation'. No-one else cares, not even the ones who have hurt us; they may not even be aware of our bitterness and anger, until we vent and then they wonder huh? What's that all about? They've forgotten...it is you who have let things simmer and boil. Even in major cases of abuse and harm that others may have inflicted upon us, the answer is the same as in small cases. The answer is death to self. Oh, and it is never God's fault. (Even though I don't think He minds if we vent at Him regarding all the perceived injustices we suffer. At least we are engaging Him in our battles, and giving Him the opportunity to set us straight.)

A 7 year tribulation is as spurious as some of the false candidates for antichrist. As is the so-called pre-trib rapture. Believing that there is a future time when the church won't be here so wont experience the antichrist, is a lovely Satanic ploy to deceive...you have already been deceived by the antichrist's press corp in accepting his futurist doctrine that effectively hides him from 90% of the modern church.

As far as the abortion issue is concerned, you have a point. But while some in the administration have decided not to impose church moral standards upon its hospital administrators (most of which by the way likely are not adventists or even necessarily Christians) my choosing to belong to the church is based on its doctrinal teachings, not its practices. If I was to alienate myself from every group/club/church/business etc on the basis of morality, I would have to retire from the human race. Re the rest of your post, yeah, whatever. Heard it all before. If you really wanted to see a change in my belief system you would I think take a little more care in educating me as to the ways of truth....telling me that what I don't do (practice a works-based salvation plan) is wrong is hardly news. You might as well try and convince a Chinaman not to be Indian.

If you are doing your best to obey, then of course you are on a course to failure. You need to learn the true meaning and impact of righteousness by faith. If you are doing your best, you are setting the standard...it becomes your righteousness, which we know is a fail. What we all need is Christ's righteousness. This can be ours, and becomes ours as we receive Christ. Then we are changed into His image and likeness. His rightousness then becomes a part of our nature as we surrender to Him and partake of His divine nature.

You seriously believe this is error? Let me inform you of something. If this so-called faith in Jesus Christ you speak of does not include the forsaking of all sin and selfishness, it is presumption, and then it is you who is deceived and preaching the false gospel. It is you who needs to discover the meaning of repentance. There are some in my church who needs to learn this also.

Fair enough. Have you in any of my writings discerned any suggestion that I seek to obey God's commandments in order to be saved, or even remain saved? If I have, I apologise. It is our connection to Christ that ensures our ultimate salvation...and the works we do, whether in obedience or not, cannot be accomplished on our own because as Jesus said, "without Me ye can do nothing". Yet overcoming sin and obedience to God's commandments cannot be separated. But both are fruit of our connection to Christ. The law will always be the standard in the judgement...we are judged by our works...so if our connection to the Vine is wonky,so also will be our obedience....the law cannot save us, but it most assuredly will condemn us if we are not in Christ, and it is our relation to the law which is a direct reflection to the health and state of our relation to Jesus. Let me put it another way. David said, Psalm 119:11 Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against thee. When we read John 1:1-3 we recognise that the Son of God is the Word of God, and by His Spirit He abides in our hearts. Thus is our ONLY means by which to overcome sin. By having the Living God residing in us. Walking with Him,communing with Him daily, "an ever present help in time of need". My friend,is this legalism? Is this salvation by works? Don't listen to anyone else's opinion of who I am and what I represent...take it from the horse's mouth.

I don't believe I have ever suggested that we "strive to keep the law". I have always maintained that any law-keeping comes from, or is the fruit of, our relationship with Jesus...they are never born of a desire to be saved, that miracle has already been accomplished on our behalf by the shed blood of our Redeemer. It is the constant misconstruing of motives that appears to me to reveal a deep antipathy against the Sabbath...a reflection in fact of the same antipathy exhibited by Satan throughout history. The disparaging remarks concerning legalism and the demand that modern Christians, in order to keep the Sabbath must start sacrificing animals in the temple, is simply blind bigotry and ignorance. There are two parables regarding the bride which are yet to be completed. In one, the bridegroom is waiting for His bride, and in the second, the bride is waiting for the Groom. The problem the bride has continually had is her unwillingness to wear the wedding garment provided. This wedding garment represents the righteousness of Christ. That righteousness we accept by faith, through surrender to the Holy Spirit who then imparts to us the the character of Christ and we become partakers of the divine nature. We are changed into the image of the Son of God...into the image of the Groom. This does not happen overnight, however, abiding in the vine must produce fruit, and the foremost of those fruit is love for God which itself motivates the believer to obedience and surrender to the authority of God. Jesus informed His arch enemy that we are to live not by bread alone, but by every word of God. Are we to add a caveat to that counsel that only 9 of the 'words' of God apply to Christians, the 4th one to the Jews? We are not to fashion our own garment, nor mix and match with what is offered. It is Christ's righteousness or none. Nothing less will do. David rightly said under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit that all the commandments of God are righteousness. Remember the man thrown out for not being dressed appropriately? Do not accept a counterfeit garment. Christ's righteousness is perfect, sinless, law-abiding, holy, just, merciful, gracious, and faithful. It is, in short, His own character. The more we surrender, the more He will work in us to will and to do His good pleasure. Remember what His good pleasure was? Psalms 40:8 I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.....Isaiah 42:21 The LORD is well pleased for his righteousness’ sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable. If through close connection with our Lord and Saviour Jesus, that is His Spirit abiding within,how can we not in time, imitate His own character making His life our own? This is impossible through 'striving'. So in conclusion, how do we stop sinning? Or how do we obey? Surrender. Surrender. Every day. Every thing. Of course many will disagree with what I have written above. Others may even claim I am lying and that I don't believe any of it and that I am deliberately misleading people. That the above is not what I truly believe but I am simply saying that in an attempt to 'sound orthodox". What they cannot deny however is the Biblical basis for what I have stated.

Ummmm, I think you are going to have to explain the difference. God gives Moses tables of stone with commandments written with His own finger...are these the commandments of God or the law of Moses? Later God gave Moses verbal instructions which Moses wrote on paper ...are these the commandments of God or the law of Moses? Or are they both the commandments of God or both the law of Moses? Are we obligated to obey the commandments on stone, but not the ones on paper, or are we no longer obligated to obey any of them? Or all of them? esus said several times that the law would remain until heaven and earth pass. He also said that anyone not obeying that law, and teaching others to do likewise, would in the kingdom of heaven be called least. Looking as far into man’s future, the very verge of his horizon, Jesus assures us that until this point is reached the law will retain it’s authority so that none may suppose it was Jesus’ mission to abolish the precepts and principles of the law. So long as heaven and earth remain, so the principles of God’s holy law will also remain. Why is it that Christians today are so averse to obedience? What is it about the commandments of the God they profess to love, that makes the commandments so odious? The apostle John didn’t have a problem with obedience. He said the commandments are not grievous. And Jesus said “if you love Me , keep My commandments”. The Ten Commandments are Jesus’ commandments. They are HIS. They are God's commandments. Are you aware that f there was to be any change to the law, it had to be affected before Calvary? When did the lawgiver change His law before He died? I read quite the opposite....that so long as earth and heaven remained, so His law would remain. Once Jesus ratified the new covenant with His blood, that covenant could not be altered, abrogated, or removed in the slightest. It is contended that the church changed the Sabbath...or that Jesus did....if this were the case, then it needed to be done prior to Calvary.

This ^^^^^^^^^ is Paul speaking of his life prior to his conversion. Later in Romans 8 he speaks of those who are dead in Christ...those who are no longer carnally minded.... 6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. 8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. 9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. 10 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. He says here that the carnal mind cannot obey God's laws. Which is what you correctly stated. But he added that we are not carnally minded of we have living in us the Spirit of Christ. Christ Himself abiding within writing His laws on our hearts...the very same laws that were written on the tables of stone. (Cor. 3:3). If the carnal mind cannot please God because he is unable to obey the law, surely the contrary is possible for those who are motivated by the holy Spirit of God living within?

Now hold on a wee second. That is misleading. I do agree with the above in the sense that if one thought Sabbath observance brought about his justification, then sure, he would be like the Galatians who considered their law-keeping as essential to being justified. But what of the believer after he is justified? Does obedience, (or if you like submission to the authority of the Lord in day to day living) have any effect on salvation? What if we surrendered to someones authority over and above God's? What if we placed our own opinion and understanding of scripture over and above truth? What did Jesus say of those who kept the traditions of man, teaching them as doctrines all the while countermanding God's own authority? How far can we go our own way, doing our own thing, believing our own opinions, yielding to church/man's/popular opinion/governmental authority before our salvation is affected?

I cannot believe you wrote this without falling off your seat and grovelling on the floor in sackcloth and ashes. Your post here epitomises precisely the attitude of yourself and several others with respect to those who uphold God's commandments, by judging those you personally do not know that they are obeying the commandments in order to be saved, doing Satan's work by accusing them of heresy and legalism. Claiming that such are motivated to please themselves (to gain eternal life) is something you could not know unless you interacted with them in person on a daily basis.

It is true that the gematria has been used to "identify" all manner of people. But what they all do is ignore all the previous identification criteria for the antichrist, of whom its number in Revelation is merely one of the final confirmations. As Enoch said, Nero is disqualified because he didn't die of a head wound and be resurrected. What we need to pursue is the criteria previously given us throughout Daniel, 2 Thessalonians and Revelation then apply the 666 number to ascertain or verify our previous investigations. This has been done already of course. Bible students before us came to a correct conclusion a long time ago. Sadly, and for a reason that completely escapes me apart from the likelihood of being deceived, the modern Protestant church has discarded those conclusions in favour of a future mythical beast/individual who cannot possibly fulfill even one of the basic criteria as given in Daniel nor any given since that time. As all have been already accomplished, specific prophecies regarding the Antichrist in history are impossible to repeat. History is the greatest testimony to correctly identify the Antichrist. Once accomplished, why do we need to look for another?

The time is coming when demons will be openly walking the streets. They know their time is almost up and they will be using all their powers and cunning to take as many into perdition as they can...and much of the world will believe they are the planet's saviours....all the movies on ETs are merely preconditioning the world to accept these 'angels of light'.

At least the Sabbath commandment is in scripture...it is your personal opinion that claims it doesn't apply to Christians, because nowehere does it say it applies only to Jews. Remember, the Gentiles met on Sabbath in response to Paul's preaching. As to the trinity. Yes, we believe the Godhead is comprised of 3 persons. The Father, the source of all things...the Son, through whom all things were created, and the Spirit of God or Christ by whom the power and life of God is dispensed throughout creation. But the trinity doctrine, as taught and made a test of fellowship and salvation throughout Christendom, goes way beyond what the Bible teaches and is an assumed doctrine and a man-made definition of the nature of God which all admit is a mystery. No man by searching can find out God. No creature can understand the Almighty to perfection. The finite man cannot comprehend infinity. Therefore in discussions about the trinity, about the nature of Christ, and the holy Spirit, are manifestations of gross presumption. Yet we make the belief in the trinity doctrine a test of fellowship. Now THAT is legalism. If I knew what you meant by the term trinity, I may or may not agree with you...everyone has different interpretations as what the trinity actually is. From the days of Athanasius until now all discussion and debate has been an attempt to define the incomprehensible. Thousands have been put to death for not professing belief in a formula which even its professors could not comprehend, nor state in terms that anybody else could comprehend. And yet even on this very forum it is made a test or criteria for being a Christian! That is way way more legalistic than any person could ever be in recommending obedience to a specific commandment of the Most High. Making up rules that need not be? That is the trinitarian doctrine, of whatever flavour or colour your particular interpretation may be. Legalism to the very core...and pure Romanism.

So you have a problem with lust and anger? And because you have this problem, instead of in faith coming to God for strength to overcome, you claim those commandments are impossible to obey? You speak of repentance. Are you not aware that true repentance is a complete turning away from sin? What kind of tyrannical God demands repentance from sin which people cannot possibly stop? What kind of unreasonable God commands us to do the impossible? When Jesus told the prostitute to go and sin no more, did she reply that's impossible? As for your sentence "The impossible standard that God sent was to send proud, deluded “obedient law-keepers “ to their knees." is the most nonsensical statement on this entire thread. Yes, the law directs us to Christ. Because in our carnal nature and condition it is indeed impossible to obey God's laws. In fact, the carnal nature is at enmity against the laws of God. But we are not carnal! The old carnal nature is dead, the dominion and rulership of sin is now over, we are freed from that slavery of unrighteousness. We have more power abiding in us than was used to create the worlds. We have Christ Himself in us, His Spirit is within, God with us, which means that through faith and prayer we have at our disposal exceeding great and precious promises that through uniting with the divine, we can obey!!! If you desire to obey, you can. With the right mindset, those commandments become promises. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not kill. You shall not lust. You shall not covet. Promises, every one. The fulfillment of those promises is based not on our obedience, but on faith. We believe they can be obeyed, and we find we can do exceedingly above all that we ask or think. If you continue to believe that obedience is impossible, then your faith is lacking my friend, and you will never overcome. Not because the commandments are impossible, but because you believe they are impossible. And what you believe for, you receive.

Great!. That is very reassuring. So if God establishes a law and there is absolutely no mention, suggestion, or inference anywhere in scripture, OT or new, that the law which He established has been done away or removed or replaced by another commandment or concept, then you would surely believe that that law still stands right? After all, how many times does God need to repeat Himself really to establish a commandment? Once ought to be enough surely...unfortunately humans are dumb stupid creatures and need constant reminding, so its a good thing that God is patient and always makes things super abundantly clear as to what is required. I mean, we all know about that council of Jerusalem confirming that circumcision is no longer valid...except circumcision of the heart. That was super clear...everyone understands that don't they? ?And we know from Colossians do we not that it is now a voluntary observance for any Christian to observe the feast days and annual Sabbaths that were shadows of Christ's Messiahship, right? We are not to judge people if they choose to do so, particularly when in all good conscience they believe a genuine blessing comes from such observance and recommends it to others. We wouldn't call them heretics, Judaisers, or legalists huh. Nor would we claim they believe its salvational, despite none of them saying such a thing. Lying about their testimony would be against the 9th commandment wouldn't it. Oh, sorry, is lying still wrong? So its a good thing also aye that God has made it so abundantly clear for us stupid dumb creatures regarding the weekly Sabbath. I mean, there are commands and recommendations all through the NT that advocate or recommend its complete withdrawal from Christian religious life. And even more that clearly state that the 'Jewish' Sabbath so called is not a Christian Sabbath, and that Christians now don't have to observe any day...no, hold on, there's heaps of texts demanding we have to observe Sunday...oh, sorry, no, I forgot the numerous texts that explain that Jesus is now the Christian Sabbath rest....hold on, that cant be right, what about all the scriptures that state that so long as they observe one day in seven they are observing the spirit of the law. Wow, its a good thing that God has made His commandments so clear isn't it. Could be confusing. Thank God we have that council to tell us that there are only 4 commandments to keep. Funny that Paul never thought Sabbath keeping was an issue. Wonder why the early Christian church never had an issue with it either. Maybe they considered the Sabbath commands in the OT sufficient motivation for obedience?

That all depends on how one ascertains heresy. From my experience most modern definitions of heresy would come under those spurious charges as I detailed in my post. God does not, would not, approve of lies being used to support ones false self defence mechanisms that arise by default every time someone suggests or even just remotely hints at obedience to God's commandments having any effect on salvation. Obey God? Really? What a ridiculous idea!!! Disobeying God doesn't affect salvation? Of course God gave commandments that couldn't be obeyed. He is that kind of demanding the impossible type of God. Isn't He? And as far as Jesus proving that man could obey God, nah. He had special powers that we don't have that enabled Him to do the impossible. He was born of the nature of unfallen Adam and born to an immaculate woman who didn't inherit original sin, so Jesus was able to live the perfect life. The above italics of course are written with fingers firmly in cheek. But do you recognise your own lies anyone?

There is a worrying and increasingly infectious attitude that is becoming evident in this forum, though thankfully not among the moderators. That attitude is that when faced with a belief/doctrine they disagree with, the response is to load numerous straw man accusations upon the heads of those proposing the different belief, or different Biblical interpretation, with the suggestion that they be either banned or voluntarily leave. Some of those straw man arguments are... 1. All that seek to obey God's commandments are doing so in order to earn their way to heaven. 2. All that seek to obey God's commandments are forcing their opinions upon others in the forum, suggesting that if they do not immediately surrender to the 'heretic's' demands, they will be lost. 3. All that uphold the law of God (as Jesus did) are legalists. Other false or erroneous accusations include the idea that keeping the 10 commandments is not possible...that doing so is bondage...that the law no longer applies to Christians...that those 'under law' are those obeying it, rather than the opposite...that being under grace releases one from the obligations normally applicable to anyone under the authority of a ruler or King.... that God, in order to save man, had to remove the law from mankind's environment so as not to condemn him, rather that the critical truth of the gospel which teaches that it is the disobedient 'old nature/man' that is removed, all the while holding the law in reverence and honour, empowering the new man to obey....and finally, the widespread assumption that anyone who seeks to obey God's commandments is doing so while ignoring Jesus's own words which resonate throughout the scriptures, "that without Me ye can do nothing". As to the recent posts on Catholicism. I perceive very few on this forum, while aware of some of the false beliefs of Rome, are fully cognisant of the dangers that Rome presents to not only our faith, but to our basic human liberties, such as freedom of speech and freedom of conscience. It is significant that there are several posters with that very same attitude by suggesting that some should leave this forum or be silenced with regards certain beliefs. Seems the reformation still has a long way to go in the minds and hearts of many here.

Likely not, no. But Catholics tolerate all manner of dubious behaviour don't they. There was a pub down the road not one hundred meters from the presbytery and this very church, that was known in the city as the "Catholic" pub. Even in those staid years of the 50s and 60s in NZ when all pubs had to close by 6pm, this particular pub would be open till 3 in the morning. A tap on the back door and entrance was free...with priests AND local cops in the gathering therein. All good Catholics of course.

Growing up with a staunch Catholic mum and a staunch Anglican dad, with equally staunch grandparents respectively. (The scandal in the 1920s of my dad getting my mum pregnant with my older sister resulted in eloping to another city and marriage there...no photos anywhere exists of my parents wedding) . I was raised Catholic. Altar boy who learnt the Latin mass by heart but had no idea what it meant. I have no specific memories of church, apart from one that stands out over everything else....... ....After leaving high school, and having no more direct connection to the church, I stopped attending until one Christmas Eve when I was about 19yo. My friends and I, who were all Catholic, at least nominally, were at a Christmas eve party, when at 10 to 12 decided to attend midnight mass. There were 8 of us. One of us, whose house it was where the party was, was a non-believer. No religion at all, never attended any church in his life. Until that night. Enter 8 semi-intoxicated youths to local cathedral, very late, with very few seats remaining. We filter in making as little noise as is possible, in the middle of one of the more reverent and serious portions of the ritual. Spread out in various parts of the congregation, numbering maybe 1000 people, 6 of us finally made it to our seats. The remaining 2, Catholic with unbeliever following immediately behind still making steady progress forward until there was discovered two seats to accommodate them together. All is hush. 6 of us being as respectful and as reverent as one would expect in such surroundings. Final 2 friends approach pew when seats spied...Catholic genuflects friend crashes into him summersaulting on to the floor beyond. Despite the ensuing melee and mixed reactions of indignation, horror, and poorly suppressed laughter from different quarters of the building, all 8 managed to eventually leave without being struck by lightning. Although our reputations from that night forward were permanently tarnished in the minds of many. It was the last time I entered that building. It sadly burnt down about 10 years later. Not our fault, I swear.

Legalism is one extreme of line of truth the other end of which is lawlessness. Remembering that several people on this thread rightly point out that the law points us to Christ, and reveals our need of a Saviour by revealing sin, at the same time we must acknowledge that there is much debate and confusion within Christianity as to whether we need to or even if it is possible to overcome sin in this life. Some say we are now free from the law because of the cross of Christ, others say we must still obey the law because it is still in effect, still others claim that if we attempt to keep the law, we are no longer under grace, and are still lost, trusting in our own works, while still others believe that a true Christian walk in Christ results in law-keeping by default, or as a natural growth outcome of our relationship with Jesus. I believe the latter is the case. Here is my take on the matter. I am convinced that it certainly is possible to overcome sin. To believe anything else, is to express belief that either we, that is the old man, are stronger than God, or the devil is. But scripture is clear ad adamant that overcoming is not only possible, but essential and that this is accomplished by faith in the promises of God, (just as Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him as righteousness: And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. Romans 4:21,22.), and I also think that this life of sanctification (a constant living in victory over sin) is : 1. Living the character of Christ (being conformed to His image) and 2. Is conformable to the moral law of Ten Commandments. That we all must determine in our hearts to stop sinning is a given. Jesus said that we must first seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness.To gain entry to heaven and live holy lives go hand in hand. The care we must take in our determination to stop sinning,is to tread a fine line between ‘legalism’ and true faith. We cannot do away with the law because without the law, there is no knowledge of sin. Proverbs declares "He that turneth away hiss ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination." Prov. 28:9 Nor can we ignore the law in our quest for righteousness, because it is the standard that God has given us by which we determine our true state. If while we are maintaining our relationship with Christ, and are convicted by the law that we are falling short of the mark in some area of our life, this is an indication that our relationship is not as it should be. It has broken down, or it hasn't developed to the extent that it can. So thus the law is doing its work...it is once again convincing us of our need of Jesus. So we come to Him afresh, repenting of our sin, and plead with HIm to graciously grant s the strength to overcome. Those who finally do overcome are the ones who kept getting up after having fallen. Not the ones who gave up declaring it impossible. Paul tells us “for sin shall not have dominion over you,” for ye are not under law, but under grace” Romans 6:14. Dominion is akin to a ruling power, and in sin’s case, a tyrant. So we have a promise to hold on to. Elsewhere he says “let not sin reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof ” Romans 6:12…reign in this case is literally kingly rule. So, where once we were under the tyrannical rule of sin, the inference is that once we are crucified in Christ, buried and raised with Him in baptism, the roles are reversed. We now have dominion and rule over sin. Whether to sin or not has become a matter of choice, a matter of our will. It is through our connection with divine power ….. 2 Peter 1:2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, 3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: 4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 5 ¶ And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; 6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; 7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. 8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ….that we have this new ability to overcome, and when we do, we are no longer “under the law”. We have a choice of masters. We can serve sin, which leads to death, or we can serve righteousness, which leads to eternal life. Obedience is the key to both. Who do we surrender to as servants to obey? And what is it that we obey? It is true doctrine, correct teaching. “I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity, even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.” What fruit had ye in those things of which ye are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end, everlasting life.” Romans 6:19-21 And there is the key to overcoming sin.Yielding to God. Surrender. Surrender to God with the desire, even passion for righteousness, (Matthew 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled,) a hatred for sin, using the “law lawfully”, that is, using the law as your yardstick as to whether or not your life is going in the right direction, and whether your relationship with God is as it should be. We surrender, God makes the changes in us that conform to His law, by writing that law upon our own hearts and minds. God promises that we “are to be conformed to the image of His Son” (Romans 8:29 ) That law that He writes upon our hearts is the law of love. Christ’s own character of love shed abroad by the Spirit of God in us fulfills the law of Ten Commandments. All this is accomplished by the Holy Spirit in us. We receive Christ’s righteousness by receiving Him. Notice in that Paul’s analogy of sin being a master or king, there is absolutely no middle ground between our choosing to serve sin or righteousness. It is either one or the other. There can be no compromise. Legalism thus has no place in such a surrendered life...except in the protests of those who oppose righteousness.