OUR TRUE NATURE IS BOUND IN CHRIST...

I am FREE IN CHRIST JESUS! This I KNOW!!!

None is righteous in themselves, because of the sinful nature of the carnal being, but THROUGH THE LORD, *GOD*, and HIS HOLY SPIRIT, BY HIS GRACE, and MERCY, we advance past the sinful nature, and while we can't do good on our own, HE WORKS in us TO DO good, to be good, and to promote good...

No person can boast and say they have done this, or that, because it is not them who did anything, instead it is THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD working in them, through them, and around them! We are not bound by the Law, we are bound by LOVE, which PERFECTS, and PRODUCES in us, all characteristics which then, LEAD us to existing according TO HIS WILL, which begins, and ends with LOVE, because LOVE IS PURELY GOOD, and WHOLLY RIGHTEOUS...

This is part, and parcel to being HUMBLED, for we KNOW that we are NOT able to withstand the corruption of the flesh, but in CHRIST, we are freed from the condemnation of that corruptible flesh, and MOVED to thinking, acting, and reacting in the spirit, BY THE HOLY SPIRIT, and HIS HOLY WILL! The carnal being is the enemy of the spirit, and in PRIDE, attempts to do everything on it's own, however it cannot get past itself, and so, separates itself from *GOD*, in self-reliance, and self-proclamation! When we come into CHRIST, our TRUTH, the spirit, is freed from the prideful carnal being, and THROUGH HIM, begins to LIVE, and to exist as was CREATED, FOR THE GLORY OF *GOD*, as HIS WILL sanctifies, and consecrates the spirit, which REFLECTS HIM, not the person...

Without HIM, there is NO HOPE! The worldly person is NOT the reality of our being CREATED; instead the spirit within IS! With HIM, we are empowered to take off the carnal, fleshy, egocentric, worldly being, and step into the spirit, the TRUTH of our existence, and the being which BELONGS to HIM eternal! The worldly being is wasting away, and shall perish, the spirit lives forever, either with HIM, or beneath HIS feet! Thus, it is imperative to this time to understand the TRUTH of our existence, and to meld with CHRIST JESUS, whom IS the ONLY WAY to be freed from all else...

Let's look at this deeply, through ROMANS 7: 4-13...
4/ Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.
5/ For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death.
6/ But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter.
7/ What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, “YOU SHALL NOT COVET.”
8/ But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind; for apart from the Law sin is dead.
9/ I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin became alive and I died;
10/ and this commandment, which was to result in life, proved to result in death for me;
11/ for sin, taking an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me.
12/ So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.
13/ Therefore did that which is good become a cause of death for me? May it never be! Rather it was sin, in order that it might be shown to be sin by effecting my death through that which is good, so that through the commandment sin would become utterly sinful.

The enemy is well-versed, and knowledgeable, and USES Scripture against us, to convince us that we will never measure up! CHRIST JESUS FREES us from the deceptive mindset that the enemy wields like an arsenal on us, to KEEP us confused, deceived, and without HOPE! The enemy in his prideful arrogance, did not KNOW, and still doesn't quite understand THE REDEMPTIVE POWERS OF THE LORD *GOD* ALMIGHTY, to SAVE HIS OWN, from the clutches of evil...

The day of our believing, is the day of being united to the Lord Jesus. We enter upon a life of dependence on him, and duty to him. Good works are from union with Christ; as the fruitfulness of the vine is the product of its being united to its roots; there is no fruit to God, till we are united to Christ. 

This strong language was the result of St. Paul's great advance in holiness, and the depth of his self-abasement and hatred of sin. If we do not understand this language, it is because we are so far beneath him in holiness, knowledge of the spirituality of God's law, and the evil of our own hearts, and hatred of moral evil. And many believers have adopted the apostle's language, showing that it is suitable to their deep feelings of abhorrence of sin, and self-abasement. The apostle enlarges on the conflict he daily maintained with the remainder of his original depravity. He was frequently led into tempers, words, or actions, which he did not approve or allow in his renewed judgement and affections.

By distinguishing his real self, his spiritual part, from the self, or flesh, in which sin dwelt, and by observing that the evil actions were done, not by him, but by sin dwelling in him, the apostle did not mean that men are not accountable for their sins, but he teaches the evil of their sins, by showing that they are all done against reason and conscience. Sin dwelling in a man, does not prove its ruling, or having dominion over him. If a man dwells in a city, or in a country, still he may not rule there.

The above is only a small part of the analysis of ROMANS 7, but for the sake of the ease of reading, and understanding, this should be sufficient...

Our nature CHANGES! Listen, CHRIST JESUS IS THE FULFILLMENT OF THE LAW, PERFECTLY SO, THEREFORE, when we are ONE with HIM, we are existing IN HIM, which means we are existing in the HOLINESS that *GOD* WILLS of us! Our NEW self, the spirit IS the EVIDENCE OF HIS HOLINESS IN us, and WORKS THROUGH us, to PRODUCE, PROMOTE, INCREASE, and SHINE OF HIS WILL, and GLORY...

CHRIST GAVE us 2 COMMANDMENTS to LIVE BY; LOVE THE LORD *GOD* WITH ALL YOUR HEART, and LOVE others! WHY? BECAUSE LOVE COVERS all laws, IN THAT, LOVE PERFECTS, and BRINGS those who LOVE as HE DOES, TO HOLINESS, BECAUSE LOVE IS HOLY, and *GOD* IS LOVE! LOVE FULFILLS ALL LAWS, because LOVE SEES it's people existing righteously, as they are not able to live otherwise, and REMAIN IN HIM, IN LOVE! And if we study ALL that CHRIST taught, and said, we begin to see how it ALL ties into ONE PERFECT package!!!

We ARE freed from the Laws, but BOUND BY LOVE, which LEADS us to existing IN RIGHTEOUSNESS; BECAUSE there is NOTHING else IN LOVE, IN *GOD*, and yet, we, as CHRIST, fulfill the Laws because they ARE OF HIS VERY NATURE, HOWEVER, we do so VOID of worldly reasoning, or intent, INSTEAD because it becomes innate with our spirit, with our LOVE OF HIM, and others! The Laws existed to promote the unity of community; to aid people in utilizing integrity, morality, and otherwise conscientious behaviours which build up societies, as opposed to them being torn apart, and diminished, AND to bring them closer to the spirit, to HIM, to the HOLINESS intrinsic to their TRUE selves; this, a general synopsis...

When I say I am freed in CHRIST, it means I am no longer slave to sin, but instead I serve my TRUE MASTER, THE LORD *GOD* ALMIGHTY, and though sin yet aspires to take me, those I CAN resist, I WILLING resist, because my ALLEGIANCE is SURELY PREMISED ON LOVE OF HIM, and so aligned TO HIS WILL, and GLORY!!!

This is one of the most difficult to grasp, and digest, and misunderstood areas of Christianity, and requires LOTS of study, and reminders in order for it to set just so, and to root, that it flourishes, and evidences HIS WORK in us, as it PRODUCES fruits of THE HOLY SPIRIT, never to be grafted out, as easily as it was grafted in!!!

REV. LWINSOR © 2014
BIBLICAL, and/or other references marked BOLDLY IN COLOURS

BLESSED IS THE LORD! PRAISE HIM ALWAYS! WORSHIP HIS HOLINESS! HONOUR HIM BY BEING AS IS HE! REJOICE IN HIS LOVE, and CARE for us! BE THANKFUL, BE GRATEFUL! EXALT HIS NAME! LOVE AS HE LOVES! PRAY, PRAY, PRAY! SHINE OF HIS GLORY!!!