New Year’s Resolutions
By the Letter of Christ
Galatians 3:19-29
Question: Have you ever met someone who always does things by the book?
Intro: I am, by definition, a rule follower. If there are rules, I will follow them and I try to know the rules well-enough to find loopholes. I was made to be a lawyer (But I realized lawyers don’t have souls, so not going to do that). But most people don’t like rules. From the time we are young to our teenage years to even adulthood, we are always looking to find ways around the rules. We cannot even watch a Chiefs’ game without somehow the rules being enforced becoming the topic of conversation for the week. But in reality, rules are here to try and place perfection on people that are, well, imperfect. This can lead to frustration and a carefree attitude that eventually moves away from following rules all together.
Galatians 3:19-29: 19 Why, then, was the law given? It was given alongside the promise to show people their sings. But the law was designed to last only until the coming of the child who was promised. God gave his law through angels to Moses, who we the mediator between God and the people. 20 Now a mediator is helpful if more than one party must reach an agreement. But God, who is one, did not use a mediator when he gave his promise to Abraham. 21 Is there a conflict, then, between God's law and God's promises? Absolutely not! If the law could give us new life, we could be made right with God by obeying it. 22 But the Scriptures declare that we are all prisoners of sin, so we receive God's promise of freedom only by believing in Jesus Christ. 23 Before the way of faith in Christi was available to us, we were under the guard by the law. We were kept in the protective custody, so to speak, until the way of faith was revealed. 24 Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith. 25 And now that the way of faith has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian. 26 For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. 28 There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And not that you belong to Christ, you are true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God's promise to Abraham belongs to you.
Law Abiding Citizen
This movie is insane, and probably not an appropriate reference for a Christian devotional, but the premise is relatable to this lesson. A man angered by the system, takes actions into his own hands because the laws of this world failed him and his family. Laws did not provide the justice and restitution they should have provided to him and his loved ones. Like our legal system, the Mosaic Covenant and law was regulated by imperfect men trying to ensure perfect standards. But, thank you Lord for Christ.
Laws are tough to follow and God understood that. He understood that man could not keep his laws, because his laws mean righteousness and that doesn’t exist in man in of himself. Laws are for perfect people. When we live according to the law, it is important to remember that the law was established for perfect people. Laws are meant to keep people in check, and reality is law creates a perfection that cannot be obtained.
But the law was only meant to exist until the law could be fulfilled. This is where Jesus comes into the picture for us. It is through Christ that the law was fulfilled and the atonement for the breaking of those laws was established. We are no longer bound by the law established through Moses, but bound by the blood of the atonement of Jesus Christ.
Living Vicariously
Parents have a tendency to live vicariously through their own children. When their child succeeds, it is like they are succeeding. There is a difference in taking pride in our own child’s accomplishments and acting as if their accomplishments are your own. While you have spent time and energy investing in your child, it is their own accomplishment, not their parents’ one. Remember that now as Jesus lives through us in how the world will see him, we must live through the death and resurrection of Christ.
First, Jesus’ death on the cross meant many things for us. One of those things is the representation of dying to the old ways of the flesh. As part of accepting Christ we must crucify ourselves spiritually to the cross, dying to our old ways of our sinful nature. Without dying to ourselves, the Word of God tells us that there is no longer a covering of sins. (Yikes!)
So this means that the work of Christ should be evident in your life. Faith, grace, mercy, compassion, and strength should all show through us as a reflection of Him. Jesus loved us enough to die for us, so we in turn should use his love to reach others. Every person should have the opportunity to know the real Christ. Our lives now must be a reflection of Christ and if we live through this reflection we are no longer under the obligation of the rules. Following Christ is about living as he did, and not being so tied to laws and rules we forget to have mercy. If we live in the Fruit of Spirit, as Paul writes, for in these things there is no law.
New Year’s Resolution: Examine how Christ lived and died, and do likewise!
Blessings,
Nicholas Engleman
If you have any questions about the devotional or about Jesus, please feel free to contact me at nengleman902@gmail.com or 417-808-104.
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