Romans 10 I know what enthusiasm they have for God, but it is misdirected zeal. For they don’t understand God’s way of making people right with himself. Refusing to accept God’s way, they cling to their own way of getting right with God by trying to keep the law. For Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given. As a result, all who believe in him are made right with God. (Romans 10:2-4 NLT) Paul writes this in the context of the 1st century, which means hes referring to the nation of Israel and its religious leaders. However, its not too big of a leap to apply that to modern church leaders and church people. We can cling to legalism and our way of doing things tighter than we cling to Jesus. It can be very easy to do. I do it quite often. I want to be made right with God my way. That deceives me into thinking everything is right while I get to stay in my comfort zone. I never lose control of the situation because my way is good enough. But thats just in my own mind. It actually doesnt work. In truth, we would all fall short of our way because the only way to be made right with God is Jesus. Grace is the only way. Unfortunately, the perception of Christians in America today is very similar to Pauls critique of the Pharisees: misdirected zeal. Far more people know the church and its people for what we are against than what we are for. And that is a sign of a legalistic mindset. The statistics of how younger generations describe the church are depressing. While its easy to blame the younger generation, it is important we understand that we, the church, have reinforced the negative stereotypes repeatedly. To put it as simply as I can: if we are not known for Jesus, then we probably arent living the life He has called us to live. Its important to remember that its not an either/or choice, and Paul addresses that. You dont have to choose between Jesus and the law. When you choose Jesus, you receive the ultimate fulfillment of the law. Its almost like an operating system upgrade for our lives. Instead of holding on to an old, costly, out of date, painfully ineffective system with good intentions, we can upgrade to a brand new system free of charge that is superior to the old one on every way, even though the same guidelines exist.
Posted on: Thu, 21 Nov 2013 21:05:51 +0000
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