DIG of Thursday the 12th of October…..saying “please do not hide” was not a very good idea…..1 Corinthians 15 v 56

As we were travelling down to a conference yesterday we stopped at a motorway services in order to use the toilets.

 

As I went towards the men’s room Nunsy said, “I’ll meet you at that post box, and please do not hide from me”.

Now she said this as in the past I have been known to hide from her in places like this, following her out of sight as she went looking for me.

This used to make her annoyed, but for me it was great fun!

But I had not done this for years and it had not even entered my head as we walked into the service area.

However as I then went to the toilet, did what I had to do and then washed my hands I kept thinking about hiding from her!

This may sound like a very trivial example but it is a perfect example to highlights the danger of law and legalism in the church.

Sin is strengthened by law; law reminds us about sin and puts thoughts of it in our head.

Many think that preaching against certain sins and telling the people to stop sinning is good for a pastor to do, however it is dangerous and does not work as intended.

This is what the Word of God says, just read 1 Corinthians 15 v 56.

If a pastor want to stop a person sinning he should be teaching about faith righteousness, go and now read 1 Corinthians 15 v 34 where it says awake to righteousness and sin not.

Grace is the way to defeat sin, law is not.

Grace is not a licence to sin, preaching law is.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord for the grace of Jesus Christ and thank you that knowledge of grace is the way to a life free from sin”.

1 Corinthians 15 v 56…..The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law

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DIG for Sunday the 10th of September…..so is this Christian life impossible…..John 6 v 28 and 29

I’ve heard it said that Christianity is not an easy lifestyle to live by; well, that is true in one way, but it is also wrong in another.

If you are living under law (unfortunately what I call ‘usual’ or ‘mainstream’ Christianity) it is impossible to live the Christian life.

Under law you are reminded about your sin all the time, and this actually pushes you towards more sin (1 Corinthians 15 v 56).

Under law what is important is how you perform and you are not able to live by the law; for example if you fail in one part you fail in all (James 2 v 9 and 10).

Under law you will fail, as it is impossible to keep.

There is only one man who was ever capable of keeping the law and that was Jesus; you will never be the second.

But you do not need to live under law, so in this sense the Christian life is not impossible.

You now live under grace, and that my friend is easier to live by.

Under grace it is the performance of Jesus that is important, not yours.

Under grace you have one work to perform and that is to believe in Jesus (John 6 v 28 and 29).

Now I am not saying you should not be expected to do good and righteous works, but that comes from your trust and faith in Jesus and not from your own strength and efforts.

That is the difference between grace and law; grace is about Jesus while law is about you.

If it is about you this life is impossible, but with Jesus and through Jesus it can become a whole lot easier..

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that I now live under grace and not under law”.

John 6 v 28 and 29…..Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent

DIG for Friday the 14th of July…..preaching law will cause people to sin…..1 Corinthians 15 v 56

I made quite a ‘controversial’ statement in my DIG yesterday, saying that the law makes us sin by actually strengthening sin.

This kind of statement has got me into trouble before!

However this is Biblical truth that we need to explain to the church at large, as it seems to be one of the ‘best kept secrets’ in the body of Christ.

1 Corinthians 15 v 56 is the verse that talks about the law strengthening sin.

What this means is that if we preach law at people it will actually make sin rise up in their lives; it will strengthen sin, thus making people more likely to sin.

Saying, stop this and stop that, will actually make people do what you want them to stop.

By preaching law we will force people into sin, simply by reminding them about sin and ‘helping’ them focus their minds on it.

And this verse actually makes the preaching of law even more dangerous; it says that law strengthens sin and that sin kills, or brings death.

Yes, preaching law at people will bring death.

Now death means not receiving the blessings that God wants for them, but it can also mean physical death.

Preaching law kills!

Now that is not something you will hear preached in many churches this Sunday.

But it is exactly the reason why we should be preaching grace and not law.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that I live under grace and not under law”.

1 Corinthians 15 v 56…..The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law

DIG for Thursday the 13th of July……don’t look back at your sin, move on…..Hebrews 11 v 15

There is a wonderful picture in Hebrews that shows us we should not look back at the things of the past, especially if they are negative.

Abraham came out of one land into something better, a good land that was promised by the Lord.

If he had looked back at his old home he may have been tempted to return, but he did not look back (Hebrews 11 v 15).

If we keep looking back at our sin and the stupid things we used to do we may be tempted to return to them.

However if we focus on Jesus and His finished work there is no room in our mind for the daft things we used to do.

And we know that if we do not think on something we cannot ‘go there’.

You will know that one of the verses I use most in DIG is Proverbs 23 v 7, for as a man thinketh so is he.

If you do not think on or about the sins in your past (or any particular sin) you just cannot do them.

Grace tells us all about Jesus and helps us to stay away from sin, but living under the law reminds us about sin and actually pushes us towards sin.

Grace frees us from sin, the law makes us sin by strengthening sin!

Don’t take my word for it; this is what it says in the Bible (1 Corinthians 15 v 56).

Abraham did not look back at his old home, in the same way we should not look at our old sin or any sin for that matter.

Focussing on sin will ‘help’ us to sin, focussing on Jesus will free us from sin.

Don’t remember the sins you used to do, and try to focus on the Lord; this will help you live a life free from sin.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that I live under grace and not under law, and thank you that all my sin has been dealt with by Jesus on the cross”.

Hebrews 11 v 15…..And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned

DIG for Wednesday the 19th of October…..same truth again and again…..Titus 3 v 8

If you read my DIG on a regular basis you may think that I am rather repetitive.

Looking back at recent DIGs I have regularly written on righteousness, a truth that I firmly believed every believer should fully understand.

This repetition however is Biblical.

While writing to a pastor called Titus, Paul wrote that the fundamental truth of justification by grace should be a truth to ‘constantly affirm’ (Titus 3 v 7 and 8).

Men are justified, or made righteous, as a gift of grace through faith, faith in Jesus and His finished work.

The verses also tell us why as pastors, we should affirm constantly this truth.

The Word says we do this to help people maintain good works.

This seems the opposite of what many of us hear in church, being told to do this and do that, stop this and stop that.

Preaching law does not promote or maintain good works, in fact preaching law pushes believers into more sin (1 Corinthians 15 v 56).

Telling people about the finished work of Jesus, and that they have been justified as a gift of grace through faith, promotes more holy and righteous actions (Titus 3 v 8, and 2 Peter 1 v 3).

Grace promotes holy actions while law promotes sin, and that is what the Word of God says.

So if you read my DIGs in the future do not be surprised when I ‘affirm constantly’ that you have been justified by grace through faith.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that I have been justified by grace through faith in Jesus and His finished work”.

Titus 3 v 8…..This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men

DIG for Sunday the 9th of October…..yes, that verse is in the Bible…..1 Corinthians 15 v 56

There are a number of verse that I think most Christians would not believe are in the Bible.

One such verse is 1 Corinthians 15 v 56.

I say this as most Christians (pastors and teachers included) act as if they have never read this verse!

When we teach and preach to believers that they have to stop doing this and stop doing that, or do this and do that in order to change or be blessed we are using law.

This seems to be the mode of operation for the majority of believers up and down the land.

But doing this does not change a person or stop them from sinning; it actually encourages sin.

Doing this actually leads to death; potentially physical death but also death in terms of ‘missing out’ on the full blessings of God.

Now, this is not me saying this, it is the Word of God.

The way to strengthen sin in a believers life is to use law; that is what 1 Corinthians 15 v 56 is telling us.

Yet in countless churches up and down the land today believers would have been told to stop this, stop that, do this and do that; they would have had the law used against them.

This my friend is not for us under the New Covenant, under grace.

The law is not to be used for a righteous man, and if we have been born again we have been made righteous.

We now live under grace and will be changed through knowledge of Jesus Christ (Titus 2 v 11 and 12 and 2 Peter 1 v 3).

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that we now live under grace and are not under law”.

1 Corinthians 15 v 56…..The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law

DIG for Sunday the 4th of September…..awake to righteousness, the way to see less sin in your life….1 Corinthians 15 v 34

Writing about righteousness yesterday made me think of another important verse about this truth and an important ‘law’ in Scripture.

I for one want to see less sin and want to live a more holy life, and as a pastor and teacher I want to see this for others.

So it would be great if there were a model in the Word as to how we could achieve this objective.

Well you should not be surprised to know that there is!

Awake to righteousness and sin not, this is what the Word of God says (1 Corinthians 5 v 34).

Or rather this is what it says in some Bibles, some versions have the “sin not” bit removed!

If we awake to, realise and understand about how we are righteous as a gift of grace through faith this will lead to less sin.

That is a spiritual rule as this is what the Word of God says.

The way to remove sin from a person’s life is not achieved by telling them to stop sinning; this is what is know as the law and this has the opposite effect by strengthening sin (1 Corinthians 15 v 56).

The way to help a person to see less sin in their life is to tell them that they are righteous, and to keep telling them that they are righteous.

But what if they keep sinning you may ask; tell them they are righteous is my answer.

What we think on, what we focus on is what we do.

People need to focus on righteousness and not sin!

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that as a gift of grace through faith in Jesus I have been made righteous”.

1 Corinthians 15 v 34…..Awake to righteousness and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame

DIG for Thursday the 19th of May…..you must not try to fulfil the Ten Commandments…..1 Corinthians 15 v 56

Did you know that trying to uphold the law and keep the Ten Commandments would result in you seeing sin in your life?

Do you know that this will result in death in your life; death in terms of missing the abundance that God has for you?

I am saying these things as I’ve seen a Facebook friend take some abuse recently for having the audacity to speak out Biblical truths about the Ten Commandments.

I agree completely with what he has said, that the New Covenant born again believer is not required to try and fulfil the Ten Commandment.

Now, I am not saying that you can go out on a stealing and killing rampage!

What I am saying is that the Law and therefore the Ten Commandments are not for the born again believer to fulfil; Scripture clearly tells us this.

The Law is no longer in operation for us because of the finished work of Jesus Christ.

And before you get upset and annoyed, this also include the Ten Commandments.

What else is Paul speaking about when he says that the ordinances that was against us was nailed to the cross? (Galatians 2 v 14)

What else was Paul speaking about when he spoke of the ministration of death written and engraven in stone? (2 Corinthians 3 v 7)

Friends, you do not need to try and fulfil the Ten Commandments, once you realise what Jesus died for you will love Him so much that you will fulfil them without even trying!

The Lord does not need your performance; He has seen the performance of Jesus and because of your faith in Him deems you worthy.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that I now live under grace and not under the law”.

1 Corinthians 15 v 56…..The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law

DIG for Monday the 20th of July…..liberty not bondage, grace not law…..Galatians 5 v 1

I was drawn to this verse this morning after reading and taking part in a discussion on Facebook.

The discussion was about whether a church should be studying the ten commandments or not.

My take on this is that the ten commandments and the law, although set in place for a purpose, are not meant for us as born again new covenant believers.

We live under grace and not under law (Romans 6 v 14).

The ten commandments, written on stone, are the ministration of death (2 Corinthians 3 v 7).

The law, and as a result, the ten commandments, strengthen sin in the life of a believer rather than reduce sin (1 Corinthians 15 v 56).

Studying the ten commandments makes a believer focus on their sin and their own unworthiness rather than focussing on Jesus and His finished work.

Grace should be our focus and not law; we should be studying what Jesus has done rather than what we are “supposed” to do.

Focussing on sin, the law and the ten commandments is referred to as going back into bondage by Paul (Galatians 5 v 1).

Focussing on Jesus and his finished work on the other hand is said to be standing in liberty (Galatians 5 v 1).

Stand in liberty today, do not go back into bondage.

Jesus died to herald in new covenant grace, so that you could live in freedom not in bondage.

Do not minimise the death and resurrection of Jesus by putting yourself under bondage, instead live in the freedom and grace that He purchased for you.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that I now live under grace and not under law”.

Galatians 5 v 1…..Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage

DIG for Thursday the 20th of November…..grace is the vehicle to less sin in your life, not law or legalism…..1 Corinthians 15 v 56

As a new covenant people we now live under grace and not under law (Romans 6 v 14), and because of this sin need not have dominion over us.

We can live with less sin in our lives, we can live lives with more Godly actions.

We can do this through grace but not through law.

I don’t know about you, but my experience is that the church has got this round the wrong way; I agree that they speak grace in order to see people saved, but once saved the church tends to use law as a means to less sin and more godliness.

“Stop this and stop that, do this and do that, then God will love you, then you will be blessed and then you will be able to live holy and godly”.

That is wrong, and it is unbiblical.

Law will result in more sin in the life of a believer, and that is not me saying this, it is the Word.

Preaching law (do this, do that, stop this, stop that in order to be better) will raise sin up and result in more sin; this is exactly what Paul wrote to the believers in Corinth.

Go read 2 Corinthians 15 v 56 if you do not believe me!

Teaching people about grace, about the gospel of Jesus Christ, will see people live a more Godly life with less sin (2 Peter 1 v 3 and Titus 2 v 11 and 12).

One of the truths of grace, of the gospel of Jesus Christ, is that once saved a believer is made righteous (2 Corinthians 5 v 21).

Paul says that in order to see less sin we should become aware of righteousness (2 Corinthians 5 v 34).

The way to less sin is through grace; grace is a licence from sin not a licence to sin.

Preaching law, and not grace, is the licence that brings people under and to sin!

As we read at the start of this DIG, we are now under grace and not law and therefore sin no longer has dominion over us.

Rest in grace and do not return to the bondage of the law, do not return to law and let yourself be put under that guilt and condemnation that will surely lead you into sin.

Stay under grace, learn about grace, and you will see less sin in your life.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord for the message of grace, for the gospel of Jesus Christ, and thank you that it is grace that will remove sin from my life”.

1 Corinthians 15 v 56…..The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law