Readings:
Psalm 13
Galatians 2:11-16
Focus:
Galatians 2:16a: "Yet we know that no one is ever justified by doing what the law requires, but only through faith in Christ Jesus."
This is the heart of the gospel, and it can never be repeated too often. No one is ever justified--saved--by obeying the law. It is only by having faith in Jesus Christ that one is saved.
Christianity is not about following rules, or about being right. Christianity is about having a relationship with Jesus Christ. Later, after having that relationship, Christians live in obedience to God out of gratitude for what he has done. But it is not that way of life that saves people. It is when a person puts her or his faith in Jesus Christ that that person is saved.
God has made it easy for us! That's how much he loves us.
Showing posts with label law. Show all posts
Showing posts with label law. Show all posts
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
The Spirit Gives Life
Readings:
Job 35
II Corinthians 3:6-18
Focus:
II Corinthians 3:6b: "The written law condemns to death, but the Spirit gives life."
God's law is really a fearsome thing. If we were to try to get to heaven by living by the law, we could never make it. God demands perfection, and it is impossible to fulfill all the demands of his law. If we break even one tiny bit of his law, we are condemned to death.
But that is where God is such a marvelous God. He loves us so much that he has provided a way around this for us. He doesn't set aside the demands of the law. He just takes the punishment himself instead of us.
All we have to do is acknowledge that we have done wrong, acknowledge that we need him, and ask him to be in charge of our lives. He does everything else. And when we do this, as Paul says, we are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory.
Job 35
II Corinthians 3:6-18
Focus:
II Corinthians 3:6b: "The written law condemns to death, but the Spirit gives life."
God's law is really a fearsome thing. If we were to try to get to heaven by living by the law, we could never make it. God demands perfection, and it is impossible to fulfill all the demands of his law. If we break even one tiny bit of his law, we are condemned to death.
But that is where God is such a marvelous God. He loves us so much that he has provided a way around this for us. He doesn't set aside the demands of the law. He just takes the punishment himself instead of us.
All we have to do is acknowledge that we have done wrong, acknowledge that we need him, and ask him to be in charge of our lives. He does everything else. And when we do this, as Paul says, we are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
What We Do Is Not What We Want To Do
Readings:
Nehemiah 1
Romans 7:7-15
Focus:
Romans 7:15: "I do not even acknowledge my own actions as mine, for what I do is not what I want to do, but what I detest."
As Paul continues to write about the difference between being saved by perfect obedience to law (which is impossible), and being saved by God's free gift of grace, he discusses the paradox that knowing the law also makes us know what sin is, and sin uses the law to seduce us to sin more. What a typical thing for evil to do--use something good to entice us away from the true good.
And Paul then shows how enslaved to sin we are when we are without God. We are helpless. We know what is right to do, but we cannot do it. We continue to do what is wrong. Even if we don't do terrible things, we still do little wrong things. What we do is not what we want to do, but what we detest.
We need someone more powerful than us to save us from this. And that's why God provided Jesus.
Nehemiah 1
Romans 7:7-15
Focus:
Romans 7:15: "I do not even acknowledge my own actions as mine, for what I do is not what I want to do, but what I detest."
As Paul continues to write about the difference between being saved by perfect obedience to law (which is impossible), and being saved by God's free gift of grace, he discusses the paradox that knowing the law also makes us know what sin is, and sin uses the law to seduce us to sin more. What a typical thing for evil to do--use something good to entice us away from the true good.
And Paul then shows how enslaved to sin we are when we are without God. We are helpless. We know what is right to do, but we cannot do it. We continue to do what is wrong. Even if we don't do terrible things, we still do little wrong things. What we do is not what we want to do, but what we detest.
We need someone more powerful than us to save us from this. And that's why God provided Jesus.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Released from the Law
Readings:
Ezra 10
Romans 7:1-6
Focus:
Romans 7:6: "But now, having died to that which held us bound, we are released from the law, to serve God in a new way, the way of the spirit in contrast to the old way of a written code."
Paul uses the example of someone who is married. As long as both spouses are alive, they are bound to each other. But once one has died, the remaining spouse is freed from being legally bound and may marry another.
In the same way, Paul says, when we give our lives to Christ, and are identified with him in his death, then we are released from having to try to earn salvation through obedience to law. Instead, we can have the freedom of receiving salvation as a free gift of grace.
Throughout the book of Romans, Paul makes this point over and over. It is a point worth making. We do not earn our salvation by being good. Jesus Christ gives it to us when we acknowledge the fact that he took our punishment instead of us. It's fantastic! We are released from the law and made free to serve God in a new way, the way of the Spirit.
Ezra 10
Romans 7:1-6
Focus:
Romans 7:6: "But now, having died to that which held us bound, we are released from the law, to serve God in a new way, the way of the spirit in contrast to the old way of a written code."
Paul uses the example of someone who is married. As long as both spouses are alive, they are bound to each other. But once one has died, the remaining spouse is freed from being legally bound and may marry another.
In the same way, Paul says, when we give our lives to Christ, and are identified with him in his death, then we are released from having to try to earn salvation through obedience to law. Instead, we can have the freedom of receiving salvation as a free gift of grace.
Throughout the book of Romans, Paul makes this point over and over. It is a point worth making. We do not earn our salvation by being good. Jesus Christ gives it to us when we acknowledge the fact that he took our punishment instead of us. It's fantastic! We are released from the law and made free to serve God in a new way, the way of the Spirit.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
No More Sin
Readings:
Ezra 5
Romans 6:1-4
Focus:
Romans 6:1-2a: "What are we to say, then? Shall we persist in sin, so that there may be all the more grace? Certainly not!"
Paul has just been arguing that because of Christ's sacrificial death and resurrection, we no longer need obey the law in order to gain salvation. Instead, we only need to accept what Jesus has done for us, give our lives to God, and receive God's free grace.
The next logical question that might be asked is that, if our sin causes God to respond with grace, then should we sin more in order to receive more grace?
Paul has an answer to this: definitely not! Once we have turned our lives over to God, we have become identified with Christ. We are symbolically buried with him, and, just as he is raised from the dead, we also start a new life. In this new life, we do not commit sin on purpose. Instead, we flee from it as much as we are able.
And indeed, the more we know him, the less we want to sin. It does not make us happy any more.
I know someone who is a recovering alcoholic. Before she gave up drinking, she thought life would be boring without it. Then she starting going to AA, and became sober. Now she realizes how much better life is. She just didn't know, when she was drinking, how great, how much better, drink-free life was! So it is with sin. We think it's fun, but we just don't know how much more fun, how much happier, sin-avoiding life is.
Ezra 5
Romans 6:1-4
Focus:
Romans 6:1-2a: "What are we to say, then? Shall we persist in sin, so that there may be all the more grace? Certainly not!"
Paul has just been arguing that because of Christ's sacrificial death and resurrection, we no longer need obey the law in order to gain salvation. Instead, we only need to accept what Jesus has done for us, give our lives to God, and receive God's free grace.
The next logical question that might be asked is that, if our sin causes God to respond with grace, then should we sin more in order to receive more grace?
Paul has an answer to this: definitely not! Once we have turned our lives over to God, we have become identified with Christ. We are symbolically buried with him, and, just as he is raised from the dead, we also start a new life. In this new life, we do not commit sin on purpose. Instead, we flee from it as much as we are able.
And indeed, the more we know him, the less we want to sin. It does not make us happy any more.
I know someone who is a recovering alcoholic. Before she gave up drinking, she thought life would be boring without it. Then she starting going to AA, and became sober. Now she realizes how much better life is. She just didn't know, when she was drinking, how great, how much better, drink-free life was! So it is with sin. We think it's fun, but we just don't know how much more fun, how much happier, sin-avoiding life is.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Keeping the Law Is Not Sufficient
Readings:
II Chronicles 33
Romans 3:7-20
Focus:
Romans 3:20: "For no human being can be justified in the sight of God by keeping the law: law brings only the consciousness of sin."
Paul is building the case that trying to keep the law is insufficient for salvation, because it is not possible to do it perfectly. By law he means the whole moral and ritual law as found in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament.) Perhaps if one tried very hard, one might succeed in observing the ritual law perfectly, but it is beyond anyone's power to succeed in observing the moral law perfectly.
For example, among the succession of kings that we have been reading about in II Chronicles, some have been terribly bad, and some have been good, but even the good ones have had failings.
And we ourselves may be good people, but we are unable to be perfect. When we really think about it, we are aware of our shortcomings, even little things like irritability. As Romans 3:20 says, law brings the consciousness of sin.
There is no way to be saved if we are trying to do it by being good. We can't do it.
Thanks to God that he has provided Jesus! The book of Romans will tell more about that.
II Chronicles 33
Romans 3:7-20
Focus:
Romans 3:20: "For no human being can be justified in the sight of God by keeping the law: law brings only the consciousness of sin."
Paul is building the case that trying to keep the law is insufficient for salvation, because it is not possible to do it perfectly. By law he means the whole moral and ritual law as found in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament.) Perhaps if one tried very hard, one might succeed in observing the ritual law perfectly, but it is beyond anyone's power to succeed in observing the moral law perfectly.
For example, among the succession of kings that we have been reading about in II Chronicles, some have been terribly bad, and some have been good, but even the good ones have had failings.
And we ourselves may be good people, but we are unable to be perfect. When we really think about it, we are aware of our shortcomings, even little things like irritability. As Romans 3:20 says, law brings the consciousness of sin.
There is no way to be saved if we are trying to do it by being good. We can't do it.
Thanks to God that he has provided Jesus! The book of Romans will tell more about that.
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