Heirs Through Satisfied Law

“¹⁶The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, ¹⁷and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.” “³For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, ⁴in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”– Romans 8:16-17 & 3-4 (ESV)

We have been recognized as living led by the Spirit. And as such we have been adopted as children of God. And as we are children of God, we are heirs with Jesus to the Kingdom of God. What a wonderful thing to have as my identity. I am a child of God and heir to Heaven. But, see in verse 17. We are heirs yes, but in that we will suffer. We will be persecuted as Jesus, our brother was persecuted.

Here is the thing, we will be persecuted, yes, but that persecution is from man, not from God. You see, we have been justified through our faith in Him. We have been set free from the burden that sin has on our lives. As Jesus came and took that burden away. God sent Jesus to appear as us, human, as an offering for sin, condemned our sin, and satisfied the law of sin for us. Jesus stepped in for us with God and satisfied our payment for the sin in our lives. He dismissed the case against us with prejudice to satisfy the law.

I am so grateful that I do not have to concern myself with the consequence of sin, death. I am free from sin and can lead my life focused on the work God has for me and that the Holy Spirit guides me in thanks to the grace afforded me through Jesus Christ. The law was satisfied and I get to live. And I get to live as an heir to Heaven with Jesus, my brother.

How do you qualify as heir to Heaven? Are you getting there for being a good person? What if you realized that it is because your sin has been satisfied by the grace of Jesus and the love of God?

We Sin Because of the Law

Do you remember your parents telling you not to do something and as such you had an almost insatiable desire to do it now that they said not to? I know that I do. I remember with my first B.B. gun I was told not to point at something that I did not intend to shoot. Well, I did and pulled the trigger and shattered the back window of my uncle’s pickup. I did it because I was told not to. This is the effect of sin in our lives as well.

I know it sounds as though I am making an excuse for sin, saying that it was or is the law that made me do it. I am not doing that. I am saying that we know about the negative impacts of sin through the law that tells us not to do and our nature is such that we are drawn to that thing to really test the validity of the law.

“⁷What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, ‘You shall not covet.’ ⁸But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead.” – Romans 7:7-8 (ESV)

We see here that Paul is saying just that. He would not know what is or how to covet, had the law not indicated that it should not be done. And as he now knows, he is drawn to it like the moth to the flame, ultimately to his detriment. Had he not known of this thing called covetousness, he would not have been drawn to it. As he notes in the last part of verse eight, if he had not known, the he would not have sinned.

Now, as I have read, studied and written, just because we don’t know does not absolve us of the sin. I may not sin consciously, but I do sin subconsciously every day. And I pray for forgiveness every day. I am still accountable to all of my sin whether conscious or subconscious. The difference is in my heart. Without knowing of the sin through the law, I am not looking to sin. I am aware and do it because of my nature to test the bounds of the law. Without the law, I am working through things based on what is written on my heart thanks to God.

“⁹I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died.” – Romans 7:9 (ESV)

So, I was alive and now I am dead. Not physically, but I am no longer free to simply live by way of the law on my heart that is placed there by the LORD. I am a slave to the law in knowing that this and that are against the LORD and thanks to my nature, I choose to do them anyway because I know. I choose sin thanks to knowing of sin through the law.

What is the law to you? Are you of the view that it keeps you from sin? What if you consciously sin because of knowing the law and what if you leaned on the law of your heart as the LORD wrote there?

Free Yourself from the Law

Yes, we can free ourselves from the law. But what does that mean. Can we no longer be accountable? What about following of the law, are we exempt? Does the law no longer apply, to us? The answer to all of those questions is a short no.

I mentioned to Lori just the other day that we have to get back to a place where we are not trying to follow some “political correctness” and we should get back to truth and that which is founding in God. I see too often that there is an abandonment of that which is known to be true in the interest of not offending or following some sort of social “norm”.

“⁵For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death.” – Romans 7:5 (ESV)

When we are following those social “norms” we are living in the flesh. We are doing and saying things that are in the interest of acceptance and in doing so, we abandoning truth and love as God intended for us. We find ourselves working for others and not working for the LORD.

“⁶But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.” – Romans 7:6 (ESV)

With acceptance of Christ as our Savior and that He died for our sin so that we may have life eternal, we are freed from sin. We are forgiven for those sins we have committed and will commit. We are no longer slaves to the law written in on the page, we are held to the law written on our heart by God.

As mentioned above, we are not absolved of accountability to the law as written, we are not exempt, and the law does still apply to us. But we will find ourselves following the law because we are doing the work of the LORD and not for acceptance to the societal “norms”. We are free to do that which is right as opposed coerced into it to avoid some persecution. We don’t “break” the law as we are too busy following truth and love as given to us by God through Jesus Christ.

What is your view of the law and your freedom? Do you feel restricted to follow the law to adhere to social “norms”? What if you were free from sin in that you were following Christ and doing His work in truth and love?

One Man

Our sin and our forgiveness are each the result of one man’s actions. Adam sinned therefor we are now all sinners. Jesus took our sin upon Himself and died for us and therefor we all have salvation available.

“¹⁹For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.” – Romans 5:19 (ESV)

Before I get more into the one man, I want to point out the verbiage in the verse above as it relates to my first paragraph. “many will be made righteous” are the words and “will be” is the focus. We are not guaranteed to be righteous only that it is available and that many will be. Each of us have to go through the acknowledgment of our sin and the acceptance of forgiveness in our hearts to be saved.

It is one man who made our fall into sin happen. Adam did the one thing that God instructed him not to do. Adam sinned and that opened the gate to our sin. He was made in the image of God and yet fell for the idea from the evil one that he could be like God. Thanks to the one man’s transgression, we all now fall for the evil one’s tricks and deception which lead to our sin and our fall from the grace of God.

Jesus. The one sent by God to remedy the results of the fall. Jesus came to take our sin and provide a path back to God and the grace He has for us all. He came and took our sin, dying in the process, and as a result, we are afforded the sparing of our lives due to the sins we commit. He did that, one man, sent by God to to provide the way to righteousness.

Again, I come to the fact that the way to righteousness is provided, but not all will take the way. We are given the choice to take the path of one man. Either we can take the path we are on which was provided by Adam that leads to death for the very sin we commit, or we can take the path to righteousness provided through the shed blood of Jesus who took our sin and atoned for it so that we could have life everlasting.

What is your choice? Are you going to choose the path of sin and destruction provided through the sin of Adam? What if you were to accept salvation from the one man, Jesus, who took your sin so you could have life everlasting?

The Law is Here, Now

Righteousness is through our faith in the LORD and not through our works or adherence to the law of any kind. This is shown through those introduced in God Word as being righteous before there was the described law that is known today. We have Abel, Noah, and Abraham who were all shown to us and described as righteous even as Moses had not been or been given the law from God as of yet. So, as we know righteousness and salvation, it does not require the law, but it is here now and it is to be held.

You see, we are not able to keep the law. We are sinners and will sin continually. We may minimize our conscious sin, but we will still sin subconsciously continually. I pray daily for forgiveness and ask the LORD to help keep me from sin, yet I know that I cannot avoid it.

“¹⁴For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. ¹⁵For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression.” – Romans 4:14-15 (ESV)

The promise of salvation and being heirs with Jesus cannot be left to our adherence to the law as we are not able to keep the law, no matter how hard we try. With that breaking of the law, or sinning, we are subject to the wrath of God. And frankly, we deserve it.

So, the law is here to guide us as much as possible. There is no escaping the law, but there is an escape from the wrath of God. That escape is thanks to the sacrifice of Jesus for our sin. That sacrifice carries from yesterday, into today, and out through tomorrow. Even as I sin, those are forgiving through my faith in the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Abraham did not have the law to direct him and Jesus had yet to come, yet his faith in God and the work of God saved him from the certain wrath of God.

Adherence to the law today as our outward demonstration of our obedience to the LORD. We have what is right written on our hearts and we display that through our actions for the world to see. But remember adherence to the law does not our righteousness make. It is our faith in and reliance on God where we find grace. Yes, the law is here today, yet our salvation is found in Christ?

What is your view of the law today? Is the law saving us from something? What if you were reliant on your faith in God and adherence to the law is just that outward expression of what is on your heart?

Righteous By Faith Not the Law

So, we have the Law of the LORD on our hearts and we inherently know the Law and yet upholding the Law is only so we are accountable. Then what is the point of the Law.

“⁸For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.” “³¹Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.” “²¹But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—“ — Romans 3: 28, 31, & 21, (ESV)

The Law of the LORD is in place as a demonstration of our following of Christ. We are following the Law of the LORD to bring glory to Him. In the process of following the Law, those around us can see that we are indeed different than others. This difference is leading to our righteousness, not because we are following the Law of the LORD, but we have faith in Him and that leads to our following the Law.

Why do we not steal? Well because it is wrong, not because there is punishment. Same for breaking into houses, we don’t do it because it is wrong. In following the Law of the LORD, we do it not to gain something, but because it is right.

I am fortunate to know the LORD and therefor I have been justified through my faith in Him. I follow the Law of the LORD, not to gain righteousness, but because I am justified and demonstrate that justification through my actions of following the Law.

Why do you follow the Law? Are you working to gain something from it? What if you were to realize that you follow the Law of the LORD not to gain something, but because you have justified by faith in Him and following the Law is your demonstration of your justification?

No Salvation Due to Works of the Law

“²⁰For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.” – Romans 3:20 (ESV)

There is no excuse for us as we are fully aware of the Law of the LORD as He has written it on our hearts. Because of that, we are accountable to the Law of the LORD to follow the Law. But even as such, we are not justified by our works. No matter how much we do in the Law of the LORD or what actions we take, those works are not going to do anything for us in the line to salvation. It is not the works that bring us to salvation, but our hearts in the following of the Law that the LORD has written there.

“⁹Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? ¹⁰Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? ¹¹If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” – Matthew 7:9-11 (ESV)

You see, even evil among us know how to take action that is right, but that action does not make righteous. We are judged according to our actions, but we are saved according to our heart, our acknowledgment of, our acceptance of, and our devotion to our LORD and to His works for His Glory and not our own. We take action not to gain salvation, but as an outward display of our salvation the new condition of our heart.

Where does your salvation come from? Are you striving to do the best for the world to see in hopes that you will be rewarded? What if your reward has already been given through salvation and now you do works to show the condition of your heart?

Ignorance is No Excuse

Ignorance is not a bad thing. There are things in this world that we just don’t know and it is okay not to know. It is in the choosing not to know where the excuses stop. When the information is available and we choose not to make it known to ourselves that we find the “bad”.

“¹²For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. ¹³For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. ¹⁴For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. ¹⁵They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them ¹⁶on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.” – Romans 2:12-16 (ESV)

When it comes to the Law of the LORD, there is no excuse for not knowing, as it is written on our hearts. Regardless of where we are, where we come from, our exposure to God, or any other circumstance where we are not privy to the Law of the LORD, we still know internally the difference in what is right and what is wrong. There is no excuse for us to not follow God’s Law, and we will be judged on the day of judgment based on our keeping of God’s Law.

Now, do not misunderstand me to say that salvation is possible for those who are ignorant to God. Remember;

“⁶Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” – John 14:6 (ESV)

We are held to getting to be with Jesus by knowing Him and that is the only way. But, we will be judged according to our adherence to the Law of God and that is written on our hearts, regardless if we have heard or been exposed to the Law.

So, we uphold the Law of the LORD based on our hearts. We know what is right under His Law and we are held accountable to acting as such. Ignorance in our mind is no excuse for doing wrong in the eyes of God.

What are your thoughts on ignorance of the Law? Are we given a pass because we did not know the Law of the LORD? What if you look inward and see that even as you did not know in your mind, your heart was still in the know of the Law of the LORD and therefor ignorance is no excuse?

The Law Through Moses, Grace Through Jesus

Before we get into this morning, NO, Moses is not the creator of the Law. He was however the one God worked through to bring the Law to the people and this world. Jesus, as God in human form is the creator of grace.

“¹⁷For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” – John 1:17 (ESV)

I was compelled this morning to speak of “grace through Jesus Christ” as I continue to study the word “law”. Jesus came to this world to bring and give grace to it, even as we do/did not deserve it. He did not have to come as God could have just made it so as He had done with so many other things in this world. Yet, knowing that we are human and largely are more like the apostle Thomas and require to see things for our own eyes, He sent Jesus to bring the grace.

Jesus came to this world to complete the work that God had for Him regardless of what that work would require. God sent Him out of love for you and me. Jesus came to fulfill the law that was brought through Moses not to change it. He would adhere to the Law of God and do His work to demonstrate that Law and show us just how much love came from the Father.

“¹⁴The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” – 2 Corinthians 13:14 (ESV)

The above is the salutation from Paul to the Corinthian Church. Notice the roles of Jesus, God and the Holy Spirit. Here we see that Paul echoes the grace to the world through Jesus and that it was out of the love of God that grace came. We didn’t/don’t deserve this grace and love, yet God give despite this fact as we are the pinnacle of His creation from the beginning (see Genesis 1 and 2).

Who brings your grace? Is it someone of this world alone? What if you see grace coming from God through Jesus for us all?

God’s Law Was and Is

The Law of the LORD was in the Old Covenant and is in the New Covenant. There, I can see, a tendency to split the law from the Old to the New Testaments in God’s Word, the Bible. I hear all of the time that things in the Old Testament are void based on a few items that no longer hold true in the New Testament. Take the eating of pork for instance. In the Old Testament pork is considered unclean and in the New Testament that has been voided.

“¹⁶The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then the good news of the kingdom of God is preached, and everyone forces his way into it. ¹⁷But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void.” – Luke 16:16-17 (ESV)

It is not that the law of eating pork has been voided, it is that the eating of pork was a symbol of uncleanness and now, thanks to the coming, dying, and resurrection of Jesus, that symbol has been overridden. Pork is still unclean when one has not adhered to the salvation that comes with the acceptance of Jesus as our savior, it is just that the intent of the pork has lost its sting for those who have.

In Texas for instance, it is illegal to allow your camel to roam free on the beach in Galveston. The truth is that it is illegal to allow any large animals to roam free on public streets or other public property. When they animal is attended to there is no such restriction. When we are attended to by God, eating pork is not a thing anymore.

You see, the Law of the LORD was around in the beginning and the Law of the LORD is around today and the Law of the LORD will be around forever. The Old Covenant required the strict adherence to the law to be in right standing with the LORD and therefor. One set time and place was in place for the chance to seek and be granted forgiveness of our sins against the Law. This created the sense that there were those who were more holy than others as they were closer to the time and place regularly. In reality, it was just that those were “showy” in their adherence to the Law. In private there were those who where no different than everyone else.

In the New Covenant, this singular place and time were removed and all who accepted Jesus as Savior were made clean and were given the unlimited access to Him to seek forgiveness of our sins. We are no longer unclean and can come to Him for forgiveness. The New Covenant is in place for eternity. We all now have unlimited access to God.

Even with the unlimited access, the Law of the LORD is still in place and valid, The Ten Commandments are still there. Although that is just an example. The difference is that we follow the Law of the LORD today as a result of our forgiveness and not in our quest for it. The Law of the LORD is not the way to God, but is the way to show His example to others. The Law of the LORD was and is.

What is your view of the Law of the LORD? Is is something that no long applies as we have now moved into the New Covenant? What if we see God’s Law as always valid, only we don’t use it to get to salvation, but now it is the example of our salvation?