FREED SO WE CAN BE SLAVES AGAIN?

Claudia,
I hate sin and the part of me that shares in it. I do not follow the Law becaues it cannot save me; or rather, I cannot use it to save myself.
Think of it this way: I have a perfect knife set that is stainless steel and guaranteed to never go dull. I'm roasting a chicken for dinner and the chicken is left in the oven for too long. When I go to carve the chicken, my knives shred it to slivers. Even though they are perfect and guaranteed to never dullen, they are inadequate for what needs to be done. Please read the following passage with that understanding.

Romans 8:3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh;
4 so that the righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

So the righteousness of the Law is fulfilled within us, but it is not we ourselves who have earned that righteousness. That is not a liscense to sin, that is a liscense to LIVE, because where there is sin there is death. This is why we have a righteousness manifested to us that is APART from the law (Romans 3:21), because we are unable to keep all of it. It doesn't matter if you keep part of it perfectly, if you cannot keep all of it then it has condemned you.

Galaltians 2:17 But if, while we seek to be justified in Christ, we also were found to be sinners, is Christ therefore a minister of sin? Let it not be said! -- There is no liscense to sin under Paul's Gospel.
Gal 2:18 For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I confirm myself as a transgressor. -- Antinomian heretics label themselves as transgressors despite what they falsely profess. God is not mocked.
Gal 2:19 For through the Law I died to the law, that I might live to God. -- The Law condemned me, yet I have been given the opportunity for new life in Christ which is above the Law insofar that I am able to disregard it as one disregards training wheels. Therefore, I am not a lawbreaker but a law graduate.
Gal 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ, and I live; yet no longer I, but Christ lives in me. And that life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith toward the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself on my behalf. -- I do not walk in sin, even though I do not put myself under the Law, because Christ lives in me. The life which I now have, both in my existence and in my social relations, is based directly in my faith in Jesus' work of atonement, sanctification, redemption, and glorification of this broken vessel.
Gal 2:21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness is through law, then Christ died without cause. -- I rely wholly and completely on the grace of God to resurrect me, change me, and make me like Christ who was sinless. If I think I can do any of that myself by following a bunch of rules, then Christ died for nothing. Let it not be said!

There is more I could say on the proper alternative to both legalism and antinomianism, but I will stop there for now. I don't want to dominate the thread through an over-abundance of text.

Blessings,
SpyHunter

 

Antinomian means one who is lawless. Paul was the one who said they label themselves as transgressors. Basically, this means that there is a place one can walk before God that is neither legalistic nor lawless. If someone lives a sinful lifestyle, they are a sinner, plain and simple. It doesn't matter if they say, "God will forgive me." It's true that God forgives, but it's also true that we must be sincere and obedient to His Spirit.
Anyway, what Paul was saying in that verse is basically that disobedience is disobedience, plain and simple. If he were to rebuild his sinful lifestyle, then he would be a transgressor, plain and simple.
As for "liscense to live," I'm not just talking about being free from the law of sin and death --"the fact that I have sinned means I must die"-- but that the abundant and eternal life of Christ is within me, and it is because of this life of the Spirit that I overcome sin. Not through effort.
Remember Jesus' mission:
John 10:10 The thief cometh not, but that he may steal, and kill, and destroy: I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.

It's not just a life free from sin's penalty; it is surplus life, overflowing with vitality. This is the life of Christ made available to me apart from the Law. And it is why I do not put myself under the Law, otherwise I would become a slave when God has called me through adoption to be a son. Does that make more sense?

Blessings,
SpyHunter

 

spyhunter...

you say you hate sin. sin is the transgression of the law. therefore you hate to break the law of God. and in so doing you are following God's law when you dont sin (because you hate it) whether you say you are or not. right?

 

It is very disturbing when one posts extremely posts and it turns out to be the work of someone else. I believe the law calls this plagiurizing. The above is taken from EJ Waggoner's '1891 General Conference Sermons: Study # 11, Romans Chapter 7 and can be found at http://www.religiouscounterfeits.org/romans_chapter7.htm

Please show some consideration and give credit where credit is due when quoting an author of a work. Otherwise, it is considered stealing.

[ May 09, 2006, 02:56 AM: Message edited by: Bible-boy ]

 

This thread is now being closed for Moderator review due to the continued posting of copyrighted material. Claudia, please see the Do not post copyrighted material thread at the top of this forum.

 

I am re-opening this thread with the warning to you all not to post giant long direct quotations of other people's works. If it happens again the posts will be deleted without question.