Notes: Moving Past the Law

Clay Smith JFBC

On Palm Sunday the JFBC deacons read through the entire Bible.

In Christ alone our hope is found. He is the foundation of our faith. No one gets excited about foundations, but without them our faith will crumple.

Romans 7 - the relationship between the law and our faith. A hard text to apply to our lives.

1, Romans 7:1-3 A funeral home is where we talk about death. We've died to the law.

v 1 Paul is talking to and about believers when he says brothers and sisters, to people who know the law. What is Paul talking about?  - the people who know Old Testament law. Also the intuitive sense of right and wrong that everyone has, the law of human nature "that's not fair!"

Clay stole a candy bar when he was in the 6th grade. He knew it was wrong.

Because of Jesus, now we have a different relationship with the law. Once the husband dies, the wife is no longer bound to him. Likewise since we have died to sin, we are no longer bound to the law.

2. v 4-6 the greenhouse produces seeds, that can sprout and grow. Paul compares our lives before we were saved with our lives afterwards. Now we belong to Jesus, who was raised from the dead. Baptism simulates us dying to ourselves, are buried, and then raised up to live with Christ.

Then we can bear fruit for God. What kind of fruit is your life producing?

Galatians 5:16-26 walk in the Spirit and do not carry out the desires of the flesh. The deeds of the flesh are evident.

v 22 but the fruit of the spirit is love joy peace patience kindness goodness and self control, against such things there is no law.

"Discipleship is becoming the kind of person who easily and routinely does what Jesus told us to do"

We are governed not by the law, but by love. If we love our neighbor we won't do things that we shouldn't.

3. The palace of Versailles in Paris, the hall of mirrors. Where the treaty was signed to end WW1.

v 7-13 we aren't saying law bad, Jesus good. Now because we are with Jesus, we keep the law because of sin. Paul mentions coveting because it is completely internal. Sin is triggered by the law. Every command is rooted in how Jesus wants us to live. Instead of coveting should lead us to being content. The law is like a mirror that should produce life and contentment, but instead produces sin and death and coveting all the more

The law shows us how far we are away from Jesus.

Palm Sunday…Jesus' humility. Riding a donkey. The people there sought to keep the law. They didn't yet know about the heart of Jesus and his sacrificial atoning work.