17 But if, in our desire and endeavor to be justified in Christ [to be declared righteous and put in right standing with God wholly and solely through Christ], we have shown ourselves sinners also and convicted of sin, does that make Christ a minister (a party and contributor) to our sin? Banish the thought! [Of course not!]
18 For if I [or any others who have taught that the observance of the Law of Moses is not essential to being justified by God should now by word or practice teach or intimate that it is essential to] build up again what I tore down, I prove myself a transgressor.
Paul was actively used by the Holy Spirit to tear down the belief that the Law of Moses, or the Ten Commandments, was essential for us to be justified with our Father. Ask yourself: how many teach this way today? Most will actually attempt to teach us that the Ten Commandments are absolutely essential for us to be justified. This false teaching takes away everything from Christ and places it all back on us. This way of teaching is the teaching of anti-christ. There Truth is that there absolute freedom and liberty in Christ. Why would anyone want to go back to laws that man could not keep or perform? The simplest commandment was to keep one day Holy and man couldn’t even do that. Our Father knew that we couldn’t do any of it, because our flesh was weak, so He sent Jesus to set us free from all of the law.
For God has done what the Law could not do, [its power] being weakened by the flesh [ the entire nature of man without the Holy Spirit]. Sending His own Son in the guise of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, [God] condemned sin in the flesh [ subdued, overcame, deprived it of its power over all who accept that sacrifice], Romans 8:3
Our Father knew of our weakness because He created us to be weak. We were created to be able to accomplish nothing on our own.
For God has consigned (penned up) all men to disobedience, only that He may have mercy on them all [alike]. Romans 11:32
Our Father gave us the gift of freedom from sin, it is called grace. It is all free and it is all undeserved. The Truth is that as soon as the Holy Spirit empowers us to live in this freedom, the things that so many try to not do with their own strength, will actually stop. Our fruitless acts will finally stop when we are empowered to understand that we aren’t responsible to keep ourselves. These acts will stop, because it is Jesus causing them to stop. In Christ we look away from everything, including ourselves, and when we are empowered to do this, freedom and maturity are the results.
Even so consider yourselves also dead to sin and your relation to it broken, but alive to God [living in unbroken fellowship with Him] in Christ Jesus. Romans 6:11
Do you consider yourself to be dead to sin?
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