Only One thing to boast about . . .

Sometimes I must remind myself that the first Christians in the early church did not have the New Testament. It wasn’t written yet. All they had was the Old Testament, the part of the Bible that many Christians today dismiss and do not read. Their explanation is that the old is obsolete and when Jesus came everything changed. Well it did, but that does not mean the OT has no value. Paul told the early believers in Rome:

For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. (Romans 15:4)

The OT outlines the history of God’s dealings with us, how He revealed Himself and what He expected from people of faith. This part of the Bible shows that the first covenant of “Do this and live” was insufficient. It also shows that most of humanity thought they could, even though they were not obeying God.

We are still people who think that “I can do it myself” regardless of our religious background. This attitude is part of our sin nature and an expression of it, yet at the same time, all our self-effort to be righteous never satisfies us. We cannot live up to our own standards, never mind those of a holy and perfect Creator.

Many of the NT believers came out of their Hebrew religious system that was based on faith plus sacrifices. They accepted that Jesus was their ultimate sacrifice but soon discovered that living by faith in Him was not a walk in the park. They now had a battle between their old nature (“I can do it myself”) and the Holy Spirit. This meant learning how to walk in the Spirit — without the written instructions that later Christians would have. They also were persecuted, even to the extreme of fleeing for their lives. Life under the old covenant was not so difficult.

They seemed to forget the hundreds of sacrifices that needed to be made and animals that needed to be killed. They forgot the pressure of their guilt and the never-ending sense of not being good enough. No wonder they needed reminders that the way of faith in Jesus Christ was better, even if it seemed difficult.

According to this (old) arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper but deal only with food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until the time of reformation. But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. (Hebrews 9:9–14, italics mine)

I love that last line. Jesus and the sacrifice He made takes away my guilt, cleanses my conscience, and gives me a new direction in life. Everything that I did in the past, no matter how good it might be, was useless. All “good” works were dead works because they were done by the wrong person, an imperfect person, a sinful and self-centered person. When Jesus came into my life, His presence and motivation changes the nature of those things done in faith. He didn’t pick me because I have any value in myself; His choice was to glorify Himself and the only way that can happen is through Christ. That is, God sees what Christ is doing in me.

God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:28–31)

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Lord Jesus, truly You are my righteousness, my holiness. You redeemed me and set me apart to serve You. I can boast about nothing, only about You.

Today’s thankful list . . .

- freedom to vote.

- a nice prayer walk on a crisp fall day.

- time to sew.

- turkey soup with lots of veggies.

- the end of election campaigns for a while!

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.

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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.