God gave us the law of Moses to point toward Christ. This devotional looks at how the law alone is not enough for salvation.
Nuggets
- There are parallels between Moses and Jesus, but there is only one Savior — Jesus.
- Knowing Christ means worshiping Him in our hearts rather than performing mindless religious traditions.
Devotions in Knowing Christ series
We’re talking about knowledge. We started this series talking about knowing Christ.
In this devotion, we are going to be talking about knowing Christ through the law. Burder said it was more than just knowing the law of Moses.
Let’s see how that shakes out.
Let's Put It into Context #1
Here is a running list of nuggets for the series.
I used Lyth and Burder’s The Excellency of the Knowledge of Christ as the foundation of the devotion.
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Let's Put It into Context #2
Moses was the little dude who spent some time floating in a basket on the river. The Pharaoh had decreed that all the Israelite baby boys should be killed (Ex. 1: 16). His mom, however, took steps to protect him.
She had reason to, because God had plans for Moses. He was the man who God tasked with leading the Israelites out of their Egypt bondage.
During their journey from Egypt to the Promised Land, God gave Moses the law. He gave him the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai.
But that wasn’t the only time God gave Moses the law. There is a whole Book of Leviticus filled with the law.
Even though we hear it termed as the law of Moses, we have to remember that it is really God’s law. Moses was just a servant of God.
The Law Points to Christ
“For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ” (Jn. 1: 17 NLT)
There are parallels between Moses and Jesus, but there is only one Savior — Jesus.
I have heard of Moses being described as the Old Testament savior — and he was. He brought the Israelites out of their bondage into a special relationship with God.
However, Moses was not God. He was only a man. He was a subject of the King of kings.
Moses was the mouthpiece of God. He communicated God’s message to the people. He didn’t give them his own message.
More importantly, Moses did not save the people from their sins. He saved their physical bodies.
Jones noted that these points and more show us the differences between Judaism and Christianity.
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So, too, the law that Moses was given could not save the Israelites — or us — from our sins. It is instrumental in showing us our need for Christ’s salvation.
In other words, the law gives us knowledge of our sinful condition. W. L. called the law “God’s education of the world, class by class — the Law one of the most important lessons ever taught it.”
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Most worldview people would argue that God’s law wasn’t education — it is bondage. It isn’t.
The law tells us what God’s character is. How? The moral characteristics represent the instillation of an attitude of holiness.
It also gives us boundaries in which to live. Remember, Jesus told us, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished” (Mt. 5: 17-18 ESV).
Yes, we can say the law threatens us, as Augustine did. Why is still having the law so important? We don’t follow it, which is threatening.
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That is the whole reason Jesus came to earth. He came to deal with the payment of our sins.
Jesus came so we do not have to be punished for breaking the law. He removed the threat.
The law foreshadowed Jesus’ coming. He brought truth and grace with Him.
Worship Rather than Religion
“The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship” (Heb. 10: 1 NLT)
Knowing Christ means worshiping Him in our hearts rather than performing mindless religious traditions.
Don’t misread that verse. Paul did not say the law was a shadow. He said the system was.
The system was the religious traditions of the Jews. It was the things they did by religious ceremony rather than true worship.
How do we know it wasn’t talking about the law itself? “They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them” (Rom. 12: 15 ESV).
Hmmm. We might need a little more than that. “For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified” (Rom. 12: 13 ESV).
Knowing the law isn’t enough. We have to be obeying it.
Let’s try something else. Edwards put it this way.
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Elaine-speak. The Israelites tried to worship through the sacrifices. Jesus said, no. Worship happened through remembering Him by the Lord’s Supper.
We shouldn’t worship by performing tasks. We are to worship by acknowledging the sacrifice Jesus made because of His love and grace.
If we continue to worship through outward expressions, we don’t get it to the heart level. We need our worship to transform us.
Remember, our job description says that we are to be the living sacrifice. We do that by navigating the Sanctification Road.
The Disciple’s Job Description
Complete Job Description
Individual Description
Job Duty #1
Be a Living Sacrifice (Romans 12: 1-2)
Making the Connections #1
Think about it. Have you ever stressed that, when we get to Heaven, God is going to slap us for all the sins we have committed? We are so afraid that we are going to be called before the Judge and have to hear a laundry list of everything we’ve done wrong.
I think we may know what that list is, but I don’t think He is going to be interested in slapping His children like that. He is going to be more focused on the fact that we are His children.
Otherwise, Jesus’ blood wouldn’t have removed our sins from us.
Still struggling with this? Let’s have Dale help us out. He wrote,
“Sometimes, indeed — and far more often than we even suppose — I am inclined to believe that Christ does really deliver us even from the natural consequences of wrong-doing. But even when these remain their whole character is changed. As sins they are forgiven. Then they become simply the natural consequences of what we have done, not the penal consequences. We do not see behind them a God that is punishing us for having done wrong, but a God who has pardoned us, and who is standing by us to discipline us by certain hard conditions of life to a higher perfection. Consequences which were penal as long as we were unforgiven, become simply natural and disciplinary as soon as sin has been remitted.”
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We don’t have to worry about the consequences when our sins are forgiven.
Making the Connections #2
What are the Ten Commandments? Don’t murder. Don’t steal. Don’t lie. Don’t covet.
Those are just some of the ten.
Paul told us that we can’t rely on the law for salvation. In today’s vernacular, we can’t get to heaven by being a good person.
We have to believe Jesus is our Savior.
How Do We Apply This?
- ABCD
- Be a living sacrifice
- Obey God’s laws
The ABCDs of Salvation
If you have not become a believer in Christ, please read through the
Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.
A – admit our sins
B – believe His Son Jesus is our Redeemer
C – confess God as Sovereign Lord
D – demonstrate that commitment by making any changes needed in our lives to live the way in which God has called us
The Disciple’s Job Description
Father God. We praise You that You gave us Your law to show us our need for Jesus as our Savior. We thank You that You show us Your character through the laws. Help us to be obedient. Amen.
What do you think?
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