While coming to Romans chapter 3, has given me time enough to find the verse in Corinthians also. Now these are verses that most people do not understand. They don’t even know they’re in their Bible. And I’ve given an example before, I’ll never forget one time I was teaching it and had young pastor in the midst. When I read this verse, I could just about see his mouth drop open. He’d never seen it before, I know he hadn’t, but here it is.
Romans 3:19
"Now we know that what things soever the law (the commandment spoken to Adam) saith, it saith to them who are under the law: (that is the Hebrew and Gentile world) that every mouth (the whole world now not just the Hebrews) may be stopped and all the world (The law condemned the whole world. What does the rest of the verse say? They) become guilty before God."
People are not saved under the law. They don’t become righteous, but rather they’re guilty. Now you see, most people don’t believe that. I’m amazed when people will tell me, when they’ve had an enlightenment and they’ve seen these things and they go back and show it to their church people and their church people will read it and then you know what they say? "But I don’t believe it." Now isn’t that sad? They better believe it, because it’s the Word of God and they better believe it or they’re in trouble. Alright, so this they don’t like. "That the law just simply makes man guilty." Now look at the next verse.
Romans 3:20
"Therefore by the deeds (or the keeping of the Levitical Law) there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: (why?) for by the law is the knowledge of (not life but what?) sin."
That’s all the law can do is show man his sin. Not a word in Scripture ever gives the Levitical Law credit for bringing people to salvation. Never! All the law can do is convince and convict us that we’re sinners, which of course, we have to do before we can be saved. But see, that’s the law. And that’s why the Levitical Law is imperfect. It filled the gap between Moses and Christ, yes. It kept the Nation of Israel in a relationship with Yhovah, yes. But so far as really being the answer to mankind’s dilemma, No. It was weak, and it was beggarly. Now I told you I found the one in Corinthians over in chapter 3.
II Corinthians 3:3
"Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, (in other words, their daily life was to be like the Word of God in print) written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the Living God; (as the Spirit energizes you and I in our daily life as He did Jesus) not in tables of stone, (such as Moses brought down from the mountain, you know) but in fleshly tables of the heart."
In other words, the Word of God should just simply be seen in our daily lives. It is now written on our hearts as Jeremiah said. We're to walk in the Spirit hearing and doing as Jesus did by or through divine revelation each moment doing or saying as God directs us. Not hearing or seeing with natural eyes and ears but through the heart which has been wholly given to God in which He resides. Now verses 4 and 5.
II Corinthians 3:4-6
"And such trust we have through Christ to God-ward: Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; (here’s the verse that shook them up.) Who also (God) hath made us able ministers of the new testament; (this on this side of the Cross) not of the letter, (which is a reference in Scripture of the Law) but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life."
Allow me to qualify. Israel understood right from wrong by virtue of what the Law said. They understood it was wrong to murder because the Law said "Thou shalt not murder." And all through the Ten Commandments you have really the whole sphere of human behavior. Everything you can imagine is covered in the Ten Commandments.
So there was no doubt as to what God called right and what He called wrong. When we say that we’re not under the Law it isn’t that we are now free to steal or murder. Remember we’ve got something better than the written Law. And what is it? The indwelling Holy Spirit. The Spirit will never tell a believer to go and steal or to murder someone. The Holy Spirit will never tell a believer to gossip. It’s against His personality. For He writes the new law of God where? In our heart and on our minds. God has promised to do within us what we were incapable of doing for ourselves. As Israel proved to be impossible as through self effort or works of the flesh.
And so, what we lay down when we say we’re not under the Law, we pick up through the energizing power of the indwelling Spirit. That’s why I say that when we’re under Grace, it’s not license. Under Grace, the Spirit comes in and becomes then the driving force and the keeping power for the receptive, the receptiveness of the true believer. The place that was lost through Adams rebellion now been restored and that is our receptivity to hear and to see what God is doing and saying or telling us. Now looking at verse 6 again:
II Corinthians 3:6-7a
"Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter (The Commandments) but of the spirit (now here it comes) for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones,…"
No comments:
Post a Comment