Tag Archives: law

Righteousness through Law

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Man’s motivation to be righteous before God is the product of his conscience. And the bedrock of man’s conscience is God’s law. Law has reached its pinnacle of perfection in the Law and Prophets of the Old Testament. The Law is indeed the epitome of God’s will for man prior to His revelation of what Paul calls God’s mystery—Christ Jesus Himself.(Colossians 2:2)

The truths of God’s law have filtered into all cultures in varying degrees to become the cornerstone of man’s attempt to gain acceptability in the eyes of whoever he perceives to be his god. Such law is the “elementary principles of the world” identified in Scripture. (Colossians 2:20) 

There are two basic elements of man’s attempt to be righteous before God: doing good (in an attempt to please Him), and restraining ourselves from doing evil (to keep from displeasing Him). These elements are at the heart of the activities of all religious systems, and may be thought of as the positive and negative aspects of man’s attempt at righteousness—the opposite sides of the same coin. But all this effort boils down to just one thing: earning one’s own way in an attempt at self-justification.

Excerpted from: Free from the Power of Sin: The Keys to Growing in God in Spite of Yourself

God’s Guidepost to Life

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We are inherently self-interested creature in this sin-riddled world, and our sin is blatantly exposed by the presence of law. This fact is undeniable: “the sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.” (1 Corinthians 15:56)

What’s really sad about God’s law is not that it had to be imposed, but that it was so quickly interpreted as a means by which a person might earn his own righteousness—becoming the framework for man’s attempt to work his way to heaven. From the very beginning God had something far different in mind; law was to be a guidepost to His gift of life.(Romans 7:10)

Law was never intended to be the vehicle to bring us into right standing with Him, because ultimately God wanted to freely impart His own righteousness—and thus His life—to man.(Galatians 3:21) Consequently, man’s attempt to earn his own righteousness through works (what is commonly called works righteousness) can result in little else but pitting us head-on against God’s plan.

Paul talks about God’s people being held in custody under law—like children under a tutor—until the fullness of time came when Christ was to justify those who believe.(Galatians 3:22-24) Law had its purpose then, and still does now. But since freedom from law is the very essence of our freedom from the power of sin, we need to better understand the manner in which law relates to our righteousness in Christ now that He has come.

Law was a Must!

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Prior to his sin being exposed by God’s commandment, Adam didn’t realize that he harbored rebellion in his heart, since there was no standard by which it could have been measured. But there is no doubt that this weakness was there, because as soon as law arrived, sin was right there on its heels.(Romans 7:7)

God most likely wanted Adam to stay away from that tree well before He ever gave the commandment, but Adam couldn’t be blamed if he didn’t know it was wrong to eat of its fruit. So had he eaten it prior to God’s command, he would not have been held guilty of any offence.(Romans 4:15)

Still, had law never been given, Adam’s self-willed nature (sin in the flesh) would have been just as destructive over time. Why? Because the self-interest inherent in his nature would naturally have come into play as he interacted with his offspring—and they with him. The only difference here is that, in the absence of law, guilt for their sin could not be charged to them. It’s not hard to see why, then, law is so necessary in God’s eyes.(Galatians 3:19, Romans 3:20)

There’s no question that it was imperative for God to impose such a standard, because in the absence of law mankind would have rapidly self-destructed.(Romans 7:13)

Law Exposes Sin

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While it is obvious that God’s intention for law was both to curb sinful behavior and provide direction, its main purpose was to expose sin. Paul puts it this way in Romans 7:7: “I would not have come to know sin except through [law].” Law identifies and exposes sin because it sets the standard of God’s righteousness (His holiness) against that of our own self-centered, sinful motivations and behavior. So law can be thought of as a gauge of sorts, because it contrasts God’s righteousness with our own lack thereof.

But this begs a very pertinent question: did sin exist before the first law was ever given? Yes it did; at least man’s predisposition to sin did. But in the absence of law, sin laid dormant in Adam. Adam was created perfect, but being created perfect also meant being created human. And being human, he was subject to the chronic weakness of self-will. But Adam’s inherent self-will—and the sin which is the natural outcome of that weakness—was not recognized for what it was until law came on the scene to expose it.

Excerpted from: Free from the Power of Sin: The Keys to Growing in God in Spite of Yourself

 

Enabled to be Godly

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It’s a wonderful thing to have such utter confidence in the fact that our freedom from law and sin has allowed us to share in God’s own righteousness. And that’s not all! Our redemption is set in stone—a salvation and heavenly reward that no one can strip away from us. But standing in such a marvelous and rock-solid hope carries the danger of breeding complacency. “Now that I’ve got my ticket to heaven, what more do I need? Why worry about it?”

Such an attitude is always rooted in the self-centered belief that, at the end of the day, our relationship with God amounts to little more than making a better life for ourselves here and now, with the added bonus of a fabulous heavenly life later. Sadly, this is the way many Christians think about God and His purpose for their life. But it really shouldn’t surprise us much; multitudes of voices unrelentingly and convincingly preach this very message.

This watered-down gospel, though, has no real basis in Scripture. Quite the opposite actually: devotion, selflessness and discipline bear the true mark of a godly person. “Godly? Who said anything about godly? I’m just glad I’m saved!” Well, saved is wonderful, but our reconciliation with God encompasses a whole lot more than merely our initial regeneration—no matter how dramatic our born-again experience might have been.

The primary reason for God doing all He has through Christ Jesus is to pave the way for godliness to become the standard of our life in Him. Salvation, then, is merely the starting point in our walk with God. Through redemption, we are provided the framework essential to choice. And choice by faith is the very heart of our life—and growth in that life—as Christians.(Titus 2;11-12)

“The Power of Sin is the Law”

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While the principle of freedom from the power of sin is woven throughout the fabric of the gospel, it still can be a bit confusing. Paul says, “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.” (1 Corinthians 15:56) But don’t you find this a little surprising? It seems here as if sin’s power is tied directly to the law. So freedom from the power of sin must somehow be very closely related to freedom from the law.

Yet we tend to think about freedom from sin only as being liberated from the problem of sinning. So how could being set free from the law have anything to do with sin losing its power over us? Well, the truth is that freedom from the law has everything to do with freeing us from sin’s power. But if you’re like most Christians, your grasp of this principle is probably a little sketchy.

(Excerpted from “Free from the Power of Sin: The Keys to Growing in God in Spite of Yourself”)

The power of sin is in the Law?

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While the principle of freedom from the power of sin is woven throughout the fabric of the gospel, it still can be a bit confusing. Paul says, “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.” Don’t you find this a little surprising? It seems here as if sin’s power is tied directly to the law. So freedom from the power of sin must somehow be very closely related to freedom from the law. Yet we tend to think about freedom from sin only as being liberated from the problem of sinning. So how could being set free from the law have anything to do with sin losing its power over us? Well, the truth is that freedom from the law has everything to do with freeing us from sin’s power.

(Excerpted from “Free from the Power of Sin: The Keys to Growing in God in Spite of Yourself”)