STOP! Are We Serving God Out of Obligation, or Out of Gratitude?
*In my neighborhood there are some streets that have no STOP signs, so drivers do what’s called a “rolling stop.” It’s a fact that drivers habitually roll right through even if there is a STOP sign, but it’s the concept that I want to get across. Where there are no STOP signs, drivers put themselves […] The post STOP! Are We Serving God Out of Obligation, or Out of Gratitude? appeared first on EURweb | Black News, Culture, Entertainment & More.
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*In my neighborhood there are some streets that have no STOP signs, so drivers do what’s called a “rolling stop.” It’s a fact that drivers habitually roll right through even if there is a STOP sign, but it’s the concept that I want to get across. Where there are no STOP signs, drivers put themselves and others at risk when they roll into an intersection with little precaution. According to the law, STOP means stop, but where there is no law, people do what’s right in their own eyes.
Likewise, the Mosaic Law (the law of Moses) was given by God—after Adam and Eve who forfeited dominion over all the earth by allowing sin into the Garden of Eden—to let mankind know when they are crossing the line between right and wrong. A child will dare to touch a red-hot stove unless their little hand is spanked as a warning. That’s what the law is designed to do. The Mosaic Law extends in the Bible’s Old Testament from Genesis to Malachi. The New Testament begins with Matthew and extends through Revelation. The Mosaic Law is the old covenant; the new covenant begins with what the prophets foretold of a redeemer, a messiah in the person of Jesus Christ.
As believers, we should learn from what took place under the law, so that we can see the contrast, and the beauty, of grace—what God intended for mankind in the first place. Grace is not a license to do as we please (Romans 6:1), but rather to operate with gratitude and appreciation that which is well-pleasing in God’s sight. God’s grace is a gift to those who believe and profess the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, who proclaimed “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”
As a long-time manager in various professional office environments, I’ve negotiated with numerous contractors who—when it was time to review and renew contracts—took it for granted that their contract was an “evergreen.” That is, what was good before, is still good now. However, as I challenged them to reassess the needs of the company for products and services, we researched and found that the needs had changed, and that it was time for a new contract.
Under the old contract, what was non-negotiable was remedied under the new contract, and that’s when the complaints began: “Well, this is the way we’ve always done it;” “Why do we have to change;” “Who do you think you are;” and the list goes on. There are many religious people in the world who have no spiritual relationship with God. So, is your self-righteous religion based on mere tradition, reputation, appearance, obligation, guilt, or fear? Or is it based on gratitude for God’s unmerited favor and mercy that was extended to us when Jesus said on the cross, “It is finished?”
Most people know about the Bible’s Ten Commandments, but don’t know that there were over 600 more under the law. When Jesus came on the scene, He reduced them all to just two: He said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” [ Mark 12:30,31 NIV].
Think of other things that were required under the law that are being carried over into grace. Are we trying to fit a square peg into a round hole? Believers, the old covenant is for our learning; the new covenant is for our living.
Larry Buford is a Los Angeles-based contributing writer. Author of “Things Are Gettin’ Outta Hand” and “Book to the Future” (Amazon). Email: Lbuford8101@hotmail.com
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The post STOP! Are We Serving God Out of Obligation, or Out of Gratitude? appeared first on EURweb | Black News, Culture, Entertainment & More.
