It Is The Law That Condemns: Not Jesus Christ

In Romans 8:1 the Apostle Paul tells the Christians in Rome “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”

The inverse to that statement implies that anyone who is not in Jesus Christ, who does walk after the flesh and not after the Holy Spirit, remains condemned. The questions then arise, “Why is that? Why is that those people who are not in Christ are by definition condemned? Didn't Jesus say God sent Him to the world not to condemn the world but to save the world?”

Paul answers by writing about the law that does the condemning; once again the implication being it is not Jesus Christ who condemns. It is the law which condemns every person who chooses not to be in Jesus. And the reason the law is so full of condemnation is because the law is powerless to do otherwise. The law has no power over man’s sinful nature.

The good news is that we who are in Christ Jesus do not live according to our sinful nature, and therefore subject to the law. But because of Jesus, and Jesus alone, all the condemning requirements of the law have been lifted. As a result, we who are in Jesus Christ are no longer subject to the law or any of its condemnation. Does that mean born again Christians can live their lives according to any ole’ carnal desire that happens to cross their mind? No! Absolutely not! The reason, as Paul goes on to explain in chapter 8, is that because Christians are in Christ Jesus they in deed live according to the Holy Spirit and not according to the law (not according to their carnal desires).

Anyone who chooses to live their life not according to the Holy Spirit is in fact living according to their sinful nature. It is always one or the other. When we take that thought to the next step, it can only concluded that by living a life according to one’s own sinful nature (carnal desires) we are not in Christ Jesus. And once again, if we are not in Christ Jesus, we are subject to a powerless law - a law that only condemns.

Anyone who lives according to the powerless law has their minds set not on the desires of the Holy Spirit, but rather on their carnal desires. That sinful mindset will always lead to condemnation, which is death (an eternal separation from God the Father). There is no life or peace for the man who lives according to the law. There is no life or peace for such a man living here in this world, and certainly not in the world to come. Why is that?

We know anyone who is not in Christ Jesus is subject to the law. Paul goes on to make it clear, that in addition to being under the law, the same man is considered by God to be hostile to God. Those men subjected to the law do not, will not, and if fact cannot submit their lives to God’s law. They cannot do so because they are controlled by their sinful nature, a sinful nature which is and will always be uncontrollable by the law. According to Paul anyone living their life in line with the law is not in Christ Jesus, and therefore does not please God. Later in the chapter Paul goes on to say in essence that anyone who does not please God, because they continue to choose to live subject to the law, they will certainly die (be eternally separated from the love of God).

For those of us choosing to reject the law, who choose to remain in Christ Jesus and therefore be led by the Spirit of God are called the sons of God. Because of that very son ship we needs no longer be a slave to fear. Why is that? Because anyone led by the Spirit can call out to God by His name; “Abba, Father”.

We who choose to be in Christ Jesus, choose to be led by the Holy Spirit, and choose to be a son of God, become eligible to receive, from God our Father, an inheritance along with Christ. We, who choose to reject the powerless law will always condemn us, need to live in fear no longer. Under the law fear abounds; in Christ Jesus there is no fear. When it comes to fear, no matter the gravity of the situation, I like to ask myself this question, “What is the worst thing that can happen?” “No matter the situation (no matter the finance issues, no matter the health issues, no matter the relationship issues, no matter what my concerns might be) I have learned to answer that question with this statement of truth, “God is Good, He is Good all the time, He is Good no matter what happens, and no matter what happens God is always in control.”

That answer, to the “What is the worst thing that can happen?” question, helps allow me to look forward to my sharing in the sufferings of Jesus, knowing full well I will ultimately share in His glory. I take that promise to the bank!

There Will Never Be A Greater Love

Last evening I suggested in our weekly men’s Bible study that Jesus went to the cross knowing He would surely die, but not knowing whether or not He would actually be raised from the dead. I was immediately reminded of the fact that Jesus, on several occasions, prophesied both His death and His resurrection.  My answer to that statement, which I formulated into a couple of question, was, “He did in fact prophesy His death and His resurrection, but was He able to deliver such a prophesy because of a certain knowledge on His part, or did He prophesy based only on His own understanding of prophetic scripture, and under the instruction of the Father? Did He prophesy only because God spoke those words into His heart and He in turn to spoke it by faith to His followers?” After all, Jesus also said on several other occasions that He only did what His Father told Him to do, and He only said what His Father told Him to say.

Could it be that the agony Jesus suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane, was suffered because He was (barring some miracle He [as a man] was unaware of) about to be crucified? If so, He must have known He had a choice to either willingly die for the sins of all mankind, or to avoid death by calling upon 10,000 angels to rescue Him from what otherwise was going to possibly result in Him having to spend eternity in a lake of fire - forever separated from His Father.

What impresses me about this line of thought, if true, is how much Jesus must have loved all of mankind to be willing to be the one sacrifice for all of their sins – not knowing … NOT KNOWING for certain He would be raised from the dead. Jesus had to know, absolutely, the only chance for any man to have the opportunity to once again develop a right relationship with God the Father was for Him to die; for Him to be the sacrifice for all sin. Jesus knew that He was without sin. Jesus understood from scripture that for men to be forgiven from their sin there had to be a sinless Lamb sacrificed in order to spill the only blood that could wash away all sin once and for all. Jesus knew that. He knew for certain, when He was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, He was to be that sacrifice. He knew the final decision to carry out the Father’s salvation plan was for Him, the perfect Lamb, to ultimately make that choice. Jesus had to make the choice to either die or not to die.

By choosing not to die, Jesus understood all men would be damned for eternity. Jesus knew His Father loved man so much that He was more than willing to have His own beloved Son killed so men would not have to be damned; but rather be given the chance to share in a perfect fellowship with the Father, as children of God, forever and ever. Jesus also knew that the Father would not, could not; force Him to suffer such a horrific death should He choose not to do so. But, because of Jesus’ love for the Father and His own love for mankind Jesus chose to die. He chose to believe the Father would raise Him from the dead on the third day just as it was for told; but if not, Jesus was still willing to die and spend eternity in Hell so men could escape that awful place and instead experience a wonderfully close relationship with God the Father, a relationship that was so precious to Jesus – more precious than anything … except for saving sinful man from the Hell they deserved. There was no greater love. The wonderfully glorious part of this story is that because Jesus did indeed rise on the third day, we as believers can draw on that love every moment of every day. There is no greater love.

One final note: Please turn to Paul’s letter to the Church in Ephesus and read his prayer to God for the Ephesian Christians. Start with chapter one verse seventeen and read to the end of the chapter. Paul prays about the incomparable great power God exerted when He raised Jesus from the dead and His assigning all honor and authority to Jesus. Paul went on to write about how the Father, bestowed upon His Son, Jesus, (because of His willingness to go through the uncertainty, the pain; the torment; the anguish; the shedding His own blood; (the only blood pure and incorruptible - the only blood available for salvation in all of creation) so man could be saved from his sin. Because Jesus was willing to be that kind of sacrifice, God the Father seated Jesus at His right side. He placed Jesus far above all rule and authority; far above all power and dominion. God gave Jesus every title that could be given for all of eternity. God placed all things under Jesus’ feet and appointed Him to be head over everything for the Church.

Then in Paul’s letter to Philippi he also writes about God the Father exalting Jesus to the highest place and giving Him the Name above all names. There will never be a greater love.

Early 90's Music of Huston Arts (Chris Huston)

https://soundcloud.com/huston_arts

A Declaration: It Is Time For History To Repeat Itself

A desire for independence sprouted and festered in the minds of men, inevitably becoming an ever-increasing resentment toward their own government. Overtime the resentment of these men developed a rebellious mind set, which in 1775, erupted into an anti-government gunfight at Lexington and Concord. A few months later the gunfight became a war on a knoll called Bunker Hill.

The Sugar Act, the Currency Act, the Quartering Act and the Stamp Act proclaimed during those years fed the flames of a rebellion; soon bursting into a roaring fire of open resistance in 1764-65. In fact the Stamp Act was repealed by the government due to constant and unrelenting harassment inflicted by the Sons of Liberty.

A few years later, in 1770, rioting broke out in the streets of New York. Five colonists involved in minor confrontations with the government were shot and killed. Then in 1773 the colonists became further incensed with their governments newly claimed power to levy a small tax on tea by enacting what was called the Tea Act. As a result the rebels challenged their King's authority to legislate at a tax on the colonies, by staging the infamous Boston Tea Party; which was instrumental in provoking King George into issuing what was called the “Intolerable Acts.” His military began seizing ammunition from local militias and at the same time fortifying the city of Boston.

In response, the colonists convened the First Continental Congress, and local militia throughout the colonies formed a force called "the minutemen," to include men willing, able and ready to fight at a minute's notice. On April 18, 1775 just before midnight, these minutemen scattered throughout the countryside were warned by two men named Paul Revere and William Dawes riding through the night on horseback from Boston. Their warning to the militia was to prepare, because the government troops were coming to confiscate all guns and ammunition the colonies had stored in Concord. The “shot heard around the world” sounded just as the sun began to rise. These rebels were not about to give up their God-given right to keep and bear arms.

The world soon became informed in a written Declaration document signed by 56 men, as to why such ordinary men were compelled to raise their muskets and began firing on their own government. The document read in part: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute a new government..."

The Declaration of Independence: God, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice...became the basis of a newly formed federal government.