cross_erebus “When Christ died for us, we died with him. God looked on us who believe as united to Christ. His death for our sin was our death in him.   But sin was not the only reality that killed Jesus and us. So did the law of God. When we break the law by sinning, the law sentences us to death.  If there were no law, there would be no punishment. “For . . .where there is no law there is no transgression” (Romans 4:15).  But “whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that . . . the whole world may be held accountable to God” (Romans 3:19).  There was no escape from the curse of he law. It was just; we were guilty. There was only one way to be free: Someone must pay the penalty. That’s why Jesus came: “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us” (Galatians 3:13).   This is why the Bible so clearly teaches that getting right with God is not based on law-keeping. “By works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight” (Romans 3:20). “A person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ” (Galatians 2:16). There is no hope of getting right with God by law-keeping. The only hope is the blood and righteousness of Christ, which is ours by faith alone. This is why the Bible says that the new way of obedience is fruit-bearing, not law-keeping. “You . . . have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God” (Romans 7:4).  We have died to law-keeping so that we might live to fruit-bearing. Fruit grows naturally on a tree. If the tree is good, the fruit will be good. And the tree, in this case, is a living relationship of love to Jesus Christ. For this he died. Now he bids us come: “Trust me.” Die to the law, that you might bear the fruit of love.”

You also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. (Romans 7:4)

Reflecting on this  fact brings to mind the futility of self-righteousness.  If I can’t keep God’s given law perfectly, why would I deceive myself into thinking I can invent some new laws, that I can keep and then use them as my justification for God’s approval?  I think about how preposterous this is.  If I was guilty of going 55 MPH in a 35 MPH zone and I tell the judge at traffic court that I have my own set of speed limits that I feel I can keep better and I always obey them, how far am I going to get with him.  I can hear the gavel now:  GUILTY, PAY THE FINE PLUS COURT COSTS.   However, that’s what I used to do when I chose which of God’s laws I would follow, and which ones I would ignore.  I even went so far as to replace some of them that either didn’t fit my lifestyle or were just too hard.  Bear in mind, none of God’s Law has been replaced.  It’s demands are on all humanity and the consequences of not following, perfectly, are absolute.  However, the good news is that I have been freed from those consequences by grace.  Not that I brag about this because I sin every day, constantly.  However, God in his grace has revealed the remedy for this, through faith in Jesus Christ.    God is good in that he shows us that faith is real when we see his blossoms turn to fruit in our lives. 

Questions:   Have you ever considered that replacing God’s law and following an alternative set of standards is futile?   This is what the Pharisee’s did.  What motivates you to do this?   Is it guilt or sorrow or regret?   Does doing it make you happy?  God provided a solution for our guilt, sorrow and regret through the death of Jesus.  All he asks of us is to look back at our lives in repentance and to look forward, in faith to Christ.

Quote from “The 50 Reasons Jesus Came to Die”.

Questions and reflections by me.

Picture – The cross at Mount Erebus, Antarctica, commemorating the 1979 Air New Zealand Crash near Mount Erebus.

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