| December 19th - The Purpose of the Law (the 10 Commandments) A rather humorous rule about rules goes like this: "There's an exception to every rule, except for that rule... to which there is no exception." Anyone reading the Old Testament could surmise that God did not feel that way about His rules. The penalty for breaking the commandments was severe and not without retribution. What was the purpose of the 10 Commandments? A moral code? A set of rules to preserve the human race from self-annihilation? Another blasted list of Do's and Dont's? In the book of Romans chapter 3, verses 19 and 20, we see that the purpose of the Law was threefold. Let's read about that now: "Now we know that whatsoever things the law says, it says to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in His sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin." Did you catch that? The three-fold purpose of the law is as follows: 1.) That every mouth may be shut before God; 2.) That all the world may become guilty , and 3.) That all would become aware of their sinful condition and need for being made righteous. Jesus put it this way: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." Woah! ...on these two commandments hang ALL... The law cannot save anyone, nor can it possibly be that anyone can keep all the law without sinning. God knows this. He gave us the law to show us that we are incapable of living up to His standards for righteousness on our own. The purpose of the law is to reveal to us that we are sinful and need a Savior. Because we are separated from him by a sinful nature. Jesus gives us the capacity to love the Lord and our neighbors as God commands us to, and be reunited with Him in perfect fellowship.. December 11th - Ain't but One Way Out! "...Jesus said to him, I am the way the truth and the life; no man comes to Father but by me." (John chapt. 14, vs. 6) Make no mistake about it! Jesus Christ claimed to be the only way to the Father. Allah, Buddah, Krishna, and Confucius all claimed to be seekers of the truth. Jesus claimed to BE the truth. And the only way to the Father. So then, Jesus was not just an avatar, ascended master, a great prophet, or an accomplished psychic. Jesus is uniquely incarnate deity. He was God in an earth suit. There are many deceiving spirits which seek to lead souls astray for their own self glorifying purposes. That is why we are told in the bible to test every spirit to see if it be of God (1 John 4:1,2). If a spirit does not confess that Jesus Christ is uniquely incarnate God then that spirit is not of God, it is of the spirit of antichrist. ...And the witness is this, that God has given us eternal life and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life, he who does not have the Son does not have the life. (1 John 5:11,12) For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who beholds the Son, and believes in Him, may have eternal life; and I myself will raise him up on the last day. (John 6:40) I said therefore to you, that you shall die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He you shall die in your sins. (John 8:24) For this cause therefore, the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because he was not only breaking the sabbath, but also was calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God. (John 5:18) These and many other scriptures assure us that the claims of Christ are incompatable with the claims of other religions. "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is no other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." (Acts 4:12) |