Today, Loren Sandford spoke about how important it is that we understand the Law of God. And it is easy for us to think that because I am "under grace" the Law no longer has value. We live in a day where the man of lawlessness is arising and lawlessness is abounding. A teenager was convicted of killing four people while driving drunk and he got 10 years probation considering that his wealthy parents never taught him right and wrong.
A friend and I were talking the other day and she is one who has grown so much in the Lord the last three or four month and I commented on that. And in response somewhere she said, "But I will still stand up for what is Right." Out of my mouth came the following. "I will excited to see when you will stand up for what is Life."
I have pondered this things the last few weeks understanding moral law is just that moral law. The basic law of God never changes and is absolute. And I like to put it this way. It will absolutely KILL all of US.
As I write this, I must confess that as my kids grew up I taught them very strongly about right and wrong. I disciplined them when they did wrong to teach them. But I never tied that up with living Life in Christ Jesus. Violating the law of God always kills us. It has always been made to teach us how imperfect we are and how great a need we have of a Saviour, Jesus the Christ who is Lord. Listening to various ones preaching on these themes lately I realize how far I fell short in raising my four children in terms of leading them or directing their "wayward behavior" to the cross and giving them assurance of the freedom that "failure" brings us In Christ Jesus. I never pointed the way to Him in my discipline so I didn't teach them missing the mark, or failure is just the opportunity to depend on Him as we are willing to change our ways, to receive the forgiveness that was paid for on the cross and to walk in newness of His life.
I know that scripture that says the law is our guardian until Christ. Somehow I missed that....I never pointed to the Saviour as the place to run when we fail, miss the mark, sin.
In this season I have worked with several dear brothers and sisters who are struggling with the whole forgiveness issue. They know right and wrong, but like me, when they failed, or missed the mark, they weren't trained to receive all that is theirs in Christ Jesus. Instead the enemy pulls up scriptures to convince them that since they "knowingly sinned" they are lost. We all knowingly sin. We all chose to sin. We all feel afraid. Some have more anxiety than others but we all deal with fear. The key is not if we have these human emotions, but the question is when fear, and guilt and shame come into my mind what will I choose to do? Will I fall into the pit by condemning myself for being afraid, of having failed to be perfect, or of doing something I down right knew I shouldn't do and did it anyway as if the provision of God's grace poured out at Calvary was limited to "not so bad sins" but not willful sins as if there was a difference? Sin separates me from God because it is my will meeting my own needs in some way instead of depending on Him who is the Supplier of ALL things, the Lord of ALL!!
I can't meet my own needs and let Holy Spirit well up within me and fill me up with the provision of the Lord God at the same time! We aren't made that was. But if I am born of the Spirit of God, His Spirit awaits my trusting in Him to have made "eternal reconciliation" with the Father through the blood of Jesus and He isn't going to run away or forsake me because of any kind of failure, sin, screw up on my part or else he isn't Saviour. We are eternally connected in spirit..spirit to Spirit.
We have been reconciled to the Father through the Son, who shed His blood for us, whose body was broken so that my brokenness could be filled up with His wholeness, holiness, righteousness...whatever you want to call what He is in me and what I am as I am in Him as I am seated with Him in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
Much of this forgiveness issue is tied up with that foundational doctrine of "repentance of dead works" which so many of us as Christians don't seem to understand. I can do NOTHING of myself. As little children we do ask the Father to "help us do good things." As we grow in trust in the Father, we learn to trust the Father to show us what He is doing and to equip us to walk with HIM instead of Him supporting what I am doing . I am so glad He is a merciful Father and I am reconciled to Him in Christ Jesus, or else there would have been those waasted years that I spent trusting Him to get me out of the ditches only to get back in my vehicle and drive off down the road, praising Him for his deliverance....unaware, that I had him as copilot instead of as Pilo where he would be leading and directing and going HIS way with me along as a co-laborer.
Much of our sin consciousness as Christians come because we are still "sin conscious" instead of Life and Righteousness conscious. I am in right relationship with the Father because I am in Christ Jesus and He in me and He is the Righteousness of God, and He is that in me!
Beyond that, there is no "right behavior" or "right deeds." Right in the scriptures is always about RIght eous ness. Being in Right relationship with the Father. Hurting my brother, calling him names is "wrong" and hurts us because my brother is the Father's son...and when I am in right relationship with the Father I don't call my brother or anyone else names (take heed you who love to refer to politicians by various names.)
The man of Lawlessness is rising because there is no longer the preaching of the Good News or the Gospel of Jesus Christ which says...we have been reconciled to the Father....through Jesus Christ. How the Father loves us! It is the lovingkindness of the Father as revealed in Jesus Christ that brings people to repentance....where they change the way they think. Romans makes it clear that it is our minds that must be renewed. If I don't kill my brother but still call him names, I haven't repented, I have just modified my own ways of meeting my own needs for safety and revenge and hatred. Jesus calls name calling murder because they are the Father's children...and who are we to say of them anything but what the Father says. If we aren't reconciled to the Father and don't know Him and don't let him know how I feel, and think, and act, then of course I am not going to treat people right.
Right and wrong apart from the truth of the Law of God as revealed in Jesus Christ, will just make "better sinners of us." I remember driving home one night and listening to one of the family programs on the radio. The guy said something like this. "You Dads out there: just because you have a moral son who does what you tell him doesn't make him righteous."
We are in a day when morality is seemingly lost....but the key is Right relationship with the Lord God....He then will equip us to keep the law even as He lives that law in all He does in and through me.
May we continue to seek Him as our Righteousness and turn from all that would dissuade us from Himself and all He has accomplished on the cross and in His resurrection.
Meri Ford
