The
Believer’s Deliverance from “The LAW”
A
Study of the Christians’ Relationship to the “Outer Laws” of God -
By Arthur J Licursi
“…
by the deeds of (keeping) the law there shall no flesh be justified in His
sight...” (Rom. 3:20).
It
is strange that so many sincere people can so misunderstand God’s
written Word as to suppose that He gave the Law “to help us to be
good” or “as a rule of life.” The Law was not given to help us to be
good, but rather to show us that we are sinners and need a Savior.
Rom.
3:22-23 says that “there is no difference, for all have sinned and come
short of the glory of God.” How foolish, then, to look to the Law for
help. Though the Law provides for just trial it does not help the
criminal; it condemns him.
Thus
the Bible teaches that the Law was given:
“That
every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may be brought in guilty
before God” (Rom. 3:19).
“For
by the law is the knowledge of sin” (Rom. 3:20).
“The
law entered that the offense might abound” (Rom. 5:20).
“That
sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful” (Rom. 7:13).
“It
was added because of transgressions” (Gal. 3:19).
This
leads us to the Apostle to the Gentiles, Paul’s great conclusion:
“Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be
justified in His sight” (Rom. 3:20). This makes sense, for
doing a few “good” things cannot right the wrongs we have done. Good
is what we should do, hence we should not expect to be rewarded for it. But,
thank God, “Christ
died for our sins” (I Cor. 15:3) and “by
Him all who believe are justified” (Acts 13:39).
“Therefore
we conclude that a MAN IS JUSTIFIED BY FAITH WITHOUT THE DEEDS OF THE
LAW” (Rom. 3:28).
“But God commendeth his love
toward us, in that, WHILE WE WERE
YET SINNERS, CHRIST DIED FOR US.” (Romans
5:8)
“BELIEVE
ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, AND THOU SHALT BE SAVED” (Acts 16:31).
Christians
need to know the truth that they
are “NOT under
the law, but under grace” (Romans
6:14).
God’s law or commandments were
given to
Israel
alone through Moses – Not
to “the church which is His
body.” Paul is our
Moses; Paul the “Apostle to the
Gentiles,” sent by the ascended Christ with a different “gospel
of the grace of God.” (Rom 11:13, Acts 20:24).
Paul
says all mankind innately knows of God and they’re “without
excuse”
Romans
1:19-21
Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them;
for God hath shewed it unto them. 20For the
invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly
seen, being understood
by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they
are without excuse: 21Because that, when
they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were
thankful; but became vain in
their imaginations, and their foolish
heart was darkened.
ALL
mankind has
knowledge of “the LAW
written in their hearts,” which came by Adam
partaking of “The
Tree of the Knowledge of Good & Evil.” Every Gentile’s
conscience accuses or excuses him; indicating
“the Law” is operating “in
their hearts”
Romans
2:14-15
For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do (try) by
nature the things contained
in the law, these, having not the law, are
a law unto themselves: Which shew the work of the law
written in their hearts, their
CONSCIENCE also
bearing witness, and their
thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)
Aside
from religion's laws, we were all under our parents “Law of Merit,” a
"Law of doing" so may gain acceptance, “love”, etc. Thus, we’ve
never known God's genuine unconditional love.
Those
who are “of
the works of the law” consider
themselves to have their worth to God only by
their own works, and thus they bear its “curse of the Law” – the
curse of having
to keep ALL the laws, or suffer the consequence.
Gal
3:10
For as many as (Gk.
hosos, whosoever) are of
the works of the law are under
the curse: for it is
written, Cursed is every one that continueth
not in ALL things
which are written in the book
of the law to do them.
We
as grace believers are not “of
the works of the Law,” we live under "the gospel of the
grace of God.” As we've already seen, unlike
Israel
, Paul tells us (the members of body of Christ) that we are “not
under the law but under grace.” Thus Paul has the boldness
to do something that would have formerly gotten him “stoned”
to death. He specifically names one of The Decalogue (The Ten
Commandments) that we are not under –
“The Sabbath.” Col.
2:16-17 Let
no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in
respect of an holyday, or
of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: 17
Which (laws) are a
shadow of things to come; but the
body (the substantive reality)
is of Christ (who lives in and through you).
By
contrast, James, who writes his epistle “to the
lost sheep of the house of
Israel
” (James 1:1), those who are under "the Law",
says if we offend one point of the law we offend ALL. “For
whosoever shall keep the whole law,
and yet offend in one point, he
is guilty of all.” (James
2:10)
So
the grace economy, under which we live in this “dispensation
of the grace of God,” operates based upon 100% Grace.
Romans
11:6 And if by grace, then is it no more (0%) of works:
otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it
no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.
Serving
ANY outer law as the basis “for salvation” or as a requirement “for
better standing in Christ,” is what Paul calls "dead
WORKS." This is
because you are operating separate
or independent from Christ who lives in you, apart from the Christ’s
life “in you,” He desires to regulate you from within.
Paul says Christ becomes “of
no effect” if we live by outer (written) laws of God, laws
of men’s religion, our laws of our parents.
Galatians
5:4
Christ is become of no effect
unto you (you are severed from), whosoever of (think) you are
justified by the law; ye are fallen
from grace.
So
what is God’s purpose in “the Law”? To
understand the Law we must understand Sin.
The Law was given so the Sin nature in man would be fully active,
Stirred up, to be “exceedingly
Sinful.” This is so men would SEE their innate sinfulness and their
need of Christ’s righteous life to come into them.
Romans
5:20
… the law entered, that
(so that) the offense might abound. How
can this be? Why? It is
because Sin derives its power from the law.
1
Cor. 15:56
… the STRENGTH
(DUNAMIS, POWER) OF SIN IS THE
LAW.
Thus
Paul says SIN in the Flesh … is actually EMPOWERED
“by the law (commandment).”
Paul
emphasizes this connection between the
Law and Sin in these Romans verses.
Romans
7:5
For when we were in the flesh, the motions
of sins, which were by
the law, did work in
our members to bring forth fruit unto death.
Romans
7:7-9
What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I
had not known sin, but by
the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou
shalt not covet. 8But sin,
taking occasion by the commandment,
wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without
the law sin was dead. For I was alive without the law once: but
when the commandment came, sin
revived, and I died.
Romans
7:11
For sin, taking
occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.
Romans
7:13
Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin,
that it might appear sin,
working death in me by
that which is good; (so) that
sin by the commandment
might become exceeding sinful.
The
outer “LAW of GOD” is powerless,
outer, inert, lifeless, impotent…but, Christ is alive and living in
every believer’s human spirit is the overcoming life. Romans
8:3a For what the law
could not do, in that it was weak
through the flesh, 2 Cor. 5:21
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that
in him we might become the righteousness of God.
So,
“the Law” actually PROVOKES
the flesh of man Negatively! We
have been Set-Up … by God’s law… to have us fail!
Man has gained the knowledge of good and Evil…but he lacked
the kind of life to match that good God standard.
God
actually expects our failure under the written “Law”; otherwise…we
would never turn to Christ to be our life. So, don’t be disappointed
in yourself.
God is not disappointed in you! He is trying to turn you to trust “Christ
in you”! Colossians
1:27 To
whom God would make known what is
the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is CHRIST
IN YOU, the hope of glory:
Christians
think they need to be delivered from sin, world, flesh, etc., and they do,
but not by human effort. First we need to know we needed to be
“delivered for reliance upon the LAW” … to trust Christ. God
wants us to know we’re delivered from…. the demand of the “Outer
LAW”
Matt
5:17
Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am
not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
Galatians
3:13
Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made
a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth
on a tree:
2
Cor. 5:21
For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we
might be made the righteousness of God in him.
Romans
10:4 For
CHRIST IS THE END OF THE
LAW FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS TO EVERY ONE THAT BELIEVETH.
Col.
2:14
BLOTTING OUT THE HANDWRITING OF ORDINANCES (LAWS) THAT WAS AGAINST US,
WHICH WAS CONTRARY TO US, AND TOOK IT OUT OF THE WAY, NAILING IT TO HIS
CROSS;
By
the cross and its liberation of us from the Law also… He has liberated
us from the tyranny and power of “Sin” in our flesh. By liberating man
from outer law…
Christ disarmed Sin of its power
Romans
6:14 For SIN
SHALL NOT HAVE DOMINION
over you: for ye are not under
the law, but under grace.
Sadly,
many Christians erroneously think … “We
can please God by keeping God’s laws.” So they put their selves
under the law (with the bar not so
high as to fail). It’s often out of pride, so as to be seen as a
good Christian. It gives us a
way to appear as being above others.
Some prefer Law-keeping since it avoids intimacy & union with
Christ since may cost us our “self-rule”. We may still want to be
“God of our own life.” It’s
easier to follow some rules, than live by the intimate union we have by
Christ in us.
Law-keeping
is to act outside of and apart from the living Christ. Law-keeping makes
us to live by our own wits and self-abilities – which fails. All
Law-keeping keeps us separated from the Christ who lives within us and He
is the only one who has the life and power to live the Christian life!
Some
Pastors tell me; “Well Art, I
understand grace BUT, we need a little law or these people won’t come to
church.” So they mix law and
grace (which is not grace at all). They thereby, emasculate Christ
as Life in the believer. Again…read this
carefully; Romans
11:6 if by grace, then is it no (o%) more of works:
otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works (even 1%),
then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.
