Discover Deliverance II

(Deliverance from the Law)

Significant Spiritual Life #4

Have you ever been gripped by the terror of claustrophobia? Have the pressures of life ever seemed to smother you? Paul felt pressures to the extent that death seemed like the only alternative, II Cor. 1:8. What did he do? He trusted The Deliverer, II Cor. 1:9 - The God who raises the dead, just like Abraham did, Heb. 11:19! Did you notice that The Deliverer delivered in the past, is delivering in the present and will deliver in the future, II Cor. 1:10? Our God is a delivering God!

Last time we saw that God delivered us from sin, Rom. 6:1-11. Now we'll see that He delivered us from the Law.

I. We Are Not Under Law But Grace, Rom. 6:14-15

Sin shouldn't dominate because of the fact that we are not under law, but grace, v. 14! By law we mean the entire law not just the ceremonial law that demanded sacrifices and holy days, we even mean the ten commandments.

A. Contrast Dispensations - To understand that we're not under law we need to understand that we're under the dispensation of grace as opposed to the dispensation of law. Col. 1:24-27 shows that God gave Paul the mystery dispensation of grace just as He gave Moses the dispensation of law, Ex. 20:1-17.

B. Contrast Principles - law (legalism) and grace. Legalism is our work for God whereas Grace is God's work in / for us.

Christ condemned the Pharisees because they were "locked" on law! Such an attitude results in pride and discouragement in one's own spiritual life and criticism and demands when dealing with the lives of others.

II. We Are Dead to the Law Rom. 7:4 (1-6

A. Dead from the Law. As the widow is no longer under her husband's law, we are no longer under the law because we died in Christ. We are free to live!

B. Flesh is No Good v. 18 - The law can not produce life-giving fruit, v. 13b.

C. Deliverance is in Christ Alone, v. 25 - An honest assessment of the flesh concludes failure. We need deliverance! We (in the flesh) cannot live the Christian life, nor does God expect us to. God's design is for Christ to live in and through us! "Victory is found only through our realization of defeat." "I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord." - Stanford.

III. We Are Not Under Condemnation, Rom. 8:1 (1-4)

A. Condemnation comes through Law For a time in the 1990's there was no speed limit in Montana. There were no speeding tickets per se. Where there's no law, there's no condemnation! Because we died to the law there is no condemnation!

B. Now - points to the timing of the dispensation and the reality of the cross. C. In Christ Jesus - takes us back to the reality of our identification with Christ which identified us with His death, burial and resurrection, Rom. 6:1-6. We were co-crucified with Him, Gal. 2:20.

D. Freedom in Life, v. 2 Life frees from Death!

E. God Did What Law Couldn't v. 3-4 - Law can only depend on the flesh and it can NEVER please God, Rom. 8:8. Christ condemned sin (not us) through the cross. He fulfilled the law's righteousness in us through life - resurrection power!

We have only two options to live - flesh or spirit. Only one pleases God.

We've been delivered from the smothering weight of sin, guilt and condemnation because we are free from the law. We're now in the fresh air of grace and are able to do what was impossible by the law - live pleasing to God!

Grace to you!