"The Lord kills and He makes alive". What is the function and purpose of the Law of God?
How does the sinful nature (the flesh) deceive us into abusing the Law of God with catastrophic results and consequences? Israel sought salvation and Life, but abused the Law to manufacture its own self-righteousness and was exposed to God's severe judgement of blinding to this day.
This abuse of God's law by the 'Flesh' leads to a sensual 'spirituality' of touch not, taste not,handle not... which puffs up the fleshly mind with humble pride !
What are the legitimate purposes of the Law ?
One is to restrain transgressions (as against inward sinning) by attaching external and carnal sanctions of reward(blessing) and punishment(curses) to obedience to its commands. Both the rewards and punishments are material and this worldly. This is a temporary provision pending and in anticipation of the full solution to Sin that is provided by the Gospel.
But there is a further and more glorious dimension to the Law. There is a ministry of Death. There is a ministry of Condemnation. There is a ministry of God's Wrath. There is a generation of Christians who have never partaken of this ministry but are found inside Christ's church. This is the ministry of God's Law and it is glorious! Here the Law functions as a school master to bring us to Christ.
A rightful use of the Law of God by the power of the Holy Spirit brings us into a personal and experiential discovery of the knowledge of Sin within. This session describes the devastating process through which this knowledge of my sinful nature as exceedingly sinful and impotent to repair itself is exposed and revealed. Now I know and am convinced that I am wholly evil, and a slave to the principle of SIN that rules me. The end result is that we desperately and earnestly start seeking for a Saviour from Sin (not sins) outside of ourselves for the first time. The Law has precipitated a crisis of Death unto Life. You can download the audio recordings from here
