| Romans 7:7-11 "What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, 'You shall not covet.' But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting. For apart from the law, sin was dead. Once I was alive apart from the law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death. For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death." The Spirit actually didn't come to abolish the Law. Just like the Lord says: "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." Law is to be fulfilled by the Spirit. Therefore, the Spirit is the truly one that fulfills the promise of the Lord. Why does Romans 7:6 say: "But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code"? It is not because the Law is not good. Rather, it is because of the rebellious nature inside us, which was planted deeply inside us after Adam and Eve committed sin. We always want to be our own Lord, to be rebellious against any authority and law. So as good as the law is, when our rebellious nature meets the law, it wants to violate the law. For example, the more you tell a little kid No, the more he wants to do it. You'd better not tell him not to do this or that, otherwise he is more tempted to try. Therefore, the Law can let us know sin, but it can't make us overcome sin. On the contrary, it may cause people to violate the Law. That is why we need the work of the Spirit, for only He can prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness in our heart. When we welcome the Spirit to do His work, He will start to cleanse us from within. A close friend of mine used to be zealous in serving the Lord in high school. But when he went to college he told everyone he was going to forget about God and live for himself during the four years of college. Needless to say he never came back to God again. Several years ago I was delivering a sermon in Taipei. After the sermon a man came to me. It was him! He told me that he was never happy after he backslid. He got divorced shortly after he got married. He didn't enjoy his teaching job in university, either. Later on he was seeing someone. Since he thought a Christian sister might be a better wife, he took his girlfriend to church. To his surprise, the first time he went back to church, during worship he started to cry. It occurred to him that over the year he was rebellious to God, and the only reason he came back to church was for his own benefit. He realized how filthy he was and started to repent in tears. Praise the Lord for bringing him back. Brothers and sisters, do you need the work of renewal by the Spirit in your life? Let's welcome the Spirit together.
Pray with Pastor Tong Liu Lord, may your spirit shine on us and cleanse us, so that we may be delivered again from the power of sin. We thank you and we pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen! |
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