Mr Perfect is Dead There was once a woman that was a perfectionist in everything she did. So one day she prayed "Lord, please send me the perfect man," and the Lord answered her prayer. That evening a young man knocked on the door, and when she laid eyes on him, she knew, "this is my perfect man!" He was handsome beyond description, dressed impeccably, he spoke with eloquence, he had money; everything about him was perfect!
Soon enough they were married, and the woman thought, "How blessed I am, I'm married to the perfect man!" And so he was, the guy was a machine. Each day he awoke at the exact same time, looking perfect, his breath was minty fresh! He ate the same breakfast, left at at exactly 7:05, arrived at his perfectly organized office at 8:00 (not a second early or late). He left at exactly 5:00 pm, every task completed.
He arrived home at exactly 6 pm, his wife meeting him at the door. She had worked hard all day to have the house in perfect order, having herself perfectly made up, with the perfect meal on the table, ready to eat. However, as hard as she tried to be perfect for him, there was always something wrong. "Honey, there's a hair out of place, would you mind fixing that?" "Sweetheart, there's a spot of dust on top of the refrigerator, would you mind cleaning it?" After just a few months, Mr Perfect went from "He's the perfect man!" to "I utterly loathe him…."
"That's it" she thought, I'm getting a divorce. So she goes before judge, and when he asks "what are the grounds for this divorce?" she responds "He's perfect!" "Divorce denied," replies the judge.
"I know," she thinks, "I'll poison him! Even if I go to jail, its better than being married to him," so she puts some arsenic in his tea. But to her amazement, he drinks it down with no ill effects. His perfect kidneys were easily able to filter out the poison! Completely defeated, Mrs Not-so-Perfect resigns herself to a life of failure with Mr Perfect.
And so it is with many Christians; They have this idea that in order to be "right" with God, they have to perfectly obey the law. But they soon find themselves in a dilemma: It's impossible! The result is either a state of constant defeat, or hypocrisy (translated: Legalism). But there is a third option: Mr Perfect must die!
Now, dear brothers and sisters—you who are familiar with the law—don't you know that the law applies only while a person is living? For example, when a woman marries, the law binds her to her husband as long as he is alive. But if he dies, the laws of marriage no longer apply to her. Romans 7:1-2
See, when Christ died on the cross, He paid the price for our failure to keep the law. Not only that, since He died in our place, His death broke the legal ruling that the law had over us. It's as if we're dead to the law, so it can no longer condemn us! That's what Paul meant in verse 6:
But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Romans 6:6a
Pretty awesome, isn't it! But, does that mean we can now sin as much as we want, and get away with it? Not exactly, because once we've accepted Christ's death on our behalf, we're brought into a new away of living: Living in the Spirit.
Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit. Romans 6:6b
"Lord, thank you for releasing me from the letter of the law, and giving me Your Spirit to now live in and through me. Help me to be submitted to, and led by, Your Spirit today. Help me to live according to the newness of Your Spirit."
Pastor Clay |
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