Salvation’s power is not about keeping rules . . .

The Old Testament is important. Many Christians dismiss it and never read it, missing the background that makes the gospel glorious. For one thing, it tells of the origin of humanity. We were created sinless and put in a perfect environment. However, sin ruined both and has been our ruin ever since. The story is short but the ramifications have lasted for centuries.

Secondly, the OT tells of God selecting a people through whom He would reveal Himself and His solution to the problem of sin. He promised a Savior, but in the meantime, they must look forward to that promise of atonement in faith, a faith demonstrated by making sacrifices to cover their sin. No doubt this made as little sense to them as it does to us, yet God said it and their obedience was a faith issue. This is not about obedience to His commands, which they could not keep nor can we, but to His promise of a future Messiah.

The NT book of Hebrews explains it this way:

For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second. For he finds fault with them when he says: “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. For they did not continue in my covenant, and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.” (Hebrews 8:7–12)

Certainly their efforts to obey God’s commands had a purpose, yet as the NT explains, it was not to give them eternal life but to show them they could not do it; they (and us) needed a Savior, One who could deliver them from the penalty and power of sin. The animal sacrifices covered the first part, at least until they sinned again, but it did not rescue them from their propensity to sin. In the same way, continually saying “I’m sorry” cannot erase or change the heart that constantly wants its own way.

For me, this is a learning curve. God gave me Jesus and the blessing of writing His will into my heart, yet that old sin nature hangs around like a dead thing with a stinking influence. As the NT says, this ‘flesh’ fights continually with the Spirit of God, and like the people of the OT, my efforts to overcome sin never succeed. The only way to win the battle is by yielding to the Spirit of God and letting Him be my God.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Lord Jesus, this is such good news. Self-effort does not and never has had any value against sin. No matter how hard I try, I can never be ‘good enough’ yet as soon as You moved in and put Yourself in my life, You changed everything. My thinking and behavior began to change. More and more, as my knowledge of You deepens, I am aware of Your will and what You want from me. Not only that, because You live in me, I am set free. Your mercy and grace is sufficient and so amazing. You alone have the power to save!

Today’s thankful list . . .

- the blessing of solid Bible preaching.

- the joy of fellowship with God’s people.

- brunch that often includes pancakes.

- the cable guy that fixed our WiFi so the speed is higher and more consistent.

- getting a mess cleaned up in my computer files.

- hubby who always ‘cooks’ up something for supper on Sunday nights.