Led by the Spirit

For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. (Romans 8:6)

Perhaps the most difficult lesson to be mastered by the believer as he seeks to enter the rest of God is that of looking to the Spirit of God for the wisdom and strength to respond correctly in every situation of life. Our mind is a tremendous obstacle to our progress in God. We must be transformed by the renewing of our mind if we would be able to do the will of God.

The goal of the saint regarding personal victory over his or her own personality, which we might term "internal conquest," is that he or she be brought into the image of Christ and into complete, untroubled rest in the Father through Christ. The goal is expressed further as being made a perfect man, attaining maturity as measured by the standard which is the full stature of Christ.

The Spirit of God accomplishes such perfection, such maturity, by teaching us, empowering us, and bringing to us the Virtue of the body and blood of Christ. It is the Holy Spirit who brings us into the land of promise of personal victory over every enemy that would hinder our attaining the full stature of Christ.

Let's turn now to the Book of Romans and examine the transition from direction by the Law of Moses to direction by the Spirit of God, for this is the transition we must make if we would attain the mark God has set before us.

Chapters Two through Five of Romans. Chapters Two through Five of the Book of Romans compare redemption through the Law of Moses with redemption through the blood of Christ.

The message of these chapters can be expressed simply: Now that God has given His Son as an atonement for our sins we no longer are to seek righteousness by means of the Law of Moses. God ascribes righteousness to the individual who looks up from the Torah, the Law, and puts his faith in the Lord Jesus, in His atoning blood.

Divine grace given through the Lord Jesus has replaced the Law of Moses as the means of obtaining righteousness.

This is clear and accurate. But we Gentiles have grievously misunderstood these four chapters. We have supposed that Paul was replacing righteous behavior with Divine grace. This is not at all true and has destroyed the moral character of the Christian churches.

How could Divine grace be an alternative to righteous behavior when the very purpose of Divine grace is to produce righteous behavior?

We have become free from Moses by dying with the Lord. We have died to the Law so we may be married to the Lord Jesus. We are never without law or without righteous behavior. The Law of Moses produces righteous behavior if it is obeyed. Marriage to the Lord Jesus is the highest form of the eternal Divine law and always produces righteous behavior. God's goal is to produce righteous behavior in His people so the nations of the earth will see this righteous behavior and glorify God.

For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations. (Isaiah 61:11)

R. Thompson