What It Really Means To Be Under Grace

I’m Not Under Law

Romans 6:14-15 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. [15] What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!

         I would like to know how many people who say, “I’m not under law” can also call God’s law what the Apostle James called it.

“The Law of liberty”

“the perfect law.” He says the doer of it will be blessed. (James 1:25).

I wonder how many people agree that…

God’s Law Is Gracious

         When Moses saw God’s glory, he saw it with his ears in these words:

Exo 34:6  “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, [7] keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin....”

I wonder how many people know that

Israel Found God’s Grace

Jer 31:2 Thus says the LORD: “The people who survived the sword Found grace in the wilderness—Israel...”

         What is grace?

Charis

 … is the New Testament Greek word for grace. It means unmerited favor, gift, thankfulness. To “say grace” or to “return grace” thanksgiving. Eucharist has the word charis in it. It means thanksgiving. A charismatic person is a gifted or graceful person. A graceful dancer is a gifted dancer. Grace is gifted ability. So if you say you’re under grace, you’re saying you have more ability.

More Grace Is More Power Over Sin

James 4:6 “But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, ‘God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’”

         Some people have more grace than others. And some have more grace than they used to have. And some are going to get more grace… “grace for grace” (John 1:16).

The Bible Says

Giving Is A Grace

…in 2 Corinthians 8. God says, “see that you abound in this grace” (8:7). So grace can abound or be little.

Acts 4:33 says,

Great Grace Was Upon The Apostles

 “and with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all.”

Acts 11:23 says

Grace Can Be Seen

 “When [Paul] came and had seen the grace of God [on the church], he was glad...”

Acts 13:43 says

Grace Makes People Follow The Apostles

 “…many of the Jews and devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.”

Acts 18:27b says,

“Faith Comes Through Grace.”

Also, Eph 2:8-10 “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

Gal 5:4 says,

One Can Fall From Grace

 It says, “you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.”

         The reason they fell was because they only had common grace. The only reason anyone ever falls from grace is because they never had special grace. They only had common grace.

They Were Never Of Us

John says, “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us” (1 John 2:19 ESV).

Grace Is Not License To Sin

Have you ever heard someone say, “Don’t put that guilt trip on me! I’m not under law, I’m under grace”? Jude says false teachers “change the grace of our God into a license…” (Jude 4 NIV). They say, “Well, since we are not under the law but under grace, we do not need to keep the Law any longer.” Is that really what grace means? They have changed grace into a license.

Grace Provides Dominion Over Sin

God says, “For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.” (Romans 6:14-15) Being under grace is the very reason why we don’t have to sin.

The person under grace will never get defensive and say, “Don’t put that guilt trip on me.” David was under grace. When Shimei cursed and accused him, he said, “Leave him alone. The Lord sent him.”

Some seem to think that grace is the same as mercy.

Grace Is Not The Same As Mercy

         Mercy is the result of grace, but it is not the same. Suppose a murderer has been sentenced to death. While he waits for execution the man is under the guilt and condemnation of the law. But just before the execution date the governor decides to pardon him.  Now he is no longer under the law but under grace. The law no longer condemns him. He is considered totally justified as far as the charges of the law are concerned. He is free to walk out of the prison and no policeman can lay hands upon him because the governor’s grace resulted in mercy.

But

No Man Can Be Pardoned Until Public Justice Is Satisfied.

God told Moses He by no means clears the guilty without satisfaction. (Exodus 34:7) Grace cannot pardon without first satisfying the law. It’s called “atonement.”

The Law Is What Grants Grace

         The whole plan of redemption is according to God’s law. The blood sacrifices foreshadowed the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. God’s law requires satisfaction, and God’s law also provides it with the blood of Christ. In that sense the law brings liberty. Paul said he was not “without law toward God, but under law toward Christ” (1Cor 9:21).

The “Law Work” Produces Grace

No one ever receives special grace who has not experienced the “law work” first. The law was our schoolmaster that brought us to Christ and it still is for those not under grace.

Here’s How The “Law-Work” Produces Grace.

1.) The sinner is first awakened by God and starts seeking salvation. 2.) The Holy Spirit applies more common grace by convincing him of sin, righteousness, and judgment. This pressure increases until he is brought to the end of himself. 3.) He sees no way out. At this point he can either defend himself, or yield to God’s judgment. 4.) To receive special grace and get power over sin, the convicted sinner surrenders unconditionally. He says, “Whatever you say, Lord. I’ll praise you even if you send me to hell.”  That is being under grace.

God’s Law Is

The Foundation Of That Experience

Without a firm foundation the house will fall. Without the Old Testament the New has no meaning. Everything Jesus and the apostles said and did was based on the Old Testamen. Even the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith apart from the works of the law is taken from the Old Testament. Old Testament people were saved the same way we are today… by grace through faith.

How Does Grace Respond To Law?

In gratitude and love the man under grace loves the law that brought him to grace. “Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law” (Romans 3:31). The law is established and upheld in the life of grace. This truth is so simple and so obvious that it should require no repetition, but the devious reasoning of those who try to avoid obedience makes it necessary to repeat, repeat, repeat. True faith always results in obedience to God’s law.

What It Really Means To Be Under Law

         God rains on the just and on the unjust alike. Let me illustrate this with two kinds of alcoholics. One is under law and the other is under grace. The one under law made a decision for Christ and joined the church, but he still has a physical compulsion to drink. He constantly battles it and is miserable, but he’s a dry alcoholic. Eventually he falls off the wagon. The problem is that he never received special grace. He made a decision but he was never delivered. He was never a true convert. He only received common grace. False converts do not endure to the end.

What It Really Means To Be Under Grace

         This almost happened to Wally. He made a decision for Christ, joined the church, quit drinking and was miserable. Under law, he was constantly fighting the physical impulsion to drink. Finally he knew he could not resist any longer. He was still under law. But without giving in he came to the utter end. He was now clearly convinced that only God could make a camel go through the eye of a needle. He lay on his bed that night knowing his life was over unless God did a miracle. Suddenly, he heard an audible voice say, “Wallace! Now I’m going to do something for you.” The physical compulsion to drink disappeared and he never drank again.” He was now under special grace… a true convert.

            I only use the alcoholic as an example of what must happen to every one of us, not just alcoholics. That is what it means to be under grace instead of law.     

Richard Cameron And The Covenanters

 The Covenanters formed an important movement in the religion and politics of Scotland in the 17th century.  In religion the movement is most associated with the promotion and development of Presbyterianism (representative government) as a form of church government favored by the people, as opposed to the king’s bishops.  In politics the movement saw important developments resulting in the emergence of liberty in the modern world.

         The National Covenant of 1638 was based on earlier documents of the same kind and is chiefly concerned with preserving the Reformation free from crown innovations such as the divine right of kings. Its sister document, the 1643 Solemn League and Covenant, is also concerned with freedom of religion, but its chief importance is as a treaty of alliance between the Covenanters in Scotland and the Puritan Parliament of England, anxious for help in the increasingly bitter civil war with Charles I.

The Covenanters opposed the king in his attempt to impose Anglican bishops on the Presbyterian Church of Scotland.  He ousted the Covenanters from their pulpits and homes saying that he was the head of the church.  The Covenanters said, “No.  Christ is the head.  We will preach in the fields.”  Later King Charles II and his brother King James II indulged certain Scottish ministers and allowed them to pastor churches where Anglican pastors could not be found.  But to do this, they had to compromise with the king’s state church. Covenanters like Richard Cameron railed against these compromisers as being dead and without God’s power.

The Lion Of The Covenant

Richard Cameron (1648? - 1680) was a leader of the Presbyterians who resisted the Stuart monarchs. The life & ministry of Richard Cameron was among a series of events that led to the Glorious Revolution (1888) and the end of the reign of the House of Stuart.  His followers took his name, the Cameronians, which ultimately formed the nucleus of the Scottish regiment of the same name.

       He was initially a parish schoolteacher and then a highly successful field preacher of the strict Presbyterian school, a Covenanter. He spent a short time in exile in the Netherlands where he was ordained and sent back to Scotland with the prophecy by Rev. Robert M’Ward that he would be martyred for the cause of Christ.

         He returned to Scotland in 1680 and issued with others such as Donald Cargill the Sanquhar Declaration, calling for war against the king, Charles II, and the exclusion of his brother (James II) from the succession.  He was killed in a skirmish with government troops, at Airds Moss near Cumnock, later the same year, in a government attempt to suppress the Covenanters.  This period was later given the title of "the Killing Time" because hundreds, if not thousands of Presbyterians were persecuted and martyred for holding Cameronian views. However, after the accession of William III (in the Glorious Revolution) his followers were pardoned and incorporated into the British Army as the Cameronian Regiment.

         When hands were laid on Richard Cameron at his ordination in Holland, the one hand of Mr. M’Ward remained and M’Ward cried out, “Behold, all ye beholders, here is the head of a faithful minister and servant of Jesus Christ, who shall lose the same for his Master’s interest, and it shall be set up before sun and moon, in the view of the world.”  And so it was that his hands and head were put on display at the gate of Edinburgh for all to see.  One of his enemies said, “There’s the head and hands of a man who lived praying and preaching, and died praying and fighting.”[1]

         Before this was done, his hands and head were delivered to his father in prison to add grief to his former sorrow.  Taking his son’s head and hands, which were very fair, he kissed them, and said, “I know – I know them; they are my son’s – my own dear son’s.  It is the Lord – good is the will of the Lord, who cannot wrong me nor mine, but has made goodness and mercy to follow us all our days.”[2] 

Eighteen days before Cameron was killed, he prophesied from the pulpit that there would not be a crowned King of the name of Stuart in Scotland.  This was fulfilled eight years later in the Glorious Revolution of 1688.  He also prophesied “A man shall ride a day’s journey in the shires of Galloway, Ayr and Clydesdale, and not see a reeking house nor hear a cock crow, ere ye get a right Reformation; and several other shires shall be little better.”  He also prophesied in the same sermon, “The rod that the Lord will make instrumental in this, will be the French and other foreigners, together with a party in this land joining them…” This prophecy of slaughter was fulfilled 66 years later in 1746 at Culloden. In 1746 the Stuart Prince Charles, with the help of the French, Spain, and others, invaded Scotland where many Highlanders joined him and marched toward London.  At Culloden the English and other Scots slaughtered them.  The slaughter did not end there.  Genocide by the English in the highlands followed.

Then he prophesied, “…but ye, that stand to the testimony in that day, be not discouraged at the fewness of your number; for when Christ comes to raise up His own work in Scotland, He will not want men enough to work for him.”[3] This prophecy was fulfilled in America, which became the Greater Scotland. After the genocide there was a great migration to America. Seventy four percent of the officers in the American army of the War of Independence were Scots.

Description Of The Ethnic Cleansing

       A little after 12:30 that afternoon the Prince’s side fired what canon they had and waited for the return volley - which came swiftly. His troops were cut down in the dozen by the onslaught of Cumberlands artillery.  Disemboweled by the flying balls of 4lb steel, arms legs and heads were scattered amongst the bunched up and freezing Jacobites.  It all lasted for minutes and when the smoke cleared all that was left to do was to run or charge - the Jacobites outnumbered by at least 2 to 1 charged on the right flank of Cumberland’s lines.  For a brief spell the Duke's troops on the right were scattered, but soon closed ranks on the charging Highlanders and began the massacre, in turn scattering the Highlanders across 'Cumberland’s Bloody Killing Field'.

      By 1:00, only 30 minutes later, it was all over and those Highlanders, who could, ran for cover and back to their homes.  By Cumberland’s own estimate, some 2,000 Highlanders lay dead on Culloden Moor.  These figures have never been seriously challenged and neither has the figure of 300 dead and injured from his side.  A more exact figure has been put forward of 1,500 Highlanders but still only 300 of the Dukes men.

      The memories of Culloden still run deep in the blood of Highlanders the world over because this battle was not the end - it was just the beginning!

      Cumberland gave orders for "No Quarter Given": in other words 'none shall live'.  His army marched on and killed every wounded Highlander left on the field - and then made his way to Inverness to carry on the fight.  Raiding homes looking for Jacobites, all were labeled as one and swiftly put either to the end of a musket - bayonet – hangman’s rope or burnt alive in their homes.  Women, children, old and young, his orders were "No Quarter Given" - and none was.

      The slaughter did not end there on that day, and this is the significance of the Jacobite's in Scottish history: particularly Highland history.  For months his army moved around the Highlands clearing out any threat once and for all that Highlander should ever pick up a Broadsword against England.  It can be quoted from English parliament in reply to Cumberland’s reports that they sent message saying "It will be no great mischief if all should fall." the support for Cumberland’s ethnic cleansing was total.

      5 months passed and it was decided that the hunt for the Jacobites, (which by this time there were more than likely none left as well as every other Highlander who wasn't even there), should be calmed down and this is when the Prince made his escape back to France.

      In London they celebrated the defeat of the Highland people once and for all, and the German composer Handel wrote one of his most famous works 'See the conquering hero come' - referring to The Duke of Cumberland.

      The Highland people were wiped out.  Over the coming years they were cleared out of their homes to make way for their lands to be used for profitable sheep farming.  For 4 generations the Highlanders were scattered to the corners of the world - Europe, India, and the New World 'America'.  Sold as slaves they worked on the lands in the southern parts of America, and one account even tells us that in Barbados a ship load of Highlanders were traded for 10 tones of Sugar.

      Their culture was demolished, their native language - Gaelic - was banned and marked as a hanging offence if spoken, the wearing of tartan was also made a hanging offence and even the Bible was not allowed to be learnt in their own language, never mind written.

      These times are known to us who are still here as the  'Highland Clearances'. English schools were put in place and the process of conversion began.  Finally the English dream of a conquered Scotland was theirs.[4]

         What does all this have to do with us?  This struggle in Scotland and England led first to the Glorious Revolution in England and later to what the English called the “Presbyterian Scots-Irish Revolt” in America (The American Revolution).

         Many of those Scots who were exiled came to America where the encouragement of Richard Cameron’s prophecy was fulfilled when they fought along with George Washington and received satisfaction in final victory. Cameron had prophesied, “…but ye, that stand to the testimony in that day, be not discouraged at the fewness of your number; for when Christ comes to raise up His own work in Scotland, He will not [lack] men enough to work for him.” This prophecy was fulfilled when the Ulster Scots came down out of the hills of the Carolinas and ran the British all the way to York Town and won the war. No wonder the British called the American War of Independence “The Scotts Irish Presbyterian Revolt.” America had become the Greater Scotland. Today there are five times more Scots in America than there are in Scotland.

       And you, the Christian right of America, be not discouraged at the fewness of your numbers; for when Christ comes to raise up his own work in America, He will not lack men enough to work for him.

             

“Your people will offer themselves freely on the day of your power, in holy garments; from the womb of the morning, the dew of your youth will be yours” (Psalm 110:3 ESV).

Churchofthekingmcallen.com

http://ronsmithmission.blogspot.com/2013/10/thanksgiving-and-rest-of-story.html

---

[1]           Howie, John.  The Scots Worthies, Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth Trust, 1995

[2]           Ibid.

[3]           Ibid.

[4]        The Rise & Fall of the Jacobite Rebellion By Mark Monaghan.at http://www.highlanderweb.co.uk/culloden/jacobite.htm

How To Be Good For Nothing

“Then Satan answered the LORD and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? (Job 1:9 NKJV). Doth Job fear God for naught? (KJV) In other words, “Is Job good for nothing or is he good for selfish mercenary motives?”

        

In 30 minutes or less, Job found out that he had lost everything, including his children. “In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong” (1:20-22).

         Satan accused Job of not being good for nothing.  So God tested Job to prove Satan wrong.

         Satan knew the nature of the natural man.  “Because the natural carnal mind [Paul says] is hostile toward God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be” (Rom 8:7).  But some people, even like animals, sometimes seem to behave unselfishly.  Dogs often adopt orphaned cats, squirrels, ducks and even tigers.  Dolphins support sick or injured animals.  But animals do this out of natural empathy and instinct.  Their kindness is created by God.  Though it is beautiful, only God gets the credit.  Humans can also be kind out of the same natural animal instinct, but not because they fear God for naught. 

         Men can appear to have the right motive, but “man looks at the outward appearance, and the LORD looks at the heart” (1Sam 16:7).  God sees that, in the natural, “We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags” (Isa 64:6). 

         Three times the Book of Job asks if it is really possible for a man like Job to be right with God.  Satan said, “No.  Job has an ulterior motive.”  But God described Job as “a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil.”  How is this possible?  Can a leopard change his spots?  Can a man change his motive?  No.  But God can.

         This is the question: How?  How can a man be pure before his Maker and fear God for nothing?  Is it by works righteousness?  Is it by deciding to not do the bad things you used to do?  Well, that’s a start, but not good enough.  Jesus said unless our righteousness exceeds that of the Pharisees, it is not good enough.  Is it by piling up a mountain of deeds until the volume is enough to be accepted by God?  No.  You could never be good enough.  God’s word says it is “not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit” (Tit 3:5).       A person can do many good things from a wrong motive.  God rejected Cain’s sacrifice because his motive was selfish.  It was based on what he could get.  Abel’s focus was on gratitude and the excellence of God’s glory.  He feared God for naught.

         The difference between a false convert and a true one is the motive.  Is the motive to glorify God or for fire insurance? 

         It’s true that men can be frightened into seeking salvation.  But seeking salvation is not the same as seeking God.  The difference is the motive.  Men should seek salvation, but seeking salvation is not the same as seeking the Lord. They call them “Seeker Friendly Churches,” but men never seek God till they are born again after God creates a new heart in them.          

         Man cannot change his heart… his motive.  But God can.  How does God do that?  How does God give men a pure heart?  He does it like He did with Job: through the work of humiliation.  Yes Job already feared God and was no doubt a true convert.  But the work God does in saving conversion is the same work that He does after conversion.  It’s called sanctification. 

         The work of humiliation is also called the work of preparation.  The 1^st thing the Lord does is to send “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the LORD; Make straight in the desert a highway for our God” (Isa 40:3).  “And one shall say, ‘Heap it up! Heap it up! Prepare the way, Take the stumbling block out of the way of My people.’”  God says, “Behold, I send My messenger, And he will prepare the way before Me.  And the Lord, whom you seek, Will suddenly come to His temple” (Mal 3:1).  After the way is prepared the Lord comes to His temple.  The convert becomes God’s temple.  But notice it says, “the Lord, whom you seek, Will suddenly come.”  All the time during the work of preparation the natural man is not really seeking the Lord.  He is seeking escape or comfort.  To the natural eye it might seem like he is seeking God, but in reality he is not.  His motive is mercenary. He is NOT good for nothing yet.  But after the work of the Holy Spirit makes the way straight and takes the stumbling block out of the way, the Lord comes suddenly; in the twinkling of an eye.  But how does He do this?

The Awakening

         He does it in steps.  1. First He sends His messenger to awaken us: the voice of one crying in the wilderness.  His messenger could be an accident or a tragedy, it could be someone witnessing to us, or many other things that cause inspirational dissatisfaction.  This is called, “the awakening.”  “Therefore He says: ‘Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light’” (Eph 5:14).  2. Secondly, He makes the way straight by sending the Holy Spirit to convince the sinner of sin, righteousness, and judgment.  The Messenger says, “Prepare the way of the LORD; Make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” The Holy Spirit uses God’s law to set us straight.  He convinces of sin by convincing the sinner that he is a sinner.  He convinces of righteousness by showing the sinner that God’s word is right and man is wrong.  Once the sinner sees that, he is convinced that judgment is on the way.  Jesus said the Holy Spirit “will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment” (John 16:8).  Once humbled, the convicted sinner is prepared to see the solution: the atonement of Christ.

         The way God creates the right motive in us is first by making atonement for our sins.  The guilt problem has to be taken care of.  Satisfaction must be made, and Christ did that by taking our guilt and punishment on himself.  Although atonement is made for all men, there is still no forgiveness until there is faith in God.  And there can be no faith in God till there is no more faith in self.  The work of humiliation takes care of that.

         Secondly, to bring about faith there must 1^st be an awakening.  “Awake, you who sleep.”  Thirdly, He convicts us of sin, righteousness, and judgment.  Fourthly, He says, “Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light.”  The new birth is the 1^st resurrection.  It creates in us a new heart and a right spirit.  It makes us good for nothing.  Now we no longer serve God for what we can get.  We now serve God for naught.  The Lord becomes our salvation and our righteousness.  No longer do we look for fire insurance or trust in good works.  Now God can say what he said of Job: a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil.  God alone can do that.  Salvation is of the Lord.

         So we have the careless sinner, the awakened sinner, the anxious sinner, the convicted sinner, and the converted sinner.

The 5 Point Covenant Model

1.   The Careless Sinner does not believe God is in charge.

2.   The Awakened Sinner starts coming to church (God’s delegated authority on earth.)

3.   The Anxious Sinner is nervous about the rules (God’s Law).

4.   The Convicted Sinner is convinced of the covenant sanctions.

5.   The Converted Sinner looks to inheriting the earth.

Churchofthekingmcallen.com

The Law Fulfilled Not Abolished

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”

(Matthew 5:17 ESV)

         In the above verse Jesus contrasts the words “abolish” and “fulfill.” What did He mean? Too many people think “fulfill” means the same as “abolish.”  They actually think He came to abrogate the Law and the Prophets. To show what He really meant let’s look at some of the laws He did not abolish but fulfilled.

         Circumcision is not abolished. It is fulfilled in baptism according to Colossians 2:11-12. “In him also you were circumcised… in baptism…”  Since Christ kept the law by being circumcised, those who are baptized into His body are, too.

New Moon Sabbaths

         The Feast of Passover is not abolished. It is fulfilled in The Lord’s Supper. The Lamb of God fulfills the Passover lamb.

         The Feast of Pentecost is not abolished. The feast that celebrated the giving of the Law on Sinai is fulfilled by the giving of the Law in the heart by the Holy Spirit.

         The Feast of Tabernacles is not abolished. It is fulfilled in the Great Commission throughout history.

         Unclean foods are made clean in the conversion of Gentiles. “What God has cleansed you must not call common” (Acts 10:15).

       “Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ” (Colossians 2:16-17 ESV).

The High Priest is not abolished but is fulfilled in Christ our High Priest who makes intercession for us.

The Temple is not abolished, but is fulfilled as the living stones of the church.

Israel is fulfilled as the church, the “Israel of God” (Gal 6:16). “And so all Israel shall be saved” (Romans 11:26).

Jerusalem is fulfilled in the New Jerusalem and Mt. Zion. “But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels…” (Heb 12:22).  

The Promised Land is not abolished, but is fulfilled by making Abraham’s children heirs of the whole world and not just that small piece of real estate. Paul understood this when he said, “the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith” (Romans 4:13 ESV). Nowhere does the Old Testament say that Abraham’s heirs would inherit the world, but Paul was able to read the Promised Land type.

The Ten Commandments are not abolished, but are fulfilled by the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. By being under grace instead of under law, the Holy Spirit enables believers to keep them.

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

The Civil Laws are not abolished but are to be fulfilled when civil governments obey the moral law of God. Armenia was the first Christian nation state, then Rome, then Christendom.

Now we are living in a time when Gog and Magog are coming against the Camp of the Saints. But God will again rain down fire on them and the Little Stone of Daniel 2 will grow and grow until it fills the whole earth. The meek shall inherit the earth before Christ comes because “the time came for the saints to possess the kingdom” (Daniel 7:22) when Christ ascended to the Ancient of Days.

Churchofthekingmcallen.com

http://ronsmithmission.blogspot.com/