B-A-C
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- Dec 18, 2008
- Messages
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The Law vs the Spirit?
This is kind of related to the thread @Brother-Paul started about the Law.
I thought about continuing it this there, but this is a slightly different take.
Some think Christianity got easier when Jesus came. In some ways it did.
But in other ways I don't see this.
For example... in the Old Testament we have the 10 commandments. Most people
say they were hard to obey. Even impossible.
You might say I've never killed anyone. You might even be able to say I've
never had an affair with someone who was married. But then then it's gets a
little more difficult. Can you say you've never told a lie? Can you say you've
never stolen anything in your life? Can you say you've never envied?
Yes, in some ways the commandments of the old testament were hard.
===============================================================================
But then Jesus comes along and makes things.... ummm... easier?
Like I said, some things didn't get easier. They got harder.
In Matt 5 Jesus says you were told ... "You shall not commit murder".
OK, easy enough... I've never done that.
But then Jesus says.... "everyone who is angry with his brother is guilty,
whoever calls their brother "You good for nothing" is guilty, whoever calls
their brother "You fool" is guilty... whoops...
A little later Jesus says you were told... "You shall not commit adultery".
You say to yourself... piece of cake, I've never done that.
But then Jesus says... "everyone who looks at a woman (or man) with lust for them
has already committed adultery in his heart...
... whoops...
So according to this, I have already committed murder and adultery.
A little later jesus says you have heard... "You shall not make false vows, but fulfill your
vows to the Lord".
OK, no problem, I can do that....
But then Jesus adds.... "Make no oath at all, don't swear by heaven, byt the earth, by Jerusalem,
or even the hairs on your head. Let your yesy be "yes" and let your no be "no". Anything else
is evil...
... whoops...
A little later Jesus says it was said "You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy".
Alright Jesus... now you're talking... I can hate my enemies... no problem!!
But then Jesus says... " Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you"...
... whoops.
We jump over to Matt 6. In verses 9-13 Jesus tells people how to pray.
In verse 12 it says... "forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who have sinned against us".
Well... OK... I guess I can do that sometimes... if I have to.
But then in verses 14 and 15 Jesus adds...
If you forgive others, God will forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, God will not
forgive you.
... whoops.
I'm not doing so good here. I'm only half-way through the sermon on the Mount and I've broken
just about every single commandment.
Wow... that's hard.
We finally get close to the end of the sermon of the mount in Matt 7.
...and Jesus says... "Not everyone who calls Me "Lord, Lord" will enter the kingdom of heaven.
... are you kidding me Jesus?
... but wait... there's more!!!
I said this was about the law AND the Spirit.. but so far I've only mentioned the law.
..to be continued ..
This is kind of related to the thread @Brother-Paul started about the Law.
I thought about continuing it this there, but this is a slightly different take.
Some think Christianity got easier when Jesus came. In some ways it did.
But in other ways I don't see this.
For example... in the Old Testament we have the 10 commandments. Most people
say they were hard to obey. Even impossible.
You might say I've never killed anyone. You might even be able to say I've
never had an affair with someone who was married. But then then it's gets a
little more difficult. Can you say you've never told a lie? Can you say you've
never stolen anything in your life? Can you say you've never envied?
Yes, in some ways the commandments of the old testament were hard.
===============================================================================
But then Jesus comes along and makes things.... ummm... easier?
Like I said, some things didn't get easier. They got harder.
In Matt 5 Jesus says you were told ... "You shall not commit murder".
OK, easy enough... I've never done that.
But then Jesus says.... "everyone who is angry with his brother is guilty,
whoever calls their brother "You good for nothing" is guilty, whoever calls
their brother "You fool" is guilty... whoops...
A little later Jesus says you were told... "You shall not commit adultery".
You say to yourself... piece of cake, I've never done that.
But then Jesus says... "everyone who looks at a woman (or man) with lust for them
has already committed adultery in his heart...
... whoops...
So according to this, I have already committed murder and adultery.
A little later jesus says you have heard... "You shall not make false vows, but fulfill your
vows to the Lord".
OK, no problem, I can do that....
But then Jesus adds.... "Make no oath at all, don't swear by heaven, byt the earth, by Jerusalem,
or even the hairs on your head. Let your yesy be "yes" and let your no be "no". Anything else
is evil...
... whoops...
A little later Jesus says it was said "You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy".
Alright Jesus... now you're talking... I can hate my enemies... no problem!!
But then Jesus says... " Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you"...
... whoops.
We jump over to Matt 6. In verses 9-13 Jesus tells people how to pray.
In verse 12 it says... "forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who have sinned against us".
Well... OK... I guess I can do that sometimes... if I have to.
But then in verses 14 and 15 Jesus adds...
If you forgive others, God will forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, God will not
forgive you.
... whoops.
I'm not doing so good here. I'm only half-way through the sermon on the Mount and I've broken
just about every single commandment.
Wow... that's hard.
We finally get close to the end of the sermon of the mount in Matt 7.
...and Jesus says... "Not everyone who calls Me "Lord, Lord" will enter the kingdom of heaven.
... are you kidding me Jesus?
... but wait... there's more!!!
I said this was about the law AND the Spirit.. but so far I've only mentioned the law.
..to be continued ..