Law and Grace 7-22-08

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be in charge of my calendar, my conversations, and my commitments today. Be at the center of my focus now. ... "After these things had been done, the officials approached me and said, 'The people of Israel, the priests, the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands with their abominations.... For they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and for their sons. Thus the holy seed has mixed itself with the peoples of the lands, and in this faithlessness the officials and leaders have led the way" (Ezra 9:1-2). When the exiles returned to Israel from their captivity, there was great zeal to obey the letter of the law. They had suffered the judgment of exile to a foreign land and were now returning home with a fresh start for a "new life" (v. 9:9). Yet they could only see this as a "brief moment" of "favor" from a God who was granting "a little sustenance in (their) slavery" (v. 9:8). Someone pointed out the sin if intermarriage with people of foreign religions worshipping false gods, and they chose to take drastic action "to send away all these wives and their children" (Ezra 10:3). Only a few spoke up to oppose this plan (Ezra 10:10). These kinds of passages of Scripture are always hard for me to grasp and understand with the eyes of grace that has now set us free from the law. Under the grace of God through the Christ our Lord, "we know that a person is justified not by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ. And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we might be justified by faith in Christ, and not be doing the works of the law, because no one will be justified by the works of the law" (Galatians 2:16). We are not free to sin, but we are free to follow Christ. "For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me" (Galatians 2:19-20). Seeing the strictness of the law convicts me of the depths of sin, reminds me of my continual need for a Savior, and fills me with joy for the freedom of the grace of God. "For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery" (Galatians 5:1). Holiness under the law before grace through Christ seemed to require that the unbelieving wives and children be sent away. It seems holiness under the grace of Christ is the Holy Spirit of Christ living in us, shining as light through us, in the midst of the darkness of unbelieving cultures and people. We are still called to be joined in marriage to believers, but if we are joined to an unbeliever and who consents to live with us, we are not to send them away (1 Corinthians 7:12-13). By the power of the grace of God, instead of what is unholy defiling what is holy, what is holy transforms what is unholy. "For the unbelieving husband is made holy through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy through her husband. Otherwise, your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy" (1 Corinthians 7:14). I'm still growing in my understanding of law and grace, the truth of the Word of God under both the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. I'm still wresting with Your teaching of the Sermon of the Mount as You continually addressed the law with the fuller understanding of grace out of the heart of the same God, when You relentlessly said, "You have heart it was said.... But I say to you ..." (Matthew 5:21-48). But unlike Ezra the priest and the people of his day who were looking for only "a little sustenance in their slavery" for the "brief moment" of Your "favor," I live every day under the freedom and power of grace. "For the Lord is good; His steadfast love endures forever, and His faithfulness to all generations" (Psalm 100:5). So let me not pull back from the world to be holy, but send me forth into my world today with the holy light of Your Holy Spirit shining through me, transforming my world by the power of Your grace. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Subscribe free by email to Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 Order our Resources On-Line: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org