PART #14
THE STAFF AND SWORD MINISTRY
July 31, 2005
MAN[FESTING 'i...
YET NOT I, BUT THE GRACE OF GOD WHICH WAS WITH ME'." (I CORINTHLUNS 15:10)
by Nancy-TONI Youngbrandt In the last two Manifesting Christ articles I have had the leading to go to a foundational level in examining one's relationship with God through Jesus Christ to cause our readers to examine if they are operating from a legal/lawful approach to God or if they are operating from a place of Grace through Jesus Christ. I also included a prayer sheet with the January 2005 article, "Consider the Lilies", to aid intercessors in praying about this very topic. Well, since then I have received a letter disagreeing with what I have written. So after praying about this letter, I have received a bit more understanding and clarity on the subject and thought I would share the letter and the responses I have received by the Spirit of God with you all as others may have the same questions or issues in their mind as well. So, to begin, here is the letter we will he discussing:
Dear Chuck JOHNEL and Nancy TONI, Re: Consider the Lilies I don't understand your sentence in the first paragraph: "Show me where 1 am operating in law..." I know that Christians are saved by 100% grace not WORKS. But faith without works is dead. The main reason we have a lukewarm Laodicean church is because a large part of the Church has been taught that "the law was nailed to the cross, it was part of the old testament, the law was replaced by grace" and a better covenant. Jesus taught us to "keep the commandments" (the law) Matthew 19:17; 1 John 3:22 says we receive because we keep the commandment (taw); Rev. 14:12 says "... here are they who keep the commandments" referring to the saved. Jesus is the WORD and the commandments of God will always be. (A) king and a kingdom or government has laws. It's a no brainer isn't it?
PAGE 2 MANIFESTING CHRIST— "YET NOT I, BUT THE GRACE..." July 31, 2005 THE LETTER WE WILL BE DISCUSSING continued The reason we feed on the milk and meat of the word is to re-new our minds to God's "WAY" of life. His guidelines to successful society, family life, relations between countries. The Holy Spirit constantly reminds me of God's word or law, "brings all things to my remembrance." Most of the new testament includes dozens of "do's and don't's." I also believe in keeping the Sabbath the last day of the week (the day Christ rose also) and the other 9 commandments. So should I repent for "operating in the law"?
To begin to address the issues here, let's start with what I meant when I wrote in the "Consider the Lilies "prayer sheet, "... show me ... where I am operating in law..." The full part of the Repentance prayer actually says, "Dear Heavenly Father, I pray in Jesus' Name that You would show me any areas of my life and walk with You where I am operating in law and self and not by Grace. I pray to repent of my self-dependence and self-effort and for not fully receiving the free gift of salvation and sanctification by the shed blood of Jesus Christ." I wrote this prayer coming from the understanding by the Spirit of God that the failure of the law or legal approach to God lies in "self." I stated previously that the law itself is not the problem so much as the fact that man with his or her sinful nature and carnality cannot completely fulfill the law, and since to be saved and justified by the law one must perform every aspect of it perfectly, we are doomed to fail. The only way we can be saved and obtain righteousness to stand before God is by the Grace of God through Jesus Christ. It is only through Jesus Christ, His shed blood and His Grace working through us that we can be saved and it is then that the righteousness of the law will be fulfilled in us as it says in Romans 8:3-4.
"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: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us. who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." Here when I wrote "operating in law and self", I was speaking of the "works of the law", which means working through the law to obtain salvation and righteousness with an even broader definition of anything we might be doing out of our self-nature, self-effort and selfdependance to obtain or feel worthy of salvation. This can include a whole host of activities
PAGE 3 MANIFESTING CHRIST —"YET NOT 1, BUT THE GRACE..." July 31, 2005 OPERATING IN LAW continued on our part to take some credit for our salvation and righteousness before God, which is a deception and lie which we can deceive ourselves with. However, it is not the "I" or our "sell" that brings salvation but it is Christ and His Grace working in us and through us that saves us and it is through what Christ did for us that we are counted as worthy and righteous before God. The Apostle Paul made this very distinction on several occasions. For example, Paul wrote in I Corinthians 15:10 —
"But by the grace of God I am what I am: Yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me." And in Galatians 2, verse 16 he writes -
"Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we be justrf ed by of the law the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works
shall no flesh be justified. "
He then goes on to explain in verses 20-21 —
" I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; et not r but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God,
who loved me, and gave himself for me. or forif righteousness come by the law, then I do not frustrate the grace of Christ is dead in vain"
And in case one might hold onto the law still in the hopes of righteousness, in Romans 3:21 28 Paul shares —
the law is manifested ... Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: for all have sinned and y come short of the glor of God, Being just if ed freely b His Grace through the redemp tion that is in Christ Jesus ... Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. " "But now the righteousness of God without
PAGE 4 MANIFESTING CHRIST — "YET NOT I, BUT THE GRACE..." July 31, 2005
"FAITH WITHOUT WORKS IS DEAD" Moving onward, the next issue now becomes just what does it mean that "faith without works is dead." This is taken from the Book of James where James wrote, "Even so faith, if'it bath not works, is dead, being alone. " (James 2:1.7) Unfortunately for the writer of this letter, the context of this chapter in the Bible is speaking exactly of what I have been writing about and isn't actually speaking of the ` works of the law' which the writer is taking it to speak of You see, in James 2:1-13 a situation is being addressed. Here the local Christians are having meetings which are open to new people coming in but they are showing preferential treatment to a type of man while treating others differently. Specifically, James is pointing out that if a wealthy man with a gold ring and nice clothing comes in, he is offered a good seat but a poor man dressed in dirty clothes is told to sit on the floor or "under my footstool". James rebukes them by telling them: "Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts? Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? But ye have despised the poor. " He then goes on to point out to them that they are breaking Jesus' Royal commandment — "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself" and that they are putting themselves back under law by their actions here. James explains in verses 9-10, "But ifye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend one point, he is guilty of all, "
.l ames then goes onto explain just what kind of"work' he is referring to in verses 15 & 16. Here he says, "If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, and one of
you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled, (but) notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what Both it profit?" In other words, what good is our faith in Jesus if we do not do as Jesus instructed us. In this case, if we see someone who is naked and destitute of food and we have the ability to help them out but instead just wish them well and send them on their way. Did not Jesus tell us in Matthew 25:40, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least off these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. " So if we say we believe in Jesus and the faith which He teaches then we must act out of that faith or else our faith profits us nothing at that point. Likewise works or actions alone — apart from faith or belief in God and Jesus Christ— is dead as well ... it is the combination of the two. In James 2:21 he explains, 'Vas not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son on the altar?"
PAGE 5 MANIFESTING CHRIST — 'YET NOT I, BUT THE GRACE..." August 2, 2005 `FAITH WITHOUT WORKS IS DEAD" continued He then qualifies that it was faith made with his works, and by those works was faith made perfect. (verse 22) However, the emphasis on what was most important about Abraham was not the physical act but that "Abraham believed God, and it was imputed Unto him for righteousness: and he was called a Friend of God. " (verse 23) So in other words, Abraham's actions were an extension of his faith and belief in God. Likewise our actions or works should also be a reflection of our faith and belief in God and Jesus Christ, Now it could be said that someone Iiving out the ten commandments and other laws is a reflection of their faith in God, however, I don't see that in the New Testament. Rather, I see throughout the New Testament a focus more on the two commandments Jesus spoke of being the greatest commandments in the law —
"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and witli all thy mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two coinmandinents hang all the law and the prophets." Jesus in Matthew 22:37-40
From there we can find multiple Scriptures speaking of acting out of that Love of God and the importance of our works being from God's Love. One such example is 1 John 4:20-21.
"If a mars say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this
commandment have we froin 11im, That he who loveth God love his brother also. "
Another such example can be found in I Corinthians 13:1 -8. Here the Apostle Paul writes in verses 1 -3 : " Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity (the love
of God), I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though 1 have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all . faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity (the love of God), I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to he burned, and have not charity (the love of God), it profiteth me nothing. " The same could be said of observing the ten commandments apart from the Love of God which comes from Grace through Jesus Christ. The works or actions must come from a place
PAGE 6 MANIFESTING CHRIST — "YET NOT I, BUT THE GRACE..." August 2, 2005 `FAITH WITHOUT WORKS IS DEAD" continued of love, faith and Grace through Jesus Christ or they will profit us nothing. And if you want some idea of just. what kind of works come from Love, then just read the next verses 4-7.
"Charity (the love of God) suffereth long, and is kind; charity (the love of God) envieth not; charity (the love of God) vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up. Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. " These are the types of "works" we should all be practicing as best we can.
CHEAP GRACE Continuing on with the issues raised in the letter we are examining here we come to the statements, "The main reason we have a lukewarm Laodicean church is because a
large part of the church has been taught that "the law was nailed to the cross, it was part of the old testament, the Law was replaced by grace" and a better covenant. Jesus taught us to "keep the commandments" (the law) Matt 19:17; 1 John 3:22 says we receive because we keep the commandments (law); Revelation 14:12 says, "... here are they who keep the commandments" referring to the saved."
Well, to this I would reply that while it is true that the New Covenant replaces the Old Covenant mankind had with God, Grace in the person of Jesus Christ came to fulfill the law rather than replace it. You see, the success and eventual failure of the Old Covenant lies in the fallen, sinful nature of self and the fact that it cannot perform the law and God's commandments perfectly. And since we cannot, God sent His Son on our behalf to be the ultimate sacrifice to complete and fulfill the law once and for all. So it is only as Jesus Christ and His Grace work in that we too can hope to be conformed to God's Law as God intended. Just look at what it says in Hebrews 8:6-13 — "But now bath He (Jesus) obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also He is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better
promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. For f nding fault with them, He saith,
PAGE 7 MANIFESTING CHRIST — "YET NOT I, BUT THE GRACE..." August 2, 2005 CHEAP GRACE continued Hebrews 8:6-13 continued:
Behold, The days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:... For this is the covenant that 1 will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will he to them a God, and they shall be to me a people...
In that He saith, A new covenant, He hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away. "
So you see, the New Covenant does replace the Old Covenant, and we now have a better Covenant which we have by Grace, that much is true. However, .just because we are under Grace, it does not give us a licence to sin and hang onto our self-nature either. It seems to me that some people have the view that grace is like a vague, general covering for all we do. And since we have this general grace, we can do what we want, when we want and that God will give us what we want. In this state the self-nature is kept well intact and in fact encouraged, and never dealt with by yielding to the Spirit of God in prayer and putting all sin under the Blood of Jesus. This seems to fly in the face of what Jesus tells us in Scriptures like Matthew 16:24-25 where He tells us — y "...If any man will come after me, let him den /zimself and take up his
cross, and follow inc. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall save it." Instead, many in the body of Christ in America are seeking what Dietrich Bonhoffer called
CHEAP GRACE. In his book, THE COST OF DISCIPLESHIP, (published by Touchstone, Rockefeller Center, 1230 Avenue ofthe Americas, New York, NY 10020) he wrote the following: That is what we mean by cheap grace, the grace which amounts to the justification of sin without the justification of the repentant sinner who departs from sin and from whom sin departs. Cheap grace is not the kind of forgiveness of sin which frees us from the toils of sin. Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline. Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without disapleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and Incarnate.
PAGE 8 MANIFESTING CHRIST — "YET NOT I, BUT THE GRACE..." August 2, 2005 CHEAP GRACE continued Dietrich Bonhoffer quote continued:
Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it a man will gladly go ands sel I all that he has. it is the pearl of great price buy which the merchant will sell all his goods. If is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a
to
man will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble; if is the call Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets ancj and follows him.
of)esus
Costly grace is the gospel which must be soughtagain and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock. Such grace is costly because if calls us to follow, and it is gt.ace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. it is costly because it costs a mars his life, and if is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it tustifle5the sinner. Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of His Son: "ye were bought at a price," and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us. Above all, if is grace because God did not reckon His Son too dear a price to pay for our life, but delivered him up for us. Costly grace is the Incarnation of God. True Grace is Jesus Christ. When that is realized, Paul's explanation that it was, "... Yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. " ( I Cor. 15:10), or better still, "... yet not 1, but Christ liveth in me... " (Galatians 2:20) becomes all the more meaningful. Here Paul is being very specific about what was at work in him. It wasn't some vague sense of grace but the reality of Grace which is Jesus Christ working in and through him. I share all this because I believe the teaching of `cheap grace' goes more to the heart of the attitude in the church as a whole in America that has brought it to be lukewarm towards
God rather than its lack of observing the law and commandments of God in a legalistic fashion as the writer of this letter seems to suggest. The writer does have a point that many in the church use grace as an excuse to hang onto sin and self, however, the kind of Grace I am writing of and have -included in the "CONSIDER THE LILIES" prayer sheet is the `costly' kind of Grace. I wrote in the first prayer, "I pray to repent of my self-dependence and self-effort and for not fully receiving the free gift of salvation and sanctification by the shed Blood of Jesus Christ," to draw some focus to the price or cost that Jesus paid for us. Also, to the need that we all have to fully appreciate and realize in our daily lives the salvation Jesus Christ has obtained for us and that through Him, we can be sanctified (made holy or free from sin) because of His Blood shed for us.
PAGE 9 MANIFESTING CHRIST — "YET NOT I, BUT THE GRACE..." August 2, 2005
KEEPING THE COMMANDMENTS Now we come to the next issue bought up in this letter I am responding to — "keeping the commandments." As you may recall, 3 Scriptures were brought up which were: Matthew 19:17, 1 John 3:22 and Revelation 14:12. The first one is where Jesus said, "... but if thou will enter into life, keep the com mandments. "(Matthew 19:17) The issue then becomes, which commandments is Jesus referring to? Does this include the whole law, just the 10 commandments or are there some other commandments? My experience is that it seems that many brethren in America like to sort of pick and choose some old testament laws they like and choose to observe while ignoring the rest. It seems that on one hand they believe in salvation through Jesus Christ but they also believe that some works through the law must accompany their salvation for it to be realized. The question is, is this true — and if so, then what commandments did Jesus actually tell us to keep? To start, let's take a look at Matthew 19:17 again. Here Jesus is telling a fellow to "keep the commandments," to which the man asks Jesus, "Which?" Jesus replies, "Thou shalt
do no murder, Tliou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself" (verses 18-19) The interesting thing is what takes place next. It appears that even this young man knew that this was not quite everything because he then replied to Jesus, "411 these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?" To which Jesus responded by telling him, "If
thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou bast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow Inc. " (verses 20-21) Unfortunately, this only saddened the young man because that was the one thing he felt he could not do because his possessions were very great. This brought Jesus to comment, "That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven ... It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. " (verses 23-24) I mention this story because of what transpires next. You see, when Jesus told His disciples that, they were astonished and remarked, "Who then can be saved?" This is when Jesus beheld them and said, "Witli men this is impossible; but with God all
things are possible." The humbling point to this Scripture is to realize that even our ability to accept salvation
P A GE 10 MANIFESTING CHRIST — "YETNOT I, BUT THE GRACE..." August 2, 2005 KEEPING THE COMMANDMENTS continued through Jesus Christ ultimately comes from God. If it were solely up to us who are subject to our self-nature and self-dependence, would we even recognize our need for God if He did not reveal it to us?? In the end, our self-nature — the "I" — cannot take any credit for our salvation and if it does, we are not fully walking in true Grace through Jesus Christ. If we think that we are contributing to our salvation by our observance of God's law and commandments, then self is sneaking into the picture and we are putting ourselves under the law and not Grace. Instead, we are to let God and Jesus Christ fulfill God's commandments within us so we conform to His Spirit of the law and not the letter of the law. We'll look m ore at that later but for now let's move on to the next Scripture being brought up in this discussion. Next up we have the statement, "I John 3:22 says we receive because we keep the commandments (law)." Well, this is true but it also goes onto explain in verses 23-24 just what those commandments are — John is quite specific here. He said,
"And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep His commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. And this is His commandment, That we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as He gave us commandment. And he that
keepeth His commandments dwelleth in Him and He in him . And hereby we know that He abideth in us, by the Spirit which He hath given us. " So once again we see that it's all about Jesus and believing on Him and in turn loving one another as He loves us. Likewise, when we are dwelling or abiding in Him, we will then be keeping His commandments as His Spirit then works in us and fulfills His commandments through us as God intended them to be fulfilled.
The third Scripture brought up was Revelation 14:12 where it refers again to those who keep the commandments of God. However, as before, let's take a look at the following verses to help shed some light upon what is being spoken of. Revelation 14:12-13 — "Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the
commandments of God, and the faith ofJesus.... Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may restfrom their labours; and their works do . follow them." Here I see the answer in two ways. One is that the keeping of commandments is connected to and joined with the faith of Jesus. So what were the commandments that Jesus
PAGE 11 MANIFESTING CHILI ST — "YET NOT 1, BUT THE GRACE..." August 2, 2005 KEEPING THE COMMANDMENTS continued gave us? Well , here we go back to Matthew 22:36-40 where Jesus said the greatest commandment was, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. "The second greatest commandment being, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself" Jesus also gave a similar one in John 15:12-13 when He said. "This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his
life for his
friends. " I put to you that perhaps these were the commandments being spoken of. After all, if the commandments are being kept in your heart, keeping aII of the Ten Commandments is easy. If we are loving God with our all and loving one another as Jesus loves us, then we will, as the fruit of that Love, automatically — 1. Have no other gods before the One, True God. 2. We will not make ourselves idols to worship out of that Love for God. 3. We will not take the Lord's name in vain out of loving respect for Him.
4. We will keep the Sabbath day by keeping it holy through our love of Jesus Christ and God the Father. 5. We will honor our father and mother out of a Christ/Godly love for them. 6. We will not murder because we will be loving our fellow man rather wanting to murder them. 7. Out of the Love of God and His love for others, we will not commit adultery. 8. Out of the Love of God we will have no desire or temptation to steal. 9. We will not tell lies against our neighbor because we will be loving them as Jesus loves us. We will not covet anything that belongs to or neighbor because God's Love would only 10. make us happy for them and not envious.
However, this can only come to fruition in us by the Grace of God through Jesus Christ working in us and not out of our self-life or self-effort to be `perfect'. This is why the second verse in Revelation 14:12-13 is so important — "... Blessed are the dead which die y in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that the may rest fr om their labours: and their works do follow them. " These are those who have done as Jesus tells us, they have given up their lives to die in Christ — to die to self— to gain their true lives in Him. They have done as Jesus commanded, "If any man will come after me, let him
deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me ... whosoever will lose his
life for my sake shall f nd it. "(Matthew 16:24-25) They have also ceased from their selflabors and found rest in Jesus, and by doing so the works of Jesus Christ through them will
PAGE 12 MANIFESTING CHRI ST — "YET NOT I, BUT THE GRACE..." August 2, 2005 KEEPING THE COMMANDMENTS continued follow them. This too is manifested in the saints as they keep the faith of Jesus and what He told us to do in Matthew 11:28-30 --
"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take in yoke upon you, and learn of rne; for 1 am meek and lowly in heart: and ye sh all find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is h /it." All of what Jesus speaks of ultimately gives us freedom by the Spirit of God. If we are feeling weighed down by our labors and burdens, then we are likely operating in `self and not in the Grace which is Jesus Christ. For me, once I experienced the freedom and lightness
of Jesus' burden and yoke, I don't ever want to go back to bondage of self and law apart from the Spirit of God_
A CHANGE OF HEART The last section of this letter that I wish to comment on is to address the following statements: "The reason we feed on the milk and meat of the word is to re-new our minds to God's `WAY' of life. His guidelines to successful society, family life, relations between countries. The Holy Spirit constantly reminds me of God's word or taw, "brings all things to my remembrance." Most of the new testament includes dozens of "do's an don't's." I also believe in keeping the Sabbath the last day of the week (the Day Christ rose, also) and the 9 commandments." I have two qualifications I would like to make in response. One is that while I agree with the importance of reading Scripture on a daily basis if possible, I also believe it is important to not only take God's Word into our minds but our hearts as well. I like the way Hannah Whithall Smith explains the difference between the Old and New Covenants in her book, GOD 'S LOVE FOR YOU, published by Whitaker House, 30 Hunt Valley Circle, New Kensington. PA 15058. Here she wrote:
"The old covenant ... is the covenant of an outward law. In the nature of
things, the old covenant of a n outward law grows old and vanishes with the coming o f the new covenant of an inward life. That is, as long as rr^an is a thief at heart, he needs a n outward law to keep him from stealing; but as soon as he becomes honest of heart, he no longer needs the outward [4w.
PAGE 13 MANIFESTING CHRIST — "YET NOT I, BUT THE GRACE..." August 2, 2005 A CHANGE OF HEART continued Hannah Whithall Smith quote continued: But if you a re led by the Spirit, you are not under the law .... But the fruit of the
Spirit is [eve, joy, peace, longsufering, kindness, goodness, f itbfulness, gentleness, self-control Against such there is no law. GALATIANS 5:18, 22--23
The old covenant is based on the principle of work and wages- so much work results in s q much wages, no more, n q 1e55.
The new covenant, on the contrary, is based on the principle of life and fruit, " We love Him because He First loved us" Cl )ohn 4:19), and thereforewe serve Him. He his bestowed upon us a new life from Himself, and the fulfilling ofthe law is simply the fuitoFthe new life thus given." If a person seeks to conform his or her self to the law by mental ability alone, but does not allow the Spirit of God and His Love into their hearts, then they are missing the whole point of being a Christian. These would be like those Jesus spoke of in Matthew 15:8-9 — " This
people draweth nigh unto me witlr their mouth, and Izonoureth tree with their lips; but their heart is ar rom me. But in vain they do worship one, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." God seeks to change more than the outward behavior of mankind, He seeks to change the very heart and spirit of mankind. God wants to and will do this for us if we let Him. Just look at God's Word to His people in Ezekiel 36:25-27.
"Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. y A new heart also will I giveyou and a new spirit will t ut within ou: and will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. y And I will put M Spirit within ycijj and cause y ou to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep Mvjudgments and do them. " As I have stated before and the reason I share this is because I am not saying that God's commandments and laws are not to be kept but rather it is HOW and WHICH ones we are to keep that I question. Given the fallen nature of self, it becomes plain that we are not capable of fulfilling God's Law apart from Him and Jesus Christ working through us. It is only through
Grace in the person of Jesus Christ that we then can receive that new heart and
PAGE 14 MA NIFESTING CHRIST — "YET NOT I, BUT THE GRACE..." August 2, 2005 A CHANGE OF HEART continued new spirit God Himself puts within us which will cause us to "walk in His statutes and keep His judgments" and do them according to the way God wants them done. One prime example in the new testament of this great change from an outward law and the emphasis on what we do outwardly changing to that of the inward life of the heart is seen in Matthew 15:17-20. Here Jesus teaches us:
"Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught. But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defrleth not a man. " Even in the matter of the ten commandments, you can see that Jesus brought it back to an issue of the heart_ He says here that it is out of the heart that each of the ten commandments is broken as evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, thefts, false witness and blasphemies all proceed from there first. So can any of us really be sure we haven't broken a commandment or two by what is in our hearts even though we may have never acted upon it? For example, Jesus said that if a man so much as looks on a woman to lust after her has committed adultery already in his heart (Matthew 5:27-28). Likewise, can we be sure we are keeping the Sabbath correctly since the Jews in Jesus' time thought they were keeping it when they weren't? No, the clear fact is that we need Jesus and His Grace working through us in order to be sure we are keeping the Spirit of the Law as God intended .... it is that simple.
THE SPIRIT OF THE LAW This brings me to the second and final point I wish to make regarding these closing
comments of this letter we have been looking into and that is to point out there is a vast difference between the letter of the law and the Spirit ofthe law. Even the Scriptures alluded to when the writer said we need to "re-new our minds to God's `way' of life" point in the direction of the Spirit. In is in Ephesians 4:23 where Paul spoke of renewing the mind but he actually said, "And be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that ye put on the new
man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. " Paul also said, "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of
ourselves; but our sufficienc y is of God; who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the Spirit. for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. " (2 Corinthians 3:5-6)
PAGE 15 MANIFESTING CHRIST— "YET NOT I, BUT THE GRACE..." August 2, 2005 THE SPIRIT OF THE LAW continued There are some brethren who would pride themselves on their knowledge of Scripture and law, however, if one has all that knowledge but doesn't have the Spirit of Cod which is Love, then it is all for nothing. To know the letter of the law but not the heart of the God by the Spirit, then it will surely fail to bring the life that was intended by God. It is just as Paul think that said, "... Knowledge puffeth up, but charity (love) edi ieth. And if any man he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing as he ought to know. But if any man love
God the same is known of Him. "(1 Corinthians 8:1 - 3) Or, as Paul explains in I Corinthians 13:2— "And though I have the gr f l of prophecy. and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could move mountains, and have not charity (love), I am nothin . " More simply put — "It 's not what you know, but who you know." So, should this writer repent of "operating in the law"? Well, in the end, this is an issue between the individual and God. A person can know the truth in their heart if they've been approaching and relating to God from a position of law and self or if they have been coming to Hiin in Grace through Jesus Christ. If you do not believe the "CONSIDER THE LILIES" prayer sheet applies to you, then you don't have to pray it. It is an optional prayer sheet meant for those who see the need.
SELF VERSUS GRACE Since I have some space left I thought I would share a final illustration from Hannah Whithall Smith's book, GOD'S LOVE FOR YOU, of the difference between operating in the power of self and in the power Christ and His Grace working through us. Just a little more food for thought .... I remember once hearing ofa man who thought he could not five unless he
kept himselfalive. He was afraid his breath would stop if he did not keep it going by his own efforts. He tried so hard to keep breathing that he nearly strangled himself in the struggle. In great arm, his family called in a physician, who, seeing the difficulty, ordered him to stop t ry ing to breathe. "l will die if I do," gasped out the poor man. ' Die, then," exclaimed the doctor, "but STOP!" The man, conquered by the voice of authority, obeyed. The moment he stopped trying to breathe, his breath came easily and without effort, It is the same way with some Christians. They are t ry ing to keep themselves fort. if they would just give up alive, and their life is nearly strangled in the ef trying to live and would let Christ keep them alive, they would find themselves
living easily and without effort,
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