April 2, 2017 Free At Last by Pastor Josh Sheldon

Romans 7:1-6 and Freedom From the Law

Well, I'll turn your Bibles, please to Romans chapter 7. Romans chapter 7. It's been going through this book for some time. We've come now to this chapter and the first six verses Will be our text for this morning's preaching.

Romans 7 verses 1 through 6. Or do you not know brothers for I'm speaking to those who know the law. That the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives. Thus a married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives.

But if her husband dies, she's released from the law of marriage. Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law and if she marries another man, she is not an adulteress.

Likewise my brothers. You also have died to the law through the body of Christ so that you may belong to another. To him who has been raised from the dead in order that we may bear fruit to God. For while we're living in the flesh our sinful passions aroused by the law.

We're at work in our members to bear fruit for death. But now we are released from the law having died to that which held us captive. So that we serve not under the old written code. But in the new life of the Spirit may God bless us as we read proclaim and hear God's Word.

The Fear of Freedom in Shawshank Redemption

You know in the movie the Shawshank Redemption. There's a character named Brooks Hatlin and he's released from prison after having spent most of his adult life there and Once free he finds himself bewildered by this world that he is freed to.

There are cars all over the place and cars when he went to prison where a novelty is noisy. It's smelly. There's buildings where there shouldn't be any there are boulevards where there were only trails when he had gone away.

And he finds it noisy and confusing and in a sense terrifying and he finds himself lost. He finds himself confused and he also finds after all those years of confinement. He had no taste at all for freedom.

There's another character that's later released also having spent most of his adult life behind bars. And he also found freedom a very difficult thing to transition into. He found it hard to even use the restroom without permission after so many years of being constrained in everything he did.

You see freedom. Freedom can actually be a very scary thing. To have the shackles torn loose and to be set on your own. It can be a very scary frightening thing. For some of us. It's actually terrifying if we're honest to have the rules taken away to have the daily schedule Removed.

We told you can do this now you're on your own you are free. The Pharisees of Jesus day. Which is why I had Dale read from Luke 18 that well-known incident where this young rich ruler as he's called goes.

And he asked we'll do it good teacher. What must I do to attain eternal life? Of course he comes away sad because he had abundant riches that he couldn't give up. But Jesus has said more to him than just give up your wealth more than just give up your wealth.

And perhaps this was the harder part. And come Follow me. Abandon your own effort to becoming righteous before God. What must I do? Jesus says how do you understand this you know the law the rule-keeping?

That's what he thought he must do. Jesus says no. No, come follow me is Follow me. Just a couple of words or does Jesus mean to abandon your self-reliance? Abandon your hope in the rule-keeping. In your own efforts to attain that for which you've just asked me.

How do I attain eternal life follow me? And it seems to me to be implicit in there follow me and stop following you stop following your own efforts. He'd been raised with the rules do this and God will be pleased with you.

Do that and he will become angry with you. All these I've kept for my youth he had been a law keeper he was a wealthy law keeper at that his exertions at gaining God's good graces had been his hope and Jesus sweeps them away and God willing this morning.

We sweep them away again if those remain in you this idea of rule fooling rule following law-keeping effort. All these I've kept. Jesus says follow me because all else is vain all else is futile all else is ultimately damning.

Jesus not the rules faith not works grace. Not law. He called him to freedom and he declined. Paul calls the church to freedom. I beg you to accept. If you are in Christ the Apostle says in Romans chapter 7 if you are in Christ you have died to the law and You are therefore free to be bound to another to him who is raised from the dead to Jesus Christ.

If you this day are in Jesus Christ. Your hope your trust your faith is in him and his cross. You've died to that law. And you are free Released from it to be bound to him. It's a very important text for us this morning.

The Law's Limits and the Meaning of Release

Do you not know brothers? Do you not know and of course implicit in the way? He asked that of course you know this. You know this don't you do you not know brothers? There's a question that Paul knows is just bursting to get out at this point anyway by at this point I mean His argument throughout this book of Romans for you who are visiting with us.

We've been in this book. We started at chapter 1 verse 1 some time ago and this has been building. Paul's been hammering at this point and There's a question that Paul from experience knows is just dying to get out of these men and Paul dresses himself here.

Specifically to those who know the law. I speak to you who know the law. Now as exclusively Jewish as that sounds he means Jew and Gentile. Chapter 6 verse 14 Paul wrote for you're not under the law, but under grace that cannot be Jews only.

If you are a Christian regardless of what religious background you came to Christ from. Regardless of what ethnicity you are what your social economic status is or your educational accomplishments are.

All of us in Christ are not under the law, but under grace. And he then gives an extended exposition in that chapter of the dominance of sin that it has or better had in our lives. But now this question that he knows just dying to get out.

And it comes from those of us hearers who are knowledgeable of the law. Or do you not know brothers for I speak to those who know the law? It's something like this. How are we to keep from sinning. Or keep others from sinning.

How are we to do this Paul without the law? You've taken the rules away. What do we have in their place is if This message this morning Is for those among us? Who hold on to this idea that I need to have the rules.

I need a checklist. I'm gonna put it up on my wall at home and Here it is Wednesday April Second I don't care what it is and Says this day. I'm going to do this thing the day. I am not taking the Lord's name in vain.

Today I'm going to love my wife. Today, I'm going to obey my parent today. I'm going to give alms and when I get home at the end of the day I'm gonna check check check check got enough checks. God's pleased.

Not enough checks. I better get on my knees and repent. This is for those of us have any of that kind of an attitude in ourselves. That our Christian life our good standing with God our Righteousness as Dale read to you from Deuteronomy.

This shall be our righteousness is Vested in this idea that I am going to keep the rules. I'm going to check the checklist and at the end of the day I'm gonna show God my report card and the number of checks I have.

And I'll be good. You've died to the law. You've died to that checklist. If you know the law. Then you have to be aware that the law has limits. All laws have limits. Don't they the law can only bind you it can only constrain you.

It's only applicable to you win while you live. While you live and we could go on we could parse this out in more detail. Canadian law is not binding upon us here in America, that's not what we're talking about.

The idea though is there are limitations to the law. It's authority over you is not without some constraints to its extent. Now if this seems too obvious to you if I'm stating something that seems so Basic that it doesn't even need to be stated I need to plead that Paul's pen is moved by the Holy Spirit and that he God.

He is the one who says that this verse will stand in Scripture that we need to hear this. The law binds you. Only as long as you are alive to be bound. Binds is actually a little bit of a weak word for this.

The New English translation the net Bible just in a very quick survey I did. I didn't look at every translation out there, but just a quick look the net Bible is the only one gets it, right? It says the law is Lord over a person as long as he lives.

The word Lord is Curio. Curio, excuse me. I May try that again. Lord is the Greek word curio curio. That's The same word that we had back in chapter 6 verse 9 death no longer has Dominion over Christ is no longer Lord over Christ after his resurrection.

Chapter 6 verse 16 speaking to us sin will no longer have dominion mastery lordship over you. And Here in chapter 7 verse 1 the Lord has lordship it has mastery it has authority. It constrains you. How long?

As long as you live. As long as you live. The example in verses 2 and 3 is really pretty simple. It's pretty plain. One thing we cannot do it won't make sense if we try to make an allegory out of it as many do try to do.

Because you make an allegory out of it. Then when we apply it in chapter 4 it has to have a one-to-one correspondence and it's not going to. He's using a principle to illustrate a point and. Then he applies this point to this idea of the wife whose husband dies to us and the law.

And so there's no one-to-one correspondence. We'll talk about that in a few moments. But just remember that the idea of the husband the wife and him dying and she being free. It's a principle. Not an allegory.

The first part of that verse verse 2 Marriage is binding. It's a binding covenant only while both are alive. Does that seem obvious to you? I mean when we do weddings when we presided at a wedding, what do we say?

I promise to love honor obey respect cherish those sorts of words. And what does the presiding pastor say at the end as long as you both shall live? That's point one. From his example Marriage is binding only as long as you're alive.

And the second point the second half of verse 2 if the husband dies. She's released from the law of marriage because she's no longer married now. Does that seem too simple to you? Does this have you kind of in the back of your mind going?

No, duh. We can all get that. It's almost I don't know if we still have these books in school. When I learned to read I think it was in first grade, maybe even kindergarten. I can't quite remember that long ago.

It was that book say see dick run run dick run. See spot jump jump spot jump see the ball bounce ball a balance of it that sort of thing. It's almost that simple here and it needs to be. Because we try to find ways around it.

We spoke about that last week. Didn't we always looking for an out looking for an out? Always trying to over complicate things and Paul saying slow down here is this simple. If the husband dies the wife is free from that law.

See dick run run dick run don't make it any more complicated than that. Verse 3 says that because her husband is dead. She's free from the law of marriage. She can now bind herself to another husband.

It wouldn't be adultery. It wouldn't be wrong and it's not required. She is in every sense of the word free. And she's released. That's in chapter 7 of verse 2. She's released from that law and that'll come up again in verse 6 this word released.

And it's actually originally it's a very strong word in the original language. It means to cause the release of someone from an obligation. One has nothing more to do with it. They are discharged. They're released the previous authority.

Whatever it was is made of no effect. Now Paul uses this word quite a bit. I'm only gonna give you three examples. Three if you think that Paul wrote Hebrews. Two if you don't think that but it doesn't really matter.

Hebrews chapter 2 verse 14. Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood Jesus himself likewise partook of these same things that through death he might destroy. There's our word. This one. I know I can pronounce is cartagena.

He might destroy the one who has power of death. That is the devil. Ephesians chapter 2 verse 15 speaking again of Christ in his work on the cross. Abolishing this is our word. Abolishing the law of commandments and ordinances that he might creating created himself one new man in place of the two so making peace.

I'm gonna spend just a moment on Ephesians chapter 2 verse 15. What is he speaking of here? He's speaking in the wall that divided Jew and Gentile with the wall of the wall. That was the commandments that defined the Jews as Jews the law from Sinai Abolished By Christ so that in himself he might make the two into one so making peace between the two.

And at what point can we resurrect this? Non Peaceful thing between Jew and Gentile and split them up again. No, it's been abolished but have taken away cartagena released. 2nd Corinthians chapter 3 verses 7 through 9.

Now if the ministry of death carved in letters on stone Came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses's face because of its glory. Which which was being brought to an end? There's our word again brought to an end.

Will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory? You see whatever is the subject of this word? And here in Romans 7, it's the law. Whatever is the subject of this word the wall of division between Jew and Gentile the destruction of the devil and his works the ministry Of death carved in stone, whatever it may be.

It is decisively. It is permanently taken away. Its influence and most especially its authority is Ended because his purposes are complete. Think of Paul's immediate example on marriage. What is the purpose of the law of marriage?

It's to define and regulate the conduct of a husband and a wife. Now if the husband dies and this principle applies equally to a husband whose wife dies. But if that happens which part of the law of marriage now constrains her.

Which part and The class said none. No part of it applies anymore. She has no husband. The surviving spouse is not without law. They are free from that particular law. So verse 3 tells us if she's married to another.

She's not an adulteress. There's no husband against whom to commit adultery. Is that simple? That's pretty simple. See dick run run dick run see spot jump jump spot jump. Now do you sort of think when you hear that?

Just how dull of wit does he think we are? Of course, it's not me because I'm just reading to you what the scripture says. How dull does he think my mind really is how hard does he think this is gonna be for me to get?

He being Paul the Apostle who wrote this. That's a good question. If you're thinking that I suggest you ponder that ponder that while you walk on the way. While you're on your break at work think about that question.

While the kids take naps if they ever do take a nap stop and meditate on this. The application to the wife at the end of the verse 3 you see. Then becomes the application to all of us in verse 4 this principle of the wife whose husband dies is very important.

It's not just see dick run run dick run. There's a crucial truth here. Let me read the end of verse 3 in the first part of verse 4. If she marries another man, she is not an adulteress. Likewise my brothers.

Likewise you who know the Lord Jesus Christ in just the same way the church. You who have repented of your sin and fled to Jesus Christ. In hoping only in his cross and sought their God's forgiveness for your sins.

That's who he's speaking to. Likewise my brothers you also have died to the law through the body of Christ so that you may belong to another. In just the same way as the wife whose husband dies is free from that law of marriage.

And if she goes to another another husband is not an adulterer. She has freedom to do so in just the same way you've died to the law and That through Christ and now you may freely belong to another because the one to whom you belonged is gone.

Now the law here is obviously the Mosaic law the body of Christ is Jesus death on the cross. It is by means of that death that we have died to the law through Jesus Christ. Chapter 5 of Romans is where we learned how Jesus represented his people when he paid for their sins on the cross.

We were in that sense in him. That was chapter 5 that was some time ago. But the idea is that he represented the people whom God intended to benefit from the cross that he suffered. And we're in him and when he paid that penalty when he suffered death the death that we should have Had because of our sins that we died in him that that penal.

Death is attributed to you if your faith is in him in that sense you died to the law because you died in him. He suffered the penalty that the law exacted. The penalty was attributed to us because by federal headship Jesus had us in him.

It's all very important because that is how you died to the law. It's just what he wrote about us and sin in chapter 6 verse 2. How can we who died to sin still live in it? How can we who died to sin still live in it if we died to it?

Then it's no longer our ruling principle. That's what chapter 6 verse 14 said. As sin is no longer lording it over us in just the same way. The law has been defanged. Now we don't want to confuse the matter as I said before.

Taking the first couple of verses as an allegory and then insisting that they have corresponding points one-to-one in the application of verse 4. Because what happens is it can get very very confusing.

In the principle that Paul lays out first with the husband and the wife. The wife is alive as the husband who dies and then he applies it to us. But we're the one who died and the one to whom we're attached.

The law is still there. That's what I've warned us about that one-to-one correspondence just isn't there. It's not meant to be. The marriage laws uses a principle and then it works perfectly as we might expect.

If you're not in Christ. If your faith is in not in him and what he did on the cross. Then I have to tell you that then in that case the law is still your curio. Your Lord your master your authority. It's still Lord's over you.

You're responsible to God for the righteousness that it demands. That was the end of the reading from Deuteronomy. Our obedience to the law will be our righteousness. If you're not in Christ. That's what you're responsible for the entire law.

Every jot and tittle as James says if you stumble at one point you may have may as well have violated every point if you're not in Christ and You deny the lordship of the law. Then according to the marriage principle in the first couple of verses.

You're an adulterer because according to the principle of the law of marriage you have not been released from that law. You're still under the law for you who have faith in Jesus Christ consider this the principle delineated by the law of marriage still applies.

You look at the end of verse 4. This is the purpose for which we died through the body the death of Jesus Christ. So that you may belong to another. To him who was raised from the dead. Now Paul uses the marriage principle there and brings adultery in as even an idea.

Then the idea is that unless you're released from the law and you go to another you're an adulterer. You need to be released from that law judicially. By God and this of course as you're hearing is by faith in Christ.

But this is the purpose for this to belong to him the one raised from the dead Jesus Christ. Just as the widow is then free to remarry because her husband died. So also You are free to be joined to Christ because you've died to the law no longer bound to it.

Now Paul doesn't say you're actually free to choose. He says that God's purpose and having his son represent us on the cross is so that you may belong to another you are free to be joined, but the word is in the passive and.

So we could actually even say you're free for God to have joined you to him. Because he took you out from this other lordship this other responsibility you had until death do us part. Yes. You died to it and therefore God can rightly join you to Christ.

There is no choice in the matter really. If you died to Christ you died to sin you can no longer Continue in it in just the same way if you died with Christ you died to the law you can continue in that.

No longer no longer either. We're going to speak later. I mean another message not today. Another message about the use of the law capital L in the Christians life, and I don't want to today. Because that's not Paul's point in chapter 7 verses 1 through 6 of Romans.

Here he is driving and driving and driving us away from any hope in achieving the righteousness of God by any means other than faith in Christ and the Righteousness of God that he that Jesus accomplished on our behalf.

Paul is driving us away. It's like a cowboy with a lasso and pulling the animal into line. Get away from this idea that you can do this on your own. Trust Christ in the righteousness that he accomplished and revealed and is.

Give up on your self-effort. Why does he use the marriage? Law as a principle. I think it applies like this as a wife as an adulteress as she lives with someone other than her husband. And of course that works the other way around.

The husband against the wife if that one is still living and you go off with another obviously you're an adulterer or an adulteress. Clearly breaking the law of God. In that same way so also is the Christian guilty of the same thing if he or she Wanders back to the law as a means of accomplishing what Christ accomplished he is your righteousness he Satisfied the law for you to run back to the law.

Which is really in essence running back to myself and my own goodness. Which isn't there my own righteousness, which doesn't exist is spiritual adultery. Christ is your righteousness. He alone the last four words the last few words of verse four.

So that you may bear fruit to God. This is the purpose so that you may be joined to Christ. Why are you joined to Christ? So you may bear fruit to God? It's pretty simple stuff. Run dick run. Let's start at the basics here.

Godly fruit the produce of lives conducted for God's glory. By faith in Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit is a very Trinitarian doctrine here. As such fruit is not obedience to the law. It's not obedience to the law.

The place of the law in the Christians life comes up later and I will not touch it until it comes up as we go through this book, but the fruit that Paul speaks of. It's not obedience to the law what is obedience to law.

That's my own effort. That's my own striving. That's me with my checklist. I'm going off to work on Tuesday. And today I will show respect to my boss when I come home today. I'm gonna put that check there and show it to God.

That's not the fruit Paul's talking about godly fruit is Galatians 5 22. Love joy peace long-suffering kindness goodness faithfulness gentleness self-control. And how does Paul say all of this is? How do we say that this is me as a Christian because I obeyed a precept.

No. Because I checked something off on my list for the day of good things. I'm going to do that are holy and right. No. By the Spirit of God, it's the fruit of the Spirit not fruit of the flesh. It's the result of following the ways of Christ in the power of the Spirit.

Not relying on our strength. Which is nil all this. Galatians 5 22 bearing fruit to God chapter 7 verse 4. Impossible by the works of the law. Only by the Spirit can this be done and that shows what verses 5 and 6 tell us in chapter 7 of Romans.

The Flesh, the Law, and the Wages of Sin

Verses 5 and 6 look again at that for while we were. Note the past tense were while we were Living in the flesh our sinful passions aroused by the law were again past tense were at Work in our members to bear fruit for death.

To be in the flesh means to live and live under the dominance of the law. And what does the law do? It stimulates our sin. Now there's nothing at all wrong with the law. Romans chapter 7 verses 7 through 12.

God willing we'll get to that next week. But that section those verses are actually a defense of the law. Nothing wrong with the law. Life in the flesh is life lived under the laws demands and the fruit the result is death for the wages of sin.

Sin being just what the law produces in us the wages of sin is death. Now that's why. There needs to be a change in masters. There needs to be a change in dominance in our lives in the authority to which we go a new a new curio.

Now a lot of this is going to be repeated in Romans chapter 8. This idea of new life in the Spirit and what it means to walk in the Spirit and not depend upon the works of the flesh. And I'm just gonna borrow one verse this morning from that.

I'm gonna let the rest of that wait. Romans chapter 8 verse 3. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body. You will live. What is the flesh.

The flesh is any means of coming before God other than Christ. Specifically here in Romans 7. What is the Apostle Paul's concern? It's the law coming to Christ coming to God. Satisfying what Christ did but doing it on our own by obedience by compliance with that body of law.

The righteousness of God and righteousness in this context is equated with salvation. Is revealed in the gospel? It is the gospel that finally relieves us from the striving from the effort from the struggle from the never-ceasing fear of failure.

That the law produces in us is this you. This striving one. This one who Paul is trying to point out to you. I'm trying to make clear to you. You've died to that and with the law all the effort towards it.

Gone remember how strong that word is you are released from it. For so many of us the gospel spoke right to this tendency our need to make ourselves right. Specifically before God. Romans chapter 1 says that knowledge of God is throughout all creation and that knowledge of him is implanted in every one of us.

It says that God's wrath is revealed from heaven and only with constant strain is this knowledge suppressed. We know there's a God whose holiness we have corrupted and we've impugned. We know from the knowledge of eternity planted by God in every soul that his wrath is rightful and must be satisfied.

What do we do. We try and we try and we try and then what happens? We fail and we fail and we fail and then we hear God's law. Then we hear God's law the very one that the prophets held up to Israel time and again to show them their sin.

And we Say not with our mouths. But implicitly within ourselves we say something like oh, thank goodness. Rules. I can make a checklist. I Do this? God must do that. I show him my accomplishes. Accomplishments at the end of the day and he gives me a good score blessed relief rules to follow the bind both me and God.

No, no. Paul has yanked that rag that rug out from under us. And thank God because it only leads to death it only leads to failure it only leads to anguish and depression and discouragement. It doesn't lead anywhere near what is sometimes called the victorious Christian life failure.

Failure. How many of us would take a road that is marked failure. And if I wrote a book and I said here's how to fail at everything you're trying to do. Here's how to make no accomplishments. But always think you should and at the end of this book, you're gonna be completely disgusted with yourself.

No, that would never sell. I would hope. Let me ask you this way. Do you want to be successful? All of us at some level want to be successful. Want to be successful as husbands as wives as parents. Want to be successful in our jobs?

I Won't be successful as Christians. Want to be successful against that law? What if I could teach you to succeed against the only perfect body of law ever written? What if right here right now right from this pulpit?

I was able to tell you how not just to succeed but to succeed superlatively. An a-plus would be too light a grade. Do you want to succeed? Do you want to get off that treadmill of Constant effort and failure and effort and failure and you jump back on and it throws you off again.

Do you want the opposite? Succeed successful, this is gonna sound a bit like c-dick run. Believe the gospel. Believe the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ's righteousness is yours. If you believe that gospel His obedience which was perfect is credited to you by faith if you believe that gospel.

You were in him when he died for your sins. His suffering is counted yours. How much did he suffer? He suffered fully. We said it is finished. That meant all God's wrath the full measure of his fury not so much as a frown left out and The fullness of his righteous adherence to God's law is no different.

It's Jesus grade if we can call it that Jesus grade is by faith yours. You have succeeded and Now you have died to that law and died to that rule keeping and died to that constant effort stop and trust Christ.

Whose righteousness is yours? By faith. Be done with that law keeping to Tendency. You've passed the course. Can I say it that way you've passed you're done. You graduated you believe in Jesus Christ.

Matriculate. Be done. Jesus did it for you. God's satisfaction. His son is the same that he has for you. Now move on to the new life in the Spirit of God. The one who opens your heart the eyes of your heart.

To understand and believe these truths. Look at verse 6, please. Now we're now we are released. There's our word again. That strong word. Now we are released from the law having died to that which held us captive.

So that we serve not under the old written code, but in the new life of the Spirit. Released because we through Christ have died to it. The law cannot hold a dead person captive and captive is what we were.

Another very strong Greek word katecho is this word? You don't have to remember that but it means to keep within limits in a confining manner. Sounds claustrophobic and I think it really is. There's no be all you can be.

There's no spread your wings and fly. You're a prisoner. You're being held captive by it. You're under the lordship of a guard who will give you no comfort and no relief only failure. Only that constant nagging guilt of not measuring up only a steady decline in any hope for the future.

Captive bound up and locked away. Held prisoner held captive. You know that word is so strong. Captive katecho is the same word that we had a long time ago back in chapter 1 and verse 18. Men suppress the truth and this is what they do the same word.

When they suppress the truth, they are katechoing it. They labor against his nagging and it's unwelcome truth consigning it to a scrap heap of a seared conscience. This is the violence the law does against you if you would try to achieve by it.

What Paul says what the scripture everywhere says what Jesus himself says only he could do by having died to Christ. Of course, we mean having repented of your sins fled to him for forgiveness. You're free of all that.

You're free you're released from it. You're as much released from that law as the woman whose husband has died is free from the law of marriage. To borrow from dr. Martin Luther King with all due respect.

How did he end that great speech free at last free at last? Thank God Almighty. We're free at last. Do you know that freedom church? Do you know that Christ achieved for you all that you need to stand before God?

To go boldly to the throne of grace. By grace you've been saved through faith and that not of yourselves. Do you know the freedom that this means? Not free from all law. We're going to come to that in the book of Romans.

We're not left to ourselves heaven forbid we're left to ourselves to figure out what we should do at any given moment. It's free from the law free from the effort. Free from the works of the flesh. Free from that thing that produces only death in us.

And now attached to him. By whom through whom because of him by the power of the Spirit of God we produce fruit to God. Such as what I read in Galatians 5 22 free at last. Plead with you don't strive.

After what Christ has done. Count on it. Believe in it stand on it. And move past it. Now we serve God by faith in Christ in the new life that we have in the Holy Spirit if you're in Christ. You live in an entirely new age.

Obedience to the written code stands aside to the new way of the Spirit and I'll warn you here. This takes courage. This takes trust. Faith is the only way to walk this walk. Trust God that the Holy Spirit of God is a real enlivening invigorating life-bringing spirit.

Not an it he's a he he's a third person in Trinity. He is as much God as the Father is God and as the Son is God. Trust his word that. Believe that he will dwell in you. Believe that he will remind you of all that Christ commands you.