2015-11-27
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Last week, I was led to discuss the two kinds of lifestyles—God-centered and man-centered. Since faithful obedience to God’s teachings is what gives us the chance for eternal life, that kind of God-centered lifestyle is what God desires for us. In our Lord’s sight, we should have hearts which are “circumcised” by His hand and not mankind’s. We are to choose a life in which the Lord is at its center and to which we hold fast. God has wanted us to have this kind of life, a life not led by the law, but by the Holy Spirit. Right from the beginning, most Jewish homes have a mezuzah attached to their door post or gate. This is a small cylinder, often with a Hebrew shin, the 21st letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and the first letter of God’s name, on the outside. A roll of parchment is on the inside, on which DT 6: 4-9 and DT 11: 13-21 is hand-lettered in Hebrew. Sadly however, traditional Jews are mired in the format of the law and have thus, missed the spirit of it, the content of what God is trying to teach them.
There are reminders for us to heed to really understand what God wants us to know. DT 8: 3b, “You do not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” That demands our attention on Him, something today’s busy people often neglect. The “Shema” is another important reminder: DT 6: 4-5, “Here, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might.” We have one God, not many gods. We are to make Him the very Center of our lives, faithfully obeying His teaching. We are to “impress His commandments on our children.” God’s teaching is to pass down from generation to generation. EX 20: 1-17 gives us the Ten Commandments. The first five put the Lord at the Center of our lives and worship. We are reminded there is only one God, Whom we are to worship faithfully. And, we are not to worship idols. The second five commandments direct our behavior. We are not to misuse God’s name, murder, commit adultery, steal, bear false witness, or covet. We are to keep the Sabbath holy and to honor our mother and father. It comes as a shock that the ancient rabbis, in the oral Torah, ballooned these ten straight-forward laws up to 613! The original ten is all we need. DT 31: 10-11 revealed to ancient Israel that every seven years, there should be a Sabbatical year when all debts should be cancelled, and the Law should be reread. PS 107: 32 emphasized the need for God being acknowledged as the Center of the lives of believers. “Let them exalt Him in the assembly of the people and praise Him in the council of the elders.”
To round out the picture, we must look at law verses grace as found in Galatians. Paul’s letter to the Galatians was written between 53 and 57 AD, according to one theory and between 51 and 53 according to another. While the date is up for discussion, it is clear that Paul is the author of it. This came at a time when Judaizers, Jewish Christians, were trying to cause all Christians to practice Jewish customs with regard to Sabbath being from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday, circumcision, and keeping a kosher regime. This was causing consternation in the Gentile Christian portion of the community, who had never been reared with these customs. Paul responded by clearly establishing apostolic authority and thereby substantiating the Gospel be preached. The Gospel had been perverted by Judaizers, who were leading people to bondage to legalism. Paul emphasized that grace alone through faith leads to justification [GA 2: 16]. The believer is saved by grace alone and not the Law, and it is by faith that the believer is to lead his new life in Christ, in freedom of the Holy Spirit. Only Christ Himself is capable of keeping the whole law.
This emphasis on the Spirit over the letter of the law is expressed in RO 7: 6, “But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.” This gives us a new definition for prosperity. Moreover, RO 10: 4 tells us, “Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.” This leads us to an understanding of how God meant for the law and for grace to function. The law lets people know what pleases God and what doesn’t. However, there is no salvation, justification, or eternal forgiveness by means of it. These things come from the grace of God, His unmerited favor for the believer. Forgiveness, which had only been for one year in the old traditional system (granted at Yom Kippur-the Day of Atonement), would now by His grace, be eternal (given at the time one comes to faith in Christ). HE 8: 12, “For I will forgive their wickedness and remember their sins no more.” HE 10: 10, “And by that will (the Lord’s), we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all.” This assertion tells us that Christ’s sacrifice sets aside the need for all other sacrifices in granting us justification. How can we not consider ourselves truly blessed by the faith we have in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ?!
PRAYER: O Lord, when we consider all that our Lord Jesus has done for us, we must come to see the love You have for us. It’s hard to miss. You deserve for us to acknowledge You as the Leader of our lives and as sovereign. We use David’s words from PS 86:8. “Among the gods there is none like You, Lord; no deeds can compare with Yours.” And to other people we say HO 6: 3, “Let us acknowledge the Lord; let us press on to acknowledge Him. As surely as the sun rises, He will appear; He will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.” In addition to acknowledging You, Lord, we must submit to You. PS 40: 6-7, “Then, I said, ‘Here I am, I have come-it is written about Me in the scroll. I desire to do Your will, my God; Your law is within my heart.’” Acknowledgment of and submission to You must be founded in trust. PS 62: 7-8, “My salvation and my honor depend on God. He is my mighty Rock, my Refuge. Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our Refuge.” JN 15: 5 has made it clear that with You, we can do what is necessary to live a righteous and respected life; without You, we can do nothing. Without You, Lord, we are like fruit and leaves separated from their sources of water and nutrients. We would die to what is holy and live only for the whims of human desire. There is no happiness and inner peace with that, so we choose to serve and worship only You. The legalism of the law alone won’t lead us to do good deeds or consider the needs of others. We would be materialistic, greedy, and mean-spirited. Therefore, we proclaim You as our Lord and worship You with hearts You circumcised. We reverently offer You our forever praise and thanks in the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: I’m led to begin with a reminder of what Christ has done for us on the cross. We will look at the freedom we now have under God’s grace and then the promise of the Holy Spirit. All of these things are such blessings to me personally, because they have given me a totally new life. Before the Lord Jesus was in my life, I was filled with doubts about my self-worth, fear about the future, and lack of direction. All that has gone away with Christ’s entrance into my life. As an older person, a long-standing desire of mine is being fulfilled. I’m having the opportunity through an organization called In Search of Shalom (shalom means peace in Hebrew) to witness to my faith to others and to answer questions of a spiritual nature that they have. This is done in secured computer chats. One caller was a fifteen year old East Indian lad living in Britain. I was astonished at the sophistication of his knowledge of the Bible and at his emotional maturity for his age. He began by asking me a question about the extent of Paul’s intent in 1 COR 10: 33. As I answered his question, I could see from his responses that he is one extraordinary young man. He told me that his entire family and most of his friends are Hindus. In Nov. of 2014, he came to accept Christ as his personal Savior. Since then, he is encountering serious opposition to his decision and is called upon to explain himself. This is troubling to him. I drew his attention to 1 PET 2: 20-21 (which explains we must expect persecution, enduring it is commendable before God, and must remember what Christ endured for us on the cross). I also pointed him to 1 PET 3: 15-17 (which deals with suffering for doing good), and 1 PET 4: 14 & 16 (which depicts a new attitude we should have toward insults). What a privilege it is to help young people going through their trials to find the love of God as they go along! I must offer praise and thanks to God!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2015. All Rights Reserved.
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