Derek Prince - This Is What The Holy Spirit Writes On Your Heart
This is an excerpt from: The Cross In My Life - Part 1
Now let's turn to Romans 6:6-7. Here is the deliverance. Knowing this Do you know it or do you not know it? Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. Where was our old man crucified and when? When Jesus died on the cross. That's an historical fact. You can't change that. But knowing it and believing it will change you. You see? We're dealing with facts. You have to know the whole gospel is based on facts, historical facts Unlike almost any other world religion. I don't know of any other world religion that's based on facts. They're systems, they're theories, they're revelations untied to any particular period of history. But the gospel is based on historical facts. It's either true or it's false. Personally, I believe it's true.
Now, Paul says until this old nature, this Adamic nature, this rebel that's called the old man has been put to death, we'll be the slaves of sin. You see, I grew up in the Anglican Church in Britain and I thank God for much good in the Anglican Church. But my problem was every Sunday morning at 11:00 o'clock we went through what's called the 'general confession.' And we confessed a lot of things that we needed to confess. We have done those things which we ought not have done, we have left undone these things which we ought to have done. And I would always walk out of the church with a vague feeling that somehow, I ought to be better but I wasn't changed. And I soon discovered for the rest of the week I kept on doing the things I ought not to have done and not doing the things I ought have done.
So, when I got back next Sunday, I would ask myself I wonder if it does any good confessing these things if I know full well I'm going to go on doing them. Does it procure me God's favor, or does it just make God more angry? Like, if your little son comes to you and says, 'I'm sorry, daddy, but I messed up your flower bed.' You say that's all right, but you know he's going to go on messing up your flower bed. What do you feel? It could be you don't feel too happy. So, the only way out is to deal with the old man, he's a rebel. As I've said many times, God's solution is execution. He doesn't improve him, He doesn't send him to church, He doesn't teach him the golden rule. Execute him. But the mercy of God is the execution took place when Jesus died on the cross. That's God's mercy.
So, Paul goes on to say, and this is the next verse: for he who has died has been freed from sin. Now, that's the translation that's followed in almost every version. But if you look in the margin if you have a margin, it means 'has been justified from sin' because once you've paid the last penalty, you're justified. The law has nothing more to say to you, it can do nothing more against you. Death is the way out from the dominion of the law. It's also the way out from the dominion of sin. Going on in Romans 6:14: For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. Which are you under? You can't be under both. If you're under law you're not under grace. If you're under grace you're not under law. And Paul very clearly implies if you are under law sin will have dominion over you.
That astonishes people but that's the way it is. Because, while you're under law you're doing the best you can with your own efforts and they're not good enough. They're like Ishmael, they never earn God's favor. And then in Romans 7:5-6: For when we were in the flesh, the passion of sins which were aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit to death. Did you hear that phrase, 'the passion of sins which were aroused by the law, were at work in our members'? Paul explains a little further on, I can't go into detail, he says, 'I didn't know what covetous was until I encountered the commandment 'Thou shalt not covet.' But when the commandment came, covetousness rose up in me.' Have you ever experienced that? It's when you're told not to do something that it really gains dominion over you. See?
So, the sin is actually stirred up by the law as long as we're relying on our own efforts. You'll have to read the whole of Romans 7, really, to get that. Paul says in the next verse: But now we have been delivered from the law Delivered from what? From the law. I must explain we're not talking about secular law. That doesn't mean you can break the law of the government by any means. We're talking about law as a means of achieving righteousness with God. I believe Christians should be law abiding persons. But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.
Paul uses a picture in the previous verses which is a little complicated, so, I'll try to simplify it. He gives us the example of a woman who's married to a husband. As long as her husband remains alive, if she marries another she's an adulteress. But if her husband dies she's free to marry another man. The application is through the law we were married to our fleshly nature. We were absolutely committed to do what we could in our flesh. As long as our fleshly nature remained alive we were not free to be married to anybody else. But at the cross our fleshly nature was put to death. Can you say praise God? So that we are now free to be married to another. Who's the other? The resurrected Christ. You see, when we were married to the flesh what we brought forth was the product of the flesh.
Now we're married to the resurrected Christ. What we bring forth is the product of the Spirit. See the picture? Let's go on faithfully plowing ahead. 2 Corinthians 3:3. I could spend a couple of hours on this theme, you may have appreciated that. But I'm not going to so you'll appreciate that, too. Paul says to the Corinthian Christians I love this statement because Paul says in effect, 'If you want to know my theology, go to Corinth. You'll find it written there in the lives of the people I've ministered to.' I like that kind of theology.
Paul says, 'You want to know what I believe? Go to Corinth. You'll meet people who were fornicators, adulterers, pimps, homosexuals, drunkards, extortioners, living Godly lives. That's my theology. They're my letter.' If the ancient world wanted to know what Paul believed, he said go to Corinth. I don't want to put it down in a theological treatise. And then he says this: You are manifestly a letter [or epistle] of Christ, ministered by us; written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God; not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of flesh. That is, of the heart.
Here is the difference between law and grace. Law is tablets of stone outside you that says do this and don't do that. And you say that's right, I'll do this and I won't do that and you fail because there's a rebel inside you that doesn't cooperate. But grace doesn't hold something up outside you and say do that. Grace by the Holy Spirit writes the laws of God on your heart. And when it's in your heart that's the way you live. You, see? Solomon said, keep your heart with all diligence for everything in life comes out of it. Isn't that a marvelous thought? You see, I can't write what I'm trying to communicate on your hearts but if the Holy Spirit is here, He'll write on your hearts. None of us by our own efforts, and theology, and ministry can change a single person.
But if the Holy Spirit works, He can write on the hearts of those to whom we minister and they become changed. That's the difference. Law is external, grace is internal. Going on with these scriptures, Romans 8:14: For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. Mature sons. What do you have to do to become a mature son of God once you've been born again? You have to be led by the Holy Spirit. There is no other path to maturity. And you see, it's like this. God says you've got a journey to take, you've got two options. Here's a map, it's perfect. Or you can have a personal guide. The map is the law, the personal guide is who? The Holy Spirit, that's right.
So, you're young, strong, healthy, you've got two degrees from a university, and you say, 'Give me the map. I can read maps, I'll make it.' About 48 hours later it's the middle of the night, it's raining hard, pitch dark, you're on the edge of a precipice, and you don't know whether you're facing north, south, east or west. Then a gentle voice says, 'Can I help you?' The Holy Spirit. 'O Holy Spirit, I need you, help me!' Well, you get out of that mess, you get on to the road, the sun begins to shine and you think, 'I was pretty dumb, I didn't have to get too panicky. I think I'll have another look at the map.'
You do. And when you do, your guide isn't there. You carry on with the map and about two days later you're in the middle of a bog and every step you take you're sinking deeper and you think, 'What do I do now? I can't ask the guide back.' But He comes back. He says, 'Let me help you.' That really is the story of the Christian life. How many times do we have to go back to the map when we've got the guide? You say I'm afraid I'll do the wrong thing without law.
Let me tell you one thing for sure. The Holy Spirit will never leave you to do the wrong thing. Okay? If you are truly led by the Holy Spirit you'll always do the right thing. You cannot rely on your own efforts but God has made for you to escape from the obligations of the law through the death of Christ on the cross. Our old man was crucified. That's a general statement. Paul makes it specific. I through the law died to the law that I might live to God. We have to take the general, and by our confession make it specific. Would you like to do that to close this session? Say those words after me if you really mean them. And if you don't mean them, don't say them. I through the law died to the law that I might live to God. Do it once more. I through the law died to the law that I might live to God. Now, heave a deep sigh and say thank God.