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tury A.D.- to become the ultimate
and complete sacrifice for sin.
But you still have to choose and
accept this sacrifice. You cannot
casuaJJy accept the blood of Christ
as atonement for your sins.
God wants, first, to see a change
of att itude from hostility to submis–
sion in obedience! "Repent,
and ... be baptized in the name of
Jesus Christ for the remission of
sins ... " (Acts 2:38).
Repentance is another key word
few really understand. T o repent
means to change your life. Instead
of going your way (which is heavily
inftuenced by Satan's way of "get")
you must begin to obey God- to
!ove God by keeping bis command–
ments (see
I
John 5:3).
As John the Baptist declared,
"Therefore bear fruits [acts] wor–
thy of repentance" (Matt. 3:8).
But you not only have to repent,
you must believe God (Mark 1:15).
Believe what he says-and that
means to believe the message he
sent by Jesus Christ- the good
news
(gospel
is an old English word
that means "good news") of the
soon-coming kingdom of God.
This is followed by complete
immersion in water (baptism),
which is physical proof of your
inward faith in Jesus Christ.
On the Road to Salvat ion
Upon baptism, you officially begin
the way toward salvation. In
accepting Jesus Christ as your Sav–
ior, you come under unmerited
grace.
Your previous record of sins
is forgiven - your past sins are
totally covered by the
blood
of
Christ's sacrifice (Heb. 9:12, 14),
forgotten forever. Upon receipt of
God's promised Holy Spirit (Acts
2:38; Rom. 8:9), you become an
heir (not yet an inheritor) of the
kingdom of God. You are now a
begotten son or daughter of God.
But have the Ten Command–
ments lost their power to guide?
No. You are saved from past sins
by grace (Eph. 2:8)-something
you cannot yourself earn. But you
must now, in a repentant state of
mind, begin to keep all the com–
mandments, Jest you again come
under the death penalty!
Notice: " Being justified freely by
His grace [that is, forgiven of sins
committed] through the redemption
Aprll 1985
that is in Christ Jesus, whom God
set forth to be a propitiation by His
blood, through faith, to demonstrate
His righteousness, because in His
forbearance God had passed over
the sins that were previously com–
mitted" (Rom. 3:24-25).
You cannot
earn
forgiveness.
That comes from grace-free,
u nmerited pardon- from God.
Grace covers your past sins (Rom.
3:25). You are justified by faith
(Rom. 3:28). But the law that
defines sin-that makes plain right
from
wrong- retains
its power of
life and death over you! Consider:
" Do we then make void the law
through faith? Certainly not! On
the contrary, we
establish
[Greek:
continue] the law" (Rom. 3:31).
Read this carefully: The law
defines sin. I t cannot forgive sins.
Only Christ can do that. But once
you are forgiven sin- forgiven your
having broken the law and thus hav–
ing committed lawlessness-now
you are expected to quit sin, to begin
to keep the law. "For not the hearers
of the Jaw are just in the sight of
God, but the doers of the law will be
justified" (Rom. 2:
13).
So now it al! fits into place. After
we have been converted and accept–
ed Christ's sacr ifice, our past sins
are forgiven and we are no longer
cut off from God (Rom. 5:1
O).
Receiving bis Holy Spirit, our
minds are renewed and we begin to
become more like him (Eph. 4:23),
imbued with the spi rit of !ove, joy,
patience, peace of mind.
Yet, as human beings struggling
to overcome ourselves, the world
around us and Satan, we occasion–
ally stumble and break God's law.
As we see the sin in us (Jas.
1
:23-
25), we are to immediately repent
and ask that Christ's sacrifice be
applied to us. We are to change and
become more like God. Upon
repentance and prayer for forgive–
ness (Matt. 6: 12), our sins are for–
given (remember, grace is no
Jicense to freely break God's Jaw:
Rom. 6:15). We continue to "grow
in
the grace and knowledge of our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ"
(II
Pet. 3: 18).
In this sense, "the law of the
Lord is perfect, converting the
soul" (Ps. 19:7). The Hebrew for
"law" is
torah.
The sense of this
word is instruction. By keeping the
law of God, we are
instructed
in
the way that leads to physical bless–
ings and, ultimately,
eterna/ lije!
The Capst one
So as a bona fide Christian keeping
God's law, you grow in spiritual
maturity.
Certainly, this is
not
of your own
strength alone, but Jesus Christ liv–
ing
in
you through the Holy Spirit–
imbuing you with
power
to ful fill
God's law. As the apostle Paul aptly
stated: "1 have beeo crucified with
Christ [through baptism]; it is no
longer
1
who live, but Christ lives in
me; and the life which
1
now live in
the ftesh
1
live by faith in the Son of
God, who loved me and gave Him–
self for me" (Gal. 2:20).
As you grow by following the
holy and spi ritual law (Rom. 7:12,
14), your hostile nature is gradually
replaced by the mind of Christ
(Phi!. 2:5).
You find yourself filled with
divine love-concerned about your
fellowman, wanting the best for
others, striving to serve, filled with
proper humility.
lt doesn't happen al! at once:
"God's love has been poured into
our hearts [altitudes, minds]
through the Holy Spirit which has
been given to us" (Rom. 5:5,
RSV). It is a lifelong process.
And this !ove that comes from
God matches perfectly with God's
Jaw of !ove, for "!ove is
thefulfilling
ofthe law" (Rom. 13:10, RSV) .
Thus, moving from a carnal
beginning toa converted goal, we see
that "Christ is the end [Greek: goal]
of the law" (Rom. 10:4). He aiready
has set the pattern for us to live. He
lived without sin. He kept God's law
perfectly. And Christ living spiri–
tually in us can do the same. The Ten
Commandments guide us to the very
righteousness of God that is in Jesus
Christ (Ps. 119: 172).
If you'd like more information
about the "perfect law of liberty"
and the real Christian life, write
immediately for our free booklets
The Ten Commandments
and
What
Do You Mean- Conversion?
After reading them, you will
understand and join with David- a
man after God's own heart (Acts
13:22)- when he said, "Oh, how 1
!ove Your law! It is my meditation
all the day" (Ps. 119:97). o
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