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The Purpose of His Sacrifice |
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Written by Iasmin Balaj
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Sunday, 13 July 2008 |
I would like to share with you what I was studying this morning. It was on the new covenant that God will make with us (Hebrews chapters 8 and 10). The old was where the people said that they will do all that God told them to, but they failed. (Heb 8:7-9) The new is where He will write His laws in our hearts and minds (Heb 8:10-12; 10:16,17). From my study I understood that when He says "in our minds" it means that He will reveal His will to us that we may know it (Ps 119:11; 2 Tim 2:15; Ps 119:97; Rom 3:20), and "in our hearts" means we will love Him and live by it for it will be part of who we are(James 2:10-12; Ps 40:8; John 14:15,21; 15:10).
It was as a new revelation to me to see that all that Jesus Christ did and does is to remove our sins (and "sin is the transgressing/breaking of the law" 1 John 3:4) from us and to bring us to live by the spirit of the law; that means the magnification/depth of the law. For example how Jesus taught us that the commandment to not commit adultery goes deeper than the letter. It means to not even look upon a woman lustfully and that applies even to dressing in order to provoke lust. It came as a light because Jesus Christ loved the Father and said, "I have kept My Father's commandments" and then He bid us over and over to do the same. The apostle Paul said that "by the law is the knowledge of sin" (Rom 3:20) and that He would have not "known sin, but by the law." (Rom 7:7) That means that the law shows us what breaks God's heart and that which, because of His great love for us, brought Him to suffer in our behalf. It shows us the sins for which Jesus Christ had to die in our place. When our Lord Jesus died on the cross He showed that the only way to be reunited with Him is for Him is to take the penalty our sin brought upon us and through His blood to transform us so that we may abide by the laws of His government; and His law is love (Rom 13:10; Gal 5:14).
I have lots to learn and that was quite an interesting study. Now, I know the danger of self-righteousness and legalism but how can I keep on sinning and by it saying that the death of Jesus matters nothing? How can I say that the blood of Jesus Christ is no better than the blood of sacrificed animals? How can I continue to do that which caused His death? He said that He will write His laws in my heart and mind and He tells me, "if ye love Me, keep my commandments" (John 14:15; 1 John 2:4). I am therefore at a cross road for God showed me through the death of Jesus Christ that sin brings death; then, in His Word He says that breaking His law is sin; how then can I break His law and wound Jesus my Lord afresh? (Heb 6:6) While the danger of legalism and self-righteousness is ahead the narrow path lies just beside it. One leads to death one to eternal life. I have to keep my eyes on Jesus and do as He has shown me to do through His word and example. It is written, "He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked" (1 John 2:6) and Jesus said, "I have kept my Father's commandments" John 15:10. May His Spirit dwell in us, show us all things and bring us to love our God with all our heart, mind, strength and being and our neighbor as ourselves. This is what the law of God is bidding us to do. May God be glorified in all of us and may the death of Jesus Christ accomplish in us what the blood of bulls, goats and lambs can not. Amen. |
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