ALWAYS and NEVER? - The Discipline of Love II



Love "...ALWAYS protects, ALWAYS trusts, ALWAYS hopes, ALWAYS perseveres." (1 Cor. 13:7)

ALWAYS is such an expansive and absolute expression, just as NEVER is absolute and conclusive.

So love always trusts, even when my loved one has cheated on me?
Always hopes, though I've seen no change in 25 years?!
Always protects, even though he/she has stabbed me in my back?
Always perseveres, though they've stolen from me, violated my body, killed my children?
Love always forgives even though he/she repeatedly violates my trust and takes advantage of my generousity?
Love NEVER fails?

Does the Word of God really mean ALWAYS and NEVER as we know it? I suppose that's why Jesus used a different expression in case we needed clarity, "Forgive seventy times seven." I guess that's why when dying on the cross, Jesus said, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." I suppose that is why we are reminded in Ephesians 6 we are reminded that we are not wrestling against flesh and blood, but against principalities, powers and spiritual forces of darkness.

Love baffles my mind. So in this wishy-washy world we live in, with the pervasive pallor of a Hollywood depiction of love primarily based on emotion, I say:

"Love is making difficult choices regardless of how you feel, to honor God and act righteously, over and over and over and over again." God is love and if he lives in us we can do ALL things. We can do ALL things through Christ who gives us strength. We can love our enemies and those who despitefully use us. We can forgive those who've wronged us seventy times seven times.



Help us, Father, to love.

The Fear of The Lord is The Beginning of Wisdom

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding."
~ Psalms 111:10

It is because we do not fear the Lord that we willfully sin.


It is because we do not fear the Lord that we think we can hide our sin from the Lord.

It is because we do not fear the Lord that we think we can continue to sin and yet go to church and preach and teach in the house of the Lord.


It is because we do not fear the Lord that we make so many poor choices but blame God when things do not go our way.

It is because we do not fear the Lord that we lack the power to live righteously.

Proverbs 1:7 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.”

Galatians 6:7-8, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.”

What does it mean to fear the Lord?
- To have a reverent awe of God
- To have a profound reverence towards God.

What does the word to revere or reverence mean?
- To show honor and devotion to
- To show honor and respect mixed with love and awe
- Syn. with worship

What does the word “mock” mean?
- To treat with contempt or ridicule.
- To delude or defy
- To mimic in sport or derision
(The definitions above are taken from The New Merriam-Webster Dictionary)

So let me reiterate my beginning statements but substituting the word “fear” with reverence or awe.

• It is because we do not revere God that we sin willfully.
• It is because we do not stand in awe of God that we think we can hide our sin from him.
• It is because we do not revere God that we think we can continue in our sin and yet “worship” him and serve him in his house.
• It is because we do not honor God (we do not put him first) that we make so many poor choices and then blame God when things do not go our way.
• It is because we do not reverence God that we lack the power to live righteously.

By living our lives in such a way, we mock God. The epistle to the Galatians is written to Christians! (Galatians 1:2) We attempt to “mock” God when we think we can willfully sin or live in sin and hide from God. We attempt to “mock” God when we think we can live in sin and yet “serve” God. But we are only deceiving ourselves.


“Be not deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature (the one who sows to please his flesh), from that nature will reap destruction…”

Is it any wonder why Jesus said in Matt. 7:21-23 that “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”

I declare, there is no way we can revere God, there is no way we can love God and continue to live in sin. We all fall short at times, but out of fear of God, we repent; we are grieved by our sin, turn to God in repentance and turn away from our sin. We don’t go running back to the muck and mire like pigs in total disregard for the sacrifice of love God made for us by crucifying his only Son. Herein lies the difference between he who reveres God, he who loves God and he who is religious.

To fear God is the BEGINNING of wisdom. It is only the beginning of wisdom or knowledge. It is not fullness of wisdom, but only the beginning thereof. When we fear God, when we honor God for who he is, when we recognize his awesome majesty and power, we will walk and live our lives in the shadow of his presence.

To fear the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Jesus gave us the parable of a wise and a foolish man in Matthew 7:24-27, he said:
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against the house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” Making wise decisions, God-fearing decisions, may cost your more, may be painful and may take more work, but the outcome is long lasting.

To honor God is the first and wisest decision one can make and yet it is only the beginning. The second part of Psalms 111:10 says, “all who follow his precepts have good understanding.” We must learn to walk in his ways.


Blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord.
Blessed are they who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart.
They do nothing wrong; the walk in his ways.
You have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed.
Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees!
~Psalms 119:1-5

Testing, Testing, 1-2-3

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.” James 1:2-3


We grow up taking tests through out school, and it doesn’t stop when we leave the formal education arena. On many jobs a new employee is put on probation for 3-6 months. That’s a testing period to see if we can handle the job assignment. We implement “test runs” on certain projects and machinery. We test would be suitors or potential mates. Life is full of tests. So why is it any surprise to us that our faith is tested? Why is it that when it comes to God and spiritual things we expect a smooth, unquestionable ride? Due to the eternal life and death consequences of spiritual choices, influences and roles, it only makes sense that our spiritual maturity which is directly related to the strength of our faith, will be tested.

     Physical and natural abilities and experiences are more easily proven and discerned. You may have certificates and degrees, letters of recommendations, resume`s and the like that give credibility to your ability to perform a job or task. But in the spirit realm, Bible School degrees, Bible Institute certificates, titles and even resume`s with mountains of experience is not what proves ones faith with God, but rather how we face and endure the trials we go through. It is the testing of our faith that develops perseverance and “Perseverance must finish its work so that (we) may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (Verse 4)

     I’m still not at the point where I can say that I enjoy spiritual tests and I’ve been saved for a long time. I’m not sure that’s what the scripture means when it says, “Count it all joy when you go through diverse trials…” (KJV) But rather, be thankful, be glad because you’re anticipating the outcome once you pass the test. It’s kind of like when you start working out or exercising. The initial pain of the workout is not “enjoyable,” but you’re looking forward to the results. For the veteran athlete it gets easier the more experience and the accomplished they become. They start looking forward to testing their skills through increased levels of difficulty or competition, but it’s still painful, just on a different level. So it is also in the spirit realm. You can appreciate, be glad about where the test is taking you, doing in you or preparing you for. You have to make the choice to “count it all joy;” mentally coach or encourage yourself. In Hebrews 12:2-3, the writer says, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the JOY set BEFORE him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”


     Be alert. Differentiate, are you being tempted by your own lustful desires or is your faith being tested so that you may grow and become more mature? You may not like the pain of the test, but allow it to prepare you for what God has in store for you. It's God's measuring stick of maturity.

     The Lord be with you. You can do all things, through Christ who gives you strength!

The Message is Love

1 Corinthians 6:19-20
"...don't you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body." (NLT)
 - We do not belong to ourselves. We are bought with an incredibly high price. Our bodies are to be an offering of love and gratitude back unto God.

1 Corinthians 7:19
"Circumcision is nothing, uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God's commands is what counts."
- And what are his commands, considering circumcision was one of his commands?

Galatians 6:2
"Carry each other's burdens and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ."
- By carrying each other's burdens we fulfill the law of Christ? And what is the law of Christ?

Matthew 20:25-28
"...whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant...just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many."
- If the Son of Man, Jesus, did not come to be served, but to serve others; if the Son of Man gave his life as a ransom for many, what message is he sending to us, his disciples?

Matthew 22:37-40
"...Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
- Ah, the message, the law of love.

Romans 13:8
"Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law."

1 Corinthians 13:13
"And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three, but the greatest of these is charity." (KJV)

John 3:16
 "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotton Son, that whosoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life."
- The message is love.

John 17:23
"May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you loved me."
- There can be no unity without love.

1 Peter 4:8
"Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins."

1 Corinthians 13:4-8
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of  wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails..."

 

God's message to us through Christ is love.
 I want the message of Christ, the gospel, to be hammered (stamped) into my head, into my heart, into my life, so that the world around me will know Him.









(**Unless otherwise noted, all scripture references are NIV)

A Living Sacrifice - The Conclusion

This post is the conclusion of what has turned into a four part series or study on "A Living Sacrifice". It's been very revelational to me and I recommend that if you haven't already read the previous three postings on the subject, please do so before reading this one or you will miss the context of how we got to this point and possibly miss the message. Thank you for your indulgence.


     Fifth, is the building stage and the most dynamic. Not unlike an athlete or anyone who becomes serious about developing any area of their lives. The early stages were putting the foundation in place, learning and implementing the fundamentals. (Oh my Lord, help me to say what I’m about to say correctly.) The Old Testament was laying the foundation, preparing the way, even as John the Baptist came to prepare the way for the Messiah. The Old Covenant set the stage with the laws and the examples to reveal the character of God. Jesus came, God in the flesh, poured the concrete in the foundation and put up the frame work by instituting the church, “upon this rock I will build my church” Matt. 16:18; Isaiah 28:16, “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation…;” Ephesians 19:22, “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of Gods household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.”


     Jesus is the head cornerstone and we are the building; this is the static example (solid, unmoving, secure). Jesus is the head and we are his body, this is the dynamic example (moving, a living organism, ever growing). The Old Testament, the Torah, the law was static, that is, unmoving. A foundation has to be dug deeply and is set in concrete to make the building thereon, secure. Hence, Jesus came not to abolish the foundation, the law, but to complete it (Matt. 5:17-18; Luke 4:16-21). In Romans chapters 9-10 we can gain further insight into what Jesus meant by “fulfillment”. In fact, Romans 10:4 states, “Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.” Jesus sealed it.


     At the appointed time, at the fulfillment of time, after the foundation was dug out, flattened and well prepared, Jesus came to solidify it and institute the direction or outline of the building. Any building that does not have a sure foundation will crumble; like the parable Jesus gave of the house that was built on the sand versus the one that was build on the rock. Paul also used this analogy of building in 1 Corinthians chapter 3. In verses 9-15 Paul writes: “For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building. By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ…”

     This principle of laying the foundation and building on it is ancient and applicable to all areas of our lives. It’s not until the foundation is in place can we build properly. I realize I’ve seemingly diverted a bit from the original topic of us being living sacrifices and how to be acceptable and pleasing sacrifices. But bear with me, I believe it will all come together. As the law was static, unmovable and ritualistic, in a similar fashion, we as habit forming beings, once we’ve developed some of the spiritual habits or disciplines must now build on them dynamic buildings – thoughtful, unique, creative buildings. God wants to interact with each of his unique sons and daughters on a daily basis to impact the world around us. The foundation is Christ, the Word which we build into our lives daily through the study (not just the reading) of God’s word (2 Tim. 2:15). Then he, God, through his Holy Spirit wants to direct us throughout the day according to his will.

     So we lay the foundation through obedience and love. As every stone is unique, so will be the way we approach or set in place the foundation of daily prayer and study of his word. Some will rise early, some a little late. Some will do so before breakfast, some after breakfast. Luke 5:16 says, “Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” I wasn’t able to find if it was his custom to do so in the early mornings or throughout the day. The bottom line is that if Jesus often withdrew to pray, so ought we. We are encouraged to “pray without ceasing” with all kinds of prayers. That’s the dynamic part of being in the body of Christ. Our foundation is Christ. We awake and lay ourselves as a sacrifice on the altar before the day begins and continue to do so as the day unravels by following his commands and direction through out the day.

     How is your sacrifice? Is your sacrifice holy and pleasing? Is it thoughtful and reverent? As we go throughout the day are we walking in love and forgiveness towards those we work with and interact? Are we serving out of love for God or out of ambition for self? (Phil. 2:3; Col. 3:17-24)

A True Fast - A True Sacrifice:
“…Day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for decisions and seem eager for God to come near them. ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves and you have not noticed?’”


“Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers. Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high. Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man to humble himself? Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed and for lying on sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord?”


“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter-when you see the naked, to clothe him and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?”


“If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness and your night will become like the noonday. The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame.” (Isaiah 58:2-11) This Old Testament passage shows you the heart of God and the type of sacrifices that please him.

“Do not be conformed to the pattern of this world” dear friends, “but be transformed by the renewing of your mind,” through the Word of God. “Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:2)

Food for thought and living.

The Lord be with you. Happy Resurrection Day!

A Living Sacrifice - Part 3

Is Your Sacrifice Holy and Pleasing?
(Please consider reading the previous posts on the subject before continuing with this one. Thank you for your indulgence.)

“…offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship.” (Romans 12:1)

“Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false.” (Ps. 24:3, 4)

“How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word.” (Ps. 119:9)

“Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.” 1 John 3:2, 3)


     In Part 1 on this topic I touched on the fact that God was very specific in laying out the laws of Israel in reference to sacrifices that would be acceptable and pleasing unto him. Under the new covenant, he is equally specific but in a different way. We are under grace and he doesn’t expel us from the family of God or judge and kill us outright if we violate this principle of a holy sacrifice (The immediate death of Ananias and Sapphire were extreme examples to the early church to set the tone of the seriousness of holy sacrifices before God). If it wasn’t for God’s grace we’d all be dead. The law was our teacher (See Part 1 and Part 2 for relative passages as well as 1 John chapter 3).

     Thank God for his grace and mercy. Thank God for Jesus, the sacrificial Lamb of God. This week we are celebrating Easter or Resurrection Day. We are celebrating what Jesus did for us on the cross and yes, every Sunday we celebrate Resurrection Sunday. However, as I’ve been reviewing this topic of God wanting us to be “living sacrifices,” God’s expectation is that EVERY day, in view of His mercy, that we pick up our cross and give our lives as living sacrifices. We are no longer our own, we were bought with a price (1 Cor. 6:19, 20), not just on Sunday or Saturday, whichever day you set aside as holy unto God. EVERY day is his and to be set aside for him. We are now sacrificing our lives daily. Every day, as the temple of God, for now he dwells in temples not made of hands but our bodies, therefore, every day is his. What was being foretold by the rituals and sacrifices of old, are now fulfilled in Christ and to be lived out every single day in our lives. God wants us to be holy and acceptable sacrifices not just on Sunday or Saturday, but every day. (Please do not take this to mean that I am advocating in any way that we need not still keep a day of rest. The new heaven and new earth has not yet come when the lion and the lamb will lie down together and we will realize the day of complete rest. Everything is still pointing to a time that is still yet to come 1 Thessalonians 4:4:13-5:11; Isaiah 11:6-11.)

     Now how can we offer ourselves as sacrifices that are holy and pleasing, for God will not accept just any sacrifice. We are encouraged to examine ourselves (2 Cor. 13:5). Some believe that they are guaranteed entrance into the kingdom of God as long as they have at one point confessed with their mouths and believed in their hearts that God raised (Christ) from the dead, (they) are saved (Romans 10:9, 10). The word of God is true. However, I recommend that you juxtapose that passage with all the other passages such as Matt. 7:21 wherein Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven“ or Hebrews 12:14, “Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.” God is not mocked. (Gal. 5:13-6:9) There are numerous scriptures that warn and instruct us on holy living which flows out of love and obedience to the Word of God – several of which I’ve already referenced in this study.

     How does your sacrifice measure up? Do you think God is pleased? Do you think based on scripture that your daily sacrifice (for the most part) honors or reverences God? After all, as Paul said, “it is our reasonable” or “spiritual act of worship.” (Romans 12:1) Are we consecrating ourselves, our sacrifice, every day through prayer and the Word of God? Are we walking in obedience to his Word and his will? Because it’s continuous, it’s a little more challenging. Because it’s living, it’s dynamic and not static. It’s easier to be religious and ritualistic in our obedience, that is, to go through the motions thereof than to engage with every part of our being via a dynamic, responsive relationship with God. What do I mean by that? As human beings we naturally develop habits- some good and some bad, but nonetheless, we are habitual creatures. Some of us do the same thing every day of our lives without thinking and hate change.

     We sit in the same pew every Sabbath or Sunday. We drive the same route to work everyday. We’re habitually early or habitually late. We have to have our coffee or tea before work… We wake up and say a couple prayers, maybe read the Bible, maybe not, depending on our habit. We pretty much say the same prayers or type of prayers daily – we have our various daily routines for during the week and different routines on the weekend. Some are good, some are not so good. We should examine ourselves in light of God’s Word and prayerfully discern which are good and godly habits that lead to spiritual and personal growth and which are not and put them before the Lord.

     It took me years to change some of my habits. For example I wanted to be able to get up at 5:00 am every morning for a time of prayer and study before I left for my office. It took me about 4-5 years before I was able to consistently do that. (I’m a late owl.) The Holy Spirit is still dealing with me years later on getting to bed by 11pm. It’s the hardest thing for me to do, even harder than it was to train myself to wake up at 5am in the morning. I had to train myself to drink more water and eat more fruit until it became a habit. I believe we go through the following conscious stages in our spiritual and personal development: 1) Awareness, 2) Decision-making, 3) Habit-forming, 4) Ritualistic or routine and 5) Building Stages.

     First, you have to become aware of what you’re doing and what needs to be done.

     Second, you have to make some prayerful decisions. Do you need to change, do you want to change and if so, what will you change and how.

     Third, is the habit forming stage – applying the “how to”. In the case of my drinking more water, I would eat something very sweet that made me want to drink water to dilute it. I hated apples, but I found I could eat them with peanut butter. After a while I didn’t need the sweets to drink the water or the peanut butter to eat the apples. Those are just a couple simple examples. It took me much longer to train my body to get up at 5am after going to bed at 12 or 1:00 am and it’s taking me what seems like a life time to work on going to bed by 11pm. (I’m a work in progress.)

     Fourth, is the ritualistic stage. After awhile some of the habits we consciously or unconsciously develop become routine. We do them automatically without much thought or emotion. Sadly, that’s how some of us treat things of the spirit, that’s how we become religious. We go through routines and rituals without engaging our minds and emotions. We jump up in the morning, and like we would pour a cup of coffee and grab a bagel as we run out the door to work, we thank God for the day or pray for a couple minutes, read a Psalm or a Proverb, a devotional book reading or anything to suffice our conscience that we read something Bible related and we’re on our way. Is this truly an acceptable sacrifice? It’s a start however.

(To be concluded in Part IV on Living Sacrifice)

A Living Sacrifice Part 2

    Jesus, The Perfect Sacrifice

    & The Standard

A brief and simple overview of the sacrifices under the old covenant reveals that they were to teach us how God desired and deserved to be worshipped. We know from John 4:24 that God is seeking “true worshipers, ” for he says, “The time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks." God has been seeking true worshipers down through the ages and has spent immeasurable time trying to teach us how to worship him through the Israelite nation. He set them apart as his people. (Does this sound familiar? 1 Peter 2:4-10) He created a nation and stamped his name on them, became their God. He created them, giving them the various laws and rituals to separate them from the rest of the world as a light unto the world of the true and living God.


     Consider the many different types of sacrifices and the precise instruction given in preparing and offering the sacrifices. God is a holy God and the ordinances he set in place for the Israelites in reference to approaching him were to demonstrate his holiness (See Exodus chapters 29-31, Leviticus chapters 1-7): the ceremonial washings, the separation of the priests from the remainder of the Israelites; who could approach God, when, how and where, the altars and then the sacrifices themselves; which of them were clean and which were not, which could be offered with blood and which not. Burnt offerings, grain offerings, sin offerings, fellowship offerings versus spontaneous thanksgiving offerings, these all depict a picture of the holiness of God, teaching us about his character and his expectation of us. They were not instituted just for the sake of the rituals in themselves. The laws, the rituals were teachers and were laying a foundation, ingraining, preparing for what was to come, that is the fulfillment of the law and perfect sacrifice – Jesus Christ.

     Jesus is truly the answer! That simple statement speaks volumes. I think of the atom bomb and Hiroshima. The effects of one small nuclear bomb can affect millions. (That’s a bit of a negative example, however, the physical picture in my mind of when it is dropped, how it reverberates out and has the power to impact such a massive scope reminds me of the statement above.) Jesus’ physical entrance on the scene, in the flesh, God incarnate, changed not only the world at the time of his entrance, but shed light on history past, rocked the present and blew open the way of the future. Everything changed with his life, death and resurrection- everything. It is because of him that we now have BC and AD calendars. It is because of him that we have an Old Covenant and a New Covenant or an Old Testament and a New Testament. It is because of his blood. Therefore, (there is that conjunction again) he is our standard for everything – for life. That is why Paul says in Romans 12:1, “Therefore… offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God…”


     Jesus came in the fulfillment of prophecy. He fulfilled how the ancients prophesied he would come and die and rise again (there is, of course, a few other prophecies still remaining in reference to his return and the end times). Therefore, when he died, “the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom” (Matt. 27:51). The shedding of his innocent blood, the blood of The Lamb of God, God’s ultimate provision for our sins, sealed the old covenant and introduced the new covenant. The blood of Jesus (for there is no covenant without the shedding of blood as there is no remission of sin without the shedding of blood) encompassed, fulfilled, or completed the law of the old testament. That is what I believe Jesus is getting at in Matthew 5:17-20 and the apostle Paul built on in Romans chapters 2-6.

     That is why Jesus is our example. When Paul says, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship,” we have the example of Christ, the picture of how Jesus lived, he said in Matthew 20:25-28 that just as he came to serve and not to be served, so we are to also live. In Philippians 2 we are instructed to imitate Jesus, “Who, being in very nature God…made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant…humbled himself and became obedient to death…” So we are to offer our bodies as sacrificial offerings, serving God by serving one another; laying our lives, our desires on the altar of sacrifice every day (Luke 9:23). As Jesus died on the cross, so we are to take up our cross daily and die to our flesh and live according to the spirit. The new testament shows and instructs us how to give our lives as living sacrifices just as the old testament instructed those under the old covenant what God expected from them and how he expected them to worship him.


(To be continued: Part 3)