Acts 12:15
"And they said unto her, Thou art mad. But she constantly affirmed that it was even so. Then said they, It is his angel."
Some religious sects believe that people become angels after they die. Did these friends of Peter believe he was dead and that he had become an angel? Not if they believed the words of Scripture.
Mark these facts:
1. Angels existed before any human being died (Genesis 3:24). So the existence of angels does not depend on the death of mortals.
2. Angels belong to a different order of created beings (Psalm 8:5).
3. Children have guardian angels ever with them (Matthew 18:10).
4. Angels witness all we say or do (Ecclesiastes 5:6).
5. They are constantly ministering to the "heirs of salvation" (Hebrews 1:14).
Undoubtedly Peter's friends were talking about his guardian angel in the text under consideration.
Romans 5:13
"For until the law sin was in the world but sin is not inputted when there is no law. "
Some contend that the phrase "until the law" means that the law did not exist between Adam and Sinai. But the balance of the text, coupled with Romans 4:15 proves the opposite. Sin was imputed to Cain for slaying his brother, therefore the law had to be in effect. God upbraided Ms people for refusing to keep Ms "commandments and laws" (Exodus 16:28). He also honored Abraham who kept His "commandments . . . statutes ... and laws" (Genesis 26:5).
The meaning then is clear: the law did not exist in written form prior to Sinai. People were punished for breaking any one of the ten commandments before Sinai indicating that the law existed, and sin was imputed. Note the ten commandments before Sinai:
First Genesis 35:2-4
Second Genesis 31:19-34
Third Genesis 12:3
Fourth Exodus 16:4-26
Fifth Genesis 9:20-25
Sixth Genesis 4:8-15
Seventh Genesis 39:9
Eighth Genesis 44:8, 16
Ninth Genesis 27:12
Tenth Genesis 25:29-34; Genesis 27
Israel had largely lost sight of the principles of God's law while in Egyptian bondage. So God wrote that law with His own finger to bring it forcibly back to mind.
Romans 7:4
"Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God."
Paul is here illustrating the changed status of one who is freed from the bondage of sin to be married to Christ. Three principal figures are used in his illustration: a woman, her husband, and the law of marriage. Which one of these parties dies? Not the law, as some interpret.
If so, the whole argument over adultery would be pointless.
There could be no adultery without the law containing the prohibition.
No, it was the husband who died, and he symbolized the "old man of sin" who dies at conversion (Romans 6:6). This death to the law of sin (husband unconverted nature) was brought about through the "body of Christ," by His death. The condemnation of the law, (sentence of death) was nullified by the deliverance wrought through Christ. But please notice that Christ's death only cancels the penalty not the law itself. Peter says He "bare our sins in His own body" (I Peter 2:24). Paul says Christ tasted "death for every man" (Hebrews 2:9).
No, it was the husband who died, and he symbolized the "old man of sin" who dies at conversion (Romans 6:6). This death to the law of sin (husband unconverted nature) was brought about through the "body of Christ," by His death. The condemnation of the law, (sentence of death) was nullified by the deliverance wrought through Christ. But please notice that Christ's death only cancels the penalty not the law itself. Peter says He "bare our sins in His own body" (I Peter 2:24). Paul says Christ tasted "death for every man" (Hebrews 2:9).
Source: The Editors
