GRACE AND THE TRUTH - DAILY INSPIRATION

[nChrist]

______________________________________
From Grace And The Truth Ministries
Please share this Inspirational with others.
Free Email Subscription
_______________________________________

Your Greatest Need
by Pastor Ricky Kurth
   
   

Even in these challenging financial times, the greatest need of a Christian is not monetary. It is rather found in Colossians 1:11, where Paul prays that we might be

"Strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, unto all..."

Unto all what? Whatever it is, Paul is convinced we are going to have to be "strengthened" with "all might" according to "His glorious power" to obtain it. As we read on, Paul tells us the goal of all this empowerment:

"...unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness."

Patience? The reason we need all this mighty empowering is so we can be patient? While this may seem anticlimactic, we submit that patience is our greatest need. We need patience to put up with the world's wickedness, the abortions, etc., patience in knowing the Second Coming of Christ will right the world's wrongs. We need patience as televangelists continue to dominate the airwaves with their dilutions and pollutions of the gospel, and patience as Bible teachers muddle the minds of the saints by their failure to rightly divide the Word. And since no man today has the gift of healing, we need patience with our physical infirmities, and longsuffering as we wait for that wonderful change that will come to our bodies at the Rapture (Phil. 3:20,21).

Finally, we need patience with one another, as we learn to not just put up with other believers, but to actually give them the same unconditional love and acceptance God extends to us. Moses was patient with unbelieving Pharaoh, but lost his patience with his brethren. How like us! But ask yourself, when did David show greater spiritual strength, when he slew Goliath, or when he refused to slay Saul?

Paul says we are to be strengthened to all patience "according to His glorious power," but what is God's glorious power? The destructive power He exhibited at the Red Sea is called "glorious" (Ex. 15:6), but we suggest that God's glorious power today is seen in His patience. The fact that God could put an end to the abortions and religious confusion, but doesn't, is His most glorious power in the dispensation of grace.

The apostle concludes by praying that we might be patient "with joyfulness," perhaps the hardest part of longsuffering. God doesn't chafe under the vexations He receives from the world, religion, and the Body of Christ, and neither should we!

If this kind of power were not available to us, Paul would not be praying that we might have it. And so may his prayer also be the prayer of our hearts, as we enthusiastically study the only source of spiritual strength, God's Word rightly divided.

---Pastor Kurth

[nChrist]

______________________________________
From Grace And The Truth Ministries
Please share this Inspirational with others.
Free Email Subscription
_______________________________________

THE PURPOSE OF THE LAW
by C. R. Stam

 
How little most people know about the Law, the Ten Commandments!

First, most people have a hazy idea that the Law was given to Adam; that it existed as long as the history of man. This, of course, is wrong, for in John 1:17 we read: "The law was given by Moses." Moses lived some 2,500 years after Adam, about 1,500years before Christ. So for about 2,500 years mankind lived without theTen Commandments.

Second, most people suppose that the Law was given to mankind in general, while the fact is that it was given to Israel alone. It was a covenant made between God and Israel. Before giving it God said: "Now therefore, if ye will obey My voice indeed,and keep My covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me above all people" (Ex. 19:5). This is not to say that the Law does not affect all men, for, as the divine standard of righteousness it affects us all.

Third, most people think that the Law was given to help us to be good. Even some clergymen teach this, though the Bible itself states again and again that the Law was given to shows that we are guilty sinners and need a Savior. Note the following Scripture passages.

Rom. 3:19: "Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them that are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may be brought in guilty before God."

Rom. 3:20: "By the law is the knowledge of sin."

Gal. 3:19: "Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions...."

Thus the Law can only condemn the sinner. But thank God, "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us; for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree" (Gal. 3:13).

[nChrist]

______________________________________
From Grace And The Truth Ministries
Please share this Inspirational with others.
Free Email Subscription
_______________________________________

ONLY THE LORD JESUS CHRIST
By Miles Stanford


"Thus saith the Lord, Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm" (Jer. 17:5).

Sooner or later the believer goes through a period of disillusionment and bitterness because of what he encounters in the lives of other Christians - leaders included. The Holy Spirit uses this revelation, along with what He exposes in his own heart, to teach him to abide in the Lord Jesus; safe from the sin of others, as well as his own.

"It is a part of our spiritual education to discover the fallibility of those in whom we trust. The experience can be a very painful one, but it is most necessary for us to find out that everyone else but the Lord Jesus is a failure. Sometimes He seems to take pains to bring them to notice. He never hid the failures of his disciples from the people, for he wants it clearly understood that we must place our trust in Him alone. Some Christians get offended with Him when they find that others on whom they relied are not, after all, perfect." -H.F.

"Our Father will allow us to prove the vanity and folly of all creature-confidences, human hopes, and earthly expectations. And on the other hand, He will prove to us, in the most touching and forcible manner, the truth and blessedness of His own Word: 'They shall not be ashamed that wait for Me.'" -C.H.M.

"You will never be transformed by continually looking at your own shortcomings, never! Nor will you ever be transformed by looking at the weaknesses of your fellow Christians. You will only be conformed by continually looking upon the glory of the Lord Jesus; for they who live looking and beholding, though they know it not, are being changed from glory to glory by the Sprit of the Lord. ---E.I.

"To give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (2 Cor. 4:6).

[nChrist]

______________________________________
From Grace And The Truth Ministries
Please share this Inspirational with others.
Free Email Subscription
_______________________________________

THE LOVE OF GOD
by C.  R. Stam
 

    Millions of people -- even religious people -- are afraid of God and are struggling to earn His favor. They suppose that salvation is the reward of showing enough love to Him. If only they would believe what God Himself says, that if we are ever saved it will be entirely because He loved us and graciously provided for our salvation.

The Apostle Paul, in the Bible, called God "the God of love" (II Cor. 13:11) and John declared that "God IS love" (1 John 4:8 ). Thus John goes on to say:

"HEREIN IS LOVE, NOT THAT WE LOVED GOD, BUT THAT HE LOVED US and sent His Son to be the propitiation [satisfaction] for our sins" (1 John 4:10).

This is why salvation is so often called a "gift" in the Bible. It is the expression of God's love to sinners. And so St. Paul tells us:

"[We] were by nature the children of wrath, even as others, BUT GOD, WHO IS RICH IN MERCY, FOR HIS GREAT LOVE WHERE WITH HE LOVED US, even when we were dead in sin, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved)" (Eph. 2:3-5).

"...after that THE KINDNESS AND LOVE OF GOD OUR SAVIOR TOWARD MAN appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to HIS MERCY He saved us..." (Titus 3:4,5).

Does all this mean that God over looks sin or condones it? By no means! In His love He paid for our sins on Calvary's cross "that He might be Just, and the Justifier of him that believeth in Jesus" (Rom. 3:26). This is why we read in Rom. 5:8:

"...GOD COMMENDETH HIS LOVE TOWARD US, IN THAT WHILE WE WERE YET SINNERS CHRIST DIED FOR US." 

[nChrist]

______________________________________
From Grace And The Truth Ministries
Please share this Inspirational with others.
Free Email Subscription
_______________________________________

FIXED POSITION
By Miles Stanford





"And He said to them all, If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me" (Luke 9:23).

True spiritual experience will result from our standing immovable in our position "in Christ." All too often believers allow certain "experiences" to move them from the faith-ground of their objective position, and they are soon adrift on the sea of subjective feelings and unscriptural influences.

"The Christian life is essentially a continuous dying, and a continuous living. Of course, there may come a particular crisis in experience where the Spirit of God brings the soul face to face with a definite issue as to a willingness for the Cross, and a yielding of the life to God. Yes, the first revelation of the secret of victory also may constitute a real crisis in the life of the believer, but that crisis or experience can never, in itself, avail for the future.

"There is a subtle danger in relying upon some isolated experience of 'sanctification,' so-called. The victorious Christian life is a Person, not an experience. Following the crisis, whatever phase or landmark in the life that may represent, there must be the daily reckoning, the moment-by-moment abiding and the control of the Holy Spirit. Whatever may have been our experience of holiness, and the measure of spiritual attainment in the past, we can never get beyond the need of abiding in Christ and the continuous reckoning of faith." - R.W.

"For we, alive though we are, are continually surrendering ourselves to death for the sake of Jesus" (II Cor. 4:11, Wey.).

[nChrist]

______________________________________
From Grace And The Truth Ministries
Please share this Inspirational with others.
Free Email Subscription
_______________________________________

TRENDS OF THE END
PART ONE OF TWO
by Charles W. Wages




"This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come." (2 Tim. 3:1-5)

The verses in 2 Timothy 3:1-5 give a vivid account of what we can expect in "the last days." There are approximately twenty distinct characteristics given that portray for us the "trends of the end." The "last days" spoken of by the apostle Paul refers to the end of this age of grace.

In a right division of God's Word we must "try the things that differ," therefore the "last days" of the church here mentioned are different from the last days of Israel. The apostle Peter, while preaching on the day of Pentecost spoke of the "last days" of Israel and accounted the tremendous physical and outward manifestations that would precede and accompany those days. For example, he tells of sons and daughters prophesying and seeing visions and dreams, the showing of wonders in heaven; signs in the earth; sun turned into darkness; and the moon into blood. These "days" are further shown in the early chapters of the Revelation.

In the "last days" of this present church age, the characteristics given are more of a moral, ethical, and spiritual nature. For example, a few of these include, men to be lovers of self; without natural affection; disobedient to parents; heady and high minded; and "having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof." This last one is a good example of what we are seeing today. It is surely a "trend of the end."

We must constantly be reminded that all that goes on under the heading of "worship" is not always true worship of God. Worship can be just an exercise directed toward and for man or even the devil! It must be noted that the Scripture says, "having a form of godliness." This means that there is emphasis on an outward semblance of worship instead of a real worship from the heart in accordance with God's Word and will. This "form" can take on many  forms. The apostle Paul had to correct the philosophers at Athens for their confusing superstitions and ignorant worship of every false god (Acts 17:18-23). Then he concluded by telling them the true God had created all things by stating,

"God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needeth anything, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things" (Acts 17:24-25).

Throughout the history of man, both secular and biblical, we find human beings worshipping everything under the sun, including the sun. The early inhabitants of this earth are described in Romans, chapter one. We are told that they did not glorify God, but became vain in their imaginations, and were so foolish that they, "Changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four footed beasts, and creeping things. " (Rom. 1:23)

And then further, we are told,

"Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. " (Rom. 1:25)

[nChrist]

______________________________________
From Grace And The Truth Ministries
Please share this Inspirational with others.
Free Email Subscription
_______________________________________

TRENDS OF THE END
PART 2 OF 2
by Charles W. Wages


In the book of Colossians, chapter two, we find a stern warning to the "worshippers" of that day (and today) who worshipped angels. Paul's warning was,

"Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind." (Col. 2:18 )

No doubt this kind of worship took on itself a religious "form." They went through certain rituals and possibly looked good and appealed to the eye and the senses (Col. 2:20-21). This kind of worship is described as "will worship," and false humility in Colossians 2:23. It satisfies the flesh, but does not honor God.

In one sense, it is good to live in a land where there is freedom of worship and most of us, I am sure, are glad and thankful we do. However, it has its problems as well. Apart from the leading of the Spirit of God, sinful man invariably chooses that "form of worship" that satisfies the flesh. The "god of this world" (Satan) doesn't mind people being "religious" as long as they do not worship the God of glory. Satan loathes the saint; God loves the sinner, but hates the sin. The antichrist, when he appears and takes charge of this world system, will forbid all worship except that which acknowledges him as god (2 Thess. 2:4).

This "false" worship this "form" worship that denies the power of God, is the outstanding "trend of our times" (2 Tim. 3:5).

How wonderful to worship the One who loved us, even when we were lost in sin, and took our place on the cross of shame. It is God's great desire through His great grace "that all men be saved, and come into the knowledge of the truth." (1 Tim. 2:4). It is good to acknowledge that "there is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the man, Christ Jesus" (1 Tim. 2:5 ) When we trust the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour, God saves and justifies us and makes us "new creations" in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17). Further, the Holy Spirit baptizes us into the one body (the Church, which is Christ's body), seals us unto the day of redemption (Eph. 1:13-14), and the Spirit of God comes to dwell in the child of God (1 Cor. 6:19). Then, we are able to distinguish the false, and worship the true God, and understand (in some manner) the "Trends of the End."

[nChrist]

______________________________________
From Grace And The Truth Ministries
Please share this Inspirational with others.
Free Email Subscription
_______________________________________

BOLDNESS TODAY
by C.R. Stam


   Some may suppose that it would require little boldness today to proclaim grace in all its purity. Who is ever persecuted now, at least in free, enlightened lands, for preaching God's grace? Ah, but do not be deceived. Satan was no less active in his opposition to the truth when Constantine exalted the professing Church to prominence than when his predecessors persecuted the Church and sent its members to death by fire and sword. Indeed, the devil was doubtless more successful in Constantine's day than he had been when persecution raged. 

 Does any believer in the Word of God suppose that Satan has relented in his opposition to the truth today, just because men, at least in this land, are not burned at the stake or thrown to the lions? Do not be misled. Satan's enmity against God and against His Word continues undiminished. His hatred of "the gospel of the grace of God," is as bitter, and his opposition to it as determined as it ever was. But well does he know that the constant discouragements connected with being in the minority often succeed in silencing those who would stand against physical persecution.

  Today Satan uses the new evangelicalism with its highly-organized, highly-financed campaigns -- and its woeful lack of doctrinal and dispensational teaching of the Word -- to neutralize the saints. Multitudes are attracted to these neo-evangelical extravaganzas, at which the participants are for the most part performers, and those who stand for the truth often feel very small as compared to the vast unthinking majority. But let us never forget that God uses "things that are not" to accomplish His work (See I Cor. 1:26-29).

  Let us, who know and love the truth, then, determine by God's grace that nothing shall make us unfaithful to our glorious commission; that, whatever the cost, we shall faithfully and boldly proclaim to others the unadulterated gospel of the grace of God, "the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery." 

[nChrist]

______________________________________
From Grace And The Truth Ministries
Please share this Inspirational with others.
Free Email Subscription
_______________________________________

THE BEQUEST OF PEACE
By RALPH F. BALOG

Scripture Reading: John 14:27

How very thankful the twelve apostles should have been for the Lord's promise: "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you." In John 14:27 the apostles were facing the reality that their Lord would soon depart from them physically. With their spiritual Leader gone there would naturally be inward unsettlement. So the Lord Jesus Christ promised them "His peace." Glorious promise! No matter what the outward circumstances of life His "inner peace" would be their foundation of assurance. No storm too fierce; no foes too strong to override the heavenly peace (so different from the world's), or the Lord wouldn't have used the analogy. The Lord's peace is ever abiding. The so-called peace of the world is fleeting at best.

Ever remember that in this present dispensation of the grace of God, the God OF peace is only so to those who are fulfilling Phil. 4:9: "DOING what they have learned, and received, and heard, and seen in Paul." Don't you for one moment believe those television evangelists who claim to be in the will of God while following a program long ago set aside by God Himself. You would think the Kingdom program was still in order the way the Church carries on in defiance of Pauline truth.

The bequest of peace today is in following Paul, as He followed Christ. Ever magnify Paul's office and you will see that all the honor and glory for everything done in our life here below must be given to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Grace believers have "compounded peace:" 1). "Peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Rom. 5:1) and 2). the peace of God for "rightly dividing the Word of Truth" (Phil. 4:9; II Tim. 2:15).

[nChrist]

______________________________________
From Grace And The Truth Ministries
Please share this Inspirational with others.
Free Email Subscription
_______________________________________

REJOICING IN HOPE
By  FLOYD BAKER, Pastor,



Scripture Reading: Romans 5 :2-5


"Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By Whom we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God." This hope that Paul was rejoicing in is ours because of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is only because of our "position in Christ" that we have this confident expectation. And it is ours, not because we have been justified by works (Romans 4:1-8 ), or by ordinances (4:9-12), or by law obedience (13-25), but by faith.

In Romans 8:30 the apostle writes, "Moreover whom He did predestinate, them He also called: and whom He called, them He also justified: and whom He justified, them He also glorified." Our future glory with Christ is certain because we are "in Christ" and Christ is in us. In Colossians 3:4 we read, "When Christ, Who is our life shall appear, then shall we also appear with Him in glory." Again we read in Paul's Philippian letter, "Christ shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself" (3:21).

Is it any wonder that we are "rejoicing in that hope?" For the child of God the future is always bright. As the days and years pass by that hope becomes even brighter; but let us not forget that God is able to meet our present needs as well: because the "Love of God is shed abroad in our hearts!" (Romans 5:3-5).

[nChrist]

______________________________________
From Grace And The Truth Ministries
Please share this Inspirational with others.
Free Email Subscription
_______________________________________

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT GOD?
By Pastor Paul Hume

Scripture Reading: I Chron. 29:10-13; Rom. 9:5b

What do you think about God? Is He "the Man upstairs?" Is He "the good Lord?" Is He the One who is So high and so holy that no one can approach Him except through several mediators --- e. g., Mary, the saints, and the priest? "Were we able to extract from any man a complete answer to the question, 'What comes into your mind when you think about God?' we might predict with certainty the spiritual future of that man." (A. W. Tozer).

Who rules and regulates the affairs on this earth today---God, the Devil, or man? This also is an important question because it relates vitally to what we think about God. If either Satan is in control or man is in control, then it is obvious that God isn't God at all. The atheist or humanist or agnostic might admit that man as well as the laws of nature are in control.  But what about those who say they are Christians? Many, many think that while God is God, and that He "sitteth in the heavens" and is basically running things, they also think that He is in a great degree a frustrated Deity. So many are rejecting Christ today, so many heathen have never heard the Gospel, wickedness is so rampant, and the forces of Antichrist are more and more militant, and the world is in such a terrible mess --- how can it be that God is in complete control, and that He is working all things after the counsel of His own will?

What a problem this is---indeed! Yet when we peruse the blessed "Word of truth," we are given the proper perspective: we see all things through the sovereignty of "the living God," Who is "exalted as Head above all, --- God over all, blessed forever." Yes, every man has a will, and everyone is morally responsible. No man is a mere puppet.  Yet God is God, and we must reverently bow with the inspired psalmist and say, "But our God is in the heavens: He hath done whatsoever He hath pleased" ( Ps.115:3).

"0 God, how wonderful Thou art
Thy majesty how bright!
How beautiful Thy mercy-seat
In depths of burning Iight!"
(Frederick W. Faber, 1849)

[nChrist]

______________________________________
From Grace And The Truth Ministries
Please share this Inspirational with others.
Free Email Subscription
_______________________________________

WHERE ARE YOU LIVING
PART 1
by Evangelist S. Lee Homoki

I often ask people, "Where are you living? Is your life characterized by Romans Chapter Seven or by Romans Chapter Eight?" Now, let me tell you how important I think that question is. I believe that if anybody wants to get a handle on how to grow and be strong and victorious in the Christian way of life, they must understand the distinction between these two chapters. I do not know of any more important passage of Scripture for the Christian. Romans Seven and Eight illustrate the two operating principles that battle for control of the believer's life.

The man of Romans Seven demonstrates the pathway of defeat. He is a sincere person, a person who is anxious to know God, to please God and to serve God. He is trying to do what is right, but something is missing. Oh, he knows he's saved but it seems like the harder he tries the more he fails until finally - in abject failure - he comes to the place where he says, "I give up." I know that there are a lot of people like that. Perhaps you are like that or know someone like that. You're not alone! I can recall in years past, and occasionally from time to time, my life gets out of joint; something isn't quite right in my life. Thankfully, I have discovered that usually the problem is right here in Romans Chapter Seven!

Romans Seven shows the life of the believer that has not yet discovered the truth of Romans Eight. Romans Seven shows the work and the energy of the flesh which is not capable of pleasing God. Oh, fleshly energy can try hard. The flesh does its very best, but the flesh can never satisfy what is needed (Rom. 8:7-8 ).

If you have a longing to serve God, if you are sick and tired of defeat, if you are tired of just coming up short, if you recognize that you are missing the victory and joy of the Lord in your life, then you need to come over to Romans Eight. The answer is found there.

Romans Eight tells us that the Holy Spirit is available to fit your needs. The Holy Spirit is working and has a ministry today that He never had in the Old Testament. Now, the Holy Spirit was in the Old Testament but not everybody was influenced or controlled by the Holy Spirit. In fact, in the Old Testament there was a different kind of a control. It was the external control of the Mosaic Law. The Law, the Bible says, was "holy, just and good" There was nothing wrong with the Law except it was weak. The Law could only say "do this," "do that," "don't do this," "don't do that," but it never told anyone how! It never empowered anyone. It only demanded. It never gave any Old Testament saint any power to execute the demands of the Law. That's why Romans Eight tells us the Law "was weak through the flesh."

It is only on this side of the Cross, and with the coming of the Dispensation of Grace, that we learn of the expansion of the work and ministry of the Holy Spirit. Yet, the Holy Spirit remains the most neglected person in the Godhead! I have observed in the Christian community (I think I am qualified to say this as I have traveled all over the country and been in over a thousand churches) that there is a great neglect today and gross ignorance of the work and ministry of the Holy Spirit.

Romans Eight is where you and I need to go! This is where we need to live! This is where the joy and victory is found! This is the normal Christian life! And yet, I tell you that many Christian people have not yet discovered this truth. Oh, there are sincere Christians who are happy to hear about the Holy Spirit as long as the Holy Spirit is working "out there" safely at arm's length. But the idea of surrendering to the Holy Spirit, up close and personal, to "be filled with the Holy Spirit" - that is a little scary. The word filling means to be controlled: "Be not drunk with wine wherein is excess, but be filled with the Holy Spirit. " You see the application here, don't you? The wine controls a person who is drunk. You have perhaps rubbed shoulders with or bumped into somebody who is inebriated and you say, "The wine has loosened up his tongue." He says some funny things. He says some sad things. He says some bad things. We say, "That was the whiskey talking." In like manner, a believer is to be controlled by the Holy Spirit in such a way that we are guided in what we say, where we go, and what we do to the glory of God.

[nChrist]

______________________________________
From Grace And The Truth Ministries
Please share this Inspirational with others.
Free Email Subscription
_______________________________________

WHERE ARE YOU LIVING?
PART 2
by Evangelist S. Lee Homoki



Living in Romans Chapter Seven (. .. Taking a Closer Look at the Flesh)

Verses Twelve & Thirteen
"Wherefore the Law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good" No doubt about it. "Was then that which is good made death unto me. God forbid But sin that it might appear sin working death in me." How? "By that which is good That sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful. "

This is why I still preach that it is good to put the Ten Commandments up. It is good to indoctrinate boys and girls with the Ten Commandments. It is good for you to know the Ten Commandments because it will continue to do exactly what it has always done. The holiness of God will kill you. Let me illustrate: Take the very best man, with all his righteousness. He's the best. He is the "high water mark" of human righteousness. Now, take the Ten Commandments of God and place it alongside of him. The Bible says that all of man's righteousness, compared with God's righteousness, "are as filthy rags" (Isa. 64:6). So, was the Law good? "Yes." Could the Law bring life? "No." The Law killed and it was brought in so that our righteousness, our very best, might appear to be what it is - sin (sin means to miss the mark of all that God approves or demands).

Verse Fourteen
"For we know that the Law is spiritual but I am carnal sold under sin. "

That is why we can't measure up. Now, you know what being "sold" is - that's being a slave. I was recently preaching in the Washington DC area and we went down to Mt. Vernon. While there, I was surprised to find that George Washington was a slave owner. They told us about that from the standpoint of the slave. I want to tell you folks: the slaves had no freedom! Admittedly, the slaves had it a lot better than what they had in the jungles of Africa, but they were not free - it was awful. They were nothing more than a piece of chattel. They were a piece of property that could be bought and sold. You can imagine the heartbreak of separation of family - family relations were non-existent. They had no identity. They had no personal ambition. They had no personal goal. They were just property to be used. So, the Romans Seven Man was, "sold under sin. " He was a slave to sin. That is what causes the spiritual struggle in the soul. That is what you and I struggle with. You and I may be born again but we have an old sinful nature. We were born with the nature to sin. We were born with that which is called "the flesh, " and we are in bondage to it. At some point, we all need to be made aware that there is an alternative to the slavery of sin. That's what Romans Eight is all about.

The following verses explain the complexity of this bondage.

Verses Fifteen through Twenty
"For that which I do (#l) I allow not for what I would that I do (#2) not but what I hate that I do (#3) if then I do (#3) that which I would not I consent that the law that is good. Now then it is more I that do (#l) it but sin that dwelleth in me. 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 (#1) that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do (#3) not: but the evil which I would not, that I do (#2). Now if I do (#3) that I would not, it is no more I that do (#l) it, but sin that dwelleth in me."

This is a warfare that leads to failure. The Romans Seven Man's weakness is resident in his use of the "flesh" to accomplish Divine goals. Notice three things:
     (1) This man has "I" trouble.
     (2) The problem is internal ("in me") not external.
     (3) The problem is in the doing.

The word "do" is used in these verses nine times. It is surprising to find that it is translated from three distinctly different Greek words! If care is taken to understand these different Greek words, it will help to understand the complexity, mechanics and exasperation of this conflict.
     #1. KATERGOZOMAl = to work from the inside out
     #2. PRASSO = to practice
     #3. P01EO = to produce
Suggestion: Read these verses again substituting the meaning for the word "do."

Verses Twenty-one through Twenty-three
"I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the Law of God after the inward man: 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. "

Is there anybody here who would deny that there is an indwelling Law of Sin at work in the heart of this Romans Seven Man? Just to simplify how it manifests itself - it sounds like this: "If I trust in the flesh, no matter how hard I try to do what I should or shouldn't do - I crash! And, even though I have more self-will than the other guy, my very best shot is not good enough. I still fall short! After you go through this disappointment for a lifetime, you just finally throw in the towel and say it isn't worth it - it doesn't work! This man of Romans Seven wrestled with this. I guarantee that this describes a great many Christians. They want to do right. They know right from wrong, but if they are depending on the flesh, they're going to flop.

Verse Twenty-four
"0 wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?"

Now our man of Romans Seven has finally reached the bottom! He has come to the end of his human resources! I am convinced, although I cannot prove it, that the Apostle Paul's inspired pen reaches deep into the archives of the Barbarian's concept of justice and punishment for an illustration to show just how desperate the Romans Seven Man's condition really was.

In the ancient world, when a man committed a murder - a brutal murder - there was a special punishment. Of course, people would be outraged! There would be people everywhere crying for blood and for revenge. This would initiate a great manhunt, much as it would in our day - a manhunt for the person responsible for  the crime. Once the perpetrator was found, captured, and tried, he was executed in a most bazaar way. Meaning, the murderer is laid prostrate on the ground. The victim's body was then bound hand to hand, arm to arm, leg to leg, neck to neck, head to head, to the guilty and condemned murderer. Now, you don't need anyone to rehearse to you the nauseating process of decay and corruption. It wouldn't be long before the victim would begin to decay. The Barbarians would take the murderer, now bound to a rotting corpse, and turn him loose to suffer the most indescribable, painful, slow death as he is literally being eaten alive by the corruption. It is at this point that the poor, suffering wretch would cry out, "0 wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" I tell you, we often talk about cruel and inhumane punishment, but believe me, anything we do today by way of punishing criminals, is not near as inhumane and cruel as were the Barbarians.

Paul hears the dying man's heartbreaking plea, "Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" He relates that to the experience of the believer who has not yet discovered the ministry of the Holy Spirit in Romans Eight. Paul's heart is linked with the believer who is trying to do what is right; trying to do what is good; trying to live the Christian way of life but doing so in the energy of the flesh - and the "flesh profits nothing!" He likens the defeated believer to the wretch who was bound to this dead body and crying for help - being eaten little by little by the skin worms and the awful pain and slow death. "Oh, wretched man that I am."

Verse Twenty-five
"1 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. "

This verse is where Paul the Apostle "shifts gears" to move our focus from Romans Chapter Seven to Chapter Eight. It also identifies the choices that are available to the child of God, namely The Law of God or The Law of Sin.

[nChrist]

______________________________________
From Grace And The Truth Ministries
Please share this Inspirational with others.
Free Email Subscription
_______________________________________

WHERE ARE YOU LIVING?
PART 3, CONCLUSION
by Evangelist S. Lee Homoki


Living in Romans Chapter Eight
(Taking a Closer Look at the Law of the Spirit)

In Romans Eight we are introduced to the major distinguishing feature of the Dispensation of Grace, namely, the internal, indwelling, empowering influence of God the Holy Spirit.

Verse One

"There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. "

We begin our observations by calling attention to the phrase "in Christ. " The work of the Holy Spirit for this dispensation rests upon being in that relationship. The concept of being "in Christ" is not found in the Old Testament or the Gospels. Those dear saints were saved and they were in a saving relationship with Jesus Christ but they were not "in Christ" in the sense that we are "in Christ. " They were saved and placed into a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ as "King." He was the King and they were subjects in His Kingdom. Oh, yes, it was a saving relationship. And, yes, God promised a Kingdom to those dear saints. They were promised eternal salvation, and that is wonderful, and we are thankful for (God's blessing on them, but theirs was not the same blessed relationship as we have today "in the Body of Christ! "

When someone gets saved in the Dispensation of Grace, God does something that never happened in the Old Testament. According to First Corinthians chapter twelve, verses twelve and thirteen we are told that the Holy Spirit takes the believing sinner and places him into Christ. We are placed into Christ so completely that He is the head and we are the body. Our life is hid with Christ in God. We are so completely placed into Christ, that we lose our former identity. We are neither Jew nor Gentile, bond or free, male or female, we have a brand new identity - the Body of Christ. We are "in the Body of Christ" by the work of the Holy Spirit that was never manifested in the Old Testament or the Gospels.

There is now "no condemnation" to those who take the option of living in Romans Eight and walking "after the Spirit. "The struggle believers go through from the moment they are saved is a struggle between the flesh and the Spirit. The flesh profits nothing! Expending efforts by trusting the flesh. trusting will power, "biting the bullet," "grinning and bearing it" - is doomed to fail. Victory and joy is to be had only as we yield to the Holy Spirit. "Reckon yourself to be dead indeed unto sin, alive unto God" (Rom. 6:11). When believers yield themselves to the Holy Spirit the Holy Spirit will speak in a still small voice, through the Word of God, and empower them to live and function in humanly impossible ways: ways they never could do before.

Verse Two

"For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death."

Being "in Christ" is the most important place to be, and the most important and valuable blessing of grace is: "made me free from the law of "sin and death" by the "law of the Spirit of life. " In my opinion, the "law of sin and death" refers to the indwelling sin principle that we inherited through the fall of Adam. It is often referred to as the "Old Man," 'the Flesh" or the Old Sin Nature. The saved person is freed from the bondage of the Flesh, when a person gets saved and receives the Holy Spirit. "If any man have not the spirit of Christ, he is none of His"  (Rom. 8:9). He is "sealed unto the day of redemption" (2 Cor. I :22; Eph. I:13; 4:30) by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit's sealing is a mark of ownership and a guarantee of God's promise. Believers are not only "in Christ" now, but the Holy Spirit has come to indwell us, seal us and free us. These blessings can never change. Since this is true, just think of the riches of God's grace! Think of the privilege and the opportunities that are ours for victory and the blessings of God.

Why would God do it this way? Answer- God has provided the assets of grace (salvation, the indwelling Holy Spirit and the Word of God) and when something wonderful is accomplished in and through the believer's life, God gets the praise and glory.

Verses Three through Eight

"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: That the righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. "

"For what the Law could not do." You know, there is something that bothers me. You pick up the average Sunday School literature and you'll find that many will tell you that you are saved by grace through faith. I say, "Hey, great, praise the Lord I believe that! That's wonderful!" But much of the literature says, "In order to live the Christian life you have to go back to the Mosaic Law" and it binds the students hand and foot to the Law.

I'm here to tell you that when someone gets saved, they are made free, both from the Mosaic Law and the "Law of Sin and Death. " God has changed His method of operation. How? And Why? Answer: God sent "His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin as a sin offering condemned sin in the flesh." The Christian way of life is now lived according to the principles revealed here in Romans Eight. Living the Christian way of life, in a successful way, is not a matter of keeping the Mosaic Law or through the energy of the Flesh!

We have said elsewhere in this article that God has not relaxed His holiness; rather, He has, through the substitutionary work of Christ, made provision for the "righteousness of the Law" to be "fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit. "

"Walk after the Spirit." That's for us! We are privileged! That's why the age in which we are living is called the Dispensation of the Grace of God. The world has never seen anything like this before. God has always been a God of grace. But, what God had done by enriching those that dare to believe Him today is absolutely without equal. The whole Eighth Chapter of Romans has to do with walking after the Holy Spirit.

Verses Nine through Fourteen

"But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons [adult/mature) of God "

These verses form the heart and structure of the place where God wants us to live and function as a member of Christ's body; Romans Eight should be our dwelling place.

Conclusion

I want to ask you a personal question, "Where do you want to live?" I have made my choice. I've had enough of Romans Seven. I want to live in Romans Eight. I want to experience and know something more about the Holy Spirit. I want to know enough of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God so that I can experience the riches of His grace.

The Bible holds out that hope that we can live independent of the flesh - that there is the possibility of living in such a way that we can glorify God in all that we say and do. Now, have I been successful? I'm not going to raise my hand and say "Yes." I'm growing. I'm learning. I'm walking. Have I been successful in all? No, I fail lots of times. But, thank God, I found what I believe is the major key in living the Christian way of life.

I say this without fear of contradiction; we need to know the Word of God and the reality of the fullness and power of the Holy Spirit. Enough! Enough! Enough pain, fear, defeat, disappointment, sadness and disillusionment! Enough! Enough! Enough talking about victory and joy in the Holy Spirit. We need the reality of the power of God the Holy Spirit and that is the only way that we shall ever produce fruit that will remain. We need to move out of Romans Chapter Seven and move into Romans Chapter Eight. Where are you living?

[nChrist]

______________________________________
From Grace And The Truth Ministries
Please share this Inspirational with others.
Free Email Subscription
_______________________________________

FROM DEATH INTO LIFE
By Pastor Robert Hanna

Scripture Reading: Galatians 2:20-21

From death unto life: what a strange and marvelous process! We die, that we might live. "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, Who loved me, and gave Himself for me."

The greatest moment in the sacrificial work of our Lord He shared with His own: we are crucified with Him! We are baptized into His death: "Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death ... For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection" (Rom. 6: 4, 5).

Meanwhile, as we await that which is to come, it is His life that we now live in the flesh. Our anticipation is greater than the greatest of man's most exaggerated dreams. "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed to us" (Rom. 8:18 ). "For our citizenship is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby He is able to subdue all things unto Himself" (Phil. 3:20-21).

This present life-this present world-this age of pain and rejection are difficult. But they are not unbearable. For while suffering the slings and arrows of the ungodly, we are "Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ" (Titus 2: 13).