Welcome to another Thursday UNFILTERED blog post, the only blog that warns if you try to deceive people with a hair piece, there will be hell toupee.
Thanks to all of you who are writing me kind emails about how my new book is transforming your understanding of God’s written word.
Phil Cooke is the leading media expert in the world. He’s also a strong Christian. So I was honored when he wrote this about the new book recently.
“I just finished The Untold Story of the New Testament Church: Revised and Expanded by my friend Frank Viola. Epic read. He puts the New Testament story in the order the books were actually written, and the way the story happened. You’ll discover things you never knew – even after reading the NT hundreds of times. And you won’t believe the footnotes!”
Now for today’s article.
There are two things that provoke sin in the lives of Christians. These two elements may appear to be opposites, but they actually complement each other in surprising ways. They are:
1) The Law of God, that is, trying to obey the Law. The key word there is “try.”
2) The absence of the fear of God in a believer’s life. (I’ve written on the fear of God previously in The Fear of God vs. His Limitless Grace. But there is still huge misunderstanding on this topic, so if you haven’t read and digested the article, I recommend you do.)
Both trying to keep the Law and the absence of God’s fear stimulate sin in our lives.
Let’s break it down and see what Scripture says about each of these “sin-provokers.”
What the Bible Says About the Law Provoking Sin in Our Flesh
Romans 5:20
“The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more.”
Romans 7:5-8
“For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were through the law worked in our members to bring out fruit to death. But now we have been discharged from the law, having died to that in which we were held; so that we serve in newness of the spirit, and not in oldness of the letter. What shall we say then? Is the law sin? May it never be! However, I wouldn’t have known sin, except through the law. For I wouldn’t have known coveting, unless the law had said, ‘You shall not covet.’ But sin, finding occasion through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of coveting. For apart from the law, sin is dead.”
Romans 7:9-11
“I was alive apart from the law once, but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died. The commandment which was for life, this I found to be for death; for sin, finding occasion through the commandment, deceived me, and through it killed me.”
1 Corinthians 15:56
“The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.”
Galatians 3:19
“Then why is there the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise has been made.”
Basing their opinions on these texts, here are quotes from some well-known theologians and scholars from the past and present.
Martin Luther:
“The Law does not justify. All it does is to show up sin for what it is, making obvious how much we need God’s forgiveness and help. In fact, the more we try to keep the Law, the more we break it. The fact is, the Law must prepare the way for its own disappearance.”
John Calvin:
“The Law, by laying down rules for life, acts like a mirror showing up our sinfulness… When our iniquity is laid bare by the Law, we tend either to sink into despair or to break forth in defiance, unless the sweetness of divine grace and mercy raises us up.”
Augustine:
“The Law was given so that grace might be sought; grace was given so that the Law might be fulfilled.”
Craig Keener:
“Paul argues that the law actually stirred up sin in the flesh. This is not because the law itself was evil, but because it provoked the natural human tendency to rebel against authority and restrictions.”
Douglas Moo:
“Paul’s point is not that the Law itself is sinful but that it becomes the unwitting instrument of sin’s power. The Law’s prohibitions awaken within unregenerate people the desire to do just what is prohibited.”
F.F. Bruce:
“The law, far from checking sin, actually stimulates it to greater activity. The very prohibition of certain forms of conduct suggests their possibility to people who might not otherwise have thought of them, and stirs up the desire to do the forbidden thing.”
“The law not only defines sin but actually promotes it. Not that this was the law’s intention, but it is sin’s reaction to the law. The presence of the prohibition awakens the desire to violate it… The law thus serves as sin’s base of operations.”
“The law was added to make men and women conscious of their sins, to show up transgressions in their true light… But in doing so, it actually stimulated the very sins it condemned. The prohibition ‘You shall not covet’ aroused all kinds of covetous desires which might otherwise have lain dormant.”
“The law, instead of preventing sin, actually provoked it. This was not the law’s fault; the fault lay in human nature which, when confronted with a prohibition, felt an urge to do the very thing that was prohibited.”
John Stott, a prominent Anglican cleric and theologian, stated: “Paul will add that the law even provokes sin. These statements must have been shocking to Jewish people, who thought of the Mosaic law as having been given to increase righteousness, not to increase sin. Yet Paul says that the law increased sin rather than diminishing it, and provoked sin rather than preventing it.”[8]
Thomas Schreiner:
“The law functions to stimulate sin, to bring it to full expression. The commandments of the law, though good in themselves, function to awaken and provoke sin in human beings. When prohibitions are given, paradoxically, they generate a desire to disobey them.”
N.T. Wright:
“The Torah, designed to wall off sin and keep Israel safe, has actually done the opposite. It has drawn attention to sin, and in doing so has actually inflamed it… The very marking out of certain actions as sinful has had the effect of making humans want to do them all the more.”
John Stott:
“The law not only exposes sin but actually provokes it. The commandments of God aggravate our natural rebelliousness. We immediately want to do what is forbidden… Like children who are never more inventive than when told not to do something.”
Douglas Campbell:
“The Law functions paradoxically to empower Sin, creating the very transgressions it was meant to prevent. It awakens desire for the forbidden and intensifies human rebellion against divine authority.”
Ben Witherington III:
“The Law, while holy and good, becomes the catalyst for sin’s full expression in human life. It’s like telling someone ‘don’t think about pink elephants’ – the very prohibition creates the thought and desire it seeks to prevent.”
Michael Bird:
“Paul’s point is that the Law, rather than restraining sin, actually provides the occasion for sin to manifest itself more fully. The prohibition becomes the very means by which transgression is aroused and multiplied.”
Simon Gathercole:
“The Law serves to provoke sin by providing it with opportunities to express itself. The commands of the Law, though righteous, become the very means through which sin works to produce death, turning God’s good gift into an instrument of condemnation.”
What the Bible Says About How the Fear of God Restrains Sin
Exodus 20:20
“Moses said to the people, ‘Don’t be afraid, for God has come to test you, and that his fear may be before you, that you won’t sin.'”
Proverbs 8:13
“The fear of Yahweh is to hate evil. I hate pride, arrogance, the evil way, and the perverse mouth.”
Proverbs 16:6
“By mercy and truth iniquity is atoned for. By the fear of Yahweh men depart from evil.”
Proverbs 14:27
“The fear of Yahweh is a fountain of life, turning people from the snares of death.”
Proverbs 3:7
“Don’t be wise in your own eyes. Fear Yahweh, and depart from evil.”
2 Corinthians 7:1
“Having therefore these promises, beloved, let’s cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”
Acts 9:31
“So the assemblies throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were built up. They were multiplied, walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit.”
Philippians 2:12
“So then, my beloved, even as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.”
1 Peter 1:17
“If you call on him as Father, who without respect of persons judges according to each man’s work, pass the time of your living as foreigners here in reverent fear.”
1 Peter 2:17
“Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.”
Hebrews 12:28-29
“Therefore, receiving a Kingdom that can’t be shaken, let’s have grace, through which we serve God acceptably, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.”
Basing their opinions on these texts, here are quotes from some well-known theologians and scholars from the past and present.
John Calvin:
“The fear of God is the beginning not only of wisdom, but of all right living. True piety generates genuine reverence, which results in righteous living and turns us from evil.”
Charles Spurgeon:
“The fear of God is the death of sin; the fear of God is the life of holiness. The more we maintain our holy awe and dread of God, the more we shall walk in the ways of holiness.”
Jonathan Edwards:
“True fear of God is not a servile fear, but a holy reverence that leads to obedience. It is that principle which keeps the soul from departing from the living God and that guards against presumptuous sins.”
John Wesley:
“The fear of God is the beginning, the foundation, of all wisdom – all true, useful knowledge. Without this fear, there can be no genuine knowledge of divine things. It is this fear which restrains from evil and inclines us to all good.”
Matthew Henry:
“The fear of the Lord is that deference to God which leads to obedience to Him, and this is the beginning of wisdom and leads to every good path.”
R.C. Sproul:
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom because it puts us in our proper place. It reminds us that we are creatures and God is the Creator. This holy fear keeps us from presumptuous sins and foolish decisions.”
Gordon Fee:
“The biblical fear of God is not about being scared but about having such a profound sense of God’s presence and holiness that it shapes all our choices and behavior.”
John Piper:
“The fear of the Lord is a consciousness of God’s holiness and power that makes us tremble at the thought of sin. Not a paralyzing fear, but a mobilizing fear that moves us toward righteousness.”
J.I. Packer:
“The fear of God is at the heart of biblical wisdom. It’s not terror before a capricious deity, but rather a profound respect that leads to moral clarity and ethical living.”
Jack Hayford:
“The fear of the Lord isn’t about being afraid of God, but about having such a reverence for His presence that it affects how we live. It’s about recognizing His holiness and power in such a way that transforms our behavior.”
Derek Prince:
“The fear of the Lord is a purifying force. When we truly understand God’s holiness and power, it produces in us a holy reverence that keeps us from sin and foolishness.”
D.A. Carson:
“Biblical fear of God includes not only reverential awe but a loving desire to please Him and a holy dread of dishonoring Him. This kind of fear doesn’t paralyze; it energizes toward righteousness.”
Tim Keller:
“The fear of the Lord is not about being scared of God, but about being overwhelmed with wonder before Him. This kind of wonder-filled fear drives out the fear of other things and leads to wise living.”
Bruce Waltke:
“The fear of the LORD represents a relationship with God that results in moral behavior and wisdom. It’s not terror but rather an appropriate reverence that produces ethical living.”
Adam Clarke:
“This fear of God is not a servile passion, but a serious, religious reverence. It is that principle which, of all others, is best suited to preserve us from evil, and lead us to the practice of every good.”
Thomas Oden:
“The fear of the Lord is not craven timidity but rather profound respect that leads to moral responsibility. It shapes character and forms virtuous habits.”
Summary
John Bunyon sums up the above nicely:
“Run, John, run, the Law commands
But gives us neither feet nor hands,
Far better news the gospel brings:
It bids us fly and gives us wings”
That’s what the Spirit does. He puts God’s holy and loving fear in our hearts and provides wings to fly above sin’s power.
Until next Thursday.
fv
Educated Atheist Turns Kingdom-Lover