During the two months from the Exodus through the Red Sea to their arrival at Mount Sinai, we see a season of grace in the life of ancient Israel that relates to us this side of the cross. This was BEFORE the law was given. Throughout this two month time period they complained continually, but…

God declared His desire for His people, yet the Israelites in the desert agreed to another covenant that came alongside the Abrahamic covenant of grace that they had been under for hundreds of years. They agreed to the covenant of law which would be based on their own faithfulness and goodness, not the goodness of…

The Letter Kills, but the Spirit Gives Life. We see in Exodus chapters 20-31 that God spoke the 10 Commandments from the mountain, and then Moses went up the mountain for forty days to receive the entire law and the instructions for building the tabernacle, the portable temple that would be a dwelling place the…

Elevator Chat. Not long ago, my husband, Mark, was on an elevator with a stranger who was complaining about the blazing summer here in Alabama. As Mark waited patiently for the elevator to arrive at the right floor, the man idly chattered, “It may be hot here in Alabama, but it’s a lot hotter in…

But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones,… (2 Corinthians 3:7)1Paul was talking about the Ten Commandments here. It was the only part of the law hand-written by God Himself and engraved on stones.2 The instructions for animal sacrifice, ceremonial feasts, dietary restrictions, and all the detailed moral and civil laws were…

The first time Moses went up the mountain, God showed him the instructions for the Tabernacle where His presence would dwell with the Israelites while they were in the desert.1 After God gave Moses the Ten Commandments, he went down the mountain to discover the Israelites worshipping a golden calf. They were breaking the first…

For if the ministry of condemnation had glory… (2 Corinthians 3:9)1 It’s when we mix law and grace that we get the ministry of condemnation. Today in the church it’s not the pure law that is preached; it’s the mixture of grace and law. I know I have said my whole life as a Christian…

Recently I heard a message on addictions that in my opinion depicts very well the mixture of law and grace that we often hear today. The speaker was cruising right along through Romans 7, systematically laying out the reality of the fleshly struggle of sin: “I do the thing I don’t want to do…” And…

In much of Christianity today we see the “ministry of condemnation” having glory. The wrath of God is preached and people come running to the altar out of utter fear. People are threatened with the terror of hell instead of pursued with the love of God as demonstrated in that while we were yet sinners…

For even what was made glorious had no glory in this respect, because of the glory that excels. For if what is passing away was glorious, what remains is much more glorious. Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech unlike Moses, who put a veil over his face so that…

But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, WHO IS THE IMAGE OF GOD, should shine on them. (2 Corinthians 3:3-4, emphasis mine) The…

When we turn to Jesus, the veil of condemnation is removed. “But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.” (2 Corinthians 3:15-16, emphasis mine)1 Think of it this way: it would be difficult for the groom…