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The Discipline of Dying: A Path to Spiritual Growth

Posted on 04/29/2025 | Leave a comment

The purpose of spiritual discipline is to renew the mind and train the soul. When the mind is full of the noise of the world, it is difficult to hear the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit. Spiritual disciplines align us with the thoughts and ways of God, increasing our spiritual sensitivity by tuning us into the frequency of God, which is peace. 

Spiritual disciplines are intentional practices, like daily Bible reading, prayer, meditation on God’s word, and worship. These are done to cultivate spiritual growth and deepen one’s relationship with God. They are considered training exercises for spiritual life within the body of Christ, much like physical exercises are for the health of our physical body. 

These are not the spiritual disciplines I am referring to. All of these disciplines are important and necessary, but we need to incorporate another crucial discipline to make them effective. The discipline of dying.

Matthew 16:24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 

I think we all understand what it means to deny oneself, but what does it mean to pick up our cross? Picking up our cross is required if we are to follow Jesus. It is important that we know what that looks like.

When Jesus carried His cross, He was carrying it to His death. Can you imagine what would be going through your mind if you had to carry this heavy cross? It was up a hill, hard to carry.  It makes it even harder knowing that you would soon be hanging from it in torturous pain, awaiting a slow and miserable death.

Jesus carried His cross to die FOR the world. We carry our cross to die TO the world.

Galatians 2:20 says, I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. 

This verse emphasizes that we identify with Christ’s death and resurrection, leading to a life focused on Him and His will rather than ourselves and our will.

Romans 6:5-7 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. 7 For he who has died has been freed from sin.

This verse speaks of the “old self” being crucified, indicating a transformation and a new life in Christ. 

1 Corinthians 15:31 I affirm, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. 

This verse refers to the daily process of dying to self in order to live for Christ. 

Matthew 10 37-39 He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38 And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39 He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.

Jesus spoke repeatedly to His disciples about taking up their cross and following Him. Picking up our cross means giving up our lives—spiritually, symbolically, and even physically, if necessary. This was, and is, a prerequisite for being a follower of Christ.

Dying is never portrayed in Scripture as something optional in the Christian life. It is not a one-time event, but a daily dying, a lifelong process. It is our part in the sanctification process. God will only lead us to the cross. We must accept the responsibility to pick it up and carry it of our own free will.

The discipline of dying will be met with powerful resistance from the enemy because he has no power over one who has died to self. Daily dying will require us to avoid things that cater to resurrecting selfish desires and keeping the old man alive.

Things such as television, the news, social media, and the entertainment industry do not facilitate the quieting and sanctification of the mind and soul. On the contrary, it fills it with distractions, stirs up ungodly emotions, feeds fleshly desires, and desensitizes us to the Holy Spirit. These are some of the things that cause us to carry the burden and weight of worldly cares. They wage war against the progress we make in our personal devotions. They tear down strongholds of faith that we have built by other spiritual disciplines. They help Satan build new strongholds of wrong thinking that he hides behind to control our lives.

Satan’s distractions can skew our perspective and influence how we see our circumstances. They make things seem attrac­tive that would not normally appeal to us. These distractions can change our desires from those that are healthy to those that are harmful. The worst part is that we will eventually influence others based upon our own deception and self-justification. 

It is easy to get emotionally invested in a movie or TV series that is complete fiction. Social media can become a place where opinions fly, and words are said that hurt and tear down people. Think about the childish and ungodly way our politicians are behaving. I have seen a church split over political posturing. All these things stir us up emotionally to the point that it occupies our thoughts, initiates useless, and ungodly conversations, taking up space in our souls that God can no longer occupy.

The devil knows that constant exposure to these things makes picking up our cross virtually impossible. If the devil can gain a foothold in our minds, he has the power and authority to control our lives to some degree. We must be strategic in choosing what we look at and listen to. What we think about and speak about. Our goal is to fill our souls with the principles and truth found only in the Bible.

This is how we guard our hearts from evil influence.

Proverbs 4:23 Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.

The word “heart” in this verse is the Hebrew word “leb”. It means the soul, the mind, and the will. We become vulnerable when we don’t guard our souls from the chaos of ungodly distractions.

The soul without the discipline of dying to the flesh is like a restless child, easily influenced and easily distracted. The secret is not about forcing the soul to be silent but about stewarding what it is exposed to. This is the first step in taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.

2 Corinthians 10:4-5 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,

It makes it very hard to take ungodly thoughts captive when we constantly engage in things that stimulate our flesh and stir our emotions.

Romans 8:13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

Until our flesh is crucified, Christ can’t live through us in fullness.

Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

JESUS IS COMING!

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The Truth about Fasting

Posted on 06/26/2023 | Comments Off on The Truth about Fasting
  • I see people fasting for many different reasons. Still, when you boil it down, there is only one primary reason for fasting. To break through the veil of carnal flesh so the Spirit can find its highest expression in our lives. Fasting is not very popular among Christians because it requires discipline and self-denial. Some fast for the wrong reasons with little understanding and have little results.
  • What did Jesus say about fasting?

Mark 2:18-22 (NKJV) The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were fasting. Then they came and said to Him, “Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?”

19 And Jesus said to them, “Can the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast. 20 But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days. 21 No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; or else the new piece pulls away from the old, and the tear is made worse. 22 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins.”

  • Jesus is using old and new wineskins, and old and new cloth, as an analogy of our old and new natures. We are born into the old carnal nature under Adam, (Our old wineskin) and born again with the new nature of God (New wineskin), received by the Holy Spirit at our new birth in Christ.
  • So, what significance does fasting have in the context of this parable? Jesus was explaining to them the purpose and importance of fasting.
  • We live in this incredible paradox of having two natures constantly warring against each other. Jesus tells us that fasting is how we fight and win the war. Let’s look at Isaiah 58 and see the purpose of fasting.

Isaiah 58:6-9 (NKJV)“Is this not the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke? 7Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, and not hide yourself from your own flesh? 8 Then your light shall break forth like the morning, your healing shall spring forth speedily, and your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. 9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’

  • There is much more to this chapter, and I highly recommend reading the whole thing. Still, the point is that biblical fasting is not just about denying our physical bodies food but reaching out and helping others while denying ourselves.
  • There is something supernatural about the combination of denying ourselves while tending to the needs of others that brings powerful breakthroughs in our lives. It frees us from bondage, breaks yokes of unbelief, brings healing to our bodies, and sets us free from things holding us back in our relationship with the Lord.
  • A biblical fast is not just denying the physical body but the soul, mind, and will. Fasting should include denying every part of our being that is touched by the fall of man. Bringing our whole being into subjection, so our light shines brighter and ultimately gives God more glory.
  • We all desire to be filled with the new wine, but God’s mercy withholds it. If He filled our old wineskin with the fullness of the Spirit it would destroy us.
  • The fasting that Isaiah describes creates a new wineskin to contain that new wine. It increases our capacity in the Spirit and empowers us to live a sustained life of power and demonstration of the kingdom of God.
  • Let’s look at Luke’s account because he brings out a fascinating point that Matthew and Mark do not address.

Luke 5:33-39 (NKJV) Then they said to Him, “Why do the disciples of John fast often and make prayers, and likewise those of the Pharisees, but Yours eat and drink?”

34 And He said to them, “Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them? 35 But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them; then they will fast in those days.” 36 Then He spoke a parable to them: “No one puts a piece from a new garment on an old one; otherwise, the new makes a tear, and also the piece that was taken out of the new does not match the old. 37 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine will burst the wineskins and be spilled, and the wineskins will be ruined. 38 But new wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved. 39 And no one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires new; for he says, ‘The old is better.”

  • Look at verse 39. Luke recorded Jesus as saying, “No one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires new; for he says, ‘The old is better.’”
  • Jesus tells us that our flesh will resist the change brought about by fasting. We are not going to desire to live by the Spirit immediately. Our flesh will always argue that the old way is better, leave things as they are, the old wine is good enough, and fasting is unnecessary.
  • When things didn’t always go smoothly for the Israelites, they started complaining and desired to return to Egypt. Even after seeing the daily provision of manna, a pillar of cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night, they still desired the old way, the way of bondage, the old wine.
  • Fasting will not be easy for anyone, but there would be no significant rewards if it were easy. The promises we see in Isaiah 58 are mind-blowing. We desire and pray for new wine, but we ask God to put it in our old wineskin. It isn’t going to happen! He loves us too much!
  • Because of our fallen, broken nature, we seek more of God without making the necessary sacrifices to receive more. We desire the new wine but don’t want to release the old. We are craving change yet allowing things to remain and stagnate.

Thank you for visiting Truth Pressure Ministries. I hope this has been a blessing to you.

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Spiritual Warfare #7 ~ The Good Fight

Posted on 03/02/2022 | Comments Off on Spiritual Warfare #7 ~ The Good Fight

The term spiritual warfare implies that we are in a fight. It is a hard fight, but a good fight. Don’t let anyone tell you that everything will be roses and sunshine when you become a Christian. The storm comes on the just and the unjust alike.

A good fight is one that we win, and yet a battle we are incapable of fighting on our own. We must partner with God, acknowledge Him as King, and submit to His leadership if we are to fight a good fight and lay hold of the promises of God.

1 Timothy 6:12 (NKJV) Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

We see many examples of Israel’s physical battles in the Old Testament and how the Lord brought them to victory when they obeyed God and followed His instructions. We also see what happened when they did not follow God’s instructions or stepped out presumptuously to fight in their limited strength and understanding. Israel’s physical battles are types and shadows of the spiritual battles we must fight today. They are full of instruction and insight we must glean to wage effective warfare.

We will first explore aspects of the good fight that are foundational to being effective at spiritual warfare, helping us focus our attention on the battles that matter most. Being a good soldier requires maintaining specific lifestyle disciplines. Each chapter will focus on a particular discipline or understanding that will keep us in a state of readiness and constant awareness of the spiritual battles we all face.

Many self-professing Christians live without an awareness of the supernatural struggle between light and darkness. They do not view Christianity as warfare nor engage in the effort to live out the gospel. These are not good soldiers; they are no threat to the enemies’ kingdom and no help to the kingdom of God. They are fruitless branches that will be cut down and thrown into the fire. A good soldier lives his life engaged in spiritual warfare and bears much fruit.

Picking our fights

Not all fights are good fights, and not all fights are faith fights. We struggle to enforce the victory that has already been won for us by Jesus Christ. It is a fight to overcome darkness, destroy the works of Satan, and establish the kingdom of God and His government on Earth.

Israel fought to defend and expand a physical kingdom in the Old Testament. In the New Testament, our battles are for acquiring and developing an unseen realm, a spiritual domain. The kingdom of God is in the heart of every born-again believer. Spiritual warfare is all about stewarding the kingdom within us and allowing the kingdom to expand and overtake our entire being until it begins to flow out of us and impact the world around us.

Luke 17:20-21 (NKJV) Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; 21 nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”

Matthew 11:12 (NKJV) And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.

Luke 16:16 (NKJV) “The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is pressing into it.

Spiritual warfare, like any warfare, requires fighting. Fighting people is undoubtedly not a good fight. If we find ourselves fighting against people, we are in the wrong battle and fighting for the wrong kingdom. One of the enemy’s many strategies is to trick us into fighting against other people so that we neglect or simply miss the spiritual battle around us, expending our energy, resources, and time on fights we should not be engaged in brings confusion, division, weakness, and discouragement. The enemy is relentless in his efforts to keep us fighting against one another.

Spiritual warfare occurs in two arenas: the internal and external.

The first arena is the battlefield of self. We fight to tear down strongholds of carnal thinking and wrong beliefs in our hearts and minds. We fight this battle by renewing our minds through exposure to God’s word and fellowship with other believers. As we pursue a relationship with the Father, we find our calling and grow in the faith. We mature in Christ, becoming more prepared to fight in the other battle arena.

The second arena of spiritual warfare is against spiritual beings in our fallen world. In this arena, we fight primarily through prayer, intercession, and demonstration of the kingdom of God. As we mature in Christ, our authority increases, and we become more effective at fighting in this arena and skillful at destroying the works of the devil.

Ephesians 6:12 (NKJV) For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

We don’t fight for victory; we fight from a place of victory. We must believe that our fighting bears fruit. Most of the time, we cannot immediately see the impact of our efforts in spiritual warfare. We must trust in God’s commandments, believing that our obedience is a partnership with His completed work.

Victory has already been won through the blood of the Lamb. Our faith in Jesus Christ as our savior has won the battle for our eternal salvation. We did not fight to get ourselves saved. Jesus did the fighting for us. All we had to do was acknowledge His victory and His lordship.

1 John 5:4-5 (NKJV) For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 5 Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

Why are we still in a fight if the battle has already been won? While we remain alive on the earth, a raging battle continues. Satan resists the growth and expansion of God’s kingdom within us.

Galatians 2:20 (NKJV) I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

We fight to keep the faith, exercise our faith, and grow in faith until we have mastery over our flesh. We fight daily by picking up our cross and following Him.

Luke 9:23 (NKJV) Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.

We now have the great honor of dying for the King. Once we die to ourselves, Christ shines the brightest in us, and we become the light of the world we were created to be.

Matthew 5:14-16 (NKJV) “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

Others will see the light of God in us and desire what we have. Some will see the light and be offended. Regardless of their response, we should keep on shining.

1 Peter 1:7 (NKJV) so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Warfare tests our faith. The testing of faith is the only “good fight” available to us. All other fights are distractions and deceptions of the enemy to keep us from dying to self and growing up into Christ in all things. Hebrews 12 uses the analogy of running a race to describe our spiritual battle.

Hebrews 12:1-2 (NKJV) Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Running a good race is fighting the good fight. Paul gives us further instruction in 1 Corinthians 9.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 (NKJV) Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. 25 And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. 26 Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. 27 But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.

Notice in verse 26 that Paul calls this race a fight. He tells us that we run this race to win by disciplining our body and bringing it into subjection. He speaks of temperance and implies that confidence and skill are necessary. Paul is talking about our flesh, the fallen nature we were all born into under Adam.

When we discipline our bodies by fasting, prayer, denying our sensual impulses, and making no provision for the flesh, we limit the voice of our fallen nature and leave little room for Satan to have a voice. It is only through our carnal self that Satan can gain entrance into our lives.

Here is further instruction from the New Testament:

Romans 13:11-14 (NKJV)And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. 12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.

Matthew 10:38 (NKJV) And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.

James 4:4 (NKJV) Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

Friendship with the world is spiritual adultery! Let that sink in.

Mark 8:38  (NKJV) For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”

From the strong language in the above passages, we see the mandate of God to separate from the world and die to our selfish desires. We should never candy coat this. We must wake up daily and present ourselves before the Lord, laying our lives on the alter.

If we buy a house and pay for it in full, but the previous owner refuses to move out, we have a breach of contract, a violation of the covenant. We are His house. We are His temple. He will not fully move into His temple until the carnal man dies and is removed from the premises. He will not share space with anything unholy. God is very particular about where He abides. We can see this clearly from the Old Testament Temples and the tent of meeting.

However, God is gracious. He is patient and kind. He gives us time to move out, time to die to ourselves, and time to grow spiritually. He has given us the Holy Spirit to dwell in us and His word to help us remove everything in His temple that is not pleasing to Him. 

Thanks be to God!

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NKJV) 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? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore, glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which is God’s.

Romans 12:1-2 (NKJV) I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

          We find a valuable truth in Exodus that will help us fight to keep the old man crucified. In Exodus 33:18, Moses said to God, “please show me your glory.” This was God’s response:

Exodus 33:20 (NKJV) But He said, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.” 

Intimacy with God and exposure to His word is our carnal man’s face-to-face encounter with the Lord, and no man can see God and live. Approaching God daily with an unveiled face and beholding His glory crucifies the old man while at the same time transforming us into His image from one degree of glory to the next.

2 Corinthians 3:18 (NKJV) But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

God paid the ultimate price to restore the broken relationship caused by Adam’s sin. The sacrifice of Christ has provided the way back to the Father. It is a narrow road and one that the carnal man cannot walk. Let us nail our fallen nature to the cross and no longer live for ourselves. He is worthy of our life, and He is worthy of our death.

May God give us understanding in all these things.

2 Corinthians 5:15 (NKJV) He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.

For more lessons on Spiritual Warfare CLICK HERE.

Thank you for visiting truthpressure.com. I hope this has been a blessing to you.

JC

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Old Testament Law – Made to be Broken?

Posted on 11/26/2017 | Comments Off on Old Testament Law – Made to be Broken?

law

          Understanding the purpose of Old Testament Law is the beginning of understanding your imputed righteousness in Christ.
I’m going to make a statement that may be foreign to most Christians.

“God never gave man the Law to keep, He gave man the Law to break.”

          Does that sound contradictory or confusing? It shouldn’t. No man in history was able to keep the Law, except Jesus Christ. Never has any man succeeded in making himself acceptable to God by keeping the Law. Didn’t God know this? Of course He did. So why did God give us a Law that we are unable to keep? So that we would come face to face with the fact that we are incapable of doing anything right or just apart from His grace.Romans 5:20 Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more.
          The Law exposes our true nature apart from God. It teaches us that we need something far greater than our own strength and will to please God. The Law helps us to see our inadequacies so that we can be honest with ourselves and say: “I am a sinner through and through, and of myself I can do nothing to please a holy God.”
          The Law was not given with the expectation of us keeping it. It was given in the full knowledge that we would break it; and when we have broken it so completely as to be convinced of our absolute need for a Savior, then the Law has served its purpose. It has fulfilled the role of a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, so the He may Himself fulfill it.
Galatians 3:24 Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
          We are all sinners by nature because of Adam’s transgression. The Law makes that sinful nature manifest. When a holy Law is applied to a sinful man, then that sinfulness comes out in full display making the fallen nature of that man manifest.
          God knows who we are. the trouble is, WE don’t know who we are. The Law brings us to a place where we see who we are apart from Him and shows us our utter helplessness under the Law, and our need to be saved from it. If not for the Law we would never see how weak we are apart from Christ. We would continue in the futile pursuit of trying to please God with our own righteousness.
The Law was given to make us lawbreakers, to expose our sin, not to the world, but to ourselves.
Romans 7:7-9 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.” 8 But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead. 9 I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died.
          We need to have our weaknesses proved to ourselves beyond a shadow of doubt. It is at that point we are able to understand our need for deliverance from the Law. We must be delivered from the Law to receive the free gift of the righteousness of God.

Romans 6:14 For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

“The Law shows us our need to be free from it. Free from our own works of righteousness so that we can see our need to embrace the grace of God and the transforming power of the Holy Spirit.”

Law vs. Grace

          In a nutshell, Law means that I do something for God. Grace means that God does something for me. If Law means that God requires something from me for it’s fulfillment, then grace means that He no longer requires it from me, but He provides it for me Himself.
          Where we fall into trouble is our tendency to live by Law. We are far more comfortable with a “quid pro quo,” mentality. Do this to receive that, receive something for doing something. This is rational and easy to wrap our head around, but it is not faith. Faith doesn’t come natural because with faith, we don’t have the ability to understand everything. We feel the need to do something to earn what we have been given.
Galatians 3:19-25 What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator. 20 Now a mediator does not mediate for one only, but God is one. 21 Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. 22 But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. 23 But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. 24 Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.
          Once faith in Christ has come, we no longer have need of the Law. We then must transition from operating under the Law of sin and death, to the Law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.
Romans 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.
          Old habits can be hard to break. We are born and raised under the Law of sin and death. Faith in Christ, in His imputed righteousness, in our change of status from slaves of sin to adopted children of God takes a concentrated effort. Learning to live by the new Law of the Spirit is a process. We are born into this new life as infants, and for us to mature properly and thrive under this new Law we must reckon ourselves dead to sin, and alive to God by what Jesus did on the cross.

Romans 6:11 Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
          So why do we continue to try and live by the Law? Because we don’t understand that the Law was never intended for us to keep. It was intended to show us how futile our efforts are to keep it, and to expose our fallen nature to such a degree that our only option is to believe in our Savior.
JC

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