Many professors of religion are living without the Law. They are living reputable, respectable, religious lives, and they believe they are converted, but they are alive without the Law of God. There is mingled with their counterfeit faith in Christ some sort of trust in themselves. They have never seen that the Law puts an end to all human power, strength, and righteousness as any assistance to help Christ out in the matter of Salvation. The commandment of God has not yet come into their souls and laid them low. Until the commandment comes from God, the self-righteous religious man will be in such a state as to think he is quite all right, because he does not know the Law - this is the most foolish and dangerous condition a sinner can be in. He doesn't truly care about the Law, he doesn't know it, and concludes based on his ignorance that he is righteous as a man can be. He continues to say he is all right - believe he is all right - think he is all right. But his future is dangerous, and will end in everlasting ruin.
The lost, natural man is like a ship out at sea that ought to have been decommissioned long ago and sank. There he is out at sea, living life everyday as if everything was just fine. He does not care to enquire whether the hull is sound, or whether it is not leaking, or whether the pumps work well or not. He has seemed to sail very well in fair weather, and he does not care to know anything else. No one in their right mind would like to go to sea in a ship like this. The sane person would want to know whether the ship would stand the strain of a storm, whether it was seaworthy, and, if it were not so, you would stay on shore. You may be in a leaking ship - a ship that is rusted through and through, and you will go to pieces when once the storm of death comes upon you. Only God can deliver you from false hopes, and living without the law; may the Law come onboard your vessel even now, and begin to inspect you closely. And when the Law's inspection is done, you will soon discover that your vessel is only fit to be abandoned. At that time, I hope you will get onboard a better ship, a ship that shall stand all storms, of whom Christ is the Captain - a ship which is Christ Jesus Himself.
* Sin coming to light - The Revival of Sin: "The commandment came, and sin revived." Sin before was dead in him. He did not believe he had any great sin in him. He is so good, there cannot be much sin in him, he hasn't done anything that bad. But what does the Bible really mean by the 'commandment' coming? It means this, you perceive the Law's real meaning. You never saw it before - that it had respect to your thoughts, wishes, and desires. God has sworn by Himself that He will carry out the Law, and will not spare those who dare to break it, and will execute judgment upon all those who defy Him to His face and break His commandments.
Here's the revival we need today - the "Sin Revival". The next so-called 'revival meeting' you attend, listen real closely, and see if you hear this message preached - I'm afraid you will not. But remember this: You MUST have a 'sin revival' before you have a 'righteousness revival'. Many people get this backwards today in Laodicea. The Bible still says in Romans 7:8-9: "For without the law sin was dead. For I was alive without the law once, but when THE COMMANDMENT CAME, sin revived, and I died." And in Proverbs 6:23 it is written, "For THE COMMANDMENT is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life." The Law comes and reproves and condemns us. "For thou art my lamp, O Lord: and the Lord will lighten my darkness." (II Samuel 22:29) You may not know it, but sin is lerking within your heart, and the Law of God is attempting to show you the exceeding sinfulness of your heart. The Law of God (the commandment) comes with a flashlight and attempts to show you what you never thought was in your heart.
