Are you
trying to get someone, even a believer in Christ, to stop sinning and live right?
Is that person you? No amount of vows made to stop sinning, recital of
punishments that are attached to breaking the Ten Commandments or threatening,
nagging, hellfire and demon attack stories from the pulpit etc can transform a
person. Only Jesus can. Without Him, we can do nothing.
The bible
says that the strength of sin is the law (1 Cor 15:56). Telling people that
they have to (by their own efforts) obey the law in order to be righteous will
only produce more sin and cut them off from Christ. Trying to get right with
God by keeping the law makes Christ of no effect in the lives of believers
according to Galatians 5:4.
"For
if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you
have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace."
So how can
one live right? How can one be transformed? 2 Corinthians 3:18 tells us how -
"But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of
the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just
as by the Spirit of the Lord."
Believers,
we are transformed by beholding Jesus, not by our obedience to the law! In Christ,
the law gets fulfilled in us, but not by us.
But how do
we behold our Lord's glory? Let’s keep John 1:17 in mind for this - “For the
law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”
The “Law”
and “Grace and Truth” are entirely separate. They cannot be mixed. One was
given by a servant (Moses). The other came through the Son of God (our Saviour
Jesus) – John 1:17.
One (the
letter) kills while the other (the Spirit) gives life - 2 Corinthians 3:6.
One (the
law) demands righteousness from sinful and morally bankrupt man who has none ("there
is none righteous, no, not one" - Romans 3:10) while under the other
(Grace) God's righteousness is given to us in Christ as a free gift - Romans
5:17- "For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the
one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of
righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)"
So how do
we behold the glory of the Lord?
In Exodus
34, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the Ten Commandments written and
engraved on stones (Paul calls this the ministry of death), the children of
Israel could not look steadily at (behold) Moses face because of the glory of
his countenance, which was from the law. He had to wear a veil after reading
the law to them because the law condemned them all, as it condemns all those
without God's gift of righteousness today. In verse 14-15 of 2 Corinthians 3,
Paul says of those under the law:
"But
their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in
the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. But
even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart."
Reading/preaching
of the law, which was given through Moses is akin to beholding the glory of
Moses’ countenance, which was from the law. No one can live by its standards,
which is why the children of Israel
The law
pointed out their shortcomings, as it does today to all who depend on it for
their righteousness. It cannot save. Preaching it cannot make one live right.
It only brings condemnation and judgement. Reading/preaching the law ensures that
the veil remains on the hearts of believers. Believers remain blind. More laws
arouse sinful desires in us and result in a harvest of sin which leads to death
according to Romans 7:5 - "When we were controlled by our old nature,
sinful desires were at work within us, and the law aroused these evil desires
that produced a harvest of sinful deeds, resulting in death."
Beholding
the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ is reading/preaching and listening to the
word of Christ - messages that reveal “Grace and Truth,” - God’s undeserved,
unmerited favour, which came through Jesus. It is seeing His beauty and love
for us in both the Old and New Testaments. In Christ, the law is fulfilled in
us (but not by us) so we can approach our Lord boldly and look upon Him without
a veil on our hearts. He gave us His righteousness as a gift. He does not judge
or condemn us, like the law does. His Spirit gives us life. Meditating on these
things is how to behold the glory of the Lord!
We love
because He first loved us. The more the love of Christ is unveiled from the
pulpit, the more His people will love Him and others, and also not want to sin.
When His love, reflected in the abundance of His grace and His gift of
righteousness, is the core message of preaching, as it was with Paul, believers
will reign in life – reign over sin, selfishness, bad temper, sickness,
poverty, etc. When the message being preached from the pulpit focuses on His
words to the woman caught in adultery “Neither do I condemn you,” the
people will go and sin no more! This is pure undeserved, unmerited favour,
people! His gift of no condemnation makes us go and sin no more.
When
believers are taught that that the way to get right with God or “maintain their
salvation” is obeying the law (which no one can do fully, plus if you slip up
in one, you’re guilty of all – James 2:10), it leads to more sins and death. If
your pastor tells you “yes, Jesus died for you BUT you still need to keep the
Ten Commandments or give to get from God,” and you obey this form of doctrine,
you tie yourself up to the yoke of bondage (the law) again. And the letter
kills. Remember Galatians 5:1 and –
"So
Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get
tied up again in slavery to the law."
4
"For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the
law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace.”
When the
law (obeying the Ten Commandments/”do good, get good; do bad, get bad”
doctrine) is read/preached to the people, people are being taught to “behold
the glory of Moses’ countenance” which is of the law; and no one can. This is
why many people, especially young people don't like going to church. Like the
Israelites that ran away from Moses when he came down from Mount
Sinai with the Law, they run away, because the law condemns us
all.
By
beholding the glory of the Lord - looking at Jesus and receiving His gift of
righteousness and no condemnation - we are being transformed to the same image,
from glory to glory by the Holy Spirit. We don’t get transformed by keeping the
Ten Commandments or “not sinning.”
When you
mix law and grace (preaching/professing Jesus yet rejecting His gift of
righteousness by teaching that people still need to obey the law in order to
get right with God) you are pouring old wine into new wineskin. You will lose
both the wine and the wine skin.
Pastors and
leaders, it is the Holy Spirit that does the transformation, not the preaching
of threats from the pulpit or telling people to make vows and determine to quit
sinning! This is the preaching of the letter, which kills. If we could stop
sinning and do right all by ourselves, Jesus would not need to come and save
us. Just look at what happened to Peter when he boasted in what he could do. He
denied Jesus three times! Thank God for our Lord’s restoration.
Unveil the
love of Christ and the people will love Him and love others. Preach our Lord’s
grace and let grace do the teaching; we are trained in the way of righteousness
by Grace, not the law, or you:) according to Titus 2: 11-14 -
11 “For
the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, 12 teaching us
that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly,
righteously, and godly in the present age, 13 looking for the blessed hope and
glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ, 14 who gave
Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for
Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.”
Grace is
our teacher. Sarah (Grace) was more than capable of raising Isaac. You don’t
need Hagar (the law) to help! We are not children of the bondwoman but of the
free! (Galatians 4:21-31)
By His
grace, preach His unconditional love, His gift of righteousness and His gift of
no condemnation to all. Preach His undeserved, unmerited favour. Grace will do
the transformation.
Believe
Right and you will Live Right.
Source:
Rightbelieving101
No comments:
Post a Comment