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Inside of every problem is a present. Do you like presents? I do! That's why no one ever has to tell me to tear into the wrapping paper. I'm already trying on the new jacket and admiring its color and design. I'm already admiring the shiny movement and winding the new watch. I'm already plugging in the little night-light inside the Christmas house!
Our understanding of Jesus' Presence and Love increases as HE MEETS ALL of our needs in Christ. We EXPERIENCE Jesus as our Life as we snuggle up in Him THROUGH every problem. Psalm 118:29 does not say His love or His mercy endures forever. The Hebrew is "covenant loyalty!" Blood has been shed, Promises that were made have been fulfilled, and all because of Jesus' Finished Work...not ever because of our performance. The cart follows the horse, please. The fruit is the result of the Vine-Life inside. There is no such thing as a "do-liever."
The Abrahamic covenant was about one's pedigree - you had to be a Hebrew. The Mosaic covenant was about your performance - you had to be living under the Law and the priestly sacrificial system of atonement. But the New Covenant, the Eternal One, the Life-returning one, is not about that. After the Wonderful Cross we were placed into Christ, in His Spirit, in His Work, into His very Life. It's all about POSITION, a permanent position that has been GIFTED to every believer and that will last forever!
Did you know the "in" concept is mentioned 164 times in the New Testament?
"That's all?!" you exclaim. "Well, then, no wonder most of us missed it."
Do you realize that God's Grace to you, for you, in you, and working through you has nothing to do with "your" faithfulness, obedience, or even your faith. Many Scripture references (including my favorite - Galatians 2:20) make it clear that it is "the faith OF Jesus!"
"The faith OF Jesus?" No, Mr. Dan, I think you mean "faith IN Jesus." The woman who bathed Jesus' feet with alabaster perfume, and wiped her tears on His feet with her hair, was told that her faith had made her whole."
Absolutely! But, a quick point of reference, please. WHEN did that powerful, transformational, never-to-be-forgotten event happen? Was it before or after the Cross and the Resurrection? The reason I ask is that Paul taught the early believers to "rightly divide," and based on Hebrews 9:15-17, I feel sure that story is one of many that happened under the Old Covenant.
"No, Mr. Dan, wrong again! That famous story is in the NEW Testament!"
Hmm, who said so? I mean, I'm not trying to be argumentative; but seriously, who said so?
"Oh, Mr. Dan, you are so silly! Everyone knows the four Gospels - Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John - are in the New Testament."
Really? Did you take a minute to read the passage I cited from Hebrews?
"But it's right there at the end of the Old Testament. You know, right after Malachi and right before Matthew - the page that says in big, bold type, The New Testament. How old are your glasses, Mr. Dan? Smile!"
What I'm suggesting is that the men who canonized the Scriptures might have overlooked the Hebrews passage, too. I know I did, for many years. And the sad result was a whole lot of wrongly divided teachings. In fact, many Bible scholars today have acknowledged that the Gospels are "intertestament" books.
One of the most common questions among modern believers is, "Why did Jesus teach like He did? Clearly, there's a lot of amazing Grace that flowed from His lips; but there is also an awful lot of Law!"
Galatians 4:4 says that Christ was born under that Law. This means He lived, ministered, and taught, not under Grace, but under Law. Technically, and legally, the New Covenant of Grace could not start until Jesus died. Christ Jesus gave us an incredible preview of what was to come - Grace alone, by Faith alone. But He also used the Law to pound away at those who depended on their own self-righteousness and/or circumvented the Law, as they did not begin to keep It (the Law).
It helps me to think of Jesus as "The last authorized mixer of Law and Grace." After Him - after His death, burial, and Resurrection - NO MORE MIXING! In fact, let me ask...Are you a Hebrew living in Old Testament times? Probably not, right? So, the obvious follow-up question is, did the Law of Moses EVER apply to you? Right, I didn't think so. And it didn't apply to this grafted-in Gentile either. But, glory, hallelujah, GRACE DOES APPLY! Grace applies to ALL OF US! And all of us get to share it with others!
Now we know Satan is The Accuser, and his "work" is to constantly tell us believers we are unworthy of The Gift of Righteousness, and that our poor performance disqualifies us every time we turn around. And, of course, he tells us that our problems are what we really do deserve.
Like me, you might have believed for a long time that "broken fellowship" is right out of the Bible. I have searched, and I can't find it anywhere in the NEW Covenant. We are ALWAYS, CONTINUOUSLY worthy, accepted, cleansed, pure, and perfect because we have been PUT INTO Christ Jesus.
God's putting is complete, irreversible, and irrevocable. He wants to convict you, not of your sins (which He remembers no more). But He wants to convict you of your PRESENT righteousness in Jesus; of your new person; your new nature; your new spirit; your oneness with Him; your holiness and perfection in Christ; your saintly, royal place in the Throne of Grace. And that OUT OF this conviction about your new identity, your behaviors will be transformed and you WILL BEAR MUCH FRUIT!
We are all subtly bombarded away from Jesus day in and day out. Unless the counter-bombardment of "Grace in place of Grace" is something we are aware of and delighting in, it is nearly impossible not to miss Grace (Heb. 12:15a). Also, it is clear that the whole world is eaten up with legalism. Satan has been using the wonderful Law of God as... Read more here
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Dan Camp (Georgia, USA) is a contributing writer, editor, and member of the Board of Directors/Advisory Board for IOM America - Transformational Biblical Worldview & Exchange Life Development. He is a Colson Center CENTURION; a Grace lay-counselor; and business manager and chaplain of the Veritas Classical Schools in south-metro Atlanta.
Dan Camp gives his permission to all to share, use, and/or forward any portion of his articles. He would love to hear from you via email at eEncourager@aol.com
All Scriptures, unless otherwise stated, are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
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