Sin is utterly sinful, and righteousness is utterly loving.

Romans 7:13 Therefore did that which is good become a cause of death for me? May it never be! Rather it was sin, in order that it might be shown to be sin by effecting my death through that which is good, so that through the commandment sin would become utterly sinful. Apparently God knew we would never be able to understand how bad sin is in character without the Law. “Utterly sinful” means sinful beyond measure. It communicates that sin is excessively sinful. The fact that sin takes something that is holy, righteous, and good and uses it to effect our death reveals its hideous, evil nature. But let’s contrast the nature of sin with the nature of righteousness. Righteousness takes something that is unmeasurably awful and evil, namely sin, and uses it to reveal the nature of love as it effects eternal life! Seeing how terrible sin is through its use of the Law should encourage us as we see how glorious righteousness is as it uses sin to reveal love. There is a very good chance that today, you and I will be given the same opportunity. Someone will sin against us, and the righteousness of Christ in us will take that opportunity to reveal the love of Christ through suffering without complaint, complete forgiving of the transgression, and allowing that person to stand in right relationship with us—if they so choose. What an incredible thought and encouragement as to what it means to live to love with Jesus. It is the exact opposite of the utter sinfulness of sin. I hope you’ll introduce others to the Live to Love Scripture Encouragement podcasts by sharing today’s podcast. And if you haven’t visited livetolovewithjesus.com, I hope you’ll do that soon. There are free resources to help you as a disciple of Jesus Christ. Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com