16. A Changed Life
March 2007
Topics:
Faith and grace in the law
Heart religion and grace in the Old Testament
Repetitions
A number of passages in the New Testament speak against the law as the "ministration of death" 2 Cor. 3:7-8). Faith, grace, love, and the spirit are extolled. This is a topic on which books have been written. However, several aspects of this topic are critical to our discussion of the everlasting covenant. See the articles twenty three and twenty four on "The Judaizers." This present article is a presentation of God's desire for heart religion in His people and of grace as the means to change people's lives.
Here is one of the passages on the law as the ministration of death:
"Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.
"But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away" (2 Corinthians 3:6-7):
The ministration of death (the ten commandments) "was glorious!" Obviously there is something more that we need to know.
"Thou Shalt" are two words that can be taken as a command, and are usually understood in this way. They are also a promise. By the power by which He delivered Israel from Egypt, God will Himself fulfill the promises:
"Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself.
"Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
"And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel" (Exodus 19:4-6).
The promises of the Sinaitic Covenant are repeated to the New Testament church.
"But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light" (1 Peter 2:9):
The Ten Commandments are given as promises by which God will make them "an holy nation." This is beautifully illustrated in the preamble. The God who delivered them from Egyptian slavery will also deliver them from sin. From this the "Thou shalts" become promises:
"I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage" (Exodus 20:2).
After their disgraceful rejection of the Living God, and their reversion to idolatry the old covenant was broken. Moses interceded with God four times until the everlasting covenant was fully restored and God promised again to go with them and be their God.
"And he said, Behold, I make a covenant: before all thy people I will do marvels, such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation: and all the people among which thou art shall see the work of the Lord: for it is a terrible thing that I will do with thee" (Exodus 34:10).
When Moses gave the law, there were also beautiful promises of the grace of God, what God would do for His people. Central to the Tabernacle, in the Most Holy Place, was the Ark of God, containing the tables of stone on which were written the 10 commandments. The Shekinah glory of God rested over the ark. Between the Shekinah and the Law was the Mercy Seat. How better could God illustrate His mercy and grace?
Now look at the Law itself. This Law was spoken by Jehovah, the Creator, Jesus Christ Himself. He was not interested in "payment" from man, for He Himself would make the payment, the ransom. He was seeking only that man would choose to serve Him, to make himself available to the grace of God (see Hebrews 11:6). The first four of the ten commandments deal with our relationship with God.
• First commandment: Man would put away all else, and make God first. Only thus would man get to really know God.
• Second commandment: Man would not limit God by his inventions. He would keep his mind and his worship open so as to rise to soaring heights in God's will.
• Third commandment: God is not trivial. Man must approach Him in humility and in awe.
• Fourth commandment: God sets aside a special time where the things of earth are put away, and a deeper life-changing fellowship can take place. The Sabbath is a memorial and a reminder of God as Creator of heaven and earth. The Sabbath is special, holy, set apart from other days. God would have His people make a difference between what is holy and what is common.
The "Old covenant" is a term applied to the false perception of the Jews in Jesus' time, as well as all those who hold to a legalistic view of salvation. There is no question but that the Jews were immersed in Old covenant thinking. They had little concept of sin, and felt little need to repent. They looked for salvation in their law keeping and their rituals.
"(Ye) Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me" (John 5:39).
Jesus chided the Jews for their compulsion in Bible study (which is good in itself). From this knowledge of the Bible they expected salvation. This was a legalistic Old covenant view of Salvation. At the same time they rejected Jesus, who was the focus of those scriptures.
Old covenant thinking began in Eden, first when Adam thought that he could avoid separation from Eve by eating the fruit; and when Cain brought his own sacrifice. The Old covenant was "codified" at Sinai when the people answered, "All that the Lord has spoken, we will do." Old covenant thinking is still with us today.
"For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ" (John 1:17).
There was nothing wrong with the law given by Moses which was given by God Himself. This included the civil law, the sacrifices, and the ceremonies. These served as an illustration of the covenant and pointed forward to Christ. The problem came only when people depended on their efforts to keep the law as their means of salvation. This is unacceptable to God as such efforts often serve to cover continued selfishness and sin. This represented their old covenant view.
Heart Religion and Grace in the Old Testament
Even at Sinai, it was made clear that God wanted heart religion, not ceremonies. Circumcision is of no avail unless the heart also belongs to God.
"And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live" (Deuteronomy 30:6).
Psalm 51 is the prayer of David confessing his sin and pleading for forgiveness. The entire chapter is worth reading. The following verses show most clearly that a changed life is most important to God.
"Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.
"Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
"For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.
"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
"Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar" (Psalms 51:6, 10, 16, 17, 19).
After the campaign against the Amalekites, Saul returned with cattle and sheep, thinking that God would be pleased with these sacrifices. But what are sacrifices if the person has disobeyed the direct command of God?
"And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams" (Samuel 15:22).
This is an interesting verse. Did God not give instructions at Sinai regarding "burnt offerings or sacrifices?" Of course, he did, and in great detail. But of more importance He commanded obedience, in order that He could develop a fellowship with His people.
22 "For when I brought your forefathers out of Egypt and spoke to them, I did not just give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices,
23 "but I gave them this command: Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in all the ways I command you, that it may go well with you" (Jeremiah 7:22-23 NIV).
"The prophet is not denying the validity of the sacrificial system. . . . (see Jeremiah 17:26; 31:14; 33:11; and 17:24). . . . Jeremiah is obviously employing a rhetorical device by which in a comparison of two ideas the predominance of the one is shown by the denial of the other" (Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 4, p. 389).
Isaiah 1:11-15 shows that God is not pleased with empty sacrifices. The following passage below shows that God desires first of all changed hearts and lives in His people.
"To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats.
"Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;
"Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.
"Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
"If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land" (Isaiah 1:11, 16-19):
A number of other references in the Bible give this same message. See Amos 5:22-25; Proverbs 15:8; Jeremiah 6:19-20; Hebrews 10:6, 7.
A common belief is that God saved mankind by keeping the law in the old testament, and by faith in the new testament. These references serve to show that God sought heart religion and faith in the old testament as well as He does in the new. God does not change. He is not respecter of persons – he treats everyone the same.
"For I am the
LORD, I change not;
therefore ye sons of
Jacob are not
consumed" (Malachi
3:6).
"Jesus Christ the
same yesterday, and
to day, and for
ever" (Hebrews
13:8).
"For there is no
respect of persons
with God" (Romans
2:11).
If the covenant of God is an everlasting covenant, why are the promises different each time it is given? The everlasting covenant was planned within the Godhead before the foundation of the world. The plan was made before man was created. There is nothing that man can do to change this covenant, it is everlasting, "for his mercy endureth forever" (Psalm 136).
God’s mercy never changes, but His promises change to meet the needs of people at the time. God is with His people in a dynamic way. He responds to our needs. This is why we have a Sabbath every week. This is why Christians need to have family worship every day, even twice a day.
Human experience is constantly varying. It varies with age: childhood, youth, young adulthood raising children, the prime of life, and finally aging. These are not the only variables. There are also the challenges of work, making a living, where we live, changes in society, etc. etc. You can add many more. We need to present ourselves and our plans to God on a daily basis.
We must constantly make applications of the Word of God to these varying circumstances. We must be constantly reminded of what living the Christian life is and how we need to do it. We also need a special reminder every week of Creation, Redemption, and of our dependance upon God. For this, God gave us the Sabbath.
It is all too easy to forget the ultimate purpose of God in our lives. From time to time we must make a new commitment to serve Him. The covenant must be renewed with each generation, and with each person.
A present day problem is the loss to the church of young people. We are beset by the generation gap, loss of interest in spiritual things, and multiple temptations to lure youth away from spiritual values. We cannot entirely blame the young people. They will tend to follow what their parents are excited about. If the parents are excited about spiritual things, the youth will be too. If the family ALL go to church, have family worship every day, and live by God's covenant; the youth will too.
Often the parents are "good citizens" but show little interest in spiritual things. Young people will carry this logically one step further and wander into materialism and the search for pleasure. Parents must get down on their knees and pray, then get up and be an example for their young people. Remember this verse:
12 "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places" (Ephesians 6:12).
Jesus in His life on earth met all these problems as a man, a human being. The victory He gained is for us and for our children.
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