1 Thessalonians 5:19-21
19 Quench not the Spirit.
20 Despise not prophesyings.
21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
In a recent article [Word and Witness] we were looking at the question of when a scripture is fulfilled and saw that the tense of the writing was not a conclusive factor. That is to say something written in present or past tense may still await a future fulfillment, something written in future tense may already have happened etc. One of our examples was a discussion of being under the law using quotes from Romans and Galatians. Here is what we wrote.
Another good example is those who say we are not under the law, we’re under grace. What does the bible say?
Romans 6:14
14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
A lot of people want to take this verse, Romans 6:14 and run with it. Just as there are many who want to claim other promises but ignore the conditions for those promises; like ‘resist the Devil and he will run from you’. The scripture actually mentions a condition you must meet first. It says:
James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Now if you check out what it says in Galatians 5, you will see that there is a similar condition, being led by the Spirit.
Galatians 5:18
18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
So are we under the Law or not? Today’s church claims to be under grace, but it sure doesn’t act like it. Something is wrong with this picture. Maybe we have misapplied the word. If you take into account the condition listed in Galatians 5:18 then, Romans 6 apparently has not been fulfilled yet! Even so we use these verses and other verses from Romans as though they were already fulfilled.
What’s important here is that Galatians spells out a condition for not being under the Law while Romans does not. So why is that?
Lets compare the opening passages of these two letters and see what clues there may be.
In Galatians 1 we can see that it is addressed to those who are being troubled by a perverted gospel and removed from their call to Grace in Christ.
Galatians 1:6-7
6 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:
7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.
The opening passages of Romans seem to be addressed to a people that do not have that problem.
Romans 1:1-8
1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,
2 (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,)
3 Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;
4 And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:
5 By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name:
6 Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ:
7 To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.
8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.
Note that the gospel is mentioned in verse one and that verse two tells us that the gospel is part of the promise to the fathers. We can see this spelled out in Galatians 3.
Galatians 3:8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.
Then in verse 5 it mentions obedience. That is obedience to the faith among all nations, which include, according to verse 6 those whom this letter is addressed to, the called of Jesus Christ. Verse 7 says they are beloved by God and called to be saints. In verse 8 we see that their faith is spoke of through all the world. So we are looking at a people from the nations who are obedient to the faith and have a world wide reputation for that faith. Could this be the Gentile church as it will be in the end time revival?
This does not sound like the same bunch that the book of Galatians speaks to. The people addressed here as ‘Romans’ are walking the walk and not just talking the talk. So they already meet the condition of being led by the Spirit. Galatians has to spell out this condition but Romans assumes this condition from the beginning. For the Galatians, being led by the Spirit has not yet happened; but it has for the Romans. Once you notice this, it makes quite a difference. Try comparing the Corinthian church as described in First Corinthians with the same church as described in Second Corinthians.
So who are the ‘Romans’? In other words who does this description given in Romans fit. Is it the early church, today’s church or the end time church? If you answer the early church, that is only because they are a type of the end time church. Today’s church seems to fit the description of the Galatians. If you answer the end time church, you are starting to catch on. It is speaking to the end time Gentile Church. Certain passages of Romans only make sense when applied to the end time church. This means that they are still to be fulfilled in the end times. Then the Book of Romans will be open to those who are led by the Spirit. This is what we mean by opening the Book of Romans.
The church of today, which claims to be under grace and thereby allowed to ignore the old testament scriptures, is gravely mistaken. The conclusion you have to see is that while there may be some individuals under grace, the vast majority of us are still under the law, and won’t admit it! We are reading a sealed book and misapplying the word. The Spirit we need to be under grace is the same Holy Spirit we need to understand this book! And He is that Spirit we need to be obedient to the Gospel.
If you still think you are under grace, ask yourself if sin has any hold on you.
Romans 6:14
14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
When you can honestly answer that sin has no hold on you, they you can also say with Jesus, the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me. [John 14:30].
And you are then conformed to his image! Selah!