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Using the Law to Motivate Christians
by Rene Brown
In thousands of churches all over the world, virtually every Sunday, Christians are subjected to more
rules, laws, do’s and don’ts, should do and should not do lists. Even when such things as “you should not
do this” or “you should do this” are never mentioned, it is implied. At one time or another, almost every
preacher or teacher of the bible has done this. It seems so right, so correct to tell people what they must do
to live the Christian life. Or to hold up standards they should try for. Or how much bible reading or prayer
is the minimum for the serious Christian. What is wrong with this picture?
Basically, what they are doing is trying to tell people how to live the Christian life by improving their
performance. Every Sunday, a performance based Christianity is preached all over the world.
Unfortunately, they are trying to improve the flesh - that is, get the self- life to come into line so our
Christian life can line up with the scriptures. Unfortunately, Paul clearly tells us in Romans that nothing
good dwells in our flesh. You can do all sorts of things to make the flesh look better, perform better. You
can develop a top quality flesh life and finally that is all you have: flesh life or self-life. It will never have
the life of Jesus in it.
Rom 7:18-19 (RSV) "For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will
what is right, but I cannot do it. 19For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do."
Paul admits in this verse what most of us already know also: “......I can will what is right, but I cannot do
it.” It is like trying to swim upstream against a very fast current. We will try very hard but never make any
progress and finally we just wear ourselves out completely.
Here is the reason it will never work: Rom 7:5 (NKJV) “For when we were in the flesh, the sinful
passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death." The law
(any law or rule or standard) arouses sinful passions. A good example may be seen in a small child.
Without any teaching, if a small child of say age 2 - 4 years is told “Do not touch that object or vase or
book or something!” and you leave the child alone but observe where you cannot be seen, the child will
wait a minute, look to see if you are indeed gone, and then he will immediately reach out his little hand to
see what touching it feels like. He cannot resist. His “sinful passions” are aroused by the rule - not
deterred as you might hope.
Another scripture to go with the above on in Romans is 1Cor 15:56 (RSV) “The sting of death is sin,
and the power of sin is the law." In spite of such scriptures with obvious meaning, we continue in the
body of Christ to teach people to keep rules and laws and standards. It’s like a sign that says, “Keep off
the grass”. Most people would not think of getting on the grass until they are told not to do so.
Here are some additional flesh scriptures. As long as we are walking in the flesh (which simply
means walking in your old ways or walking after the self-life which means doing what you want to do)
we will serve sin.
Rom 7:25 (RSV) "Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I of myself
serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin."
Rom 8:3-9 (RSV) "For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do:
sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the
flesh, 4in order that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not
according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5For those who live according to the flesh
set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their
minds on the things of the Spirit. 6To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind
on the Spirit is life and peace. 7For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it
does not submit to God's law, indeed it cannot; 8and those who are in the flesh cannot
by Rene Brown
In thousands of churches all over the world, virtually every Sunday, Christians are subjected to more
rules, laws, do’s and don’ts, should do and should not do lists. Even when such things as “you should not
do this” or “you should do this” are never mentioned, it is implied. At one time or another, almost every
preacher or teacher of the bible has done this. It seems so right, so correct to tell people what they must do
to live the Christian life. Or to hold up standards they should try for. Or how much bible reading or prayer
is the minimum for the serious Christian. What is wrong with this picture?
Basically, what they are doing is trying to tell people how to live the Christian life by improving their
performance. Every Sunday, a performance based Christianity is preached all over the world.
Unfortunately, they are trying to improve the flesh - that is, get the self- life to come into line so our
Christian life can line up with the scriptures. Unfortunately, Paul clearly tells us in Romans that nothing
good dwells in our flesh. You can do all sorts of things to make the flesh look better, perform better. You
can develop a top quality flesh life and finally that is all you have: flesh life or self-life. It will never have
the life of Jesus in it.
Rom 7:18-19 (RSV) "For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will
what is right, but I cannot do it. 19For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do."
Paul admits in this verse what most of us already know also: “......I can will what is right, but I cannot do
it.” It is like trying to swim upstream against a very fast current. We will try very hard but never make any
progress and finally we just wear ourselves out completely.
Here is the reason it will never work: Rom 7:5 (NKJV) “For when we were in the flesh, the sinful
passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death." The law
(any law or rule or standard) arouses sinful passions. A good example may be seen in a small child.
Without any teaching, if a small child of say age 2 - 4 years is told “Do not touch that object or vase or
book or something!” and you leave the child alone but observe where you cannot be seen, the child will
wait a minute, look to see if you are indeed gone, and then he will immediately reach out his little hand to
see what touching it feels like. He cannot resist. His “sinful passions” are aroused by the rule - not
deterred as you might hope.
Another scripture to go with the above on in Romans is 1Cor 15:56 (RSV) “The sting of death is sin,
and the power of sin is the law." In spite of such scriptures with obvious meaning, we continue in the
body of Christ to teach people to keep rules and laws and standards. It’s like a sign that says, “Keep off
the grass”. Most people would not think of getting on the grass until they are told not to do so.
Here are some additional flesh scriptures. As long as we are walking in the flesh (which simply
means walking in your old ways or walking after the self-life which means doing what you want to do)
we will serve sin.
Rom 7:25 (RSV) "Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I of myself
serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin."
Rom 8:3-9 (RSV) "For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do:
sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the
flesh, 4in order that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not
according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5For those who live according to the flesh
set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their
minds on the things of the Spirit. 6To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind
on the Spirit is life and peace. 7For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it
does not submit to God's law, indeed it cannot; 8and those who are in the flesh cannot
