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Friday, March 13,
2009
A Changing Of The Guard
Romans 6:8-14 Now if we be dead with
Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: (9) Knowing that
Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more
dominion over him. (10) For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in
that he liveth, he liveth unto God. (11) Likewise reckon ye also yourselves
to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our
Lord. (12) Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should
obey it in the lusts thereof. (13) Neither yield ye your members as
instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as
those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of
righteousness unto God. (14) For sin shall not have dominion over you: for
ye are not under the law, but under grace. (KJV)
Now as verse 8 says, that if you are dead
with Christ, dead to your own lusts and desires but alive with Him
spiritually, then you are able to believe as well as live with Him in the
realm of the Spirit. Once our Lord died it was done; not like under the old
law where it would have to be done over and over again, but as we talked
about yesterday it was a permanent change. Have you changed with the times;
no I am not talking about being politically correct with the ways of the
world, but changing or transforming daily by the renewing of your mind in
the things of God? Did you ever stop and think that when you yield yourself
to the things of the old law and its rituals you are actually trying to
establish your own righteousness, one our Lord doesn’t acknowledge? Another
way to put it is that when you are under the law then you have separated
from grace, a grace that is needed in order to truly be saved.
Galatians 3:10-14 For as many as are of
the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is
every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book
of the law to do them. (11) But that no man is justified by the law in the
sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. (12) And
the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them. (13)
Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for
us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: (14) That
the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ;
that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. (KJV)
Wasn’t this the whole intent and purpose;
that our Lord came to redeem us from the curse of the old law? Yet with
this in mind, why do so many still hold to the law and its dead rituals,
especially when it comes to the true Spiritual meaning of baptism? There is
no justification in the law, no righteousness, and yet with this in mind so
many still hold to the dead rituals of it, thinking they will find
justification. Again, did it ever occur to you that when you hold to these
traditions and doctrines of man that in essence you are yielding yourself
to something unrighteous, a law of death, and not of life that you think
you are finding? Instead of reaching out for the spiritual lifeline our
Lord provides for us in Christ, many are still grabbing and hanging onto an
anchor rope, one tied from their neck to a millstone.
Romans 9:31-33 But Israel, which followed
after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of
righteousness. (32) Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as
it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone;
(33) As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of
offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. (KJV)
Has much changed over the years, whether
it be referred to as Israel or what man calls a church today? Rather than
seek the Lord by faith to understand the true Spiritual meaning of His Word
many are blindly rumbling, bumbling, and stumbling along seeking their
answer in an old law and the works of it. There is a stone, a rock solid
foundation for one to build their faith and trust in, that being Jesus
Christ and the completed work He did for His people, not the completed work
people think they still need to do. While many are running to and fro
seeking the answer in the carnal realm they end up falling short by holding
to a law that our Lord came to eliminate not duplicate, people. The only
way you can and ever will be justified is by Christ, while anything else
will have you falling short of the glory of God, basically falling flat on
your face.
Galatians 3:1-5 O foolish Galatians, who
hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes
Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? (2) This
only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law,
or by the hearing of faith? (3) Are ye so foolish? having begun in the
Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh? (4) Have ye suffered so many
things in vain? if it be yet in vain. (5) He therefore that ministereth to
you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of
the law, or by the hearing of faith? (KJV)
Did you know that witchcraft is
considered a sin, something our Lord doesn’t look too kindly on? Years ago
there was a TV program called ‘Bewitched’ where someone wiggled their nose
and made things magically happen. Sound silly and ridiculous? Well, every
time someone reverts back to the works of the law, which does include water
baptism folks, it’s like watching a rerun of Bewitched, something foolish
and farfetched from reality. Your entrance into the realm of the Spiritual
had nothing to do with your own works, and you remaining in that realm has
nothing to do with man’s works, but rather a faith in the work Jesus Christ
has done on your behalf.
Strong’s definition for ‘vain’:
1500
eike (i-kay'); probably from 1502 (through the idea of failure);
idly, i.e. without reason (or effect): KJV-- without a cause, (in) vain (-ly).
Interesting word there concerning vain,
something that has no reason, idle fits also. You know, a hundred years ago
money was printed and put into circulation for trading and getting
provisions needed. Since that time however a new system has been put into
place in order to buy and sell. If one tries to use the old system today it
would not be accepted because it has been replaced by a new system. The
same pattern holds true with our Lord, the old served its purpose and has
been done away, replaced by something new and in operation today. So when
you see things in the Bible, say for instance the word baptism, do you just
limit it to the old outward realm or are you able to see the deeper Spiritual
implication of it, something that is of use and has substance today? Take
some time and pray about the things you do and why you do them; ‘is it
because someone else said it was so, or is it something that I know came
from the Lord and keeps me in good standing with Him’. There has been a
changing of the guard people; are you changing into one of God’s people or
are you idly hung up on the old law and its rituals that our Lord said He
came to do away with? Just because it is a crowd favorite with many of man’s
so called people doesn’t mean it works with our Lord. In fact that which
man holds in high esteem is an abomination with God. In other words, when
you see the many doing something they think impresses or pleases God that
would be the first red flag to go back and see what the Lord’s true take
and intention is. As long as you hold God to be true and man the liar then
you will not fall or stumble in your walk.
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