Page 92 - Laying Down the Law

I Corinthians 10:23
All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are
lawful, but not all things edify.

If Paul still saw himself as under the Law of Moses, he could not have said “all
things are lawful for me.” All things are not lawful under the old covenant, for it was
written for men who were slaves to sin.
In contrast, John tells us that no one who is born of Christ sins. Seeing that they
do not do so, all things are lawful for them. What type of things might the new
creation man want to do? Paul gives us a list in the following Scripture. Pay close
attention to the words he ends with.

Galatians 5:22-23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

Christ is the perfect expression of the Father. All of the fruit listed above are part
of His nature. For those who are joined to Christ, these things have also become their
nature. We can do all these things as much as we want. There is no law to restrict us
from being loving, or patient, or self-controlled. Seeing that those born of the seed of
Christ desire ONLY to walk righteously, they do not need the Law to restrain them.
The Law of Moses was not made for the righteous, but for the unrighteous.
Consider once more the condition of those who are not partakers of the life of
Christ. Such ones are slaves to the lusts of the flesh. The things their flesh wants to
do must be restrained. Yahweh has given fleshly men many laws of prohibition.
But those in Christ are not in the flesh. They abide and walk in the Spirit. There
is a new law for them. The perfect law of liberty. It is the law of liberty that Yahweh
has written on the hearts of those who have received a new spirit.
Herein is revealed one of the terrible consequences of embracing the Mosaic
Law. It causes spiritual men to view themselves as sinners that need to be restrained.
On the other hand, the Law of Liberty induces men to see themselves as heavenly
beings born of holy seed whose desire is always to please the Father. What a Christian
thinks about himself will shape his life.

Proverbs 23:7
For as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.

People of God, this leads us to perceive perhaps the greatest challenge of the
Christian life. It must be entered into by faith.

Galatians 3:25-26
But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. For you are all sons
of God through faith in Christ Yahshua.