We are not under the law, but under grace. The common misunderstanding is that we need the law to stop sinning. The law was not designed to keep man from sinning. The law sets sin into motion. It is through Jesus Christ, that we have been made dead to sin(our relationship to sin is dead, that old man was crucified on the cross), dead to the law, and alive unto God. It is by grace that we now have the power to overcome sin. If you are under a law, the you are in the flesh and cannot please God. If you are under grace, then you are in the spirit and can please God. Walk in the newness of life that has been given to you.
I understand that. God's love and the free gift of eternal life is a grace. Not a work. (or earned through work I meant) But the book of James says faith without works is dead. James 2:14 "
14 What
does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what
does it profit? 17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead." Sorta a common sense the spirit gives you. I get that too. But you did not answer my question. I actually understand Flesh VS Spirit, But Jesus Christ gave his own laws and criteria for entering the kingdom of God.
I'm living proof the spirit exist outside the bible or the church. But without the bible how can one learn about sin and iniquity? Or the many lives of the characters therein? Or who was Jesus and what he did for us?
Homosexuals love each other, transexuals love what they are doing, You can say the spirit gives you the common sense to not be either one, (and it does). But what then of the bible? Put it on the shelf and forget it because we are freed from the law by Christ?
You can look out here at these militaristic christian groups like the west boro babtist church. They will be out with road signs mostly pointing out OT laws against gays and lesbians. But is that truly the christian way to protest it? I thought the bible gives you the proper procedure to handle a brother that sins, Mathew 18 :15-17 "If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.' If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector"
Freed from the law by Jesus Christ, but in Revelation 3:15-16 "15 I know thy works, that thou art
neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.16 So then because thou art
lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth."
In that light the west boro babtist church doesn't look so bad. But still they are not doing it the right way as according to scripture. What about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego when they wouldn't kneel when Nebachadnezzar played the music? They got marched into a furnace for what they believed. Was that lukewarm?
But then one has to wonder...what is a "drunkard"? The guy that drinks to drunkeness everyday? once a day? once a week? once a year? What about a fornicator? If two people love each other and have sexual relations out of wed lock is that fornication? Or the one night stand at the bar?
God knows whats in your heart though, but the bible is clear that those two things will not inherit the kingdom of God. You got guys on youtube that say the holy spirit is all you need, you dont need the bible. In ways I am starting to understand that, but its only for those who have taken a long enough walk with God, aka carry their crosses and partake in Christ suffering that you can get to that point.
But the question looms...what does God the father consider fornication and drunkards? Living without worries and only by the spirit would mean never looking at the word again. But what about the lost that will not go to church? At what point do we give up and walk away? I do not hate sinners, I hate the sin. But the spirit gives me the common sense not to hang out with many people I would have years ago. And much of this came to me long before I read the bible. But I never looked at things like adultery and fornication the same way after I read the bible. Reading the Old Testament gave me the God's eye view of people from like a bird looking down. That I could see things that these people did good and what they did bad. It took me reading the bible to actually know what this mysterious and fatherly thing was around me "the spirit of truth". That would very oddly inhibit my path when I would try certain things. At that point I was trusting in God as the ultimate creator and controller of the universe. The more I did this the stronger this "force" became. And everything falls into place because of Gods will. I saw many examples of this. However its not till you read the bible that you really learn about the trinity. So it is true what many say, the spirit leads you to read the word. And not just any bible...the KJV. This sense of truth and certainty let me know I needed to read it, and specifically it and not an ESV or NIV for example.
Reading the old testament sent me through a pharacee stage........where I started condemning all around me with the law. It wasnt until much later I started realizing that I was freed from the law by Christ sacrifice. So in essence, I guess I need to go back to living only by the spirit? But what if what i'm doing right now is what God wants me to do? God has a plan, that is much greater than me.
You just don't understand how I feel, I was born with a strange mental illness that haunted me most of my life. Sometimes this illness basically took reality away from me. And I can never forget some of the things it put me through. So I can never get over the feeling I am gonna walk around a corner and step on a landmine. If that makes sense. Aka screw up, and not do something right that God wanted me to do while alive. The older I get and the further I follow Christ down the narrow path it is getting somewhat easier, but at the same time it feels like the stakes are higher the more you know.
(thankfully!) (because HE KNOWS the Perfect Time to Answer, we don't).