2015-06-26
Good Morning Loved Ones,
The Holy Spirit led me to begin writing about life under the Covenant of Grace, as opposed to the Covenant of the Law. Learning what is righteous and what is not in God’s eyes (the function of the law) continues, but with the new covenant, the opportunity for justification [RO 4: 3], salvation [JN 3: 16; RO 3: 24-25], and eternal forgiveness of sin [1 JN 1: 9] is made possible. The reasons why God replaced the old with the new covenant is explained in GA 3: 19-21. “What, then, was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to Whom the promise referred had come. The law was put into effect through angels by a mediator. A mediator, however, does not represent just one party; but God is One. Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law.”
It is a fact that “all of us are sinners and have fallen short of the glory of God” [RO 3: 23]. While Moses was the mediator between God and the people in the giving of the law and it’s application, he could not be the mediator of grace. That task is left to our Lord Jesus Christ, Who died on the cross, so that we could have the benefits mentioned above that are associated with His grace. Of course, confession of sin and genuine faith in the Lord Jesus by us are necessary for salvation, justification, and eternal forgiveness. In being a participator in the Covenant of Grace, Christ becomes our Mediator and Advocate, our Liaison between us and God. We are given peace with God as His friends [RO 5: 9-11]. Our God is the God of both Jews and Gentiles [RO 1: 16-17; 3: 29]. Our God is merciful [RO 11: 32].
Originally, when the law came, we were placed under it’s supervision, so that it would lead us to eventual faith in Jesus Christ in God’s perfect time. Now that Christ, that Decendant/Seed, has come, we are no longer supervised by the law, but instead, are under His grace [GAL 3: 23-24]. This is a whole new life, a life that gives us freedom due to knowing the truth [JN 8: 32]. We can’t take any credit for the blessings of grace, because these are gifts from God. Our salvation doesn’t come from works, but from our faith and repentance due to His grace. So, we can’t boast about any of our accomplishments. The good deeds that we do are prepared ahead of time by God for us to do [EPH 2: 8-10]. The change in our thinking/heart-attitude comes from God, as well. He “transforms us by the renewal of our mind” [RO 12: 2]. That is why we can all proclaim PS 115: 1, “Not to us, O Lord, not to us but to Your name be the glory, because of Your love and faithfulness.”
The contrast between living under the law and under grace is amazing. JAS 2: 8-10 demonstrates the problem of living under the law. “If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’ you are doing right and if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.” This predicament lands all under law as sinners. When this teaching is combined with that of GA 2: 16, we are given a fuller picture of why law is replaced with grace by our loving God. “Know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law.” The replacement of law with grace was prophesied as early as about 605 BC by the minor prophet, Habukkuk, when he wrote “the righteous shall live by faith” [HB 2: 4]. Paul picked up on this teaching when he mentions it in RO 1: 17.
Our Lord Jesus redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. GA 3: 13b, because it is written [in DT 21: 23] that “cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” It’s useful to see where this came from, so here’s DT 21: 22-23: “If a man guilty of a capital offense is put to death and his body is hung on a tree, you must not leave his body on the tree overnight. Be sure to bury him that same day, because anyone who is hung on a tree is under God’s curse. You must not desecrate the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.” We can begin to see the grace in Christ’s Atonement when we realize that He never committed any sin, yet died on the cross for us. The wonderful part of this is seen in 1 COR 5: 21, “God made Him Who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” Now, we can truly appreciate the magnitude of what our Lord Jesus has done for us. Consider RO 6: 22, “But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.” Christ is the Fulfillment of the law, i.e. He is the end of the law, so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.”
PRAYER: O Lord, we are so very grateful for the sacrifice You made of Your Son, Jesus, on the cross. Now that we are taking the opportunity to review Your word on the various aspects of this blessing for us and what He gave sacrificially on cross, we have a better understanding of the magnitude of what salvation, justification, and eternal forgiveness means in our lives. We revisit 2 TIM 3: 16-17, using Your words for why it is essential that we spend daily time studying Your word. “All Scripture is God-breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good deed.” We find it quite necessary to acknowledge what has been done by You in transforming us by the renewal of our mind, in the on-going process of sanctifying us [purifying/perfecting us], despite our sinful nature. You gave us the law, so that we might know Your will for us and what is right in Your sight. You continually grant us grace, so that we might know the blessings of it. And, Dearest Abba, You renew our spirits with the great promise of our eventual resurrection--- our glorification, so that we may one day be at Your side as joint-heirs with Jesus to Your Kingdom [RO 8: 17]. In Your amazing fairness, You appointed Him as Judge, and call us to stand before Him, to find our names in Your book of life [DN 7: 12-14; REV 20: 4-6]. For this is the first resurrection, the resurrection of the just. Only saying “thank You” is not enough, so we pledge ourselves to spend an earthly lifetime of living according to Your teaching. We pray IS 50: 4, “The Sovereign Lord has given me an instructed tongue; to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like the one being taught.” We offer utmost thanks and praise for telling us all we need to know to live righteously, for helping us understand the importance of obedience to Your commands, and for blessing us enormously every day. We offer You our heartfelt love in the holy/mighty name of Your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: There is even more for us to know about how Christ is our Mediator and the relationship between sin and law. I find myself amazed at how much reconnaissance against the evil one we can find in God’s word. Gaining a better understanding of these things is faith-strengthening and motivation to obey God’s commands. It helps us to know the magnitude of Christ’s sacrifice and the results that it brings about. We are encouraged to know that God is with us 24/7, working to give us opportunities to uncover sins we didn’t know we are committing, to confess those sins genuinely, to be prepared by Him for glorification, to help us in spiritual warfare, to guide us to righteousness, and to teach us how we can please Him in every aspect of our lives. These are blessings heaped on blessings! They reveal the heart of God, the extent to which He is willing to guide us to better relationships and a better quality of life. The truth is a light that pierces the darkness of former misery, misery being sinfulness. God’s secrets have been revealed in keeping with the promise of DT 29: 29. “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow the words of this law.” That was written by Moses; this was said by our Lord Jesus in JN 15: 12, 15b-16, “My command is this: Love each other as I have love you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends…I have called you friends (not just servants), for everything that I learned from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last.” No secrets are kept; all that is in God’s word is truth spoken out of the love of God for His human creation. Praise and thanks be to our Lord forever!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2015. All Rights Reserved.
<-- Back to Archives