The Big One!
By Ro Lashua
When I read the theme for this month, I thought, wow, this could go so many different directions. My first thought though was about our personal struggles and analyzing which one is our own Big One.
As I contemplated our own Big One, overcoming came to mind. That would be overcoming sin. I began to ponder sin, grace and the law. Well, isn’t that a natural progression.
If we are to overcome something, then it must be something we should put out of our lives, and if that is true, it must be sin. If it is sin, we need the grace of God and the sacrifice of Jesus to wash it away. That being true, to have sin we must have law. Without the law there is no sin. You cannot disobey a law that does not exist.
I know there is a great deal of resistance in the Christian community against “the law,” however, we have to have law or there is no sin. The bible clearly states that we have all sinned, so there is law.
When Christians tell me that they are not under the law that is really true, according to scripture. We are not under the curse of the law. We are under grace. Thank you Jesus. However, if we are lawless people we are without God’s direction. / Scripture about law directing us
Paul clearly states that because our sins are forgiven and we are under grace, should we just go out and sin, “God forbid” he said. That would be ridiculous.
When we have a speeding ticket forgiven, or the fee is waved, do we then go out and say there are no speed limits? Not really.
Most Christians will say they think we should be good people. What most people get upset about is the law of the 10 Commandments. This is a bit perplexing to me. My next question to them is, which of the 10 Commandments do you want to throw out because it is not good? I am sure we would not want to throw out #8, do not steal, because we would not want someone to steal from us. How about #7, do not commit adultery? We want others to keep the 10 Commandments when it could impact our lives. Most people think the 10 Commandments are good for others to keep.
In Mark 10:19 we see what the commandments are referring to, when a few of them are listed: “Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.” (KJV)
The law of God, the 10 Commandments, shows us how to live. God did not make it complicated. Ten is not a large number. We can refer to them and use them as a template for our lives.
Which of the 10 do we consider the big one? Which one might be the most difficult for us to keep? Is it # 9, do not lie, or is it #3 do not take the name of God in vain?
Perhaps we have the Big Ten and not just the Big One. That would make us normal but still a sinner. Yes, we have all sinned therefore we need the sacrifice of Jesus to wash away our sins.
I think many people, in an effort to put guilt away, have used grace as a license to sin. There is no law, they say, because we are under grace.
Really there is the law of God, which shows us our sins, and when guilt comes because of sin, we repent and receive forgiveness and the grace of God.
A few weeks ago I sat in my office and just read the whole book of Galatians from beginning to end. I wanted to get the story flow and hear what the book was saying. We can take a scripture out of context and prove almost anything. When I got done reading the whole book in one sitting, I said, I GET IT! Law or Grace, they are both right. We can’t have one without the other. We don’t do away with one and keep the other you need both. Hallelujah! It makes sense.
The interesting thing about all this is that people feel they have to take a side. It is either law or grace. NO! It is a complete package. When we know and see the whole package we are directed by the law and we are saved by the grace of God. When we know and see the whole package we understand we are NOT under condemnation.
One side note here. There is a difference between guilt and condemnation. Guilt is good, when we are guilty. It is a conviction of our sin. That forces us into a decision, repent or continue in sin. Condemnation is when we are guilty of sin and we are condemned to hell, which is the case until we repent of our sin.
The good news is God does not condemn us. In Romans 8:1 we see that there is NO condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Paraphrased). In John 3:17 we see that Jesus did not come into the world to condemn the world but that the world through him might be saved (Paraphrased). In Romans 3:21 we see that our righteousness comes through our faith in Jesus Christ. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and therefore are justified by his grace because or through Jesus.
Romans 3:21 But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
Do we see, no matter what our Big One is, we can overcome it. The secret here is that we must try. We must realize that believing in Jesus as our Lord and Savior means that we will trust him and obey him. We will strive to do what is right and when we fail we will pick ourselves up and repent of our sins and walk in a newness of life that Jesus gives us as we receive the grace of God.
We are told to be overcomers. We can do this by faith in Jesus as we use the word of God, which includes the 10 Commandments, as our guide, as our road map on the journey of life. The grace of God gets us through each bump in the road as we enjoy the ride to our destination.
There is an awesome joy in knowing that we are under grace. However, the 10 Commandments are our map and guide on this journey. Jesus is the answer to it all, we receive grace through Jesus as he guides us through life with his word.
By Ro Lashua
When I read the theme for this month, I thought, wow, this could go so many different directions. My first thought though was about our personal struggles and analyzing which one is our own Big One.
As I contemplated our own Big One, overcoming came to mind. That would be overcoming sin. I began to ponder sin, grace and the law. Well, isn’t that a natural progression.
If we are to overcome something, then it must be something we should put out of our lives, and if that is true, it must be sin. If it is sin, we need the grace of God and the sacrifice of Jesus to wash it away. That being true, to have sin we must have law. Without the law there is no sin. You cannot disobey a law that does not exist.
I know there is a great deal of resistance in the Christian community against “the law,” however, we have to have law or there is no sin. The bible clearly states that we have all sinned, so there is law.
When Christians tell me that they are not under the law that is really true, according to scripture. We are not under the curse of the law. We are under grace. Thank you Jesus. However, if we are lawless people we are without God’s direction. / Scripture about law directing us
Paul clearly states that because our sins are forgiven and we are under grace, should we just go out and sin, “God forbid” he said. That would be ridiculous.
When we have a speeding ticket forgiven, or the fee is waved, do we then go out and say there are no speed limits? Not really.
Most Christians will say they think we should be good people. What most people get upset about is the law of the 10 Commandments. This is a bit perplexing to me. My next question to them is, which of the 10 Commandments do you want to throw out because it is not good? I am sure we would not want to throw out #8, do not steal, because we would not want someone to steal from us. How about #7, do not commit adultery? We want others to keep the 10 Commandments when it could impact our lives. Most people think the 10 Commandments are good for others to keep.
In Mark 10:19 we see what the commandments are referring to, when a few of them are listed: “Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.” (KJV)
The law of God, the 10 Commandments, shows us how to live. God did not make it complicated. Ten is not a large number. We can refer to them and use them as a template for our lives.
Which of the 10 do we consider the big one? Which one might be the most difficult for us to keep? Is it # 9, do not lie, or is it #3 do not take the name of God in vain?
Perhaps we have the Big Ten and not just the Big One. That would make us normal but still a sinner. Yes, we have all sinned therefore we need the sacrifice of Jesus to wash away our sins.
I think many people, in an effort to put guilt away, have used grace as a license to sin. There is no law, they say, because we are under grace.
Really there is the law of God, which shows us our sins, and when guilt comes because of sin, we repent and receive forgiveness and the grace of God.
A few weeks ago I sat in my office and just read the whole book of Galatians from beginning to end. I wanted to get the story flow and hear what the book was saying. We can take a scripture out of context and prove almost anything. When I got done reading the whole book in one sitting, I said, I GET IT! Law or Grace, they are both right. We can’t have one without the other. We don’t do away with one and keep the other you need both. Hallelujah! It makes sense.
The interesting thing about all this is that people feel they have to take a side. It is either law or grace. NO! It is a complete package. When we know and see the whole package we are directed by the law and we are saved by the grace of God. When we know and see the whole package we understand we are NOT under condemnation.
One side note here. There is a difference between guilt and condemnation. Guilt is good, when we are guilty. It is a conviction of our sin. That forces us into a decision, repent or continue in sin. Condemnation is when we are guilty of sin and we are condemned to hell, which is the case until we repent of our sin.
The good news is God does not condemn us. In Romans 8:1 we see that there is NO condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Paraphrased). In John 3:17 we see that Jesus did not come into the world to condemn the world but that the world through him might be saved (Paraphrased). In Romans 3:21 we see that our righteousness comes through our faith in Jesus Christ. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and therefore are justified by his grace because or through Jesus.
Romans 3:21 But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
Do we see, no matter what our Big One is, we can overcome it. The secret here is that we must try. We must realize that believing in Jesus as our Lord and Savior means that we will trust him and obey him. We will strive to do what is right and when we fail we will pick ourselves up and repent of our sins and walk in a newness of life that Jesus gives us as we receive the grace of God.
We are told to be overcomers. We can do this by faith in Jesus as we use the word of God, which includes the 10 Commandments, as our guide, as our road map on the journey of life. The grace of God gets us through each bump in the road as we enjoy the ride to our destination.
There is an awesome joy in knowing that we are under grace. However, the 10 Commandments are our map and guide on this journey. Jesus is the answer to it all, we receive grace through Jesus as he guides us through life with his word.
copyright © 2008 Ro Lashua. All rights reserved.