Romans 7: "1 Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth? 2 For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. 3 So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man. 4 Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God. 5 For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. 6 But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter. 7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. 8 But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead. 9 For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died. 10 And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death. 11 For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me. 12 Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. 13 Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful. 14 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. 15 For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. 16 If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. 17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. 18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. 19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. 20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. 21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. 22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: 23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin."

Dear God, thank You for bringing me through another day. As I get ready to rest tonight, I’m being honest with You about what I’ve been feeding my soul lately. Your word in Matthew 4:4 says, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” God, I’ve spent so much time craving things this world offers, things, success, recognition, and not nearly enough time craving You. That’s probably why I’ve felt anxious, restless, and disconnected. Help me build a real devotion life, not just going through the motions, but actually wanting more of Your presence. Show me who I’m spending my time with and whether they’re drawing me closer to You or further away. Thank You for hearing my prayer. I give this night to You. In Jesus’ name, Amen. As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby. -1 Peter 2:2

Dear God, thank You for bringing me through another day. As I get ready to rest tonight, I’m being honest with You about what I’ve been feeding my soul lately. Your word in Matthew 4:4 says, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” God, I’ve spent so much time craving things this world offers, things, success, recognition, and not nearly enough time craving You. That’s probably why I’ve felt anxious, restless, and disconnected. Help me build a real devotion life, not just going through the motions, but actually wanting more of Your presence. Show me who I’m spending my time with and whether they’re drawing me closer to You or further away. Thank You for hearing my prayer. I give this night to You. In Jesus’ name, Amen. As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby. -1 Peter 2:2

Dear God, thank You for bringing me through another day. As I get ready to rest tonight, I’m grateful that You’re not waiting to pull the rug out from under me when I fail. You’re a good Father who looks past my actions and cares about the condition of my heart. Your word in 2 Chronicles 7:14 says, “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” God, I don’t want to just go through the motions anymore, lifting my hands while my heart stays unchanged. Tonight I’m falling before You honestly, repenting and asking You to help me actually change direction, not just perform like I have. I give this night completely to You. In Jesus’ name, Amen. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. -Psalm 51:10

Return to God and be Uplifted! Repentance brings a change of attitude concerning God. The sinner naturally vilifies God. Even when he speaks of His love, he has no conception of God’s justice and wrath. True repentance brings a sense of the Holy God who cannot look upon sin. It impacts a change of mind concerning sin itself upon a person. The unrepentant delight in sin. A child of God may be tempted to sin and even fall into sin, but his bosom aches when he does so. A true child of God who has repented cannot enjoy sin and continuously longs for deliverance. Before every child of God, there is a vision both of what he is and what he ought to be. He cries with the poet; “O that a man might arise in me that I might ease to be.” Repentance gives the sinners a change of mind concerning him. Before our salvation, we all had a good opinion of ourselves. Like the Pharisees, we often thanked God that, “we were not as other men, extortionist, unjust, adulterers, or even as the publican" (Luke 18:11). But, every one that exalts himself shall be abased, and he that humbles himself shall be exalted (Verse 14). Where there is true repentance, though, men often despair of themselves, and like the publication, their cry is, “God be merciful to me a sinner”. They echo Paul’s exasperated plea: “O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death" (Romans 7:24). For Christ came not to call the righteousness, but sinners to repentance (Luke 5:32). Repentance affects the motions and will, and also creates a change of feeling. We must beware here lest we are deceived. The old time evangelist who specialized in death-bed stories often created mere human emotion filling the mourners' bench with weeping people. These mourners often had a remorse for their evil doings, deeply regretting they had not been better men and women when they were told about meeting their “mother” in heaven. But remorse in not repentance, though I must say remorse is a very common experience for those who commit sin. Someone has called remorse the “echo of lost virtue”. Remorse is the attitude of mind and heart for some evil done. Repentance, however, goes deeper. Repentance creates a sorrow for what we are rather that remorse for what we have done. Therefore says the Hebrews writer, “Leaving the principles of the doctrines of Christ (Messiah), let us go into perfection by not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works” (Hebrews 6:1). Christian repentance is not merely the pangs of an injured conscience. Christian repentance follows the Holy Spirit’s convicting work deep within our soul (John 16:7 and 8). It lays strong hold upon the human will and brings the sinners into conformity with the will of God. It is heeding God’s call from a life of destruction (Mark 1:15). Repentance does not mean merely shedding tears over our wrong doings. It ends in faith in Christ, the Saviour. The Church must preach and teach until these conditions are obtained in the ministries. Then our revival shall have come. For this is the will of God for all mankind (Acts 17:30). Today what the Church and the continents at large need is repentance. The call of the pulpit to the pew must be repentance. And that of the crusades to the nations must similarly be repentance, and this must eventuate in confession of sins. The scripture, therefore, tells us: “Only acknowledge your iniquity, that you have transgressed against the Lord your God” (Jeremiah3:13).That will move our God to come down and heal our many wounds. We are reminded that, “The Lord’s hands is not shortened, that it cannot save neither is His ear heavy that it cannot hear, but your iniquity have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear” (Isaiah59:1 and 2). He that covers his sins shall not prosper, but whoso confess and forsake them shall have mercy (Proverbs 28:13). “For as many as the Lord loves, He rebukes and chastens; be zealous therefore and repent!” (Revelation 3:19). The repentance must not only be among the lowly citizens but must spring from the governors trickling to the governed. “Therefore whosoever hears these sayings of mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man which built his house upon a rock. And everyone that hears these sayings of mine and does them not shall be likened to a foolish man which built his house upon the sand,” declares the Lord Jesus Christ (Mathew 7:24 and 26). Almighty God is calling to the people today as He did to former Israel that, “Therefore also now, says the Lord, Turn even to me with all your heart and with fasting and with weeping and with mourning. And rend your heart and not your garments, and turn to the Lord your God. For He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repent Him of the evil. Who knows if He will return and leave a blessing behind Him, even a meat offering and drink offering unto the Lord your God? Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly; gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts; let the bride-groom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet. Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord weep between the porch and the altar and let them say: Spare your people O Lord and give not your heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them; wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God? Then the Lord will be so jealous for His land and pity His people. Yes the Lord will answer and say unto His people, Behold I will send you corn, and wine and oil, and you shall be satisfied therewith; and I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen but I will remove far off from you northern army, and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face towards the east sea and his hinder part towards the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up and his savor shall come up because he has done great things. Fear not O land; be glad and rejoice; for the Lord will do great things. And I will restore to you the years that locusts has eaten, the cankerworm and the caterpillar and the palmerworm my great army which I sent among you. And you shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, that has dealt wondrously with you, and my people shall never be ashamed" (Joel 2:12-21: 25 and 26). The Lord’s northern army is the destruction God brings upon a people as a result of their wickedness. Indeed righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people (Proverbs 13:34). For the Lord God of Israel, the Creator of the heavens and the earth loves righteousness and judgement (Psalm 33:5). He stresses that judgement is his strange work (Isaiah 28:21). The reason being that when his judgements are on the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness (Isaiah 26:9). When a nation leaves wickedness and turns to the Lord, such a people receive pardon and sure favour from the Lord God Almighty. The psalmist thus wrote: “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord and the people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance” (Psalms 33:12). The Lord delights in the humility of a people. This makes Him hear our plea and smile back at us with a pardon. And this humility must start in His sanctuary. He says: “If my people, which are called by my name shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins, and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14). Therefore every Christian by and far, let us rally in repentance for the healing of our lands. For repentance turns away God’s wrath. Nineveh found itself in a similar situation many African nations are in today. Plagued with wickedness in diverse places and faced with imminent judgment, the Almighty God used Jonah to deliver a message of judgment to the people of Nineveh: “Surely the Lord God will do nothing but He reveals His secrets to His servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7). Unlike most of our folks who hear and turn the head the other way, the Ninevehs believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest-including the king-to the least of them. And God saw their works that they turned from their evil way, and God repented them of the evil that he had said He would bring upon them, and He did it not (Jonah 3). Repentance touches the core of God’s heart. Humble yourself and return to the Lord your Creator. Repentance automatically brings healing. The Lord says, “Wash you, and make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes, cease to do evil. Learn to do well, seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, and judge the fatherless plead for the widow. Come now and let us reason together; though your sins are as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow: though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing and obedient you shall eat the good of the land” (Isaiah 1:16-19). The Living God is the healer of nations. The psalmist has declared of Him: “God be merciful to us, and cause His face to shine upon us. That your way may be known upon the earth, your saving health among all nations” (Psalm 67:1 and 2). Perhaps this ought to be the prayer on everyone’s lips now. Stay awake O Christian in the truth! The good LORD has always extended this gracious invitation to man over the millennia. And, therefore, if it is your desire to know Him as He truly is - the Lord of lords and King of kings, the Savior, and Redeemer of mankind, then pray this prayer of repentance unto salvation: “Lord Jesus Christ, I come to you with all the sins I have committed and I beg you to forgive me. I confess that I am a sinner and that I cannot save myself. Please cleanse my body, soul, and spirit with your precious blood. I need your help Lord, and I ask you to come and live in my heart. I want to serve you, obey your commands and do what is right. I want to live for you every day, please lead and guide me by your Spirit into righteousness. Thank you, O Lord for hearing and answering my prayer. Amen!” Welcome now to this grand and mighty army of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ on earth. Read the Bible often, and join a congregation near you where Christ Jesus is preached and the Almighty Godhead: Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit, is worshiped in Spirit and in Truth for your own spiritual growth and strength. The Almighty God make you the apple of His eyes as I solemnly declare of Him: “After He has honored me and has sent me against the nations that have plundered you - for whoever touches you touches the apple of His eye - I will surely raise my hand against them so that their slaves will plunder them” (Zachariah 2:8). The peace and love of Christ Jesus the Lord be with you now and forever.

Are you spiritually awake—or just going through the motions? https://www.buzzsprout.com/2561036/episodes/19586442-wake-up-before-it-s-too-late

continuation chapter two 2.2 Now, don't misunderstand me. I'm not saying you don't need the knowledge. You absolutely need it. Without knowledge, you'd jump in and try to breathe underwater like a particularly optimistic fish. The knowledge gives you faith in the process. It tells you that the water can, in fact, hold you up, that these awkward, flailing motions have meaning and might eventually become graceful. It gives you a reason to keep spluttering. But you still need to practice. You still need to drill. You still need to drown a little before you can swim a lot. You'll drink so much pool water that you'll be able to taste the chlorine in your dreams. You'll cough, you'll gag, you'll question why you ever left the shore of theoretical comfort where the books were dry and the certificates were safe. The righteous life is not a certificate on your wall; it's a rhythm in your limbs, a muscle memory of the soul. And muscles don't grow by reading about protein; they grow by lifting something heavy and then feeling sore the next day and complaining to everyone about it. ‎ ‎So it is with righteousness. One can study the Scriptures until their eyes cross and they've developed a permanent squint. One can quote verses on grace with the speed and precision of an auctioneer on caffeine. One can recite the doctrines of justification and sanctification forward, backward, and in the original Hebrew while juggling concordances. One can intellectually affirm with perfect, shining orthodoxy that Christ is the living water, and say "Amen" so loudly that the person in the next pew spills their coffee. But that, my friend, is merely reading about water. It is studying the molecular structure, the boiling point, the freezing point, the historical significance of water in the ancient Near East. It is all accurate, all true, all very impressive in a Bible trivia competition. But your throat is still parched. You are dying of thirst while holding a library card to the well. To be free from sin, you must dive into the discipline. You must practice patience when every fiber of your being wants to scream and throw a chair through a window—preferably the window of the person who is currently testing your patience. And not patience with gritted teeth and a twitching eye—that's not patience, that's just anger in a corset, anger with a fake mustache and glasses, anger doing a very poor impression of a calm person. No, you must steadily come to be in love with patience, to find it a fascinating companion, to court it like a shy lover, choosing it freely and wantonly, not because you have to but because you genuinely prefer it. You don't practice patience to make the Old Man in the Sky nod approvingly and slide a gold star across the heavenly counter. That would be theatre, a performance, a pretence, a dinner party where everyone is polite and no one is real. It would be you watching yourself be patient, which is the fastest way to become impatient with your own patience, which leads to a meta-crisis of infinite regress: you're angry that you're angry about being angry about trying to be patient. The work is not a bribe. The work is the transformation of your own taste buds. ‎ ‎And this brings us to the great confusion, the grand misunderstanding that has produced more theatrical saints than a Hollywood casting call. Some say, with great authority, "You must practice self-control when temptation whispers." But let's examine that. Let's put it on the operating table and poke it with a scalpel. What is mere self-control? Isn't it often just controlling the evil that is inside you, making sure it doesn't leak out and stain your shirt? Isn't it just hiding the monster in the closet when guests come over, shoving it behind the winter coats and the old photo albums, while it continues to growl and scratch at the door and probably eat your shoes? A man who is seething with rage but has "controlled" himself, presenting a placid smile to the world while his internal organs are staging a violent coup, has not practiced righteousness at all. He has practiced concealment. He has become a beautifully decorated tomb, full of very active dead men's bones—which is, coincidentally, exactly what Jesus called the Pharisees in Matthew 23:27. He hasn't dealt with the rage; he's just soundproofed the room. The rage is still in there, doing squats, getting stronger, waiting for the guests to leave so it can come out and redecorate the living room with thrown lamps. This is not the practice of righteousness. This is spiritual stage management. It's a war tactic, hiding the dangerous artillery under a tarp and wheeling it out again when the truce is over. The bitterness is still there, polishing its weapons, writing passive-aggressive letters, keeping a detailed list of every offense ever committed against you since kindergarten. ‎ ‎What, then, is this work we must do? It is not the suppression of the symptom. It is the re-training of the heart. It is the long, sometimes tedious, often unglamorous work of learning to love what is good, not just performing it for an Audience of One who, by the way, can see backstage and knows you're wearing a wire. It is the work of taking the anti-malarial tablet when you don't feel like it, when the pill seems bitter, when your flesh wants to spit it out and go back to the fever dreams. It is the work of getting into the water of discipline when the shore of theoretical knowledge is so much more comfortable, so much drier, so much less likely to expose your flailing limbs. It is the work of raising the sail—pulling the rope one more time when your arms are tired, when the wind seems absent, when the harbor looks so inviting with its stationary boats and its non-sailing people who never have to worry about storms. It is the work of not generating the wind, but cooperating with it. ‎ ‎And if you will do this work—this unsexy, unglamorous, nobody-is-watching, nobody-is-clapping, nobody-is-writing-a-worship-song-about-your-effort work—you will find one day, to your utter and complete astonishment, that you are no longer acting patient. You simply are patient. The role you played has become the self you are. The costume has become your skin. The habit has become your heartbeat. And that, my friends, is not a lightning bolt. It is a sunrise. Slow, silent, and absolutely unstoppable. And when it comes, you won't even notice at first. You'll just be drinking your coffee one morning, and someone will cut you off in traffic, and you'll wish them well—genuinely—and then you'll catch yourself in the rearview mirror and laugh out loud, because the thing you were striving for has become the thing you are. The swimmer has become the swimming. The patient one has become the patience. And God, the Great Physician, the Master Swimming Instructor, the Captain of the Wind, will smile and say, "Finally, you got in the water. I've been waiting. Now let's go a little deeper." ‎

There is real, supernatural power in the promise of God. Every truly born-again believer understands this, but anyone who has not experienced the new birth simply cannot see it. This includes religious people. You can go through all the motions, live a highly moral life, and even hold advanced theology or divinity degrees. Some religious theologians have seriously modified their lives in deep discipline, but they are still not born again. They don't even believe God interacts with us anymore. They are only dogmatic. If you are not born again, you are not a believer because you are only religious. You only have a formality but not a relationship. This is why a cessationist or a Calvinist who denies the ongoing power of the Spirit cannot be born again. To be born again, you have to believe in and have a real, supernatural interaction with God called the promise of Abraham, or the promise to the fathers. The New Testament is not only about the atonement; it is about receiving that very promise. As Acts 1:8 says, you shall receive power when the Holy Ghost has come upon you. Intelligence, education, and self-discipline are good things, but they can never replace the requirement Jesus gave us: You must be born again. This supernatural encounter is the only real, tangible proof that God is real. Having that undeniable proof is exactly what makes a truly born-again believer so fanatical and enthusiastic. It is also exactly why cold, religious people will look at us and call us mad. The atheist and the skeptic say, "give me proof," but we say the only thing that will ever prove God to you is for you to experience Him for yourself. God promises to give every single person that promise, but they have to actually seek Him. The truth is, the only way to truly know that the Bible is alive and that God is real is through this direct, personal encounter. You must receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost—the indwelling life, heart, and mind-transforming experience that changes everything. Without this supernatural experience, all you have is a different kind of education. This is why secular people, skeptics, and atheists will always point to the letter of the law and argue over text. They are looking at a spiritual book through carnal eyes. To understand the Kingdom, you must have a real interaction with the living God through faith in Jesus Christ and His resurrection. Don't settle for dead religion, cold theology, or mere intellectual arguments. Seek the living God for a real encounter. You must be born again. #BornAgain #HolySpirit #Acts18 #PromiseOfAbraham #SupernaturalProof #TrueGospel #JesusIsAlive #FaithOverReligion

The Present Truth # 11 The Perfect Law of Liberty. Law Brings Harmony. The Boston Tea Party was a historic event which triggered the outbreak of the war of independence between the American colonies and England. The unreasonable restrictions connected with the taxing of the tea trade prompted the stand of the early American pioneers who said “Give me liberty, or give me death.” Without true liberty, life becomes a living death. Yet there is always a tendency to shun all restrictions under the guise of liberty, when in reality it is rebellion against law in preference to license. To uphold laws which protect our rights, property, and a pure moral life is to truly live under laws of liberty. The harmony of all created beings depends upon perfect obedience to the law of the Creator. Not only for all living matter and creatures, but of all motions of inanimate matter and planets, God instituted laws for order and government. The law of God is as perfect and sacred as the Lawgiver. It is a revelation of His will, a transcript of His character, the expression of His love and wisdom. Everything is controlled by laws, which cannot be disregarded without impunity. But, while everything in nature is governed by natural laws, people have more responsibility, in that they are subject to God’s moral law. The Lord has given to us ability and wisdom to understand His requirements and the justice of His law and to comprehend the sacred claims of His Law. No government can exist without laws, and wherever anarchy rules, there is chaos and suffering. We are only too well acquainted with lawlessness in our present age. In its wake follows violence, and destruction of life and property, all with the cry of “freedom.” But what constitutes true liberty? The Law of God - Changeless and Perfect The whole universe depends upon God, who upholds and sustains all that exists by His unchangeable natural laws. If these laws were changeable all would be in chaos, science would be meaningless and we would not be able to trust God or His word. But these laws are eternal and unvarying as He is Himself. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” James 1:17. “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” Matthew 5:48. If God could change, He would cease to be perfect. Although all things around us are subject to change, our heavenly Father is a God of love, eternal, and changeless. “He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.” 1 John 4:8. How wonderful to know that He who is love has given us a set of rules to live by, for our happy, contented coexistence. Opportunity is given to live the perfect fullness of life without fears while we dwell in God’s presence. God’s Moral Law Is Perfect “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.” Psalm 19:7. Even as natural law is unchangeable, so moral law cannot be changed. In Psalm 119 God’s moral law is described as “pure,” “the truth,” and “righteousness.” This being the very nature of God Himself, indicates that the moral law is a transcript of His nature. “The works of his hands are verity and judgment; all his commandments are sure. They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness.” Psalm 111:7, 8. “But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.” James 1:25. True Liberty Is in Obedience It is strange that so many professed Christians claim that the law of God has been abolished. The law of God is often denounced as a yoke of bondage. Yet it is the lawbreaker who is deprived of liberty. This is true with respect to civil law and it is just as true with respect to the moral law. Therefore, James in chapter 1 verse 25 refers to God’s law as a law of liberty. “If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.” James 2:8-12. God’s Law Existed Before Moses At creation man was perfect, without a trace of sin, and God gave him the power of free choice to obey. The only restriction was concerning the tree of knowledge of good and evil. When the first pair disobeyed God, they lost their perfect liberty and happiness which had been enjoyed up to that moment. They became subject to Satan. They lost the pure character which they had previously possessed. Even though they desired to continue to live in the garden, they could not do so. They had become subject to the fallen human nature, unable to obey God’s commandments and unable to retain their harmony with God. “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?” Romans 6:16. If it had not been for the plan of salvation which placed enmity in the heart against their own human nature (Genesis 3:15) there would have been no hope for the human race. True freedom depends on perfect willing obedience to the law of God. When people disobey God they become "vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart is darkened'' (Romans 1:21). The knowledge of God’s law was passed down from Adam and Eve to after generations. Abraham, who lived after the flood, but well before the law existed in written form, was well acquainted with the commandments of God. “Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” Genesis 26:5. Jesus, our Saviour, was charged on many occasions by religious leaders of His day, of changing the law of God. What was His answer to these charges? “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:17-19. The fulfilling of the law was further clarified when Paul expounded the magnitude of the Ten Commandments. “Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.” Romans 13:8. Who Is the Lawgiver? The first written record of the law of God was given to Moses on Mount Sinai. God regarded His law so sacred that He did not entrust to human scribes the writing of His law, as He permitted with all other Scripture (2 Peter 1:21). He spoke the law Himself and wrote it on stone with His own finger (Exodus 20:1; 32:16). The Lord identified Himself as the Deliverer of His people: “I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.” Exodus 20:2. Jesus is and ever was present with His people because His interest is bound up with theirs. “In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old.” Isaiah 63:9. “And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.” 1 Corinthians 10:4. Right in the heart of the law, He reveals Himself as the Creator: “For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.” Exodus 20:11. We read further of Him in John, chapter one: “All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.” John 1:3. Christ is revealed here as the Creator. The apostle Paul wrote: “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him.” Colossians 1:16. Who is our Deliverer, symbolized by the deliverance from Egypt, or Redeemer from sin? “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21. Just as Jesus led His people, Israel, out of the land of bondage, so He delivers those seeking to be freed from the bondage of sin. It becomes more and more evident that Jesus is the great Lawgiver. How Can the Law Be Kept? We saw that Jesus came to deliver us from the bondage of sin. What is sin? “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.” 1 John 3:4. If sin is transgression of the law, then the keeping of the law must be the very opposite of sin. The term used in scripture is “righteousness.” The apostle Paul refers to the law of God as “holy, and just, and good” (Romans 7:12). This holy law is the standard by which everyone shall be judged: “So speak ye and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.” James 2:12. Paul speaking of our fallen nature, sums up the problem of the sinner: “For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.” Romans 7:14. And if we are carnal, or slaves of our sinful natures, we have no hope of standing in the judgment. “For the wages of sin is death.” Romans 6:23. How then can an imperfect, unholy person keep a perfect, holy law? They can not. “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” Romans 8:7. Here is where Jesus comes in! He has promised to take from us our carnal nature and replace it with His own spiritual nature. “. . . I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their heart: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people.” Hebrews 8:10. In faith, we may surrender our sinful hearts to Him, and lay hold of His righteousness. This tremendous change in a person’s life is called “the new birth.” Our hearts are filled with gratitude, and love for our Saviour, and for God’s principles as embodied in the royal law of liberty. “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” 1 John 5:2-4. Liberty! A freedom realized when we truly love God and find His commandments are not grievous. “Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.” Romans 13:10. The Law of God 1. Love to God “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” Exodus 20:3. “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; and shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.” Exodus 20:4. “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh His name in vain.” Exodus 20:7. “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.” Exodus 20:8-11. 2. Love to Man “Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.” Exodus 20:12. “Thou shalt not kill.” Exodus 20:13. “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” Exodus 20:14. “Thou shalt not steal.” Exodus 20:15. “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.” Exodus 20:16. “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbour’s.” Exodus 20:17. Friend, where do you stand, will you follow the world or will you choose God’s Law of Liberty and live your life for Him?

The Present Truth # 11 The Perfect Law of Liberty. Law Brings Harmony. The Boston Tea Party was a historic event which triggered the outbreak of the war of independence between the American colonies and England. The unreasonable restrictions connected with the taxing of the tea trade prompted the stand of the early American pioneers who said “Give me liberty, or give me death.” Without true liberty, life becomes a living death. Yet there is always a tendency to shun all restrictions under the guise of liberty, when in reality it is rebellion against law in preference to license. To uphold laws which protect our rights, property, and a pure moral life is to truly live under laws of liberty. The harmony of all created beings depends upon perfect obedience to the law of the Creator. Not only for all living matter and creatures, but of all motions of inanimate matter and planets, God instituted laws for order and government. The law of God is as perfect and sacred as the Lawgiver. It is a revelation of His will, a transcript of His character, the expression of His love and wisdom. Everything is controlled by laws, which cannot be disregarded without impunity. But, while everything in nature is governed by natural laws, people have more responsibility, in that they are subject to God’s moral law. The Lord has given to us ability and wisdom to understand His requirements and the justice of His law and to comprehend the sacred claims of His Law. No government can exist without laws, and wherever anarchy rules, there is chaos and suffering. We are only too well acquainted with lawlessness in our present age. In its wake follows violence, and destruction of life and property, all with the cry of “freedom.” But what constitutes true liberty? The Law of God - Changeless and Perfect The whole universe depends upon God, who upholds and sustains all that exists by His unchangeable natural laws. If these laws were changeable all would be in chaos, science would be meaningless and we would not be able to trust God or His word. But these laws are eternal and unvarying as He is Himself. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” James 1:17. “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” Matthew 5:48. If God could change, He would cease to be perfect. Although all things around us are subject to change, our heavenly Father is a God of love, eternal, and changeless. “He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.” 1 John 4:8. How wonderful to know that He who is love has given us a set of rules to live by, for our happy, contented coexistence. Opportunity is given to live the perfect fullness of life without fears while we dwell in God’s presence. God’s Moral Law Is Perfect “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.” Psalm 19:7. Even as natural law is unchangeable, so moral law cannot be changed. In Psalm 119 God’s moral law is described as “pure,” “the truth,” and “righteousness.” This being the very nature of God Himself, indicates that the moral law is a transcript of His nature. “The works of his hands are verity and judgment; all his commandments are sure. They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness.” Psalm 111:7, 8. “But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.” James 1:25. True Liberty Is in Obedience It is strange that so many professed Christians claim that the law of God has been abolished. The law of God is often denounced as a yoke of bondage. Yet it is the lawbreaker who is deprived of liberty. This is true with respect to civil law and it is just as true with respect to the moral law. Therefore, James in chapter 1 verse 25 refers to God’s law as a law of liberty. “If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.” James 2:8-12. God’s Law Existed Before Moses At creation man was perfect, without a trace of sin, and God gave him the power of free choice to obey. The only restriction was concerning the tree of knowledge of good and evil. When the first pair disobeyed God, they lost their perfect liberty and happiness which had been enjoyed up to that moment. They became subject to Satan. They lost the pure character which they had previously possessed. Even though they desired to continue to live in the garden, they could not do so. They had become subject to the fallen human nature, unable to obey God’s commandments and unable to retain their harmony with God. “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?” Romans 6:16. If it had not been for the plan of salvation which placed enmity in the heart against their own human nature (Genesis 3:15) there would have been no hope for the human race. True freedom depends on perfect willing obedience to the law of God. When people disobey God they become "vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart is darkened'' (Romans 1:21). The knowledge of God’s law was passed down from Adam and Eve to after generations. Abraham, who lived after the flood, but well before the law existed in written form, was well acquainted with the commandments of God. “Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” Genesis 26:5. Jesus, our Saviour, was charged on many occasions by religious leaders of His day, of changing the law of God. What was His answer to these charges? “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:17-19. The fulfilling of the law was further clarified when Paul expounded the magnitude of the Ten Commandments. “Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.” Romans 13:8. Who Is the Lawgiver? The first written record of the law of God was given to Moses on Mount Sinai. God regarded His law so sacred that He did not entrust to human scribes the writing of His law, as He permitted with all other Scripture (2 Peter 1:21). He spoke the law Himself and wrote it on stone with His own finger (Exodus 20:1; 32:16). The Lord identified Himself as the Deliverer of His people: “I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.” Exodus 20:2. Jesus is and ever was present with His people because His interest is bound up with theirs. “In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old.” Isaiah 63:9. “And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.” 1 Corinthians 10:4. Right in the heart of the law, He reveals Himself as the Creator: “For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.” Exodus 20:11. We read further of Him in John, chapter one: “All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.” John 1:3. Christ is revealed here as the Creator. The apostle Paul wrote: “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him.” Colossians 1:16. Who is our Deliverer, symbolized by the deliverance from Egypt, or Redeemer from sin? “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21. Just as Jesus led His people, Israel, out of the land of bondage, so He delivers those seeking to be freed from the bondage of sin. It becomes more and more evident that Jesus is the great Lawgiver. How Can the Law Be Kept? We saw that Jesus came to deliver us from the bondage of sin. What is sin? “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.” 1 John 3:4. If sin is transgression of the law, then the keeping of the law must be the very opposite of sin. The term used in scripture is “righteousness.” The apostle Paul refers to the law of God as “holy, and just, and good” (Romans 7:12). This holy law is the standard by which everyone shall be judged: “So speak ye and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.” James 2:12. Paul speaking of our fallen nature, sums up the problem of the sinner: “For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.” Romans 7:14. And if we are carnal, or slaves of our sinful natures, we have no hope of standing in the judgment. “For the wages of sin is death.” Romans 6:23. How then can an imperfect, unholy person keep a perfect, holy law? They can not. “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” Romans 8:7. Here is where Jesus comes in! He has promised to take from us our carnal nature and replace it with His own spiritual nature. “. . . I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their heart: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people.” Hebrews 8:10. In faith, we may surrender our sinful hearts to Him, and lay hold of His righteousness. This tremendous change in a person’s life is called “the new birth.” Our hearts are filled with gratitude, and love for our Saviour, and for God’s principles as embodied in the royal law of liberty. “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” 1 John 5:2-4. Liberty! A freedom realized when we truly love God and find His commandments are not grievous. “Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.” Romans 13:10. The Law of God 1. Love to God “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” Exodus 20:3. “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; and shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.” Exodus 20:4. “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh His name in vain.” Exodus 20:7. “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.” Exodus 20:8-11. 2. Love to Man “Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.” Exodus 20:12. “Thou shalt not kill.” Exodus 20:13. “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” Exodus 20:14. “Thou shalt not steal.” Exodus 20:15. “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.” Exodus 20:16. “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbour’s.” Exodus 20:17. Friend, where do you stand, will you follow the world or will you choose God’s Law of Liberty and live your life for Him?