QT 25 Sep 11, We don't need the law to know we have sinne

Rom 5:12-13 (NIV) Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned— 13 for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law.

NOTE: What does it mean that "sin is not taken into account when there is no law?" Paul has just concluded that sin was in the world, and that it had entered the world through one man. And that death came to all men, not just because of Adam's sin, but because each person sinned. So clearly it is taken into account. I think I see it. What happened to man was not their failure to obey the law. The law did not exist. Their punishment was strictly due to their sin prior to the law's definition of sin and consequences. So the law was not necessary to condemn man. What a person knew in his hearts was sufficient to condemn him. The only thing the law did was to add additional clarity to the idea of sin.

I don't need the law to know right and wrong. It helps, but I know in my heart most sin without the confirmation of the word. The word gives me insight and teaches me about things that I might not even think are sin. But for most things in my life, my conscience tells me where I have sinned.