Law and Gospel, self-will and God's will

This is a big subject in the Bible and its teaching. You have to read this short article by Spurgeon first.

It's about moralism and how it actually fosters immoralism. It's also about what sanctification is and how is occurs inside a regenerated person. Paul the apostle, who was writing the Word of God, is radical on this subject in Romans ("Everything is allowed me, but not everything is good for me" in so many words). He was being accused of being an antinomian which means "against the law", or, a person who believes anything is allowed. And Paul's answer to the charge was: everything IS allowed me. You see, the biblical teaching is radical. You have to see that you have to accept that everything is allowed you. You are no longer under the curse or bondage of the law. You just aren't. But not everything is good for you.

In the comments thread of the above post I wrote two comments (which will probably be deleted because the style and substance gives me away, and they delete anything I write when they're fairly sure it's me writing it, so I'll post it here). In the last comment below I think I hit on something very big and very simple. How the "descent of the dove" type of will action that is God's will practically manifests in us when it does:

My goodness, Spurgeon is both dead on in this (as usual), but there is nothing here to say sanctification is not also a process involving effort. There is definitive, passive sanctification and there is progressive, active sanctification. The difference that confuses is not between those two things but it's between the state prior to regeneration and the state after regeneration.

After regeneration you aren't going around thinking "I can't do this or that because it's against the law of God" you are more in the mode of "I don't want to sin because I'm alive to the battle with the world, the flesh, and the devil." I.e. I'm literally allowed to sin or do anything I like, but it's not my (new) nature to like to sin. And if I fall into it, I recognize it for what it is, and I get out. The unregenerate not only fall into it, but they can't recognize it for what it is and never desire to get out of it.

Jesus tells us to do this and this and this over and over. This is effort in sanctification. He gives us the power to do it, but we have to do it. But it's something we desire to do, it's not something that is like a chain about our neck that we obey against our will.

It's important to, like Paul, say EVERYTHING IS ALLOWED ME. But not everything is good for me. This is radical, and the moralists and legalists will forever not grasp it and think it dangerous. They think the very Word of God is dangerous.

The law is no longer outside you. It is now in your heart. It's not what you 'do', it's what you are. This is the difference.

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A practical note to my comment above:

Much of acting from God's will rather than self-will (which is what having the law of God in one's heart is about) involves simply waiting. Waiting on the lord. That pregnant phrase in Scripture. God's will is "descent of the dove" type of will action. It's not self-will effort and doing in the way we normally think of doing. But it requires really, practically speaking, a pause and reflection in the moment, in the midst of an event. To allow God's will to manifest in us. Really this is what is needed once you DO have ability to act from God's will (you are regenerated by God).

Think of this: think about such a trivial and simple example as when we write a heated comment on the internet and quickly hit 'send.' Then we read it later and see how intemperate and crazy it is and wish we wouldn't have said it like that. Now think how much difference is put into the process if we just pause even for a slight moment before sending, and what happens? We delete, edit, clean up; we see the intemperate nature of what we've written and desire to NOT send it. This sounds like a trivial example, but it's not. This is waiting and literally allowing God's will to act in us. God's will can't act in us if we don't pause and reflect...if we don't wait on the Lord.