Transforming Hearts: Living by the Spirit of God

Before a man becomes a Christian he is always trying to conform to a standard and a pattern that is outside himself but be a Christian means this that the standard is inside you of course in a sense it's still outside you but the important thing is that it's now inside you as well. [00:11:56]

The Apostle says now he says we have become dead to the law and we rejoice in that we're delivered from the law being dead to that which formerly held us out why well for this reason that we should serve in newness of spirit not in the oldness of the writing it's within us in our minds in our hearts. [00:13:00]

This newness of spirit this new life in the spirit means that we've got an understanding now which we didn't have before I mean an understanding of the law and its purpose and everything that is true of it in the economy of God what was the trouble with the people under the old dispensation well he says the trouble was their the veil was over their hearts. [00:13:34]

The moment a man comes to the spirit the veil is taken away and he sees and he understands and it revolutionizes his whole position very well there's the second thing let me come to the third and these follow you will see the one from the other the next thing is that the men begins to see now this vital distinction between observing the mere letter of the law and being concerned about the spirit of the law. [00:16:05]

The Supreme commentary on that of course is The Sermon on the Mount and especially the fifth chapter of The Gospel according to Matthew that is devoted almost entirely from verse 17 to the end to an exposure of this false attitude of the Jews and their teachers religious teachers to the law of God. [00:16:55]

The law says Thou shalt not covet it isn't enough that you don't do things do you desire them do you sin in your imagination in your mind and in your heart do you covet concupisent that's it this desire after things that in the sight of God is sin God seeth the heart. [00:18:37]

The Christian Life not because we are afraid of Hell any longer we are not doing it to please ourselves or to attain a standard and to contrast ourselves with others who are sinners and who are failures we are no longer interested in self-preservation because we know that we have been kept and preserved and saved. [00:26:52]

The love of Christ he says constrain us because we thus judge that if one died for all then were all dead and that he died for all that in order that they which live should no longer live unto themselves but unto him that died for them and Rose again that's it that's the argument of the Christian. [00:27:59]

Where the spirit of the Lord is there is Liberty you're set free from the shackles that wherein we were held we are dead to it and you're a free man and able to use all your powers where the spirit of the Lord is there is Liberty you're beginning to enjoy the Glorious Liberty of the children of God. [00:32:24]

There is nothing more wonderful than to know that our sins are forgiven and we know it there is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus but come to the second thing we've already been considering it let me give you a summary of all we've been saying since last October we are dead to sin we are dead to the law yes we are dead to death. [00:34:23]

We all with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord are being changed we are not doing it it's being done to us as we behold in the glass the glory of the Lord as we go on living this life in the the spirit with this new understanding and insight and motive and love and power and all that is so true. [00:44:54]

He which hath begun a good work in US Philippians 1:6 he which has begun a good work in us will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ if you are in the hands of this great Potter if God through his son and by the spirit has begun a work in you he'll never give it up he'll never leave it incomplete he'll go on with it. [00:46:03]