Law – Page 3 – Ministry of Grace Church

Tag: Law

Romans 7:8 – A Sinful Product

Posted on April 20, 2010 by Will

Romans 7:8

But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead.

Truth to Learn

The Law does not prevent sin, it produces sin.

Behind the Words

The Greek word translated “taking opportunity” is aphormē, which means “an occasion, an opportunity, or casual circumstance producing a tendency toward something else.” In this verse it means that sin took the opportunity to produce lust. This word, aphormē, is an aorist participle which means the action took place before the main verb (produced). Or, to put it another way, sin used the commandment as an opportunity to then produce lust in Paul.

The word translated as “produced” is katergadzomai, which means not just simply to work on something but, “to carry out a task until it is completely finished.”

Meaning Explained

What Paul is telling us is that before the Law was declared, there was no sinful lust. Then the Tenth Commandment was declared:

You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s

As soon as the Tenth Commandment took effect, sin took this commandment and accomplished sinful lust in man’s heart, and he suddenly lusted after the very things that the law said we should not lust after.

Paul goes on to say that “apart from the law,” in other words, when the law and sin were separated from each other, “sin was dead.” It’s very much like two siblings who are constantly fighting but as soon as you separate them from each other the fighting stops, it dies. Thus, Paul says that before the law was declared, it and sin were separated and sin was dead. But as soon as the law was declared, sin took the occasion of the presence of the law to completely work out sinful desires within man.

Adam and Eve are a good example of this. When they were first put in the garden, it was not wrong for them to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and they apparently had no particular desire for the fruit of that tree. But, as soon as God told Adam that they were not to eat of that tree, that’s when they both desired to eat of it, and their satisfying of that desire produced sin.

Did you ever wonder why, as a child when your mother baked cookies and put them in the cookie jar saying not to touch them until after dinner, all you could think about was sneaking into the kitchen to steal a cookie from the cookie jar?

That’s precisely the process that this verse is talking about!

Application

Now we can begin to see why obedience to the Law does not produce righteousness. The very declaration of the Law produces the desire to break it, and so we do!

In God’s service, for His glory,

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

If this message or this link was forwarded to you by a friend and you wish to receive future verses directly to your inbox, you can call the church phone (618) 614-3070 and leave a message telling us your name and e-mail address or you can send an e-mail to:

Romans 7:7 – The Revealing Law

Posted on April 19, 2010 by Will

Romans 7:7

What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.”

Truth to Learn

The Law reveals our sinfulness to us.

Behind the Words

The word translated “known” is a form of ginōskō, which means “to acquire knowledge” or “to have full knowledge.” It is expressed here in the aorist tense indicating action completed at a point in time in the past. Therefore, it should be translated as “I had not known” or “I did not know.”

“Covetousness” is from the Greek word epithumia, which we saw back in Romans 6:12, meaning “to have overly strong thoughts or desires.” It is often translated as “lust.”

Meaning Explained

Any good Jewish Christian having read or heard what Paul has just said about the Law might be inclined to say, “Are you saying that the holy Law of God is not only insufficient to sanctify us, but that it causes sin to increase? Does the Law increase sinful passions, and actually make people worse than they were before?” This is the theoretical objection that Paul is responding to here.

So Paul asks another of his rhetorical questions: “Is the law sin?” And he responds in typical Pauline style with the two Greek words, “me genoito” meaning, “May it not be!” or “No way!” As he will go on to say later in verse twelve, the law is holy and just and good! The evil is not in the law but the law brings out evil in us because of our sin nature.

Look very carefully at what Paul says here about the Law. He says, “I did not know sin except through the law.” You will notice that he did not say that he was not a sinner without the law, just that he did not know about his sin without the law. He then goes on to give an example from the Tenth Commandment, “For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, ‘You shall not covet.’” The law informs us about sin and, because of that, we become more aware of our own sinfulness. And, because of our sin nature, the knowledge of the sin makes us desire it even more, even though we know it is sin. This frustrates all of us at one time or another. Even the Apostle Paul was frustrated by this, which he will express later in this chapter.

In his letter to the Galatian Christians he explains the function of the Law this way,

Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. (Galations 3:24, 25)

The law reveals our sinfulness and amplifies it so that we will be unable to deny our need for a Savior. Fortunately, God’s plan includes our Savior and salvation through faith in His sacrificial death. So you see, the Law, though it produces death, leads us to Christ and to God’s gift of grace which produces life.

Application

Are you still trying to keep the Law? Does it frustrate you because you can’t do it? Do you now recognize your need for a Savior? If so, then it has successfully done its work on you.

In God’s service, for His glory,

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Romans 7:6 – Free to Serve

Posted on April 18, 2010 by Will

Romans 7:6

But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.

Truth to Learn

We are free to serve God through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Behind the Words

The word translated “delivered” is katargeō, which is made up of kata, meaning “down” but used here as an intensifier and argeō, which means “to be idle or inactive.” Katargeō, therefore, means “to become completely ineffective” or “to cease being effective.” As Paul used it here it means “we have been completely set free from the effect of the Law.”

“Held by” is from a form of katechō, which is also a compound word. This one is made up of kata, meaning “down” and echō, meaning “to have” or “to hold.” Thus we see that katechō literally means “to be held down.” It is a picture of someone who he being held down on the ground so that they are powerless to do anything.

Meaning Explained

In the previous two chapters Paul has spent considerable time and energy pointing out two things. The first is, before we were saved we were slaves to sin because of the Law. The second is, when we were saved, our sin nature was put to death. That is, we died with Christ. As he has just shown in the past few verses, death releases us from the requirements of the Law. Therefore, this verse is the culmination and summation of the results of these things.

Since we are dead with respect to the Law, like the wife who is free to marry after her husband has died, we are no longer under the dictates of the Law and are free to serve God. We are no longer held down by the Law. We are free from it! Let me say that again. We are free from the Law!

We do not have to keep the Ten Commandments or any other part of the Law in order to be righteous in God’s eyes. In fact, you will remember that Paul told us that we couldn’t obtain righteousness by keeping the Law anyway because no one (except Christ) is able to keep all the Law.

The second half of this verse is really a key statement and I don’t want any of us to miss it. We have been set free from the law to “serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.” In other words, before we were saved by grace, we were unable to keep the Law and, therefore, could not serve God because the letter of the Law made us sinful and abhorrent to God. But … now that we have been set free from the Law we can serve God in a way that we never could have before – in the spirit of righteousness. That is, since we are righteous in God’s eyes now, He will allow us to serve Him. We have spiritual life which we owe entirely to God. Therefore we should gladly serve Him with the life that He has given us.

Application

When we were saved we were set free from the penalty of our sins. We were also set free from the requirements of the Law and have become free to serve God through the power of the Holy Spirit. Are you serving God right now? If you are, are you doing so out of obligation or are you serving Him out of gratitude for what He has done for you? We should rejoice in our service for Him because we have been set free from bondage to the Law!

In God’s service, for His glory,

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Romans 7:2 – To Obey or Not

Posted on April 5, 2010 by Will

Romans 7:2

For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband.

Truth to Learn

Salvation releases us from the requirements of the Law.

Behind the Words

The expression “woman who has a husband” is translated from two Greek words; gunē hupandros. The word gunē means “a woman” and is often translated as “a wife.” The word hupandros is made up of hupo, meaning “under” and andros, meaning “a man,” though often translated as “husband.” Literally, hupandros means “under a man.” We see, then, that these two words refer to a woman who is under a man. In other words “a married woman.”

Meaning Explained

In the previous verse Paul said that the Law has dominion over a man as long as he lives. The implication is that he is freed from the law when he dies. He now carries that implication to the marriage relationship. Just as the man was under the dominion of the Law while he was alive, his wife is bound by law to her husband as long as he lives. But when he dies, the dominion of the law ceases for him as well as for his wife. She is now set free from the wedding bond and is free to marry another.

In the same way, as long as we were alive to sin we were bound by law to obey sin. But now that we have died to sin (when we were saved) we are no longer bound by that law, and we are free to be married to another, namely Christ.

You see, the early Christians, particularly those who were raised in the Jewish religion, did not yet understand that they were no longer obliged to obey the Law. They were trapped in a system that was trying to impose the restrictions of the Law on every believer. The point that Paul will get to in the next chapter is:

But the Law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.

When we got saved, we died to sin and to the requirements of the Law. We no longer have to fulfill the Law in order to obtain righteousness because God has imputed that righteousness to us as a free gift. Does that mean that we can live a lawless life because we are no longer under the dominion of sin? Paul would say, “May it not be!” What he will show us in this and the next chapter, is that we are actually under a higher law, a law of voluntary obedience to our new master and husband, Jesus Christ. We can choose to obey or not to obey.

Application

That’s the difference between a sinner and a saint. The sinner has no choice; since he is not able to obey God, he can only obey his or her sin nature. There are some Christians who get hung-up on free will, refusing to believe that God chose us, as Paul teaches. In reality, unsaved sinners don’t have a free will because they are slaves to the sin nature. Saints (born again Christians) do have a free will and that is the free will to obey God or not.

Which do you choose?

In God’s service, for His glory,

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Romans 7:1 – Our Savior, Our Husband

Posted on March 31, 2010 by Will

Romans 7:1

Or do you not know, brethren (for I speak to those who know the law), that the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives?

Truth to Learn

Christians are in a marriage relationship with Jesus Christ.

Behind the Words

The word translated “brethren” is adelphos, which is made up of a, denoting unity and delphus, meaning “a womb.” Literally it means those who have come from the same womb. In the New Testament it is used metaphorically of all Christians.

Meaning Explained

In the previous chapter, Paul told us that sin should not have dominion over us because we are not under the Law but under Grace (Romans 6:14). When we got saved, we died to sin and now we live to God as our new ruler. In this chapter he will tell us why we are still affected by the Law even though we are not under obligation to it.

The metaphor that he used in the previous chapter was that of the master-slave relationship. In actuality, it is more than a metaphor because God is the Master of all creation and all things are in subjection to Him. In this chapter he uses a different metaphor, the marriage relationship. And once again, it is more than a metaphor, because those of us who are saved are declared to be the Bride of Christ.

Paul now shows how this new relationship is related (or not, as the case may be) to the Law. He starts out this section of his letter with another rhetorical question. He uses the question as an attention grabber. He says that he is speaking to those who know the Law. This certainly would apply to any Roman Christian who had been converted from the Jewish religion. All Jews know the Law. So when he asks, “Are you ignorant, brothers, that the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives?” the answer is clearly, “No!” He will talk more about the marriage relationship in the next few verses.

We moved from a master-slave relationship with God to a marriage relationship when we were saved. Marriage is a picture of the intimate relationship that God wants to have with each one of us. One of my favorite proofs of this comes from the book of Proverbs. In Proverbs 3:5,6 we are told:

trust in Jehovah with all your heart, and lean not to your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.

The word translated “acknowledge” is the Hebrew word yawdah, which means ‘to know someone relationally and intimately.” It is the same word translated as “knew” in Genesis 4:1:

And Adam knew Eve his wife. And she conceived and bore Cain”

Therefore, we could translate Proverbs 3:6 as, “In all your ways become intimately familiar with God, and He shall direct your paths.” That’s what God wants from each and every one of us who is a born again Christian; He wants an intimate relationship with us!

Application

Do you want God to direct your paths? If so, then you need to have an intimate personal relationship with Him? That requires a lot of effort on your part.

In God’s service, for His glory,

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Romans 6:15 – Grateful Willing Restraint

Posted on March 18, 2010 by Will

Romans 6:15

What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!

Truth to Learn

Just because our sins are all forgiven doesn’t mean we should let our sin nature run wild.

Behind the Words

The expression “What then?” is from two Greek words, ti oun. The first word, ti (a form of tis), in an interrogative pronoun means “who?” or “what?” or “which?” Oun is used between two clauses or sentences to show a connection between them or a cause and effect relationship. Paul is using it here to express a question that shows the relationship between what he has just said and the rhetorical question to follow.

“Under” is translated from the pronoun hupo (or hypo), which can mean physically “under” or “under the influence or dominion of” as it is used here.

Meaning Explained

Paul now asks another one of his rhetorical questions. His purpose for asking the question is to answer an objection that might be raised. He has just declared that we are not under the dominion and power of sin any longer because we are no longer under the Law but under grace. Remember, the people to whom he wrote this letter were predominantly converted Jews living in Rome. They had been brought up believing that the way to righteousness was by obeying the Law. When they were saved, they continued to believe that it was necessary to obey the Law.

But Paul has skillfully demonstrated, not only are we no longer bound to the Law, but we are no longer under the lordship of our sin nature. We are freed from the bondage of the Law, and we are freed from the dominion of sin. To a Jewish Christian who has felt the weight of the Law and sin his or her entire life, this would sound like a freedom cry and permission to sin without repercussion.

So Paul asks his rhetorical question: Shall we sin because we are not under Law, but under grace?

In his typical style, Paul immediately answers the question with the Greek phrase, “me genoito” which, as we have seen before, means “May it not be!” or “No way!”

We Christians are funny people sometimes. We labor for years under the false impression that we will be punished for our sins. We are very careful to be as obedient and faithful as we possibly can for fear of reprisal from God, as if He were a giant ogre just waiting for us to slip up so He can pounce on us and make us pay. But as soon as we learn that all of our sins are paid for (past, present, and future) and that we are no longer under condemnation, but are declared to be righteous, we immediately want to throw off the mantle of self restraint and let our sin nature run wild.

Instead, we should endeavor to be as obedient and faithful as possible, not because we will be punished for sinning, but because we have been set free and we owe it to our Master and Lord to act the way He wants us to act.

Application

We should be so grateful for having all of our sins forgiven that we willingly restrain our sin nature and live for Him the way He wants us to! But that’s not the way we think, is it?

In God’s service, for His glory,

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Romans 6:14 – Freed by Grace

Posted on March 17, 2010 by Will

Romans 6:14

For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

Truth to Learn

Christians do not have sin ruling over them.

Behind the Words

The phrase “shall not have dominion over” is the translation of the Greek word kurieuō, which we looked at back in verse nine. It is the verb form of kurios, meaning “master, lord, or owner.” Thus, kurieuō refers to “lordship or ownership.” However in the current verse this particular verb is in the “future active indicative” form. The “indicative” is called the mood of the verb in Greek. There are four moods in the Greek language which are indicative, subjunctive, optative, and imperative. The indicative expresses the writer’s portrayal of real action whereas the others express the writer’s portrayal of potential action to varying degrees.

“Law” is translated from the Greek word nomos, which is the noun form of the verb nemō, meaning “to divide among” or “to parcel out.” So, technically nomos refers to that which has been parceled out, which someone has in his or her possession. It is also used to express regulations that have been delivered or parceled out, such as the Law of Moses.

Meaning Explained

Paul started off this chapter telling us that we were buried with Christ by baptism and that our old man (our sin nature) was crucified with Him. As a result we should consider ourselves dead to sin so that we won’t be brought under the constant control of sin. Back in chapter four Paul made the doctrinal declaration that we are no longer under the Law, rather we are set free from the Law by the gracious gift of God when He declared us as righteous.

Since we were figuratively buried with Christ through baptism and our sin nature was crucified with Him, Paul now tells us that sin will not have dominion over us.

So why did we spend so much time and energy on a Greek grammar lesson regarding the verb kurieuō? It’s because of what is being said in this verse regarding sin having power or control over us. Since this verb is in the indicative mood it refers to real action, not potential action. So, Paul is not saying that sin may not have dominion over us or that sin should not have dominion over us but that sin will not have dominion over us.

And why will sin not have control over us? Because we are no longer under the dominion of Law; rather, we are under the grace of God. We have already been declared righteous! Knowing this, it would seem easy for us to cast aside all restraints and live as sinful as we want because we’re no longer bound by Law. But if we did, then we would be letting sin have lordship over us. And, this brings us right back around to the beginning, doesn’t it? If we are truly saved then we have died with Christ and sin will not have lordship over us.

Application

Since sin is no longer our master, we should be demonstrating by our attitude and actions that we have been freed from the bondage of sin! Is that what your attitude and actions are demonstrating?

In God’s service, for His glory,

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Romans 5:20 – More Than Plenty

Posted on February 22, 2010 by Will

Romans 5:20

Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more,

Truth to Learn

God’s grace easily covers the glaring presence of our sin.

Behind the Words

The word translated “entered” is the Greek word pareiserchomai. This is a double compound word made up of para, meaning “alongside,” eis, meaning “into,” and erchomai, which means “to come or to go.” Hence, it means “to come in alongside.”

“Abound” is from the word pleonadzō, which means “to make more or to increase.”

The words “abounded much more” are translated from the Greek word huperperisseuō, which is a compound of huper (or hyper), meaning “over or above” and perisseuō, meaning “to be in excess or to superabound.” Hence hyperperisseuō means “to be more than in excess” or “to more than superabound.”

Meaning Explained

In these two final verses in the fifth chapter of Romans, Paul seems to anticipate an objection that might be raised against the argument he has been making. The objection would be, “If sin was already in the world and man was already condemned, then what purpose did the Law serve?” That is the question that Paul is going to answer here.

From the word that Paul used we can see that the Law came in alongside. You see, God did not deliver the Law as something new or to replace something else. It was delivered to stand alongside the sin guilt that already existed in man.

The real question is, “Why?” According to Paul, the Law was delivered so that the offense might “abound” or “increase.” Did it actually create more sin? No, it simply made it more obvious. It’s like turning-on a light in a dirty, dusty room. With the light off, the filth is there but it can’t be seen. When the light is turned on, the dirt and dust become obvious and undeniable. That was the purpose of the Law, to make our sinfulness obvious.

The greatest news in this verse, is that where sin was in abundance as a result of having had the light turned on, the grace of God did not simply more abound, it more than superabounded. When God bestows His grace to us, it is not just barely enough to cover our sin guilt, it is way more than enough. There is no question that it is more than sufficient. It was necessary for us to see our sinfulness in the light of God’s presence so that we could not deny it and so that God’s grace would be even more evident when He saved us from that sinfulness.

Once again, we see that God did not leave us out in the dark but provided us a way to freely come into the light!

Application

Anyone who has honestly faced the fact of their own sinfulness knows that they are not just a little bit of a sinner. We know how great our sinfulness really is. But God’s grace is more than enough to cover all of our filthy sinfulness. Praise God!

In God’s service, for His glory,

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Romans 5:13 – Sinless Without Law?

Posted on February 14, 2010 by Will

Romans 5:13

(For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law.

Truth to Learn

We don’t have to break the Law of Moses to be sinners.

Behind the Words

“World” is from the Greek word kosmos, which is probably derived from komeō, meaning “to take care of.” Kosmos specifically refers to “an orderly arrangement.” This word is used in the New Testament to refer to the world system, not the physical world.

The word “imputed” is similar to a word we saw in the previous chapter. It was the word logidzomai, meaning “to credit to someone’s account. This word is ellogeō, which is sometimes used synonymously but it has a subtly different meaning. It means “to take into account” or “to take into consideration.”

Meaning Explained

Remember that this letter was originally written to Christians in Rome who were predominantly Jewish and who were still tied to keeping the Law, even after their conversion to Christianity. Throughout this letter Paul has been showing them (and us) that righteousness before God is not attained by keeping the Law but by the free, gracious gift of God, which comes only after we believe His promises.

In the previous verse Paul told us that sin (and death as a result) entered the world through Adam, and death passed on to all of us because all of us have sinned. Since the recipients of this letter were convinced that sin was a result of not keeping the Law, Paul now points out to them that sin existed in this world even before the Law was delivered to Moses. In other words, sin did not commence with the Law, sin commenced with Adam.

Now look at this carefully! Paul then says that sin is not imputed (taken into consideration) when there is no law. If we read this too quickly we might want to respond, “If sin is not imputed where there is no law then it wasn’t imputed to those who lived before the Law was delivered!” This is precisely the argument that Paul is refuting. You see, since death is the penalty of sin and death passed on all men after Adam, then all have sinned. Therefore there must have been a “law” (not “the Law”) that was transgressed even before the Law of Moses was delivered.

For those of you who think we Christians have to keep the Law (the Ten Commandments) in order to be “right” with God, you will find that Paul is arguing against you. Keeping the Law (or even keeping God’s higher moral law) is not what makes us acceptable (righteous) in God’s sight (for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God [Romans 3:23]). Only the righteousness that God gives to us when we believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ as payment for our sins can make us acceptable in His sight.

Application

We don’t have to keep the Law of Moses to be righteous, but we don’t have to break the Law of Moses to be sinners either. However, if you know that you are a sinner and believe that Jesus died to pay the penalty of your sin, then you are reckoned as righteous in God’s record book.

In God’s service, for His glory,

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Romans 4:16 – Foundational Promises

Posted on January 13, 2010 by Will

Romans 4:16

Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all

Truth to Learn

God’s promises to you are there for you to build on.

Behind the Words

The word translated “sure” is bebaios, which means “fixed, sure, or certain.” Figuratively it refers to that upon which one may build, rely, or trust. In the New Testament it is never used of people, only objects or ideas.

Meaning Explained

This verse starts off with a connecting clause, “Therefore it is of faith …” The natural question is, “What is of faith?” By backtracking over the previous verses we see that this clause refers to verse 13 which reads:

For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. (Romans 4:13)

Therefore, Paul is saying that righteousness is the result of faith, according to God’s gracious gift and not the result of works. The point we made several verses ago was that Abraham was declared righteous as a result of his believing God’s promise regarding his future son. God’s declaration of Abraham’s righteousness occurred a number of years before Abraham obediently circumcised himself and his household. Therefore it can’t have been because of works of obedience, it must be the result of faith.

Now, Paul reiterates the statement that he has made in the past couple of verses, that since Abraham was declared righteous as a result of faith, he has become the father figure to all who believe. He says in today’s verse that the promise was made sure to all Abraham’s seed, whether they are children of his flesh or children (through faith) by his example. The promise is not conditional, it is not partial, and it is not questionable. It is sure and firm just like a building’s foundation.

Application

Where are you putting your confidence? Are you still trying to keep all the rules and ordinances of your church in order to please God? Or, do you trust in God’s promises for your eternal future? In order to trust in the promises, you have to know what those promises are, and in order to know what those promises are you have to read the Bible, repeatedly and consistently.

Let me encourage you to set aside one half hour every day whether at the beginning of the day, in the middle of the day, or at the end of the day. It doesn’t matter when it is, as long as you are consistent about it. In the first 20 minutes, read your Bible and in the other 10 minutes pray about what you just read. If you don’t know where to begin reading, I would suggest that you start with 1st John (the 5^th from the last book in the Bible) or perhaps the book of James or one of the Gospel accounts (Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John).

Try it for a week and see if you don’t begin to feel like God is actually talking directly to you as you read. The more you read your Bible, the better you will understand God’s message for you and His promises to you.

In God’s service, for His glory,

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –