Wayne's World...(16Mar08)

What the law can and cannot do

Modelled off a preach "Grace 1 Rob Rufus"
http://www.citychurchinternational.net/mp3/2007_02_02.zip

"Don't think Paul got all the persecution and hatred he got by teaching the law, it came exactly because he was teaching the grace of God. That's the enemy, he's obscuring the cross, and anyone who stands up and preaches grace, in this undiluted purity is going to be targeted, because the enemy knows, we got to stop this because a thin edge could open up a bit wider and then more people could discover pure grace, more and more, then more churches, then more miracles, more presence, more anointing, then more people. When the grace revolution starts in SA, the devils finished. Because the religious fundamentalist culture of keeping laws and rules is the biggest problem in the SA."

So, what's the use of preaching the law, the laws to be preached to the lost and lead them to the Saviour, when they come to the Saviour, they are no longer under the law, no, they step into grace.

Firstly, what the Law cannot do...

1. The law's not to make you righteous

Just remember this, that the laws not evil, the law's very holy and perfect and pure. The law of God is perfect and pure and holy. The law does not make you righteous.
Romans 3:21: But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known

2. It does not give you life,

2 Corinthians 3:6 He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant--not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life

3. The law does not save us

Romans 3:20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law

4. It is not to encourage us, the law is not to encourage us, the law doesn't make you holy, the law doesn't improve your life, the law does not strengthen you, it does not help you overcome sin.

Romans 8:3 For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering

So, what is the purpose of the law, what does the Bible say about this.

1. Number one, the purpose of the law, we see this clearly in the New Testament, the law is to condemn you,

2 Corinthians 3:9 If the ministry that condemns men is glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness!

Romans 3:20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.

2. the law's to crush you,

2 Cor 3:6,9

3. The law's to stir up sin, to provoke sin and arouse sin in you,

Romans 7:5 For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death.

The ironic thing is that preaching the law, even the "new testament law", as a list of do's and don'ts, is powerless to stop sin. It actually produces the opposite effect, it stirs up sin in us.

The solution is not an endless preaching of the standard, hoping people will some how rise to a default setting where they suddenly reach the standard.

But rather the solution is in being filled and lead by the Holy Spirit...live by the spirit and you will not...sin essentially.

4. To bring an awareness of wrath, the law brings an awareness of the wrath of God,

Romans 4:15 because law brings wrath

Living under law makes us feel that God is upset with us, and we better behave or else he is going to be mad with us. If the law is the standard for Gods anger, then he should be constantly angry with us, coz we constantly fail. Even if it's not conscious sin, there will be issues in the heart where we fail the standard.

If you are constantly worried that God will punish you, rebuke you or discipline you…the law is the louder voice in your life.

5. To make you feel constantly unworthy. If you feel nagging feelings of vaige condemnation, unworthiness, that means there's still elements were you believe the law has some relationship with you, because the law will make you feel unworthy.

The degree to which you still feel unworthy, is the degree to which your still under law.

Measuring our lives by the standard, leaves us constantly feeling like we miss the mark...this is true, we do. We don't measure up, we constantly fail.

Once we realise that this is not our measure, but that Jesus is, unworthiness is broken forever. Jesus become worth for us, so we can confidently approach the throne room of God. It's amazing for me, as i travel and spend time with Christians, how many live in this place of unworthiness. It's tragic, it sucks the life blood out of Christians and out of the church. It robs the faith for the supernatural, it robs the intimacy. The devil loves it. YOU are worthy friends, thank you for you blood and grace and new covenant Jesus.

6. The law opposes you, its against you, it does not want your success, it wants your failure.

7. The laws to make you aware that you are a transgressor

Romans 3:20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.

Romans 7:7 The law is an honest mirror

" It's like the law is totally honest, James 1 says, the mirror of the law. So you look in the mirror in the morning, mirror; mirror on the wall, whose the prettiest of us all. You look in that mirror, that mirror will not flatter, it will not lie, it's exacting, you just wish it would lie to you

You look in that mirror of the law, he says the perfect mirror of the law, perfect, it'll tell you exactly. In the morning, you look at it, you see a bit of snot running down your nose here, you see that meat that's still stuck in the teeth over here, a bit of sleep from the eye here, all the bags under the eyes, hairs out over here, wax running down the side of the head, you don't look at the mirror of the law and go, oh, this is terrible, I'm so unworthy and say come on mirror clean me up and lean against the mirror and just take this away, no the mirror is there to lead you to deliverance, the water and the soap and the hair brush. You're not to go to the water, hair brush and soap and go oh no, that's great, what am I doing here, I'm coming back to the law. Mirror cannot clean you up, it's to show you that you are in desperate need of salvation, but this mirrors showing you it can't help you at all. It's a lifeless, it just tells you the exact truth, alright."

8. The law will bring the curse of sickness, diseases, poverty, barrenness, defeat and destruction on your children, according to Duet 28.

Failing to keep all of the law...according to the law, produces these curses.

9. The law is to show you are not righteous; the whole purpose of the law is to strip you and me of our self-righteousness and the illusions of our self-sufficiency. And the more people conceive that, the more extreme Jesus began to interpret the law to the Pharisees, who believed they were going to go to heaven through there own faultless righteousness.

So then Jesus was saying, pluck your eye out, cut your hand off, better to enter heaven with one hand, then go to hell with two hands. He's trying to show them in the context of the law, but you know, you can cut your hand off, pluck your eyes out, you can still think the wrong things.

It's very important that we understand this principle...

When Jesus was addressing the Pharisees, if they were self righteous, he would raise the bar, to expose the rotten heart behind the apparent righteousness. Hence if you even look at a woman lustfully, you've committed adultery. If you call your brother fool, your guilty of murder.

We must also be very careful not to take any of these things, and other things Jesus said to those under the law, and appropriate them to us who are under grace. If you do, you interpret the word badly, and place yourself under that law that Jesus has delivered us from.

10. Once you come to Christ, we have no further association or connection to the law. I want to say that very boldly, and confirm with scripture, once you come to Christ, the Bible teaches, you have no further association or connection or relationship with the law at all.

Romans 10:4 Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.

Okay, quickly look at, Colossians 2:13, When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumsition of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave some of our sins, okay, he forgave all of our sins, alright, now how many, when did Jesus die, before we sinned or after our sins, before our sins, so to say he forgave all our sins as past, present and future, that is what justification is. Having cancelled the written code, say cancelled, the written code with it's regulations that was against us, say against us, the regulations, the laws are against you and that stood opposed to us, he took it away, nailing it to the cross and having disowned the powers and authorities. He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them openly by the cross.

I believe many Christians miss the connection that the way Jesus disarmed the principalities and powers and triumphed over them was by cancelling the written rules and regulations that stood opposed to us. Because the devil gets behind the laws and rules for the Christian and accuses you night and day that you're falling short. Now, the law was meant for the Holy Spirit to get behind to bring conviction to unsaved people that they need the Saviour. But if you go back under law, Satan will get behind the law and bring judgement and accusation and if you believe it, you will not live in the grace of God, faith will be nullified in your heart for the promises of God to be fulfilled and grace will not operate and the presence and power of God will not flow to the degree God wants his presence to flow.

Now, quickly just look at Romans 3, , let's have another look at what the Lord does, and it will make it very clear that not everyone is under the law, it says for those who are under the law, that's the unsaved, verse 19, Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those that are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore, no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law, rather through the law we become conscious of sin.

The law makes people conscious of sin. If you live under law, you will be constantly conscious that you're not worthy and feeling sinful, but the law is meant to go to work on the unsaved to hold them accountable and they will realise that hey, no matter how good they are and how moral they are the exacting standards of the law will render them to a place were they are speechless, it will shut every mouth and everyone will be aware, I will not be judged with comparison with other people's morality, I'm going to be judged by the perfect standards of the holiness of God. The law makes people conscious of sin, but it's only for those that are under the law. You're not meant to be conscious of sin, but you're meant to be conscious of the grace of God and the righteousness of God that has been given to you as a free gift.

And in Romans 4:13, It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. For if those that live by law are heirs, faith has no value, say that with me – faith has no value, and the promise is worthless because law brings wrath and were there is no law, there is no transgression, were there is no law, there is no transgression.

You see, the promises are nullified if people come under law because that sense of wrath you feel, that sense of unworthiness you feel will strip you of consciousness of grace and nullify your faith in the promises of God, in the blessings of God, and in the presence of God and there'll be this sort of weak faith trying to believe for miracles, but unsure because the law is nullifying the faith in the promises.

Romans 10:4, Christ is the end of the law, say that with me – Christ is the end of the law, so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.

Then go to Galatians 3, Christ is the end of the law, that's it, finished work of the cross, clear, graphic, vivid, justified freely, just as though I had never sinned, all my sins past present and future cancelled, removed, no laws to make me conscious of sins, transgressions, well Wayne, why don't we just live unholy, impure lives, no, the grace of God, , will bring liberty and freedom and if we do make a mistake, we don't live three weeks in condemnation and confusion, we instantly repent, if I make a mistake in mid-step I understand the grace of God, I am so sorry Father and I carry on just as if nothing has happened.(coz if you ask for forgiveness...nothing has happened)

Justification means just as though you had never sinned, but it also means according to Romans 5, just as if you have always perfectly ever second obeyed God fully, because the full obedience, the full righteousness of Christ was transferred into your credit account and the status you have before God is justified, not a sinner saved by grace, not a sinner with a stigma I'm a sinner, but one standing with innocence and purity and absolute righteousness just as if you have never sinned and just as if you have obeyed God totally, all your life, a joint equal heir with Christ and an heir of God, no longer an orphan, no longer a slave to fear, but the Spirit of adoption, the Spirit of sonship crying Abba, Papa, Father with boldness as a joint equal heir, as bold as an equal heir with Christ . Truly,

Truly I say to you, anyone who believes in me, Jesus said, the works I do shall you do also and even greater works because I am going to the Father.
I'm starting a New Covenant, I put the power of my Spirit on you, and every believer comes in a Covenant of grace has the power to do the works Jesus did. It's John 14:12 the early church did the works Jesus did. For the first 250 years, the power of God's presence, the works Jesus did in the Gospels was being manifested in church in the book of Acts.

Were is that presence today? Where is it? Has the Holy Spirit changed? No, but laws and rules crept in through the dark ages and we're coming out.,

Friends lets abandon the law forever. The law produces nothing fruitful or helpful in us. All we have is from Jesus, freely through grace. Free to us but not free to Christ. He had to suffer and die for us to have it. This great reward. Jesus is having His reward, through us, we are "His great reward". Live in it, love it, live free. Have faith, to approach God confidently, have faith for signs, miracles and the supernatural. It's all available.

It's all about who we believe...do you believe the lies of the devil, or the words and word of Jesus?

Believe in Jesus, believe Jesus and live.