**Daily Devotional** **June 1** *9 For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died. 10 And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death. 11 For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me. - Romans 7:9-11 (KJV)* The law was given long before Paul was born, so how could he be without the law once? What Paul is saying is that even though we are all born with a sin nature (Romans 5:16), that inherited sin is not held against us until we reach the age of accountability and are able to recognize that we sin (Romans 4:15). This is why if a child dies, they will go to be with the Lord. The law made sin come alive, and it was given to let man know that they were sinners, and had to be born again (John 3:3) to replace that sin nature they were born with. No one with the sin nature can appear before God, so you must have the born again experience, and a holy nature, before you can go to heaven. The strength of sin was the law (1 Corinthians 15:56), and God did not give the law to save us, but to let us know we could not save ourselves (Romans 3:20). The law showed us that our self-righteousness would never be enough to save us from destruction, and all our righteousness was like filthy rags to God (Isaiah 64:6). When we are born again, Jesus takes our sins and we get His righteousness – what a great trade that is. Praise God for sending Jesus to save us sinners. Devotional by Pastor Joe W. Green, www.infinite-faith.com