As a result of revelation, Saul of Tarsus experienced a tremendous upheaval in his personal life

Different Reactions Living Under the Law

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= There are different reactions from living under the law. One rea= ction is to think we are “making it.” We try to attain to our own standa= rd of self-righteousness making us proud and pompous (See Luke 18:9-12). It seems we have need of nothing.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Here is a big warning. One of the chief characteristics o= f the church in Laodicea= was that they “…have need of nothing…” – Revelation 3:17). With this k= ind of heart, the Lord has no way to touch us.

= Another reaction from living under the law is to be so over= ly accused and condemned that we become numb.= We lose heart from trying so hard and never “making it” = that we give up. The result is we = are also far from the Lord and once again the Lord cannot touch our heart.

The Key is Our Heart! - A Heart that is Simple and Touchable! <= /span>

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= Whether or not we are a law keeper= and lawgiver or a God seeker and God lover all depends on our heart! It is a great blessing to have a h= eart that is simple (1 Corinthians 1:12, 2 Corinthians 11:2-3, Acts 2:46, Luke 18:15-17). To be simple is to be single.&n= bsp; This is a virtue of God’s life in us. Also, it is a great blessing to ha= ve a heart that is touchable (See Luke 18:13-14). If our heart is caught by trying t= o keep the law we will miss our inheritance in Christ. But a simple and touchable heart c= an receive the promise out of faith in Jesus Christ.

= “Lord Jesus have mer= cy on me. Work in my heart to make me simple and touchable! Amen.”

In the Old Testam= ent, the law preserved His people from serious corruption morally and physically. Through God’s foresight He knew that without the law as a check, they could possibly ruin themselves so thoroughly they would not be able to participate in His purpose. Furthermore, as we saw last week the law acts a= s a big x-ray to expose us so that we would be conscious of our sin and willing= ly receive the Savior, Christ. This is how the law has become our child conduc= tor “unto Christ” (v.24).

Verse = 25 tells us that “since faith has come, we are no longer under a child conductor”. Since faith came we no longer live under the law but we h= ave “life and live by faith.” Faith has come! Verse 26 even goes on= to show us that we are “sons of God”. God sent forth the Spirit in= to our hearts and we now we have the Spirit regulating us inwardly rather than= the letter of the law regulating us outwardly.

The pr= oblem the Galatians were having is even though they were grown, they were still acting like children by putting themselves under the child-conductor. Paul = in verses 25 and 26 is telling them “Grow up! You are no longer a kid. Y= ou don’t need a child conductor...you are grown up. Why are you going ba= ck to the law? The law was for just to bring us to Christ! We have Christ! We = are sons! Live according to the Spirit! Walk according to the Spirit!”