I've started on a spiritual journey that has me intrigued and excited. Revolution Within and the companion workbook Experience Christ Within by Dwight Edwards is a fresh look at God's covenant with his people. I've only completed the first chapter which was very indepth and time consuming with tons of scripture references to look up, but the good thing is I'm doing this study on my own and there's no group deadline. So I can take my time to really absorb these principles.
To sum it up I'll quote from the workbook:
"In the Old Covenant (the law), God's people were instructed with the repeated words, 'You shall...' and 'You shall not...'
But in the New Covenant, the watchword is no longer 'You shall,' but God's 'I will':
'I will put My law in their minds...and I will be their God...I will forgive their iniquity'; 'I will cleanse you...I will give you a new heart...I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statues.' (Jeremiah 31:33-34; Ezekiel 36:25-27)
Nothing is more fundamental to understanding and appreciating the difference between the two covenants than these two phrases."
Did you get what the scripture is saying? For Choleric Meloncholies like me it has been the beginning of my freeing from doing, striving, trying to be perfect and right. What the new covenant says to me is that I don't have to strive to be perfect. I can't be perfect, that's what the old covenant, the law, has shown us. I can't do it, so God must! And he did by sending us Jesus.
In the old covenant we are told that obedience is our righteousness.(Deut. 5:28-33; 6:1-9,17-19, 24-25; 8:1-20, 11:8-21) In the new covenant Christ is the end of the law so there might be righteousness for those who believe. (Matthew 5:17-18; Romans 8:3-4, 10:4)
I'm just beginning to grasp the truth of this.
One of the other reasons I'm excited about this study is because it relates to my momlit I'm brainstorming. I'm beginning to realize my character is living under the old law of striving to do what's right, but she's failing miserably. She is easily swayed by other people's advice, yet forgets to turn to God for the answers. She doesn't trust herself to hear the voice of God, so she resorts to living under the old law.
Gina Conroy is a homeschooling mom of four. For more musings by this author visit Portrait of a Writer...Interrupted.
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1 comment:
Yes! Grace is beautiful. And it is ALL grace; nothing of ourselves. What freedom there is in Christ--no more striving, trying to be righteous. We rest in His grace and goodness.
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