Radio Broadcast Tuesday 10/18/2022

Classic Christianity – A Closer Look at Law & Grace P14 (10-18-22)

There is More Than One Type of Death in the Bible. The Law Produces Death in Me. Jesus Brings Life to The Dead.

~ “I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death.” Romans 7:10

~ So what does that mean? “You see, you can’t serve two masters, you can’t serve the risen Christ and the law at the same time, because you’re serving one thing that produces death, and another produces life. So which one are you going to serve and if I start serving the other, I’m dead. When I serve the other, I’m alive. You can’t serve two masters. That’s what quite frankly, this scripture talking about that a double minded man is unstable in all ways. That is a man who has got one foot in the law and one foot in the grace of God. It is the condition of the Galatians, the Galatianism, you foolish, idiotic Galatians, who has hypnotized you cast an evil spell upon you? And he asked them the question, Did you receive the Spirit of God by obedience to the law, or by believing what you heard? And after beginning by faith, by believing in what you heard, why are you now trying to perfect yourself a human effort? What was that a person with one foot, the law one foot and grace, staggering down the street on both sides, like a drunk, and unstable in all ways. There’s no more unstable people in the world than people who are under law and grace. At the same time, you have much more stability when it’s total law, no grace, or all grace and no law. But when you try to have a little grace and little law, you’re an unstable person, you don’t know what you believe in. So you have to die. You have to die to the law, in order to serve in a new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code. And that’s chapter seven. And we’ve just been reading from verse four, down through the end of that chapter four through six. I didn’t say that, folks, God did. You’ve been released from the law, so that you can serve in a new way.”

Listen in to today’s lesson with more in-depth teaching, from the Bible study booklet, A Closer Look at Law & Grace, available for purchase from our online Bob George Ministries ecommerce store.

Jesus asked how does God love and accept us? And how does he expect us to live the Christian life? To answer those questions, this insightful study explores a vital issue at the heart of the Christian experience, the biblical relationship between law and grace, understanding their role in our relationship to God will bring joy, freedom and spontaneity to your Christian life. Now, let’s take A Closer Look at Law & Grace.

Bob George 0:39
So you and I were born into this world under the righteous demands of the law, not for the purpose that I can sit there and obey them and declared righteous in His sight by observing them. But rather to see that this law that I’m attached to joined to whether I, whether I like it or not, I’m joined to it that I am under that law, and I am dead. Under that law. I don’t realize that. We’ve just talked about that. In one of the other programs, I didn’t know I was dead spiritually. I knew what the law was, but no one ever told me the wages sin was death. And no one for sure ever told me because no one ever told me that just violating the least of these what was it. So I always kind of thought maybe God graded on the curve, and if I did more good than bad I’d be okay. But literally what literally happened is I just didn’t want to think about exactly. Now it says you my brother’s died to the law through the body of Christ. In other words, when If any man is in Christ, he is a new creation, I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless I live yet not I, but Christ lives in me, I’m crucified with him. So through my identification with the crucified Christ, I died to what killed me the law. Now what, look what it says. So you, my brothers also died to the law, through the body of Christ, so that you might belong to another, to him, who was raised from the dead in order that we might bear fruit to God. So just like the legal illustration that he gave, if you’re married, you’re bound to your husband, as long as he’s alive. But when he dies, you’re free to marry another. You were married to the law, you died. When you died, you died to the law. It was through the law that I died to the law, leave the law where it belongs, it’s done its work. It shows you your death, in order that you might be married to another belong to another, who was raised from the dead, that’s Christ Jesus, in order that we might bear fruit, to God. Now folks that annihilates this theology, that when you’re in Christ, he helps you to obey the law. He is not helping you to obey the law, the law kills, but the Spirit gives life. He is here to lead you internally by His Spirit. He’s here to live his life in and through you. He’s not here to help you stay in Texas gotta help everybody that help you to obey the law. He’s here to teach you how to walk in the newness of life. indwelt by His Holy Spirit of God, leading you into truth, teaching you truth, that will set you free. So my brothers, you died to the law. Now, folks, you hear a lot of conversation about dying to self, don’t you. And what that means is, I’ve got to died, all of my, all of my emotions, and I have to die to all of my desires, and I have to die. And so we’re waking up in the morning trying to go hide yourself. And folks, you any of you have tried that realize, you can’t do that, that’s That’s like trying to commit suicide die to self, you die to the law. The law is what demands self to behave. The law is what demands the self to either listen to the flesh, that says, do evil, or listen to the place that says do good in the energy of the flesh. Both of those are evil. But that’s what the law demands flesh to do, what it is impossible to do, and therefore keep you under fear and guilt, so that you will never be able to walk in the newness of life, and belong to another, the one who was raised from the dead. If God’s goal for you and me is for us to be able to walk in a newness of life, led by the Spirit of God, no longer under the law. Guess what Satan’s desire is to keep you under the law so that you will never ever experience walking in the newness of life. And that’s why we become practical atheists. What is an atheist? One who believes there is no God, what’s a practical atheist, one who does believe there’s a God, but he doesn’t have any bearing in their life. And so I just live as if I’m the only resource to any thing that I need to get done. I can’t trust God, I don’t even know about his power. So I all I can do is trust me. Well, that’s what an atheist does. The only difference between the two is I call myself a Christian, but I live like an atheist. And so we have died to this law, folks. Because you’re never going to be able to walk in the newness of life belonging to another when you’re hanging on to the law. You have to die to the law, in order to come alive to Christ Jesus, so that you may bear fruit, the God not bear fruit demand, but bear fruit to God, the kind of fruit that He alone can produce love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, long suffering against these things. It says, There is no one law.

When we were controlled by our flesh, or by our old sinful nature, the sinful passions that were aroused by the law, were at work in our body so we bore fruit of death. But now by dying to once what to what once bound us, that’s the law. We have been released from the law so that we serve in a new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code. Now, folks, when we’re talking here about these things people will always say about the law. Well, he certainly couldn’t be talking about the 10 commandments. In other words, that must be all the dietary laws and all of those laws that we’re talking about, because no one could ever say to die to the 10 commandments. Well, folks, when he’s talking about the law, he’s not talking about the ceremonial laws, and then the 10 commandment laws. He’s talking about everything it was given from Mount Sinai, and he says, You don’t go to Mount Sinai at all. You go to Calvary, you don’t go back to visit the mountain, you go to the empty tomb, the 10 commandments, anything wrong with it. We’ve talked about that Is the law sin, it’s going to talk no it’s sin. And he’s going to deal with that now. Certainly not i Indeed, I would have known what sin was except through the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was, if the law hadn’t said, Don’t covet. But sin seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment. In other words, you’ve got the law there. But then we all of a sudden realized that law is a commandment. It’s not just a law. It’s a commandment. It’s a commandment to you don’t do that. So it’s nice to say, Thou shalt not covet and say we I’m See, we’re coveting is not real good. But then you realize, wait a minute, that’s a command. That’s not just a law. That’s a command to me. And I’m coveting. So what does that command do? Well, it’s gonna tell us since seizing the opportunity afforded by that commandment, not just the law, but commandment of the law, produced in me every kind of covenant desire. Well, how come?

We’re getting into some passages there that if you do not do what we have been doing for the last couple of weeks, and that is putting them in context, they’re they’re very difficult to, I believe, to understand. It goes back to what we were saying in chapter seven here, that we have to die to want to what once bound us, we’ve been released from the law, folks, if you don’t come to grips with that, none of this is going to make any sense to you. You see, you can’t serve two masters, you can’t serve the risen Christ and the law at the same time, because you’re serving one thing that produces death, and another produces life. So which one are you going to serve and if I start serving the other, I’m dead. When I serve the other, I’m alive. You can’t serve two masters. That’s what quite frankly, this scripture talking about that a double minded man is unstable in all ways. That is a man who has got one foot in the law and one foot in the grace of God. It is the condition of the Galatians, the Galatian ism, you foolish, idiotic Galatians, who has hypnotized you cast an evil spell upon you? And he asked them the question, Did you receive the Spirit of God by obedience to the law, or by believing what you heard? And after beginning by faith, by believing in what you heard, why are you now trying to perfect yourself a human effort? What was that a person with one foot, the law one foot and grace, staggering down the street on both sides, like a drunk, and unstable in all ways. There’s no more unstable people in the world than people who are under law and grace. At the same time, you have much more stability when it’s total law, no grace, or all grace and no law. But when you try to have a little grace and little law, you’re an unstable person, you don’t know what you believe in. So you have to die. You have to die to the law, in order to serve in a new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code. And that’s chapter seven. And we’ve just been reading from verse four, down through the end of that chapter four through six. I didn’t say that, folks, God did. You’ve been released from the law, so that you can serve in a new way.

Now, Bob, it gets back to this what people are so grateful for, and you get a bunch of people who have latched on to grace only from what they’ve been freed from that. I mean, man, I’m free from the law. I don’t have to tithe any more that they’re rejoicing that more than anything, I don’t have to tithe anymore. That is true. You have been freed from the law of tithing, so that you can give in a new way, and that’s out of your heart out of generosity. It never alleviates giving up. A Christian who is not giving is a is a Dead Sea. He’s just taking in and not giving out. We’ve received but we’re not sharing. If you have have received a blessing from God, if you’ve received a blessing from the teaching of the grace of God, and don’t give back to that teaching, you’re a Dead Sea. You’re not helping that teaching to go on. You’re just saying I got it, praise the Lord. And I don’t care about anybody else getting in. So you’re not freed from tithing, to just sit there and go have a ball. You’re freed from tithing so that you can give in a new way. You’re freed from the law, not so that I can just sit down and say, Hey, I’m not under any law. No, I’m freed from the law, so that I can serve in a new way, led now by the Spirit, with no condemnation, but with the constant continual teaching of the Spirit of God, in your in my life, it’s a new way of life altogether. And Bob, many people I have seen respond and sit down and teach the grace of God be involved in ministries, teaching the grace of God, who absolutely understand or think they understand that they’ve been freed from the law, but have not a clue that they’ve been called to walk in the newness of life. To forgive one another how? as Christ Jesus forgave you. Well, they love the idea that Christ has forgiven us and taken away our sins. But that forgiving one another. That’s not a part of their life. It’s just I’ve been freed from condemnation, so that I can condemn others. I’ve been freed from judgment so that I can judge others. That is not what God freed you from he freed you from the law so that you can serve in a new way.

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Bob George 13:47
Let’s pick up then on our page 22. We’re going to be dealing with the Romans seven passage. What shall we say then? Is the law of sin. He just got through saying that we have been released from the law so that we can walk in the newness of life. Well, why is he asking this? Well, because that’s what someone who didn’t understand what Paul was saying, would ask. Well, what are you saying, then Paul, you can just hear the sarcasm in the voice. What are you saying then that the law is sin? Well, they said, certainly not. Indeed, I would not have known what sin was except through the law. For I would have not known what coveting really was, if the law had not said, do not covit it. We’re in chapter seven, beginning in verse seven. Now, what is he saying there? He’s saying that I would not have known in and up myself what sin really was except through the law. Because, you see, again, he coveting it’s interesting that in the law, in the 10 command In minutes, you have things like Thou shalt not commit adultery, that’s something you do outside yourself, Thou shalt not steal, that’s something you do outside sin, you can watch someone do that. But when it comes down to this sin of coveting, here’s an interesting, that’s something that you do under the skin. And, and Paul as a, who had gotten now taught by the law, could look at all of these commands of these outward things and say, I’m not doing any of those things. I’m not, I am in good shape, I am righteous, because I’m doing these things. And then all of a sudden, he gets to the coveting one. And he said, I wouldn’t have known what coveting really was. If the law had not said, do not covet. Now again, what coveting is, is literally sinful desires. When I’m coveting something, I have a sinful desire towards something. If I’m coveting someone else’s assets, that’s a sinful desire regarding their assets. If I’m coveting someone else’s wife, that’s a sinful desire toward that other man’s wife. If I’m coveting somebody’s car, that’s a sinful desire over a thing, that’s going to disappear someday. Now, then, he said, I wouldn’t have known that that was had the law not said Don’t covet. But sin, look at this sin, seizing the opportunity, and you’re going to see that afforded by what? the commandment. Now see, again, Bob, you’ve got a law, the law would say, drive 55 That’s what a sign comes up speed limit 55. But we don’t realize connected with that law is a commandment, Thou shall not drive 65. Now see, there’s there’s kind of a difference in the in the two, you’ve got the law that sit there and say, Well, that’s nice. But what we realized is that look, 55 sign is saying, Thou shalt not drive 56 or in case where you got a little leniency there 60 or 61. And that’s, in essence, what it’s saying, the law is saying, here’s the sign 55. But in essence, there’s a command with that thou shall not drive over 60. Now, that command, it says that the I knew the law, but when that command, that when sin seized this opportunity afforded by the commandment of that law, produced in me every kind of covetousness desire. Now, the power of sin, we’re told is in the law, all you have to do to get somebody to want to do something is Tell him not to do it. We’re in dwelt folks by indwelling sin. We are born again of the Spirit, we only have one nature. Now I’m a born again, Christian. I am not a half Caterpillar, and a half butterfly. I’m a butterfly.

But I am indwelt that new me that new Spirit that has come to live within me Christ Spirit coming live within me is in dwelt in a body that contains indwelling sin. It’s not my nature. I’m not, It’s not that I have an old nature and a new nature. I only have a new nature, single identity. I’m a child of the living God. So it’s not my nature, it’s my flesh indwelt by indwelling sin. And that indwelling sin is what produces the conflict between the indwelling sin living in my flesh in my humanity, and my spirit that has now been connected with God. There’s the conflict, not two identities, not an old man, the new man old man’s dead, but the new man indwelt in a body containing indwelling sin. Now, so this sin that is in me seizing this opportunity afforded by this commandment, the minute it said, Thou shall not covet the old flesh says, Thou shall not what Bob? covet. What do you mean by that? Well, it would mean like coveting, what would be coveting? Well, that guy’s car over there, after while you’re sitting there, coveting the car, a mind that’s on the flesh, so to the flesh, it produced every kind of covenant this desire for apart from the law sin is dead. Now Paul makes a statement once I was alive, apart from the law, but when the commandment and you can mark this the commandments, you’re going to see it a number of times 1,2,3,4,5 times just a these little verses here, the Commandment came, sin sprang to life, and I die. Now, what does that mean? Well, when he says once I was alive apart from the law, but when the Commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. Does that mean that he was not born spiritually dead? No, I think the Bible is very clear in the fact that he was born spiritually dead. But do you know you’re spiritually dead? You don’t know it until you realize there’s a commandment. And if there’s a commandment, there’s got to be a response to that commandment. You see, Bob, again, it’s back what we talked about the sign 55. But you can look at that. That’s fine. That’s a sign it’s a law. But when there’s a commandment connected to it, what that means is if you violate that commandment, the wages of sin is death. Paul was saying once I was alive apart from the law, that was in his own mind, that certainly wasn’t in God’s because he was born into this world dead spiritually. But he thought that the commandment, the intent was, he said, I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death well, who intended it to bring life? God didn’t, God said, No man will ever be declared righteous in the sight of God through His obedience to the law. But you see, under legalistic teaching, we are taught that if you obey the law, you’re okay, aren’t you? You’re gonna be okay. God’s gonna really bless you. So, from to him, the commandment was intended to bring life where all of a sudden, he found no when I saw that thing of coveting, because I was obeying all those outward things. But when I saw coveting, and sin, seized that opportunity started stirring up every kind of covetousness desire in me, that I found out that that command, not just the law, don’t covet, but a command to me, Don’t covet. And if there’s a command, there has to be a punishment for a violation. And all of a sudden, Paul realized something, the wages of sin is death, and I have coveted and I must be dead. He recognized his condition, which is what enables you, therefore, to accept or reject His provision. Now look what he says there. For once I was alive apart from the law, but when the Commandment came, sin sprang to life. In other words, that we just got through talking about its sin, seizing that opportunity, produced every kind of covetous desire in me. And I realized my death I died, I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death, I found that out for sin, seizing the opportunity, there it is, again, afforded by the commandment, you see. And it’s interesting that it doesn’t just say, afforded by the law, but the commandment of the law. In other words, the laws there, but this is a commandment.

Again, I get back, folks, we have to get this into our heads, that if there is a commandment from God, there has to be a punishment for violation of that commandment. And the punishment for God for violation of the least of these my commandments, is death, not punishment, not out of fellowship, not a woodshed, not a paddling, death, it is severe, and he realized something that the wages of sin is death, and the gift of God is eternal life. For sin ceasing, the opportunity afforded by this commandment deceived me sin to safety. And through the commandment, it put me to death. So then the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. So he has two things there. The law is good is holy, and the commandment is holy. So you got two things there that you’re dealing with the law, and the commandment of the law. It’s holy, it’s righteous and good, now did that which is good, the commandment then become death to me? By no means but in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it produced death in me through what was good. So that again, through the commandment, sin might become utterly sinful. Folks, there’s two words that you ought to mark become and produce, that that which is good, then become death to me? No, but in order that sin might be recognized at sin, it produced death in me. If the commandment became death to me I would be dead physically, right there on the spot. It didn’t become death to me. In other words, if something became death to me, I’d be dead physically. It didn’t become death to me, it produced death in me. In other words, the wages of sin is death, I am dead spiritually. And it also produced death in me, that will ultimately be physical. It’s the same thing on the day that Adam died, he did not die physically that day. He died spiritually that day. But ultimately, death was produced in him, so that someday he also died physically, so that all men will die, will die. Spiritually, all men are born in this world dead spiritually. And all men except through the rapture, who will die physically. So it didn’t become immediate death to me, but it produced this death. In Me, the natural realm from the day that sin entered into the world is that all men will die, all will die, just as all men will die. So all men will have the opportunity of receiving life. Now, so it produced death in me through what was good, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful. Now, folks, what is the meaning of this entire lesson? The meaning of this lesson is to show you what the law was for. The law came to reveal sin. It’s like a mirror. If I was standing in front of a mirror, and I was a man with no arms, I would look into the mirror and there I would see, my face is dirty. But have you ever tried to wash your face in a mirror? It would be very difficult to do. The mirror was not designed to wash your face. The mirror was designed to reveal the condition of your face.

Thank you so much for tuning in to Classic Christianity, with Bob George. We hope you’ve enjoyed today’s program. We truly hope that today’s message has inspired you to walk a life of faith in the Lord, find more information online at shop.BobGeorge.net. There you’ll also find available CDs, DVDs, and bible studies available for purchase. It’s through your help that we are able to spread the good word of Jesus Christ. Until next time, walk in faith, be good to one another and praise the Lord. Amen.