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The Bible teaches that in order to be
saved you must repent toward God which means to
believe on the Lord Jesus Christ who shed his innocent blood for the forgiveness of all your sins.
The Bible also teaches that after you
have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ for the salvation of your soul, you must stand in the true grace of God.
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According to the Bible those who are saved are redeemed from the Law of
Moses (Old Covenant) and are now under the New Covenant and a much higher law:
The
law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus
"For the law was given by
Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. - John 1:17
If you are
led of the Spirit you are not under the law of
Moses:
"But if ye
are led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law."-Gal. 5:18
Those who are led of the Spirit are under grace,
but those
who are not
led of the Spirit—who walk after the flesh and do not yield
to the
Holy Spirit as he seeks to produce his fruit in their lives—are under
the letter of the law.
For the letter killeth, but the Spirit
giveth life. (See 2 Cor. 3:6)
Paul explained that
believers are called to liberty but this liberty is not to be used to
indulge one's selfish desires:
"...only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love
serve one another."-Gal. 5:13
The law of Moses— as
holy and righteous a standard as it is— does not give eternal life because no one is justified by keeping the
law:
But that no man is
justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just
shall live by faith. Gal. 3:11
Paul explained that the flesh lusts against the Spirit,
and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the
other (walking after the flesh is contrary to walking after
the Spirit) so we "cannot do the things that we would":
For the flesh lusteth
against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are
contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that
ye would. Gal. 5:17
The goals of the flesh
(man's selfish desires) are contrary to the goals of the Holy Spirit in
a Christian's life. The goals of the flesh and the goals of the Holy
Spirit are in opposition to each other.
The Bible is clear that if the Christian follows the leading of the Holy Spirit he is not under the law,
but if he walks after the flesh without repentance, God considers him
to be under the law, not under grace.
What was Paul referring to when he said "Against
such there is no law"? Did Paul say that against a profession
of faith in Christ there is no law? (No.) Did Paul say that against a
Christian's continuing, walk in sin that there is no law? (No.) Did Paul
say that against a once-saved-always-saved sermon there no law? (No.)
Against WHAT does the Bible say there no law? Against the fruit
of the
Spirit.
But the fruit of the
Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness,
faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
(Gal. 5:22,23) "But if ye
are led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law." (Gal. 5:18)
The fruit of the Spirit is
love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness faith, meekness,
and temperance. If you are led of the Spirit you will yield the fruit
of the Spirit. Against being led of the Spirit is no law. (Gal. 5:22-23) This
is the fruit of righteousness of those who walk after the Spirit and not after the flesh.
This fruit is evident in the lives of those who are under grace and not under the law.
Paul repeated his "If ye
are led of the Spirit ye are not under the law" teaching in his letter
to the Romans:
"There is therefore now no
condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the
flesh, but after the Spirit."— Rom. 8:1
Those who walk not
after the flesh are not under condemnation. Those who are in Christ Jesus—who walk not after the flesh but after the
Spirit—are not under
the law.
Those who are in Christ
Jesus have been made free from the law of sin and death.
How have we been made free from the law of sin and death? By the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus:
"For
the law of the
Spirit of life in Christ Jesus
hath made me free from the law of sin
and death." Romans 8:2
We need to understand as
believers under the new and better covenant we are under another law: not
the law of Moses, but the law of the Spirit of life which is in Christ
Jesus.
We are under this spiritual law as believers, whether
it is being preached in these times of apostasy or not.
For what the law could not
do in that our sinful flesh could not comply with its holy demands,
"God, sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin,
condemned sin in the flesh." (See Rom. 8:3) Wow! Sin in the flesh is
condemned by God. Believers saved by grace must not be tricked by false
teachers into believing that God no longer condemns sin in the flesh and
that in this day of grace, God's view of sin has changed. God sent his Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and condemned
sin in the flesh sin so "That the righteousness of the law
might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the
Spirit."
"But wait a minute!"
modern Christians angrily protest. God does not require me to live in obedience to the leading of the Holy Spirit,
as confirmed by the scriptures. That is much too stifling
and would cramp my lifestyle. To tell me that the righteousness of the
law is fulfilled in those who walk after the Spirit (but not after the
flesh) is to put me under a "works-based" salvation! I can do
what I want as a Christian! All I have to do is believe (give mental
assent to the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ at one
point in time for the
salvation of my soul) and after that I can do as I please! You can ask any
well-known Christian leader of our day."
Paul addresses this worldly thinking:
"For to be
carnally minded is death: but to be spiritually minded is life and
peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not
subject to the law of God, neither indeed can it be."-Rom 8:7,8
If the Spirit of God is within you, reader, you
may not walk in the flesh; rather, you must be led of the Spirit.
This requires a deliberate daily surrender on your part which
necessitates
reading the Holy King James Bible so that you will know which spirit is seeking to lead
you--the Holy Spirit or an evil spirit. If you do not
have the Spirit of Christ--and do not surrender to the leading of the
Holy Spirit, who is God (and refuse to repent) you are
none of his. (See Rom. 8:9)
Believers, we are debtors,
not to the flesh, to live after the dictates of the flesh:
Therefore, brethren,
we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. Rom. 8:12
We are debtors to the
[Holy] Spirit in the sense that we must yield to him as he leads us to mortify the sinful deeds of
the body. Rom 8:13 says, "but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the
deeds of the body, ye shall live." IF we willingly obey the Holy Spirit,
which is what it means to be "under grace" as a person who is
already saved, we will reap life eternal. Eternal life does not end with believing on the Lord
Jesus Christ. It begins there, but from that point on we have a new life to
live...after the Spirit by the grace of God.
Does this mean that in
order to become born again a person must through the
Spirit mortify his flesh so that he will have everlasting life? No.
An unregenerate person has not yet believed on the Lord Jesus
Christ and received the free gift of eternal life. He has not yet called upon the name of the Lord to be saved, and
thus, does not have the Spirit of Christ within and is not capable of
behaving as a genuine Christian and mortifying the sinful deeds of the flesh. It is the
Christian who has been given eternal life through faith in the Lord
Jesus Christ and therefore must be led by the Spirit of God because he is a son of
God. (See Rom. 8:14)
Paul, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, instructed believers—those who have the Sprit of Christ
Jesus within-- to put aside the sinful deeds of the flesh. He made it
clear that following the leading of the Holy Spirit is required of the
person who is already a Christian. The unsaved do not
have God's enabling to mortify the deeds of the body, and thus they
habitually serve sin
unto death.
Does
this mean that the minute a Christian sins and does not walk in the
Spirit that he is considered by God to be under the law?
None of us are perfect and God is so gracious and kind and willing to
forgive and restore us when we fail to walk after the Spirit. "Sin
not" is God's command to the Christian, but if we sin we have an
advocate with the Father:
My little
children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any
man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the
righteous: 1 John 2:1
If we confess our sins, he is faithful
and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9
NOTE:
Many Christians have enormous difficulty putting aside the sinful deeds
of the flesh because they have not yet obeyed the biblical command to
cleanse themselves of all filthiness of flesh and spirit:
Having therefore these
promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all
filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear
of God. 2 Cor. 7:1
It is necessary to heed God's command through the apostle Paul to
cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit because
spiritual filth (evil spirits) hinders our ability to walk after
the Holy Spirit.
Since the righteousness of the law is fulfilled in us as we walk after
the Spirit, it is imperative for you and I to humble ourselves in the sight
of the Lord and cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit so
that we can perfect holiness in the fear of God.
"That the
righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us as we walk, not
after the flesh, but after the Spirit."
God saves us by grace and
he sanctifies us by grace as well. It is up to us to choose to avail
ourselves of his grace to sow to the Holy Spirit and reap life
everlasting or to resist his grace and sow to the flesh . . . and reap
spiritual corruption. The context of the verse below clearly shows that
the Christian who sows to the flesh (and does not repent) will reap eternal spiritual corruption:
For he that soweth to
his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to
the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. Gal. 6:8
The Bible clearly teaches
that those who are led of the Holy Spirit are under grace and those who
walk after the flesh (sin willfully--see Heb. 10) are under the law and its condemnation. No condemnation is for those who
are in Christ Jesus--who walk, not after the flesh, but after the
Spirit. (See Rom. 8:1)
Are you walking in obedience to
the Holy Spirit, who is God?
Notes: (1) 1 Peter 5:12: By Silvanus, a
faithful brother unto you, as I suppose, I have written briefly,
exhorting, and testifying that this is the true grace of God wherein ye
stand.
related articles:
Law That Frees Us From
Sin and Death
God is Not Mocked By a
False Definition of Grace
The Gospel
of Jesus Christ
True
Gospel Vs False Gospel Articles
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