29 lines
4.0 KiB
HTML
29 lines
4.0 KiB
HTML
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
|
|
<html><head>
|
|
<title>Blue Letter Bible: Day By Day By Grace — Bob Hoekstra</title>
|
|
<script src="../../../js/basepath.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
|
|
<script src="./js/nav.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
|
|
<script src="./js/MainHeader.js" type="text/javascript"></script><div class="head">
|
|
Day By Day By Grace</div>
|
|
<div class="subhead">Bob Hoekstra</div>
|
|
<div class="desc-center"><div class="pad2020">May 4</div>
|
|
</div>
|
|
<div class="main-just"><div class="pad2030">
|
|
<h2>Tablets of Stone versus Human Hearts</h2>
|
|
<div class="block"><i>You are manifestly an epistle of Christ…written…<b>not</b> on <b>tablets of stone</b> but on <b>tablets</b> of flesh, that is, <b>of the heart</b>.</i> (<a onClick="return mV('2Cr',3,3);">2 Corinthians 3:3</a>)</div>
|
|
<p>The old covenant of law was written upon <i>"<b>tablets of stone</b>."</i> The new covenant of grace is written upon <i>"<b>tablets</b>…<b>of the heart</b>."</i> This is another vital contrast between the old and new covenants. This difference again decides whether we draw upon man's sufficiency or upon God's.</p>
|
|
<p>The old covenant message of God's law was written on stones. It called man to holiness, as measured by the character of God. <i>"You shall <b>be holy</b>, for I the LORD your God am <b>holy</b>"</i> (<a onClick="return mV('Lev',19,2);">Leviticus 19:2</a>). The message is magnificent. However, its impact would be limited (by design), since it was written on <i>"<b>tablets of stone</b>."</i> It was inscribed upon an <b>inanimate</b> object that was <b>external</b> to human lives. Consequently, it could not bring life or any provision for transforming lives. The law would function as a perfect standard, revealing our unholiness and convicting us of our need for what Jesus Christ alone could offer. We needed to have the perfect message of the law (holiness) implanted in our innermost being. This is what the new covenant of grace accomplishes.</p>
|
|
<p>The new covenant message of God's grace is written on human hearts: <i>"on <b>tablets</b> of flesh, that is, <b>of the heart</b>."</i> Grace not only forgives our failure before the law, but it works to develop personal holiness at the very core of our being. This was the promise God gave through His prophets of old, that He would put His holy law into peoples' hearts. The book of Hebrews applies this promise to all believers in Jesus Christ.<i>"This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws <b>into their hearts</b>"</i> (<a onClick="return mV('Hbr',10,16);">Hebrews 10:16</a>).</p>
|
|
<p>What hope we have through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ! Now, God transfers His holiness from an <b>outside standard</b> to an <b>internal resource</b>. Now, the Lord is making His holy requirements an <b>internal part</b> of our being, as we humbly trust in Him. God is stirring holy desires <b>in us</b>, as we earnestly seek after Him. God is developing holy priorities <b>within us</b> and providing spiritual strength <b>within us</b> to walk in more and more godliness. <i>"It is <b>God</b> who works <b>in you</b> both to will and to do for His good pleasure"</i> (<a onClick="return mV('Phl',2,13);">Philippians 2:13</a>).</p>
|
|
<div class="dbdbg_prayer">O Holy Father, I would be hopeless, if Your perfect standard remained outside of me, demanding holiness by my performance. Thank You for bringing Your holy will inside of my life, providing internal resource for living and growing in godliness. Lord, I look to You to transform me from the inside out, in Jesus' name, Amen.</div>
|
|
</div>
|
|
</div>
|
|
<div class="desc-center"><div class="pad2020">
|
|
<a href="./devotions/daybyday/05/0503.html">Yesterday's Reading</a>
|
|
<a href="./devotions/daybyday/05/0505.html">Tomorrow's Reading</a>
|
|
</div>
|
|
</div>
|
|
<div class="return"><a href="./devotions/daybyday/index.html">Return to Day By Day By Grace Page</a>
|
|
</div>
|
|
<script src="./js/MainFooter.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
|