Page 53 - Laying Down the Law

Romans 7:4-6
Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the
body of Christ, that you may be married to another - to Him who was raised
from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God... Now we have been delivered
from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in
the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.

We were delivered (redeemed, led out) from the Law. We have been joined to
Christ by His Spirit which was sent to indwell us. We are now to serve in newness of
the Spirit, for it alone can lead us to maturity in Christ.
It offends the religious mind to suggest that those who are in Christ are no
longer under the Law. Why is this so? Partly because many who were making a good
showing under the Law must admit that under the Law they are no more than
spiritual children. A focus on the Law cannot bring any to perfection (maturity). Even
the best who are under the guardianship of the Law have not progressed past
childhood. It is galling to the natural man to admit that we are yet babes when those
around us have considered us mature spiritual men.
To lay aside the Law as the measure of their spirituality, many men and women
will lose their PLACE in the same way that the Jewish religious leaders feared. Service
as Levitical Priests focused upon the Law does not qualify men for service as priests
of a new order.
What a very difficult task it is to lead people out of the old order and into the
new. Only the humble will be able to make the transition. Those who are unwilling to
release the honor they have attained as “law-keepers” and “Torah Observers” will not
be able to enter the new order.
Consider the experience encountered by those who pass from one level of school
to another in the public school systems of America. One might attain a place of
respect, popularity and honor in elementary school, but passing on to Middle School
they have to begin all over. Similarly those passing from Middle School to High
School fall from the top of the ranks to the entry levels. One can be a BMOC (Big Man
on Campus) in their senior year of High School, but passing on to the university level
they find that they are once more considered an “underclassman,” a “pleb.”
How hard it is for those who have embraced the Law to depart from it to begin
anew. Having mastered the roles of childhood, they are reluctant to pass on to higher
things where they must begin at the lowest levels once more. The way to advancement
with Christ is always the path of humility. The more humble a man or woman is, the
further they will advance in the kingdom of God.
Oh the depths of the wisdom of God. He has so designed things that a man must
manifest His character to make any advancement. Knowledge alone will not suffice.
A good showing in the flesh is not enough. We must ever sink lower to be exalted. We
must admit we are children in order to pass on to maturity.