Monday 11^th February 2013

Romans 5:20-6:2, Romans 7:7, Ephesians 6:13

Today’s devotional comes from both my heart and from a sermon I recently heard. I hope and pray that you may be fed, strengthened and encouraged knowing our God is Great and is willing you to finish the race of life well.

What is the point of rules? Is it the common phrase that says, ‘Rules were made to be broken’? Is that their purpose? The truth is that rules and laws are there to protect us and give us direction. Take for example the speeding law. If everyone could drive whatever speed they want, the roads would be chaos and daily fatalities would surely increase. What about the law of gravity? We know if we jump out a five storey building, we will fall to our death because we know Newton’s law; that when you drop something, it will fall.

Is this knowledge binding or burdensome….no? The Apostle Paul say in Romans 7:7 that “he knew not sin but by the law”. The law’s benefit in a Biblical context is to point us to the Holy standard of living that God’s wants us to live by. The problem is, is that God’s standard is so high that it almost impossible to reach it. In fact there is only one person who has ever followed it perfectly and that was Jesus Christ. This is where grace comes into the equation.

God knew that we, His people, were and are sinful people and just couldn’t keep the law. We couldn’t stop lying, stealing, dishonouring God and our parents. It just left us condemned and instead of leading us to Holy living, eventually it did become binding and burdensome. It’s like the feeling when you fail an exam. You feel like a failure, an underachiever. The law left us feeling like we were never good enough. So instead of us having to pay the price for our disobedience, Jesus stepped in and took our punishment for us. Instead of the condemnation of not being able to live as God’s wants, living as a failure, we can be assured that God’s love has bought us into acceptance and gives us the strength to live Holy lives. When the Law says Do, God says Done! He did it, He paid the price so that instead of drawing on our strength to obey God, we can look to Jesus and He gives us the strength. Why? Because He did it for us. He set the standard, didn’t sin and stands us our example and intercessor. Does that mean we can continue to sin because we are covered by grace? Certainly not! (Romans 6:1-2).

The law still stands as God’s standard of living that we are required to live by. It shows us our wrongdoings and leads us to repentance. It still stands as God’s standard of living for us. However when personal sin knocks us down in our life, we can get back up because Jesus has already paid our price. Jesus has done it for us. So instead of feeling like a failure, we can draw on Jesus’ strength and acceptance of us and get back up. In fact failure is not just getting knocked down, it’s getting knocked down, admitting defeat and staying down. When Christ overcame the grave He gave us the strength to get back up when we fall and stand up and fight! Draw on His strength in your weakness knowing He has gone before you and paid your price and let God’s Word be your mirror.

“…And having done all…STAND”