Psalms 105:43-45
(43) So he brought his people out with joy, his chosen ones with singing.
(44) And he gave them the lands of the nations, and they took possession of the fruit of the peoples' toil,
(45) that they might keep his statutes and observe his laws. Praise the LORD!
Last night Lily and I went to the Winter Jam concert. There was a gospel presentation as there always was. And, as is often the case, it was a bit weak. It was not too far off from the invitation Lily had at church to "be Jesus' forever friend." Basically, the gospel was presented as a means to avoid damnation.
Obviously that is a big part of the reason to follow Jesus. However, that doesn't get to the root of why God redeems His people. He does it so that we might keep His statues and obey His laws. We are incapable of truly doing that apart from the regenerating work of the Spirit in our lives. He must redeem us so that we can follow Him. And then once we can follow Him we can glorify Him with our lives.
I believe it is vital to keep this in right order. Otherwise we start to think that Jesus' death on the cross was essentially focused on us when it is really about God and His glory.
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1 comment:
This is the subtle but vital point. We always remember the "Jesus died for our sins" part of this and stop short of the why - so we can live for him. But that's what makes the huge difference between acceptance and fulfillment.
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