PART FOUR: SPIRIT OF THE LAW

　

We cannot obey god in our flesh--we need to do it in the spirit. It is beyond just loving each other. It is more than just the presence of God. The presence of God does not always bring the knowledge of God.

Romans 8:2 The law of the spirit in Christ Jesus sets us free from the law of sin and death. When we walk free from the transgression of the law we are free. We accomplish this through the spirit--not by the power of the flesh. The flesh is at enmity from God. We are saved by grace and faith in the blood sacrifice of the Lord and in Deut 4:13 we see God’s covenant is the ten commandments. The new covenant writes the 10 commandments on our hearts to enable us to walk in them. Israel said no to this at Sinai when they told Moses to go talk with God. They refused to let God write it on their hearts at that time.

If we are running to and fro to get a word from a prophet we are missing out on our personal walk with the Lord. Those who abide in Christ walk as he walked--not those who get a word. 1 John 2:3-6 says if we know the Lord we walk in His commandments. If we don’t walk this way it says we are liars. If we abide by His commandments we will be walking as Christ walked. If we stumble and sin we have an advocate with the Father, we repent sincerely, and move forward. 1 John 2:2

1 John 3:2-3 We are being changed into His image--becoming like Jesus as we walk out His commandments. There is a generation that will not see death--when He appears! Just as Adam perished from his original state when he sinned we will be changed back to Adam’s original sinless state when Jesus appears. In this day the lion will sit down with the lamb. For now, God is showing us what to do in this time--wait on him--don’t just react. As we enter into this state of being we are becoming purified. This is the changing from glory to glory. Walking like Him is purifying.

In John 16:7-8 we see the Holy Spirit comes to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. The judgment of man is for our benefit. Psalm 94:12-13 In the final judgment day, however, there will be rewards.1 Cor 3:11-15


We can be saved but lose our rewards.

Sin, then, is the transgression of the law. If we abide in Christ we are not practicing sin. We can repent and move on if we slip--but we should not be practicing sin. 1 John 1:4-8 If we are abiding in Him we are not walking in sin. He who practices sin is not abiding--that person does not really know the Lord. If we are walking in sin we are in bondage. Repenting is returning to Torah. Torah means instruction. God’s commandments instruct us how to live.

1 John 2:29 says he who practices righteousness is born of God. This is not just confession--but practicing righteousness. 1 John 3:7 We are to practice righteousness just as He is righteous. Many have a nice confession but do not practice righteousness. You shall know them by their fruits. Verse 8 says practicing sin is of the devil--that’s what it says!

Those who say, “don’t worry about how you walk--it’s OK we have Jesus we are not under the law“--are leading God’s people astray. That is taking a truth and perverting it--twisting it. Yes we have Jesus--but we are to walk as He walked.

In 2 Timothy 3:16 we see all scripture is inspired and useful for instruction in righteousness. When this was written there was no New Testament. Paul was talking about the law and the prophets. This is were we receive instruction on how we are to walk out our salvation. The New Testament is commentary on the Old Testament.

 
RIGHTEOUSNESS IS AN ACTIONAll the commandments are righteousness--this is God’s definition not mine. Psalm 119:172 All the commandments of God are righteousness--this is God’s definition. The covenant of God is the ten commandments--these are a picture of God’s righteousness. We are created in His image--He doesn’t lie--if we lie we are not walking like Him. The commandments (law) do not empower us to walk like Him--it is the spirit that empowers us. The children of Israel were not able to do it because they rejected the empowerment of the Holy Spirit at Sinai.

So we see that the commandments of God are righteousness. We are to walk in this and let it manifest itself in our lives. Get this and we can walk free in grace by faith--reflecting the commandments and righteousness in our lives.

God lives by the commandments--He doesn’t lie, cheat, steal, covet, bear false witness, etc. He doesn’t expect us to either!


Deut 6:4-9 says we are to love God first. When we love him we walk out His commandments. In Deut 6:24-25 we see that the commandments of God are for our good--not for our salvation. It is how we are supposed to live after we are saved. Surviving the difficult days ahead will be determined by our obeying God. It is not the doing of the commandments that makes us righteous, it is the doing of them that manifests the righteousness we have received in Him. Our works are not our righteousness--Jesus is. Our walking righteously is the manifestation of His life in us. His righteousness becomes ours.

In Deut 28 we see that when we walk in God’s commandments the blessing overtakes us. Disobedience brings the curse--unsettledness in our lives. Abraham believed God and it was accounted as righteousness to him. Abraham then practiced righteousness in his walk with God by obeying God’s commandments.


UNDERSTANDING PAUL’S EPISTLESOnce we understand righteousness then Paul’s epistles become understandable when he talks about the law. Romans 5:17-21 tells us righteousness is a gift from God. We are justified by what Jesus did to undo what Adam did when he sinned and fell from grace. The sufferings of Jesus are not just the cross--he had to crucify sin in His flesh. Jesus never gave in to his flesh. He was like us but without sin. This is the suffering we share with Him--our resistance to sin working in our flesh. Jesus was tempted like us but He said no--He walked out the commandments of God in His life.

Jesus was a man like us and showed us how to walk. The law exposes sin--it shows us we need Jesus and the grace He provides. Grace reigns through righteousness. Righteousness, we saw, is the commandments of God. Psalm 119:172

Jesus sets us free from the curse of the law--we still need to obey the commandments. If our heart is truly after God we are totally free. Romans 6:1-9 Jesus did not practice sin--He obeyed God’s commandments. He showed us how we are to walk. Romans 6:10-13 tells us the abundant life is a yielded life--yielded to righteousness--don’t allow the transgression of the law (sin) to reign in your body.

In Romans 6:14-23 Paul tells us we don’t walk in sin because the dominion of the law has been broken in Christ. We become servants of whatever we yield ourselves to. If you smoke cigarettes you are in bondage to them. We are under grace which saves us and then enables us to walk in righteousness. We may struggle, but we can be freed from the bondage. We are exhorted to be the servant of righteousness. This is how we begin to bear fruit in our lives. We become slaves to righteousness (God’s commands) and become free from sin. This is holiness (verse 19).


THE MYSTERY OF LAWLESSNESSLawlessness is increasing in this world. At some point lawlessness will become so bad that the lawless one, the antichrist, will be revealed. The world will be deceived by him because they don’t know the true God and do not know His commandments. 1 Peter 1:13-16 exhorts us to be holy as He is holy. Don’t be conformed by your former lusts. Those who refuse to walk righteously will be deceived in the end times. Peter is quoting the Old Testament--the Torah.

Peter is quoting Leviticus 19 the chapter on holiness. This is a chapter about how we are to practice righteousness. Peter is referring to the Torah. If you do not understand the Torah you can’t understand the New Testament. The New Testament is a commentary on the Old Testament. The writers of the New Testament explained Jesus by using the Old. This chapter in Leviticus is talking about the commandments. This is how we are to walk in holiness. This is God’s definition of holiness!

This is the spirit of Elijah speaking to us today. Is this difficult? Not if we love God. Not if we understand grace that picks us up when we slip. This instructs us how to live with each other. This is what Jesus preached! Love thy neighbor as thyself! Love God first. Then the rest is not a heavy yoke or burden.  (Leviticus 19:36 discusses our unjust financial system).



GRACE SETS US FREE FROM CONDEMNATIONGod is saying as you walk out the commandments you are manifesting righteousness and holiness to the world. This is exactly how Jesus walked and manifested God to the world. Grace in His salvation frees us from self righteousness because we realize it is grace that frees us from sin. We can repent and go directly to the Lord (or our brother if needed), confess and move on. That is freedom indeed! No condemnation in Christ.

It begins with confession--but then we need to do. Romans 8:1 If we are walking in obedience in Christ there is no condemnation. When we sin we know it--we feel terrible--if indeed we are trying to please God. Jesus came in the likeness of sinful flesh. Romans 8:3 He did not sin. When we step outside the commandments we can feel it. If we refuse to repent at this point the sin begins to enslave us. When we come to the Lord and confess and repent we are free of the curse. We move on. It’s that simple. That’s why there is no condemnation if we are sincere.

God wants the righteousness of the law fulfilled in us who walk after the spirit--denying the lust of the flesh. Romans 8:1-4 In Galatians 5:18-21 we see the deeds of the flesh.

What is truth? Psalm 119:142, 151, 160 Jesus is the truth. Jesus is the law fulfilled--our example. The spirit of God will never lead us to walk in disobedience to the law/truth of God. Our flesh will--but not the spirit. Therefore if you are not walking in obedience to God’s laws you are not walking in the spirit. You are then walking in some other spirit. We are to practice holiness.

Back to Gal 5:18-21 if we are led by the spirit we are not practicing disobedience to God’s law. The deeds of the flesh are evident. Here is the list. The fruits follow in Gal 5:22-26. The spirit is in alignment with God’s commandments. The spirit will lead us into loving obedience to God--not the works of the flesh. The flesh walks in sin. The mind set on the flesh doesn’t obey God. When we are following the spirit we are in the law. We cannot please God if we are walking in the flesh. Romans 8:5-14 As we walk in the spirit all that God has given us is manifested in our lives. We are being changed into His image. His image is the Torah. This is the message of the prophets. Let Torah be our guide.