I have dieted a lot in my life. My wife and I once tried 'Maker's diet'. This was before we came to an understanding of grace. We both were all excited about it because after all it is a 'biblical diet'. As Christians we always looked for the word 'biblical' or 'Christian' in front of anything- Christian handy man, Christian hair cut, Christian mortgage, Biblical eating habits, biblical way of losing weight and anything under the sun which says biblical or Christian. I think we were so much excited about 'Christianity' than Christ himself. What a tragedy!
Anyways, we tried that diet for quite a period of time. And you know what? It worked! We both started losing weight, people started noticing it and started commenting about our 'new' looks. We thought those comments paid for the struggle what we were going through. We acted as if it is not a big deal. Certainly there were many type of food we were giving up and the truth is, it was a big deal!
We went for about 30-40 days and finally we reached at the end of our rope. We slowly started giving up and started eating the things we enjoy eating. What a relief! The moral of the story is, I now weigh more than I weighed before I started that diet!
The attractiveness of law among Christians (or among any religious people) is that it works for a while. It does. It can give some wonderful results. But the truth is that while it's working, it is gaining all its power to fail you miserably in the future. Even the people who claim to be 'law keeping' Christians knows this truth, but they don't admit it. They hide it.
The sin itself has no power. Sin is just lying there, dead and powerless. It can't do anything by itself unless and until it is connected to its power source- the law. Sin gets all its power from the law. One of the verse which gave me a lot of revelation about the power of sin is found at I Cor. 15:56
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
Yes, the power of sin is the law. I do not need any explanation to agree to this point. My own life proves it to me over and over, even today. When we put a hole in the wall, no one really cares. But the moment we hang a sign there saying 'do not look through this hole', we all know what happens! Until I told my daughter 'do not touch the stove' she never bothered. But now that I told her and she wants to touch it.
Paul talks about 'the sinful passions aroused by the law' in Romans. Our sinful passions are aroused by the law. That very well is the purpose of the law, 'so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God' (Romans 3:19). This simple truth can save us from a lot of trouble. I praise God for law, without it, I would have never understood the significance of His grace.
The secret of not sinning is not the law, but unplugging it. Sin is always going to be with us till our last breath, but as long as it is unplugged from its power source, it will not take control over our life.
7 comments:
Amen and amen! (Whatever that means... LOL). In 1999 I did the Atkins diet and I lost a bunch of weight, and my blood work showed that all my levels had moved into "healthy" range. My cholesterol, triglycerides, etc... all became 'perfect' and I felt healthier than I had in a long time. One week, I counted that I had 37 eggs... and my levels still got better, not worse! And so I went around telling everyone what a great diet it is... as long as you stick to it.
And that's the key. "As long as you stick to it!" Law will work, as long as you stick to it. But no one can stick to it!
I did Atkins for six weeks, and at first I really loved it. But eventually I began to crave pizza (which I don't normally eat a whole lot of) and hamburgers (with the BUN!) and all kinds of things that are prohibited on a low carb diet.
Of course all the weight I took off with Atkins, I eventually put back on, and then some! Since that time, I've fooled myself into trying it again a few times. My faulty "logic" has been that since I took off so much weight that first time, if I just try it again and stick with it, I'll end up losing more!
Bologna!
Anyway, I could go on and on, and it would be simply to totally back up what you are saying here. :)
Bino! Hope your feeling better!
Great post!
I have thought about this frequently. I love how you said, "The secret of not sinning is not the law, but unplugging it". That makes a whole lot of sense to me. Once someone tells me or 'confronts' me that I am sinning its my first reaction to run the other direction. Just like what you were saying, if you tell someone to 'not' look in the hole the first thing they want to do is look. It is so true for me. If I don't have conviction or signs from Father that I'm not doing what he wants me to do I just zone out and stop listening! I hate how some think that they are the law keepers and can force it on people and use manipulation and guilt on those who don't 'obey'! It is really sad.
In Freedom, Nicole!
This was a very helpful post!!
My story on law, a woman/mother was telling me how I had to read a certain parenting book, I said "no thanks, I've already read it and am moving on", she said, "oh, well you have gotta read it again, we use it with our kids, we just do it and it works!" - still "No thanks!
My current pastor says if you try to read the parts of the bible( in the NT) that seem like the to do parts without understanding the broader picture of grace, the Father's love and the gospel, you would very quickly see behaviour change, but you would miss out on the whole picture and on genuine heart transformation.
I never really put together that the power of sin is the law, that makes total sense!
"The secret of not sinning is not the law, but unplugging it. Sin is always going to be with us till our last breath, but as long as it is unplugged from its power source, it will not take control over our life." -Good quote!
where there is no law there is no transgression.....
I looked up that scripture verse while reading this and the Spirit spoke to me further concerning the verse after that. "But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."
He GIVES us the victory. It doesn't come by trying harder to get victory! He gives grace to the humble. To those who acknowledge their weakness. Amazing!
Great post and great comments although I did laugh when Bino and Joel were recounting their dieting experiences. Boy! I can sure relate.
Bino, this is a great explanation of the law. It really makes a lot of sense as I'm starting to piece everything together. I looked up some different translations of 1 Corinthians 15:56 and I really like the way it's worded in the New Living Translation.
"For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power." (NLT)
I like your statement about unplugging from the law. Thanks for making it so clear.
Aida
Awesome post brother and great comments.
It is always amazing to me how our posts can help others in their walk.
I have come to realize that because we are all one in the Spirit, when the Spirit talks to one, He is talking to all of us. All we need to do is share it.
Sharing in Him
Bob
Joel,
You are right, 'as long as you stick to it' law is good. From my personal experience, I can't stick to it much longer. I don't know about others. :)
Nicole,
I am glad that it helped. In my opinion the so called 'law keepers' are nothing but modern day pharisees.
Lydia,
Ah.. parenting... thats a huge struggle for me. People say some 'law' is good when it comes to parenting. Well I don't know. I don't know if there is a fine line. But one thing I have observed so far, the more rules we set for kids, the more rebel they become.I am not saying disciplining is not necessary. Disciplining is for preparing them for the game ahead where as punishment is about a past action and there is a big difference.
Matthew,
Amen to that! He gives us victory. We can't create victory.
Aida,
Yes, thats a great translation - 'law gives sin its power'. My life is the proof for that. :)
Bob,
Welcome to my blog! Thank you for reading and posting your comments. I enjoy meeting new people in this Grace Walk. Like you said, we are being operated by the same Spirit and it is the same truth being revealed to all of us in different ways. I saw that you have a blog as well. I would certainly like to check it out soon.
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