Unveiling Jesus Blogs
133: The Test of the Manna
As God led the Israelites in the dessert, He tested them to see if they would believe in His goodness. It was the test of the manna: “Do you want relief (and go back to your pots of meat in Egypt) or do you want freedom (and trust Me to provide)?” As God led the…
134: Relief Or Freedom?
Law offers temporary relief. Grace offers permanent freedom. Living under a system of performance is like doing drugs. It gives us a temporary feeling of relief from guilt if we do something for God. However, when the feelings of guilt and shame return, we have to give ourselves another “hit” of dead works to numb…
135: “We Will Do”
After the Israelites were set free from the bondage of Egypt, they traveled for two months in the desert and then reached the foot of Mount Sinai. They had experienced one demonstration of God’’s grace after another during those two months, and this is the message that God gave to Moses to deliver to them:…
136: The Wrath of God
New Covenant reality: Now that we are set right with God by means of this sacrificial death, the consummate blood sacrifice, there is no longer a question of being at odds with God in any way. If, when we were at our worst, we were put on friendly terms with God by the sacrificial death…
137: Only One Thing Changed
We enter into the New Covenant of grace by our faith, not our faithfulness. Grace is based on the faithfulness of God to us, not the other way around. Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done…
138: Redeemed!
In the fullness of time, when the law had served it’s purpose and proved that no man could be made right with God by perfect performance, God sent His Son, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law.1 Redeem literally means “to buy out of slavery.”2 Jesus, the Son of God,…
139: The New Order
“Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1:29) About fifteen hundred years after Sinai where the law was given to Moses and the children of Israel, a prophet named John appeared on the scene and declared the new order of things: “Repent (change your mind!), for the kingdom…
140: We Are Qualified
We can rest and be at peace because the Father Himself has qualified us to partake in the inheritance we have in Jesus Christ. He was the firstborn among many brethren, and we have been born from above by the Spirit of God as a new creation in the very image of God. … giving thanks…
141: He Who Does Not Work
How does the righteousness of faith work? It works by not working for it! What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God,…
142: Heir of the World
God made a promise to Abraham, the father of our faith; and as the seed of Abraham, God made that promise to us as well. What was the promise? “”For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the…
143: Faith Made Void
Faith is useless if we can earn the favor of God. For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise made of no effect. (Romans 4:14)1 In other words, if we could obtain God’s promise by working for it, then it wouldn’t be given by promise! “Void”…
144: Falling from Grace
What is true faith? It’s simply receiving what God has already provided by His grace. Faith is the hand that takes what grace gives. Faith cannot operate outside of the unmerited favor of God. Apart from grace through faith, God’s promises to us are of no effect. Christ is become of no effect unto you,…