What must I do to be saved? They say to Jesus in Matt 27:42: If you come down now from the Cross, we will believe in you. No, redemption does not work that way. Through Him we are justified not by the Law of Moses. The Law of Moses reveals what's in their hearts.
The Israelites saw what God did to the Egyptians and how He bore them on eagles' wings and brought them to Himself. What about you? Do you see God's Hand to bring you to the place where you are today? You are His Treasured Possession and He is committed to your holiness at any cost to you. Exodus 19:4-5.
And He speaks on Sinai and it is the very Presence of God.
And it is Ten Commandments for all generations.
Pompous Pharisees attempt to obey every one.
Grand Demands they are called.
Can we keep them? Paul tried better than most...
Romans 7:7 "Had it not been for the law, I would not have known sin for I would not have known what it is to covet...". The Mosaic Law reveals our hearts. Martin Luther wrote that when he read the commandment about coveting, it slew him because he knew that he could never live up to it, no matter how hard he tried.
What must we do? Wretched man that I am. Thanks be to God through Christ Jesus, our Suffering Savior.
“And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.” Matthew 27:50
ReplyDeleteIt’s Crucifixion Day as we read of mockings, beatings, farce trials, and the long walk where an African man is summoned to carry the cross for Jesus. In only hours, He’d do the same for Simon the Cyrene and for me, carrying our sin on that same cross, willingly submitting to a despicable death, yet for the joy set before Him. And because of His magnificent work on the Cross, He saves us from a life doomed to sin, disobedience, defeat, and the desolate bowels of Hell.
It’s Good Friday, and it helps me to sit here a while. It’d be so much neater to gloss over this day, to not take an account of the horror, to just go straight to the “and they lived happily ever after.” But we can’t. There is no Easter, no Resurrection without Death, no ultimate Victory without suffering. So, in the words of Moses (Ex. 19:15), “ And he said to the people, “Be ready for the third day!” I think being ready for the Resurrection includes taking a serious look at the cost.
“…the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.” (Ex. 20:20) Even the address of this verse offers insight to our sin problem: we have lost our fear of God. If we truly feared Him appropriately, we would not sin.
Years ago, an older woman named Bahi studied the Bible with me on Monday afternoons. She spoke with a very heavy Middle Eastern accent, and when we’d come across something like Jacob’s Well, she’d say “To this very day!” which meant that whatever we were talking about existed today the same as it was in the Scriptures. Moses led the people out of Egypt about 1400 BC, which would mean that the Ten Commandments were written about 3,500 years ago. To this very day, they stand as the moral code for society. When the Lord appeared to Moses, He came in a cloud so “that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you forever.” (Ex. 19:9) As I read this, my heart heard a heavy accented “To this very day!” I am so very awed at the timelessness, the “forever”ness of the Lord.
To This Very Day!
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