What is the Law?
The Law is the will of God - flowing from His absolute perfection and justice. It is, in essence, that we be as He is - not in terms of essence but character.
Psalm 51:5 "I was sinful at birth"
Genesis 8:21, "Every inclination of man's heart is evil from childhood."
Romans 5:12, "Sin entered the world through one man's sin, and death through sin, and therefore death came to all men for all have sinned."
First John 3:4, "Sin is lawlessness"
Romans 3:12, "There is no one who does good, not even one."
Mark 10:18, "There is none who is good but God exclusively."
First John 1:10, "If we claim we have no sin, we make God a liar and His word is not in us."
What does the Law mandate?
Essentially, that our character be identical to His.
Matthew 5:48, "You must be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect."
1 Peter 1:16, "You must be holy even as God in heaven is holy."
John 15:12, "Love all people just as I (Jesus) first loved you."
Ephesians 4:32, "forgiving one another, just as God in Christ first forgave you."
First John 2:6, "Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did."
Philippians 2:5, "You must have the same attitude that Christ did."
The word literally means "to miss the mark." In ancient Greece, if an archer missed the target, the therefore "sinned" because he missed the mark, missed the target. The Bible says "ALL fall short." IF you have absolutely, perfectly, divinely, 24/7 "hit" all the targets above, then you are obedient and free of sin. Otherwise...... Well, the Bible would be correct and not lying when it says that "NO ONE is righteous, no, not even one." "For ALL fall short." "NO ONE is good." "If you claim to have no sin (you hit the mark), then you lie and call God a liar."
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