grace over law

These are the regulations concerning contamination by mildew in woolen or linen clothing, woven or knitted material, or any leather article, for pronouncing them clean or unclean.  (Leviticus 13:59)

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.  (2 Corinthians 3:17)

I was reading in my daily Bible reading this morning in Leviticus. Several chapters in Leviticus were God’s commandments to Moses. The commandments were excruciatingly detailed. They covered every possible part of life, including several that were just in case you had forgot something.

This section had dealt with uncleanness and isolation from the camp. It had to do with sores on your body and if they were a certain color or the hair on the was a certain color. Then it ends with restrictions of mildewed stuff, whether clothing or possessions.

The amount of laws was enormous, so many in fact, that I wonder how in the world they were able to keep them all. This was a pre-literate society in which most could probably not read. After all, there had never been any reason to do so, since the laws of God were not yet given.

So that meant that Moses probably had to find different people (probably Levites) and, by the Spirit of God, tell them what God had said and then go to them when you needed clarification on a subject. They were walking Torahs.

But there was no way you could keep them all without messing up somewhere. They were just too all-encompassing. It was as if God said, okay, you want a law, here’s a law. And there was no way to keep his detailed law.

Then Jesus came and nailed the handwriting of ordinances to the cross (Ephesians 2:15). He took all of that away and gave us a new and better way – the way of grace.

When the Lord sent his Son and then his Spirit, he sent freedom: freedom from restrictions and freedom from laws.

He knew we couldn’t keep all those. But he also wanted us to know that. We were stuck and he took us out and gave a better way.

His law is love (Matthew 22:36-40). His works are faith (John 6:29). He does not sit over now and tell us all of the things to do or not to do. He leaves that up to us and our relationship with him.

Ephesians 2:8-10 says For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

We do not do what we do to be saved. We do what we do because we are saved. That is the whole difference between the old and the new covenants.

Thank God I live now.