2 CORINTHIANS CHAPTER
2:17-3:6, “The Ministry Of Life Vs The Ministry Of Death”
By
Jim Bomkamp
1.
INTRO
1.1.
In our last study, we looked at how that Paul began to discuss things that the Corinthians needed to do in
regard to their calling of reconciling people to the Lord
1.1.1. We concentrated in that
study upon this greatest of all callings that each of us as Christians have,
that of being agents or ambassadors of the Lord for the reconciling of people
to the Lord
1.1.1.1.We saw that this calling to
be agents of reconciliation should come about in our lives through a serious
commitment on our part and a passion and compassion that the Lord gives us for
the souls of men
1.1.2. In discussing their
responsibility in being agents of God’s reconciliation, we saw in that section that Paul comforted the
Corinthians by:
1.1.2.1.Telling them not to worry
about the sorrow they had caused him because of their sin
1.1.2.1.1.Paul wanted the church to
realize that he had forgiven those who had wronged him and that there was no
animosity towards anyone, for what he had forgiven he had forgotten
1.1.2.2.Telling them to reach out to
and reaffirm their love to the repentant man whom they had removed from their
fellowship
1.1.2.2.1.Paul did not want the man
who had been disciplined by the church to be overcome by excessive sorrow, for
Paul had found out that he had repented of his sin. Therefore, the church was now to gently
restore him to fellowship
1.1.2.3.Telling them that they are
always to be led forth by God in the triumph of Christ bringing forth the aroma
of the knowledge of God in every place
1.1.2.3.1.We saw that Paul showed his
humility by saying, “Who is adequate for these things?”
1.2.
In our study today, we are going to see Paul again defending himself,
however this time we will see that he is defending himself and his ministry
against that of a group of so-called ‘super-apostles’ who had come to the
church in Corinth. His defense is going
to be that of comparing the walk in the power of the Holy Spirit Vs the walk of
legalism (being a rule and law keeper)
1.2.1. These false ‘super-apostles’
were teaching a salvation that was by faith plus something: faith plus works or the keeping of the law
of Moses
1.2.2. We will see that “all”
Christian cults teach a salvation that is based upon faith plus something,
faith plus some sort of works
1.2.2.1.In our world today, there
are so many Christian cults that are teaching a salvation plus some sort of
works
1.2.2.1.1.The Jehovah Witnesses, in
addition to their heretical teachings concerning the Trinity, teach that a
person is saved by their works, and thus every Jehovah Witness is taught that
if they don’t go door to door on Saturdays and tell people about their
teachings that they won’t be part of that 144,000 whom they mistakenly believe
are the only ones who will go to heaven
1.2.2.1.2.The Mormons heretically
teach that everyone is already saved and going to heaven based upon the fact
that Jesus, the one they believe is merely the spirit-brother of Lucifer, died
on the cross not for our individual sins but for the original sin of Adam. They are taught then that there are now 7
levels of heaven which everyone will go to and the Mormons then are doing works
in order that they might work their way up the rungs of the levels of heaven
1.2.2.2.Some churches teach cultic
types of doctrines such as that a person must be baptized in their specific
church in order to go to heaven, etc.
1.2.2.3.Some churches teach that a
person has to partake of a bunch of ‘sacraments’ provided by the church, and
that if all of those sacraments are not received then the person will not go to
heaven
1.2.2.4.Etc., etc., etc.
1.2.3. Though some churches do not
teach a salvation that is based partly upon keeping certain standards and laws,
they none the less teach that if you are really spiritual you will keep their
long list of do’s and don’ts
1.2.3.1.Having been a Christian now
for 29 years, I remember what the churches in our country were like back when I
first became a Christian. At that time,
the vast majority of your fundamental churches were very legalistic and kids
were forbidden to dance, play cards, listen to secular music, go to sporting
events, watch TV, go to movies, guys couldn’t grow their hair below the top of
their ears, girls had to wear dresses which went down to their ankles, in the
Christian schools all of the kids had to wear uniforms, etc. However, what I saw happening in those days
was that the kids which were raised in the homes full of rule after rule
usually ended up at a certain age rebelling and going in the very opposite
direction that their parents were trying to regulate their lives. Rule keeping being forced upon them did not
produce in them a desire to do what was right nor did it give them the power to
do what was right!
1.2.4. We will today look at
churches that are based around legalistic teachings Vs what it means to develop
a relationship with Christ through the Holy Spirit
1.2.4.1.Men and women tend to
gravitate towards legalism because in a legalistic system you are able to
monitor and chart your success. You can
create your outward standards and rules that people are to keep and then if
anyone does not keep those standards and rules then you know that they have
missed the mark. However, a walk in the
power of the Holy Spirit is so much different because you can’t as easily know
if you have measured up. In a walk in
the power of the Holy Spirit, the following things now become important:
1.2.4.1.1.A personal relationship with
Christ that must be developed, not mere law keeping
1.2.4.1.1.1.The legalist values
obedience to God over abiding and there is a problem with that, isn’t there?
1.2.4.1.2.Walking by faith through
uncharted territory instead of depending upon your own resources to be holy
1.2.4.1.3.Learning to pray as a part of
your relationship with Christ, not just to place a mark on your check-list
1.2.4.1.4.Not the keeping of a bunch
of manmade rules but rather being brought down in one’s self-life and broken by
the Lord, and becoming molded into the image of Christ
1.2.4.1.5.Whereas the legalist tends
to be always examining the fruit in other people’s lives, the one walking in
the power of the Holy Spirit has his eye’s on his own heart and aware of his
own failures
1.2.4.1.6.Learning that actions,
though they may seem outwardly to be good and righteous, turn out not to be so
when the inward motives of the heart are closely examined against the scripture
1.2.4.1.7.Understanding that the real
goal of the Christian walk is not rule-keeping but loving people
1.2.4.1.7.1.The legalist doesn’t see
loving people as the goal and many times doesn’t even think that that is really
important
1.2.4.1.8.A knowing of the ‘joy of the
Lord’ as your strength
1.2.4.1.8.1.The legalist has little or
no joy and either doesn’t realize that fact or it doesn’t matter to him that
that is the case
2.
VS 2:17 - “17 For we
are not like many, peddling the word of God, but as from sincerity, but as from
God, we speak in Christ in the sight of God.” -
Paul tells the Corinthians that he and those with him are not like these
‘super-apostles’ who were peddling the word of God
2.1.
As we saw in a previous study, there was this group of so-called
‘super-apostles’ who had come to the church in
2.1.1. The gospel which Paul
taught, which is inspired by the Spirit of God, which is the gospel of the ‘new
covenant’ which Jesus brought to mankind, teaches that salvation comes to a
person by ‘faith in Jesus plus nothing.’
2.2.
These ones came and demanded a salary from the Corinthians and got
it. Thus, Paul writes that these
‘super-apostles’ were ‘peddling the word of God.’ They were doing ministry with the motive of
financial profit.
2.2.1. In Paul’s writings, as well
as Peter’s (see 2 Peter for instance), we see that those who are false teachers
in the church always have a profit motive when they come to the church. They always end up having their hands in the
till, so to speak.
2.2.2. In our world today, we see
all over in the media that there are Christian pastors and leaders that are
making millions of dollars through the ministry. However, being in ministry for profit is always
the sign of a false prophet, one who is not called or sanctioned by God.
2.3.
We will see later in our study that the Corinthians had gotten
side-tracked in their collecting of the relief gift for the suffering church in
Jerusalem, and it has been conjectured that this had occurred in part because
the church had begun to pay the salaries of these ‘super-apostles.’
2.4.
As we have seen already in our study, the most important thing that
Paul had going for him was his own integrity.
He insisted upon providing for his own financial support through his
tent making business so that in doing so no one could ever accuse him of wrong
motives, of being in ministry for profit.
2.5.
Far from being mere peddlers of God’s word for profit, Paul tells the
Corinthians that he and those with him were living their lives in sincerity
(not in the duplicity of those whose motives were based upon financial gain),
and that they thus sought to say and do everything that they did so as to be
pleasing in the sight of God.
3.
VS 3:1-3 - “1 Are we beginning
to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some, letters of commendation to
you or from you?2 You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by
all men;3 being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us,
written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of
stone, but on tablets of human hearts.” - Paul tells
the Corinthians that they are his letter of commendation
3.1.
As was mentioned, these ‘super-apostles’ had come to the Corinthians
with letters of commendation. It is
doubtful however that these letters of commendation actually came from one of
the 12 apostles there in the church in
3.2.
These ‘super-apostles’ in all probability came from the church in
Jerusalem since this church was very large and James and the brethren told Paul
in Acts 21:20 that ‘all’ of the thousands of men that were in the church in
Jerusalem were zealous for the law.
3.3.
Notice that Paul says that he and those with him did not come with
letters of commendation to the church in
3.4.
Paul asks in these verses the rhetorical question of whether he and
those with him were going to come to the Corinthians at this point with letters
of commendation, or if they needed to do so?
3.4.1. This question points out
that it would be ridiculous that now after having been used of God to plant
from scratch this big successful church in
3.4.2. The fact that the Lord had
used Paul and those with him in such a powerful way in the Corinthian’s lives
was a commendation enough! Many had come
to Christ through Paul’s ministry, and indeed the church itself had been
planted as a result of his ministry.
3.5.
Paul tells the Corinthians that they are his letter of commendation,
read by all men. All could see the fruit
of the apostle Paul’s ministry, and this fruit in and of itself is evidence of
the fact that He is called and sent out by the Lord Himself.
3.5.1. The letters of commendation
which the false ‘super-apostles’ were bringing with them were written in ink on
papyrus, however Paul’s letter of commendation was written by the Spirit of God
upon the hearts of men. In other words,
the work of the Spirit of God in the Corinthian’s hearts was a letter of
commendation that no one could refute as not coming from the Lord.
3.5.2. We know that these
‘super-apostles’ were Judaisers because of the fact that Paul begins now to
contrast his ministry, which was in the Spirit, to that of these teachers,
which was according to the law of Moses.
Paul writes here that the commendation of his ministry was written by
the Spirit of God on hearts of flesh, however the legalistic ministry of the
‘super-apostles’ was written on tablets of stone, a reference to the tablets
upon which the Lord wrote the 10 Commandments for Moses and the children of
Israel.
3.6.
These ‘super-apostles’ were going out to churches that were already
established and trying to draw a following after them. Paul had done all of the hard ground-breaking
work, and these ones were like leaches coming in now and sucking the life out
of the church.
3.7.
There is a point of consideration here in these verses. These ‘super-apostles’ evidently had a good
education and diploma to prove it, letters of commendation, and as we will see
they far surpassed the apostle Paul in their oratory skills. However, which one had the true message that
brought life to its hearers, Paul or these ‘super-apostles’? It was the apostle Paul. We as Christians need to realize that
concerning churches and pastors that a good-sized church, a big beautiful building,
a pastor who wears $1,000 suits, a pastor who has studied public speaking and
is a very persuasive speaker, does not mean that his ministry produces life in
those who are under it.
3.7.1. Many times today I run into
Christians who are going to churches and under a pastor’s ministry for all
kinds of wrong reasons. Perhaps these
people don’t know any better, however people should go to the church where they
are going to be fed the most from God’s word and where they will be challenged
in their growth in the greatest way.
3.7.2. Many churches today though
are based around being ‘seeker-friendly’, which means that truth is often
sacrificed as wells as truly honoring and worshipping the Lord. Many pastors avoid saying anything that will
offend anyone, and they teach short messages that don’t really have much if any
substance to them. People leave then
feeling good that they have been in a religious atmosphere, the house of God,
yet there has been no lasting change that has occurred in their heart and
life.
3.7.3. Today, many people want to
go to a church that tells just makes them feel good when they leave, promises
them worldly success, tells them how to be thinner, and asks and expects little
if anything of them.
3.7.4. However, again what is
important in a church is that it is fundamental and balanced doctrinally, that
the pastor teaches the word of God in a balanced fashion, that the worship of
the church is centered around Jesus, that the true gospel message is preached,
and that the lives of the people are holy and bring glory to God.
4.
VS 3:4-6 - “4 And such
confidence we have through Christ toward God.5 Not that we are adequate in
ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is
from God,6 who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the
letter, but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” - Paul tells the Corinthians that God had made
them adequate as servants of the ‘new covenant’ through the Holy Spirit
4.1.
The ‘super-apostles’, as we have seen, had their seminary degrees and
their letters of commendation, and thus they were constantly boasting of just
how adequate they were for ministry.
However in contrast, as Paul alludes to in verse 16 of chapter 1,
neither he nor any of those with him considered themselves, in and of
themselves, to be adequate as ministers of God in their calling to reconcile
men to the Lord.
4.2.
The ‘legalist’ always considers himself to be adequate for ministry.
4.2.1. In fact, he can even teach
you the very rules which if you follow them as he follows them, you too will be
adequate for ministry.
4.3.
However, we see in the life of Paul and taught generally in the New
Testament that we who are Christians cannot be adequate in and of ourselves for
anything,
for the Christian life is meant to be a supernatural life, and only Christ can
live this life through us. Therefore,
our adequacy is and has to be only in Christ and His power and grace working
through our lives.
4.4.
The Judaisers believed that a person is saved by faith in Christ, plus
works, in effect plus the keeping of the law of Moses, to the very letter (i.e.
the ‘nth degree’).
4.4.1. The Lord is totally holy,
righteous, and just. It is important
that we understand then the standard of true righteousness before God. The law of Moses was given to us to point out
to us what is right and wrong morally, and thus it has a very valuable function
in our lives.
4.4.2. However, the law of Moses
cannot make a person righteous because it does not give us the power to obey
it. The law then merely shows us what
true righteousness consists of, and that is its true value to man.
4.4.3. The law of Moses however
also brings a curse to man though, a curse to everyone who does not continue in
‘all of the things’ written in the law.
4.4.3.1.In Gal. 3:10-14, the
apostle Paul wrote about this curse of the law for everyone who does not
continue in all of the things written in the law, “10 For as many as are
of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed is
everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, to
perform them.” 11 Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is
evident; for, “The righteous man shall live by faith.” 12 However, the Law is
not of faith; on the contrary, “He who practices them shall live by them.” 13 Christ
redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is
written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree” —14 in order that in Christ
Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might
receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.”
4.4.3.1.1.The problem with the law of
Moses does not consist with the law itself, rather it is with us and our
inability to keep it. Man is a very poor
law keeper, and in fact man is constantly breaking the laws of God.
4.4.3.1.2.The 10 Commandments:
4.4.3.1.2.1.You shall love the Lord you God with all your heart, soul and might - (Deut. 6:5). Likewise,
You shall love your neighbor as you love yourself - (Lev. 19:18).
4.4.3.1.2.2.You shall have no other gods before Me.
You shall not make for yourself an idol or any likeness of what is in
heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.
4.4.3.1.2.3.You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
4.4.3.1.2.4.Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.
4.4.3.1.2.5.Honor your father and mother.
4.4.3.1.2.6.You shall not murder.
4.4.3.1.2.7.You shall not commit adultery.
4.4.3.1.2.8.You shall not steal.
4.4.3.1.2.9.You shall not bear false witness.
4.4.3.1.2.10.You shall not covet.
4.4.3.1.3.Each of these 10 commandments can be broken in action as well as thought.
4.4.3.1.3.1.1.Jesus pointed this out when He said that the man who was angry with his brother or who called him a fool (an idiot or empty-headed) had committed murder, and the man who looked on a woman to lust after her had already committed adultery with her in his heart.
4.4.3.1.3.2.Each of these 10 commandments can be broken by acts of commission as well as omission:
4.4.3.1.3.2.1.Acts of commission are committed against, for instance, the law to not commit adultery, by committing adultery with another woman (in the case of a man).
4.4.3.1.3.2.2.Acts of omission are committed against, for instance, the law to not commit adultery, by not trying to love your spouse and cultivate your marriage as you should.
4.4.3.1.3.3.When we realize that each of these 10 commandments can be transgressed by thought as well as deed, and acts of commission as well as omission, then you also must see that each of us has broken every one of the 10 commandments many, many times. Each of us has broken every one of these commandments, for we have:
4.4.3.1.3.3.1.Not loved the Lord our God with our whole heart, mind, and strength.
4.4.3.1.3.3.1.1.We have loved other things over and above the Lord, and shown our lack of love for the Lord by our disobedience to His commandments.
4.4.3.1.3.3.2.Not loved our neighbor as we love ourselves.
4.4.3.1.3.3.2.1.We have looked out for ourselves (number one) instead many, many times.
4.4.3.1.3.3.3.Made a graven image and worshipped it, or allowed some sort of an idol of worship into our life.
4.4.3.1.3.3.3.1.Anything that we place before the Lord or which we refuse to surrender to the Lord is an idol we have allowed in our life.
4.4.3.1.3.3.4.Taken His Name in vain.
4.4.3.1.3.3.4.1.We
have called ourselves Christians and then not lived a life that brings Him
honor. Perhaps some have used the Name
of the Lord as a curse word, as is so common in our culture in
4.4.3.1.3.3.5. Not kept the Sabbath day holy.
4.4.3.1.3.3.5.1.We have blown off going to church some days. We have always found time to do anything that was really important in our life, however since the Lord has not always been first in our life we have not found the time to worship Him corporately each week.
4.4.3.1.3.3.5.2.We have worked instead of coming to fellowship.
4.4.3.1.3.3.6.Not honored our father and mother.
4.4.3.1.3.3.6.1.We have disobeyed our parents, spurned their love, and for many not tried to provide for their financial and emotional support when they got old and needed it.
4.4.3.1.3.3.7.Committed murder.
4.4.3.1.3.3.7.1.We have been angry with people, spread gossip about them behind their backs, and called them idiots perhaps while in traffic.
4.4.3.1.3.3.8.Committed adultery.
4.4.3.1.3.3.8.1.We have all lusted after people of the opposite or same sex, if we haven’t literally gone through with the committing of the act of adultery with someone.
4.4.3.1.3.3.9.Stolen.
4.4.3.1.3.3.9.1.How much do you have to steal to break this commandment? We have probably all stolen something at some point in our life which didn’t belong to us.
4.4.3.1.3.3.10.Borne false witness.
4.4.3.1.3.3.10.1.We have probably all told a lie at some point in our life. Some people like to minimize lies by calling some of them ‘white lies’, but none the less they are lies and wrong.
4.4.3.1.3.3.11.Coveted.
4.4.3.1.3.3.11.1.We have all desired something that belonged to someone else.
4.4.3.1.3.3.11.2.Paul points out in his writings that when we do all of the right things before the Lord but in our thought life that we are desiring all of the bad things, that we are committing this sin of coveting.
4.4.3.1.3.4.Paul points out here in these verses in Galatians that because of this curse of the law, namely the problem that occurs because we can’t keep the law, that we who are being saved by the Lord are saved only by our faith in Christ, His work upon the cross in dying for our sins, and His righteousness imputed to us only by the grace of God.
4.4.3.2. There is a righteousness that is according to the law of Moses you see, however in order for a person to be righteous before the Lord based upon his keeping of the law of Moses, that person would have to keep it perfectly. One slip up in keeping of the law of Moses would cause a person to sin and therefore to not be righteous before God based upon the law of Moses.
4.4.3.2.1.Paul taught that man is disqualified for this righteousness based upon the law of Moses in Rom. 3:23 when he declared the entire world to be in sin and to have therefore fallen short of the glory of God, “23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
4.4.3.2.2.Paul teaches us in Gal. 2:16 that by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified before the Lord, “16 nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by faith in Christ, and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law shall no flesh be justified.”
4.4.3.3. You cannot be justified before God if you try to concoct any blend of faith plus law-keeping to make yourself righteous and acceptable before God. Paul writes in Gal. 5:2-4 that if we try to keep any legalistic law in order to try to make ourselves righteous in God’s eyes that we have fallen from grace and that we have been severed from Christ, and that He will be of no use to us, “2 Behold I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you.3 And I testify again to every man who receives circumcision, that he is under obligation to keep the whole Law.4 You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.”
4.5.
Paul
writes here that the ‘letter kills’, referring to the letter of the law as
inscribed by the Lord on
4.6. Paul here speaks of the ‘new covenant’ of the Holy Spirit which we the church are now living in:
4.6.1. A ‘covenant’ is an agreement between two parties regarding obligations which each vows to fulfill. The word ‘testament’ is synonymous, and the words ‘New Testament’ mean the same as ‘New Covenant.’ God has made conditional covenants with man which He promises to fulfill if they on their part fulfill their end of the agreement, and unconditional covenants with man which do not require them to do anything in order for the Lord to keep His part of the obligation. In the Bible:
4.6.1.1.
The
term ‘old covenant’ then refers to the covenant promises made to Moses and the
children of
4.6.1.1.1.The Israelites were required to keep the law of Moses to the letter, and if they did so the Lord promised that He would be there God, however if they did not do so He would not be their God.
4.6.1.2. The term ‘new covenant’ refers to the covenant promises for salvation and eternal life made by Jesus to those who are His followers and disciples in this life.
4.6.1.2.1.Salvation is now by faith through grace, apart from the works of the law (Eph. 2:8-9).
4.6.2. In Jer. 31:31-34, the Lord through the prophet Jeremiah told us that He was in future days going to establish a ‘new covenant’ with His people, “31 “Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah,32 not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord.33 “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the Lord, “I will put My law within them, and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.34 “And they shall not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the Lord, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.””
4.6.3. In Luke 22:20, Jesus taught His disciples during His last supper with them before His crucifixion that the cup of wine that He gave them to drink symbolized the ‘new covenant’ that was being made with them through His blood, “20 And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.”
4.6.4.
In
Heb. 8:8-13, the author of that book (probably Paul) quotes Jeremiah’s
words in Jer. 31 and then comments on them saying that the fact that the Lord
is making a new covenant with His people means that the previous covenant is
now obsolete, “8 For finding fault with them, He says, “Behold, days are
coming, says the Lord, When I will effect a new covenant With the house of
Israel and with the house of Judah; 9
Not like the covenant which I made with their fathers On the day when I took
them by the hand To lead them out of the land of Egypt; For they did not continue in My covenant, And
I did not care for them, says the Lord.
10 “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of
4.6.5. In the gospels we read that when Jesus died upon the cross that the veil that was in the Jewish temple and separated the Most Holy Place (or Holy of Holies) from the Holy Place where the priests worked, was rent in two at the hand of the Lord. This was to symbolize that the ‘old covenant’ as made by Moses was now outdated and no longer valid before the Lord. Of course, we know that the Jewish priests were blinded by the importance of the veil being rent, for they immediately went to work to mend the torn veil so that they could continue their religious practices.
4.6.5.1. The Judaisers were still trying to maintain the importance and observance of a covenant that had been declared ‘null and void’ by the Lord. Though they had come to have faith in Christ, there was something that was still so compelling about the covenant of law-keeping which the Pharisees had taught them that they could not give it up and enter into the uncharted territory of a walk of faith as a disciple and follower of Christ. Much of Paul’s writings combat the Judaisers teachings, including the entire books of Galatians and Hebrews. The Judaisers believed that though faith in Christ must be necessary for salvation that surely Moses’ writings of the law could not be discarded since he was such a man of faith and the law came through the mediation of angels. However, in their teachings they were proclaiming a way of salvation that would not get a man or woman to heaven for salvation must come by faith apart from the works of the law (Rom. 3:28).
5.
CONCLUSION:
5.1.
Are you walking in the power of the Holy Spirit and trusting only upon
the righteousness of Christ and the finished work of the cross for your
acceptance before the Lord?
5.2.
Are you relying upon your own rules and works to make you be righteous
and accepted by the Lord? Does your walk
mainly consist of outward rule and law keeping, or does abiding in Christ
precedence in importance in your life?
Do you realize that loving God and people is the real goal, not rule
keeping? Is your life characterized by
the joy of the Lord?
5.2.1. If characterize you as being
legalistic, you need to realize that you will never be able to make yourself
righteous enough to be accepted by the Lord.
You have already sinned once, therefore you can never be good enough in
and of yourself to be accepted by Christ.
The righteousness of Christ is imputed to you the scriptures say, and
you can’t improve upon that. Your
heavenly Father is fully satisfied with the righteousness of Jesus.
5.2.2. If you haven’t received
Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, I encourage you to place your complete
trust in Christ and His finished work upon the cross to cover and forgive your
sins. Ask Jesus to forgive you and wash
away your sins as you in turn surrender your life in repentance to the
Lord. Tell Jesus that you want Him to be
your Lord (or Master) and Your Savior.
Ask Him to come into your heart and make you a new creation in Christ as
you commit your life and your future in to His hands.