2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Ones,
Yesterday God led me to begin writing about the contrast between the old Covenant of the Law and the new Covenant of Grace. It occurred to me that since this section of covenant messages is titled “consistent covenants,” it might be confusing that I’m discussing contrasts. However, the this seeming enigma is made clear when we understand that the old covenant is a foreshadow of the new one. God’s purpose for mankind, which is so aptly stated in RO 12: 2, that we should conform to the image of the Son by “not conforming ourselves to the standards of this world, but allow God to transform us by the renewal of our mind,” has never changed from before the creation. The time was not right for Christ to come on the earthly scene during the OT times, because God knew the people weren’t ready for this. This is a case of bowing to God’s superior wisdom and omniscience. God knew it was necessary to first give the people some way of telling what was acceptable to Him and what was not. That is the purpose of the Law [RO 7: 7]. Since Christ was crucified at the end of His incarnation, we know that most of the people were still not ready to appreciate what He taught and the shedding of His blood on the cross, even when it did happen. But God’s timing is always perfect in spite of this. There were enough people who did believe and repent to make this timing right. Had that not been true, Christ would have been long forgotten by now. And, surely He isn’t--praise God!
We have a pressing need, in my humble opinion, to realize the contrast between the impact of the old and new covenants on our access to God’s glory. When one reads EX 34: 29-35, we are told about how Moses’ face shown with the reflection of God’s glory each time He was in God’s presence. This reflection showed for awhile and then faded. That is why Moses eventually fell into the practice of wearing a veil over his face except when he was with God. The very first time the people saw this reflection, they were scared, even though Moses was unaware of it then. Note the ephemeral nature of this. Now, we can compare it to what we learn in 2 COR 3: 7b-11. “If the Law, which brings death when it is in force, came with such glory, how much greater is the glory that belongs to the activity of the Spirit! The system which brings condemnation was glorious; how much more glorious is the activity which brings salvation! We may say that because of the far brighter glory now the glory that was so bright in the past is gone. For if there was glory in that which lasted for awhile, how much more glory is there in that which lasts forever!” Plain and simple, it’s the contrast between the reflection of God’s glory, which is temporary and the glory itself, which lasts for eternity.
I am forced to recall RO 8: 17, a citation that is so very precious to me. “Since we are His children, we will possess the blessing He keeps for His people, and we will also possess with Christ what God has kept for Him; for if we share Christ’s suffering, we will also share His glory.” That just takes my breath away. Mister and Misses Ordinary Citizen, who make the decision to humbly confess he/she is a sinner, turn from that sin, and accept Christ as the Lord of his/her life now can be assured he/she will be a joint-heir to God’s Kingdom to rule with Christ Himself! Imagine looking forward to sharing in God’s glory! That touches the very soul of me when I think of it. That’s grace, and the Law could never deliver on that promise. I’m not saying the Law was useless or evil. It just wasn’t enough alone to produce the opportunity for salvation, sanctification, and glorification.
The veil on-veil off must be seen as another contrast between Law and grace. RO 11: 25 makes that crystal clear. The veil on refers to the veil Moses had to wear and the inner veil that closed the Holy of Holies to all but the Jewish high priest on Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement). That was the old covenant way. Believing only in the Law lead to legalism and ritualistic emphasis on form to the detriment of learning the content of God’s teaching. It led to rabbinical commentaries (the Talmud) which inserted a human intermediary between God and the believer to muddy up and put a human spin on God’s word. The veil-off refers to the death of Christ on the cross, whose blood shed sealed the Covenant of Grace, allowing the believer to know the real identity of the Messiah, and opening the heavenly Holy of Holies to all believers [HE 9: 12, 24]. Remember MK 15: 38, which describes the supernatural tearing of the inner veil in the Jerusalem temple from top to bottom at the moment of Christ’s death? After considering what is said here, I don’t think any of us can consider looking at Law vs. grace as simply an academic exercise. This vitally impacts every single one of us as believers. It should also be sufficient motivation for us to: 1) keep our own faith strong through obedience and trust, and 2) carry that faith to others to whom we might witness. If we will do this, we will be obeying the great commission of MT 28: 19-20. Our faith is not meant to make us Christian “lone rangers.”
PRAYER: O Lord, if we will only look carefully at all the things You have done, we will begin to realize how blessed You have made us. By commanding us to spend time with Your word, You remove any human intermediary who might confuse or incorrectly deliver the lessons You want us to learn. By commanding an obedient Christ to send the Holy Spirit to dwell within us, You insure that we have a better chance of knowing what You deem vital for us accurately. By Your sovereign right, You command us in LK 9: 23 to deny ourselves, pick up our crosses, and follow Jesus. That means we are to empty our spiritual vessels of human agendas, and allow the Holy Spirit to fill those vessels. That is Your way of teaching us that we must make You the Lord of our lives. By giving us the Law, You allowed us to know what pleases You and what doesn’t. By giving us Christ’s blood sacrificed on the cross, You opened the way to our salvation. We had to do our part too-to repent and come to faith in Him. We offer You our eternal gratitude that You not only want us to be Your servants, but that You also want us to have a person relationship with You. This relationship is a kind of eternal friendship that is so close that it impacts the conduct of every day of our lives. With the guidance, strength, patience, compassion, encouragement, and endurance that You give us, You have made it possible for us to live “in Christ,” even through there are times when it is difficult because of our circumstances. Today, we approach Your altar in humility to pledge You our worship, adoration, loyalty, diligence, trust, obedience, glory, honor, praise, and thanksgiving. These things we offer in Christ’s holy name, amen.
Tomorrow, I am led to discuss more contrasts between the Law and grace which are of vital importance to each of us. Take great comfort in knowing each of us can be confident of God’s consistent love for us. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is ever faithful, ever righteous. When we are in trouble, ill, or in need of guidance, He is there for us. When we need a friend, He is the best Friend we could ever have. When we need correction, He delivers it with patience and compassion. That is the awesome God Who we must make the Lord of our lives. Peter and I send our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn