The Carnal Mind vs. the Spiritual Mind

Romans 8:6

To be of a carnal mind brings on death; while life and peace are found in being spiritually minded. In light of the end results that each mindset brings, it would be a wise thing to understand what it means to be carnally minded and to be spiritually minded.

Carnality is often viewed as things that are sinful. People declare certain movies or music to be carnal or dressing inappropriately or cursing to be things of a “carnal nature”. If this definition is correct then carnal minded must be sinful thinking. What would constitute sinful thinking? That is a little tougher to answer than it is to ask. Thank God the Bible tells us what carnality is so that all of this is cleared up.

Paul addressed the church at Corinth with some heavy instruction due to some of the things that they were doing. This church had an incestuous fornicator in their midst (5:1); they were getting drunk on communion wine (11:21); they were suing one another in court (6:1); they were sleeping with temple harlots (6:16) and they were abusing the gifts of the Spirit in worship services (chapter 14). In light of all of this, Paul never evoked the power of the Law to get them to live right, but rather reminded them of their righteousness in Christ and said, “Awake to righteousness, and sin not” (1 Corinthians 15:34).

Before any of these other things were mentioned, Paul called the Corinthian church “carnal”, but it was for none of these sins that he referred to them this way. Their carnality was wrapped up in their identification. “For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?” (1 Corinthians 3:4). It was for identifying themselves through any other means than as God’s righteousness that Paul called them carnal. He never said it over their lawsuits, their fornication or their drunkenness, but he said it over their divisions.

For the believer to see themselves through any other lens than the finished work of Jesus Christ is to be carnally minded. To face your trials and troubles and your sins and failures as if the cross never happened is to be carnally minded. To lean upon the arm of the flesh, trusting in your reading, praying, fasting, giving and going to bring you life and peace is to be carnally minded. Carnal minded Christians are never at peace, because they never have a sense of fulfillment that is found only through the cross of Christ.

To think with a carnal mind is to ignore the finished work of Jesus and place yourself under the judgment of God. This way of thinking is an enemy of God (Romans 8:7), incapable of producing righteousness. To walk in this way of thinking is to live according to your talents and abilities, with little or no regard as to who you really are in Christ. It is impossible to be pleasing to God in this state, and you will see no “life and peace”.

This does not mean that you are backslidden from God and that you are going to go to hell because you have leaned on the arm of the flesh. You do not lose relationship with God, even though you go about your Christian walk by your works. You DO however hinder fellowship with God when you trust your works for righteousness. He loves you just the same, but thinking that you have to earn His love will only lead to frustration and separation, neither of which are God’s will for your life. Jesus has paid for you to have no condemnation. Think this way and live in life and peace!

No Condemnation

Romans 8:1

Paul told the church at Corinth that he did not speak to condemn them (2 Corinthians 7:3) and Jesus said that He did not come to condemn the world either (John 3:17). If Paul didn’t preach condemnation, and Jesus did not show up to give condemnation, why are we so quick to condemn? Could it be that we have very little revelation of our own liberty from condemnation?

Paul states this first verse of Romans 8 in an unequivocal manner: “NO condemnation”. The word ‘no’ is ‘not even a little bit’ in the Greek, meaning that there is no room for condemnation at all, because of Christ Jesus. Once you accept Jesus Christ and His free pardon from sin, there is absolutely no room for you to be condemned. Jesus was condemned for all of our sins at the cross; thus there is none left for you or me!

The last part of the verse is “who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit”, which appears to place qualifications on the gift of no condemnation. In the original Greek, these words do not appear in this passage, but instead appear at the end of verse 4. Bible scholars call this process of moving one passage to another place as “interpolation”. Why would the translators do this if the Apostle Paul did not write it that way?

The only explanation that I can find is that they simply could not believe that there were no qualifications or conditions upon the gift of no condemnation. Most Christians will tell you that you are under no condemnation as long as you do the right thing, but if you fail then you are condemned in your sin. This is diametrically opposed to the third verse which tells us that Jesus had sin condemned in His flesh (Romans 8:3). Since all sin was condemned in the body of Jesus, it cannot ever be condemned in my body. Hallelujah!

If walking according to the Spirit is the requirement for “no condemnation”, then Jesus broke this rule when He withheld condemnation from the woman caught in the act of adultery. There is no clearer example in the Gospels of a moment when the full weight of the law should have fallen on a law-breaker than when this woman was caught sleeping with a married man. The Pharisees hoped to trap Jesus by forcing Him to decide to either stone her under Moses’ Law or let her go free. Jesus trumped them all with, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her” (John 8:7). Of course the Law condemned them all, so they dropped their rocks and left. Jesus then released the woman with the blessed promise, “Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more” (John 8:11). If ‘no condemnation’ comes only for those who walk in the Spirit, this woman is disqualified. She was living according to her fleshly desires, yet Jesus did not condemn her. It is a gift, and Jesus gives it freely!

As soon as we embrace the gift of no condemnation, the righteousness that the Law tried to bring out in us will come to the surface. Paul said, “That the righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” (Romans 8:4). Here, the phrase “who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” is in the Greek text, but now the meaning becomes clear. Walk according to what the Holy Spirit says about you and you will see the righteousness of God come out in your lifestyle. What does the Spirit say? “Now no condemnation”!

It’s Not ‘What’, But It Is ‘Who'

Romans 7:15-25

Much has been debated about the timing of these passages. Some say that Paul is writing about himself before he became a Christian. Others say that this was Paul after conversion but before victory over the flesh, while still some argue that this was Paul’s current condition at the time that he wrote the epistle. There should probably be less discussion over when this occurred and more examination as to what is actually written. Within these verses, Paul gives us important insight into the struggle that all believers face at one time or another with overcoming sin.

No born-again believer wants to commit sin, much less live in a sinful lifestyle. When we find ourselves in failure, we are quick to go back to God and rest beneath the waterfall of His forgiveness. How to keep from sinning again is the goal of every Christian, with the Apostle Paul being no exception. He found that no matter how badly he wanted to do the right thing, he ended up doing the thing that he hated (Romans 7:15), which led him to the conclusion that the law was good (verse 16), but that it was inflaming sin within him (verse 17). A life of habitual sin has rubbed off on us all, with sinning requiring about as much effort as tying our shoes. We have done it for so long, we think nothing of it, which is why Paul says, “It is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me” (Romans 7:20). In other words, he could sin without effort.

Though he had strong will-power (verse 18), he noticed that when he concentrated on doing the right thing, there was a law that took over in his life which caused evil to surface (verse 21). The more that the believer concentrates on doing the good and shunning the evil, the more that they place themselves back under the law of works and self-righteousness. When we go back under law, sin dominates us (Romans 6:14), and failure is inevitable. Why is this so? Because the law always causes sin to abound! (Romans 5:20)

This war that is happening in the Apostle was not in his heart, for his heart is perfectly sanctified before the Lord, forever (Hebrews 10:14). The war is happening “in my members” meaning that this is within his flesh, which he will have until he leaves this earth. It is warring against the “law of my mind”, meaning that Paul wants to do better because he knows that would be the right way to live, but his habits lead him elsewhere. You are not being dominated by an old nature that is still alive in you, for you died with Christ, “once” (Romans 6:14). Instead, the old habits of sin die hard so to speak and when you concentrate on performance you inflame those old passions. Notice that the more he thinks about doing the good (“law of the mind”), the more that he does the bad (“law of sin”).

Paul desired to live that which was holy, just and good, which is what the Law of God is (Romans 7:13). In fact, he said that he delighted in the Law of God (Romans 7:22). The New Creation in Christ, by our very nature would delight in anything that is holy, just and good. However, our new man knows that the works of the Law do not justify him, but the Finished Work of Jesus is our justification. With salvation comes a true desire to live right and do right, and Paul had this as well.

The believer need not concentrate on what they are going to do to overcome sin, for this speaks of works and law. This is what the rich young ruler wanted to know as well, “what must I do?” (Matthew 19:16). Our victory does not lie in what we can do, but in WHO HE IS! Paul concludes, “Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” (Romans 7:24). The solution is found in the last verse of the chapter, “I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord” (verse 25). It is the person and power of Jesus Christ that lives through us that brings us all victory.

Paul did not break the book into chapters (that was the role of the translators), so we find his final solution to the indwelling problem of sin in Romans 8:1, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus”. Because Jesus has died and I have been baptized into His death, there is now no condemnation to me either. What sweet victory is found!

Hell’s Favorite Verse

Romans 7:9

More than serving as a catchy title, I firmly believe in that statement. Satan knows what the Bible says, though he has no revelation as to what it means. In his knowledge of the Word is an ability to twist and distort scriptures. He did it to Eve in the Garden and he did it again in the wilderness to Jesus. He will do the same to you and I because he is a liar and the father of all liars (John 8:44).

Some verses need no twisting; they simply need removed from context. Take the “text” out of “context” and you are left with “con”, which is exactly where Satan does his finest work. Other verses do not even need that treatment; they can simply be quoted for what they are and within the framework of the information given, Satan can devise a plan.

In Romans 7:9, Paul is talking about the role of the Law in his life. In case you think that he is speaking of some other law than the Mosaic Law, he actually quotes the 10th Commandment in verse 7 and says that sin took occasion (opportunity) by that commandment to work in him all different kinds of lusts. Without the commandment in his life, he found sin to be dead. In other words, the knowledge of the Law actually caused the very thing that the commandment told him not to do, to get stronger. The more he heard, “Don’t lust”, the more he lusted. Thus it is until this day.

Believe you me, Satan has Romans 7:9 memorized. He knows that when the commandment comes, sin will revive and we will die. I am not claiming that he understands it perfectly or that he even cares to, but I guarantee you that every demon in hell knows that if they can use the Law against the believer, they will be able to heap condemnation and guilt upon them. The more that the Law is placed in front of the saint, the more that sin begins to revive and stir within them. If you were the devil, wouldn’t you use this to your advantage?

At the cross, Jesus stripped the Law out of our way and nailed it to His cross. He then pointed at the Law which was nailed to the cross and made fun of the powers of darkness through this triumphant act. That is what Paul is saying when he reminds us that Jesus, “Having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it” (Colossians 2:15). Jesus had removed the one weapon that the enemy had to use against the believer: the Law.

When the pulpit brings emphasis back to the Law, we are weaponizing sin. Have you ever heard of something being “weaponized”? This refers to something being put into a form that it can be used to harm people by. Sin has no authority where there is no law, for without the law, “sin was dead” (Romans 7:8). When we put the Law back up as the standard for people to live by, we weaponize sin, giving it a revival of sorts in our life. Why would we do this? This is lunacy!

Satan works day and night to place believers back under a lifestyle of “do this” and “don’t do that” and he plays cruel tricks with us. When we “do this”, he tells us that we haven’t done enough. When we do what we shouldn’t, he tells us that we are guilty and that we are going to hell. How can we stop this cycle?

Put the Law back where it belongs! Jesus nailed it to the cross and “took it out of the way” (Colossians 2:14). Don’t worry about living right; it is His job to change your heart through the finished work of the cross. Your job is to rest in that finished work and trust Him. Do this and you take the weapon out of the enemy’s hands. Isn’t that what we all want?

Your Old Spouse is Dead

Romans 7:1-6

Contrary to what it is often used for, these first several verses of Romans 7 are not Paul’s treatise against divorce. Within the context of the entire book, this illustration of marriage and divorce is meant to work as a metaphor for Paul’s teaching on freedom from the Law of Moses. When viewed through this lens, these verses speak volumes as to what truly happened to us when we received Christ.

Paul’s audience is the Jewish people (“I speak to them that know the law” verse 1) and he reminds them that the Law dominates them as long as they are alive. Just as a woman is bound to her husband by the covenant of marriage as long as he is lives (verse 2). If the husband dies, she is loosed from that covenant.

If a woman runs off with another man while she is still married, she is called an adulteress (verse 3), but if she were to wait until her husband was dead and then remarry, she “is no adulteress” (Romans 7:3). Using this example, Paul concludes that we are dead to the marriage that we had with the Mosaic Law due to the “body of Christ” (Romans 7:4). The phrase “body of Christ” speaks of the death of our Lord on the cross. We were baptized into His death at salvation (Romans 6:3), thus we are as dead to the Law as He is. Now that we have died to the Law, we are free to marry another, and the one that we are married to is the one “who is raised from the dead” (Romans 7:4).

Our first husband was a tough taskmaster. He made loud demands on us that we could never keep. He was perfect and just and good but he always reminded us that we were none of those things. We spent day and night trying to live up to his standards and we constantly fell short. When we were unable to perform just right, he provided us with no mercy or help. He spoke the truth to us, but it always cut and hurt because it exposed our flaws and our problems. He wore us out, and we were constantly tired and beat down.

Then he died, and our life started brand new again. Our old husband was the Law and our salvation sounded his death sentence. Jesus, having kept the demands of the Law perfectly, paid the price for all of our Law-breaking, which freed us from that Old Covenant. Now we are married to our new husband, Jesus Christ. He puts no hard demands on us; in fact, He is easy and His burdens are light. We serve Him in every way though He never demands it. His loving presence brings forth wonderful fruit from our lives (Romans 7:4). We are a better spouse to Him than we ever were to our old husband, because this husband washes us with the water of words, speaking sweet nothings into our ear (Ephesians 5:26).

We have been joined together to Christ through the marriage of salvation (Ephesians 5:31). This marriage has delivered us from the bondage of the Law (Romans 7:6). Don’t think that you will run away and “sin like crazy” now that you are free from the trappings of the Mosaic Law. Actually, the contrary is true. We once served our husband in the letter of the Law, with its demands written in stone. Now, we serve our new husband with a new spirit (verse 6). Quite literally, we served the first husband because we had too. We serve the new husband because we truly want to, in our heart.

Grace, Then Signs and Wonders

Acts 14:1-4

Paul and his traveling brother Barnabas found themselves in Iconium, preaching the gospel in a Jewish synagogue. His message brought great multitudes of Jews and Gentiles to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, but it also brought anger out in many. Unbelieving, but devout Jews began to stir up the Gentiles in the city, turning them against Paul and Barnabas. Week after week, Paul preached “boldly in the Lord”; “the word of His grace” (Acts 14:3). Notice the perseverance and the message. Paul kept right on preaching the message of grace, no matter how much opposition that He faced.

What were these Jews opposed to? Were they opposed to God? Of course not; they loved God fervently. Were they opposed to Gentiles being converted? Apparently not, as they let them into their synagogue. It was the word of God’s grace that Paul continued to preach that caused him so much trouble. They felt that salvation had much to do with keeping the Law, and Paul simply would not give in to this way of thinking.

No matter how much opposition they presented, Paul continued to be bold in his preaching of grace. God give us preachers who will use their boldness not to beat the sheep or expose people’s sins, but to boldly proclaim the finished work of Jesus and the free favors of God! The more that Paul preached grace, the more the Jewish adherents to Mosaic Law became infuriated.

God stepped in and “granted signs and wonders to be done at their hands” (Acts 14:3). The more that Paul proclaimed God’s grace and favor, the more that God responded by bringing forth mighty miracles. These miracles were to place God’s seal of approval on the message that was being presented. Jesus never performed a single miracle until the Father first said of Him at Jordan, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). With the “well-pleased” came the power to perform. The more that God’s grace is preached boldly, without reservation and fear, the more that God will respond in the church with signs and wonders.

There is no need to fear that we can preach “too much grace”. Since grace is Jesus (John 1:17), saying that one can preach “too much grace” is like saying that one could preach “too much Jesus”. There is simply no such thing! Ask a sinner how to get to heaven and most of them will reply with some form of works or the other. In fact, many of them will quote directly from the Law of Moses, citing the keeping of the 10 Commandments. How can we fear that they are going to get too much grace? They are full to the brim with Law and they are still going to hell!

The multitude of the city was divided over Paul’s preaching of grace (Acts 14:4) and this percentage remains until this day. Not everyone will turn to the preaching of God’s grace and favor, but many will. Those who respond with faith will see great things done in their lives as God changes them from the inside out. As grace becomes the chief message of the church there will be mighty miracles done which no one will be able to attribute to man. God will get all of the glory, for His Son Jesus is being proclaimed in all of His loveliness. Only grace destroys man’s self-dependency and exalts Jesus’ finished work. Let us be guilty of one thing and that is of preaching “too much grace”!

Living Water

John 7:37-39

On the final day of the great Jewish Feast of Tabernacles, all of Jerusalem would gather near the temple to watch the high priest go through the most sacred ceremony of the festival. He would draw water from the pool of Siloam in a golden vessel. This would be done at the time of the morning sacrifice (9 a.m.). He would approach the altar for all of the public to see and then pour the water on the sacrifice, spilling it over the altar and down onto the ground. These things were a shadow of the Great Sacrifice to come, which Jesus would make: the altar represents the cross; the fire on the sacrifice represents the judgment of God against sin; the water represents the Holy Spirit cleansing each believer.

Jesus was in the crowd on this particular “great day of the feast” (John 7:37), and due to what He says, we can assume that He must have timed His speech to coincide with both a large crowd and the pouring of the water upon the altar. “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water” (John 7:37, 38).

The offer for water to all that thirst was nearly identical to what Jesus had said earlier to the woman at the well when He said that He would give her “living water” (John 4:10) and that this water would “be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:14). What makes John 7 even better is that here the proclamation is to the entire world, not just to one individual. It promises us that there is living water to be found in Jesus both for one man and for all men.

The deepest and most passionate cravings in the Old Testament had to do with water. Israel complained of their lack of drinkable water at Marah (Exodus 15:23), then of their lack of water entirely at Rephidim (Exodus 17:1). David was so fond of the waters of his homeland that he longed for a drink from the well of Bethlehem, and three of his mighty men broke through enemy lines just to bring him a cup (2 Samuel 23:15). That same David said that the Good Shepherd “leads me beside the still waters” (Psalms 23:2).

Only one chapter earlier while in Capernaum, Jesus had declared Himself to be the “bread of life”, solving man’s hunger (John 6:48). In Galilee, He had presented Himself as the rest for man (Matthew 11:28). Now, He is the “living water” speaking to the thirsty soul. While both of the first statements were spoken either in private or to a small audience, this proclamation in the temple is given for all to hear.

Jesus is not necessarily quoting any one verse when He says, “As the scripture hath said” (John 7:38). He does not say, “As it is written” which is the customary manner of quoting scripture directly but instead He is referencing the theme of the Old Testament as a whole. The Old Testament is about man’s hunger and thirst for God, while the New Testament is God responding to that hunger and thirst in the person of Jesus.

One such scripture that He could be citing is Isaiah 55:1, “Ho, everyone that thirsts, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat”. Another might be Isaiah 58:11, “And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not”.

Jesus has already died at Calvary, so you have the well-spring of the Holy Spirit inside of you, giving you fresh water every day. He is constantly cleansing you from all unrighteousness, so that you are always viewed as clean in the eyes of God. Thank God for the living water!

The Manners of the Spirit

Luke 9:51-56

On His way to Jerusalem, for what would be the final moments of His life, Jesus passes through several villages in Samaria. None of these villages receive Him with hospitality, which infuriates at least two of His disciples, James and John. These two “Sons of Thunder” (Mark 3:17) ask Jesus if they should call down fire from heaven to consume the people, “even as Elijah did?” (Mark 10:54).

The precedent that they are working off of happened in the very land of Samaria in 2 Kings 1:10. The prophet Elijah was dwelling on a mountain-top when an army from Samaria came to enquire of him. He called down fire from heaven on them in order to prove that he was a prophet of God, and then did it to the follow-up army as well. James and John feel the rejection of the Samaritans toward Jesus and wish to prove to these people that their Savior is the very Son of God. What better way to prove that God’s power is on them than to do what Elijah did?

Jesus does not condemn the action of calling down fire by Elijah, but he does tell James and John that they do not know the manner of spirit that they are being influenced by. How could the manner of spirit in Elijah that called down fire from heaven be proper, but then it be the wrong influence in the disciples? In this passage, we see the change of God’s treatment toward humanity under the New Covenant.

God poured out His wrath and His judgment on mankind from Mt. Sinai all the way through the Old Testament. People died wholesale as God swung a sharp sword of justice through nations, towns and villages. When Jesus came, the Bible says that He brought “on earth peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2:14). This “peace” was not between rival nations, nor was the good will between men; but rather the peace was with God and the good will was “toward men” from God. In other words, when Jesus arrived, God was sending us an emissary saying, “The war is about to be over at the cross”. When Jesus said, “It is finished” that war ended!

The manner of the Holy Spirit under the New Covenant is not the destruction of men’s lives but the saving of them. God is not against us, for He has exhausted His anger in the body of Jesus at the cross. Now, because of the arrival, perfection, death and resurrection of Christ, God has had His justice appeased, and His love for mankind shines through because of the cross. It is out of God’s character to kill men now, for He killed His Son at Calvary. In fact, if God is killing men for sin and destroying lives for their rebellion, He must apologize to His Son for the cross; because Jesus was supposed to bear all of the judgment (John 12:32).

The Holy Spirit plays His role perfect: He sheds forth the love of God into every area of our hearts (Romans 5:4); He helps with our infirmities and sicknesses by interceding to the Father on our behalf (Romans 8:26); He convicts us of our righteousness, reminding us of who we are in Christ even when we fail (John 16:10) and He guides us into all truth (which is Jesus), (John 16:13).

In light of how proper His manners are, let’s not mix covenants and place the Holy Spirit in the role of murderer and destroyer. When the church falls into this pattern, she knows not what manner of spirit she is of (Luke 9:55).

One Thing You Lack

Mark 10:17-22

Living in the New Covenant is about knowing all that Jesus has done for you, and that you are complete in Him (Colossians 2:10). It is NOT about the things that you lack, for the heart of God is to freely give you all things (Romans 8:32). When a believer is always thinking of what they lack, they know that they are listening to the voice of self-righteousness, which points them to their efforts or lack thereof. The daily concentration on lack leads to the daily grind of works; while a focus on Christ and His finished work leads to rest in that finished work.

The gospel accounts of the rich, young ruler teach us an important lesson about how to come to Jesus, and how to win the lost. Some Bible teachers point to this story as an example of how believers should use the Law when they speak to sinners so that they will see their guilt and desire God’s grace. The problem with this example is two-fold: of all the times that Jesus evangelized, this is the only time that He used the Law on a sinner, and it is the only time His evangelism didn’t work!

The young man approaches Jesus with the attitude of works, desiring to know what he needs to do in order to inherit eternal life. His opening statement is one of confusion as he wishes to “inherit” and “do” at the same time. An inheritance comes by birthright, not by actions. You are born into an inheritance otherwise it is a payment for services rendered. Typical of most people, this man wants salvation but chooses to work his way into it if possible.

Jesus goes along with the request, for if it is Law that you desire, it is Law that you will be given. He quotes five of the 10 Commandments for the man, giving him an opportunity to appeal to grace. Instead of realizing what Jesus is doing, the man answers that he has kept all of those commandments from his youth up. This would be a perfect opportunity for Jesus to condemn the man, but instead, “Then Jesus beholding him loved him” (Mark 10:21). What love our Master has, even for and especially for those who are bound down beneath the works of the Law!

So gentle is the rebuke of our Lord that when Jesus exposes the young man’s inability to keep the Law, He does it in a way to bring no shame and embarrassment to him. He tells him to sell all that he has and give it to the poor and then come and follow him. The young man is guilty of breaking the very 1st Commandment: “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me”. His wealth is his security and his god, and he is unable to leave it behind.

“One thing you lack” (Mark 10:21) is what Jesus says to the rich, young ruler because when you appeal to Christ based upon your works, you will always come up lacking in performance. This is the only person to whom Jesus said, “One thing you lack” because all others came to Him looking for unmerited, unearned favor. When you appeal to grace, it will never be about what you lack, but about what and who He is.

Our job as evangelists is not to shine the Law into people’s spiritual eyes so that they see their guilt. Jesus only evoked the power of the Law on those who claimed to be able to keep it. If you encounter someone who stands behind their talent and ability, then use the Law to show them their sin, otherwise be quick to give the grace of God, for it is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16).

The Easy Yoke

Matthew 11:28-30

Jesus spoke these words to the Jewish people, who were students of the Law of Moses. Laden down with the burden of keeping the Law in its perfection, the people had grown weary and tired. The Law of God is holy and just and good (Romans 7:12), but man is none of those things, thus he becomes heavy-laden when he tries to live beneath its demands.

When you live beneath the demands of the law, sin will dominate you (Romans 6:14). Weariness ensues when you are always trying to live up to a standard that cannot be achieved through human effort. The Law was never given to be lived perfectly, for that is an impossible task. Instead, the Law was given to show man his sin, so that he would know his need for grace (Romans 5:20).

Some have tried to explain Law as being anything that you do to achieve righteousness, and while that definition is true; it is the weakest example of the Law. Paul described the Law as the 10 Commandments (2 Corinthians 3:7) and the ordinances written by hand (Colossians 2:14). Concentrating on everything that is Law is a form of telling you what to avoid and what to do. Within itself, that is a form of the Law! Let us concentrate on the grace and favor of God in order to be free from the dominion of sin. If we focus our attention on Jesus and His grace then we are finished with trying to figure out what is Law.

The Jews that Jesus spoke to are a type of the believer and the sinner who think that their works give them some standing with God. Believers are saved by grace, but many go on working the Law in order to achieve standing or goodness with God, though these things are unnecessary. Sinners do good works for the same reasons, hoping to earn heaven with their actions. Jesus came to set all of us free from our lifestyle of good works. The believer can rest from their deeds seeing as they are the righteousness of God in Christ; and sinners can be saved by accepting Jesus, whether they understand the Law or not.

When you lay down the yoke of the Law, Jesus gives you the yoke of His grace. While religion takes the yoke of sin and replaces it with the yoke of the Law (which unwittingly brings power back to the sin); Jesus takes off the yoke of the Law and replaces it with grace. We are not above grace, but under it, with Jesus protecting us from the cares of this life (Romans 6:14).

Christianity is a day-to-day learning experience of who Jesus is. Notice that Jesus tells us to “learn of me”, not “learn how to live”. When we learn of Jesus we are learning how to let Him live through us. Unfortunately, many of us are concentrating on how to live right, while Jesus in His mercy and grace wants to live His life through us. Learn of Him and His finished work; the price that He paid for your health, wholeness and salvation, and you will know how to live. True relationship will bring His righteousness out in your lifestyle, and you will never even think about it.

When your Christianity begins to feel hard and heavy, reevaluate your relationship with the Lord. Jesus said that the yoke of grace is “easy” and His burden is “light”. If you are told that Christianity is hard, that message is being presented to you by those who are still viewing their works as the basis for their blessings. You are free in Jesus and His lifestyle is easy and His burden is light. In Jesus, “find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:29).