After making God’s case against sin and sinners in the first three chapters of Romans, Paul begins to explain the marvelous, wonderful truth of the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ and how it saves us. I myself am nothing and know nothing of these things other than the little glimpses I see. But in my spirit I sense a great River of love and life out-poured through Christ in me..and therefore all those He lives in.
In Romans 1 – 3 Paul proves that all mankind was guilty before a holy God and needed a Saviour. Those under the Law had failed to keep it and those without Law were considered ungodly. But it is God who not only justifies the ungodly man by faith in Jesus, but also the man trying to keep the Law but failing is also justified ONLY through faith in Jesus.
Paul then explains how Abraham was justified by faith long before the Law entered in. But for sin to become truly sinful to us, God brought in the Law, to show us all our weakness and mortality. God wanted us to see that we could never keep the Law to His standard. He says later in Chapter 10 that “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to those who believe.”
That statement shows the contrast that exists in the world, even among believers. If Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness to those who believe…..then the opposite is true. Those who do not believe in Christ are not made righteous before God. They are unrighteous. But here’s the thing….
If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, but you do not believe that Christ is ‘the end of the Law for righteousness’, then you are still trying to establish your own righteousness. Therefore you are reaping the rewards of the unrighteous- which are the curses of the Law, even though you are born again.
Paul says in Galatians
Gal 3:10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, “CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO DOES NOT CONTINUE IN ALL THINGS WHICH ARE WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF THE LAW, TO DO THEM.”
Oh I pray that you may be given eyes to see what God is saying beloved of God.
A believer is ONLY righteous through the indwelling of the Righteous One. Our very nature is Righteousness. His name is Jesus. He is the end of the Law for righteousness to those who believe He is the end of the Law for righteousness!
God wants us to be consciously aware that we are ONE person with the Righteous One as such, we are the righteousness of God in Him–Now! Here in this life on this earth.
As long as we reject Him as our only righteousness and seek to do things for God…or not do certain things against God…thinking ourselves to be responsible to emulate Jesus in our behaviour, then we are under the curse. … For it is written “CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO DOES NOT CONTINUE IN ALL THINGS WHICH ARE WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF THE LAW, TO DO THEM.”
Rejecting Jesus as our only righteousness locks us into the flesh to try to do the things written in the Law. This sets the Accuser upon us to constantly assault us with accusations of failure—or to congratulate us when we do well. This is Law living…it is not living according to the Law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus.
In Romans 8 Paul describes a different way of living. He describes a New Life, one that is not under the curse of God. This new life is ours in the spirit the moment we get born again. It is lived by faith alone, therefore it makes no sense to the natural mind.
The natural mind would say that in order to get out from under the curse of God we must OBEY HIM. That is the natural way of thinking. The natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit. Look at what Paul said in Galatians 3:10 closely…my paraphrase is something like–
Keep doing things to be made righteous or to gain God’s favour and you only strengthen the curse of God upon yourself.
Now look at the previous verse….
Gal 3:9 So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.
What an insult to the good people who pride themselves upon being good people. Those who are of faith. Of faith? Those who are of faith..versus those who are of the Law.
We were of the Law when we were lost sinners. But now Christ has come into us, we have died to the Law and are no longer subject to it. The Old Man was subject to it–and it proved him a failure and guilty of breaking it. But you are not the Old Man any more. He is crucified, destroyed, circumcised through the death of Christ Jesus. That Old man has been cast off. We are a new creation-Christ in us- the Perfect Man who fulfilled the Law.
We are of faith and faith’s reward is all things that belong to Christ Jesus. It is all ours now, if we choose to believe and receive Him as our only righteousness. All the blessings of God are yes and amen in Him. But if we hold fast to trying to please God out of fear that we are not pleasing to Him…then we reap only the curse of the Law.
This torment goes on “forever” until we are ready to see who we are now and to agree with God. At that point we enter into all that is His for we are joint heirs with Him.
Let me encourage you to read Romans 8 and instead of seeing things you need to do, see that it is a description of your life.
Rom 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
This is the truth about us who are born again believers in Christ. We do not walk according to the flesh but according to the spirit! Speak that over your self.
Rom 8:4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
Again brethren, this describes your life. God’s righteous Law is fulfilled IN YOU for you do not walk according to the flesh – YOU WALK ACCORDING TO THE SPIRIT. Believe it and declare it. The natural mind says, no I am responsible to choose the right things to do or else I will walk in the flesh. You no longer have an old man nature powered by Satan. It was removed at the cross where you died. But we give it a pseudo power by believing we have 2 natures in us.
Rom 8:8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
Rom 8:9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.
Hallelujah!!! Do not waver in unbelief thinking that you may be in the flesh. Paul tells you plainly that you are NOT in the flesh but in the Spirit. You please God ONLY because Christ is your inner life. He is to be received as our only life by faith…against all the accusations of the enemy who points at our outer man and says- “You are in the flesh!” If we swallow that, then we keep trying to be in the spirit–when the truth is we are ONLY in the spirit to start with if we have Jesus.
God wants us to rest in Him by faith–anything else is living like someone who does not have Jesus-the result is the curse of the Law.
I love you.
