Reckoning that Counts

Reckoning. Romans 6 has primarily to do with what? Well, if you had to capsulize Romans 6 in 5 words or less or 10, what would you say it's about? It's about the old sin nature and your freedom from it, right? Positional freedom from the sin nature. So how would you characterize Romans 7 then?

Realization that freedom from it doesn't come from us. That's true, but there's one other element that Romans 7 focuses in on that's important for us to recognize, and what is it? Freedom from the law. That's a really, really important principle because we we have a tendency to, we're easily persuaded that the Mosaic Law isn't what we're under. But we're not so easily persuaded that we have this little code of conduct stuck in the back of our mind someplace that we have to live up to to be pleasing to God. So, Romans 7 has more to do with the freedom from the law principle And Romans 6 is mostly positional.

Romans 7, a lot of it is conditional. And a lot of it is based on the fact that adherence to the law inflames the sin nature. It doesn't put it down. So here's the man who knows Romans 6, familiar with it, believes it, but is using his own energy and law principle by which to live the Christian life. And of course, as soon as he does that, here comes good old Adam in all of his glory.

So, the first part, the true or false questions. We are completely out of the realm of the principle and the command of the law. True or false? It's false. We still have a sin nature. I'm going to say the question again. We are completely out of the realm of the principle and the command of the law. True. It is true. Let me speak from my point of view. Okay, cool. He had trouble with it completely. Well, that's why it's there.

See, if you're hanging around with these covenant guys like I do, What they say is, is that, well, the law really is divided up into three parts. The Mosaic law is ceremonial, moral, and, I don't know, what's the other one? It's the practical living of your life every day. And so what they say is, is that the freedom from the law in Romans 7 is freedom from the ceremonial law, but that we're still under the moral part of it. See? That's covenant theology. Problem is, is that if you If you study the law, the Mosaic law, it is always viewed as one unit.

The Jews even divided it up into 24 sections, but they recognized that the violation of one single element meant that you violated the whole unit, all 617. We view it as, well, there's 10 commandments and I broke the seventh one, or the third one. No, no. you break one of them, you have broken the whole thing. And so if you look at it that way, which is the proper way, I think, and the way in which it's given, James talks about that, Hebrews talks about it, you break one element of it, you've broken the whole thing.

So, to try to divide it into three sections, or to pick and choose, or even under the heading of the Law of Christ, to make it a statute that you need to live up to, to somehow be more pleasing to God, means that you've put yourself under a law system. So, to be completely outside the realm and the principle and the command of law, really is a big pill to swallow. Because you think you're left naked. If you don't tell me what to do, I don't know what to do. Right? What do you think?

When we were studying this in Bible study, when we did Romans first ever, the week that we were starting to, actually I think it was maybe at the end of seven as we were going into eight, and I brought in a little fishbowl with goldfish in it, you know? And sometimes I just bring in stuff first, you know? And then they have to wonder for a while why I brought it in. And so when we started talking about life through the Spirit, At the end of that lesson, while the school fishbowl was sitting there, I said, why do you think I brought this in?

And we talked about how the environment that this goldfish is living in, it gets everything it needs through that water. It's air, it's food, everything comes through that medium. It's totally dependent on this environment that it lives in. And it doesn't struggle for anything. It just lives in this environment that it was put in. And so then I got that little fishy thing and I listed it out. And of course as soon as it's out, it's struggling for everything that it needs and it's flipping around and it's crazy.

You put it right back in and everything that it needs comes. from its environment, and that to me is such an illustration of life through the Spirit. Everything that we need is provided for us. And then when we got to Romans 12, you know, we talked a little bit about does this even, I mean, if we are living by the Spirit, There is a total dependence on the Spirit providing everything that we need, providing the life and prayer. Do we even need to be told, if your job is teaching, go teach. If it is encouraging, go encourage. Of course not, because the Spirit would lead us to that. It is awesome to have that, but we would always be led to that.

We are afraid that if I don't have somebody tell me what to do, the Spirit certainly can't handle that job. I think the most difficult thing in Christianity is to get free from the law. I really think it is. Because there's a false comfort in being told what to do.

And it's everything that we've ever been brought up with. Oh, sure. You raise your kids under law. Yeah, I mean, you know, or, you know, you get a gift for your birthday and you write a thank you note. Sure. It makes perfect sense. And you don't hit your sister. Yeah, sure, exactly. Yeah, and you don't hit your brother and, you know, that kind of stuff. I think, you know, here it's completely free from where we are.

Positionally. Right. This is a positional statement. Right, it is. Galatians 2.19 says you died unto the law.

Romans 7.6, you're discharged from the law.

Romans 6.14, you're not under law. So to say that we're completely out of the realm of the principle and the command of law. Now, we've talked about this before.

What's the difference between a law and a principle? A law, in this sense, is an imposition placed on, like a believer or a human being, placed on the outside of him to get him to act in a certain way or to require conduct. the way a thing operates or functions all the time. Gravity is a principle, but you can call it a law. So when we're talking about being outside the principle of law, it means that we're either outside the goldfish bowl or in it, depending on what the water represents.

Now, what was the law given for? Why did the mosaic law come into being? Show him what to do? It was designed specifically to make sin abound. Why would God do that? I mean, He had enough trouble. Why would He do such a thing? So that we could recognize our need for a Savior. That's exactly right. We'd recognize our need for a Savior and grace, His grace, which is what He was after all along. The harder we try to live the Christian life, the more rapidly we will be freed from the domination of the law of sin.

That's an easy one, right? Do you view sin as a principle or a law? Or do you just view it as something that, you know, if I pray hard enough or I'm holy enough today, I can avoid sin? Do you view sin as a reigning principle? It is. So anytime you do anything out of your own strength, you put yourself under the legal principle. And how much success are you going to have there? None. You're not going to have any. So failure is where you're headed, and I don't think there's any escaping that.

The power for practical deliverance from the law resides in our relationship to the risen What do you think about that? What do you think? Shall I read it again? The power for practical deliverance from the law resides in our relationship to the risen liberator. Absolutely it's true and it's not It doesn't rely, now listen to this carefully, your practical deliverance from the law does not rely on the fact that you've died unto law. You okay with that? It relies on the fact that you have this relationship to the one who is the liberator.

You see the difference? Last time in Romans 6 we made the point that there's two sides. There's reckon yourself indeed dead unto sin, but alive unto God. Which side is the freedom? Alive unto God's side. So it's the same principle here that the practical deliverance is in the deliverer. The knowledge is important, and the believing of it is important, but the deliverance comes in the deliverer.

See that? Make sense? No? You don't buy that? And that happens. I mean, I think all believers kind of go through that. I don't know, just to put it into words, that's exactly what happens. I'm reckoning as hard as I can. So, God's means for liberation is found only through our realization of enslavement. That's a hard one.

What do you think? True or false? And I have people argue with me about this all the time. What do you think? Is it necessary for us to realize our enslavement to sin and lust? Sure. What are we talking about here? Are we talking about a position? Because position is young. Condition, I think. Do you agree that you kind of have to go there?

You have to discover that sin is enslaving. This is in the same process. You get a note first before you write it. You have no idea your first life. No, you don't. It's the same principle when you're initially saved, right? You're not going to think you need a savior if you don't think you're defeated by sin in the first place. That's exactly right.

When you read the whole chapter of Romans 7 and you get down to you know, a wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me?" You always think that's somebody else he's talking about. It isn't me. There's somebody that's going to have to go through this, but I'm a smart guy, and I've been studying and reading, and I've been learning Greek, and I'm going to be able to jump right over this sucker, no problem. There's no freedom into Romans 8, from 6 to 8. 7 is necessary for practical deliverance. It is.

So I think it helps, though, to understand that this is really God's method and His ways of practically freeing us from the power of sin, which is really cool. I mean, at least He's a God who's got a method and a plan. If you're a covenant guy, the only method and plan you have is obey, obey, obey, and if you don't, you're going to get hammered. Reckoning will always free us from the defeat of Romans 7.

I have a no. I have any yeses? I have a yes over there. He says yes. The answer is no. First we learn that Our having died in Christ on the cross gives us the ground for freedom from the power of sin. But unless we learn the answer to the bondage of the principle of law, we will be right back in the defeat of Romans 7, no matter how hard we reckon. I think it goes back to the principle we were talking about last week, which is there's both sides. You know, there's the sin side and the defeat of the sin, but the real freedom comes on the other side, on the resurrected side, the reckoning alive unto God. But I think they come together. Well, let's just make it practical. Here I am, cruising down through Romans 7, and I'm defeated.

I really understand what the author is saying when he says, you know, the thing that I want to do, it's the thing I don't do. And the thing that I hate, that's what I'm doing. And I've discovered this principle that whenever I would do good, evil is present with me. And I'm not fooling around about this.

This is really what my experience is. So I reckon myself dead to all of that. And that's all I do. Is that enough to get me free? That's what the question is. But now we have been discharged from the law having died to that wherein we were held so that we serve in newness of spirit and not in the oldness of the letter. Both sides. Reckoning is absolutely essential. But if you look at the question, it just talks about the defeat side.

And that's like salvation. It's one thing to understand forgiveness of sins. It's another thing to understand the life of Christ. So, you know, we can be forgiven, you know, I mean, you know, just as a salvation thing, we can be forgiven and not experience the life that's given because we don't know that we have it. And we're really only giving one side. That's right. You know, you still can be not wanting to do this in life if all you think is you're a forgiven dead guy. Yeah, and I think that's critical.

If you're going through Romans 6 and 7, there's always both sides presented. Death to the old life and the new, death to the old life and the new. I'm struggling with this question because it doesn't say reckoning ourselves dead of a sin. It's saying reckoning isn't the way we have access to the life of Christ and the other side of the cross, also through reckoning.

I see. Oh, you geeks. Well, the question was reckoning will always free us from the defeat of Roman seven. Now, OK, if you understand both sides. Yeah. But reckoning is... How do I say this? Back to last week. I'm reckoning, reckoning, reckoning. The freedom comes from the liberator, not my reckoning. Although my reckoning is part of the equation. It's like faith. I know something that the Holy Spirit has revealed to me. I believe it. My belief, my faith doesn't cause me to abide in it. That's the job of the Holy Spirit. But He's not going to do it unless I believe it.

Okay, well, what's the precipitating cause? Is it my faith or is it the work of the Spirit? Does my reckoning actually free me? Well... The object of your reckoning. Yeah, yeah. And reckoning is an accounting term. Reckoning isn't causative. You understand what I mean by that? Reckoning doesn't cause anything.

I know if I drink enough of these, they're going to kill me. I'm reckoning that they will. Or, am I dead to sin? Is that true? Am I dead to the law? Is that true? Am I alive in Christ? Is that true? How do I know it's true? initially because God said it, but how do I get persuaded about that? I'm just real gullible and whatever God says I go for. How do I get persuaded? I mean, you think about it. God comes along and says, oh, by the way, 2,000 years ago I crucified you on the cross. You're saying, sure you did. If you're practical, you say, well, that's kind of cool, but did that really happen?

Am I really free from the power of sin? You know, let's get all the BS out of the way and all the theology out of the way. Am I really free? Answer? Yeah. How do I get persuaded about that? It's the Holy Spirit's job. Do you reckon before or after you're persuaded? That's the question, I think. Huh? You think before? What do you think? Anybody think after? I think it all goes on at the same time.

Yeah, I think so too. There's no possible way you could look at scripture and say, oh, yeah, I'm dead. I mean, that has to be it. Absolutely not in this world. So, you know, reckoning is one of those things, I think you have to keep in mind that it's not causative. You know, I get to, oh, it says I'm supposed to reckon. There's something for me to do. I'm going to reckon and get free. No, you're not. No, you're not. You're going to be free because it's the truth. because the Holy Spirit has revealed it to you, you believe it, and he's working it into you.

Two plus two is four. Why? Because you've proved a thousand times in your life that it is. So you reckon it to be four, regardless of what they tell you in school today. Do you understand what I'm saying? So it's more than just believing a fact. It's a reliance on that the fact is true. And true personally for you. That's why I think I'm right and you're wrong. No. I'm going to wear my t-shirt next week. I bought it at Disneyland. Something about I'm right and you're wrong. I'll wear it. Okay, fill in the blank.

Having died with Christ on the cross gives us the ground for from the power of sin. I think it's a huge revelation to a growing believer when he recognizes that sin is powerful, that it controls him, it isn't the other way around. You know, having grown up in the environment I grew up in, which is pretty legal, I mean, really the mindset was that through your participation in the religion that you're in and the practice of it, You're the one that had the power over sin. It was a huge revelation to me when it dawned on me sin is more powerful than my wanting not to do it. That to me is a huge revelation.

So then when that comes, you need a deliverer. Anything we seek to Come on, it's an easy word. To do, or, I like that one better, in our, brings us under, simple sentence, do you buy that? So you're on your way home, the speed limit is 55. If you go 54 and a half, you're under legal bondage. OK. Go ahead. Between these first two, there was something a hungry heart a week or so ago that really hit.

Knowing who we are, that was not what we want to be. And I think that fit in a lot of what we want to do. I want to become what I want to be. It's not just knowing who you are. It's not what you want to be. It's not anything we seek to do. What do I want to do to become a Christian? Or, I want to be free from legal bondage, so I'm going to do or not do something.

The whole viewpoint is wrong. Do you see this point? That anytime you think that you have to engage your energies to achieve some sort of spiritual plateau, it's the wrong premise. Because as we talked about six months ago in the class on position, is there anything left to do from your position?

Is there anything that you can add to, any means to be more acceptable to God, to be any greater in His presence than you are now? No. As we reckon upon having to the principle of law, abide in the risen Lord Jesus, the Holy Spirit progressively carries out the law of God. This is just a great statement. You reckon upon being dead to the principle of law, and you abide in the risen Lord Jesus. We haven't talked about abiding much. What is abiding? Resting? Yeah. Hanging out. That's exactly what it is. It's hanging out.

As that activity goes on, the Holy Spirit is progressively carrying out the will of our Father. So what's the will of our Father? Make you all really good Presbyterians. What's the will of the Father for you? What's He doing? Yeah, and how's He going to do it? Yeah, He's going to conform us to the image of His Son in order to glorify Himself. See that? That's cool.

Positionally in the Lord Jesus is under law. Romans 7 has mainly to do with the principle of law. As long as we depend on our own, all we will produce is what? Sin. In our risen Lord, we are more aware of his... than we are of the... of the law upon us. Do you see how the law being an external imposition on the believer makes claims on him, or on the person, makes claims on him? Here's the other subtlety of the law. The believer, as he grows, increasingly abides or beholds the glory of the Lord.

Right? Isn't that kind of the direction we're moving? Enter the law. What does the law do in terms of your focus? It takes it off of Christ. Why? It's instantly on you, because the law is self-focused. Do you see that? The law always says, you gotta do, or you better not do, So it's all about you. I can see how God would free us from the law in order to behold the glory of the Lord. He would get all the impediments out of the way, and the law is really an impediment. See that? So you're free. The years of struggle and defeat we experience are not only to for liberation from, like this word, tyranny, of the principle of sin, but from the bondage of the principle of law.

You know, it's interesting, I've shared with you about this fellow that I've been meeting with every week, you know, from the Reformed Church, and he has a sin issue. And because he's from the Reformed Church, he's discovered that he's under tyranny. And he has tried for months to free himself from this particular sin. And so, as we've been going through Romans 5, 6, 7, and 8, he sees these things in his mind. But I don't think he yet believes that what they're designed to do is to do exactly what this sentence says, to liberate him from the tyranny and the principle of sin. Because it's such new information to him, it almost scares him. And I think that's true with a lot of believers as they grow and learn about the things of grace in the Word of God. They're kind of scary because we're so used to the law and the mile markers as we go through our life. The Burma shave signs never go away. You gotta be over 40 to have an apprenticeship. Or you had to grow up in the Midwest maybe, I don't know.

Most of his spiritual work he accomplishes in our lives through, what did you get there? Natural means. Such as our Careful, dependent study, coupled with the vicissitudes of everyday life. What I like about the Holy Spirit and our God is He's very practical. He always deals with you right where you are. If He's going to deal with the principle of sin and law in my life, it isn't going to be the same issue in your life. The law and sin principle are the same.

But the vicissitudes are different. Things that really affect me, you don't care about. And things that are really big deal to you, they don't bother me at all. I sail right over them. So it isn't that God is going to put you in a situation where, oh, I'm worrying about murdering that person. It isn't that. It's something that goes on in your everyday life or several things, just about how you live your life. I'll give you a great example.

David Daniel's mom, when she was first diagnosed with cancer, wouldn't do anything about it because she was from a charismatic background and she thought that through her friends and stuff that she would be healed. two years and taking herbs and doing all this stuff.

And then like three weeks ago, she faints and they take her to the hospital. She's like two or three pints low on blood and she's just... So she says, okay, well, whatever you need to do, do. And so they performed the operation and, you know, those things can't be... They take her uterus out and she's recovering.

David spends a whole night with her, just talking to her. And she begins to realize that there are certain things about her relationship with David's dad that need to be dealt with. And she's never been aware of them. And she's thanking God for this whole series of circumstances that she's been placed in physically in order for her to be in a position where she can recognize how her life has been going and what a lack of witness she was to her husband. And how that's all got to change. I look at them and say, okay, that's pretty cool. But think about it from her perspective.

This is a life-changing viewpoint and it has to do with a relationship with her husband who's not a believer. So now she's going to learn what? She can't impress him by obeying laws, right? She can't impress him by trying to be this really cool Christian person, she's dependent and she learns dependency through this, the beginnings of dependency, through this whole set of circumstances.

That's very cool. That's God working very practical in whatever is going on in your life today. As we reckon upon having died to the principle of law, And we abide in the rhythm of... Oh, we already talked about that one. I don't know why I did that twice. Dumb. That was really dumb. Now here's some hard ones. You guys hopefully spent some time.

How does the death of the Lord Jesus make a believer free spiritually as the death of a former husband makes one free in regard to the marriage bond? How does that work? How does the death of the Lord Jesus make one free spiritually or positionally from law? It fulfills it in a sense, right? It fulfills it? Mark says, if you sin, then you die. And Christ died. Law is a penalty. Why did Christ die then? I mean, if that principle is in play, why does he have to die? Because we sinned. Because we sinned, but why did he have to die?

What's that? No, that's not what I'm after. If he's going to die, then there has to be a reason for him dying. You know, he just isn't, okay, I'm going to die today. The word says that he was made sin for us. Once that happens, the result is automatic. He's going to die. You see that?

Now when he's made sin for us, what's really happening there? And notice the word is sin, not sins. So what's really going on in that transaction? Before the separation, what happens when he's made this thing sin? What's that? Before the separation part. Well, yeah, I think that's what happens. I think all of our sin natures in this room are identified with Christ. He is now identified with those sin natures. They're on him. They're like this. So, the result is that he's going to die. He's physically going to die and he is separated from his father. But when he dies, death meaning separation, he separates. From what? From my sin nature? Your sin nature? Everybody's sin nature here.

He separates, and because you're identified with Him, you separate too. You see that? Does that make any sense? Otherwise, it's something that's always being done to you. It's not something that's being done because you're in Christ. The importance of understanding your relationship with one of two men, either Adam or Christ, is critical here. Those who never believe on the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ are going to suffer condemnation. Why? Because they sinned in Adam, but because Adam is condemned. The sin nature is condemned. And if you're identified with it when you leave this planet, you're going to go where it goes. Condemnation. But if you're identified with the Lord Jesus Christ when you leave this planet, you go where He is.

So once you get identified with Christ, whatever is true of Him is now true of you. You see that? Everything that's true of him, everything that's true of him, all the way down to being an inheritor, is now true of you. So the identity with Christ is critical here, in terms of being free from the law. All that Adam was, in the sin nature, including the law, was put on him. He was identified with the whole thing.

So when he dies, what happens? He separates from the sin nature, he separates from the law, he separates from the world, and he separates from any practical or positional influences Satan would have at all. So he's not of here, he's gone. When somebody you know dies, are they still under the law? Do they still have to go to speed limit? Do they have to, are they subject to the pressures and the influences and the mindset of the world? Can Satan still pick on them? Yes or no?

Well, if they're not here, nothing of the world has any influence on them anymore. Well, if you're in Christ, when He dies unto sin and all these other things, positionally, where are you? Same place He is. You're free. separate it. Does that make sense? You're free. But if you look at Romans 7, through five in there, you're not free to your own devices. You're free to marry another. And so that's what's going on here, is that underattachment to the law, where you cannot function, where you're subject to that law. That's right. That's gone just for you. That's gone because the man's gone. He's gone. He's gone. See, you know, he died. He left this environment. He isn't around anymore.

So you're not subject to his the law of marriage that you had with him, but you're not free to be a self-directed idiot. You're free to marry another. You're free to be united now with Christ. You weren't free before then to do that, because you were under his law.

You see that? Is that okay? No? Okay, explain what each of the following expressions means to you in your present day experience. I had not known sin, but by the law. Now you don't have to tell me all the bad stuff you're doing. But when you kill his will and you tell him don't touch something, you haven't told him don't touch something, He would never notice it. That's a great example, and I use it occasionally when we've got little kids around. I say, watch this. Here's a two-year-old. Don't touch my Dr. Pepper can. Guess what?

In a practical sense, as you grow up as a human being, there gets to be things in your life that are prohibited by the society you live in, by the church you go to, by the Bible you read. And the problem that you discover, hopefully discover, is that if one or two or three of those things are really attractive to you and you know you're not supposed to be doing them, the more you try, the worse it gets. I don't know about you girls, but I know it's really true of us guys. And I'm waiting for that principle to start playing out in John's life. It's really close. It just is. You can't do this and you can't do that, and you better do this. If that becomes the issue, then you're in trouble, because it'll dog you until it gets you.

I know, and we were coming down and talking about there's a listing in my neighborhood that two years ago I had it listed and the people had a buyer for it and didn't tell me about it and fired me and sold it the next day through this other realtor. And I knew it happened, but the guy was a stroke victim and I wasn't going to give him anything.

But the tendency in me to get justice you know, was there. You know, I was going to get this lady. And finally one day, that same day, I was like, wait a minute, where are you going with that? That's Adam. And you know, you go through the routine and your mind, that isn't who I am anymore.

These guys are so mercenary. Tuesday we were talking about the rich men causing grief to the poor guy. And so is it a sin to be rich? You should hear these guys with a little money justify their wealth. It's kind of funny. Yeah, if you're poor, you've got a better shot at it.

Yeah, that's right. That's exactly right. Yeah, the real deadly ones are pride and envy and those little suckers like that that just blow you away and not the ones that And they can get very, at least, okay, I'll speak personally, with mine, they get guised in very self-righteous, just behavior. Oh yeah. Totally. And it takes a while to go, oh, that's not of the Lord at all. Yeah. I think we all have that. I kid Donna all the time, you don't ever want to cross you. If you get put on that blacklist, you're there forever. We all have that, you know.

Okay, when the commandment came, sin revived and I died. Same thing. It's the same principle. The command comes, sin revived and I died. My best example of that is, here's the temptation to sin. It's like a campfire. Somebody says put the fire out. You go get the law, a bucket of the law, to put the fire out. The problem is that the law is gasoline. And when you throw it on there to put it out, instead of it going out, it explodes. That's what the law does.

Without the law, sin is dead. Think so? What does it mean that sin is dead? Mean it went away somewhere? Yeah, actually that's right. If the law is designed to activate sin, then if there isn't any law, there isn't any activator. Not that there isn't temptation, but that's exactly what the law is designed to do, is to activate sin.

Paul says, I would not have known, it's pretty subtle. Romans 7, Paul says, I would not have known, and King James uses the word lust, I don't A strong desire is a better word. Except the law had said to me, you can't have strong desires. Well, you know what's interesting about that?

The whole energy source of the sin nature is strong desire. That's what it is. So the law comes along and says the very core of your existence is prohibited. What does the sin nature do? I'll show you. Boom, here comes all manner of strong desire. because the law said you can't.

That principle, once it's understood and recognized and owned, will keep you away from law as much as anything, because you know that if you go there, what's going to happen? Rather than it being a controlling mechanism for my behavior, it just sets it off.

How many personal pronouns were there in Romans 7, 14 through 25? How many did you come up with? How many? How many did you come up with? 22. She's holier than you. Anybody else? I came up with 39. Probably 40, I probably skipped on it. Did you count them? Yeah, 39 or 40 personal pronouns. Why do you think they're there? Why do you think Paul made them so repetitious? What's he trying to point out? I know that nothing can pass. You look at the functioning of your limb.

Personal pronouns point to who? You. The idea of the Christian life is to be abiding in and focusing on the Lord Jesus Christ. Freedom from you. So Romans 7 with 39 or 40 personal pronouns demonstrates what the law really does. It focuses you in on you. You see that? So what great important lessons have you learned from Romans 7? I think Romans 7 is an experience that goes on for a long time in a believer's life as he grows.

And the practical freedom, I mean, I'm glad it's in there. Because otherwise, a lot of the things that go on in your life that are struggles, you wouldn't understand why they were there. You wouldn't know. I mean, unless someone tells you you're free from the law, how are you going to know? And I'm telling you, you don't buy it when you first hear it, the first 500 times you hear it. You think that there has to be law, otherwise there's chaos. We don't realize that grace is a reigning principle, and that the life of the Lord Jesus Christ, in which we are now positioned forever, doesn't need legal principle to function by.

He lives, and so do you. The problem is that you have to be dependent, and you don't like that. Let's close. That is the second bell, right? Dear Father, how we thank you for your word and we particularly thank you for Roman 7, the pathway to freedom, to be able to abide and rest in your dear Son. We pray in his name. Amen.