Jesus could have removed every believer at the point of accepting Grace, RIGHT? That He didn’t purports/forces U.S. to reckon why He didn’t, RIGHT? Show me one Christian that has Never Sinned Again after that rebirth? Paul explained it. Let me try as well in God’s Holy Spirit.
If I want to be called by Jesus name; I must first believe on His SAVING GRACE from the law of sin & death meaning HE died that I might be free from MY SIN redeemed to Father God. I must then repent/turn away from that Sin & follow Him in Sanctification of Holy Spirit. RENEWED. RIGHT? Perhaps you have doubt or are not fully surrendering to this call of the Holy Spirit upon your heart. So with your indulgence I will continue.
Galatians 5:17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.
And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. Luke 24:47 What is God saying Here? What does this bring up in our understanding of the need for repentance and remission? How do we then continue in our sin if repentance and remission are to be preached as necessary to salvation/sanctification and eventual Glorification?
Why is the Holy Spirit called EARNEST/Down Payment or Promise of that eventual Glorification? Ephesians 1. Does this contend that there is an ongoing and obvious struggle confronting each new believer after acceptance of Christ Jesus as Saviour? Holy Spirit please guide us into the Truth surrounding these important Biblical Questions. In Jesus’ Name.
Free from the Law. What does that mean? Is a believer under the law or in the Spirit? We must go back to the beginning of this Chapter to understand that relationship, making sense of why they both can be present in the struggle, equally comprehending that one must and will prevail. Galatians 5.
5 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
2 Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.
3 For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.
4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.
5 For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.
6 For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.
7 Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?
8 This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you.
9 A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.
10 I have confidence in you through the Lord, that ye will be none otherwise minded: but he that troubleth you shall bear his judgment, whosoever he be.
11 And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? then is the offence of the cross ceased.
12 I would they were even cut off which trouble you.
13 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.
14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
15 But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.
16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
When we are set free, what exactly is the bondage to which we were held captive? The Yoke of Sin. A yoke bonds us to the others in the Family of God, the Body of Christ Jesus. In Matthew 11:30 Jesus tells us, For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. However what we see is that the flesh continues to struggle against service to God. We as humans are by nature curiously disobedient even in assuming that once we by voice accept Christ Jesus that this is where the struggle ends when in fact we will spend the rest or at least the majority of this life as the Holy Spirit struggles with our flesh. In fact, Paul was clear that in this struggle he often felt helpless when he found himself doing the very sin he both didn’t want to commit and was incapable of avoiding. GAL 5:1 Immediately, declares the wrestling match. Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Making it clear that we are to stand against returning to the Law of Sin and Death and its bondage/yoke. It may seem odd to each of us this position of being helpless to overcome it yet being told to do all we can to stand against a return to sin. That my beloved is FAITH. For as we stand in the hope of deliverance in reliance upon God we surrender to Him and grow in our resemblance to Christ Jesus.
The exasperating part of this relationship is seeing myself time and again losing this battle. What could be worse then for the Jews/Christians to rely upon; ritual, the ancestry or their circumcision, water baptism or self piety exposing themselves dangerously once again to that bondage of the Law? However beyond that frustration of the continuing failure, I see something emerge which is a concrete vision of days in Glory that await. We will not lose this wrestling match to flesh but prevail, Why? Because God is the one doing the perfecting through His Holy Spirit, we are not so simply to stand in a light yoke plowing, seeding, fertilizing and watering the crops until He comes and completes the harvest. Most of us look at life as an often impossible task, but what if being born again allows us to see that it really isn’t that bad this work as an OX for the Lord awaiting the wonderful harvest and His return to set all things right. If we can see our way to that Hope and stand against a return to the Law in our bondage to sin remembering the very moment when we cried out to Him for deliverance, the rest is His Work that He is more that faithful to complete. In Jesus’ name.
