The New Law

If you agree with the enticing combo of God’s standards and the side dish of you keeping them, something sinister will always happen—always. “Thou Shalt Not Covet” immediately stimulates another law in you which invariably produces wretched living—invariably. That means “no exceptions.” (Romans 7) However, God’s grace to us in Christ’s death and resurrection has set us from The Law and the other law of sin and death (the combo). We have been set free from the life-goal of attempting to manage ourselves, and are released to life by God.

If now you set your mind on obedience (“I must! I must!”), you will express flesh, in all of its deathly ugliness. Invariably. (Romans 8:5-8) On the other hand, if now you set your mind on the Holy Spirit and His task of revealing the gospel of Christ Jesus to you and in you, growing faith in Him will produce the life you were always meant to enjoy and express—Christ’s life. It's the new combo. (Romans 8:9-11)

What will that be like? You will delight in an abundance of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. Everything you most want will be produced by Him in you. It's fantastic. And shouldn't it be?

So since we live by the Spirit and His work of revealing Christ to us, let’s stay in step with the Spirit, and we won’t satisfy the “I must!” cravings of the flesh in the old combo.

There’s a new law.