| Peace George Poulo 11/14/06 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified By faith without the deeds of the law. Rm3:28 I am not justified by the deeds of the law. I am not justified because by willpower I do not kill. I am not justified in the sight of God because by self-control I do not lie or steal or covet. The burden of keeping the law would become so great that I would be anxious, troubled, and full of stress because at some point I might fail. I would be so scrupulous that I would fear making wrong decisions and doing the wrong thing. If I were to fail to keep the law in one point I would be so guilty because I would no longer be justified in the sight of God. Not only that, so long as I kept the law I would be proud, condescending, and judgmental with all those who break the law. There would be no peace. I would be under a burden. Being justified by faith we have peace... Rm5:1 Yet if I am justified by faith I have peace. Faith working by love fulfills the law. The end of the law is love out of a pure heart. The way I keep the law is not by self effort but by living and walking in the Spirit. There is no pressure to perform because my behavior is motivated by God and by love, not by self-righteousness or effort. I am no longer under the law but under grace and I am free. Because I am not under the law does not mean that I am free to sin, what it means is that I am motivated by love and love never fails. By faith I confess, "I stand perfect and complete in all the will of God" (Col4:12) and if I have been born of the Spirit those words will eventually come to fruition. If I confess, "I am filled with the knowledge of God's will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding" (Col1:9) by faith I believe that eventually it will begin to take place. If I am eyes to the blind, legs to the lame, if I visit the orphan and the widow, if I visit those in prison, love will begin to operate in my life and I will begin to live and walk in the Spirit and not fulfill the lust of the flesh. The law will be fulfilled in me not by being under the law and all the pressure that brings but being under grace and all the freedom and peace that brings. By the law is the knowledge of sin. By grace is the peace and love of God which brings freedom, joy, and great expectation for me and for those for whom I pray and am involved. The difference between being justified by grace and faith and not of the law is the difference between living in the Spirit and living in the flesh. It's the difference between the blessing and the burden. If we begin to act in faith and love, the law no longer becomes my schoolteacher. It is no longer necessary and consequently I have peace and I live in love. Amen |
 |