| Author | Message | ||
| Gatororeo7 (Gatororeo7) |
The purpose of the law is to show us our need for salvation and then point us to Christ. Once it has done this, the law serves no other purpose. It cannot save us, give us life, forgive our sins, or make us righteous. That is why, as believers, we are no longer under the law; we are under the grace of God. Galatians 3:24, 25 So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law. 1. According to this verse, why was the law put in charge? To lead us to Christ. 2. When we are led to Christ, how are we justified? By faith. 3. Now that faith has come, are we under the supervision of the law any longer? No. 4. If the law has led you to Christ so you could be justified by faith in Him, has the law served its purpose in your life? Yes. 5. Since the law has served its purpose, is there any further need for the law in your life? No. Romans 7:1-3 Do you not know, brothers--for I am speaking to men who know the law--that the law has authority over a man only as long as he lives? For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage. So then, if she marries another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress, even though she marries another man. 1. How long does the law have authority over a person? As long as he lives. 2. To explain this point, Paul uses the example of marriage. How long is a woman bound to her husband? As long as he is alive. 3. What happens if her husband dies? She is released from the law of marriage. 4. What does the law call the woman who marries another man while her husband is still alive? An adulteress. 5. If her husband dies and she marries another man, is she an adulteress? Why not? No, because she is released from that law. Romans 7:4-6 So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God. For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death. But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code. 1. According to this passage, what have we died to? The law. 2. How did we die to the law? Through the body of Christ. 3. Now that we have died to the law, are we free to belong to another? Yes. 4. To whom do we now belong? To Him who was raised from the dead - Christ. 5. Now that we belong to Christ, what kind of fruit do we bear? Fruit to God. 6. Could we bear fruit to God under the law? No. 7. What kind of fruit did we bear while under the law? Fruit for death. 8. What did the law do to our sinful passions? They were aroused by the law. 9. Because we have died to what once bound us, what have we been released from? The law. 10. How do we now serve? In the new way of the Spirit. 11. Before we were released from the law, how did we serve? In the old way of the written code. 12. Could we serve in the new way of the Spirit while under the law? No. 13. How important, then is it to realize that we are no longer under the authority of the law? Very important. Romans 6:14 For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace. 1. According to this verse, what is the reason that sin shall not be your master? Because you are not under law. 2. As believers, what are we now under? Grace. 3. Therefore, what is to control our lives - law or grace? Grace. 4. Who is full of grace? Christ. 5. Because we are under grace, who are we controlled by? Christ. 6. Could we be controlled by Jesus Christ under the law? No. Scripture spells it out clearly: The law has no place in a believer's life. We are under the grace of God. But many people try to mix law and grace in their Christian life. They claim to be saved by the grace of God but then they feel they must do something to make themselves acceptable to God. For those who may think the law does play a role in the believer's life, we'll take a closer look at what it means to live under the law in the next part. | ||
| Jerry (Jerry) |
This is where one most often loses the ìlaw keepers.î I know there is more to your study and I expect one of your following parts of the study will address this question. Usually, there is some level of tolerance about ìunder the Lawî and ìunder Graceî up to this point. Through the mind of the LKs runs a interior monologue like this: ìYeah, sure, . . . New Covenant . . . by the grace of God . . . However . . . Uh-huh, . . . on the Cross . . . for our sins . . . However . . . Yup, thatís right . . . believe in Jesus . . . have eternal life . . . HOWEVER.î Then it bursts out, ìOK, Mr. Smarty-pants. So, you have abolished the Law, right? Now what? So, anarchy is OK, right? Weíll just go around blaspheming, stealing, murdering, deceiving . . . or whatever, right? Yeah, right! What kind of God would want us to do that? Thatís ridiculous!î The mind shuts tight, the arms fold, the lips narrow, the head tilts down, one eyebrow goes up, the other goes down. ìHumph.î Eyes roll up, head shakes. It just amazes me that this barrier is so hard to cross. To me, there is a subtle, but important difference, which many fail to see about the Gospel of Grace and Freedom through Christ. It is like the difference between ìselfishnessî and ìenlightened self-interest.î Selfishness says, ìI want what I want no matter how it affects others. Even if I hurt others, it is OK as long as I get what I want and avoid being hurt by others.î Enlightened self-interest says, ìIn order for me to be happy and have what I need to live in abundance, I must help as many of the people in my ìworldî as I can to be happy and satisfied. Because everybodyís happiness and satisfaction contributes to my happiness and satisfaction.î This is akin to the theological maturity referenced in Hebrews. This is similar to what Paul was explaining about spirituality in Romans. What the LKs seem unable to comprehend fully, is the magnitude of the transformational power of rebirth in Christ. This reminds me of a commonly known thought experiment taught in some geometry or physics classes. I will paraphrase it as best I can remember with some adaptation to this discussion. (Donít worry: no pop- quiz to take or formulas to memorize.) Here, it is a parable for the difference in understanding between ìunder the Lawî and ìunder Grace.î The title I will use is: Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess . . . No, wait! Wrong story. Once upon a time, there was a place called ìFlatworld.î Everything in Flatworld existed in two dimensions. There was length and width, but no height. There were many kinds of inhabitants in Flatworld, each kind had a different shapes. There were circles, squares, triangles, ovals, hexagons, pentagons, trapezoids, and many others. There were many rules in Flatworld. For example: You could travel forward, backward, left, and right; or various combinations of those directions. However, you could not go up or down, because there was no up or down. You could not look high or low, because there was no high or low No one was taller or shorter than anyone else, because there was no tall or short. Whenever two shapes met, they had to go around each other to one side or the other. They could not go above or below, because there was no above or below. Strangely enough, one kind of shape could change into another kind of shape. This was because any shape was made of thin edges with nothing in the middle. A pentagon could flatten out one of its corners and become a trapezoid. A triangle could add a corner and become a square. An octagon could round all sides and become a circle. It was hard to do, but they could change their shape. Why would they want to do that? This was because they wanted to become a solid shape with the most material inside the edges. That way they could withstand the bumps and bruises of life and would be strong and important. Now, long ago, everyone had learned that the best shape was a circle. This was because a circle could contain the must material inside the edges, more than any other shape with the same amount of edge. The problem was that a circle was the hardest shape to be. Every part of a shapeís surface had to be perfectly round. Every place on the edge of the shape had to be exactly the same distance from the center. There could be no rough spots and not too much or too little curve anywhere. Although it was the strongest shape in many ways, it was very easy to dent if one bumped into a corner. Besides, just because one could contain the most material inside oneís edge, did not mean there was any added material. No one could see inside another unless an edge was broken. Breaking an edge was not a good idea, because then one would collapse and die. to be continued later tonight . . . | ||
| Gatororeo7 (Gatororeo7) |
Jerry, Thanks for your comments, and yes I'm pretty sure the study will answer that question. I have been posting these same studies on another message board, and the resident SDA, as well as the facilitator have been very critical of it. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I've never said anything about the Law being abolished. Yet that is exactly what is assumed. Look, I have no problem with the Law being holy and good, because it is. But the Bible also says that it's holy and good at pointing out my sin and leading me to Christ. Gal 3:24 says that since faith has come, we are not in need of the Law. I make no apologies for taking that at face value! There are so many analogies that can be made to the Law's purpose in our lives. There's the classic mirror analogy. The mirror shows us our face is dirty, but it can't do anything else for me. Once I know my face is dirty, has the mirror done it it's job? Yes. Do I throw out the mirror? No, but I don't need it anymore because it's done it's job. You are right; the one hump people just can't seem to get over is the fact that killing and condemning is all the Law can ever do. When it's doing that, its doing its job. If the Law stirs up sin before we knew Christ, what do you honestly think is going to happen after Christ? Does the LAw suddenly start producing righteousness? If so, what do we need Christ for? If the Law can give me life, forgive my sins, and make me acceptable to God, then what do I need Christ for? And ultimately, if we are judged based on how well we keep the Law, what do I need Christ for in my life ever? the focus is all on me and not on Christ. I love those who say that Christ gives us the power to keep the Law because its such a crock of bull. We break the Law everyday of our lives. If Christ gives us the power to keep the Law, what explanation do you give for when we break it? It would seem the only logical one is that Christ failed, and that's not acceptable. It takes away from the Gospel because it says that everything Christ did was for Himself and not for all humanity. Second, it again takes the focus off Christ and onto us. Either Christ did it for us or not. The Bible says He did it for us, so I believe that. And apparently, that's unbiblical. | ||
| Colleentinker (Colleentinker) |
Joel, these studies really are good. Your questions and conclusions above regarding the typical arugments against the NT teaching of the new covenant completely summarize Adventist misunderstanding. but your studies are addressing the questions really well. Colleen |
