A few days ago I mentioned that I really did not like the fiery sermons when I was young. Yesterday, a statement was made that some churches put a burden on people with a bunch of rules of things you can't do. While I am supporting of a message that believers should not burdened down with a bunch of man made rules to regulate their lives, it doesn't negate the power of the scriptures. I believe the ten commandments is considered to be God's moral law. This moral law is what I should be looking at when taking inventory of my life.
Deuteronomy 28:1-2 If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully keep all his commands that I am giving you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the world. You will experience all these blessings if you obey the LORD your God.
2 Corinthians 13:5-6 Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith. As you test yourselves, I hope you will recognize that we have not failed the test of apostolic authority.
Charles Spurgeon is quoted throughout the Complete Works of C.H.Spurgeon:
"They will never accept grace until they tremble before a just and holy Law". He added, "I do not believe that any man can preach the gospel who does not preach the Law."
"Lower the Law and you dim the light by which man perceives his guild; this is a very serious loss to the sinner rather than a gain; for it lessens the likelihood of his conviction and conversion."
"I say you have deprived the gospel of its ablest auxiliary when you have set aside the Law. You have taken away from it the schoolmaster that is to bring men to Christ"
"They will never accept grace till they tremble before a just and holy Law. Therefore, the Law serves a most necessary purpose, and it must not be removed from its place"
The Law is not to condemn but to convict. The Law is what reveals to us that we are in need of a savior. Jesus is the savior and He was given to us as God's gift to us.
But God is love you say. True, He is but that does not give us permission to live however we want. He is righteous and He rules judiciously. To be true to Himself and to serve justice without external influence, He will judge according to His own Law that does not change. I struggle a little bit to find the right words to explain how God can be angry and have wrath yet is loving, merciful, and full of grace.
While God has wrath and the Bible says He will judge us all, God will be fair and just. The only saving grace we have is Jesus. For God to send His own son is not a God of wrath, but rather a God of endless love. It was in His goodness, His mercy, and His grace that His son came as a ransom for us. That in itself is the greatest act of love for each of us. Let's not forget that God gives us free will. He does not dictate how we live our life. It is for us to choose. It is God's desire we all choose to live, not die. His love is demonstrated by the gift of His son (Jesus) for us.
Ephesians 2:8-10 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
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