Dying to the Law

(Read Galatians 2:17-19)

This morning we continue our series “Grace that is Simply Amazing” by continuing to look at The Law given under Moses vs. the Grace provided by Jesus.  Yesterday we were able to listen in on a conversation the Apostle Paul was having with the Apostle Peter.  Paul had embraced grace and walked away from the Law wholeheartedly.  Peter had embraced grace and walked away from the Law in his heart, but when around his Law-minded friends, Peter acted like he was still under the Law.  This type of hypocrisy irritated Paul.  Yesterday we read how Paul confronted Peter about it.  Today let’s pick up where we left off.

The Apostle Paul said, “But suppose we seek to be made right with God through faith in Christ and then we are found guilty because we have abandoned the law.  Would that mean Christ has led us into sin? Absolutely not!  Rather, I am a sinner if I rebuild the old system of law I already tore down.  For when I tried to keep the law, it condemned me. So I died to the law—I stopped trying to meet all its requirements—so that I might live for God.”

So what does this mean to you today?  A few things:

1.  Walking away from the Law after being Born-Again is NOT a sin.  Paul said, “But suppose we seek to be made right with God through faith in Christ and then we are found guilty because we have abandoned the law.  Would that mean Christ has led us into sin?  Absolutely not!”  Notice what Paul is saying.  The Apostle is saying that once you are made right (or righteous) with God through faith in Christ Jesus you are to abandon the Law.  This is not a small statement.  Paul does not want you to dibble-and-dabble with the Law.  You are supposed to walk away from it and focus on being led of the Spirit.  And the Apostle makes it clear that this is NOT a sin.  The Holy Spirit will NOT lead you to sin.

2.  Attempting to live by the Law, after being Born-Again, IS sin.  I did not make this up, this is what the Bible says.  After making it clear that walking away from the Law IS NOT a sin, Paul said, “Rather, I am a sinner if I rebuild the old system of law I already tore down.  For when I tried to keep the law, it condemned me.”  The Law of Moses was designed to condemn you and highlight the fact that you need a Savior.  Once it served its purpose in your life and you got to the point where you called out for Jesus to save you from your sin, then you are supposed to embrace Grace and live under the leadership of the Holy Spirit.  Once we are Born-Again and the Holy Spirit is living inside of us, Paul tells us that going back to a Law-based system, that is focused on human-effort, and that could never make us right, is actually sin because it keeps us from living in the Spirit.  Human-effort does not please God.  The Law focused on man.  Grace focuses on God.  Under the New Covenant we are supposed to DIE TO SELF, so we can LIVE FOR GOD!  And we cannot do that if we are focused on our works.

3.  To live for God you must die to the Law.  Paul said, “So I died to the law—I stopped trying to meet all its requirements—so that I might live for God.”  Remember, this is the Apostle Paul saying this.  If anyone knew the Law, it was Paul.  Paul was trained by the best teachers of the Law.  He was raised as a Pharisee and he came from a long line of Pharisees (Acts 23:6).  For Paul to walk away from the Law was a huge deal, but he did it because he was being led of the Holy Spirit to do it and He taught us to do the same.  When you refuse to let go of the Law, and you hold on to rules because you are focused on keeping them, then what you are actually doing is living in pride.  It takes humility to accept the fact that you could never be good enough, that you could never keep all the Law, that you could never live without breaking the rules, and that you truly need God’s Grace.  When you get to the point where we accept and embrace Grace, you are ready to die to self and live for God!  Have you gotten to that point?  Or is pride keeping you in a self-performance-based relationship with God?

Closing Confession:  Father, I thank You for teaching me about Your amazing, unearned and undeserved Grace.  The more I learn about Your Grace, the more I love you and the more I realize how flawed I actually am.  I lived a period of my life focused on attempting to do everything right for You.  I tried my best to follow Your rules.  I put all my effort into fulfilling Your Law.  But all my attempts failed.  I have broken Your Law more times than I want to acknowledge.  So now, I fully surrender to You.  I accept the fact that I could never be good enough.  I die to self and self-effort.  I will not allow pride to keep me focused on me.  I die to ME and I live my life, from now on, focused on You.  I seek to be led of Your Holy Spirit daily.  Your Spirit will not lead me to sin, so I don’t need to be focused on sin anymore.  There will be times when I fail to follow Your lead and when I do it will be sin.  On those occasions I will quickly repent and get right back under Your leadership.  But my life is no longer focused on ME and my effort.  It is focused on You, on Your leading, and on the purpose You brought me into the world to fulfill.  As I follow You, Your Holy Spirit reveals Your Kingdom plans and purposes to me, and He leads me to DO Your will.  He will lead me to DO things I know I cannot do on my own, but that is where Your Grace kicks in.  Your Grace empowers me to do what I cannot do on my own, and as You lead me to do the supernatural, I will see the impossible become a reality in my life, because it will not be ME doing it, but rather YOU, by Your amazing Grace.  I declare this by faith.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

This is Today’s Word!  Apply it and Prosper.