In the previous chapters we began a spiritual excursion from the palace of the King of Babylon, Belshazzar.
If you recall, a hand sent from God had written a judgment against him on the wall of his banquet hall. From this incident we got a glimpse into the physiological capacities of God and the realities of higher dimensions. God can deconstruct himself, send his hand on errand and still maintain constitutional integrity. We also see that God is so constitutionally intelligent that even his anatomical parts have intelligent and conscious capacities.
We journeyed back into time and alighted in ancient Egypt, into Pharaoh’s court. God had unleashed plague after plague on this Kingdom and the sorcerers had sought to replicate them. However, they gave up on the third plague – the plague of gnats (mosquitoes). This they attributed to the finger of God. And then we arrived at Mount Sinai where “The Ten Commandments” was given. These commandments were written with the finger of God, scriptures tell us. Then we travelled to Palestine and saw Jesus writing the mercy of God in the sands of time. He refused to condemn to death the woman caught in adultery. He forgave her sins, giving her a new life as it were. This act is reminiscent of what he would later do on a grand scale. He forgave the sins of humanity. He did not impute our trespasses against us. He gave us new life.
As we travelled back and forth in time, we came across the grave implication of the Ten Commandments. Turned out it was against us, hostile to us. Paul called it the “ordinance against us”. Today we want to look at another writing, indeed another type of writing by God.
We’ve seen God write on a wall, we saw him write on stone tablets, we saw him write in the sand. He seemed intent on writing on building materials, like someone building up to something. Fates were cemented in those writings. But after his resurrection Jesus changed his writing material and style. He moved from writing on inanimate objects to interactive writing pads. God migrated to biological pads – us. This change signified a new social contract with humanity. We call it the New Testament. Let’s take a look at the passage of scripture on this new literary era but first the context.
Paul being an apostle “born out of time” faced challenges about the validity of his apostolic calling. Those who were envious of his achievements questioned his credentials. This became an issue in the Church of Corinth. Some felt he needed credentials from the Church in Jerusalem – a written letter of introduction. An apostle without written credentials or endorsement they asserted had no authority. Paul countered that he didn’t need a letter of endorsement. That the Corinthians were his letter of endorsement. He led them to Christ afterall. He founded the church. He is their spiritual father. They were proof of his apostolic calling. “You, written by Christ himself for God, are our letter of recommendation”, he said. “Christ himself wrote (this letter). Not with ink, but with God’s living Spirit; not chiseled into stone, but carved into human lives.” It is “written with Spirit on spirit, his life on our lives!” And so we see God move away from writing on stones to writing on humans.
We see the juxtaposition of the Ten Commandments (written on stone) and the new code of the New Testament. The two codes (the Ten Commandments and the New Testament) have their foundation in governmentalism. The Ten Commandments is referred to as “The Government of Death, its constitution chiseled on stone tablets.” It was also called “the Government of Condemnation.” It’s a death penalty. No one can be saved under it.
Whereas the new code is referred to as “the Government of Living Spirit” or “Government of Affirmation.” The New Testament affirms and gives life. Christ did not come to condemn the world but to save the world. The Ten Commandments is obsolete, the Bible says. Because it’s invalid no life can come from it. “We’re free of it! All of us!” Paul declares. We are free from condemnation. Thank God!
Don’t put yourself under the yoke of bondage by seeking to live according to the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments can’t save. Only affirmation of the sacrifice of Jesus saves. Sometimes the truth is so powerful it appears simplistic. Paul says the message of the gospel is so simple it’s actually considered foolish in some quarters. “For the story and message of the cross is sheer absurdity and folly to those who are perishing and on their way to perdition. But to us who are being saved it is the manifestation of the power of God”.
Scholars, philosophers and intellectuals sometimes find it hard to accept the simplicity of the gospel. God chose to baffle the learned with the simplicity of the gospel. For it is written, “I will baffle and render useless and destroy the learning of the learned… And the philosophy of the philosophers and the cleverness of the clever and the discernment of the discerning… I will frustrate and nullify them and bring them to nothing.” The problem of unbelief is as old as the gospel itself. The Greeks in the days of Paul considered the gospel unintellectual. The Greeks loved to philosophise and debate new fangled theories. They were famed as thinkers. To them the Gospel was an “absurd and utterly unphilosophical nonsense.” Yet a foolish thing that has its source in God is wiser than men, the Bible declares. The gospel is not esoteric or convoluted philosophy: Jesus came. Jesus died. He rose from the dead. Believe! No fasting, no candles, no incense, no chanting, no washings, no rituals, no incantations, no sacrifice… JUST BELIEVE!
If you want salvation from the damnation of the Ten Commandments please pray this prayer: Father I come to you as a penitent sinner. I believe Jesus died for me, that you raised him from the dead. I accept him today as my Lord and my Saviour. Amen.
It’s that simple! Congratulations!
Scriptures in today’s lesson: Exodus 31:18, Colosians 2:14, 2Corinthians 3:1-18, 1Corinthians 1:18-25, Hebrews 9:22-26
© Leke Alder | talk2me@lekealder.com