Page 49 - The Road from Babylon to Zion

In one of my first communications with this man I asked him about his assertions
that the saints must keep the Law. I cited the following scripture:

John 16:7-8
"But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do
not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him
to you. And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin
and righteousness and judgment...”

Under the Old Covenant it was the Law that brought conviction of sin and that
pronounced what was righteous. But under the New Covenant this role is fulfilled by
the Spirit. This does not lead to licentiousness as some would suppose, for the Spirit
convicts of many things of which the Law could never address. The Spirit weighs the
thoughts and intentions of the heart, while the Law only dealt with outward actions.
Many saints today justify some action by the Law when the Spirit actually condemns
the action due to the evil and selfish motive of their heart. If the saints embrace the
Law they will condemn many things that Yahweh has not condemned and they will
justify many things that are evil in His sight. Our only safe path is in discerning the
voice of the Spirit in every circumstance and following His lead.

Romans 8:14
For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are [mature] sons
of God.

Some writings that have helped me significantly in this matter have been written by
J. Preston Eby, and I will include some excerpts here from his book “The Kingdom
of God” which is freely available on the Internet.

A brother related how that some years ago, when he was in Chicago, on
the ground of some technicality, three hundred prisoners who had been
convicted of crimes were released from prison. Three hundred men
with criminal instincts were turned loose upon the community by a
mere technicality of law! If the Governor of any state who had the power
should go to the state prisons and pardon every criminal, he would be
impeached. Why, the people would not stand for it. Criminals turned
loose into the homes and into the streets would multiply criminals, and
crime would be even more rampant. But suppose the Governor of
Illinois, in which that prison I have mentioned was located, not only
had the power to pardon and let them out, but had the power to take
criminality out of their hearts, and make every one of them an honest,
good man—then I would say, "Governor, turn them all loose, and if
there are ten thousand of them, all the better."