The Power of Hope in a Faithless Age

I just wrote this letter to a friend, in part from my own failings and struggles, but with the desire to build others up who have the same questions that I have struggled through:

Christians have the burden of loving and not judging. The non-Christian has no desire not to judge as they have no desire to live according to the love of Christ. God forbid we start to sound the same. Christians (on the Right AND Left) tend to turn to the state to legislate morality more than we turn to Jesus to change our own hearts. The Lord gave me a question last Friday night during my bible study wherein I asked everyone to label what they considered the worst sin to be. I had answers ranging from rape, to causing others to sin, to murder. Then I asked them, "When you see others committing those sins does it bother you more than your own sins?" What do you think? We want to judge others so badly. We demand JUSTICE for their failings and then as soon as we screw up we beg for MERCY!

Take a fresh look at the bible. It is disingenuous to believe that it has been translated badly. There are literally tens of thousands of the earliest Apostolic and prophetic writings from antiquity that have been found which bear witness to the faithfulness of translations. Certainly there are very short segments that are difficult to translate correctly but the Book in its entirety is a marvel of faithfulness. Is God not powerful enough to preserve His word? Are His people so unfaithful that they should want to politicize it completely as so many of us modern Christians seem to have done? I don't think so. There are things more lasting, more eternal and more important than our fading political realm. As Peter said when Jesus asked if the Apostles would leave Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life!" THAT is our message. Eternal life. In the end, no one will care about our current state of politics but everyone will care about which side of Jesus they fall upon. Jesus held high the Scriptures (yes, even those "awful" passages from Deuteronomy and such). He even cited the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah to say that if they had been commanded to repent they would have done so (insinuating that they were less wicked than the Pharisees). There is no evidence to show that the words of scripture have been so perverted as to be rendered untrustworthy. The root of our distrust is our own fallibility and cautiousness towards our own race. But God's power and grace supersedes our meager abilities to sin. He has preserved the meaning of Eternal Life (Salvation) for people of every tribe, tongue and nation to hear. Let us not try and remove His glory from our lives by questioning His very power to be King over creation.

Police brutality in the age of Michael Brown and Eric Garner

"Police brutality" has obviously been in the news quite a bit as of late. I put it in quotes as there are times when brutality (or extreme force) is necessary (arguably Michael Brown) and other times when it is not (Eric Garner). In the case of Garner, he had been hassled by the police dozens of times mostly about selling "loosies", or individual cigarettes, in a heavily regulated and taxed market that made the cost of a pack of cigarettes four times more than in bordering states and allowed for a thriving black market. My point is that, when you make a law for the police to enforce, it must be one that is worthy of being backed up by deadly force. After all, the law concerns itself with justice; not mercy. In no conceivable instance should Garner have been judged before death's door by the law for selling a legal product at a discounted rate. So next time you hear it celebrated that we are a "nation of laws" it should grieve your hearts. The law makes no man good and serves only to punish those who break it. How about us Democrats, Republicans, Independents and Libertarians come together to start rolling back the tidal wave of tiny, murderous laws and regulations that make at least 75% of us guilty of unknowingly committing at least one felony in our lives? No one should have to die for selling cigarettes.

9-11 Reflections

I joined the Marine Corps after 9-11-01 to kill fanatical Muslims who wanted to die for a faith that professes to "love death more than we love life." Well, as the Marines would often say, "It is up to God to forgive and up to the Marines to arrange the meeting." That resonated deeply within me and gave me an outlet for the rage that consumed me in those days after nearly 3,000 people were killed. So off I went to the recruiter's office. How times have changed for me.

Many would say that my change was due to the resultant "mellowing" of one's nature as the years elapsed. I must disagree with that statement. Truthfully, I was adrift at the age of 19 with a religion that left me hopeless and seething. Anyone of a religion that is their own making will eventually come to such a conclusion. But now I have Jesus and He changes everything. It is written of Him:

"Remember that you were at that time se
parated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility."

I have since become a man more in touch with sorrow and grief for those who are perishing. As for God, it is my desire that "no man should perish, but that all should reach repentance" so, though I was again full of anger for the wickedness of the terrorists of ISIS, I was directed towards an approach of life-giving instead of life-taking. Don't get me wrong, their actions are deserving of death, but I began praying for the brutal men who found their sense of purpose in the slaughter of innocents. After all, was I not the same brutal man whose sin spilled precious Jesus' innocent blood on that cross? But God had mercy on me and gave me life. I must now do the same for God's enemies if I am to proclaim myself to be a friend of Jesus.

The Cynic in all of us

Avoid cynical people. Examine your heart when you are one. To paraphrase Paul Miller and C.S. Lewis, those who think they can "see through" everything end up spending all their time looking at nothing. When all you ever see is an agenda, all you end up with is a bitter heart. Ironically then, the cynic's use of cynicism is a perverse lens with which to view the world. He looks through the colored lens for ulterior motives of the heart. Such terrain is not meant for our advances. The heart is God's territory. Spend your days in the presence of Jesus and His people who have an otherworldly hope. Consider His crimson stained glasses who, in perfect fellowship with His Father, "for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." The exhortation then for us who are in fellowship with one another and The Father is that, "since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith." LOOK to Jesus! Use His eyes of mercy and grace and a world of joy will open up before you as you bathe in His love.

Picture courtesy of: Holes Kaleidoscope Glasses by Pam Tietze

Kama Sutra...for children!

I remember when I was a young kid and I saw my first Playboy magazine. I was at the airport with my family. I had heard of the magazine and, of course, the pictures on the monthly covers were always provocative. I stole guilty glances whenever they came into view. This was before stores thought to put the black covers in front of the magazines and before they put all the magazines in sealed plastic sleeves. I waited for my parents and twin sister to leave the store and said I would be right with them. When they were just out of sight, I grabbed the Playboy and flipped through the pages as fast as possible. My only thought was, "How are her nipples so pink?!?" I am not happy to have that memory etched in my brain, though it is not nearly so bad as much of the sludge I desensitized it with later in life when I became addicted to pornography.

All of this flashed through my mind today while I was at Barnes & Noble. I've spent the better part of 17 years battling the images I have sealed in my mind. I was looking at board games when I took a casual glance to my side and saw the "adult" section. There were incredibly lustful pictures of outwardly gorgeous women on the covers that staggered me in my steps. One of the books in particular was about 4 feet off the ground and stuck out into the aisle. On its cover were a completely nude woman and man engaged in a sexual acts (Kama Sutra) and my only thought was of myself when I was a kid and how such images hijacked my brain for the better part of half my life.

I approached one of the store clerks and asked if he could find a more "proper" place to position the book. All he said to me was, "Yeah, we tried to move those books as far away from the kid's section as possible but YOU can put it on its side since it's bothering you." Goodness, in my flesh I would have rather bought the book instead of bringing it up to him! Still, I found it annoying that he turned the situation around on me as if I was the problem. His eyes seemed to scream out accusingly, "Of course it's completely natural to put sexual books at eyesight near the board games where kids, before their time, will seek to know just what the hell they're looking at!"

Many people like this man have decided that it is perfectly acceptable for kids to get an "education" in sexuality. I am here to emphatically say that it wrecked my sexuality and view of women and I have only just begun to recover. I wish I had never been given the opportunity as a child to sexualize women and see them as objects of my pleasure. I'm still not even sure I know what it means to be attracted to a woman apart from her looks. I've never been in love and I'm afraid of intimacy. I've cheapened sex as if it's only something that I can get as opposed to what I can give and I'm so sad and weary in my heart because of it. It's sickening.

But God, who is rich in mercy, has renewed me by the washing of His Holy Spirit. He has given me new eyes to look on women as creatures who are deeply loved in spite of their flaws. He has greatly healed my heart after I went hiding from love through deeply perverted actions and thoughts related to voyeurism, exhibitionism, homosexuality and pornography. I can't wait to get married someday and experience sex as God planned for me to: In a safe, caring and committed relationship with the love of my life. I deeply desire the opportunity to raise our kids and provide for them a spiritual shelter where they can take refuge in Jesus from the evils of this world. One of my most joyful thoughts is of my children loving Christ as their Savior.

So I am pleased to say that God has brought my experience full circle, from a lonely and wounded child furtively looking at a Playboy, to a sex addict, to a recovered addict and excited potential father. By God's grace, my struggle will not be that of my children. In spite of my sin, God has redeemed me and can do the same for you.

Chasing justice

Today, I had to chase down a spray painting juvenile who decided to run through the parking long of my school. As I was running after the guy, I couldn't stop thinking of how surreal the situation was. I'm on my phone with the police dispatcher zeroing the cops in on the guy I'm tailing and he won't stop even though he knows he's going to be caught. Thankfully, I could tell by the way he acted that he wasn't yet hardened in his ways.


Regardless, my duty as a Christian at that moment was to bring a boy to justice and I realized, even as I wanted to share the Gospel of mercy with him in some fashion, that God glorifies Himself in two main ways: Through his justice and through his mercy. My job at that time was to bring about the justice of God through the position of authority he had give to me as a high school security guard. It pleases God when justice is upheld.

People tend to ignore the justice of God as a means of His glory, it seems. They want to see "God as love" as opposed to the God who, in delivering His love, also took out His wrath on His Son who stood in our place. That is how Christ glorified Himself and redeemed us. Yet, without justice, there can be no deliverance. The wicked go free and are glorified while the righteous wither away and die.

Life sucks and then you die.

Where we come from is a mystery and to where we will go is unknown. The only certain thing is that from dust we were formed and to dust will our remains return. The sinner seeks justice from his oppressor and the righteous man dies of a broken heart. For what purpose does the one who seeks goodness work for? Assuredly, he will die just as the sinner. The lazy gambler loses his money in life just as the diligent worker loses it in death. Whether we tarry or hurry, the pursuit of wealth is foolish for what it purchases will decay away. To seek justice is a fool's errand for the grave will catch all in it's insatiable embrace. Whereas justice is never fulfilled, the grave is never filled. Regardless of the goodness we seek in life, at death we bequeath all things to those who did not earn them. The meaningless nature of this life is found in death.

You ask, "but what of justice? Is it not good that we seek it while we live?" Foolishness! Have you failed to examine your own heart? A man cannot live up to even the standards he strives for! We are marked by failure and deserve judgment at every step. We miss the mark of living up to God's law and prove the impossibility of living up to the law of man. Even as a law unto ourselves we are riddled with imperfection. We hate the people who murder in hatred and put them to death in our very hearts. We despise the jealous and the proud and drop the anchor of haughtiness deeply in the harbors of our souls. The secret places drip with venom and stink with the rot of death even as we polish the facade that we present to the world. We are white-washed tombs that look beautiful on the outside and contain nothing on the inside but decaying bones.

You want to judge but are already judged! Judgment brings no hope. The world knows this to be true which is why many rally around the banner of hating those who judge. Do you not see? Even in avoiding judgment we make ourselves arbiters of those who judge! If we could avoid judgment there is still no hope, for existence is joyless when wickedness goes unpunished. This is the crux of the problem we face as humans. With judgment no man escapes the murder in his own heart and without justice the murderer goes free.

Can this possibly be the end of the story for us? What is our purpose in this life and universe if all paths lead to hopelessness and death? There is only one answer and it must be found in the life, death, resurrection and ascension of the king of all creation, Jesus Christ, who came to save all men from their sins! He is the "man of sorrows" who took the corrupted mortality of this life upon Himself to be with us. He walked in life among those who were dead to Him to serve their needs and take away their distresses. He came not to judge us according to our evil ways, but to be judged though His ways were pure and faultless. Open your eyes, sinner! The judgment you deserve has fallen upon the Savior of mankind! Seek out His forgiveness! In this way only can perfect justice be established for eternity. Judgment is passed, justice prevails, and mercy and grace reign in Him who is merciful and just to forgive. All who put their trust in Him will by no means be put to shame. Death has been swallowed up in life!

YOU ARE SUCH AN IDIOT!

Today, I was keeping watch out in front of the school when a couple of female students I recognized went walking by. One of them was on the phone talking to the person who was going to give her a ride home. Having seen her picked up by her dad before I assumed that she was speaking to him. Now, I'd seen her be rude to him a time or two before but it was only in passing and it was nothing like the belligerence she put on display today in front of her friend.

As she was approaching, I heard her saying in a steadily harsher voice as the conversation quickly developed, "Where are you?" A moment later she spoke with a vitriolic voice and I could almost taste the poison that dripped from her tongue. Her countenance was wicked, yet gleeful, for the pain she was willingly inflicting upon her dad. She said, "We're going to Taco Bell. Pick us up there" ...short pause... "GOD DANG! YOU ARE SUCH AN IDIOT!" Her phone slammed shut.

I was appalled and barked at her, "Hey, is that your dad you were talking to?" She gave and affirmative response and I quickly said, "That was shameful of you!" She didn't even look at me as she walked away but her friend tried to spit some sort of uncouth words my way before tapering off into a few sour glances.

I was aggravated for the duration of the morning for two reasons. Her father was to blame for setting up such lousy boundaries and she was responsible for her rebelliousness. What led to such a relationship between her and her father? A friend suggested that perhaps it was a powerful sense of guilt or shame on the part of the father. He may have done something terribly wrong to her in the past and, knowing his guilt, allowed her to get away with whatever she wanted. How terrible though. If that is the case, guilt obviously did not motivate him to love his daughter. In fact, by allowing her to live such a shameful life he was hating her.

I realized in my anger that I was not hoping for healing for the two of them so I began to pray that the Lord would reveal His loving-kindness to them. In so praying, I realized that my nature was that of the girl's to her father. I was living as an enemy to God, spitting in his face and defiling his goodness. Yet, he refused to allow me, as a wayward child, to live in such a wicked state. He was not ashamed of His own nature and He knew how to win my heart. He drew a boundary around me and said, "this far shall you fall and no further." Then He caught me in His hands and lifted me up. He taught me honesty to admit to Him my hatreds and misgivings and in so doing I learned how to trust in Him. This trust did not come simply because I could speak to Him, but because I could see His grace poured out into my heart. He did not allow me to continue to hate Him!

He called out my shameful behavior but, more than that, He rectified it. He brought light to my darkness and exposed my need. There was a dark hole in my heart that had sucked all the joy around me into it and dissolved it. In seeing this, I was left to stew in my own guilt and I KNEW that God was going to crush me. Yet, in His mercy as my perfect Father, God reached out His hands of blessing and offered to me gifts of a clear conscience, forgiveness of sin, peace of mind, kindness of heart, eternal life and a relationship with His Son forever. He simply asked me, "Have you learned your lesson?"

With my mouth wide open in astonishment, having expected judgment, I could only say, "Yes, Father. Forgive me." My life started at that point and the story I take with me from this time until Heaven will be one of praise for that gift of grace and forgiveness.

Time lapse photography of the LA Station fire.

After watching the video again and considering nature's power I recalled a passage from Hebrews 10:

26If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. 28Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? 30For we know him who said, "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," and again, "The Lord will judge his people." 31It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Our world is an unpredictable and terrifying place but it is only the dimmest shadow compared to the wrath of God and His burning anger towards sin. In a very real way, our Father in Heaven is infinitely more terrifying than "Mother Nature" and He demands justice for our sinful law-breaking. Thus, in Christ alone is there no room for fear for He only has taken our sins and our punishment upon Himself. He has eternally cast them into the lake of fire with our adversary Satan to be burned up forever. We find this hope in the prophet Micah's words in chapter 7 of the last book of the Old Testament:

¹⁸ Who is a God like you,
who pardons sin and forgives the transgression
of the remnant of his inheritance?
You do not stay angry forever
but delight to show mercy.

¹⁹ You will again have compassion on us;
you will tread our sins underfoot
and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.

It is always good to put these truths to song so please listen to Audio Adrenaline's song about how God has forgotten all our sins and buried them on the ocean floor:

Psalm 100:5 - "For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations."

The Green Mile movie review and various other thoughts

It was a brutal day at work today. I was on shift doing my rounds as security guard at Escondido Charter High School and was stuck outside for most of the day. The temperature winded its way on up to 96 degrees F. Thankfully, a friend and coworker pointed out to me that the weather report said it only felt like it was 91! What great news! The slight breeze that the weather report must have been citing for its "chill factor" made it feel like I was not only in a furnace, but in a blow dryer as well. Another coworker tried to cheer me up by offering to have his students fry eggs on the cars in the parking lot. I believe an ice cold beer would have made a better offering.

After driving home in a pool of my own sweat I managed to slide out of my car and crawl to the front door; the only evidence of my arrival being a cloud of dust that erupted from my parched throat when I coughed out the frog that would not stop croaking every time I tried to speak. I recovered only by the liberal application of cool libations to my crusted body and a long nap finally interrupted by the cruel ringing of my cell phone at around 7:00 pm mountain standard time. I am unable to recall who rang but will hopefully have my phone repaired soon so that I may check.


Unwilling to go back to sleep, I turned the telly on and saw that one of my all time favorite movies was playing on FX. I was surprised by that because, generally speaking, I think the station should change its initials to ZZ(zzzzz). Anything else on that station and I would have been sawing logs all over again.

The rush of static and zinging noise that brings a CRT to life opened onto one of the most intense segments of "The Green Mile." The miracle worker and falsely accused killer, John Coffey, was in prison with William "Wild Bill" Wharton (a singularly evil being); Percy Wetmore, the belittling and depraved keeper, was on the prowl for easy blood; the simple and repentant Cajun, Eduard Delacroix, was keeping to his pet mouse and was soon to "ride the lighting"; Paul Edgecomb, the warden, was working to hold together a system of justice that could be brutally wrong in its execution of justice.

Delacroix is enjoying one of his last conversations on the earth with wardens Edgecomb and Howell while his mouse is playing with the wooden spool on which thread is packaged. His last concern is the ownership and care of his mouse so Edgecomb and Howell spin a yarn about a mouse carnival in Florida where the little guy can perform tricks and be well-cared after. While gently discussing the care of Delacroix's beloved mouse, the creature runs out onto the green mile (central corridor) and is stomped under the vile boot of Percy Wetmore who states only that he knew he would get him eventually.

The anguished cry that pours from the soul of Delacroix is simple to understand: Death was looming before his eyes and the last measure of joy in his life had just been crushed. Wetmore, a man who delighted in destroying what was good had won an evil victory in ruining Delacroix's spirit. At this point, Coffey urgently beckons for Edgecomb to place the dead mouse in his hands and, for the sake of all that is good, resurrects it back to life and denies Wetmore his wicked triumph. Be forewarned that I mean to describe how I see the beauty of Christ in all of this.

The scene described is amazingly powerful because it reflects the desire of the human heart to see justice done. Yet, justice is ultimately impossible for creatures of flesh and blood. The throbbing wounds and open cuts dealt by the hand of the evildoer remain even when the perpetrator is held accountable before the law. Even when the wounds for the victim heal over there is oftentimes a deep scar. Thus, we see that the law has no ability to save and maintain life. All it does is point to the failures of those who come before it and punish them. The life giving ingredient that is missing from the law is mercy which cannot be given arbitrarily lest justice be ignored.

Nothing of flesh and blood can stand clean before the law and that is why the gift of life that Coffey gives is one of mercy and compassion. He resurrects Delecroix's mouse to show compassion towards a fellow man who was condemned under the law and about to be put to death. He resurrected hope by giving life. Did not Christ do the same thing when, in His miracles He healed the sick, gave sight to the blind and raised the dead from the grave? In this respect, Coffey is a Christ-figure in this movie.

Whereas the natural man, like Wetmore, is condemned before the law because of a desire to withhold justice and steal from others what is good, the supernatural and supremely innocent man (or man of the Spirit whom Coffey represents) is justified before the law because of a desire to restore life and love. Coffey does this willingly through his own suffering when he sucks the sickness and death out of the infirmed and pulls it into himself. He renews life, hope, love, joy and peace through his compassionate gift. Thus, in a sense, absolution is found for those whom Coffey heals when he hides their sickness within his own frame and suffers for it.

Christ does the same for those who love Him. The ability to give life is the most powerful force in the universe and when Christ takes the condemnation of those who fail the test of the law and buries it in His own body, the One who must judge that wickedness now finds no fault in the one from whom it was removed. In fact, the fault now lies with the one who holds it (Christ) and He suffered the blame.

We can see a type of the injustice of Christ's guilt when Coffey willingly suffers death by electricity. Yet, that death is only for himself, so that he might escape the pain that he holds within and the suffering that he sees "all around." How much more unjust was it that Jesus, who died willingly as well, should die a death on the cross to save us because of the pain that we suffer through? This is how God's mercy triumphs over law's judgment. Read John 17 if you wish to investigate for yourself. http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john%2017&version=NIV

The deep truths I am trying to convey in this writing are thus given:

1) Without grace and mercy everything we gain in this life will be lost.

"Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart." Job 1:21

"...the wise man, like the fool, will not be long remembered; in days to come both will be forgotten. Like the fool, the wise man too must die!" Ecclesiastes 2:16

2) Death and wickedness are thieves and an offense that God has overcome.

"When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory." "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians 15:54-57

3) God restores life and love in a state uncorrupted and beautiful.

"Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." Revelation 21:3-4

Emmanuel (God with us)

One of the teachers at the school I work at is a Jehovah's Witness and we've talked about the Scriptures and Christ a number of times. She's a fun person and I enjoy her a lot. She seems to enjoy our talks and my presence as well as she has invited me to a number of gatherings of the Witnesses. I have not had much experience with them other than what I have basically read and heard. Apart from everything else they believe (no matter how strange), the important difference between them and Christians is that they have a works-based religion whereas God is grace-based. I don't say this from hearsay but from knowledge I gained from attending their church last Sunday. Their sermon (they would probably call it a lecture) could literally have been labeled "Obey God's law because He commands it." Only lousy parents would give such a reason to their children to obey them. I can see it now:

Mom: "JOHNNY! You go apologize to Carla right this instant!"
Johnny: "But whyyyyyy mom?"
Mom: "Because I said so!"


God does not deal with such frivolous explanations. He focuses on the heart and changing it. He explains to us why we should obey Him. For instance, in many places all over the Bible His reason is basically, "because I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of bondage and slavery." Our motivation to do what is right is not motivated out of fear, guilt or confusion but out of gratitude for our rescue from slavery and death!

I was angry over the words of the lecturer simply because his teachings were so wicked and wrong. For him to teach in the name of Christ who alone was able to obey the law for us and then tell those he was teaching to do the same is like giving them concrete boots and throwing them into the ocean to swim. We live a life of GRACE! Our works are filthy rags and at best we are unprofitable servants! Nothing we can do will gain us favor or right standing before God. That is why it took His perfect life, unjust death and glorious resurrection to purchase our entrance into God's presence. Who wants to trade pearls for sand? Trust in God's grace and not in yourself and you shall find life.

Still, I was not surprised to hear the law preached and was trusting that God would provide me the opportunity to minister His truth. One of the students from the school was there and he came to say hi. We chatted a little bit, parted ways and then saw one another again on Monday when he came for class. He asked me what I thought about the church service and I told him that I was "disappointed." I was thankful that he asked why and then actually listened as I registered complaints against the teaching.

I took with him the position from Romans 7 that in living through Christ we are now dead to the law:

⁴So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God. ⁵For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death. ⁶But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.

We bear fruit through the law keeping of Christ and the grace He showed to us when He gave Himself as a ransom for us. As children who put their hand in the cookie jar after being told not to do so, so are we before the law when it tells us how to live. In Christ, we are bound to righteousness through the power of His blood and no longer to sin that, through the law, made us unrighteous.

⁷What shall we say, then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, "Do not covet." ⁸But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of covetous desire. For apart from law, sin is dead. ⁹Once I was alive apart from law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. ¹⁰I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death.

The law was necessary to teach us of our own incapacity to be righteous before God. It was meant to drive us to the mercy which Christ provides. Without a code to tell us the proper path to walk, we would have no reason handed down by God to live a certain way and could not be judged as sinners. Paul, as Saul, found his righteousness through the keeping of the law and thus did not consider himself judged by it.

¹¹For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death. ¹²So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good. ¹³Did that which is good, then, become death to me? By no means! But in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it produced death in me through what was good, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful.

Sin had deceived Paul into believing himself blameless before the law and ultimately blinded him to his own spiritual death before Christ gave him sight to see. So the law is good because it reveals the heart of sin that is withing us. the punishment for sin is death and if we don't realize that we deserve such punishment then we cannot understand our need for Christ to supply our redemption. Either justice will find you, or you will find your shelter from justice in Christ who took your punishment. Either way, justice must be carried out. The law will be upheld by the sword and no one who is outside of Christ will be spared.

The next attribute of God I explained was that Christ is God incarnate. Anyone who knows a little bit of Spanish knows that "carne" is meat. Carne is a Spanish word derived from the Latin word incarnare which means "make flesh" and caro which means "flesh." Thus, Christ is the enfleshment of God. I said to Him that if you do not believe that Christ is God then you cannot be saved. In other words, if you don't believe God in the flesh who is with us then how can you believe God in the Spirit who is transcendent?

Praise God that we were able to speak again on Wednesday. He wanted me to bring Scripture detailing how Christ is God. I brought a lot. If you would like to read some of what I showed him then you can find it on this site: http://www.jesus-is-lord.com/jesusgd2.htm. We'll see where God takes it from here.