I was reading in Romans the other day and read the passage where Paul says the commandments were ordained to life but they became death to him because he kept doing the things he didn't want to do. The Holy Spirit joined me and illuminated the words "the commandment, which was ordained to life". It was a powerful moment for me as I kept coming back to the reality that if God, the Creator of heaven and earth "ordained" the commandments to life, then those commandments have an eternal purpose to produce life and God watches over his word to perform his purpose. As I continued my reading, I realized that when Paul said, "I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord" that the ordained purpose of those commandments are being fulfilled for us through Jesus Christ our Lord!
What a revelation to me! How muddled my darkened mind has been over the years as I have listened to the social gospel messages that kept circling the wagons around the words "became death to me". What a difference it makes to read the word of God and have the spirit of God clearly, distinctly and perfectly reveal that the commandments of God have been made life and light through the blood of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
That is what it means to be "free from the law of sin and death" and "there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus". Can you believe it? Can you believe it is so simple? The commandments under the curse of the law of sin and death became death because of the curse. The commandments under the blood of Jesus become light and life through the spirit of life in Christ Jesus! How simple can it be, yet the god of the spirit of this world keeps the light of our heart darkened. And yet, through it all, the faithful and true God leads us into the everlasting life of Jesus Christ and him crucified, rose again, and seated in heavenly places at the right hand of the Father.
I thank my God that he calls us to grow in grace and truth. I thank the Lord God Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth that he calls us to let our love abound more and more in all knowledge and all understanding. I thank my God that he has given us the comfort of his Word, the comfort of the blood of Jesus and the comfort of his Holy Spirit that leads us into all truth.
The goal of the framers included the prevention of a too powerful central church while supporting true religion before God, the prevention of a too powerful central economic power while supporting a free market economy; and the prevention of a too powerful central government while supporting the operation of an effective and restrained central government.
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