Born Outlaw

May I use the synonym "rules" as a substitute for the word "law?" Who makes the rules, and how does someone get the authority to enforce them? Without any rule book or instructions manual, I can safely assume that I have the authority to govern my own person. I can make decisions on what to eat and drink, on what to say and what to think.


I also have copyrights of everything that I create whether I write a book, invent a recipe or make intellectual property. For the most part the majority would agree on these rights with the exception of the oppressed and enslaved. And even then the taskmaster assumes this role based on his perception about his authority, self serving objectives and power to exercise control. All of these questions lead us to a couple of important observations about the law.

1. Where there is a law there is a lawmaker.
2. Laws are used to protect or control.
3. The lawmaker has the right to govern that which he creates.

Have I missed anything so far?


In this verse the law giver is God and according to the verse his motive is to protect.


It's not you, it's me.
I know that I need to keep the law and that by breaking the law I am jeopardizing the safety of other people. I am disobedient very frequently. I find myself unable to follow the law perfectly. The law becomes a burden because I know what I need to be doing but I do the opposite.


What is it about the law that I need to be dead to?
Does it mean that I am dead to the rules, exempt from the recommendations the law outlines? Or does it mean that I am dead to my obsessive compulsive attempts to accomplish something that is not within my power.


If I don't keep the law, I am making the decision to exist under my own government.


In light of all we have covered, it is impossible to keep the law by our own power. Since the fall of man our broken human nature wins. This is sad because although I want to live with God I could not because I would be dangerous to others and to myself.


There is one however, Jesus Christ who made perfection available to the human race through himself.


We all know what the definition of insanity is, and to be honest many of us have been insane for a long time. Do you sometimes get tired of trying to fix your life ? Trying to get your life together before you surrender completely to God? Are you tired of fighting? Are you tired of struggling? Are you tired of giving up and going at it all over again?


Would you like freedom from that today? You can have it, right now. Just ask Jesus. Just as you are, accept what he has done for you on the cross and stop trying to do it yourself.