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As J o hn the Baptis t stated,
" Bring forth ... fruits [deeds, acts]
meet
[appropriate, confirming] for
repentance" (Matt. 3:8).
Bul you not only have to repent,
you must
believe
God (Mark 1: 15).
Believe what He says- and that
means lo believe the message He
sent by Jesus Christ- the good
news
(gospe/
means "good news")
of the soon-coming Kingdom of
God .
This is followed by immersion in
water (baptism) , which is physical
proof of your inward faith in J esus
Christ.
On the Road to Salvation
Upon baptism, you officially begin
th e way toward sa lv a tion . In
accepting J esus Chris t as your Sav–
ior, you come under unmerited
grace.
Your previous record of sins
is forgiven- your past sins are
tolally 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
}IOW
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
mus t now, in a repentant state of
mind , begin to keep aJI the com–
mandments, lest you
again
come
under the dealh penalty!
Notice: " Being justified [that is,
forg iven of
past
sins] freely by his
grace through the redemption that
is in Christ Jesus: whom God hath
set fo rth to be a propitiation
through faith in his blood , to
declare his righteousness for the
remission of sins
that are past..
."
(Rom 3:24-25).
You · can not
earn
forgiveness.
That comes from grace- fr ee,
unmerited 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? Goo
FORBID:
yea,
we
establish
[Greek: continue] the
law" (Rom. 3:3 1).
January
1982
The law defines sin.
lt
cannot for–
give sins. Only Christ can do that.
But once you are forgiven sin-for–
given your having broken the law–
now you are expected to quit sin, to
begi n to keep the law. " For not the
hearers of the law are just before
God, but the
doers
of the law shall
be justified" (Rom. 2:3 1).
So now it all fits into place.
After we have been converted and
accepted C hrist's sacrifice, our
past sins are forgiven and we are
no longer cut off from God (Rom.
5: 10). Receiving H is Holy Spirit,
our minds are renewed and we
begin to become more like Him
(Eph. 4:23) , imbued with lhe spir–
it of love, joy, patience, peace of
mind. Yet, as human beings s trug-
tt
Why don't we have
universal
happiness
. . .
Why
are we unable
to practice the apostle
Paul's advice
to do everything out
of /ove?
' '
gl ing to overcome ourselves, the
world around us and Satan, we
occasionally · stumble a nd break
God's law. As we see the sin in us
( J as. 1:23-25), we a re to immedi–
ately repent and ask t hat Christ's
sacrifice be applied to us. We are
to change on the point we trans–
g ressed and, instead, become more
like God. Upon repentance and
praye r for forgive ness ( Ma tt.
6: 12) , our sins are forgiven (re–
member, grace is no license to
freely break God 's law: Rom.
6:15). We cont inue to "grow in
grace, and in thc knowledge of
our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ" ( II Pct. 3: 18).
In this sense, "The law of the
Lord is perfect, conver t ing the
soul " (Psa. 19:7). The Hebrew for
law is
torah.
The sense of this word
is
instruction.
Therefore, by keep–
ing the law of God, we are accord-
ingly
instructed
in the way that
leads to life!·
The Capstone
So as abona fide Christian keepi ng
God's law, you grow in spi ri tual
maturity.
Amazingly, this is
not
of your
own strength a lone, but J esus
Christ living
in
you through the
H oly Spirit- imbuing you with
power
to fulfill His law. As t he
apostle Paul aptly stated , " 1 am
crucified with C hrist [that is, in
baptism]: nevertheless I live; yet
not 1, bul Christ liveth in me: and
the life which l now live in the
flesh 1 live by the faith of the Son
of God , who loved me, and gave
himself for me" (Gal. 2:20).
As you grow by following the
ho ly and spi ritu a l law (Rom.
7: 12, 14) , your hostile nature is
gradually replaced by tbe mind of
Christ (Phi !. 2:5).
You find yourself filled with
divine love-concerned about you r
fellowman, wanting tbe best for
others, striving to serve, filled with
propcr humility.
It
doesn' t happen all at once. We
find that "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 life-long process.
And this !ove that comes from
God matches perfectly with God's
law of love, for "!ove is the
fu/fill–
ing
of the law" (Rom. 13:10).
Thus, moving from a carnal
beginning lo a converled goal, we
see that "Christ is the end [goal] of
the law" (Rom. 10:4). He already
has set the pattern for us to live. He
lived without sin. He kept God's
law perfectly. And Christ in us can
do the same. The Ten Command–
ments guide us to tbe very righ–
teousness of God that is in J esus
Christ (Psa. 119:172) .
If
you'd like more information on
the application of the "perfect law of
liberty" and the real Christian life,
write 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 hear t-when
he said, "O how 1 )ove thy law! it is
my meditation al! the day" (Psa.
119:97). o
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