Friday Thought -- March 6, 2015

Good Morning Friends,

“Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:15-18)

There was something wrong with the way the Old Testament Law worked. It didn’t satisfy the need of men’s hearts, it only made things more confusing. Those who lived by the Law thought they could find righteousness in it and be acceptable to God. Yet, honesty forced them to admit that the Law failed to help them achieve their goal. In fact, the Law did quite the opposite of making them righteous, it just pointed out their sinfulness. So, the only way to be satisfied with the Law was to ignore what was really going on inside of you. The end result was that the Jews put a veil over the wickedness of their hearts because the Law couldn't do anything to take it away.

But with Jesus -- now there’s a different story. In Christ, we don’t have to ignore or cover over the wickedness of our hearts, because Jesus has taken the guilt away. In Christ is real freedom from guilt and freedom from our own sinfulness. Being in Christ is different than being in the Law. In the Law, any movement away from wickedness and toward righteousness had to be done in a person’s own human strength -- and that always failed. In Christ, it is all based on the work of Jesus -- and that never fails!

In Christ there is real freedom. There is freedom from our guilt in the forgiveness that He brings. There is freedom from the bondage we have felt to sin, because God implants His Holy Spirit to change us, to move us toward righteousness. There is freedom from trying in our own power to change.

From guilt to forgiveness. From bondage to freedom. From striving in human effort to relying upon the Spirit's work. From the Law to Christ! Freedom.

His, by Grace,

Steve