LIVING IN THE SPIRIT vs LIVING IN THE LAW
Greetings in the name of Jesus our Lord:
Romans 10: finds Paul expressing a deep longing for the people of Israel to no longer be tied to the laws that they have tried to substitute for their relationship with God. I am reminded of how many different things that we today are using to do the very same thing.
The law of Moses became a physical way of dealing with man and God that through the years became a substitute for having any kind of personal relationship with God. That allowed for those who were willful and who desired to gain riches and power for themselves to use the law and manipulate position among men to enrich themselves. When Christ came this became a real stumbling block for these people whose hearts were far away from any true intent to serve God. I find it interesting how they were trying to substitute their brand of righteousness through living through the law instead of the real righteousness that is brought about by faith in Jesus Christ the Son of God.
I think we tend to miss out on that major disconnect the Jews had had with God in His establishment of the New Covenant that He made through Christ for the Salvation of all of the world in that a relationship with Christ is the termination of the law. Righteousness could no longer be provided by obeying the law, but was now to be based upon God's grace alone in response to a relationship through the Messiah Jesus Christ. By placing the emphasis upon the intent of the heart, and by the perfecting of our spirit through Christ we were taken our of any kind of physical control, and that that always been what God has wanted from the beginning.
In light of today as the Church that Jesus established through our belief of Christ as the Son of God we still are trying to place emphasis upon physical things that we somehow think we can control. This done through the constant reminder of what we want and need in this life. These things are based around desire for things that the world promises to be the key to our immediate happiness. With all that we have been taught about our need for transforming our lives from the physical to the spiritual perfection required to be a part of God's Kingdom; we still fall for the same lies told to us by their world. It becomes the progressive idea that we can still perfect God's perfection without changing ourselves. From the beginning it is we who have been traveling through this life for the expressed purpose of making a spiritual decision. This is a decision based upon our faith in Christ as the Son of God and upon our submission to the message that Christ was sent to deliver to us.
Our response to this message from the Spirit of God through the person of Jesus Christ is the key then to our relationship with God the Father. It is things like our being drawn off course by such things as the prosperity gospel that is so prominent today that is harmful to our Spiritual growth. We should be on an on-going journey as we pass through this life that brings us to a realization of who Christ is; who God is, and who we are. After that is our need to make a decision about life that is eternal in nature. It is no longer about life and death, but now about life and how we will spend iit. Is it with God, all of His favor and love; or is without God or His presence for all eternity? May you richly bless God through your life in Him.
THE UNWORTHY SERVANT
Romans 10: finds Paul expressing a deep longing for the people of Israel to no longer be tied to the laws that they have tried to substitute for their relationship with God. I am reminded of how many different things that we today are using to do the very same thing.
The law of Moses became a physical way of dealing with man and God that through the years became a substitute for having any kind of personal relationship with God. That allowed for those who were willful and who desired to gain riches and power for themselves to use the law and manipulate position among men to enrich themselves. When Christ came this became a real stumbling block for these people whose hearts were far away from any true intent to serve God. I find it interesting how they were trying to substitute their brand of righteousness through living through the law instead of the real righteousness that is brought about by faith in Jesus Christ the Son of God.
I think we tend to miss out on that major disconnect the Jews had had with God in His establishment of the New Covenant that He made through Christ for the Salvation of all of the world in that a relationship with Christ is the termination of the law. Righteousness could no longer be provided by obeying the law, but was now to be based upon God's grace alone in response to a relationship through the Messiah Jesus Christ. By placing the emphasis upon the intent of the heart, and by the perfecting of our spirit through Christ we were taken our of any kind of physical control, and that that always been what God has wanted from the beginning.
In light of today as the Church that Jesus established through our belief of Christ as the Son of God we still are trying to place emphasis upon physical things that we somehow think we can control. This done through the constant reminder of what we want and need in this life. These things are based around desire for things that the world promises to be the key to our immediate happiness. With all that we have been taught about our need for transforming our lives from the physical to the spiritual perfection required to be a part of God's Kingdom; we still fall for the same lies told to us by their world. It becomes the progressive idea that we can still perfect God's perfection without changing ourselves. From the beginning it is we who have been traveling through this life for the expressed purpose of making a spiritual decision. This is a decision based upon our faith in Christ as the Son of God and upon our submission to the message that Christ was sent to deliver to us.
Our response to this message from the Spirit of God through the person of Jesus Christ is the key then to our relationship with God the Father. It is things like our being drawn off course by such things as the prosperity gospel that is so prominent today that is harmful to our Spiritual growth. We should be on an on-going journey as we pass through this life that brings us to a realization of who Christ is; who God is, and who we are. After that is our need to make a decision about life that is eternal in nature. It is no longer about life and death, but now about life and how we will spend iit. Is it with God, all of His favor and love; or is without God or His presence for all eternity? May you richly bless God through your life in Him.
THE UNWORTHY SERVANT
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