Twin Peaks

The scripture for today is Galatians 3:24

 

Galatians 3:24 Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

 

Many people who profess faith in Christ say that they no longer need the law or tutor. But these same people who are adamant that they “have arrived” don’t want to follow Christ in obedience to God’s law. How can you have faith in Christ and not follow Christ? There is a great conflict going on, but it is not between the law and the gospel. It is between Christ and Satan. This conflict we commonly call the great controversy. In the great controversy, Satan has set himself up as opposed to everything that Christ stands for. His primary strategy is to lead mankind into sin and the rejection of God’s grace. “Whosoever commits sin transgresses also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.” 1 John 3:4 “Because the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression.” Romans 4:15

 

Without the law, there could be no gospel, for the law reveals sin, and the gospel brings salvation from sin.  One makes way for the other. So we can readily see that it is Satan who hates God’s law and has been in rebellion against it ever since he invented sin. It is the very voice of Satan himself that would dare to say “We do not have to keep God’s law.” Now I do understand that people who make such statements don’t realize that they are merely echoing the voice of the devil. But they are nonetheless.  

 

We study the sanctuary, for example, not because we want to know more about old altars, washing bowls, and candlesticks. We study the sanctuary because the sanctuary shows us the ministry of Christ. The sanctuary was erected to be a place of pardon and peace for sin-sick souls. Everything there points us to Christ. The whole of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation is about Jesus Christ. If we fail to grasp that reality, we will miss out on the great blessing that comes from God’s Word.

 

Jesus said to the Jewish leaders of His day, “For had you believed Moses, you would have believed me: for he wrote of me.” John 5:46 Jesus is both the lawgiver and the law fulfiller. And through faith in His sacrifice, we who have broken His Holy Law can find forgiveness and establish fellowship with Him. The moral law of God shows us our sin but then points us to Jesus, who kept the law perfectly, to clean us up.  Thank God for His holy law and thank God for His matchless grace.

 

God bless you as you continue in His service.

Tim