God had a covenant with his people, Israel, that guided them from the outside. It was a set of rules "written on stone" which we call the Old Covenant. The Old Covenant rules provided God's people with laws that would guide them in how to treat Him and their neighbor. These rules served as a compass on their behavior. Today, we have an internal New Covenant guide called the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is to the New Covenant what the law was to the Old Covenant. Today we have our compass on the inside.
To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Colossians 1:27
Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them. Romans 2:14-15
This idea of God writing the law on our hearts can be seen as far back as Deuteronomy.
The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live. Deuteronomy 30:6
“‘For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. Ezekiel 36:24-27
So Paul made sure that his Jewish audience was reminded of what they learned about internal circumcision and the law on our hearts in the Torah when he wrote Romans.
A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God. Romans 2:28-29
Now we don't need the external compass of the law because we have something better: The Holy Spirit. He lives inside us and helps us with which direction to go in our daily lives. We have internal leadership of the Holy Spirit. Notice what Jesus said in John 14.
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever-- the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. John 14:16-17
You might be wondering how to know if you are going in the right direction. Well Paul gives us a hint in Colossians.
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Colossians 3:15
One of the hallmarks of the Holy Spirit is peace. Paul shares more in Romans.
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit Romans 14:17
So our lives, ruled by the Holy Spirit, include righteousness, peace, and joy.
1. Righteousness
2. Joy of the Lord that is your strength
3. Peace that passes all understanding
If your peace is upset, that is the Holy Spirit catching your attention to let you know you might need to change direction. But if you have peace in your life, keep moving forward. Peace is where the Christian lives. When peace is disturbed, the Holy Spirit is speaking in order to get your attention.
Another thing to note about what you already have as a New Covenant Christian is wisdom. In fact you have wisdom greater than Solomon who was the wisest Old Covenant man that lived. In 1 Kings 3 it tells how God came to Solomon in a dream and that in this dream he asked God to give him wisdom.
So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?” 1 Kings 3:9
But you as a New Covenant believer have better than this. How do I know that? Because this is written in our bibles:
But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. Hebrews 5:14
You have the Holy Spirit living in you to internally guide you in the daily practice of listening to what is good and evil. Also you have God's grace that allows you to make mistakes and be forgiven in this process. You have permission to fail. In addition if you don't allow yourself to practice listening to Christ who lives in you, you will look for the external laws for guidance... and what a waste that is!
The Holy Spirit is to the New Covenant what the law was to the Old Covenant. Today we have our compass on the inside.
To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Colossians 1:27
Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them. Romans 2:14-15
This idea of God writing the law on our hearts can be seen as far back as Deuteronomy.
The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live. Deuteronomy 30:6
“‘For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. Ezekiel 36:24-27
So Paul made sure that his Jewish audience was reminded of what they learned about internal circumcision and the law on our hearts in the Torah when he wrote Romans.
A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God. Romans 2:28-29
Now we don't need the external compass of the law because we have something better: The Holy Spirit. He lives inside us and helps us with which direction to go in our daily lives. We have internal leadership of the Holy Spirit. Notice what Jesus said in John 14.
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever-- the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. John 14:16-17
You might be wondering how to know if you are going in the right direction. Well Paul gives us a hint in Colossians.
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Colossians 3:15
One of the hallmarks of the Holy Spirit is peace. Paul shares more in Romans.
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit Romans 14:17
So our lives, ruled by the Holy Spirit, include righteousness, peace, and joy.
1. Righteousness
2. Joy of the Lord that is your strength
3. Peace that passes all understanding
If your peace is upset, that is the Holy Spirit catching your attention to let you know you might need to change direction. But if you have peace in your life, keep moving forward. Peace is where the Christian lives. When peace is disturbed, the Holy Spirit is speaking in order to get your attention.
Another thing to note about what you already have as a New Covenant Christian is wisdom. In fact you have wisdom greater than Solomon who was the wisest Old Covenant man that lived. In 1 Kings 3 it tells how God came to Solomon in a dream and that in this dream he asked God to give him wisdom.
So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?” 1 Kings 3:9
But you as a New Covenant believer have better than this. How do I know that? Because this is written in our bibles:
But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. Hebrews 5:14
You have the Holy Spirit living in you to internally guide you in the daily practice of listening to what is good and evil. Also you have God's grace that allows you to make mistakes and be forgiven in this process. You have permission to fail. In addition if you don't allow yourself to practice listening to Christ who lives in you, you will look for the external laws for guidance... and what a waste that is!