2002-01-01
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Yesterday, the Lord directed me to write about how much greater the power of grace is than the power of sin. He also led me to those wonderful Scriptures in the latter portion of 1 COR 15 that introduce the concept of believers receiving a resurrection body at the time of their glorification. Today, He propels me to discuss the relationship of law and death. Now, that might seem like a source for confusion until we look at what is said about this in the Scriptures to clarify it. It stands to reason that if mankind had no way to know what is sinful and what isn’t, then it would hardly be just for God to hold that against them. The logical consistency of God’s personality would be compromised. From the time of mankind’s arrival on the scene at the Garden of Eden until Moses was given the Law, this was the condition which existed. But, a problem arose which God realized He had to address. This becomes apparent when we look at RO 3: 26, “In the past He was patient and overlooked people’s sins; but in the present time He deals with their sins, in order to demonstrate His righteousness. In this way God shows that He Himself is righteous and that He puts right everyone who believes in Jesus.” God is consistently just and consistently righteous, so in order to demonstrate this to mankind, He had to give mankind a way to know what is sinful and what is not.
It is this purpose that knowing the Law serves. That is why God called Moses to Mt. Sinai and gave him the Law in the form of the ten commandments etched on stone tablets. We need to make the connection here to really understand this between the Law and death. RO 7: 5, “For when we lived according to our human nature, the sinful desires stirred up by the Law were at work in our bodies, and we were useful in the service of death. “ The first time I read that citation, it confused me. That was until I realized what it is saying is that when we are told something is forbidden, our fleshly nature wants to “investigate” it, be intrigued by it, and maybe even try it out. Those of you who know me well, know this is what made me want to make a right turn at the red light on Bielenberg Dr. and Valley Creek Rd. in spite of the sign posted that this is not allowed. At that time in my life, impatience was ruling it. Thank the Lord, things have changed since then. In all honesty, I’m not going to tell you that is the worst sin I’ve committed either. But, it’s the one that illustrates the point here. I was teaching a class on Romans at the time and got to RO 7. Our Lord really knows how to get our attention when he wants to, and He convicted me (thankfully before the Woodbury Police did) right there sitting in my car! I had a choice to make: Would I go on making these convenient but illegal right turns, or would I get wise enough to obey the law? Yes, Dear Ones, I decided to do it the right way and stopped from that day on turning right at that intersection on a red light. The point is that by knowing the law, I was tempted and was forced to make a decision. The law was doing it’s job.
That regulation was posted for a reason. In a very real way, the civil authorities posted it because they believe it is too dangerous for people to attempt. Had everyone taken the approach that this traffic regulation is not important enough to obey, then eventually an accident, one that may have even led to someone dying would happen at that intersection. This example shows how the law not obeyed serves death. Obviously there are far more important circumstances where this applies than my example here. When we look in the Scriptures for a statement of the law’s function, it is best said in RO7: 7. “Shall we say, then, that the Law itself is sinful? Of course not! But it was the Law that made me know what sin is. If the Law had not said, ‘Do not desire what belongs to someone else,’ I would not have known such a desire.”
The next section of Handel’s “Messiah” deals with this issue. It is based on 1 COR 15: 55-56, “ ‘Where, death, is your victory? Where, death, is your power to hurt? ‘ Death gets its power to hurt from sin, and sin gets its power from the Law.” The next selection sung is #50, a duet for alto and tenor, “O Death, Where Is Thy Sting?” Here are the actual words sung: “O Death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the Law.” You will notice that nowhere in this discussion or citation of Scripture is there anything that speaks of the Law granting salvation. Herein is a point that Paul spends considerable time making in response to the hypocrisy of self-righteous Jews attempting to set themselves apart as more privileged than other believers because of their heritage. You can read about this in RO 2. Paul, in ways only God can inspire, leads these Jews and all of us to the question: If salvation and victory don’t come from the Law, then from where do they come?
The “Messiah’s” next section takes us to the answer. It is based on 1 COR 15: 57, “But thanks be to God Who gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” The chorus stands to sing # 51, “But Thanks Be To God.” Here are the words sung: “But thanks be to God, Who giveth us the victory thro’ our Lord Jesus Christ.” This logical progression of ideas, one building on another, was given both to Paul and to Handel. Now, it is given to us to enjoy through reading the Scriptures and through appreciating the gift of a great musical work to celebrate Easter. Tomorrow, we will look at more revelations of God’s utmost love for us. For now, please join me in this prayer:
PRAYER: O Lord, There is a conflict that arises between our inward spiritual selves and our outward fleshly selves when we repent and come to faith in Christ. Your omniscience makes You aware of this and, in Your wisdom, You give us the Law to help us face it. While You know that we must struggle against our dying fleshliness, You allow that to happen, knowing it is in our best interests. All the while, You show Your utmost love for us by setting up the conditions where our spiritual selves are ever growing stronger. You give us the means for total victory over them by the sacrifice of Your Son, Jesus Christ. We now understand that our salvation does not come from the Law, but only from our faith in the Son. While Your ways are not natural to us, You stand by us and patiently teach them to us. Those are the acts of a Father in heaven Whose children owe Him their loyalty, attention, reverence, and obedience. We dedicate ourselves to honoring, praising, thanking, and adoring You, for You deserve all the glory. In Christ’s name, amen.
Our Father has chosen many wonderful ways to communicate His teachings to us. He knows that a life in Christ is the only way to salvation and eternal fellowship with Him. Our loving Abba puts his arms around us today and always. We are never alone or abandoned as we struggle with our fleshly selves to overcome temptations to sin. We can show our love for Him by obeying Him and loving each other. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn