I had sent a letter to a man, regarding the discussion that he had with a good friend of his, concerning keeping the commandments after we are saved.
In the letter, I also attempted to describe, what I believe is our relationship with the Law, after we are saved.
I considered that part to be of interest to maybe some on FiveDoves.
The personal parts of the letter, I have not included here.
Please let me know what you think:
The Law, which is the inspired word of God, is a complete picture of the perfect character and attributes of the LORD.
His holiness, his eternality, his righteousness, his love, his glory, his power, and all his other attributes, are beautifully portrayed, and revealed, by the Law.
No child of Adam, with our sin nature, can come anywhere near to his perfection, that is found in the Law.
Yet, that is what he requires of us, because of who he is - for fellowship we have to be like him.
The story of Israel shows a nation of individuals who failed so miserably in attempting to keep his Law.
Now with the New Covenant, both Jews and Gentiles find a better way.
First we look at ourselves in the Law, and we see how miserably we fall so far short of his Law.
In light of his perfect holiness, righteousness, and selfless love portrayed the Law, we see ourselves as wretched, filthy sinners.
The Law, indeed, is our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ.
The Law shows us the perfection demanded of us, and the doom for falling short of that perfection.
The Gospel, now, shows that God manifest in the flesh, the LORD Jesus, perfectly kept and fulfilled all the Law.
It also shows that Jesus is the blood atonement for us who are condemned by that same Law.
To us who repent and believe on Jesus, he saves us, washes away our sin, adopts us, and puts his own Holy Ghost within us.
Now for us who are saved, we still see that the Law is the perfect picture of the LORD’s holiness and righteousness.
We still see that the LORD requires the same holiness of us, in order to have fellowship with him.
So, there are three things that we can do with that:
1) Blow it off, disregarding his holiness - but if we are saved, he may chastise us, so that we repent of that ungodly insanity
2) Be like a Galatian, and do it ourselves:
a) After they were saved, they went back and tried earnestly and desperately to keep the same Law.
b) The same Law that they failed so miserably at, before they were saved.
c) Then they discovered that their old man, their sin nature from Adam, was still there.
d) They found it impossible to keep the Law, exactly like before they were saved.
e) They either struggled with unbearable guilt, or they began categorizing sins, some to be not as bad as others.
f) Like the Pharisees, before them, they were able to make a fair show in the flesh, to deceive others & themselves.
3) Let the LORD do it:
a. The same LORD who is the author of the Law lives within us.
b. The same LORD, whose perfect holiness and righteousness is displayed by the Law, lives within us.
c. The same LORD, who demands that we be holy, as he is holy, lives within us.
d. The LORD, who can only be as the Law portrays him, he can only keep his Law perfectly, he can do nothing else.
e. The LORD cannot go contrary to his Law, or break his own commandments.
f. When we are filled with the Holy Ghost, he will do what he always does, he will live out the perfect holiness of the Law.
g. So if we surrender to him, and are filled by him, then he will be keeping the Law, not us.
h. He will be keeping the Law in us.
i. We cannot truly keep the Law, because we still have that old man, the sin nature.
j. However, the LORD not only can keep the Law in us, but he can do nothing else but fulfill the Law.
k. When we walk in the flesh, it is us trying to keep the Law.
l. When we walk in the Spirit, it is the Holy Ghost keeping the Law.
m. When we try to keep the Law, we not only fail, like always, but we mock the LORD, by “trying”, like Cain.
n. It was the same when we “tried”, like Cain, to do it in order to get saved, an impossibility, which mocked the Gospel.
o. It could only have been done by grace, through faith, with only the LORD saving us, we only repented and believed, he did it all.
p. It is still the same, now, we can only keep the Law by grace, through faith, i.e. by faith, filled with the Holy Ghost.
q. It is still the same, now, only the LORD can truly keep his Law, we can only repent and believe, he must do it all.
If we blow-off the Law, we are a Nicolaitan.
If we “try” to keep the Law, we are a Galatian.
If we are filled with the Holy Ghost, he keeps the Law in us, and we are a Christian.
#1 is like Sodom, #2 is like Cain, and #3 is like Able.
Thank you,
Gino