Hatramin'izao fotoana izao, that man handed over his dominion over the earth, which had been given to man by God, to the devil through sin, the devil established his kingdom on earth. Nanomboka tamin'izay fotoana izay, the devil and sin and death reigned on earth. The nature and law of the devil ruled in the flesh of man and the law of sin and death came into being. The earth was no longer blessed but became cursed. Maty ny fanahy tao anatin’ny olona, sy ny nofo; fanahy, ary vatana, became subject to the devil. The devil became the father and god over all flesh that would be born into his kingdom. The law that represents the devil’s kingdom is the law of sin and death. What is the law of sin and death? Let’s have a look at the revealing truth about the law of sin and death.
The law of sin and death reigns over every person
Ny olona tsirairay, that would be born on this earth, would automatically be bound and subjected to sin and death and the law of sin and death. The law of the devil, which represents his will, is present and reigns in every flesh (Vakio koa: ‘Ny sitrapon'Andriamanitra no sitrapon'ny Devoly').
Noho ny zava-misy, that the spirit of man died, the moment that man sinned, man only had the ability to live after the flesh.
Lasa fanahy velona ny olona, and the soul would dictate man what the do. The soul and body would be bound to the devil and his law. The evil rebellious nature of the devil was present in the flesh of the carnal man. Because man lived after the flesh and was led by his sinful nature, man would live after the law of the devil and establish the law of sin and death.
Transferred from the Kingdom of God into the kingdom of darkness
When God created the heaven and the earth, Ny Fanjakany; the spiritual Kingdom of God reigned upon the earth. God created man with a spirit, fanahy, ary vatana. Adam’s spirit reigned in his life. His soul and body were subjected to his spirit.
Before Adam rebelled and became disobedient to the commandment of God and sinned, the spiritual law of righteousness and life, reigned on the earth. The law of righteousness and life represents the will of God and belongs to the Kingdom of God.
But when Adam, who was appointed by God to represent His Kingdom upon the earth, listened to the voice of the devil and became disobedient to the commandment of God and His Kingdom, his spirit, who reigned in his life, died.
When Adam’s spirit died, he was transferred in the spiritual realm, from the Kingdom of God to the kingdom of darkness.
Man had freely chosen to listen to and believe the words of the devil, fa tsy Andriamanitra. Man chose to become tsy mankatò to the words of God and do the will of the devil instead of the will of God.
As I discussed in the previous blogpost ‘The will of God vs the will of the devil’, the devil rebels against every word of God. That’s why the will of the devil is the exact opposite of the will of God.
The will of God represents the law of righteousness and life. The will of the devil represents the law of sin and death.
Ny lalàn'ny ota sy ny fahafatesana
The law of sin and death contains the following commandments:
- You shall love the devil and all there is within the world above all. You shall serve him and obey him
- You shall have gods before you and you shall bow down to them
- hijangajanga ianao
- You shall hate God and use His name in vain
- You shall commit adultery
- You shall be unfaithful
- handainga ianao
- You shall murder
- You shall rebel against your parents and not honor them
- You shall covet
- You shall be jealous
- Tsy hamela heloka ianao
- You shall….
This law represents the will of the devil and belongs to the kingdom of darkness. Rehefa miaina araka ny nofo ianao, you shall be bound to this law of sin and death and you shall walk in sin. When you live after this law in sin, your final destination shall be death. Because the wages of sin is death.
Fa ny tambin'ny ota dia fahafatesana; Fa ny fanomezan'Andriamanitra dia fiainana mandrakizay amin'ny alalan'i Jesosy Kristy Tompontsika (Romana 6:23)
God chose a people and set them apart
God chose a people and set them apart from other people, from the other nations. God led His people out of Egypt and redeemed them from slavery and the rulership of Pharaoh. Nandritra ny taona maro, God’s people were oppressed by Pharaoh and lived in slavery. His will had become their will and they had adopted the pagan rituals, FAHAZARANTSIKA, and culture of Egypt.
But God’s Kingdom was another Kingdom and God’s will wasn’t equal to the will of the devil, which reigned in the evil carnal nature of man.
God didn’t want His people to be bound to the devil and the works of his kingdom. Because God couldn’t have fellowship with sin; the works of the flesh and darkness. God’s people had to be cleansed and purified. Their minds had to be renewed with the will of God.
God made His will known by His law
That’s why God revealed His will and His Kingdom known to His people, Amin'ny fanomezana azy ireo ny lalàny. Noho ny zava-misy, that man was carnal and God Spirit, God ‘translated’ His will and made His spiritual Kingdom visible to man, amin’ny fanomezana azy ireo Ny didiny. Tian'Andriamanitra hanana fifandraisana amin'ny olombelona, but since the carnal man was not righteous but a sinner and God couldn’t have communion with sin, Nomeny azy ireo ny lalàna sorona. The offerings would make a temporary atonement for the sins of man.
Ny lalàn'ny ota sy ny fahafatesana, which belongs to the kingdom of darkness, reigned from the moment that Adam sinned, Eto an-tany. Nanomboka tamin'izay fotoana izay, the devil had spiritual dominion over man and the earth.
But God had set His people apart from the world. He revealed His Kingdom and His will, amin’ny fanomezana azy ireo ny lalàna.
Because they were carnal and not spiritual, God revealed to them the spiritual truth. By giving His law to His carnal people, Ny lalàn'ny ota sy ny fahafatesana, that belonged to the kingdom of the devil was revealed.
The flesh of the carnal man, which is subject to the law of sin and death, Hoy izy: “thou shall steal, thou shall commit fornication, thou shall covet, thou shall lie, thou shall be jealous etc”. But God represented His Kingdom and therefore God said: “thou shall not steal, thou shall not commit fornication, thou shall not lie, thou shall not covet, etc”
Sin became revealed by the law
Inona no holazaintsika amin'izany?? Ota va ny lalàna? Noraran'Andriamanitra ny. Tsia, Tsy nahalala ota aho, fa araka ny lalàna: fa tsy nahalala ny filan-dratsy aho, afa-tsy ny lalàna no nilaza, Aza mitsiriritra (Romana 7:7)
Ny lalàn’ny Fanahy, which belongs to the Kingdom of God is the exact opposite of the law of sin and death, which belongs to the kingdom of darkness. When God gave the law of Moses, God revealed sin.
Sin was no longer hidden but was revealed by the law. God didn’t force anyone to be obedient to His law. He had given and still has given everyone a free will.
Every person will make his/her own choices in life. But…God did reveal to them, what would happen if a person decided to not love God above all and to disobey His law, which represented His will but rather chose to serve the devil and his law of sin and death.
Why the death penalty?
Nomen’Andriamanitra ny olony, who belonged to His Kingdom, Ny didiny. But as soon as someone rebelled and didn’t want to submit to His will and obey Him, God had to deal according to the law of sin and death, which the person had chosen to obey.
When a person obeyed the law of sin and death, the person also received the wages for following this law.
The punishment depended upon the sin the person committed. Because there was sin unto death and sin not unto death.
But when a person intentionally sinned and had chosen to obey the law of sin and death, the person got the wages for following this law, Fahafatesana izay.
The person had to be removed from His people and was given to the person’s lord and master: Ny fahafatesana.
That was the punishment for everyone, who became tsy mankatò to the law of God; Ny lalàn'ny fahamarinana sy ny fiainana, and became obedient to the law of sin and death.
The law of sin and death reigns as long as the old man lives
Hatramin'izao fotoana izao, that you are born on this earth, the spiritual law of sin and death reigns in your body (nofo). Your flesh is corrupted by the sinful nature; ny toetran'ny devoly. That means that your sinful nature, which is present in your flesh, serves and is obedient to the law of sin and death. There is only one way to be redeemed from the law of sin and death, and that is through the process of regeneration.
Only when your flesh dies in Jesus Christ, you will be redeemed from your sinful nature and from the law of sin and death, that rules in your flesh. From the moment you die in Jesus Christ, you will be redeemed and set free from this law, that leads you to eternal death.
Fa ny lalàn'ny Fanahin'aina ao amin'i Kristy Jesosy dia nanafaka ahy tamin'ny lalàn'ny ota sy ny fahafatesana (Romana 8:2)
It is just like a marriage between a husband and a wife. They are bound to each other as long as they both shall live on this earth. By the law, the woman is bound to her husband, during her life on this earth.
When her husband dies, the woman is released from the law that bound her to her husband. But when she commits adultery, while her husband is still alive and marries someone else, she will be an adulterer. Only when one of them dies, the bonds of marriage are destroyed and the law that bounds them together will be annulled. Therefore when the law is annulled, the other person will be free and not bound by the law anymore (Romana 7:2-3)
Dying in Jesus Christ
It is the same with everyone, izay mino an'i Jesosy Kristy. When you repent and accept Jesus as your Saviour and make Him Lord over your life, you lay down your own life; Ny fahariana ara-nofo taloha, ao Aminy.
When you are baptized in water, in the natural realm you symbolically lay down your flesh, fa eo amin’ny lafiny ara-panahy, your flesh dies.
Therefore you will no longer be bound to the law of sin and death, that reigns in your flesh.
The law of sin and death has no longer authority over you, but you are redeemed from this law.
amin'ny alalan'ny batisa amin'ny Fanahy Masina, your spirit will be raised from the dead.
Nanomboka tamin'izay fotoana izay, your spirit lives, ary ny lalàn'ny fahamarinana sy ny fiainana, izany no lalàn’ny Fanahy, that belongs to the Kingdom of God, will reign in your life.
Jesus represented the law of the Spirit
Moa ve isika manafoana ny lalàna amin'ny alalan'ny finoana? Noraran'Andriamanitra ny: eny, Manorina ny lalàna isika (Romana 3:31)
Jesus represented the law of the Spirit, izay an’ny Fanjakan’Andriamanitra, Eto an-tany. Izany no antony nilazan'i Jesosy: “You shall….” Jesus spoke out of the law of the Spirit. Fantatr'i Jesosy, that the law of Moses represented the will of God and His Kingdom. He knew that this law was given to God’s carnal people, who were only able to live after the flesh.
But because Jesus didn’t walk after the flesh, fa araka ny Fanahy, He wasn’t ruled by His flesh. Jesus didn’t think: “I shall not be jealous, I shall not covet, I shall not….”
The nature of God dwelled by the Holy Spirit in Jesus. Jesus knew the law of the Spirit and the Kingdom of God and therefore He walked according to this law.
Amin’ny fandehanana manaraka ny Fanahy, Jesus obeyed and fulfilled the law, that God had given to Moses.
Jesus didn’t give in to the fakam-panahy avy amin’ny devoly amin’ny nofony.
Fantany, that as soon as He would give in to the ny filana sy ny faniriana of His flesh, He would automatically obey the law of sin and death and walk in the commandments of the devil. If Jesus would have done that, He would be transferred from the Kingdom of God into the kingdom of the devil, tahaka an’i Adama ihany. If He would have obeyed the flesh, He would become disobedient to God and would make the devil His father and would belong to the kingdom of darkness.
Tsy fantatrareo, fa izay omenao mpanompo hankatò, Ny mpanompony izay ankatoavinao; na ny ota ho faty, na ny fankatoavana ny fahamarinana? (Romana 6:16)
God’s work of redemption in Jesus Christ
Jesus knew the difference between the two spiritual kingdoms and the two laws, that belonged to these kingdoms. By His deeds and His walk, Jesus made the choice to Whom He wanted to belong to: Ny Rainy; the God of the heavens and the earth, na ny devoly; Andriamanan'ity tontolo ity.
Amin’ny fandehanana manaraka ny Fanahy, Nitoetra ho nankatò ny Rainy i Jesosy. He represented and brought the Kingdom of God upon this earth. Because of His FANKATOAVANA, He could fulfill the work of redemption ny fahariana taloha.
Amin’ny alalan’i Jesosy Kristy irery ihany, when you die and be resurrected in Him, it is possible to be redeemed from the bonds of sin, that lead to eternal death. Only when you become teraka indray and when your flesh dies in Him, you will be redeemed from the law of sin and death.
ny Maty Ao amin'i Jesosy Kristy, you will be transferred Avy amin'ny Fanjakan'ny maizina; the kingdom of this world into the Kingdom of God. By walking after the Spirit in Jesus Christ; Ny Teny, Hanao ho azy ianao manatanteraka ny lalàn’Andriamanitra, which represents His Kingdom and you shall be able to stay loyal and obedient to Him.
‘Aoka ho fanasin’ny tany’
