through which freely given, that both precious and costly promises, so that through them you may be freed from the corruption in the world, in sinful desires, becoming partakers of God's divine nature.*
It is God's power working within us, a perfection in love. This word for sound mind is derived from two words meaning "sound, safe" and "inner outlook" which regulates outward behavior. What is this inner outlook that regulates behavior? This speaks of being partakers of God's divine nature, one must be born into God's nature, becoming like a child, like being born again, but this birth is of the Spirit not the flesh. It is a principle of the kingdom of God, and the change is inward. This is unlike the world and those who live to the letter of the law, being justified by works, these use the fear of punishment to try and manipulate and control external behavior. This type of elemental principle will never overcome the desires of the flesh, this was proven under the Law, were sin abounded because the flesh is weak. Those who were held captive under the Law were laves. Jesus came to give them the right and power to become children of God. A slave doesn't exist in the house forever but a child does.
Not that we exist sufficient ourselves, considering anything as coming from ourselves, but that our sufficiency is from God, who indeed made us sufficient servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of Spirit; for the letter kills but the Spirit gives Life.*
You want to die? then justify yourself by works, living to the letter of the law, sin will surely abound and kill you. Fear will never have long term benefit in changing external behavior, this is clear in our society most notable in our prison system which uses torture to try to deter behavior. In scripture, Paul writes he was alive until the Law came and then it killed him. The Law did not perfect men, and it will never do so as the mind of carnal man will not subject itself to the laws of God. You can't manipulate people to adhere to the standards of God's righteousness. It is only by new birth can one partake of God's divine nature, receiving the precious and costly gift of righteousness, and it is God's power of transformation or metamorphosis that renews the mind. Only with a new birth and a renewed mind can one accept God's will as good and perfect. Fear of punishment or other attempts to modify external behavior will never accomplish true obedience. Paul writes one will not rule over sin under the letter of the law but under grace. Living to the letter of the law is a form of the flesh. There are other forms of the flesh that attempt this, shame, guilt, and consequentialism.
You want to die? then justify yourself by works, living to the letter of the law, sin will surely abound and kill you. Fear will never have long term benefit in changing external behavior, this is clear in our society most notable in our prison system which uses torture to try to deter behavior. In scripture, Paul writes he was alive until the Law came and then it killed him. The Law did not perfect men, and it will never do so as the mind of carnal man will not subject itself to the laws of God. You can't manipulate people to adhere to the standards of God's righteousness. It is only by new birth can one partake of God's divine nature, receiving the precious and costly gift of righteousness, and it is God's power of transformation or metamorphosis that renews the mind. Only with a new birth and a renewed mind can one accept God's will as good and perfect. Fear of punishment or other attempts to modify external behavior will never accomplish true obedience. Paul writes one will not rule over sin under the letter of the law but under grace. Living to the letter of the law is a form of the flesh. There are other forms of the flesh that attempt this, shame, guilt, and consequentialism.
now hope doesn't put to shame, because the love of God pours pout into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.*
This word for shame, usually translated as disappoint, means to humiliate, shame, put to shame. The world and Christians who live by elemental principles of the world would teach that shame is a means to change behavior. Hope is an element of faith, and it doesn't shame you to shame you to change your behavior. Some teachings of repentance in the church use such elemental principals also, saying repentance is with regret, you must have great remorse for your sin, if you do not you were not sincere in repentance, but such attempts in the flesh to atone for sin. Those in Christ have testimony also of the blood of Jesus which cleanses from from all sin, we are justified by His blood, our sin is atoned for, not by some fleshly form of self-abasement of the flesh. Paul writes repentance is of the will of God, without regret.
Now the Law came so that the transgression increased, now, where sin increased grace super-abounded, so that just as sin reigned in death, in this way, also grace reigns through righteousness, with a view to eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord.*
We are under grace so that we will reign through righteousness. How? it is because of the blessings we have from the riches of God's grace, a Spirit of adoption whereby we are partakers of God's divine nature, "freely given us, that both precious and costly promises," being justified by the blood of Jesus. Jesus did not come to condemn man but to condemn sin in the flesh, this he accomplished in that he gave us the power to become children of God. This wisdom of God confuses the devil, as it did the false humility and piety of the Pharisees, and even many today. How does grace reign through righteousness? because we are blessed, partakers of divine nature and righteousness. Why? "so that through them you may be freed from the corruption in the world, in sinful desires and become partakers of God's divine nature." I am convinced those who go back to living to the letter of the Law, are increasingly sinful and do not reign, though they might have some form of outward appearance. Righteous judgement is not by appearances as God judges the heart.
We often hear of a kind of consequence driven reasoning in Christianity, these try to manipulate behavior by pointing out the consequences of sin. These reason that the consequence will deter one from doing wrong, if you speed and one day you get a ticket, this is a costly consequence, so don't speed. One day you will die in your body, this is a consequence of Adam's sin. The question becomes does consequence driven reasoning really deter sin? Does consequence driven reasoning work so that "you may be freed from the corruption in the world, in sinful desires..." I will say no, that freedom come sin Christ, in that we have become partakers God's divine nature this frees us sin. It is the whole purpose of grace, that we find his grace is sufficient in that his power is being perfected in us. If one is a partaker of God's divine nature he is no defined by the sinful nature but is now indebted to righteousness, now ashamed of those things he once did.
For sin rules, not ruling over you, since you exist not under law but under grace.*
There exists another kind of reasoning that attempts to manipulate behavior, called deontology, from Greek meaning "obligation, duty." This can be a works justified mindset of following the letter of the law which judges the morality of an action based on rules or commandments. I follow the ten commandments therefore I am righteous, but Jesus turned the tables on the Pharisees who thought this way, saying if they lusted in their hearts they committed adultery. Under this type of reasoning we also see a kind of serving driven mentality that makes it all about duty. These serve God out of fear of punishment or from a mindset of sacrifice based on some type of false obligation or duty. Its our Christian duty, they say, but they stay children, sacrificing growth, the very purpose of the Church, to build up into the mature image of Christ, so we are Christ like. There is truth to all these principles, but maturity speaks of being perfected in love. Our motivation is out of love for our heavenly Father and more so obedience is reflected in that we become like His divine nature.
Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch, these exist a'' destined to perish with use concerning human commands and regulations. Such sayings reflect human wisdom in false piety, false humility and harsh control over the body, these are no value against the gratification of the flesh.*
Human wisdom, often based on the old covenant, uses the fear of punishment, or consequences, or duty, or sacrifice in attempts to control and manipulate external behavior but this false piety can be uncovered in that it sacrifices growth and the greater commands of God, of love. There are others, but the contrast between the world's reasoning and that of the kingdom of God is that the world attempts outward manipulation of behavior while God changes the inward. This was prophesied of in the old, that God would put his Spirit within and replace the heart of stone. We are born of Spirit, we are given the gift of righteousness, we become partakers of God's divine nature. Our will was changed when we believed in Jesus, to further attempt to manipulate a child who has God's nature is fruitless. The fruit of righteousness, developed correctly in peace, will produce the foundation for outward change (elements of faith; hope, assurance, trust, confidence, rest and quietness). The Spirit is life through this gift of righteousness.
Exists no fear in agape love, but the perfection of agape love drives out fear for that fear has power of punishment, on the other hand the one fearing has not been perfected in agape love.*
God's children will rule over sin under grace, not under the letter of the law, and the one fearing has not been perfected in agape love. The Law had power through the fear of punishment but as Paul writes, God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind. Also, the commandments that were adverse to us Jesus nailed to the cross, he died for sin once and for all, and the Temple which was an integral part of the Law was destroyed. So does the Law exist on tablets of stone? no, God writes his laws on our hearts and puts them in our mind. God has not given us a spirit of fear, so where does this fear come from? we know its purpose; slavery. A slave is not free, but a son is free indeed.
... freed from the corruption in the world, in sinful desires, becoming partakers of God's divine nature.*
In Christ, no longer are we slaves to sinful nature, the old man, but our true nature exists of God's divine nature, righteous. We are born into God's nature. And we will rule over sin because we are his children, have his nature. This is a great promise for his children that He is working out all things according to our good. Is there consequences to sin? yes. Is there consequences for following Christ? yes. Paul understood such consequences, thrown in prison five times, shipwrecked three, beaten with a rod, stoned and left for dead... but he writes nothing can separate us from the love of God, nothing... It is his power working within us, even when we think we have achieved the worst of sins, such is seen in the story of the prodigal son, a manner of a Father's love that is not of this world. I love my Father, and one day I will grow up to be just like Him. We have been freely given this precious and costly promise, so that we would be free, a child of God.