GRACE OR LAW
Written by: Jenny
Calvert
Don’t think that I have come to destroy the Law of Moses or
the teaching of the prophets. I have come not to destroy their teachings but to
give full meaning to them. I assure you that nothing will disappear from the
law until heaven and earth are gone. The law will not lose even the smallest
letter or the smallest part of a letter until it has all been done. Matthew 5: 16-18 (ERV)
But if you let the Spirit lead you, you are not under law.
Galatians 5: 18 (ERV)
If you try to be made right with God through the law, your
life with Christ is finished—you have left God’s grace. Galatians 5:4 (ERV)
When I went to take my driver’s permit test, I had to
beforehand study the manual of rules and regulations. Some of the information
was quite boring and tedious. I really did not care about how much insurance I
needed to have on my vehicle, or the penalty for my third offence of drinking
and driving. These parts I skimmed over
and as a result missed those questions on the test. I realize that all these
rules are not meant as a punishment but are actually there to protect me and
other drivers. If we would all drive by
the rules, there would be many less fatalities on the roads.
Reading the books of law in the Old Testament can sometimes
be tedious. But again, they were not
written as a punishment of reading material, but as an instruction manual to give us direction for our safety and security. The only problem
is, there were so many rules and regulations that it would be humanly
impossible to completely follow them all. Wonderfully, God provided an alternative
manual of grace through His Son Jesus Christ.
Living under the law is like this: When I drive, I many
times disobey the instruction manual without even being aware that I have
failed. I look down at my speedometer
and am going over the speed limit or I failed to use my signals when making a
lane change. Living under grace is like
this: I am still in the driver’s seat,
but I give Christ control. He uses my
eyes, feet, hands and senses. Christ will automatically obey all the rules through
me because He does not abolish the rules, but fulfills them.
In the split second that I take control, I fail and get a
ticket. I turn to Jesus and admit my error and He willingly takes the ticket
and pays the price. We need to choose if
we want to be law controlled or Christ controlled. The Bible is clear, we choose one or the
other, law or grace.
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for giving me a choice of law or grace. Thank you for providing the second
choice. Help me to daily make the
decision to walk in your grace, giving you complete control.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen
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