The Power of Sin

O Death, where is your victory?
O Death, where is your sting?
Now the sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory
through our Lord Jesus Christ!

Therefore, my dear brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work, knowing that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
(1 Corinthians 15:55-58 Holman Christian Standard Bible® ©)

Knowing the laws about driving a vehicle in the state where you live is critical to passing exams that test people who want a license to drive. Understanding what the consequences of disobeying those laws are helps motivate most people to obey them.

The rules on a race track include some related to safety and some related to fairness in a race. Just knowing the rules doesn’t make me a good racer, though – or a winner. Navigating well the dangers and opportunities in the process of the race is how I win.

The laws Yahweh gave to Israelis through Moses didn’t make them righteous. They were offered as a path to life. The way they could work for that end was by Israelis obeying them perfectly. Any level of obedience short of perfect was counted as complete failure; death.

The path on which we walk as sons and daughters of Yahweh is one of following His Spirit’s leadership and instruction and correction. We have access to Him and He to us because of the blood of Jesus and the rebirth of our spirits by His Spirit. The power of sin is the law. The power that raised Jesus from death is in His Spirit. That power makes us able to walk in righteousness. Learning the rules doesn’t. Knowing the Ruler does.