Have you ever stopped to consider just how blessed
we who are living in the Church Age truly are? I'm not talking about physical
or financial blessings—though these are certainly evident. No. I'm talking
about the spiritual blessings God has poured out on those of us living
in the “last days.”
Think about it. Before Jesus,
mankind lived in fear and dread of God's punishment; struggling to earn His
favor through ritual and sacrifice, all the while missing the greater issue
that was—and still is—our sinful, human hearts.
“And so the Lord says, ‘These people say they are
mine. They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from
me. And their worship of me is nothing but man-made rules learned by
rote.’”
~ Isaiah 29:13 New Living
Translation (NLT)
God never wanted religion. He
didn't require laws and rules, nor did he desire them. What God wanted was
obedience born out of a changed and repentant heart.
“You do not desire a sacrifice, or
I would offer one.
You do
not want a burnt offering.
The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit.
You will not reject a broken
and repentant heart, O God.”
~ Psalm
51:16-17 New Living Translation (NLT)
Even on our best days, all of our
righteousness is worthless in God's eyes. (Isaiah 64:6) Which is why God
sent His own Son to die in our place as a perfect, once-for-all sacrifice. (Hebrews
10:1-18)
“When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just
the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not
be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be
willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his
great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still
sinners. And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of
Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. For since our
friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still
his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. So
now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord
Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.”
~ Romans 5:6-11 New Living
Translation (NLT)
Don’t get me wrong; God was
always merciful. Throughout the Old Testament He continually spared those who
would repent and obey. But there is a difference between mercy and grace.
For example, suppose a man was sentenced
to die for his crimes, but on the day of his execution the king decided to pardon
him. The man receives his life back, but nothing else. This is mercy.
Grace, on the other hand, would be when
the same man—having been tried and convicted—is brought before the king to face
judgment. But rather than ordering the man's execution, the king instead comes
down off his throne, frees the man himself, has him dressed in royal clothes,
and claims the man as his own son and co-heir to his throne.
This is exactly what God has done for us through
Jesus Christ. Because of His grace we are no longer His enemies; we are His friends; adopted
children, and co-heirs with Christ himself! This alone is incredible, but it gets even
better! Not only are we accepted as God's children and free from condemnation,
we are also filled with God's Spirit—that is to say, God Himself is dwelling within us!
“So you have not received a spirit that makes you
fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own
children. Now we call him, ‘Abba, Father.’ For his Spirit joins with
our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. And since we are his
children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s
glory...”
~ Romans 8:15-17a New Living Translation (NLT)
This Spirit that has joined with our
spirit is the Holy Spirit Himself, the third member of the triune God-head, and
the “advocate” Jesus promised to send to us in John 16.
“But now I am going away to the one who sent me,
and not one of you is asking where I am going. Instead, you grieve because
of what I’ve told you. But in fact, it is best for you that I go away,
because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will
send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin,
and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. The world’s sin is
that it refuses to believe in me. Righteousness is available because I go
to the Father, and you will see me no more. Judgment will come because the
ruler of this world has already been judged.
“‘There is so much more I want to tell you, but you
can’t bear it now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into
all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He
will tell you about the future. He will bring me glory by telling you
whatever he receives from me. All that belongs to the Father is mine; this
is why I said, ‘The Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me.’”
~John 16:5-15 New Living Translation (NLT)
The Holy Spirit came into the
world on the Day of Pentecost; fifty days after Jesus rose from the dead and
only ten days after his ascension to heaven. (Acts 1-2) Until that point
in time, God's Spirit had only come upon certain individuals for a limited time. (i.e. the Judges of Israel and the Prophets.) But now, everyone
who calls on the Name of the Lord and believes in Him has received the Holy
Spirit, and can therefore live in the Spirit. And, as the scriptures say, it is
only when we live in the Spirit that we can truly obey God. (Galatians 5)
Therefore, we are free from sin and are under no obligation to
the Old Covenant, with its rituals and regulations, because God's Spirit dwells within us, teaching us His Law by writing it on our hearts. (Jeremiah
31:31-34) The Old Covenant was meant to show us our sins and to provide us with a temporary solution until the Messiah came. Now that Jesus has come, he has fulfilled the Law, and has made salvation accessible to everyone who believes in him through his death and resurrection. (Galatians 3, Hebrews 8-10)
In short, salvation has always been a heart issue, not an obedience issue. And it is only by accepting Christ—who seals us and fills us with the Holy Spirit—that our hearts can be truly changed.
In short, salvation has always been a heart issue, not an obedience issue. And it is only by accepting Christ—who seals us and fills us with the Holy Spirit—that our hearts can be truly changed.
“God the Father knew you and chose you long ago,
and his Spirit has made you holy. As a result, you have obeyed him and have
been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ.
“May God give you more and more grace and peace.”
~1 Peter 1:2 New Living Translation
(NLT)
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