New Life Stronger than The Law

God instituted the Law. By it, God declares what is right, and what is wrong. By it, God condemns those who do not follow the Law.

But, those, who give their allegiance to Jesus, are placed into Christ. The are linked to Jesus, so what he experiences, they receive the result.

Jesus died. The punishment for sin was satisfied in him. Those in Christ were justified.

Jesus died. Those in Christ were linked to his death. Those in Christ "died" also.

Scripture says that when a person dies, he is removed from the authority of the Law. Paul uses the example of marriage. If two people are married, they can't marry someone else. That would break the Law. But, on the death of one of the partners, the constraint of the Law is broken. They are free to marry again.

If we are linked to Christ, when he died, we "died." He is not constrained by the Law. We are not constrained by the Law.

Then, does that mean we can go, and sin all we want? God doesn't care?

God does care. We should not sin. But, ultimately, the controlling factor is not the Law. the controlling factor is a new life in Christ.

We give our allegiance to Jesus. God's presence resides in the core of our being. He re-creates a person's spiritual DNA. Desires change. Motives change. Values change. And words, and actions, change.

We do not immediately become perfect. So, the Law is still valuable for understanding the parameters involved in life. But the impetus, the drive, and the power comes from the Holy Spirit. The goal becomes: faith expressing itself in love. And love keeps the Law.

Live by Faith

I have met people, who have chosen to follow Jesus. They recognize their need for a savior, their inability to secure God's blessing by their own effort, and Jesus is the only solution. The give Jesus their allegiance. God receives them, places them into his family, and begins the process of restoration.

These people begin their lives with God by faith in Jesus, but the assume the must continue that life by living in an acceptable manner.

Don't misunderstand me. God want people to live in obedience. God wants people to live always expressing love. But we initially get right with God by faith in Jesus. And we will continue to be right with God by faith in Jesus.

Paul wrote to God's family in a particular region, and he asked them: you began by faith in Christ, why are you switching?

It is God's Spirit, who gives life. And it is new, and true, life that we are walking toward. So, it is only the Spirit, who can give progress. It is the process of spiritual DNA renewal that leads to real restoration of God's design. And it is only the Spirit, who can operate on our spiritual DNA.

God's goal is to change our spiritual DNA, so that we act "naturally" in obedience. He prefers it, when we choose obedience, rather than when we choose sin. But, he prefers, even more, when obedience becomes as natural, and normal, as breathing. And that requires a move of the Spirit.

When we gave our allegiance to Jesus, we invited God to rule our lives. Part of that is giving the spirit permission to reside, and act, in our lives.

When people get married, they invite another person to move into their life. They give that person permission to act in their lives. As time passes, they  can act, and give that person greater access to the core of our lives. Or we can block that person off. We can act in the same way in our relationship with God. We can open the door wider. Or we can squeeze the door down to a crack.

As I have said before, one of the main fuels of optimal living is our connection to God. To live truly, and fully, we need an open connection to god. We need the door to be wide open. To maximize love, joy, flow of the Spirit, and transformation, we need to maximize the connection to the God-head.

We have discussed these connections too. Christ-followers have devised methods that help them open up the connections: prayer, meditation, worship, and different approaches, and modes, to all of these.

Recently, I wrote about the effect of thankfulness in the inner person, and in our relationship with God. Thankfulness is another method used to open our connection with God. A focus on the negative, on misery, closes the connection. It strangles the flow of the Spirit. of love, of joy, toward our hearts. Thankfulness counteracts this negative focus. Thankfulness gives us a clear vision of God, and his attitudes and actions toward us. Thankfulness opens our spirits to receive from the Spirit.

We can use thankfulness as a weapon against misery, and the enemy. It is a component of prayer, and worship. We can cultivate being proactively thankful, and proactively open our spirits to connect fully with the God of love, who wants to share his love with us, always, and more fully.