Well, God gave me an answer to something I wondered about but refused to worry about. Sounds interesting, doesn't it? Here's the story.
I was in Sunday School again this morning. Our study of grace has been so freeing. And today God brought me to tears yet again as I realized yet another truth.
Have you heard it said that we die to the Law when we are saved? Yes, that is true. But what does that really mean? It means that we came into this world "married" to the Law (see Romans). We could never measure up. The more we tried to get right with God, the worse it got. And so we realized we couldn't do it on our own. So we came to the Lord and accepted His free gift of salvation. That is all He asked.
So now our old nature has died. Our old self has died. The Law is alive and well, but we died. God gave us a new nature. We are no longer married to the Law. As a new creature, we are now married to Christ. We are free. We are no longer under the Law. I didn't explain it as well as it was explained today, but I challenge to check it out. Christians are free in Christ, freed from the Law, and have become new creatures in Christ.
Now what was this answer God gave me? Well a few weeks ago, I remember wondering what I would do when Martin came back in regards to the physical relationship between us. But the cool thing was that I decided to leave that with the Lord. I left it with the Lord, and I refused to worry--this is certainly abnormal being the worry wart I am.
Today as I studied about being completely free from the Law, God gave me the answer in a way I didn't expect. All of a sudden, God said very clearly to my heart that I needed to make it clear to Martin that it was not because the Ten Commandments forbade it or because I was worried about pregnancy. It was not about Law. It was not about following rules and regulations. Here's my response. Physical intimacy is a picture of Christ and the Church. It is probably the highest form of love a man and woman can experience. It is sacred and special. Martin is not in a position to receive the love I so long to give to him. We are not fully committed to each other in marriage. Martin believes in keeping emotion out of the act itself. So it becomes purely a physical, fleshly act. Because Martin is not able to receive this love, it is not right for us to do it. Until Martin is saved and we are joined in marriage, this physical act is not beneficial. And I probably did not put this into words all that well, but hopefully I communicated my thoughts in some kind of tangible way.
So as Martin arrives on Thursday (I may miss my blog post on Thursday), I know that I have nothing to fear. I do not have to fear what I may or may not do. I know who I am in Christ, and since His Spirit lives within me, I know that I will desire to live for Him and not the flesh.
My solution tonight? Know who you are in Christ! And don't put yourself back under the Law when you have died to the Law. Don't fall into the typical American church trap that says "While you don't have to do anything to be saved, you have to do many things to remain saved."
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