3. Because of man’s limitations and
dependencies ,
One
thing we should try never to forget is that the main reason why man has been
given life is to worship God. First and
foremost it is in Christ we all live and move and have our existence. Man has
absolutely nothing that he/she can call his own as we have been duly admonished
saying; “For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you
did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you
had not received it?” (1 Corinthians 4:7)
Whatever
gifts, talents or abilities we have, they are all given to us by God for to
each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift, for
it is by grace we all have been saved through faith, and that not of ourselves;
it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. And so, in the
finale analysis all we owe is a debt of love, gratitude and appreciation for
what the Lord has done for us and this is manifested and demonstrated in our
praise and worship to Him but it must be done in accordance to His ordained
plan since there is another being vying for this honor and glory.
We
must all come to the realization that man is not an independent creature; one
is either a slave of God which is also a slave of righteousness, or a slave of
sin which is disobedience to the laws of God and originated from the devil. For
we have been duly admonished saying; “What then? Shall we sin (transgress the
laws of God) because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! Do
you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that
one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience
leading to righteousness? But God be thanked that though you were slaves of
sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were
delivered.’
“And
having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. I speak in
human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented
your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more
lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for
holiness” (Romans 6:15-19).
As
this passage of scripture clearly points out our freedom from not being under
law does not invalidate obedience to the law, for the scriptures again states;
“Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we
establish the law” (Romans 3:31).
And
so, although we are not under the penalty of the law due to Jesus Christ Who paid
the price of sin in our stead, the law nevertheless is what teaches us how to
live and having been set free from being a slave to sin, we now have become a
slave of obedience to righteousness. We are not independent creatures; we are
either a slave of disobedience or a slave of obedience to the way of life the
Lord has established by which man should live.
Again
the apostle Paul made this abundantly clear stating; “What shall we say then?
Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin
except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law
had said, "You shall not covet…Therefore the law is holy, and the
commandment holy and just and good” (Romans 7:7, 12).
We
should also note carefully what the apostle Paul said to Timothy, he said; “But
we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, knowing this: that the
law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate,
for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of
fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for fornicators, for
sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other
thing that is contrary to sound doctrine, according to the glorious gospel of
the blessed God which was committed to my trust” (1 Timothy 1:8-11).
So
why is the law not made for a righteous person? Simply because the righteous
person is already living within the confines of the law and therefore, the law
has no jurisdiction over them just like a driver who is in compliance with all
the traffic regulations, the traffic officer has no power over him as compared
to the driver who is not in compliance to all the traffic regulations.
If
there is one thing we who profess to be believers should always bear in mind is
the admonition which states; “Or do you not know that your body is the temple
of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your
own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in
your spirit, which are God's” (1Corinthians 6:19-20).
Since
we are not our own and we are ether a slave of righteousness or a slave of sin
and principally, having the adversary vying to be worship just as the Lord is
worshiped it is incumbent upon us to serve our master in the way He has
ordained and not in accordance to the customs and traditions of men because
this will be vain and false worship.
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With brotherly love
Lucius Joseph
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