There is a big difference between the Old and New Testaments. While both are God’s Word He revealed to man, they each approach a relationship with God in a different way. That said, the Bible relates the two as a continuation of God’s revelation to man. Paul says it this way in Galatians 3:
“Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed.
So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith.” (Galatians 3:23-24 ESV).
The Old Law was characterized as a series of “do’s” and “don’t’s” that governed every aspect of a person’s life. While there was still faith and heart involved in serving God, the Old Law was seen as a “guardian” or, as other versions say, a “tutor” or “schoolmaster.” It brought man up to a point where he would be ready when Christ came to justify man by faith.
When the New Law came, much of it was given as a series of principles instead of specific laws to follow or not to follow. Not all actions were spelled out in detail on how to keep the New Law. While there are commandments, many are written in such a way that causes us to wrestle and grow internally as we work through how to keep these laws. And embedded in the Law of Christ is the very spirit we need in order to grow in our faith.
Here is an example. The New Law teaches us to be hospitable. Here are just a few commands on this subject:
“Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.” (Romans 12:13 ESV).
“Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” (Hebrews 13:2 ESV).
“Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.” (1 Peter 4:9 ESV).
The new law specifically teaches that Christians should be hospitable. Most of us would agree that this is a command we must fulfill. The Greek word for hospitality is “philoxenos.” The definition is “disposed to treat guests and strangers with cordiality and generosity.” This is what we must do. It is our duty and our expectation as Christians.
The problem, and what makes the New Law different from the Old Law, is that we are not told step-by-step how to do this, are we? We see examples in the Old and New Testament of God’s servants extending hospitality, but how we do that is left in large part to us. And from person to person, we will all have different ways we choose to carry out this command. Some may make home-cook meals for people, others may provide gift cards. Some may open their homes to people who need a place to stay, others may help cover the expenses to provide lodging. Some may invite someone over for dinner, while others may invite someone out for coffee or tea.
Here is the wonderful thing about how the New Law works in many areas, like hospitality. The Bible never enumerates the details of how we carry out many commands. This forces us to struggle with these commands as we must determine how to be hospitable. While I may choose to be hospitable one way, someone else may feel very strongly that they must do other things to be hospitable.
And each of us will grow over time as the command to be hospitable changes within us. Today, I may bring meals to people to fulfill this command, but ten years from now, I may be convicted to open my home to people to add an element of personal connection. This is the wonderful part of the Law that is written on our hearts.
Many commands in the New Testament are written this way. We are to be modest, but the New Testament never gives us lines or measurements to define what is or what is not modest. We are all to serve one another, but we are never told what does or does not constitute service definitively. We are all to study and read the Word, but we are never told how much we are to read to fulfill this command.
Because of the nature of the New Law, we are forced to ask ourselves the question, “What do I need to do to become the person Jesus wants me to be?” This can often make us uncomfortable while causing us to grow over time. But it also creates a danger for us that we need to be careful of. Sometimes, we want someone else to tell us what we must do to be hospitable or modest or how much of the Bible we need to read and how often.
We will never find a shortage of people who are willing and ready to chime in on how they think we need to fulfill these commands. Preacher and elders will even share their wisdom, but if we are not careful, we will let others draw the lines for us, and we will stop wrestling with these issues ourselves. When we do that, we risk slowing the personal spiritual growth these commands are designed to help us attain over our lifetime.
To me, the nature of the New Law is a wonderful gift that accentuates the grace we have in Jesus. It is designed to help each of us continue to grow in the Lord as we commit ourselves to the things we read that our Savior wants us to become. When we struggle with living out these commands and making choices for our own lives, we become more and more like Jesus. It’s the nature of spiritual growth.
In order to stir up one another to love and good works, I think we need to remember some important things as we all struggle with making choices like these.
First, we need to give each other grace as we grow in these areas. We will not all be at the same place at any given time. If someone isn’t hospitable in the same way we are, that’s okay. If someone has different lines on what they watch on TV than we do, we need to have grace. If someone reads the Bible less than we do, it is okay too. Why? Because hopefully, as we grow, we will be following these same commands differently ten years from now than we are today, and we need to give others the same grace.
Second, we need to be careful about how much we let others draw all the lines for us on these types of issues, letting them tell us how we must carry out these commands. While there is wisdom in seeking out counsel from others when we are struggling with these things, we must not abdicate the personal struggle we need to go through as we learn to make the decision on how to carry out these commands and expectations. If we are not careful, we can wake up one day to find that we are following someone else’s list of “do’s” and don’t’s” with little commitment in our hearts for these commands because we are not the one who struggled with how to fulfill them.
And finally, we need to understand as we learn to apply and then reapply these lessons in our lives, there comes with it wisdom we can share with others who might be struggling with where we were ten years ago on the same issues. This wisdom can be priceless in guiding someone in their spiritual journey, but we must always remember the importance of that person going through the inner struggle themselves as they grow. We must fight the urge to force them to adopt our current practices and not condemn them for coming to different ways to carry out these commands.
Living as a Kingdom servant is a lifetime pursuit. It requires us to be willing to examine ourselves constantly and never stop growing. It requires us to show grace and patience to each other as we all take this journey together. We must never give this part of our Christian faith over to anyone else because people are lined up for miles, willing to take that responsibility from us if we let them. And we must find comfort in knowing that we are not alone as we grow and transform during our walk with Jesus. Even the Father is committed to helping us do this very thing:
“For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.” (Romans 8:29 ESV).
And
“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6 ESV).
What a wonderful God Who has written this Law on our hearts!
This will prove God's all-powerful attribute:
One day, He will destroy all evil from His creation without having to destroy all of mankind.
King David was the greatest king of Israel and was prophesied to be king all the way back in Genesis 49 when Jacob gave all his children blessings before he died. To his son Judah, he says,
“The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.” (Genesis 49:10 ESV).
We see that this was fulfilled in Jesus, who reigns as the descendant of King David on his throne forever:
“Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?” (John 7:42 ESV).
But in 1 Samuel, we see that Saul was chosen to be the first king of Israel:
“And Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see him whom the LORD has chosen? There is none like him among all the people.” And all the people shouted, “Long live the king!” (1 Samuel 10:24 ESV).
Saul was a Benjamite, not a descendant of Judah. From our perspective, looking back, this doesn't pose a problem. But if we were from the tribe of Judah when Saul was chosen to be king, this could constitute a crisis of faith, couldn't it?
The anointing of Saul, and later the anointing of David, should teach us an important lesson. Just because we don't see how God is working now doesn't mean He is silent or circumstances are beyond His control.
We pray, even when we don't understand how God will answer. We trust, even when what we see doesn't make sense. We rest in His will, but we never have to give up on our petitions because we don't see how God can answer us.
“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,” (Ephesians 3:20 ESV).
I am in the book of 1 Samuel in my daily Bible reading. In chapter 15, we read how Saul disregarded the word of God in sparing Agag, king of Amalek, and the best of the Amalekites instead of utterly destroying them because God had devoted them to destruction for their sins.
“But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep and of the oxen and of the fattened calves and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them. All that was despised and worthless they devoted to destruction.” (1 Samuel 15:9 ESV).
What effect did this have on God? He was faced with a King who no longer followed His word but casually did what He wanted to do. When God's word conflicted with his desires, King Saul chose to do what he wanted over what God wanted. So, God said to Samuel,
“I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and has not performed my commandments.” And Samuel was angry, and he cried to the LORD all night.” (1 Samuel 15:11 ESV).
Samuel headed to Saul to confront him for his disobedience and selfish actions. But on his way, Samuel gets even more bad news about Saul's disgraceful behavior. Not only did Saul casually disobey God, but he gloried in it. Listen to what Samuel hears concerning Saul's prideful behavior:
“And Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning. And it was told Samuel, “Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself and turned and passed on and went down to Gilgal.” (1 Samuel 15:12 ESV).
Did you see that? King Saul set up a monument for himself to commemorate his victory over the Amalekites. Not only did he blatantly disobey God's word, but he gloried in his sin against God.
He felt no shame, no regret, no remorse.
Sin will do that to us. If we allow our hearts to become hardened, not only will we sin against God as casually as we sit down to eat a meal, but we may even boast about our sins and build ourselves monuments to commemorate the occasion.
Do we look back on our lives and remember our sins with fondness, and recount our deeds to others as great things?
Do we glory over our past sexual conquests? Do we praise our shrewdness over how we got our last promotion by stepping on our coworker to get it? Do we brag about getting by with cheating on our taxes? Do we remember the lies we told that brought us better deals or rewards at the expense of others?
It's bad enough when we sin against our God, but we show utter contempt for God when we do that and then set up monuments to ourselves when we do. May we not only have a soft heart of repentance when we sin, but may we also distance ourselves from our sinful behavior instead of taking pride in what we have done.
It's not enough for men to claim that Jesus isn't divine. It's now becoming fashionable to assert that Jesus himself never claimed to be divine.
Yet, listen to Jesus' own words. In Luke, the Scribes and Pharisees assert that Jesus claimed authority belonging to God alone, that is, to forgive sins:
“And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”“ (Luke 5:21 ESV).
In His response, Jesus indeed claims authority only belonging to God:
““But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”--he said to the man who was paralyzed--”I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home.”“ (Luke 5:24 ESV).
In Mark 14, when Jesus appeared before the High Priest at His trial, the High Priest asked Him point blank if He claimed to be God's son:
“And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, “Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?”
But he remained silent and made no answer. Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?”“ (Mark 14:60-61 ESV).
In response, Jesus made a claim that was crystal clear to the High Priest by equating Himself to one with divine attributes:
“And Jesus said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”“ (Mark 14:62 ESV).
To make sure there is no misunderstanding of His claim, notice the High Priest's reaction to Jesus' answer:
“And the high priest tore his garments and said, “What further witnesses do we need?
You have heard his blasphemy. What is your decision?” And they all condemned him as deserving death.” (Mark 14:63-64 ESV).
These are just a couple of instances where we see that Jesus accepts the mantle of diety. In other places, we see Him accepting worship and commanding things only God could command.
People today may not believe that Jesus is God, but it is not intellectually honest to assert that Jesus never claimed to be divine and His deity was attributed to Him decades after His death.
Jesus spent more time talking about hell than He did talking about heaven.
Most people like the idea of heaven but don't want to believe in an eternal place of torment and doom in an existence away from God.
But if heaven and hell are real places, then what we think doesn't matter. We cannot ignore the truth and wish it all away.
Either Judgement Day is real, or it isn't. What we think will not alter reality.
Either heaven is real, or it isn't. What we think will not alter reality.
Either hell is real, or it isn't. What we think will not alter reality.
Ignoring what the Creator has told us will be the biggest mistake of our lives. Too much hangs in the balance. The stakes are the highest they could be.
But we have a God who loves us so much that He paved the way to guarantee we can go to heaven and avoid hell if we wish.
He paid the cost we could not pay.
He made the sacrifice we could not make.
He gives grace and help to all who will place their lives into His hands.
If we live in allegiance to Him, we are His. If we refuse, we will be allowed to go our own way for an eternity.
To live with God forever in heaven, we must choose to live with Him here on earth.
While He is full of grace and forgiveness, He will not force His way upon us.
But He is faithful and will choose us for eternity if we choose Him while we live in this world.
“And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (Matthew 25:46 ESV).
I am in the book of 2 Samuel. 1 Samuel ends with the death of King Saul in battle. 2 Samuel opens with David's rise to the throne.
Before he took his seat on the throne, David praised Saul and his son, Jonathan. He executed the man who claimed to have killed Saul, the Lord's anointed.
If you ever wondered what it means to love your enemies, look no further than David as an example. Saul tracked David for years to kill him, though David was one of his most faithful servants.
David had more than one opportunity to kill Saul, but David refused to act against the Lord's anointed. Any vengeance taken against Saul would be from God's hands, not his.
But more than refraining from getting even with Saul, David showed Saul mercy and kindness. He gave grace to his enemy. He spoke highly of the man who cursed him. He granted life to the one who sought to take away his life.
While Saul lived in the royal residence, David hid among the caves and with the Philistines. Yet in all this, David prayed for Saul, returned good for evil, and spoke respectfully about the king when Saul spoke spitefully to him.
David was able to love his enemy because he first loved God. When we focus our love on our Creator, He gives us the wisdom, strength, and ability to love our enemies.
And Jesus gives us an even better example than David of what it looks like to love your enemies. He not only commands it, but He shows us by how He loves us:
“but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8 ESV).
When I was young, the problem was not enlightening people that they needed a remedy for sin. It was convincing them to take hold of that remedy.
It seems to me that today, we must spend much more time teaching people that we all have a problem with sin before we can convince them to take hold of the remedy.
If the Lord comes this morning, will you be ready?
He is coming.
The Father knows the day and hour He will tell His Son, “It's time, go get your bride.”
Are your lamps trimmed and ready? Don't be found unprepared.
“Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, 'Lord, lord, open to us.'
But he answered, 'Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.'
Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” (Matthew 25:11-13 ESV).