At first glance it does seem that law and grace are opposed. Even the Bible seems to be divided into two sections the Old Testament (law) and New Testament (grace).
The Old Testament and especially the first five books are all about law. How God expects righteousness from everyone. In fact God gives man the Ten Commandments in this section of the Bible. Surely this means that God expects man to live up to the Ten Commandments in an effort to please Him. Right?
Well if you take the Bible as a whole you begin to understand that the Ten Commandments were never given as a way to please God. God knows us, and our limits. They were given as a way to show us how far short we fall, a measuring stick to show us just how much we need Him.
Sound a little hopeless? It is hopeless to think that we can keep the Ten Commandments. Jesus showed us that in his teachings. "If a man hates it is the same as murder in the sight of God." Think about that. If you want to live under the Law then a white lie has the same penalty as murder!
It is pretty obvious that it is mans pride that makes him think he can keep the Law!
Forget about "It means strive for perfection" try that in a court of law. Smile!
Galatians 2:21
"I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!"
The good news is that the law makes us realize just how much we really need God! It is the righteousness of God's Son that makes us acceptable in God's sight, not anything we have done.
Ephesians 2:8
"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and not of yourselves, it is the gift of God."
Because of that, we can concentrate on doing what God put us here on Earth for, instead of being under the burden of striving for something just out of reach!
God loves his creation and wants us to be free and productive for Him. We do not need to worry about genes, heredity, sexuality, or environment.
Just relax in Him and learn who we are in God and He will show us what is best for us!
Chris Hampton
Alpha Life Fellowship
http://www.alpha-links.com
Jacob had sent his family on across the river Jabbok.... Read More
Talking about your "soul" and the deeper things in life... Read More
As a Psychiatrist I spent most of my life training... Read More
It's strange how my life today looks wildly different from... Read More
Animal spirit totems can be viewed in different ways according... Read More
Are you at a crossroad in your life where you... Read More
As Christians, we know we need God in every aspect... Read More
According to H. G. Bosch, the newspaper cartoonist H. T.... Read More
A subject of debate for thousands of years, spirituality will... Read More
Who Are you?Have you ever asked yourself the question 'Who... Read More
I have a long-term goal--a life-long goal really--to develop the... Read More
You will become as great as your dominant aspiration...If you... Read More
"Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my... Read More
The Orisha are the Messengers of Oludumare, the God/dess of... Read More
One does not have to live long to realize that... Read More
Even though our lives progressively moves forward on occasion it... Read More
It was said that Caesar Augustus one night consulted his... Read More
Have you ever thought about how your orientation to time... Read More
Our Creator is an infinitely loving and generous provider -... Read More
We'll begin with a question:What is a moral?I'd say it's... Read More
*Advice on living a humane and compassionate life.According to text... Read More
With another year full of family events coming upon us,... Read More
At the start of your dream journey, one of the... Read More
We as human beings travelled in small bands for hundreds... Read More
Ok, let's start with the amazing story of Robbie and... Read More
express cleaning service Arlington Heights ..Life is just a journey. Princess DianaWhether we are... Read More
We all need space, we all need time to ourselves.In... Read More
Matthew 2:19-23 The Return to Nazareth19 But when Herod died,... Read More
There is power in meanings of the old images and... Read More
There is a natural tendency to asociate spirituality with religion,... Read More
It is no doubt that so many of you are... Read More
Ever wonder what happened to the family dinner hour? Or... Read More
I'm at that place in life many refer to as... Read More
A lot of times when I am reading people on... Read More
1. Identify a woman who is "like minded," who has... Read More
WHAT IS E.V.P.?EVP stands for electronic voice phenomena, some believe... Read More
You may ask, "What are hot buttons anyway?"Hot buttons are... Read More
The spiritually dead church. Now, I am not talking about... Read More
Christians all over the world will all be tempted in... Read More
"You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on... Read More
Oceans... There's water in 'em! :-)It may seem a bit... Read More
Spiritual healing of the sick in Christ has many Christians... Read More
Remember me! It's me! Joseph here in touch with you... Read More
Has America known its finest hour? Are we losing our... Read More
Make no mistake about it, change is challenging whether it... Read More
"Let me tell you why you're here. You're here because... Read More
How many of you out there have ever wondered if... Read More
Sometimes, in traveling a path, we discover a short-cut, and... Read More
Recently, I received a frantic midnight call from one of... Read More
Universal Law is an invisible influence in every individual's life,... Read More
Spirituality |