Today we continue our series entitled, “Grace and Truth” by continuing to look at by continuing to look at The Law given under Moses vs. the Grace provided by Jesus. Our main scriptures are John 1:14 & 17. Let’s look at them again.
(John 1:14 New International Version)
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
(John 1:17 New International Version)
For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
In this series we studied Galatians 3, 4, and 5. We covered Galatians 5:18 for days. Today we will look at verses 19-21.
(Galatians 5:19-21 The Passion Translation)
“The cravings of the self-life are obvious: Sexual immorality, lustful thoughts, pornography, chasing after things instead of God, manipulating others, hatred of those who get in your way, senseless arguments, resentment when others are favored, temper tantrums, angry quarrels, only thinking of yourself, being in love with your own opinions, being envious of the blessings of others, murder, uncontrolled addictions, wild parties, and all other similar behavior. Haven’t I already warned you that those who use their “freedom” for these things will not inherit the kingdom realm of God!”
So what does this mean for you today? Afew things. Let’s get into it.
1. The author of the most powerful passages in the Bible on the grace of God, the Apostle Paul, made it clear that grace is NOT a license to sin. Before listing the fruit of the Holy Spirit, Paul goes to painstaking detail to list-out many of the fruits of the flesh. He lists sin after sin within the context of teaching us that if we are led by the Spirit of God, we will not perform these acts. We will not live in sin. The Spirit of God will never lead us contrary to the Word of God.
2. Paul told us NOT to use the freedom provided by God’s grace and His Spirit to live in sin. Conversely, Paul makes it clear that if we are led by God’s Spirit, we won’t live IN sin. We will live free FROM sin. God’s grace and His Spirit enable you to overcome the power of sin.
3. People who take the message of grace to mean that you are free to sin are simply looking for an excuse to sin. They don’t need grace to be a license for sin, because they were sinning without a license. These are people who are clearly unrepentant. They are either NOT Born-Again, or baby Christians, newly Born-Again, who have not died to the lusts of their carnality. In either case, these are not people who are led by God’s Spirit, nor people who have fully embraced the grace of God to become the men/women they are called to be. Don’t let this be you. Determine in your heart to make the most of the life God gave you. Make a decision, right now, that you are going to embrace the grace of God to live free from the bondage of sin.
4. Paul’s message in the book of Galatians is powerful. I will summarize it in the following manner. Jesus delivered us from:
a) Sin. If you are Born-Again you are forgiven of sin. All sin. Period. But that does not mean you are to continue in sin. Jesus delivered you from it, not so you can go back and live in something you were made free from. Sin no longer has any power over you. You are literally free from the POWER of sin. If you sin now, it’s not because you have to. It’s because you want to. It’s because you have not renewed your mind from bad habits.
b) Death. If you are Born-Again you are dead in Christ and you have done all the dying you are ever going to do. The day you die you will simply walk out of your body and forever be with the Lord. So you have no need to fear death.
c) The Law. Paul made it clear that The Law was given for a certain time period. That time period ended when Jesus, the promised child, was born. The writer of Hebrews told us that once the New Covenant was introduced, the Old Covenant became out-dated and obsolete. You are no longer under the bondage associated with The Law.
The point of all of this is that you are now free to live under the leadership of God’s Spirit. When you are Born-Again, God deposits His Spirit down inside of you. The Holy Spirit is your direct connection to the Father. The Holy Spirits enables you to get ‘downloads’ directly from heaven. If you learn to discern His voice and you obey what He says, you will experience heaven-on-earth!
That’s enough for today.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I thank You for teaching me the importance of Your grace. You saved me by grace, through faith. Now that I am forgiven of sin, You have given me Your Spirit. You have also empowered me by Your grace to live free from sin. Sin has no power over me. I overcome evil with good. I am led of Your Spirit in all things. My focus is not on sin or rules. My focus is on hearing Your voice and doing what You lead me to do. Living this way I am determined to become the man/woman You birthed me to be, and to leave the mark in this world I was born to leave. Your grace and favor are on me to advance Your Kingdom on this planet. I experience heaven and earth, and in so doing, I show people what heaven is like. When they see me, they see You! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
