2015-05-22
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Last week, we learned why it is appropriate to refer to the Lord Jesus as Abraham’s Seed from GA 3: 13-14, 16. “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.’ He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.” And in (16), “The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his Seed. The Scripture does not say ‘and to seeds,’ meaning many people, but ‘and to your Seed,’ meaning one Person, Who is Christ.”
The questions come up: Why is relief from the law needed? Why did our divine Covenant Partner need to replace the Covenant of the Law? To begin, the function of the law, as I hope you remember, is to let mankind know what is sin and what is acceptable to God. However, over the years the meaning of God’s teachings were getting swallowed up in the ritual format of traditionally Jewish customs and practices. God knew something had to be done about this. Even today, traditional Jews don’t recognize Jesus as Lord and Savior. They reject him, other than that He was a past rabbi, and the entire NT. RO 3: 24-25 tells us otherwise, as does JN 3: 16, “And we are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Him as a Sacrifice of atonement, through faith in His blood. He did this to demonstrate His justice, because in His forbearance He had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished…” [Christ is the Propitiation (acceptable Sin-sacrifice to God) for our sins]….”For God so loved the world that He gave His One and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but shall have eternal life.” We are justified if we genuinely believe in Jesus Christ and repent of our sins [RO 4: 3]. We can demonstrate our faith if we obey God’s commands and cooperate with our Covenant Partner in His work of sanctifying us [perfecting us gradually]. When God believes that we are sufficiently sanctified, He will bring us to His side in heaven for eternity—glorify us. These truths should supply sufficient motivation for us to get to know God better and to more perfectly conform to His will.
When Paul was writing RO 2 about the Jews, his own people, his heart was heavy, and he exclaimed his hope that they would undergo a circumcision of the heart, not just a physical one. A circumcision of the heart is not one done by the written code, but by the Holy Spirit [RO 2: 29]. That is Paul’s idea of a real Jewish person. At the time Paul wrote his epistle to the Romans, he was probably on his third missionary journey, about 57 AD. He wanted the people to understand that the law alone wouldn’t be enough to give them circumcision of the heart. At this time groups formed within the church who differed with each other concerning their approach. The Judaizers felt all males should be physically circumcised, should celebrate the Sabbath from sundown Friday to sundown Sat., and that everyone should only eat food that is Kosher. The former Pagans disagreed with that, asserting that they don’t have to be circumcised, can eat anything they want, and can celebrate the Sabbath on Sunday. Paul stepped in and told the lot of them to do what they are comfortable with, especially that as long as one day out of seven in which no work is done is the Sabbath, it doesn’t matter [GA 6: 11-16]. Another group, the Anti-nomians (against the law) felt they can do anything they want (have grace without license), and Paul said that was not true. They need to heed God’s laws in their behavior and interactions, especially those with others [RO 2: 6-11]. How human these squabbles are! The whole idea is to put God and His leadership first, and they were having a hard time getting it. “What counts is a new creation. Neither circumcision or their circumcision means anything. Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule, even to the Israel of God [GA 6: 15-16].
What made living under the law a curse is that no one observes the law perfectly, except for Christ Himself. Remember RO 3: 23, “All are sinners and fall short of the glory of God.” JAS 2 :10 further tells us, “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of break all of it.” It’s a standard up to which only Christ could live. With advancing legalism that is still seen today in the ultra Orthodox, Chasidic, and other very conservative traditional Jews, the Covenant of the Law wasn’t functioning as God wanted. This made it necessary for Him to replace it with the Covenant of Grace, now in force. Those of us who have taken the time over the years to really study the Scriptures so that we can know God’s will are held to a high standard as we serve Him. We know His will, and thus, have less excuse than others to break it. Our Covenant Partner and our relationships that we have with Him and other people are the most important blessings we have in our lives.
PRAYER: O Lord, we come before Your mighty throne to ask for Your leadership in helping our fellow believers know You better through study of Your word, prayer, and service to You. We take the responsibility of following Your commands seriously, and we ask for Your direction in where and how You want us to serve. RO 12: 1-2 matters to us, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy to offer your lives as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God---this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then, you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is---His good, pleasing, and perfect will.” We must set an example that will show our fellow believers their need to be on God’s team and not their own divisive ones. RO 12: 4-5, “Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these member do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to the others.” You want us to use our talents, those You gave us, to do the work of building Your Kingdom. We do what we can to obey that directive, knowing well how important to Your work this is. PS 19: 8, “The Lord’s instruction is right; it makes our hearts glad. His commands shine brightly, and they give us light.” And, Dearest Abba. We also acknowledge Your power to bring wisdom and Your right words into our lives, as we accept Your command to testify to others of the faith You have given us. 2 TIM 1: 13-14, “What you head from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching with faith and love in Christ Jesus. Guard the Treasure [Gospel] entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit.” We thank and praise You, as You bring seekers into our lives and equip us to serve You well with what we say and the example we set. We thank and praise You forever! In Christ’s holy/mighty name, Amen.
NEXT WEEK: We will look at how Christ did His part to establish the Covenant of Grace as relief from the curse of the written code. When we meditate on how God has never left mankind without the blessing of access to Him and His teaching, we can’t help but feel comforted. When we had no way to know what was acceptable to Him and what wasn’t, He gave us the Law [EX 24: 7-11]. Sadly due to mankind’s sinful nature, we needed more, a way out from the curse of the laws. When Jews began writing the oral Torah and valuing it in addition to the divinely written one, what had been 10 basic Laws (or Commandments) suddenly blossomed to 613! No one, except Jesus, could keep them all. This leads to sinfulness. That is when God decided to replace the emphasis on the law with the emphasis on grace. He teaches us every day what grace really is and urges us to know both Him and His teachings well. As we strive to do this, we mature spiritually as believers and come closer than ever to our God. He encourages us along the way. PS 62: 5-8 is an example. “He alone is my Rock and Salvation; He is my Fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on God. He is my mighty Rock, my Refuge. Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to Him for God is our Refuge.” When we need something, e.g. the right words to say when writing about Him or getting ready to witness to a seeker, we can pray to Him, and He will supply us with our needs through the Holy Spirit. Praise and thanks be to our God!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2015. All Rights Reserved.
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