The Law Reveals the Lack of Our Love.

 We know sin by the law.

When we do not love God- we sin.

When we do not love others- we sin.

We are not forced to love anyone at all whatsoever.  Love is a selflessness that is only perfected in God. Love is a self-sacrifice, a complete and utter sacrifice of self without thought of self-preservation. You are not forced to love. You can go your whole life with the intent not to love God, He will not force you to love Him. He's explained to all what He is, what He's done for us, how things are. He's made no bones about what is expected from us as His creatures. He's given us a brain that can think all on its own and allowed us to make a choice to love Him or not. He's even allowed us to have the thought that He is not our Creator, He forced NOTHING of Himself upon us. We choose.  

Love. 

Without love we sin, the law tells us this. 

Mat 22:37  Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 

Mat 22:38  This is the first and great commandment. 

Mat 22:39  And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 

Mat 22:40  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. 

The law reveals sin. The law reveals the lack of our love.

The royal law, the ten commandments written by the finger of God Himself in stone and placed inside the ark of the covenant put in the most holy place of the sanctuary beneath the mercy seat between covering angels, the place where God would meet with His people. This royal law of all the laws given was the only set of laws put inside the ark of the covenant. This royal law encompassed the laws to love God and the laws to love our neighbors (all others). These love laws truly do reveal our LACK of love. When we break a law we are unloving of either God or man. We sin by the law because the law reveals the sin. 

As we pursue self-love we sin, yet so many people would have us believe that self is most important above all else. Satan would have us believe this so completely it's incredibly hard for us to break away from the desire for self-contentment, self-peace, self-satisfaction and so on.

God, please help us to be loving, not self absorbed in any way. Guide us to this end according to Your will that we LOVE YOU and LOVE OTHERS. All through Jesus Christ our LORD and SAVIOR, now and forever!  Amen!

(Excerpt)

Articles on Romans  by E. J. Waggoner Chapter 7

Sin by the Law. 

The apostle says that when we were in the flesh, "the motions of sins, which were by the law,  did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death." What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Far from it. The law is righteousness. But it is only by the law that sin is known. "Sin is not imputed when there is no law." "The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law." 1 Cor. 15:56. "Sin is the transgression of the law." So there can be no sin but by the law. But the law is not sin; for if it were, it would not reprove sin. To convince of sin is the work of the Spirit of God, and not of Satan. He would make us believe that sin is right.

Dead to Sin, Alive in Christ.

 Articles on Romans  by E. J. Waggoner Chapter 7

 The seventh chapter of Romans is really all contained in the sixth. He who understands the sixth chapter will have no difficulty with the seventh. By Christ's obedience we are made righteous. This is because his life is now given to us, and he lives in us.

This union with Christ we get by being crucified with him. In that death the body of sin is destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin, or, in other words, that we should no more transgress the law. So closely are we identified with sin, it being our very life, that it can not be destroyed without our dying. But in Christ there is no sin, so that while we have a resurrection with him, sin remains dead. So, being raised with him, we live with him, a thing that was formerly impossible on account of sin; sin can not dwell with him.

A Striking Illustration Romans 7:1-7

1 Know ye not, brethren (for I speak to them that know the law), how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth? 2 For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. 3 So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress; but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man. 4 Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God. 5 For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. 6 But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit and not in the oldness of the letter. 7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law; for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.

The Illustration. It is a very simple one, and one which every one can understand. The law of God says of man and woman, "They two shall be one flesh." It is adultery for either one to be married to another while the other is living. The law will not sanction such a union.

For reasons that will appear later, the illustration cites only the case of a woman leaving her husband. The law unites them. That law holds the woman to the man as long as he lives. If while her husband lives she shall be united to another man, she will find herself under the condemnation of the law. But if her husband dies, she may be united to another, and be perfectly free from any condemnation.

The woman is then "free from the law," although the law has not changed in one particular. Least of all has it been abolished; for the same law that bound her to the first husband and which condemned her for uniting with another in his lifetime, now unites her to another and binds her to him as closely as it did to the first. If we hold to this simple illustration, we shall have no difficulty with what follows.

The Application. As in the illustration there are four subjects, the law, the woman, the first husband, and the second husband so also in the application.

We are represented as the woman. This is clear from the statement that we are "married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead," which is Christ. He therefore is the second husband. The first husband is indicated in verse 5: "When we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death." Death is the fruit of sin. The first husband, therefore, was the flesh, or "the body of sin."

"Dead to the Law." This is the expression that troubles so many. There is nothing troublesome in it, if we but keep in mind the illustration and the nature of the parties to this transaction. Why are we dead to the law? In order that we might be married to another. But how is it that we become dead in order to be married to another?  In the illustration it is the first husband that dies before the woman may be married to another. Even so it is here,  as we shall see.

"One Flesh." The law of marriage is that the two parties to it "shall be one flesh." How is it in this case? The first husband is the flesh, the body of sin. Well, we were truly one flesh with that. We were by nature perfectly united to sin. It was our life. It controlled us. Whatever sin devised, that we did. We might have done it unwillingly at times, but we did it nevertheless. Sin reigned in our mortal bodies, so that we obeyed it in the lusts thereof.  Whatever sin wished, was law to us. We were one flesh.

Seeking a Divorce. There comes a time in our experience when we wish to be free from sin. It is when we see something of the beauty of holiness. With some people the desire is only occasional; with others it is more constant. Whether they recognize the fact or not, it is Christ appealing to them to forsake sin, and to be joined to him, to live with him. And so they endeavor to effect a separation. But sin will not consent. In spite of all that we can do, it still clings to us. We are "one flesh," and it is a union for life since it is a union of our life to sin. There is no divorce in that marriage.

Freedom in Death. There is no hope of effecting a separation from sin by any ordinary means. No matter how much we may desire to be united to Christ, it can not be done while we are joined to sin; for the law will not sanction such a union, and Christ will not enter into any union that is not lawful.

 

If we could only get sin to die, we should be free, but it will not die. There is only one way for us to be freed from the hateful union, and that is for us to die. If we wish freedom so much that we are willing [for self] to be crucified, then it may be done. In death the separation is effected; for it is by the body of Christ that "we" become dead. We are crucified with him. The body of sin is also crucified. But while the body of sin is destroyed,  we have a resurrection in Christ. The same thing that frees us from the first husband, unites us to the second.

A New Creature. Now we see how it is that we are dead to the law. We died in Christ, and were raised in him. But "if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.  And all things are of God." 2 Cor. 5:17, 18. Now we may be united to Christ, and the law will witness to the union,  and sanction it. For not only is the first husband dead, but we also died, so that, although alive, we are not the same creature that we were before. "I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me." Gal. 2:20. We are one. The same law that formerly declared us to be sinners now binds us to Christ.

A Different Service. Now that the union with Christ has been effected, we serve in newness of spirit and not in the oldness of the letter. In marriage, the woman is to be subject to the husband. So when we were united to sin,  we were in all things subject to sin. For a time it was willing service; but when we saw the Lord, and were drawn to him, the service became irksome. We tried to keep God's law, but were bound, and could not. But now we are set free. Sin no longer restrains us, and our service is freedom. We gladly render to Christ all the service that the law requires of us. We render this service because of the perfect union between us. His life is ours, since we were raised only by the power of his life. Therefore our obedience is simply his loyalty and faithfulness in us.

To be continued….  By the will and grace of God, through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, now and forever!!!!!!!

We Are Strangers Upon Earth.

 Psa 39:12  Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear unto my cry; hold not thy peace at my tears: for I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were. 

A stranger, a sojourner.

Heb_11:13  These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

Strangers and pilgrims.

What does it mean to be a stranger, a sojourner, a pilgrim upon this earth? 

A sojourner is one who only stays in a place for a short period of time, a stranger is one who does not belong, a pilgrim is one who his making a special journey, a traveler.

If we are sojourning, strangers, and pilgrims upon this earth it means we do not belong to this earth, we are only here for a short time, we are traveling through this life because we know this is but a part of our lives, not the whole of it.  

HOW awful it must be to believe this sin sick world is the world we were intended for. HOW awful it must be to believe this world overrun with horrors is all there is for us. This world does NOT have enough joy of its own to be considered perfect in any way. This world was forfeit upon the acceptance of sin. As sin coated the entire world, changing its perfection into pain, all that would remain would be glimpses of the former sinless world. We are afforded the glimpses so we could be reminded of how it should have been, and how it will be again one day.

We are not supposed to make ourselves at home in this world. We are supposed to rage against the sin which has corrupted it in so many ways. Our rage will lead us to recognize that ONLY a new world without sin will fix all the problems this world has. THIS world MADE NEW! Not this world patched up and bandaged. Try as we might, mankind CANNOT FIX THIS WORLD!  

How much better off would we be if we recognized that we must treat this world as temporary to eternity. Loving each other, and doing all that we can through our Lord and Savior to give His love, while knowing He will return for us, and one day make this world new. Not treating the people of this world as hopeless, but loving them perfectly in Christ. Our hope isn't in this world, it's just not! Our hope must be in Christ! Our hope must be in our HEAVENLY HOME to come when Christ sounds the last trump! Until then, until that day we are STRANGERS, PILGRIMS, SOJOURNERS here upon this earth.  We must remember this, we must it's so important.

Psa 39:12  Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear unto my cry; hold not thy peace at my tears: for I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were. 

Please LORD, hear our prayers. 

Please LORD, give ear to our cries.

Please LORD, hold not your peace at our tears.

Please… Lord… please… we are strangers, we are sojourners…. Please we are with you in our pilgrimage as all those who are yours before us!

Please.

Earning Death. Accepting Life.

 

You earn death. Not the first death, but the second. Yes, there are two deaths. The first death is the one of the flesh returning to the dust and the breath returning to God, and all thoughts ceasing until the last trump when Christ returns to call all those that are His to be with Him in heaven.  The second death is the death there is no resurrection from because you are completely and utterly no more- not even dust, not even a breath returned to God. The second death will come upon all of those who are not called to be with Christ when He returns. We don't earn the first death, that is ours from the moment we are born- the death sentence of this fragile flesh form wracked with so much potential for illness, disease, accidents, sicknesses, injuries, deformities and so on. We do earn the second death, the eternal death. We earn that death by embracing a life of sin which is self-focused.  We earn that death when we refuse to accept the free gift offered to us which is eternal life in Christ. A gift is offered it isn't forced upon us. The gift is ours for the taking. When we accept that gift we are accepting the truth that our salvation is something we cannot give to ourselves, we cannot earn it for ourselves, we cannot buy it for ourselves. We must accept the gift, and when we accept this gift we are accepting all that the gift is! We take the gift and this gift becomes a part of our life, this gift becomes our life. We take our focus off ourselves and put it on the gift that is now our life- our eternal life.

(Excerpt)

Distressed by the threatenings of the law which we have broken, we flee for refuge to Christ, who is "full of grace and truth." There we find freedom from sin. In him we not only find grace to cover all our sin, but we find the righteousness of the law because he is full of truth, and the law is the truth. Ps. 119:142. Grace "reigns" through righteousness (or obedience to the law), unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Wages of Sin. In the second chapter we learned that those who reject the goodness of God are treasuring up to themselves wrath. Now wrath comes only on the children of disobedience. Eph. 5:6. 

Eph 5:6  Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.

Those who sin are laying up wages for themselves. "The wages of sin is death." Sin has death in it, therefore "sin, when it is finished,  bringeth forth death." There can be no other end to sin than death, because sin is the absence of righteousness,  and righteousness is the life and character of God.

Persistent and final choice of sin is therefore choice of complete separation from the life of God, and so from all life, since he is the only source of life. Christ, who is the wisdom of God, says, "All they that hate me love death." Prov. 8:36. Those who suffer death at last will be only those who have worked for it.

The Gift of God. But we do not work for eternal life. No works that we could do would make the smallest part of payment towards it. It is the gift of God. True, it comes only through righteousness, but righteousness is a gift.  "By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained (prepared) that we should walk in them." Eph. 2:8-10.

"O how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men!" Ps. 31:19. When people sin, God gives them only what they have bargained for. But if any yield themselves as servants of righteousness, he provides the righteousness for them,  and gives them eternal life with it, all as a free gift. "The way of the transgressor is hard," but the yoke of Christ is easy, and his burden is light.'

Not Under the Law

 

Endure Now for Joy Later.

 I desire a heavenly country. No, not a country here on earth that is really wonderful, I desire a very real country existing in heaven. 

We human beings have lived in a world of chaos from the moment sin entered. People have idealized certain time periods in our history, the so-called glory days of the past. Each generation seems to have this tunnel vision that times were better and there is often a longing to return to those better times. The truth of the matter is -time from sin's inception has been hard for all of us. Yes, there may have been pockets of time that we try to imagine were the good ol' days. However, even during those times the good life was NOT shared by a vast majority of people around the world. Our sin soaked world is filled with evil beyond measure and for us to ignore that is to keep from realizing that this evil world is NOT how we were meant to live! We were NOT created with the intent for us to live horrific lives interspersed with various moments of joy. Life was NOT supposed to be the awful struggle that it is for most of us. Mentally, emotionally, physically we live in a nightmare world that we can't wake up from. Try as we might, this world will NEVER become the idealized place we all seem to want and deep down we comprehend this. We are all in a huge sinking boat called earth and this boat has been taking on water since sin took over. Our lives are spent with bailing buckets in our hands, and it's a constant effort to bail out the waters threatening to ruin us at any given moment. NO this was NOT how we were meant to exist! I refuse to believe it! You can't make me believe this horrific life with all its pain is a wonderful way to live simply because there are joys mingled in with the heart aches. This life is NOT the life we are to live for, we are to live for the BETTER COUNTRY, the HEAVENLY COUNTRY, the PROMISED COUNTRY, the HEAVENLY MANISONS PREPARED FOR US!

We NEED to believe, truly believe that we are living now, right now, for that future with our SAVIOR.  

LIVE for the heavenly right now! Endure the agony now with the knowledge that it is temporary! 

When CHRIST returns and HE WILL RETURN BEYOND A DOUBT, we will rise to meet Him in the air! We will go with Him to our heavenly country!

How do I know He will return?  Because I found a book that prophesized of many, many things and every single prophecy in that book either came to pass or will come to pass.  If prophecy after prophecy comes true, NOTHING will stop ALL of the prophecies from coming true! 

JESUS will return for us! Jesus wants us to be ready for Him simply by trusting in Him, believing in Him, hoping in Him! 

As we suffer the agonies of bailing out a never ending sinking ship, with periodic respites, let us know that someday all of the bailing- which is furious and exhausting in the midst of storms, and slower paced in times of relative calm, that all the bailing will be worth it for the never ending joy that awaits us.  

Lay your TREASURES in heaven, and DO NOT expect to get them here on this sin captivated world. You know as well as I do, any pleasure you derive from sin is fleeting, just masking the pain-- pain that God wants us all to realize is only temporary to the eternity that He offers to us.  God help us all to know Him and His love, His deep, deep love that goes beyond our ability to fully comprehend- we are after all the creatures, He is the CREATOR. What audacity we possess when we think we have the right to know the mysteries of God!

Deu_29:29  The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever…

Heb 11:16  But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city. 

Mat 6:20  But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 

Mat 6:21  For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. 

Jesus' Joy.

Are you heavy laden?  These days most people are heavy laden, aren't they? We go through life heavy laden with the various burdens placed upon us by our existing in a world ruled by sin. It is a world ruled by sin, make no mistake about it. 

1Jn 5:19  And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness. 

2Co 4:4  In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. 

Mat 4:8  Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; 

Mat 4:9  And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. 

Mat 4:10  Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. 

The devil offered to give to Jesus all the kingdoms of the world, all the glory of them….  The devil couldn't have made these offers unless they were histo give.  Jesus didn't refute the devil's claim of kingdom ownership of the world, He told Him that He would only worship God. Jesus knew that there was a prince of this world who was evil.

Joh_12:31  Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. 

The prince of this world is the devil, he rules this world. Few compared to the many choose to live in this devil ruled world and yet claim only to worship God in all truth. Satan wants every single human being to be one of his subjects. 

The heavy laden feeling we endure starts when we are very young and begin to comprehend life has hardships, life has pain, life has confusion, that life is unfair.  As we grow older the burdens change, that heavy laden weight alters. The weight of our living in this sin drenched world varies for each of us. My burden isn't yours, and likewise, your burden isn't mine.  We are given moments of joy that supersede the pains and those glimpses of joy give us a desire for more joy, less burden. We seek the joy and things that negate that joy which burden us. In TRUTH and I mean this…in TRUTH there is only ONE joy that should outshine all other joys, and that is the joy we find in our heavenly treasure. Our heavenly treasure cannot be stripped from us ever. Not a single thing on earth can take our heavens treasure from us so is there any wonder at all that we need to truly believe in the reality of that heavenly treasure?

Christ is our heavenly treasure. The good news of salvation through Christ is our heavenly treasure. The HOPE of eternal life in Christ, HOPE in the world to come, not this world, is our heavenly treasure. 

Abraham thousands of years ago lived with this hope…  considering himself a pilgrim on this earth. 

Heb 11:13  These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 

Dying in faith, we need to live in faith, embracing the promises of God now.

Laying our treasures up in heaven NOW.

Mat 6:20  But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 

Mat 6:21  For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. 

We are heavy laden, but we can find REST in Jesus Christ, making Him a reality in our lives. Our joy NOW needs to be the HOPE of heaven- Jesus Christ, now.  We can lay the world's weight down now as we pick up heaven's hope, heaven's treasure, heaven's joy.

The burdens are going to hit us, day after day. The huge irritations and the very small irritations, the agonies, the pains, the horrors are all a part of the life we live and we must seek Jesus' joy!  We need to ask ourselves when the weight of the world is tearing us down, if we are living for Jesus' joy. When we cry out our pain may we cry out for Jesus' joy. Jesus' joy is FUTURE HOPE, OTHERWORLDLY HOPE. Jesus' joy is KNOWING our joy is in the promises we have yet to see and not lamenting having realized promises now because we know that sin will rule this world until our Savior returns. 

God help us to make Jesus' Joy real in our everyday existence.  All through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! Now and forever! May God's will be done!

Mat 11:28  Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 

Mat 11:29  Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 

Mat 11:30  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.