| No. |
Old Way of Law |
New Way of Spirit |
1 |
External Code : The moral precepts of God are only an external code of conduct. The law commands obedience but provides no inclination or desire to obey. |
Internal Desire : The moral precepts of God are written on our hearts as well as being an external code. The Spirit inclines our hearts and gives us a desire to obey. |
| 2 |
Commanding : The law commands but gives no enabling power for obedience. |
Enabling : The Spirit enables us to obey the law's commands. |
| 3 |
Hostility : Because of our hostility to God's law before our conversion, the commands of the law actually provoked and incited us to sin. |
Delight : The Spirit, by removing our hostility and writing the law on our hearts, actually causes us to delight in God's law. |
| 4 |
Fear : The law produces a legalistic response to God. We try to obey because of a fear of punishment for disobedience or in order to win favor with God. |
Gratitude : The Spirit, by showing us God's grace, produces a response of love and gratitude. We obey, not out of fear or to earn favor, but out of gratitude for favor already given. |
| 5 |
Working : Under the law, we perform in order to be accepted by God. Since our performance is always imperfect, we never feel completely accepted by Him. Thus, in our Christian life, we always work from a position of weakness. We work to be accepted, but feel we never quite make it. |
Relying : The Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are accepted by God through the merit of Christ. By relying solely on His perfect righteousness, we feel accepted by Him. Thus, in our Christian life, we work from a position of strength, because we have been accepted through Jesus, and through Him, we have "made it". |
* Transforming Grace - Jerry Bridges
Am I serving under the old way of a written code, or under the new way of the Spirit? |
