But when people are taught that God’s blessings are dependent on our performance, that kills faith in what Jesus has done for us.
RELIGION has taught that we have to filfill the demands of the law in order for God to LOVE US or USE US. That’s totally wrong!
MERCY AND GRACE BEFORE THE LAW
For 2,000 years, after Adam’s fall, God dealt with mankind through MERCY and GRACE, which wasn’t evident when the LAW came.
For instance:
God protected the first murderer Gen. 4:15 Instead of killing him as the Law prescribes Lev. 24:17
Abraham married his half-sister, which by the Law is punishable by death Lev. 18:9
Jacob married two women who were sisters, which the Law condemned to death Lev. 18:18
YET
Abraham and Jacob became two GREAT PATRIARCHS of the Old Testament BECAUSE GOD WASN’T IMPUTING MAN’S SINS UNTO HIM AT THAT TIME
Romans 5:13
For until the law, sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.
WHEN THE LAW CAME, GOD’S WRATH WAS RELEASED AGAINST SIN
Romans 4:15
Because THE LAW WORKETH WRATH: for where no law is, there is no transgression.
And Guess What?
We got caught in the middle.
God permitted people to be smote with leprosy and all manner of plagues (Num. 12:10, 2 Chr. 26:19-20, Deut. 28:15-68) because of sin.
BUT THIS WASN’T GOD’S ORIGINAL REACTION TO SIN. As can be seen by the fact that 2,000 years after Adam’s sin, God gave the Law and released His wrath. He wasn’t imputing man’s sin unto him until the Law was given.
However,
the Law released God’s wrath,made sin come alive, and killed us Rom 7:9, Rom 4:15
This served TWO MAIN PURPOSES:
FIRST, God’s display of His wrath against sin forever changed the way man thought of sin. Now he had graphic evidence of how much God hated sin, so this served as a deterrent to sin.
SECOND, AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, the Law gave such a PERFECT STANDARD OF PERFORMANCE that those who understood it clearly saw that they could never be good enough to receive anything from God. It took away any deception that God owed us anything, and it made us throw ourselves onto God for mercy.
That’s BIG, and that’s what the Law was intended to do.
A proper use of the LAW drives us to GOD for MERCY and not away from God in GUILT and CONDEMNATION. Once we come to JESUS and receive SALVATION as a GIFT Rom. 6:23, we are NO LONGER UNDER the Law but UNDER GRACE Rom 6:14
GOD ALWAYS WANTED TO RELATE TO US BY GRACE, BUT HE COULDN’T JUST LOOK THE OTHER WAY AND IGNORE SIN.
THE SIN DEBT HAD TO BE PAID.
THAT’S WHY JESUS CAME.
He suffered all of God’s wrath against all the sin of all of mankind John 12:32
Those who receive God’s grace by accepting salvation as a gift by faith in Jesus have no wrath against them John 3:18.
GOOD NEWS
Our sin debt has been paid.
Not only that, but we have become the righteousness of God in Christ 2 Cor. 5:21.
This is THE GREAT EXCHANGE. He not only took away our sin but gave us His righteousness.
WE ARE NOW AS CLEAN AND HOLY IN OUR SPIRITS AS JESUS IS 1 John 4:17
You are blessed by all means
