Law Out—Life In!

  • Welcome to Christian Forums, a Christian Forum that recognizes that all Christians are a work in progress.

    You will need to register to be able to join in fellowship with Christians all over the world.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon and God Bless!

Netchaplain

Ordained Chaplain
Oct 12, 2011
2,240
846
113
Missouri
Faith
Christian
Country
United States
The law is neither the ground of life to the sinner (it being “taken away” - Heb 10:9—NC), nor the rule of life to the Christian (was intended only for Israel—NC): the Lord Jesus is both the one and the other—He is our life (Col 3:4), and He is our rule of life! The law can only curse and slay. The Lord Jesus is our life and righteousness. He went down into the place where the sinner lay—into the place of death and judgment; and having, by His death, entirely discharged all that was or could be against us, He became, in resurrection, the source of life and the ground of righteousness to all who believe in His name.

Having thus life and righteousness in Him, we are called to walk not merely as the law directs, but to “walk as He walked” (1Jo 2:6). It will hardly be deemed needful to assert that it is directly contrary to Christian nature and ethics to kill, commit adultery or steal. But were a Christian to shape his way according to these commands, or according to the entire Decalogue, would he yield the rare and delicate fruits which the Epistle of Ephesians sets forth?

Would the Ten Commandments ever cause a thief to give up stealing, and go to work that he might have to give? Would they ever transform a robber into a laborious and liberal man? Assuredly not. The law says, “Thou shalt not steal”: but does it say, Go and give to him that needs—Go, feed, clothe and bless your enemy—God, gladden by your benevolent feelings and your beneficent acts the heart of him who only and always seeks your harm? By no means; and yet, were I under the law as a rule, it could only curse and slay me (because the purpose of the law was to solely convict of guilt, not receive forgiveness, which came only from the priestly sacrifices—NC).

How is this, when the standard in the New Testament is so much higher? Because I am weak, and the law gives me no strength and shows me no mercy. The law demands strength from one that has none (in sin but forgiven—NC), and curses him if he cannot display it (requires being sinless, like Christ, but man is only guiltless, not sinless—NC). The Gospel gives strength to one that has none (guiltlessness in Christ—NC), and blesses him in the exhibition of it. The law proposes life as the end of obedience (if it could be perfectly obeyed, but it can’t be—NC); the Gospel gives life as the only proper ground of obedience.

If the law be indeed the rule of a believer’s life, where are we to find it presented in the New Testament? Paul evidently had no thought of it being the rule when he penned the following words: “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.” “As many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy” (Gal 6:15, 16). What “rule”? The law? No; but the “new creation.” The law speaks not a word about “new creation.”

Why does not Paul say, As many as walk according to the Ten Commandments? Is it not evident that the believer has a higher rule by which to walk? Unquestionably? The Ten Commandments , though forming, as a true Christian admits, a part of the canon of inspiration, could never be the rule of new life to one who has, through infinite grace, been recreated into the new creation—one who has received new life in the Lord Jesus Christ. “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death” (Ro 8:2 – Israel is guilty concerning the law of sin, and also concerning the law – the Gentiles are guilty only of the law of sin – which states that “the soul that sins, it shall die” - Eze 18:4, 20—NC).


—C H Mackintosh (1820-1896)







MJS devotional excerpt for Dec 1

“When the Lord Jesus has once died and risen, He is through with sin forever. He is now living in the eternal light of His Father’s face. He is our Adam, our life. We died in Him. We were raised in Him. Through our death with Him at Calvary we have escaped forever from the old Adam life. Our feelings have nothing to do with it. It was all accomplished at the Cross.

“We dare not deny God’s Word. He says we died with Christ. We can cry triumphantly, when we know: ‘I died unto sin with the Lord Jesus on the Cross, two thousand years ago! I reckon myself what the Father says I am in His Son—dead unto sin and alive unto God. Sin has no claim on me in the Lord Jesus, and cannot have dominion over me, as I yield myself to my Father in this wonderful new revelation of yielding myself to God, as one who is alive from the dead’ (Rom. 6:13). Thus will we begin to find how true and how tremendous is the deliverance that is in the Lord Jesus for us. And thus alone will we really honor the grace of God.” –William R Newell (1868-1956)
 

marks

Well-Known Member
Oct 10, 2018
33,156
21,420
113
SoCal USA
Faith
Christian
Country
United States
And when Law come in . . . Life goes out!

Much love!
 

Gottservant

Well-Known Member
Oct 19, 2022
1,816
519
113
45
Greensborough
Faith
Christian
Country
Australia
Yet some brave the Law, that a greater curse than the past, be obtained.

All in all, a very interesting read.
 
  • Like
Reactions: marks

Johann

Well-Known Member
Apr 2, 2022
8,588
4,869
113
63
Durban South Africa
Faith
Christian
Country
South Africa
Yet some brave the Law, that a greater curse than the past, be obtained.
I am surprised that the law is kicked out....

Struggling with Sin

13Did that which is good, then, become death to me? Certainly not! But in order that sin might be exposed as sin, it produced death in me through what was good, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful. 14 We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do, I do not do. But what I hate, I do.…

Rom_6:14, Rom_6:17; Psa_107:15-16, Psa_116:16-17; Isa_12:1, Isa_49:9, Isa_49:13; Mat_1:21; 1Co_15:57; 2Co_9:15, 2Co_12:9-10; Eph_5:20; Php_3:3, Php_4:6; Col_3:17; 1Pe_2:5, 1Pe_2:9
Rom_7:15-24; Gal_5:17-24
ROMANS—NOTE ON 7:13–25 If the law is not sin, is it the case that the good
law is responsible for death? Paul argues that the fault lies with sin, not with
the law. Through the law, sin is revealed in all its hideousness, and the law
is vindicated as good.

The section can be subdivided into vv. 14–17, 18–20,
and 21–25.

A long-standing debate centers on whether Paul is describing
believers or unbelievers.

Although good arguments are given by both sides,
the most widely held view—beginning especially with Augustine and
reaffirmed in the Reformation—is that Paul’s primary reference is to
believers. In support of this position:

(1) the shift to the present tense; (2)
unbelievers do not desire so intensely to keep God’s law (v. 21); (3) the
distinction between the “I” and the “flesh” (v. 18); (4) the delight in God’s
law (v. 22);

(5) deliverance from the sinful body is future (v. 24; 8:10, 11,
23);

(6) the tension between good and evil in the concluding statement in
7:25; and....

(7) the fact that Christians are already righteous in Christ but are
not yet perfected until the day of redemption. A second position, not as
widely held but supported by a number of evangelical scholars, is that Paul
is referring to unbelievers.

In support of this position: (1) the structure of
the passage (vv. 7–25 matches the life of the unregenerate previewed in v. 5,
whereas 8:1–17 fits with the life of believers identified in 7:6); (2) the Holy
Spirit is not mentioned in vv. 13–25 but is referred to 19 times in ch. 8; (3)
to say that Christians are “sold under sin” (7:14) and “captive to the law of
sin” (v. 23) stands in tension with chs. 6 and 8, which trumpet the freedom
of believers from slavery to sin;

(4) the suggestion that the present tense
does not denote present time but the spiritual state of Paul when
unconverted;

(5) the desire to keep God’s law reflects the mind-set of the
pious Jew who wanted to live a moral life (as the verses emphasize, such
people do not and cannot keep the law); and.....

(6) the section’s opening verse
(v. 13) explains how the law brought death to Paul as an unbeliever.
Advocates of both positions agree that (1) Christians still struggle with sin
through their whole lives (see Gal. 5:17; 1 John 1:8–9); and....

(2) Christians
can and should grow in sanctification throughout their lives by the power of
the Holy Spirit dwelling within them (Rom. 8:2, 4, 9, 13–14). Those who
hold to the first position usually see this passage as describing both Paul’s

own experience and the experience of Christians generally.

Although
Christians are free from the condemnation of the law, sin nonetheless
continues to dwell within, and all genuine Christians (along with Paul)
should be profoundly aware of how far they fall short of God’s absolute

standard of righteousness.

Thus Paul cries out, “Wretched man that I am!
Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (7:24). The answer follows
immediately: the one who has delivered Christians once for all (see 4:2–25;
5:2, 9) and the one who will deliver them day by day is “Jesus Christ our
Lord!” (7:25).

As in many other places in Paul’s letters, this reflects his
emphasis on both the “already” aspect of salvation (that believers have been
saved) and the “not yet” aspect (that believers will be saved ultimately and
for all eternity at the return of Christ), and that they live in the tension

between the already and the not yet.

In the section that immediately follows
(8:1–11), Paul shows that the means by which Christians are delivered daily
from the indwelling power of sin is:

(1) by walking “not according to the
flesh but according to the Spirit” (8:4); (2) by not “set[ting] their minds on
the things of the flesh, but … on the things of the Spirit” (8:5); and (3) by
the indwelling presence of “the Spirit of God [who] dwells in you” (8:9,
11).

Thoughts for Personal/Family Worship: Chapter 7

1. The law reveals to us our sin and therefore our need for Christ, the Savior of sinners (v. 7; Mark
10:17–21; John 4:16–18; Acts 2:36–37). Conviction of sin alone is not conversion to Christ. The
holy law can be like sunshine on a stagnant pond that makes it stink even worse than before (vv. 8–

13). Felix trembled but was not converted (Acts 24:25). Nevertheless, there can be no trusting in
Christ to save us if we are oblivious to the sin from which we must be saved. How has God’s law
uncovered your sin? How has it helped you to see your need of Christ?

2. If we are in Christ, the battle is not over but the victory is sure (v. 25). He has purchased our
sanctification and glorification, as well as our justification (8:1–39).

However, we cannot ignore
the experiential struggle in the Christian’s soul between what is ideal and what is actual. Godly
believers are often deeply frustrated over their lack of conformity to God’s holy commands. While
they need to be encouraged to press on in the battle, they also need to be comforted with the truth
that this is the normal experience of believers on earth. How might losing sight of this truth lead to
deep discouragement? How might it lead to hypocrisy and superficiality in the church?

J.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Gottservant

Gottservant

Well-Known Member
Oct 19, 2022
1,816
519
113
45
Greensborough
Faith
Christian
Country
Australia
Ray Comfort has a test of faith that he uses: every once in a while, he lowers his shield of faith, and looks into the chasm of unbelief - it shocks him, but it reminds him of how important his faith is.

So it is with anyone that braves the Law, it is possible to escape with a greater curse and still have faith.