The Letter That Kills.
| Spiry Tee.
"Who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life."
II Corinthians 3:6.
There is a ministry of death in the Bible. It is hiding in plain sight: "...the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones...(II Corinthians 3:7). Only the ten commandments were written and engraved on stones by the finger of God. Isn't it amazing that Paul calls God's holy, good and righteous law "the ministry of death". How dare he say that about the revered law of Moses which is celebrated worldwide. According to Paul, there's nothing wrong with the law in itself but the law has no capacity to produce the intended righteousness. Instead, when the law is preached, sin is activated. "For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death. (Romans 7:5). Just as sexual desire is aroused through touch and sight, sin is aroused through hearing the law. Well meaning people who use the law to make their congregation live holy lives actually produce the opposite. And what has been evident is that such people eventually get exposed that they were struggling with secret sins themselves and yet bashing the congregation for it. The problem started when they ignored the "mercy seat" and reached out to the "tablets of stone" underneath the mercy seat. Once you take your eyes off the blood of Jesus on the "mercy seat", sin will have dominion over you.
And when sin is aroused by the law, death is inevitable. "And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death." (Romans 7:10). So you might be wondering why God would give the law if it is that deadly. The law was given to show man how sinful he was so that he can come to the end of himself and be ready for the Savior. The law came so that the whole world may become guilty before God. Sin was in the world before the law came but it could not be imputed without the law. Because of the the law people can now understand the immensity of their guilt because the law defines what sin is. When it is preached that Jesus died for your sins, you can now understand what it means because the law has made sin manifest.
Thank God for the cross of Jesus Christ that we are no longer under the law of Moses but under the grace and truth of our Lord Jesus Christ. The law multiplied sin leading to death, but grace brought righteousness whose end is life eternal. If we build our families, churches, personal lives on legalism, we should not be surprised when we see death in our relationships because that's the fruit of the law. People are afraid to put people under grace because they think they will be lascivious. It's actually the opposite. Grace empowers people to defeat sins, addictions and other bad habits. Grace is the answer to sin because it teaches that they don't have to depend on themselves but can rest on the shoulders of the Great Shepherd Jesus Christ. Once Jesus is in charge of your life, victory over sin and death is certain. Life has come, death is gone, peace in heaven and glory to God!
SPEAK OUT.
I am no longer under the letter that kills. Under grace I have dominion over sin and death.
*All scripture quotations are taken from the New King James version of the Bible unless otherwise indicated.
#KeepLiving #DontDie #KnowJesusKnowLife #NoJesusNoLife #breathe #lifeeternal #law #grace
"Who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life."
II Corinthians 3:6.
There is a ministry of death in the Bible. It is hiding in plain sight: "...the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones...(II Corinthians 3:7). Only the ten commandments were written and engraved on stones by the finger of God. Isn't it amazing that Paul calls God's holy, good and righteous law "the ministry of death". How dare he say that about the revered law of Moses which is celebrated worldwide. According to Paul, there's nothing wrong with the law in itself but the law has no capacity to produce the intended righteousness. Instead, when the law is preached, sin is activated. "For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death. (Romans 7:5). Just as sexual desire is aroused through touch and sight, sin is aroused through hearing the law. Well meaning people who use the law to make their congregation live holy lives actually produce the opposite. And what has been evident is that such people eventually get exposed that they were struggling with secret sins themselves and yet bashing the congregation for it. The problem started when they ignored the "mercy seat" and reached out to the "tablets of stone" underneath the mercy seat. Once you take your eyes off the blood of Jesus on the "mercy seat", sin will have dominion over you.
And when sin is aroused by the law, death is inevitable. "And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death." (Romans 7:10). So you might be wondering why God would give the law if it is that deadly. The law was given to show man how sinful he was so that he can come to the end of himself and be ready for the Savior. The law came so that the whole world may become guilty before God. Sin was in the world before the law came but it could not be imputed without the law. Because of the the law people can now understand the immensity of their guilt because the law defines what sin is. When it is preached that Jesus died for your sins, you can now understand what it means because the law has made sin manifest.
Thank God for the cross of Jesus Christ that we are no longer under the law of Moses but under the grace and truth of our Lord Jesus Christ. The law multiplied sin leading to death, but grace brought righteousness whose end is life eternal. If we build our families, churches, personal lives on legalism, we should not be surprised when we see death in our relationships because that's the fruit of the law. People are afraid to put people under grace because they think they will be lascivious. It's actually the opposite. Grace empowers people to defeat sins, addictions and other bad habits. Grace is the answer to sin because it teaches that they don't have to depend on themselves but can rest on the shoulders of the Great Shepherd Jesus Christ. Once Jesus is in charge of your life, victory over sin and death is certain. Life has come, death is gone, peace in heaven and glory to God!
SPEAK OUT.
I am no longer under the letter that kills. Under grace I have dominion over sin and death.
*All scripture quotations are taken from the New King James version of the Bible unless otherwise indicated.
#KeepLiving #DontDie #KnowJesusKnowLife #NoJesusNoLife #breathe #lifeeternal #law #grace
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