(This message series is inspired and excerpted from Heaven is Now by Andrew Farley)
And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water. Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. (Hebrews 10:19-23 NLT)
“Here’s a riddle for you: What’s high and long and strung all over? It can turn dozens of square miles into a single home, and even the Capitol, the White House, and the Supreme Court have one surrounding them.
Give up? It’s an eruv. (“her’oov”) An eruv is a wire that is strung to surround an open, public area in order to make it “private,” at least in the minds of those who hope God sees it the same way! On the Sabbath, the law prohibits orthodox Jews to carry or transport anything from one “domain” to another or from an enclosed area to an open area.
On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, but they found none. And the LORD said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws? See! The LORD has given you the Sabbath; therefore on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Remain each of you in his place; let no one go out of his place on the seventh day.” So the people rested on the seventh day. (Exodus 16:27-30 ESV)
So for years, many outdoor activities in communities like Washington, DC, and Miami Beach came to a screeching halt for local Jews each Friday evening at sundown and didn’t resume until twenty-four hours later. But recently, all of that changed. Like many other Jewish communities, the Miami Beach community has implemented a work-around, a “loophole” of sorts. By stringing an eruv, a single strand of wire wrapped around thirty square miles at Miami Beach, the Jewish residents converted a very open, public area into an “enclosed” home of sorts. This imaginary boundary now enables them to do all the driving, transporting of packages, and shuttling of their children that they want on the Sabbath without that guilty feeling they might otherwise experience from violating one of the Ten Commandments— remembering the Sabbath day and keeping it holy. Loopholes and work-arounds— this is the only way any of us can possibly claim that adhering to the law is a real possibility. Whether it’s the dietary restrictions or the wardrobe regulations or, in this case, one of the Ten Commandments, we humans can’t actually keep the law. We can fabricate the appearance of doing so, but living under the law inevitably yields defeat if you’re honest or hypocrisy if you’re not. And this comes as no shock to the God who makes us to die to the law (Gal. 2: 19) so that we might genuinely live for him!” (pgs. 37-38) What are some of the “loopholes” in today’s Christianity? (For example – Do you think there are some Catholics who use the confessional as a loophole? Now step on your own toes.)
But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor. For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose. (Galatians 2:17-21 ESV)
We do not prosecute criminals who were killed or die before they could stand trial. As Christ followers we cannot be prosecuted for the law for which we were crucified with Christ. So . . . How are we dead while still living in the flesh?
But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. (1 Corinthians 6:17 ESV) (inspired by pg. 39)
Consider the following passage:
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:17-20 ESV)
“Jesus said the law wouldn’t go away until heaven and earth disappear. And last time I checked, heaven and earth are still here. This means that the law still has a function today. But if Christians are dead to the law and the old covenant is now obsolete, then what function could the law have?
Paul tells us that the law isn’t for Christians; it’s for the unrighteous sinner alone.
Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted. (1 Timothy 1:8-11 ESV)
As we’ve already seen, the law shows us our sin when we are lost. In that way, it’s our tutor that leads us to Christ. But once we come to Christ, we are no longer in need of that tutor.” (pg. 40)
Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith. And now that the way of faith has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian. (Galatians 3:24-25 NLT)
The writer of Hebrews (There is disagreement over the author, but the author of all Scripture is God, so. . . ) told us that there are laws written on our hearts. (pg. 41) Have you always assumed these laws were the Old Covenant laws?
“This is the covenant that I will make with them
after those days, declares the Lord:
I will put my laws on their hearts,
and write them on their minds,”
then he adds,
“I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.” (Hebrews 10:16-17 ESV)
“The simple truth is that it’s God’s new laws (plural), not the Old Testament law, that are written on our hearts. Jesus and the apostle John both tell us what these new laws are: (pg. 41)
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. (John 13:34-35 ESV) – Jesus
And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. (1 John 3:23 ESV)
For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. (1 John 5:3 ESV)
Heaven isn’t sending us mixed messages about the role of the law in our lives today. We are free from the law, period.”
Heaven Speaks [What Jesus might say if He were sitting right here]
“My goal for you is love from a heart and a good conscience. This only happens by living from my grace. Some depart from grace early in their walk with me and try to live for me by returning to law-centered religiosity. In so doing, they miss the freedom and joy I have provided. My heartfelt cry for you is that you soak in the depths of my love for you. Let me sustain you, motivate you, animate your every move. So just as you received me, walk in me, rooted and grounded in my grace. Do you remember what you did to receive me? You simply admitted you could not save yourself. You let me save you. In the same way, you can now wake up each day and remember that apart from my Spirit, you can do nothing. My grace deactivates the pride of the flesh. While religious standards spur human effort to seek perfection, my Spirit prompts you to rest in me and the perfection I have already given you. As you relax in what I’ve done for you, you exude my fruit to those around you. This is the life I intend for you. Anything else is a performance trap. The law is my perfect tool to show the dirt on humanity’s face. It was meant for the Jews, my people under the old way. Those under my new way, like you, are destined for freedom. But if you’re not careful, any form of law will hold you hostage. You’re not meant to be locked up by the law. You’re designed for the liberty of my grace. The enemy invites you to abuse your liberty and continue in sin. But freedom to sin is only the illusion of freedom. Real freedom is freedom from sin. That is the freedom I purchased for you. Through my new way, you are invited to the table of grace to feast on my goodness. The weight of the law and the weight of sin need not hang around your neck. You are connected to me and me alone. My command for you today is simple: to believe in me and to love one another even as I have loved you. So I’m giving you a greater, higher command under my new way. I’m asking you to set your mind on how much I love you, to absorb my love, and then to transmit my love to others. This command is not burdensome. Its fulfillment flows from my presence in you, as I have poured out my love in your heart through my Spirit. I know you worry about the freedom of grace and where it might lead. You feel you need something else to guard you. But I am your Guardian, my dear child. I will never fail to give you my guidance. I will even enable you to think my very thoughts, as I have given you a new mind, my mind. Trust me. Trust my love. I am enough.” – Jesus (inspired by 1 Tim. 1:5; Gal. 3:3, 23; 5:13, 18; Titus 2:11-12; Eph. 3:17-19; Col. 2:6-7; John 13:34; 15:5; Rom. 3:20; 5:5; 6:1-2, 7; 8:14; 9:31; Heb. 10:14; Mat. 11:28-30; Acts 15:10; 1 John 3:23; 5:3; 1 Cor. 2:16.)
(pg. 44) Share your thoughts.
Awakening to Heaven [A sample prayer to close.]
“When I get sidetracked in trying to work for you, to impress you, I only find myself exhausted. Thank you that these moments only bring a greater awareness of my need for you. I ask you to remind me, in the times I need it most, that your life dwells in me, that my relationship to the old way of law religion is over, and that you are enough for me. I cherish the freedom you have given me. I celebrate you and the liberty of your love. I love you, Jesus.” (pg. 45)
Leave a Reply