To  have  a  positive  relationship  with  the  Lord,  we  must  know  His  nature  and  His  real  character. Is He angry because of our sin, or is He a merciful God who wants to give us His life and  blessing,  independent  of  our  performance?  
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The  Scriptures  actually  give  us  two  different  views of God, not that He has ever changed or done anything differently. There was a period of time that in the terminology used in the Bible, God “held men’s sins against them.â€
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This  can  be  compared  to  raising  children.  When  they’re  very  young,  it  isn’t  possible  to  reason with them, to tell them why they should act properly or why they shouldn’t be selfish and take toys away from their brothers or sisters. They have to be told the rules and, if they break them, be  disciplined.  
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The  rules  have  to  be  enforced  even  though  they  don’t  know  about  God  and  the  devil, or that they’re giving place to the devil when they are selfish. They may not understand the concepts, but they can understand that if they repeat the action, they will be punished.In  a  sense,  that’s  what  the  Lord  did  in  the  Old  Testament.  
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Before  people  were  born  again, they didn’t have the spiritual perception we have under the New Covenant, so He had to give laws and enforce them with punishment, sometimes even death, to deter them from sin. Because Satan was destroying people through sin, there had to be restraints placed on sin, and they had to be enforced. 
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Although this left the false impression that God didn’t really love us because of our sin, that is not what the Word of God teaches. Romans 5:13 says, “Until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed where there is no law.â€
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“Until the lawâ€ means until the  days  of  Moses  when  God  gave  the  Ten  Commandments  and  other  ceremonial  laws  that  applied to the Jewish nation. Up until that time, sin was in the world but wasn’t imputed. The word “imputeâ€ is a bookkeeping term; e.g., you go to the store to buy something and say, “Put it on my tab.â€ 
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When it is put on your tab, it is recorded and charged against your account, and the purchase is imputed to you. If they failed to impute it, that means it wasn’t recorded and held against you.This verse is saying that until the time the Ten Commandments came, sin was not being held against people. 
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That’s an amazing statement. Look at Genesis 3 and 4. Most people have the concept that when Adam and Eve sinned against God, because He was holy and man was now sinful, He could have nothing to do with sinful mankind. 
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They think God drove man out of the Garden to remove him from His presence because a Holy God couldn’t have anything to do with unholy man. They further think that until you clean up your act through right actions, God once again cannot have any relationship with you. That is contrary to the message Jesus brought. 
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 Romans  5:8  says  God  commended  His  love  toward  you,  and  while  you  were  yet  a  sinner, Christ died for you; so the New Testament teaches that God extended His love to you while  you  were  living  in  sin,  not  after  you  have  cleaned  up  your  act.  One  of  the  great  truths  of the Gospel that will change your life is to understand that God loves you just like you are. 
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He loves you so much that if you receive His love, you won’t want to stay as you are. You will change, but you’ll change as a byproduct of God’s love not in order to get His love.In Genesis 4 you can see that God was still fellowshipping with man, still talking with Adam and Eve even after they sinned. 
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He talked with Cain and Abel, and when they came to offer  sacrifices  to  Him,  He  spoke  to  them  in  an  audible  voice.  By  their  reaction,  we  can  see  that  they  were  accustomed  to  hearing  His  voice,  and  it  didn’t  scare  them.  When  Cain  killed  his brother Abel and became the first murderer on the earth, God’s audible voice came from heaven: “Where is your brother Abel?â€ 
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Cain lied to God, seemingly without compunction. That can happen only if a person is so used to hearing the voice of God that they take it for granted and have no fear of it. All this says is that God was still fellowshipping with mankind and had not broken fellowship, as is commonly believed. He was not imputing man’s sins to him. 
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Does that mean that He condoned their sins or that they were not wrong? No, that’s the reason He eventually  gave  the  Law.  God  had  to  give  the  Law  to  bring  man  back  to  a  proper  standard.  God  had  to  show  man  that  he  needs  a  Savior  and  that  he  has  to  humble  himself  and  receive  forgiveness as a gift. 
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Sadly, religion has manipulated and controlled these things to teach that the Law was given so you can keep it and thereby earn God’s forgiveness and acceptance. No! The purpose of Old Testament Law was to magnify your sin to such a degree that you would despair of ever saving yourself and say, “God, if this is your standard of holiness, I can’t do it. Forgive me, have mercy on me.â€ The overall nature of God has always been love.
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Scriptures: Romans 5:13 Romans 7:7 Galatians 3:24 John 8:1-11 John 3:34 1 Jhn 4:8 Romans 5:6 Romans 5:8 Romans 5:10 
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Questions:
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1. Read Romans 5:13. What does the word “imputeâ€ mean?
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2. Read Romans 7:7. What was the purpose of the Law?
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3. Read Galatians 3:24. According to this verse, what was the purpose of the Law?
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4. Read John 8:1-11. How did Jesus deal with the woman caught in adultery?
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5. Did Jesus’ words and actions reflect the true nature of God? See John 3:34.
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6. Read 1 John 4:8. According to this verse, what is the true nature of God?
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7. Read Romans 5:6. God’s love was directed toward us when we were what?
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8.Read Romans 5:8. God loved us while we were what?
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9. Read Romans 5:10. God loved us while we were what?
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10. If you asked Jesus Christ to forgive you and be your Savior and Lord, trusting Jesus’ sacrifice as payment for your sin, would God show you His true nature of mercy and grace?
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Answers:
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1. Read Romans 5:13. What does the word “imputeâ€ mean?<br>→ To charge to one’s account
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2. Read Romans 7:7. What was the purpose of the Law?<br>→ To make sin known
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3. Read Galatians 3:24. According to this verse, what was the purpose of the Law?<br>→ To show mankind their need of the Savior, Jesus Christ
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4. Read John 8:1-11. How did Jesus deal with the woman caught in adultery?<br>→ In mercy and grace
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5. Did Jesus’ words and actions reflect the true nature of God? See John 3:34 .<br>→ Yes
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6. Read 1 John 4:8. According to this verse, what is the true nature of God?<br>→ Love
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7. Read Romans 5:6. God’s love was directed toward us when we were what?<br>→ Without strength; i.e., helpless and ungodly
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8. Read Romans 5:8. God loved us while we were what?<br>→ Sinners
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9. Read Romans 5:10. God loved us while we were what?<br>→ Enemies
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10. If you asked Jesus Christ to forgive you and be your Savior and Lord, trusting Jesus’ sacrifice as payment for your sin, would God show you His true nature of mercy and grace?<br>→ Yes
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