"For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love." Gal. 5:5,6; cf. Rom. ch 7
"ILLUSTRATION: A woman had a very unloving husband. Every day before he went to work, he would make a long list of tasks she was to complete before he returned home. No matter how hard she tried to complete the tasks, she never was successful. So, every night he would scold her for what he considered a very poor performance. Her life with this husband was very hard. After a time, the husband died and a few years later she married another man who was kind and loving. They had a wonderful relationship and she was very happy.
"One day as she was cleaning their home, she came across one of the lists of tasks that her former husband had written for her to do. As she looked at the list, she was amazed to discover that while she could not complete the list for the former husband no matter how hard she tried, she was now accomplishing all those things for her new husband.
"The key application of this illustration is that before salvation, it was impossible to keep the Lord's commands consistently. When you are saved, you have a loving relationship espoused (engaged) to the Lord. Following Him is not a matter of merely following a set of rules. Following His commands is not an exercise in legalistic do's and don'ts. It is not a way to earn our salvation or to gain favor with God to balance out our sin. It is a loving response to what God has so amazingly and marvelously done for us. It is now a matter of loving obedience in the empowering of the Holy Spirit."
- Living Victoriously, (pg 14) Biblical Counseling Foundation www.bcfministries.org
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