"In Christ, your heart is your ALLY. Not your enemy." - Jim Robbins
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Shocking! God's law was never meant for us!
God's law is "good and just and holy" (Rom 7:12), but it was never meant to help man live right or to help man in any way. God gave the law as a specific ministry. It was the ministry of death and condemnation (2 Cor 3:7-9). Through the law came guilt (Rom 3:19) and bondage (Gal 4:24-25).
Through the law, sin was imputed sin to man (Rom 5:13), and through the law, sin abounded (Rom 5:20)
The law is against us and contrary to us (Col 2:14), and the law is enmity with us (Eph 2:15).
"But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead. I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died." (Rom 7:8-9)
All of this was the ministry of the law. All of this is the reason the law was given. God never intended the law to be something through which man could actually find life or righteousness. Actually, it was exactly the opposite of that!
Let me repeat - the law is not bad or evil. It is good and just and holy. However, all it can do is to produce is guilt, condemnation, bondage and death. That is the law's purpose. Always has been, always will be. God didn't give the law to help man in any way. That was never the purpose of the law.
Now that we are in Christ, we have no relationship with the law. The Gentiles (most of us) never even had a relationship with the law in the first place. Now that we are in Christ, by grace through faith (having never been under the law), we don't suddenly begin to apply the law to our lives, or to help us live. And as for Jews, they were told they had to die to the law in order to be "married" (joined) to Christ. They weren't told to die to it, and then to bring it back up for help with living. Life in Christ - whether for Jew or Gentile - is lived apart from law, but rather "by grace through faith." Our life in Christ is lived through the fact that we died and we no longer live, but Christ now lives in us (Gal 2:19-21).
The law is not evil. But it simply can never provide help for living, nor help with life or righteousness or godliness or any such thing.
Abraham and all those who were counted as righteous before the law lived by faith. God had given them no laws to live by, because laws were (and are) not necessary for people who lived by faith. When the law came, it never helped anybody live righteously. (It was never meant to do that). In fact, as the previous verses show, when the law entered things only got worse. When the law came, guilt and condemnation entered. Death and bondage entered. This is exactly what God had planned and purposed with the law.
But before the law came, people lived by faith. They lived lives of faith, apart from the law, and that is how we live now. The difference now - and it's a wonderful, awesome difference - is that not only are we free from the ministry of death and condemnation and guilt and bondage (the law), but we have the actual life of Jesus Christ living in us! We need no law to live by faith. In fact, Paul said "the law is not of faith" (Gal 3:12).
The law is not of faith. We live by faith, and those who live by faith have no need of law. Again, the law produces exactly the opposite of what faith produces.
Through the law, sin was imputed sin to man (Rom 5:13), and through the law, sin abounded (Rom 5:20)
The law is against us and contrary to us (Col 2:14), and the law is enmity with us (Eph 2:15).
"But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead. I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died." (Rom 7:8-9)
All of this was the ministry of the law. All of this is the reason the law was given. God never intended the law to be something through which man could actually find life or righteousness. Actually, it was exactly the opposite of that!
Let me repeat - the law is not bad or evil. It is good and just and holy. However, all it can do is to produce is guilt, condemnation, bondage and death. That is the law's purpose. Always has been, always will be. God didn't give the law to help man in any way. That was never the purpose of the law.
Now that we are in Christ, we have no relationship with the law. The Gentiles (most of us) never even had a relationship with the law in the first place. Now that we are in Christ, by grace through faith (having never been under the law), we don't suddenly begin to apply the law to our lives, or to help us live. And as for Jews, they were told they had to die to the law in order to be "married" (joined) to Christ. They weren't told to die to it, and then to bring it back up for help with living. Life in Christ - whether for Jew or Gentile - is lived apart from law, but rather "by grace through faith." Our life in Christ is lived through the fact that we died and we no longer live, but Christ now lives in us (Gal 2:19-21).
The law is not evil. But it simply can never provide help for living, nor help with life or righteousness or godliness or any such thing.
Abraham and all those who were counted as righteous before the law lived by faith. God had given them no laws to live by, because laws were (and are) not necessary for people who lived by faith. When the law came, it never helped anybody live righteously. (It was never meant to do that). In fact, as the previous verses show, when the law entered things only got worse. When the law came, guilt and condemnation entered. Death and bondage entered. This is exactly what God had planned and purposed with the law.
But before the law came, people lived by faith. They lived lives of faith, apart from the law, and that is how we live now. The difference now - and it's a wonderful, awesome difference - is that not only are we free from the ministry of death and condemnation and guilt and bondage (the law), but we have the actual life of Jesus Christ living in us! We need no law to live by faith. In fact, Paul said "the law is not of faith" (Gal 3:12).
The law is not of faith. We live by faith, and those who live by faith have no need of law. Again, the law produces exactly the opposite of what faith produces.
Friday, November 11, 2011
Rest Easy
Rest easy
Have no fear
I love you perfectly
Love drives out fear
I'll take your burden
You take My grace
Rest easy
In My embrace
Have no fear
I love you perfectly
Love drives out fear
I'll take your burden
You take My grace
Rest easy
In My embrace
Thank you, Veterans
To say "thank you" is not nearly enough, but yet I can never repay the price that our veterans have paid in service to our country. So, as small a token as it is, thank you all for your service and sacrifice. God bless you.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
"What if God isn't who you think He is?"
New book coming out from the "Truefaced" and "Bo's Cafe" crew in a few days.
Rocks and Stones
If God can make non-living, inanimate objects, such as rOcKs and StOnEs, "cry out," then what makes us think that He "needs" us to do anything for Him? But we've got it so much better than the rocks and stones and we've got it so much better than being forced into labor. We get the honor and privilege of walking in step with Him as He willingly and joyfully works His marvelous works and wonders through us!
Sunday, November 06, 2011
Jim Robbins Interviews Andrew Farley ("God Without Religion")
Jim Robbins recently shared a three part interview that he had with Andrew Farley in which they discussed the concepts in Andrew's latest book, God Without Religion.
All three parts of the interview can be found here. You can listen/download the mp3's directly from Jim's podcast page or via iTunes.
All three parts of the interview can be found here. You can listen/download the mp3's directly from Jim's podcast page or via iTunes.
Saturday, November 05, 2011
Be Strong in the Lord
Spiritual battles are not yours to fight. The battle is the Lord's. The weight is His. You might feel it in your soul, but the battle itself is not yours to fight, and your soul does not always see or understand what the Lord is doing. The battle is not against people. The battle is not against people. The battle is not against people. The battle that the Lord is fighting is not a battle that he is fighting against people. The battle He is fighting is against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. This might be manifested through people (including you and me at times), but the people are not the enemy. The people are not the Lord's enemies. He is not fighting against people.
The Lord has been strong and mighty in battle ever since the beginning. People such as you and me - flesh and blood - are not good at fighting the Lord's battles. We cannot win. We cannot even fight. We "put on" the armor but the battle is the Lord's. Be encouraged. Take the weight off of yourself and let the Lord do what He is very very capable of doing. Boast in your weakness. Trust in His sufficiency. Don't fight people. Don't live in fear. Don't live in darkness. Rather, let the Lord fight the powers of the invisible world, which again, He is so very capable of. He is the light and you are in the light. Live as the light of the world, not as a worried, fearful, bound up victim. You are victorious because He is victorious, even when you can't see the battles that He is fighting and winning. He will never lose. He can't lose. He has already won.
Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.
The Lord has been strong and mighty in battle ever since the beginning. People such as you and me - flesh and blood - are not good at fighting the Lord's battles. We cannot win. We cannot even fight. We "put on" the armor but the battle is the Lord's. Be encouraged. Take the weight off of yourself and let the Lord do what He is very very capable of doing. Boast in your weakness. Trust in His sufficiency. Don't fight people. Don't live in fear. Don't live in darkness. Rather, let the Lord fight the powers of the invisible world, which again, He is so very capable of. He is the light and you are in the light. Live as the light of the world, not as a worried, fearful, bound up victim. You are victorious because He is victorious, even when you can't see the battles that He is fighting and winning. He will never lose. He can't lose. He has already won.
Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.
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