Moe Bergeron wrote: > For it is impossible to restore again to repentance those who have once > been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in > the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the > powers of the age to come, if they then fall away, since they are > crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him > up to contempt. (Heb 6:4-6 ESV) > ...... > Within certain Reformed circles, especially Reformed Baptist circles > there is a continuing theological discussion focusing on a greater > understanding of the New Covenant established by Christ. Within the > larger discussion is to be found dialog over the role of Old Covenant > Law. The participants can be said to have a single objective and it is > to answer this one question: What role does the Mosaic Law play in the > life of the New Covenant saint?...... > We are convinced the issues of law and grace as set before today's > community of believers were not in any sense as problematic to the early > church as they are today (Gal 3:3).......We believe there is a much > better, and more Biblically correct question to submit to the community. > It is derived from the following passage taken from Paul's first letter > to the saints of Corinth. > Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming > from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us competent > to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. > For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life./ 2Co 3:5-6 ESV > ...... > Let his words be an example for us to > follow as we seek to remove the weighty burden of the LETTER covenant > from the backs of His New Covenant saints. > ...... Sprinkle says: AMEN AND AMEN!!! You may remember that a few years ago I repeatedly asked on this list the question, when so many were occupied with the attempt to determine which law a believer in Jesus Christ is under, "What does 'under" mean?" No one ever answered that question. I still believe that the answer to that question is vital to a proper understanding of that aspect of salvation we call "sanctification." Paul declared that sin will not exercise lordship over us because we are not "under law" but "under grace." He did NOT say "because we are not 'under the law of Moses but under the law of the New Covenant.'" He declared that it is the believer "under grace" who is freed from the despotic reign of sin in his life. As the prophets declared continually, "Salvation (in all its aspects, including sanctification) is from Jehovah!" To be "under law" in the sense of Romans 6:14 is to be under law (whichever law that might be) as an operating principle of living life in this world before God. To be "under grace" is to have the grace of the Savior as the operating principle of living life in this world. And "if it be of grace, it is no longer of works [of law as a principle of living]; otherwise grace would not be grace." We are either trusting the Lord Jesus and experiencing His victory over sin, or we are doing works of [some] law as the operating principle of life and thus subjugated under the reign of sin as a tyrannical lord. When I am under law as the principle of life, "to will is present with me, but how to perform that which is good I find not." When I am under grace as the operating principle of life, "it is God who works in [me], both to will and to do His good pleasure." "He that has entered into His rest has ceased from his own works, just as God did from His." When we rest, God works. When we work, God rests. "No flesh shall boast in His presence." Sprinkle