Grace

But the voice spoke again: “Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean.” [Acts 10.15]

Here is a question: WHEN did God make all the things clean that were previously unclean?

It will be important to understand the answer to this question if we are to understand much of the New Testament and what role the Law of the Old Testament has to do with us today.

It would seem to me that God made all things clean at the very moment the veil in the Temple was torn during Jesus' Crucifixion.

I am not saying that this is a cut-and-dry event for us to understand, but I am saying that there was a significant change in all things pertaining to the Law of the Old Testament at this very moment.

Naturally, it took time for the early Church to begin to comprehend all that the Crucifixion of Jesus meant! I think we are still figuring it out as the Holy Spirit guides us.

As we will see later in the writings of the Apostle Paul (particularly his letter to the Church at Galatia) there was much confusion and debate about just what roles the Law and Grace play in a believer's life.

Just like God's people longed to go back to Egypt when in the wilderness even though they knew it meant going back to bondage, so the New Testament records that God's people longed to go back to the Law even though they knew it meant going back to bondage!

The sad truth is, God's people today still wrestle with this.

Because we do not fully understand Grace, as humans, we default back to what seems easy to "know." The Bible provides historical documentation of rules and regulations that humans are compelled to embrace. It takes less effort to embrace the rules and regulations that "are written' on paper, than to embrace the rules and regulations of the Spirit that are written on the heart - and subsequently require devotion to comprehend.

For all of us, it will take our entire lifetime to fully grasp Grace. It will require prayer and relationship with God through the life and work and teachings of Jesus to advance in the journey. Without Christ and the faith He demanded, humans will default to the Law.

May the LORD help us to grow in Him! Help us remember the torn veil in the Temple any time we read and consider Old Testament Law.

Father, I am grateful for Jesus and all that His life, work, and teachings reveal (about You, Your Kingdom, and my role in it).