Day 1
In the Old
Testament, there are many laws. These laws were given by God to the people of
Israel to govern their nation. Even when they returned from captivity they were
responsible to follow these same laws. The laws didn’t work.
Paul tells us why the law failed in Romans
2:17-29. Society today is
just as bad about the law as Israel was. That law applies to criminals, not to
me. We have jury duty and send a person to prison for stealing because that is
the law, yet one month ago we cheated on our income tax. We send a person to
jail for selling porn, then go to dinner with our mistress. We send someone to
jail for uttering bad checks, then charge someone for air or water. We send a
person to jail for drunk driving, then go home and abuse drugs. We give our
children everything they want and never teach them anything, yet we send someone
else to jail for abusing their children. What is wrong with today’s society?
Their hearts are hardened to God again. Nothing new, Israel did this same thing
several times. Think about this, Israel
always lost their country when they hardened their hearts. The hardening of
the heart is the cause of us falling away from God. The writer of Hebrews
5:11-14 warns us against
falling away.
Another thing we must understand is the
definition of words. Remember, Commandments are not laws as such. Another
definition we need to understand is the difference between Atonement in the Old
Testament (Heb.
kaphar,
to “cover, cancel”) and the word used in the New Testament (Gk. katallageô,
“exchange, reconciliation”). The Old Testament scriptures were written when they
were looking forward to the Messiah. Their sins were covered but were still
there as a constant reminder to them (Hebrews
9:1-10).
In the New Testament the blood of the Messiah was traded (exchanged) for the
sins of those who believe and we are reconciled to God as we are cleansed. To
clean something is to take it away. The sins are no more (Heb
9:11-28).
We are justified to God through our faith in Jesus Christ (Galatians
3:19-29).
We are no longer under the law.
We are, however, still responsible for the
commandments. You will notice in the sermon on the mount, Jesus recited the
commandments but not the law (Matthew
5, 6, 7).
Jesus also added a commandment (John
15:9-17).
You will also find that when Jesus recited the Commandments, He explained them
(gave commentary) so we could understand them. In His sacrifice on the cross,
Jesus demonstrated His love for the world. He even loved those who were, in our
opinion, unlovable. He expects us to do the same (Matthew
5: 43-48).
When the laws of the constitution of the United
States were enacted, they were based on the Ten Commandments God gave to the
Children of Israel. None of the laws given the Israelites were used. Our
forefathers recognized the power held by these commandments to soften the hearts
of man and get them ready for the law that will govern a nation. In the years
since the constitution was written, man has again turned from God and hardened
their hearts. The laws we see written today are based on greed and
deceit.
The scriptures were never intended to be used to
judge the world (John 3:17-18), but to bring eternal life to the believer. The
laws were a temporary measure for the Jews and were never intended to give
justification to anyone. They were a way of teaching what was to
come, faith.
Our faith in Jesus is the things that justifies us, not the works we do. There
are people who go through life and never break a law. This does not indicate
they will receive justification. It only makes them a good person, not a
Christian.
Daily
Bible Readings:
1. Read Hebrews 9
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