Apples to Oranges – Part 2
We are not like Moses, who used to put a veil over his face so that the sons of Israel would not look intently at the end of what was fading away. But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in Christ [2 Corinthians 3:13-14].
Moses would enter the tent outside the camp and visit with the Lord. When he exited the tent his face glowed with the glory of God. Moses covered his face with a veil because this glory came from the Covenant of Law, and the Law was a temporary expedient until the fullness of the times came and the Messiah brought with Him the Covenant of Grace.
That is Paul’s point. The Law of Moses was the Word of God. It served as the legal code for the nation of Israel while they inhabited the Promised Land. But it was only a pedagogue, a school marm to teach the Israelites—and through them the Gentiles—of man’s inability to approach the Lord.
Every man is a sinner and God cannot tolerate sin. Man needs a Savior to pay the penalty for his sins and then provide him with a new, sin-free nature. Once man is cleansed of his sins and clothed in this new righteousness, then he is able to approach the Lord in covenantal relationship with Him.
The first man, that old sinner, required the Law to incessantly expose his sins and show him his need for a Savior. This was a temporary expedient for the simple fact that sooner or later each person dies for his sins or else accepts the Savior’s payment for his sins and receives His new life.
This confirms that the Covenant of Law, though glorious because it is God’s Word, possesses a fading glory. It also establishes the Covenant of Grace as possessing an eternal glory because it never ends. Once a person is born again, the new life in him never terminates. It is eternal and its glory never fades away.
So long as the Hebrews clung to the Law and rejected God’s grace, they had only a fading glory. The only way out was to recognize the true purpose of the Law, accept the Lord Jesus’ fulfillment of the Law on their behalf, and embrace Grace instead of Law.
Referring once more to our numbered list of six distinctions between Law and Grace, the Law was on stone tablets. This meant it was hard and cold, not warm and accepting and forgiving. It could not be altered. It condemned sinners without recourse.
Grace, contrariwise, lives in human hearts, motivating the saint to live for the Lord because he wants to do so. The Law could effect no such “want to”. It was on the outside of man, unable to get inside.
This is why Paul identified the Law as the ministry of death. It could only expose man’s sins, not effect a qualitative change in man’s nature. Grace, however, was inside in the heart. It not only was a qualitative change, a new nature, but it then brought out of man the life of the Spirit in his daily living.
The Law could not help but condemn man because the Law condemns sinners. That was the purpose of the Law. Grace can not help but justify man because the Lord Jesus, though being without sin, died for the sins of all mankind and paid sins penalty.
To any sinner who approaches Him in repentance, Jesus freely provides carte blanche payment for the penalty of his sins, and then Jesus freely bestows His own righteous nature on this man. It is free on all counts, which is the definition of “grace”.
This brings each of us to the crossroads with a decision to make. Will we go left or will we go right? To the left is the Law and condemnation for our sins. To the right is the Covenant of Grace with payment for the penalty of our sins, and with God’s own righteous nature to live inside us and empower us to live the new life. What say ye? Will you go to the left or to the right?
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 2 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Moses would enter the tent outside the camp and visit with the Lord. When he exited the tent his face glowed with the glory of God. Moses covered his face with a veil because this glory came from the Covenant of Law, and the Law was a temporary expedient until the fullness of the times came and the Messiah brought with Him the Covenant of Grace.
That is Paul’s point. The Law of Moses was the Word of God. It served as the legal code for the nation of Israel while they inhabited the Promised Land. But it was only a pedagogue, a school marm to teach the Israelites—and through them the Gentiles—of man’s inability to approach the Lord.
Every man is a sinner and God cannot tolerate sin. Man needs a Savior to pay the penalty for his sins and then provide him with a new, sin-free nature. Once man is cleansed of his sins and clothed in this new righteousness, then he is able to approach the Lord in covenantal relationship with Him.
The first man, that old sinner, required the Law to incessantly expose his sins and show him his need for a Savior. This was a temporary expedient for the simple fact that sooner or later each person dies for his sins or else accepts the Savior’s payment for his sins and receives His new life.
This confirms that the Covenant of Law, though glorious because it is God’s Word, possesses a fading glory. It also establishes the Covenant of Grace as possessing an eternal glory because it never ends. Once a person is born again, the new life in him never terminates. It is eternal and its glory never fades away.
So long as the Hebrews clung to the Law and rejected God’s grace, they had only a fading glory. The only way out was to recognize the true purpose of the Law, accept the Lord Jesus’ fulfillment of the Law on their behalf, and embrace Grace instead of Law.
Referring once more to our numbered list of six distinctions between Law and Grace, the Law was on stone tablets. This meant it was hard and cold, not warm and accepting and forgiving. It could not be altered. It condemned sinners without recourse.
Grace, contrariwise, lives in human hearts, motivating the saint to live for the Lord because he wants to do so. The Law could effect no such “want to”. It was on the outside of man, unable to get inside.
This is why Paul identified the Law as the ministry of death. It could only expose man’s sins, not effect a qualitative change in man’s nature. Grace, however, was inside in the heart. It not only was a qualitative change, a new nature, but it then brought out of man the life of the Spirit in his daily living.
The Law could not help but condemn man because the Law condemns sinners. That was the purpose of the Law. Grace can not help but justify man because the Lord Jesus, though being without sin, died for the sins of all mankind and paid sins penalty.
To any sinner who approaches Him in repentance, Jesus freely provides carte blanche payment for the penalty of his sins, and then Jesus freely bestows His own righteous nature on this man. It is free on all counts, which is the definition of “grace”.
This brings each of us to the crossroads with a decision to make. Will we go left or will we go right? To the left is the Law and condemnation for our sins. To the right is the Covenant of Grace with payment for the penalty of our sins, and with God’s own righteous nature to live inside us and empower us to live the new life. What say ye? Will you go to the left or to the right?
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 2 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
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