Page 47 - The Road from Babylon to Zion

knew in Christ. This is a very hideous snare, and not to be underestimated. If the
early apostles could stumble in this point, if the entire Galatian church could be
troubled by the presence of the Judaisers in their midst, then we can be assured that
the message of those who would place the saints under the Law has much appeal and
many convincing arguments.

The problem with an external Law is that it excites the flesh of man, for sin dwells
in the flesh.

Romans 7:7-11
I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would
not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, "You shall not
covet.” But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment,
produced in me coveting of every kind; for apart from the Law sin is
dead. I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment
came, sin became alive and I died; and this commandment, which was
to result in life, proved to result in death for me; for sin, taking an
opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it
killed me.

The Law excites the flesh to try and conform to the righteous requirements of the
Law, but as Paul confessed in another place, the very things we do not want to do, we
find ourselves doing. Man cannot be guided by an external Law. Man must be
transformed inwardly, and He must constantly allow the life of Christ within to
manifest itself in conformity to the revealed will of God.

The Overcomer who stretches out his hand to begin keeping the Law becomes
ensnared in a futile exercise of the flesh. He will become bogged down in disputes
and wranglings over the application of the Law in daily life, and he will join himself
to many crusades against evil that are conducted according to Babylonian principles,
rather than the principles of the Kingdom of God.

The Jewish religious system was well known for its lawyers. These lawyers were
versed in the Law of Moses and they had created an abundance of writings that
explained how the Law was to be applied in every conceivable circumstance. Many
of their conclusions actually violated the intent of the Holy Spirit who authored the
scriptures, and Yahshua rebuked the Jewish leaders for this evil.

The saint who sets forth to keep the Law will be forced to become a lawyer as well.
I saw clearly the end result of this path when the brother of whom I have been
speaking wrote to me of an event that had just occurred in the life of his family.

This family had a golden retriever that had been a family pet for many years and it