Our
Life Before Christ
(As
God Was Drawing Us To Him)
Romans
7:7-25
Page
2
Romans
7:14-25,
If you're a Christian, you're in a battle-the war within. Paul describes his battle within, which we all
have going on within us.
Note:
This is now looking at verses 14-25 as they apply to
already born-again believers (don't forget, these were written
in the present tense, while verses 7-13 were written in the
past tense). What we
see here by Paul writing verses 14-25 in the present tense,
and verses 7-13 in the past, is his attempt to "kill two birds
with one stone". This
often made for confusion when reading Paul's epistles, back
at the time they were written in, and down through the Church
age to the present.
Romans
7:14-25, For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal,
sold under sin. For
that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that I do not;
but what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would not, I consent
unto the law that it is good.
Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth
in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,)
dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but
how to perform that which is good I find not.
For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which
I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more
I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil
is present with me. For
I delight in the law of God after the inward man: but I see
another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind,
and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is
in my members. O wretched
man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
I thank God through Jesus Christ out Lord.
So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God;
but with the flesh the law of sin."
The Bible says there is still a
war going on within Christians.
Every Christian has this struggle, the Bible says all
Christians have this struggle.
You will see that this passage is written in the present
tense, as Dr. Michael Brown will show in the appendix of his
book "Go and Sin No More" covering Romans 7. Romans 7:7-13 was all written in the past tense.
As I showed, the major interpretation for this whole
section in Romans 7:7-25 does deal with and shows a person
who is in the process of being drawn to Jesus and seeing himself
in the light of God's Word, perhaps for the very first time. But some feel, and justifiably, that verses
14-25 also show
the struggle that goes on within all of us as Christians,
as we learn to walk in the Spirit.
So now we'll look at these verses in that particular
light of interpretation.
If we as Christians didn't have this struggle, we'd
be dead spiritually speaking, dead to God, dead in our sins.
Remember Ephesians 2:1-3 describes our past life.
It says, "As for you, you were dead in your transgressions
and sins, in which you used to love when you followed the
ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the
air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.
All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying
the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires
and thoughts" (NIV). But
now you've come alive by the grace of Christ.
You don't belong to that old world anymore and that
old master. You don't have to do what he would like you
to do anymore, because you have a new nature (this was shown
in Romans 6 and will really be expounded upon in Romans 8).
You are a new creature in Christ, a new creation in
Christ. So if you really are struggling with one of
the biggies, say-alcohol, wrong thoughts or an impure relationship
or you're struggling with your sexuality, or maybe it's the
job you're in that maybe you shouldn't be in-but you're in
this struggle. Praise
God! You've got this
struggle because you are born-again, the Holy Spirit does reside in you-Jesus is in you! This struggle is a direct sign that you are
in Christ. Why? Because "dead people" (i.e. people who are spiritually
dead, dead in their sins, walking, running in the way of the
world) don't have spiritual struggles like this.
They just go along with the flow, "whatever feels good,
man." They don't understand because they don't have
a new nature. (But,
as we saw before, those that are being drawn to Jesus do have
this struggle, in spades, big time, as they are developing
a rudimentary knowledge of God's Word, and seeing what they're
like in God's spiritual mirror [his law]. They may not have yet given their lives to Jesus
and are not indwelt by the Holy Spirit, but the Holy Spirit
is working with them to draw them to Jesus and show them all
these things.) The Bible tells us we have this war inside of
us because we are new creatures, but we're still in old bodies. When you came to Christ you became a new man
or a new woman in Christ.Our bodies still have this principle
of sin that's within us.
What I called this 'spirit-of-man' or 'spirit-in-man' that
is tuned to Satan's wavelength, the very human spirit that
God grants each person his or her human intellect and ability
to think far beyond the most intelligent animals. I.e. what dolphin has created skyscrapers, jet
planes, understands astrophysics, astronomy, the arts, etc.? This is not a nature of sin within us like we
had before we accepted Christ-that died, as Romans 6 showed
us. Romans 6 says that the "old man" died, so we
don't have two natures, we don't have an old nature and a
new nature. But we still have residual effects-the Bible
calls it the flesh, that's still in us.
And this leads to civil war.
Look at this conflict he points out in Romans
7:14, "For we know the law is spiritual, but I am of"-what?-"flesh, sold into bondage of sin." [Now this is where this verse applies more to
those being drawn to Jesus, before they actually accept him. Paul was not in bondage to sin, a slave to sin,
after his conversion, and neither are we.
But we are in a war.] Verse 15, "I do not
understand what I do. For
what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do."
He wants to do right. We've been changed, we see things the way God
sees them [and so do those being drawn to Jesus that are not
yet fully indwelt with the Holy Spirit-they're starting to
see things the way God sees them-but they're really powerless
to change what they see in themselves.] Verse
17, "As it is, it is no longer myself who do it, but is the
sin living in me." So now, if you're a Christian you don't want
to do what's wrong, your new nature doesn't want to sin. "So
now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which indwells
me."
See, he's saying 'It's not the new me that's been born-again,
it's sin in me, it's sin that's still living in me like some
creep in my body. He's the one doing it, it's the principle of
sin. Verse
18, "I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my
flesh. For I have the desire to do what is good, but
I cannot carry it out." Verse
20, "But if I'm doing the very thing I don't want to do, then,'
he says, 'that's just proof that I'm no longer the one doing
it, but sin which indwells me.'" What
he's trying to say is 'Get off this trip that you "are" addicted
to something, that you "have to" do something.
He's saying 'You don't.'
There's sin in you that wants to.
Remember that pager analogy in Romans 6, "the flesh"?
The explanation that Satan's broadcast is on the wavelength
of our human spirit-the "spirit in man"?
That's the flesh "signal" that's in conflict with your
new nature. But when you were born-again, something radical
happened to you, when you accepted Christ. "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation."
The Bible says that there is "the flesh" left here
after we accept Christ, and because the flesh is there playing
tug-of-war with us (via Satan's wavelength, evil broadcast,
our "pager"-"cell-phone" buzzing our number), there's a civil
war going on inside of us.
Galatians 5:17 also talks about this same war going
on in Christian's lives. "For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit and
the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary to one
another: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would" (King
James). Amplified: "For the desires of the flesh are
opposed to the (Holy) Spirit, and the [desires of the] Spirit
are opposed to the flesh (Godless human nature): for these
are antagonistic to each other-continually withstanding and
in conflict with each other-so that you are not free but are prevented from doing what you
desire to do." Living
New Testament: "For we naturally have to do evil things that
are just the opposite from the things that the Holy Spirit
tells us to do: and the good things we want to do when the
Spirit has His way with us are just the opposite of our natural
desires. These two
forces within us are constantly fighting each other to win
control over us and our wishes are never free from their pressures."
We shouldn't be discouraged by this pressure.
We don't have to walk in the flesh anymore, we can
chose to walk in the Spirit, we can chose
where
we want to hang out. You
can hang out in the flesh, and it's works, which are described
in Galatians 5:19-21, or you can hang out in the Spirit, described
a few verses further, in verses 22-23. The enemy on his wavelength can "page" you with
any one of the things listed in verses 19-21. "Outburst of anger", for example, does that
happen? Yes! When it does, take a meditative time out and
realize someone's dialed your "pager number."
It's natural for our flesh to act up just before we're
going to do something that has to do with the Lord, church,
Bible study, prayer-time, to try to bum us out.
Remember, there's an "outside source" to that, there's
a battle going on, a war we're in.
What Happens When We Give In
To Sin?
When you give in to the "pager" signal, let's say the
fleshly "cell-phone" rings and you pick it up and answer instead
of just letting it ring until it stops (you can't turn it
off like a normal cell-phone)-you just let the flesh win,
you just fell for the oldest ploy on earth.
You should get yourself to church, start that Bible
study time, prayer-time, no matter how bad Satan's worldly
signal has effected you, and let the Holy Spirit minister
to your hearts. There
are a few more kinds of signals that this fleshly cell-phone
caller can deliver through our human spirits, they are listed
in Galatians 5:19-21. Let's
look at a few. "Disputes, dissentions and factions"-those
are nice "Christian sins", these are church board sins,
or if your church votes, those you have had at business meetings.
Right? "Envyings, drunkenness". If you were an alcoholic, do you ever get that
real strong urge, say the day's going all wrong for you, and
this real strong urge keeps coming at you "I've got to have
a drink"? That's an outside signal coming in through your
human spirit, the spirit-in-man.
That cell-phone is ringing, with that particular text
message coming across the screen into your mind.
Do you ignore the signal, the message?
You have power in Christ to chose not to answer the
signal, ignore it till it goes away.
At the end Paul says, "those who practice such things
will not inherit the kingdom of God." If that's your lifestyle, what makes you think
you're a Christian, or if you're one who has repeatedly given
in to sin so it becomes habitual, what makes you think you'll
inherit the kingdom of God?
That's what Paul is saying. We have the ability to chose right from wrong,
where those who are still in the world, not born-again, do
not have that power. We
should be praying "God give me a hatred for that sin", whatever
sin seems to be your weakest link in the chain.
"God, give me a love for the things you love."
So, in taking this passage (verses 14-25) in the present
tense, to apply to us now, would indicate that even though
the "old man" is dead, the old sin nature is dead in us, the
flesh still wars against the Spirit in us and causes us trouble.
Thus we still struggle with being drawn to sin.
It is our response that counts.
We still have Satan's (and by extension, the demonic
world's) signal coming into us via the human spirit we each
have. How many of you
have thought, "If I really were a Christian, I wouldn't have
these strong rotten desires coming into my mind?"
Even after the new birth, even after we've been given
the new nature-the flesh remains and the flesh never gets
better. Of course it
doesn't, it's a receiver to Satan's evil broadcasts. That's why your flesh doesn't reform. But we need to understand, that with this new
nature, we don't have to follow what that incoming message
tells us to do, we don't have to sin anymore!
Christians shouldn't say "I can't stop doing this"
when it comes to walking away from sin.
We need to learn to use our "chosers".
We can chose to say no to sin and the broadcast message
of sin.
These verses (14-25) not only explain the struggle
a new believer has who has not yet accepted Christ-as he is
trying on his or her own to measure up-it is also a picture
of the struggle we can have with sin, especially if we have
become bound in a sin. Michael Brown gets into this in his incredible
book "Go
and Sin No More." But let's see how we can become
bound in a sin. When
a sinful thought enters your mind, that is not wrong in itself.
As we have seen, most of the time it comes from an
outside source. The world, past residual thoughts from our old
dead nature (which is dead now)-and most importantly, Satan's
(and the demonic realm's) evil broadcast have the ability
to enter into our minds at any time.
But after a sinful thought enters your mind, you have
a choice-to chose to throw it out, immediately, or let it
remain. One remaining
evil thought, not put out of our minds will then multiply
to many, or increase in intensity as it remains.
This then leads to sinful action once the thought gets
strong enough. James
describes the process in James 1:13-15. Let's read it. "When tempted, no one should say, 'God is tempting
me.' [no, it's like
I said, it's more than likely Satan's evil broadcast, or the
world in it's sex-crazed insanity, blasting its way into all
our senses at every turn, but it's not God, that's for sure.]
For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt
anyone; but each one
is tempted when by his own evil desire, [step1: the evil thought
enters, and is not put out right away], he is dragged away
and enticed [step 2: the thought multiplies to many thoughts,
or intensifies]. Then [step 3], after desire has conceived, it
gives birth to sin [the sinful action]; [step 4] and sin,
when it is full-grown, gives birth to death" (NIV).
Now this is really interesting.
The process of leavening is almost identical. This whole four-step process, which in leavening
is actually about seven steps, but it's identical, describes
the sin process. We
can see it happening in our society now, as it slowly kills
itself, as sin is becoming universal. Rome fell from within, as it's sexual sins became
universal. 80 empires
have all collapsed in similar fashion over the millennia of
time man has been on earth.
To read about the decaying process of leavening and
how it pictures this four step process James just described,
log onto http://www.unityinchrist.com/messianicmovement/leaven.htm
. It describes what
can happen to a believer, bound in his or her sin.
In the end, it may actually spell spiritual death.
In Proverbs, Solomon said that a repeated sin can bind
us with invisible cords, which become so strong that a person
can't escape. But the Lord can cut these cords. Be cautioned though, as a sin is repeated, the
Christian conscience is seared, so that particular sin (and
sin in general) becomes easier and easier to commit.
These are those binding cords that Solomon talked about
in Proverbs. The struggle
to come out of a sin we have become bound in is very aptly
described by verses 14-25 of Romans 7.
At the very end of Romans 7 Paul uses a very gross
description of a type of death that comes when sin has done
it's work, just like the leavening process does if left to
continue. Be sure to log onto that study on the leavening
process-it's a real wake-up call to come out of habitual sins,
before it is too late. When
this passage is taken in the light of referring to a person
who is being drawn to Jesus, this person realizes that if
he is not saved by Jesus and given the Holy Spirit, he's going
to die spiritually, he can't save himself. For a person who is a believer, it's a very
strong warning to call for help, calling to Jesus to cut the
cords, and then start walking in the Spirit daily, re-cutting
those cords of sin as they attempt to re-bind themselves around
him or her.
Wrapping it up
In Romans 7:24 Paul says "Wretched
man that I am, who will deliver me from the body of this death." Now that bolded phrase may go over your heads.
Research into Roman forms of execution reveals that
they had a way of executing a person who committed murder
that was worse than all the other forms of execution they
used. It perfectly describes death from sin reaching
a universal level in a person-it describes the leavening process
carried to its very end. The
Roman judge would order that the murderer, while he was yet
alive, would be tied to the dead body of the person he had
murdered-hand to hand, mouth to mouth, neck to neck, chest
to chest, leg to leg. The
only way you could walk around was with this dead body tied
onto you. And they'd leave it on there until you died.
It would start to decay and putrifiy. And then it would start to infect you, and then
you would die a slow, stinky, horrible, gross death. What a picture of the final stage of leavening
in person's life. And
Paul uses the leavening process to describe the sexual sin
of a person in the Corinthian church.
When we get into Romans 8 we'll see the solution for
the sin problem for both the person who is in the process
of coming to accept Jesus and now realizes where sin is leading
them, helpless to do anything about it-and also for the believer
who may find himself or herself bound in a sin, in desperate
need of spiritual revival. Paul gives the answer in Romans 7:25, which
is a perfect introduction to Romans 8.
"Who will rescue me from the body of this death?"
(verse 24b) "Thanks
be to God-through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (verse 25a).
Now we will see something very interesting in the last
half of verse 25. "So then
with the mind I myself serve the law of God;"-i.e.
here we see Paul saying he serves the law of God. A study through the entire New Testament will
reveal that 9 of the 10 Commandments are re-commanded for
believers keep, and often expanded to include their loftier
spiritual intent, as Jesus did when he expounded on a number
of the Ten Commandments in Matthew 5:17-48. The law of God-as some teach-isn't done away
with in the New Testament.
But as we have seen, the very purpose of the law of
God has changed, it is to be used as our spiritual mirror,
defining sin and showing where this spiritual dirt is on us,
so we can wash it off by
and through Jesus Christ within us-the Holy Spirit-the water. (Don't confuse the term "law of sin" with the
"law of God". They're
not the same, even as this verse indicates.
The "law of sin" refers to the flesh, our fleshly "pager"-"cell
phone". Next and last part of verse 25, Paul reaffirms
that the flesh remains in us. "So then with the mind I myself
serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law
of sin." The law is meant to drive us to
Christ, drive us to the spiritual Holy "water" in front of
God's spiritual mirror of the law.
We're in a war, brothers and sisters in Christ, Messiah. Next chapter, we'll learn about how to fight
the good fight with power, real power-the power of God, Christ
in us. Remember, just because some of these wild mustang
thoughts come into your mind-don't blame yourself for them-but
put them out. Could
be the flesh or some "imp" just injected it, and you don't
have to accept it.
Comments
about what some teach
Now for some comments about what
some teach. I will
give statements from what some teach, and then comment on
those statements.
"But the law asks of us impossibilities." "Living under the law doesn't work, because
being under the law does not break sin's hold on you, it actually
gives sin a hold on your life." Yes, for those
who are in the midst of being called and drawn to Jesus, those
who are not yet indwelt by the Holy Spirit this can be the
case. That is what drives those in this process to
call out to Christ for salvation.
But Romans 8:7-9 shows that the difference between
being indwelt and not indwelt with the Holy Spirit determines
what effect God's law is going to have on a person.
The hostility of normal carnal man is directed both
toward God and his law with equal animosity. But for the believer, a deep love and reverence
extends back to God and all things related to God, including
the royal law-no matter which version of that royal law the
believer chooses to have the Lord write upon his heart and
in his mind (cf. Jeremiah 31:31-33; Hebrews 8:6-13).
King David, a devout believer
in the Old Testament whose writings are a valued part of the
Word of God wrote loving praise for God's law.
He never called God's law bad.
He never saw himself or believers as being under bondage
to the law and never referred to the law of God as a bondage.
This is what a believer, a Holy Spirit indwelt and
led person had to say about God's law.
Psalm 119:1-8, "Blessed are the undefiled in the way,
who walk in the law of the Lord! Blessed are those who keep His testimonies,
who seek Him with the whole heart!
They also do no iniquity: they walk in His ways.
You have commanded us to keep Your precepts diligently. Oh, that my ways were directed to keep Your
statutes! Then I would
not be ashamed, when I look into all Your commandments.
I will praise You with uprightness of heart, when I
learn Your righteous judgments.
I will keep Your statutes; oh, do not forsake me utterly!"
Verses 33-35, "Teach me, O Lord, the way of Your statutes,
and I shall keep it to the end.
Give me understanding, and I shall keep Your law; indeed,
I shall observe it with my whole heart. Make me walk in the path of Your commandments,
for I delight in it." Take
the time to read the whole of Psalm 119.
Take a Strong's Concordance and look up the word "law"
and see everywhere it is listed in Psalms and read those Psalms. David was a born-again believer in the Old Testament.
He was living in and obeying the Old Testament version
of God's law found in Exodus, Leviticus and Deuteronomy. He was also living the spiritual intent or magnification
of the law Jesus gave in Matthew 5:17-48. The law is not some evil thing. It is a mirror that reveals sin. It is not a thing of bondage. Sin is what binds people. The law has no power to help a person to obey,
it's inanimate. It
is God in you, through the Holy Spirit that makes obedience
possible. When David sinned badly, he cried out to God
in Psalm 51 imploring God to not take his Holy Spirit from
him, but instead to cleanse him, wash him clean.
What is sin? The
apostle John in his first epistle defined sin, basically giving
the Bible definition of sin. It's quite simple and yet revealing. Most of the very grace oriented churches and
denominations avoid this verse like the plague because they
might feel forced to change their teaching about the law of
God if this passage were to be clearly understood by all.
We're not dead to the law, but dead to the Old Covenant
agreement which stated we had to keep the law of God all on our own. We're dead,
as Harpers Bible commentary brings out, to the penalty of the law. As we saw in Romans 7:7-14, the very purpose
of the law changed, from that of being in a husband relationship
with the person, to that of being a spiritual mirror.
Now let's read the Bible's definition for sin. 1st John 3:4, "Whoever committeth
sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression
of the law" (King James Version).
Taking the thee's and thou's out it reads, "Whoever
commits sin transgresses also the law: for sin is the transgression
of the law." The word
"the" is not in the original Greek.
But using it is not wrong nor does it alter the Bible's
definition of sin in this verse, for the "law" John is talking
about throughout his whole letter is the "law of God."
So let's read Romans 6:14 using John's definition (really,
the Bible's definition) for sin-"But the transgression of the law shall not be master over you anymore."
I.e You won't be slaves to sin, slaves to transgression
of the law-one and the same thing. The word "sin" and "transgression of God's law"
are really two sides to the same coin, so to speak. It is transgression of the law that is being
talked about here, and that we have already secured a release
from slavery to sin, the slavery of being transgressors of
God's law. We have secured this release by the very power
and presence of Jesus living within us (via the Holy Spirit). That's what Romans 6 was all about. Most people who live under a flawed understanding
of what grace is, skirting around the word "law" and "God's
law" are still living a life of power and release from sin,
even though their explanation of Romans 7 tends to flip and
flop around a bit, and so is somewhat in error.
The power and presence of Jesus is not hampered by
this misunderstanding as long as there is a sincere desire
on the part of the believer to come out of sin and live a
holy life in the Lord. But
some are genuinely led astray by this ambiguous way of explaining
Romans 7 and slamming the law of God.
It's time for clear teaching on this subject, presenting
it in a way both the Grace oriented churches and denominations
and the Torah-observant ones can both accept. That is what I am attempting to do here.
Just two points for our Torah-observant groups to consider,
that the grace oriented churches tend to notice about them.
1. They tend to be performance
oriented. If this is being driven by the
Lord who dwells within them via the Holy Spirit, that's fine. But be aware that this could be a symptom of
trying to obey all by oneself, in a Pharisaic manner. Just something to consider. Something we should always remember, is that
your value is not based on what you've done at all, or what
you didn't do at all. Your
value as a Christian or Messianic believer in Yeshua is based
on Jesus Christ, and your relation to the Son of God.
You are perfect in Christ all of the time.
Now this is where many fellowships disagree to varying
degrees. Yes, theologically,
we are perfect in Christ all of the time. Christ's sacrifice covers our sins like the
white new fallen snow covers a bleak landscape in winter,
making it sparkle an unspeakable brilliant white in the winter
sunshine. At night the moonlight reflects off this whiteness
shedding an incredible light on the landscape. But on the other hand, we all have sin in our
lives, and must be about the sanctification process (be sure
to read 1st John 1:8-10; 2:1-2; 3:6,8-10), which
consists of looking into God's spiritual mirror, and then
turning on the water (Christ within us via the Holy Spirit),
and overcoming and washing off what we see in the mirror of
God's law. The Christian life is a life of overcoming,
as Paul points out in the very next chapter in Romans 8:13b. So you see, there's a balance. If our spiritual performance is being driven
by Christ in us, as we look into the "royal law, and not being
forgetful hearers of the Word", then there's nothing wrong
with being performance driven.
Now for
another trait found in some if not many of the Torah-observant
churches and denominations.
This is given in love, and in no way is intended to
slam those fellowships. But there are those within them that have this
trait. Legalist's (who
tend to be found more in the Torah-observant fellowships,
but their presence exist everywhere, in all fellowships) are
critical and judgmental towards other people. Many Torah-observant fellowships, Messianic
Jewish and Sabbatarian Christian, gain the unsavory name of
"Legalists" due to the judgmental and critical attitudes toward
others that some of their members, and yes, even pastors have
toward others, both within and outside of their own fellowships.
Legalists spend more time judging whether others are
following God's law, whether that be the New Testament law
of Christ or the Old Testament Ten Commandment law of God,
than they do judging themselves by that law.
They ought to be looking into the royal law of liberty
themselves and using Christ within them, becoming properly
sanctified through the washing of the Word by and through
the help of the Holy Spirit. This does not mean all who attend Torah-observant
churches or synagogues (Messianic Jewish that is) are judgmental
towards others, because they're not.
They have simply chosen the Old Testament version of
God's law (coupled to the spiritual intent of the law given
by Jesus in Matthew 5 and elsewhere in the New Testament)
to use as their spiritual mirror. Paul pointed out that they have the right to
do this in Romans 14-it's a matter of freedom to follow ones
personal Christian conscience.
Both Gentile Christians and Torah-observant Messianic
Jewish or Sabbatarian groups have the right to chose either
the law of Christ (basically nine of the Ten Commandments,
as amplified by Christ in Matthew 5 and throughout the New
Testament), or the Ten Commandment Old Testament law of God
(which also includes the Sabbath command and the Holy Days
listed in Leviticus 23). It
is high time that all these fellowships on both sides of this
doctrinal fence stopped throwing rocks and bottles at each
other, like some intoxicated Irish youths do in South Boston.
It's totally childish and goes directly against spiritual
unity in the body of Christ.
One more comment, and this one's a beauty.
A pastor in one of these grace oriented churches made
the statement "The law makes you a slave, and you serve out of fear.Choose
who you're going to serve.
Are you going to be a slave or a son?"
And this one's a beauty too.
"The law isn't for Christians." Now
to me, I have never seen the Bible use the analogy that we're
slaves to God's law. The Bible shows that we're either slaves to Christ or slaves to sin, but
never slaves to the law. In Romans
8:7-8 Paul said, "Because the carnal mind is enmity
against God; for it is not subject to the law of God,
nor indeed can be.
So then,
those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit,
if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you." Romans
8:13 states, "For if you live according to the flesh you will
die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will
live." According to Paul, we're no longer
in a state of enmity against either God or his law. The carnal, unconverted person can never be
subject to God's law, not willingly.
It goes against the sin nature we talked about in Romans
6. But that sin nature has been made inoperative,
rendered powerless upon accepting Christ into our lives. We are no longer hostile to either God or his
law. But we do use
the law properly, coupled to the Divine grace, power and leading
within us by the Holy Spirit.
We're told by Paul to put to death the deeds of the
body-sin-by the Spirit. Or
to look at the flip-side definition for sin-we're told to
put to death the deeds of the body-transgressions of God's
law-by the Spirit." Does that sound like the law of God has no place
in a Christian's life? So
to slam the law of God and the believer who is trying to use
it properly as a spiritual mirror is not biblically correct
or wise. It's time
to correct our doctrines and check our bad attitudes toward
each other at the door of the combined Church of God whom
God has united already through his Holy Spirit.
We need to be mindful of what we see in God's spiritual
mirror. The practical application of the law of God
is brought out throughout the book of Proverbs-'What do I
do in this situation?, to avoid this powerful spiritual minefield,
to avoid sexual sin?-Proverbs 5, 6 and 7.
Also the entire spiritual application and magnification
of God's Old Testament law is found throughout the New Testament.
Believers can and do get entrapped by sin, and it is
often the law of God, coupled to promptings by the Holy Spirit
which help point this out to the believer, showing him or
her their real need to draw close to Christ, the true water
source, and wash the dirt off in and through Christ. It's not a legalistic trip. New believers, having just come to Christ,
often have many sinful habits of the world hanging onto them. Study of God's Word, including God's law, whether
Old Testament version or the New Testament law of Christ,
helps show the new believer where the dirt is, and he or she
with the empowering help of Jesus within, overcomes whatever
sinful dirt is discovered, it gets "washed off."
That ain't legalism, brother, that's overcoming in
the Lord, that's what theologians call "sanctification", which
leads to true holiness.
Another misinterpreted Scripture is Matthew 5:17-19,
which states, "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law
or the Prophets. I
did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and
earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass
from the law till all is fulfilled."
Many grace oriented churches teach that Jesus fulfilled
all the law and so we're no longer held to its specific standards.
But they stop their quote of this passage at the words
"I did not come to destroy but to fulfill."
Taken in context with the rest of the passage, the
meaning changes radically, where Jesus continues to say "For
assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will
by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled."
Now ask yourself, when does the book of Revelation tell us that the heavens and the earth will
melt with great heat and pass away, and a new heavens and
earth will be created? Isn't
it at the very end of the plan of salvation for mankind?
The lake of fire is finished, the heavens and earth
are melted down in great heat and then recreated.
All who have been transformed into their glorious spirit
bodies, having obtained eternal life are no longer in need
of God's written code of law, it's been ingrained into their
whole lifestyle and way of being.
The resurrected and immortal saints at this point are
on the same page as God the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy
Spirit. No need for
a written code. It's
already been written upon our hearts and in our minds. And for those who think God's written law is
merely inanimate as I stated before-an inanimate mirror-not
quite so. Coupled to the Holy Spirit of God, the law and
the whole printed Word of God come alive within the mind of
the believer, as they read it.
That's why it's called the Living Word of God, because
Jesus, Yeshua within us makes it come alive in our minds.
That is the new covenant operating within us.
[Even unsaved Jews who revere God's Word in the Old
Testament understand this. The Scribes who copy the Torah for use in the
synagogues have this very fancy caligraphy form for their
Hebrew writing of the scrolls which has the appearance of
flames coming off the letters. This symbolizes that it is the Living Word of
God, God-breathed, and thus flaming.
This pictures for us how the flaming Holy Spirit of
God makes his very Word come alive in the minds of born-again
believers. Just thought you might find that interesting.]
For Sabbatarian believers and our
Messianic believers in Yeshua (and also for those who may
find this interesting), here are some interesting facts about
the Days of Unleavened Bread and their symbolic meaning, and
also the new significance they took on at the time of the
death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, Yeshua haMeshiach. Here goes (these are quotes taken from a Sabbatarian Church of God publication). My comments in [ ] brackets.
"These Days of Unleavened Bread marked a turning
point in the way the spring festival was to be celebrated
down through the ages" [at first by the early Church of God
up until 325AD, and then by the Sabbatarian Churches of God
from then onward].
"The
truly great story about the Days of Unleavened Bread is the
story of the resurrected Christ living His life in those of
us who have truly repented of living in sin and have received
the Holy Spirit! This empowers us to overcome sins in a way that
previously [to our being born-again] was simply not possible. Yes, the Feast of Unleavened Bread is a festival
that helps us to focus on replacing sin with righteousness
[called the "process of sanctification" by theologians].
But the only real way to put sin out of our lives is
to put Jesus Christ into our lives!
We are promised that we can truly put sin out of our
lives because Jesus Christ lives within us (compare Galatians
2:20; Romans 7:23-8:4)."
"Paul
tells us in Romans 13:12 that we are to 'Put aside the deeds
of darkness and put on the armour of light' (NIV).
He then lists the 'deeds of darkness' as sins such
as revelry, drunkenness, lewdness, lust, strife and envy.
Then in verse 14 he shows the way to conquer such sins:
by being clothed 'with the Lord Jesus Christ' (NIV)."
"In
our struggles against sin, not only during the Days of Unleavened
Bread but throughout the entirety of our lives, we can choose
to fight on our own strength or we can surrender our will
to God and rely on the power of the risen Christ who lives
his life in us through the.Holy Spirit. With this kind of power working against our
sins, the very "power of His resurrection" (Philippians 3:10),
we can say with Paul, 'I can do all things through Christ
who strengthens me' (4:13).
"Yes,
Paul reminded Christians to 'work out your own salvation with
fear and trembling' (Philippians 2:12).
Yet he was in no way preaching a works-based salvation,
for in verse 13 he explains that 'it is God who works in you
both to will [that is, to have the desire to overcome] and
to do [to act on that desire] for His good pleasure.'"
"It
is the resurrection of Christ [which occurred right smack
in the middle of the Days of Unleavened Bread], and His living
in Christians to empower them to remove the leaven of sin
from their lives, that gives these spring festivals-Passover,
the Festival of Unleavened Bread and Pentecost-such deep and
lasting meaning."
[March/April number of The Good News, pp. 18-19 © 2006, United Church of God,
an International Association.]
To access the study on the leavening
process and how it pictures the destructive process of sin,
which ends in spiritual death if allowed to proceed (i.e.
habitual sins) log onto http://www.unityinchrist.com/messianicmovement/leaven.htm
. The the significance
the early Church of God in Jerusalem attributed to the Days
of Unleavened Bread was the picturing of how Jesus, Yeshua
within them was helping them live "unleavened lives", lives
free from habitual sin, following the sanctification process.
The Sabbatarian Churches of God still teach the significance
of what those days pictured, as seen in the above quote.
Messianic Jewish believers also understand these rich
Biblical images pictured by God's Holy Days of the Old Testament.
While most of us do not practice these customs and
days of worship, we ought to be aware of their deep spiritual
significance, and how they relate to our walk in Christ, and
picture the plan of salvation and sanctification through Christ. We can only be spiritually richer for doing
so.
Now I'm going to give Dr. Michael
Brown's Appendix to Romans 7, found in his book "Go
and Sin No More". It will
reveal the two most prominent interpretations for Romans 7. You will see why I chose to interpret Romans
7 as I have, and for good reason.
He's a Th.D. (has his doctorate in theology), and I'm
just a country bumkin by comparison, so I try not to just
write these things without going to a few experts in this
field. I highly recommend
his book "Go and Sin No More" for
those who wish to pursue the process of sanctification and
true biblical holiness. I
try to read it through at least once a year.
[The following is a direct quote
of the first appendix in Dr. Michael Brown's book "Go and Sin No
More". It is the entire appendix, titled "WHAT ABOUT
ROMANS 7?". I include
it in its entirety because of the accuracy and relevancy of
the material covering the proper interpretation of Romans
7. I include several
tiny comments in red brackets.]
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