©1999 Larry Huntsperger
Peninsula Bible Fellowship
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11/14/99
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Free From The Law!
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Rom. 7:4-6
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11/14/99 Free From The Law!
We are about to embark
on what could be a treacherous journey,
across a mental mine-field.
The concept we will look at
during the next few minutes
is one that is crucial to the health
of every growing Christian.
Yet it is also a concept
that has the potential
of being easily misunderstood.
It is an area of truth
the human mind would never have come up with
on its own,
a truth that goes directly against
every natural religious response within
us,
a truth we could only come to understand
through the direct revelation of God to us.
We have been talking the past few weeks
about the way in which our Lord
seeks to bring freedom into the lives
of each of us who come to Him.
We spent several weeks talking about
what true freedom is.
It is not the pathetic legalization of bondage
being promoted as "freedom" within our society,
offering every person the "right"
to live out those forces within themselves
that they could not change if they
wanted to.
When our Lord offers us freedom
He offers us the real thing -
not the "right" to do what we cannot stop,
but rather the power
and the insights
and the knowledge we need
to actually break free from our
bondage.
And for the Christian
the foundation of that freeing process
involves our Lord setting us free
from the two forces that have the power
to keep us in slavery.
He frees us from the Law,
and He frees us from sin.
This morning we are going to dive into the first of
those two - freedom from the Law.
Our key passage is found in Romans chapter 7:4-6
Let me read that passage before we get going
and then we'll get into it in depth
in just a few minutes.
Rom. 7:4 ¶ Therefore, my brethren, you
also were made to die to the Law through
the body of Christ, so that you might be
joined to another, to Him who was raised
from the dead, in order that we might bear
fruit for God.
Rom. 7:5 For while we were in the flesh,
the sinful passions, which were aroused
by the Law, were at work in the members
of our body to bear fruit for death.
Rom. 7:6 But now we have been released
from the Law, having died to that by
which we were bound, so that we serve in
newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of
the letter.
And we're going to begin with a definition.
In this passage Paul is talking about us "dying to
the Law",
and he tells us that we have been "released from
the Law"...
In context Paul is talking about
the moral law of God.
If you want to think of the 10 Commandments,
that's a good starting place.
And before we go any farther here
I want to be sure you really did hear what I just
said.
In this passage
Paul tells us that through Christ
we have been released from the moral law
of God.
Does that statement trouble you?
Why would God release us
from the very same law
He gave us in the first place?
Wasn't the purpose of that Law
to show us how to be good,
and to tell us how we can please God,
and to provide us with a moral road map
back to our Creator?
I mean, really!
God Himself wrote the list.
Don't lie.
Don't commit adultery.
Don't cheat.
Don't steal.
Don't covet.
Submit to human authority.
So why in the world
would Paul say here
that we have been released from the law?
To understand why Paul says what he says in this
passage
we need to begin
by stepping back a few paces
so that we can gain
a broader perspective
on what has been happening between us and our
Creator
since the time of Adam.
And I need to warn you
that what has been happening
is not what most of the world thinks has been
happening.
Left to ourselves
I think most people's natural assumption is that,
when man rebelled against God,
God responded to that rebellion
by reaching back to man
through His moral law,
offering us a sort of moral road map
through which we would be able
to find our way back to our Creator.
It certainly seems reasonable,
and it makes for wonderful religious systems
in all shapes and sizes,
but nothing could be farther from the truth.
So let me share with you
what our Creator says
about why the law was actually given.
And maybe the easiest way for me
to walk us through this
is by simply doing it in the form
of a series of numbered statements.
#1. We'll start right from the beginning:
God created man.
#2. Soon after that creation, however,
man asserted the free will God had given him
by turning his back on his Creator.
In fact, Adam and Eve entered into a full-scale,
willful rebellion against Him,
declaring themselves to be independent
from Him,
and denouncing His Lordship in
their lives.
#3. Once that rebellion took place
that same spirit of rebellion
was passed onto every human being
from that time forth.
Every one of us enters this world
believing we have both the right
and the ability to run our own lives.
#4. The remarkable thing, however,
is that even though we
collectively shook our little created fists
in the face of our God,
our God continued to love us
and to implement His plan
for the restoration
of His relationship with us.
God never tells us WHY He loves us.
He just tells us that He does.
And He tells us
that He loves each one of us equally and
eternally.
#5. OK, now here is the situation God faced:
the people He loves have a heart rebellion
against Him.
It isn't just that we
are not acting the way nice people ought to act.
It's that we are immersed in our rebellion
at the deepest level of our being.
Just getting us to act a little better, and be a little
more moral,
will never solve the problem.
What we need first of all
is to face honestly our root problem
of an independent heart in rebellion against
God.
EX.
The first year Sandee and I were married
we were resident managers
at an apartment building in Kenai.
Several weeks after we took the job
I entered a vacant downstairs apartment
and discovered
that all of the bathroom sewage
from the upstairs unit
had been filling up the bath tub
down below.
Something was blocking the drain
shared by those two units
in the crawl space down below,
so the upstairs sewage got diverted into
the downstairs tub.
I was young and foolish at the time
and rather than calling a plumber
I assumed that it was my job
to fix everything in the world.
It was late afternoon,
and Sandee and I were going out to dinner
together that evening.
But I figured it shouldn't be any big deal
to locate and remove the blockage
before we left.
I got down into the crawl space,
found what looked like the right set of drains,
and figured I could undo them,
quickly place my hand over the side that
led up to the tub full of sewage,
and then remove whatever was
blocking the drain on the other side.
My plan worked great,
except that once I got the drains loose,
the side I quickly placed my hand over
was not the side that actually led up to
the tub.
I got hit full in the face
with a 2" drain pipe leading up to a bathtub full
of live sewage.
When I finally managed to get the drains back
together
I was soaked with filth.
I had little bits of soggy toilet paper stuck in
my beard.
Now imagine me going back to our apartment
and telling Sandee I would be right with her for
our dinner out,
but that I just needed to slip into some dry
clothes before we left.
Folks, dry clothes did not meet the need.
I needed to be scrubbed and disinfected from head
to foot.
When we find ourselves thinking
that all we need
in order to move ourselves closer to God
is to work harder at obeying the Ten
Commandments,
it's the same thing as me suggesting
that all I need to do following my sewage bath
is to slip on some dry clothes.
If there was ever going to be any hope
of a restored relationship between us and our
God,
God knew that it would take a total
cleansing of us
at the deepest level of our being.
#6. But for that to take place,
first of all He would need to face us with the
truth about our own condition -
He would have to force us to face
the reality of our own sinfulness.
#7. And this is where the Moral Law of God comes
into God's plan.
For, you see, God did not give us His moral law
in order to help us sin LESS,
He gave us His moral law in order to force
us to sin MORE.
Romans chapter 5, verse 20 says this:
The Law came in so that the transgression
would increase...
God gave the law to force us to sin more.
And then, in Romans 7:5,
Paul explains how the law does this.
For while we were in the flesh, the sinful
passions, which were aroused by the Law,
were at work in the members of our body to
bear fruit for death.
In that verse Paul tells us that when our sinful
passions,
that is, when that rebellious nature within us
encounters the moral law of God
it's like holding a lighted match
over an open can of gasoline.
The law drives us to rebellion.
Many of you have heard one of my favorite
illustrations before.
I have some urgent, critical instructions for you,
and it is imperative that listen
and obey what I am going to say to you.
Under no circumstances
do I want you to touch the chair in front of you.
I don't want you to touch it with your finger.
I don't want you to touch it with your toe.
I don't want you to touch it with your knee.
I don't even want you to THINK about touching it.
Now look at this!
Thirty seconds ago
the last thing in your mind
was the thought of touching that chair.
And yet now you find your finger just itching to
touch it.
There is no reasonable, logical reason why you
would want to touch it.
You just do,
because my little law
aroused your natural rebellious nature
and gave you a desire
to reach out and touch that chair.
In fact, the law itself brought the action to mind.
...the sinful passions, which were aroused
by the Law...
And the Law came in so that the
transgression would increase...
If God had never given His moral law
we would never have been driven to sin
and forced to face our own heart rebellion
against our God.
But then what changes when we come to Christ?
Well, the easiest way for me to explain that
is to share with you an illustration
that Paul shares with us
in the first few verses of Romans 7.
We are not going to take the time to read the
passage now,
but I will simply tell you that in that passage
Paul describes a woman who is married,
and who's first husband dies,
and who is then remarried to a very
different type of man.
He tells us that every one of us enters this world
married to the law,
and that when we come to Christ
it's just as if our old husband has died
and now we are remarried to Christ.
But to better relate to this illustration
I'd like to restate it for you in my own words.
Picture a young lady who has been married only a
few months. She entered this marriage relationship
with stars in her eyes and great hopes for her
future. Unfortunately, she did not know her
husband well when they married, and she soon
realizes this is no match made in heaven. Her
husband is a perfectionist with the highest possible
standards. He knows exactly how he wants his
home to operate, and he will settle for nothing less.
Before he leaves for work each morning, he hands
his wife a list of duties he expects her to perform
during the day. The list includes exact details
concerning how she should clean the house, how
she should handle each article of laundry, when she
should have dinner ready, and what he wants on the
menu. When he returns home from work, the first
thing he does is go over each detail on the list to
make certain she has accomplished it correctly. He
never offers a word of praise and, when she fails to
perform perfectly, he is quick to point out her
shortcomings and exhort her to do everything right
the next time.
This nightmare marriage continues for several
years. The wife grows to despise and resent her
husband and to dread each new day she is forced to
live under his unbending authority. She knows she
cannot measure up to his demands, and yet she
cannot escape his rule.
Then one day her husband dies and the young
lady remarries. This time, however, she marries a
very different type of man. Her new husband loves
her deeply and rejoices in his bride. His one goal in
life is to provide the kind of leadership that allows
his wife to grow and develop in every way possible
so that she can know true fulfillment in life. When he
leaves in the morning, he does not give her a list of
duties to perform to his specifications. He simply
wraps his arms around her and gives her a big hug.
He tells her he will miss her while they are apart and
can't wait to see her again. When some project she
has attempted does not turn out well, and he
suddenly sees the fear in her eyes as she anticipates
his anger or condemnation, he puts his arms around
her and says, "My love, listen to me. I did not marry
you for what you could do. I married you because I
love you. You are my greatest joy in life, and I could
not be more pleased with you as my mate."
Gradually, as this frightened, fearful young lady
responds to her new husband's loving care and
leadership, she finds herself growing in her desire to
please him and be the best marriage partner she can
be.
Before we come to Christ, we are like the young
lady in her first marriage. We enter this world
chained to a relationship with God's moral law. It is
written in our hearts, ever present, telling us what is
required, demanding obedience, and condemning us
when we fall short of the mark. It is not a happy
union. We fight to find some way to get out from
under the law's condemning authority. We may try
fervently to perform well, but inside we know it is
never good enough. Or we play little mind games,
trying to convince ourselves there really are no moral
absolutes, when deep within us we know it is a lie.
We cannot please the law, we cannot escape it, and
our spirit either fights against its authority over us
or is crushed by it.
A Very Different Union
Then we come to Christ. Paul says,
"Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die
to the Law through the body of Christ, that you
might be joined to another, to Him who was raised
from the dead, that we might bear fruit for God"
(Romans 7:4). The harsh, impersonal, unbending,
demanding moral law of God is replaced by the
Person of Christ. But like the young bride, we do
not know how to live in this new union. We
assume our new husband is very much like our old
a harsh and demanding judge who requires perfect
performance and brings strong condemnation when
we fall short of the mark.
And so, learning to live in this strange new
relationship with our Creator, one based not upon
perfect performance-but upon Christ's death as
payment for our sins-is the first and most crucial
calling for us as believers. This is why,
immediately after revealing God's majestic purpose
for His church, Paul says in Ephesians 3:14,17-18:
For this reason, I bow my knees before the
Father...that you, being rooted and grounded in
love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints
what is the breadth and length and height and depth,
and to know the love of Christ which surpasses
knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the
fullness of God.
Paul knows if we are ever to fulfill God's
purpose for us, either personally or corporately, we
must begin by understanding the true nature and
depth of the love of Christ, to the point where we
are able to respond to His love in a practical way.
Any attempt to successfully live the Christian life
based solely upon our fervent commitment to be
obedient to the law of God is destined to fail. It will
fail, not because moral obedience is unimportant,
but because it is unattainable outside of a life lived
in a growing love relationship with the Person of
Christ.
Did you notice that last phrase in Romans 7:4?
Paul tells us that we were made to die to the law and
we were joined to Christ so that "we might bear
fruit for God." In the context of his marriage
analogy, Paul is telling us that our new husband,
Christ, is a fruitful husband-a husband who has the
ability to allow us to produce righteousness
"children" in our lives. Unlike the law which could
produce only pride or resentment, guilt, and
condemnation within us, the Person of Christ can
truly create righteousness deep within us. It is a
living righteousness that will give birth to a whole
new approach to living.
But then what happens if we break the law as a
Christian?
How does that affect our relationship with this
new husband of ours?
To answer that I want to close
with one more illustration
that I think will help you see the difference
before and after coming to Christ.
Let me help you visualize the difference between
life under the law and life with the Person of Christ.
Imagine, for a moment that you are an avid
fisherman on a perfect summer afternoon. The sun is
shining, a gentle breeze is blowing, and there is not
even a mosquito to mar the day. You have your pole
and tackle box in hand, and you are hiking down a
little trail in the woods.
As you round a bend in the trail, suddenly you
run into a fence about three feet high. On the fence is
a sign. Bold block letters proclaim: BEWARE!
DON'T YOU DARE CROSS OVER THIS FENCE!
On the other side of the fence is a sandy beach and
the prettiest little lake you have ever seen. Huge trout
are jumping out of the water.
You stand there for a few minutes wondering
what to do. Finally, the pull is too much. Obviously,
whoever put up that sign did it simply to deprive you
of the best fishing lake in the world. You toss your
pole and tackle over the fence and then climb over
yourself. You start walking toward the lake, but
before you have taken a dozen steps, the ground
gives way and what looked like a solid path turns
into a mire of quicksand that begins to suck you
down. Frantically you fight for your life and, after
several minutes of clawing and grasping at bushes,
branches, and weeds, you finally drag yourself up
onto solid ground. Your hands are badly cut and
bleeding, you have lost all of your equipment, and
you are filthy and exhausted.
This is an accurate picture of our battle with sin
prior to coming to Christ. Satan seeks to convince us
that God's commandments are really barriers that
wall us off from those things we are certain we must
have. We don't trust the commandments, and we
certainly don't trust the One who gave them. Too
late we discover that violating those commandments
has highly destructive consequences.
How does our situation change when we come
to Christ? First of all, when we walk down that trail
as a Christian, we do not walk alone. Our Lord
Jesus Christ now walks with us. He shares the
afternoon with us, and His presence gives us a
heightened appreciation for the beauty surrounding
us.
When we round that bend, the fence is still
across the trail and we can still see the fish jumping
in the lake in the distance. But now no sign hangs
on the fence. As we watch the fish jumping in the
distance, our Lord says to us, ``My child, I want
you to know that I was the One who built this
fence. I did it to protect you. From here, I know
that lake looks inviting, but all is not as it seems. I
want you to trust Me and stay on this side of the
fence."
Just being freed to approach moral obedience
through the Person of Christ rather than through the
harsh, demanding written law does much to free
believers to make right choices - choices that were
impossible for us to make prior to our coming to
Christ.
Still, what if we decide not to listen to the voice
of our Lord? What if we look at the lake, see those
fish, and say to our Lord, "I know You mean well,
but I just have to give it a try. I won't fish long. I'll
be right back, OK?" What happens if we hop over
the fence and head for the lake?
Those times when we jump the fence are
always filled with a great deal of tension within us
because we know this is not what our Lord wanted.
Typically, we handle that tension by keeping our
eyes fixed on the lake, telling ourselves it will all
work out. In our mind we imagine our Lord
standing on the other side of the fence, His arms
folded, a bit of a scowl on His face as He waits for
us to come back to Him.
This just isn't so! Our attention is so focused
on the lake, we do not realize that when we crossed
over the fence, our Lord climbed over with us. He
is still there, walking with us. There is no scowl on
His face. If we could look into His eyes, we would
see only pain-the kind of pain He always feels
when someone He loves is about to be hurt. His
death on that cross has made it possible for Him to
never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5), even
at those times when we harden our will against
Him. Our sins can never again wall us off from our
Creator.
We still fall into the pit, just as when we were
nonbelievers. But now our Lord stands by the edge,
His arms outstretched. When we finally stop
thrashing around long enough to realize He is there
and reach out to Him for help, He takes our hand
and pulls us out of the filth. Then, as He cleans us
up and bandages our wounds, He says, ``Now, my
child, I want to talk with you once again about why I
built that fence.