Law vs. Spirit: Two Ways to Live
In Sunday's message from Romans 7:1-6, The New Way, we discussed the difference between living by the law vs. living by the Spirit. Here is a summary of the comparison.
Here is the audio from this past Sunday's message from Romans 7:1-6, The New Way.
(download)
Dwight (D.L.) Moody was a pastor and evangelist in Chicago during the great Chicago fire of 1871. In his biography of Mr. Moody, Gilchrist Lawson says, “[He] went East to New York City to collect funds for the sufferers from the Chicago fire, but his heart and soul were crying out for the power from on high. 'My heart was not in the work of begging,' he said. 'I could not appeal. I was crying all the time that God would fill me with His Spirit. Well, one day, in the city of New York—oh, what a day!—I cannot describe it, and I seldom refer to it. It is almost too sacred an experience to name. Paul had an experience of which he didn’t speak for fourteen years. I can only say that God revealed Himself to me, and I had such an experience of His love that I had to ask Him to stay His hand. I went to preaching again. The sermons were not different. I did not present any new truths, and yet hundreds were converted. I would not now be placed back where I was before that blessed experience if you should give me all the world.'"
Notice just a few things about that testimony.
I believe that I and every other follower of Jesus, not to mention every other preacher, would do well to seek the filling of God's Spirit out of a desperate cry that we may be endowed with power to see the gospel spread like wildfire in our midst—in our own hearts, through our families and into our communities. I confess that I have been far too satisfied in my own life. I have not been seeking such an experience, but rather, relying on my own skills (which are puny and rediculously ineffective). The lack of power in my life and ministry is evident. It seems so natural. How I long for the supernatural!
Oh, how I want to know the love of the Father to such a degree that I, too, would have to ask him to "stay his hand." May we be weak enough to look to the cross and pray for the kind of faith that is utterly convinced that there really is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus—and be filled to overflowing with that love that surpasses knowledge!
SDG
This past week we began men's and women's DiG Groups. DiG stands for Discipled in Grace, and doubles as a metaphor for "digging" deeply into the gospel. Anyway, one of the foundational principles that we are working with is the fact that the law-gospel paradigm is a two-edged sword. The law tells me that I am more sinful (and have more of a propensity toward evil) than I realize. On the other hand, the gospel tells me that I am more forgiven, loved and accepted than I even have the capacity to grasp and fully appreciate.
This means two things. First, I should never underestimate the power of indwelling sin. I should not be surprised when I do or say sinful, or just plain sinful things. The sin monster within is a beast. Do not underestimate it. However, second, I also should not underestimate the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. This means that I need not despair of my sin, thinking that there is no hope for change when my sin monster raises its ugly head. The Spirit is stronger than the flesh.
My role is to let the two-edged sword keep me humble and hopeful as I rest in the reality that I am no longer under the condemnation of the law, but am safe under the promise of God's grace in the gospel. I am his, and not because I am good. I am his because—and only because—of his grace. Grace that looks me in the eye and reconfirms to my heart every day that God has made a wretch a son by making his son a wretch. This is the good news of the gospel.
I want to remember today that I can't change or fix anyone. And neither can anyone change or fix me. That is the role of the Holy Spirit alone. But I can pray. I can ask. In my weakness, I can go to the Father, my strong Abba. He is able to do "immeasurably more than all I can ask or imagine" (Ephesians 3:20). When I look at myself, I realize that change in my life most definitely will require supernatural intervention. Yet, I need to remember that my desire for change is not that I will be accepted and forgiven if I change, but that because in Jesus I have already been accepted and forgiven before any change ever takes place. "So, in light of the gospel, change me, Father. By the power of your Spirit indwelling me, enable me see my sin for what it is. Enable me to savor your grace. And enable me to love well."
I stand duly convicted by these words of Jim Cymbala in his book, Fresh Power (p. 46). But my heart echos his. I do not need more of my (in)ability in my sermons, I need more of the Spirit. O Lord, let me pray and preach like the helpless man that I am.
"Isn't it tragic that many pastors often spend hours polishing every nuance of their sermons while hardly investing any time at all in prayer and waiting upon God to be freshly filled with the One who can supernaturally assist them? What we need today is not cleverness or oratory—we need messages from God's Word set on fire by the Holy Spirit!"
