2002-01-01
Good Morning Fellow Believers,
Yesterday, I ended with citing GA 3: 29 which reveals how one receives the Holy Spirit. We have been called to repent and come to faith. In response to that God sends us the Holy Spirit to dwell within us. “One who is in union with Christ will receive what God has promised.” This fulfills the prophecy of EZK 11: 19-20 made long ago. “I will give them a new heart and a new mind. I will take away their stubborn heart of stone and will give them an obedient heart. Then they will keep My laws and faithfully obey all My commands. They will be My own people, and I will be their God.” God frequently brings me back to writing this often repeated message of His will, because He wants us to really know how important to Him this is. Our awesome Abba loves us dearly and wants us to come to Him.
God wants us to be vigilant about coming to faith. GA 3: 23-25 really gives us a bird’s eye view of why the time for us to be faithful is here. “But before the time for faith came, the Law kept us all locked up as prisoners until this coming faith should be revealed. And so the Law was in charge of us until Christ came, in order that we might then be put right with God through faith. Now that the time for faith is here, the Law is no longer in charge of us.” The Greek word, “phroureo” [pronounced: “froo-reh-o”], means “to be a watcher in advance, i.e. to mount guard as a sentinel.” It is used in GA 3:23. The Greek word, “paidagogos” [pronounced: “pahee-dag-o-gos” from which our word “pedagogy” comes], means a tutor, instructor, or school master. That word is used in GA 3: 24-25. In these verses, it is a clear reference to Christ, Who teaches us through the Holy Spirit how to be faithful. Our understanding of this important passage allows us to see how “imprisoned” those who reject Christ really are. They also reject the life-giving grace that faith in Christ brings. Herein, you see my personal motivation for praying that my own traditionally Jewish family and others will come to faith. Remember that all people who reject Christ labor under the misconception that their deeds will bring them salvation. From what God has led us to recently, we can see that such a belief can only lead to spiritual death if faith in Christ is continually rejected. While they want to please God, they have yet to understand how to make His will the goal for their lives.
GA 4 gives us further understanding of the importance to God and ourselves of our being His active, faithful, and obedient covenant partners. Let’s look at some of the contrasts seen in GA 4 between the old Covenant of the Law and the new Covenant of Grace. To begin, there is no inheritance of God’s Kingdom that comes out of the old covenant. However, with the new covenant, we are assured of this. RO 8: 17 is further confirmation. “Since we are His children, we will possess the blessings he keeps for His people, and we will also possess with Christ what God has kept for Him; for if we share in Christ’s suffering, we will also share in His glory.” In other words, we will be joint-heirs with Christ to God’s Kingdom. Participants in the old covenant will obey the ruling spirits of the universe, while those in the new covenant will obey God. The Law and water baptism on their own don’t make us members of the Body of Christ. Faith in Christ along with Spirit baptism do that. We must understand that water baptism has to do with the repenting of sins, but it isn’t until one is baptized in the Spirit that he receives the gift of the Holy Spirit [JN 1: 32-34]. One under the old covenant doesn’t really know God, but one under the new covenant does. The old covenant is a foreshadowing of the Covenant of Grace which followed it. People in the old covenant remain born in the flesh, while true participants in the new covenant have been born again in the Spirit [JN 3: 5-8]. We already know that the people of the old covenant have no faith in Christ and those of the new covenant do. That is one of the main stumbling blocks that separates traditional Jews and other faiths from Christianity and Messianic Judaism.
If it seems like I’ve have said these things too many times, please understand that God leads me to do this for His reasons. He wants us to see how these principles apply to our own lives. It is crucial that we understand what a great privilege we have been given by our loving Deity in being allowed to be participants in the new covenant first prophesied in JER 31: 31-34 that will lead to our eternal lives of joy and fellowship with Him. The alternative is simply unacceptable. In a future series of messages I hope to write about what it means to be Christ’s disciple. For now, let us spend time in reflection on what God’s will means to us in our personal and congregational lives. We can begin then to appreciate how richly blessed we really are.
PRAYER: O Lord, while we were still Your enemies, You reached down to us and called us to faith in Christ. At the time we had no idea what a privilege and act of Your love that is. Now, we should. You offered us life eternal when we were headed on a path that led straight to the lake of fire and sulfur. More than that, You repeatedly express Your will that we should be Your people and that You want to be our God. In our former stubbornness and foolishness we didn’t understand exactly what that meant. That is why You sent the Holy Spirit to us to dwell within us, teach, and explain Your messages to us. It is also out of the goodness of Your heart that You gave us the gift of faith and everything else that allows us to become sanctified. In our less than perfect way, we humbly come before Your altar to confess our sins, to express our faith in You and the Son, and to open our hearts to Your wise and wonderful teaching. We pledge to never take for granted the kindness You extend to us. We will ever be grateful for sacrificing Your Son on the cross, so that salvation can be opened to us. We offer You our worship and adoration, not because You expect it of us, but because we truly know that You deserve it. You have transformed us by the renewal of our minds, and we will be diligent in responding to that with love, obedience, trust, and faithfulness. We know that all we have that is good is from You, so we offer You all the glory and honor for that. Dearest Lord, we praise and thank You for Your presence in our lives. You are magnificent and awesome. In Christ’s name, amen.
Tomorrow, I am led to discuss the allegory of the two women and the two covenants. The women are Sarah and Hagar, and the covenants are the old and the new. This will give us a clearer picture of why we can say that the old covenant is a foreshadowing of the new one. Hopefully, you will find it kind of interesting. We must be reminded of the good that comes into our lives out of God’s love for His children. Even at times when we suffer or are lonely, we who believe are never left stranded, abandoned, or alone. We can always turn to God and the Son to receive direction, protection, guidance, and comfort. He really does hear our prayers, want us to seek Him out, and offer us our most heartfelt needs. That is what comes from the presence of a loving God in our lives who is there for us every minute of every day. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn