We have talked about “The acceptable year of the Lord” and coming “The Vengeance of the Lord”
We’ve learned that Satan has been disarmed, and he’s nothing but an opportunist.
We learned that we were created in God’s Image and crowned with dignity and honor, and he was created to serve mankind!
We learned that we are Born of God, we can’t continue in sin, and the devil can’t touch us!
We learned about internal Idol!
Rom 7:14-25
14 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. 15 For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. 16 If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.
17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. 18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. 21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. 22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: 23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin. KJV
- The law, A law, Law of God, Law in my members, Law of my mind, Law of sin
- Used 9 times, 6 different ways
In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul uses nomos over 100 times, primarily in his letters to the Romans and Galatians.
The Mosaic Law: He uses nomos to refer to the Torah—the specific commandments given to Israel.
- He asserts that while the Law is "holy, righteous, and good" (Romans 7:12), it lacks the power to save human beings from sin; it only exposes their inability to keep it.
- 2 of the 6 times the Law is referred to the Torah
An Internal Law: Paul adapts the Greek secular idea of nomos as a "governing force."
- He writes about a governing force of internal laws, such as "the law of sin at work within me" vs. "the law of the Spirit of life" (Romans 8:2).
- In our opening passage, 4 of the 6 times the word is used comes from this meaning!
Law: meaning to dispense or give out; means a rule, custom, norm, or anything assigned by usage
- to hand out, divide up moral or religious customs, or standards.
Rom 7:20-23
20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. 21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. 22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: 23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
- (A Law) When I would do good, evil is present with me
Would: to will, equivalent to purpose, to be decided upon, seeing one's desire to its execution.
I: ego, how you view yourself
- It’s how you balance your view of yourself and a moral code
- When (ego) is joined to a verb, it generally has force and emphasis, or indicates the opposite
Good: beautiful to look at, shapely, magnificent; good, excellent in its nature and characteristics, and therefore well adapted to its ends
- When we decide to do good, we execute it through our own desires or moral standards
- What was on the forbidden tree - the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
- They chose to be the god of their own world, and we choose the same!
Evil: of a bad nature; not such as it ought to be, used of a mode of thinking, feeling, acting
Present: to be at hand, present, immediate
What amazes me, this is Paul’s testimony, and then we read the following passage:
Phil 3:4-6
4 though I could have confidence in my own effort if anyone could. Indeed, if others have reason for confidence in their own efforts, I have even more! 5 I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin—a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law. 6 I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault. NLT
- Notice that all of these are outward moral codes
- The Pharisee looked good on the outside
Matt 23:27-28
28 Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness. NLT
Leonard Ravenhill, who famously wrote, "Jesus did not come into the world to make bad men good. He came into the world to make dead men live!"
Phil 3:7-10
7 I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. 8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake, I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ 9 and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. God's way of making us right with Himself depends on faith. NLT
- Herein lies the problem: we would rather look good to the world than be delivered from our internal moral code of failure, which, somehow, we feel safe living in!
Thank God there is a greater law than all we have discussed!
Rom 7:24,25
24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin. KJV
Rom 8:1-4
8 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: 4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. KJV
The Law of the Spirit
- All Laws are weak in us because of the way we have been programmed
- God gives us the ability to reprogram our moral code through and by the Law of the Holy Spirit!
Law: meaning to dispense or give out; means a rule, custom, norm, or anything assigned by usage
- The Law of the Spirit gives me a new moral code and provides the power to do so!
Col 3:9-10
9 Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; 10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him KJV
Eph 4:22-24
22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; 23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; 24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. KJV
2 Cor 5:17
17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. KJV
I must count God’s Word as True and Trustworthy over my Old Man
Rom 6:11-14
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
True transformation requires us to be born of God; as a result, God provides the power to rewrite this internal moral code through the Holy Spirit. This is not a matter of human willpower or trying harder to follow rules. It is a supernatural restructuring of your inner landscape. It’s the Law of the Spirit of Life!
