21 lines
3.8 KiB
HTML
21 lines
3.8 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">January 9</div></div>
|
|
<div class="main-just"><div class="pad2030"><h2>The Inability of the Law</h2>
|
|
<div class="block"><p><i>For on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment because of its <b>weakness</b> and <b>unprofitableness</b>, for the <b>law made nothing perfect</b>; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.</i> (<a onClick="return mV('Hbr',7,18,19);">Hebrews 7:18-19</a>)</div>
|
|
<p>God's word reveals that <b>His</b> law has a <b>strategic inability</b>. There is an arena in which the law has a "<b><i>weakness</i></b> <i>and <b>unprofitableness</b>.</i>" The law <b>demands perfection</b>, <b>but</b> it offers <b>no perfecting resources</b>. "<i>The <b>law made nothing perfect</b>.</i>" This <b>inability</b> is <b>certainly not</b> due to any <b>oversight</b> on God's part. Rather, this <b>inability</b> is related to that which God <b>never intended</b> for <b>His law</b> to <b>accomplish</b>.</p><p>The law of God was not given as a means for perfecting people (that is, of providing spiritual change). God's law was not designed to be a tool by which man could improve his spiritual condition in the sight of God. The <b>law</b> tells us <b>what</b> God wants to see in lives, <b>but</b> the law provides <b>no resource</b> to <b>effect</b> the necessary changes. Thus, attempting to begin or to develop a relationship with God by dependence upon our best performance will always be a hopeless venture.</p><p><b>Anyone</b> who desires to <b>approach</b> a <b>holy</b> and <b>perfect God</b> must have a <b>more effective expectation</b> than one's <b>best personal performance</b>, measured by God's holy law. Anyone who wants to get to know God, to walk with Him, to live with Him through time and eternity, must find a better hope than the law of God.</p><p>The <b>law of</b> God <b>cannot give</b> us an <b>initial standing</b> before God, that is, it <b>cannot justify</b> us. It cannot bring us a declaration of "not guilty" in His sight. The <b>law</b> is <b>also unable to develop an ongoing walk</b> of godliness before the Lord, that is, it <b>cannot sanctify</b> us. It cannot transform our lives day by day into the image of Christ. For either of these precious blessings of God, a <i>"<b>better hope</b>"</i> is needed. God's <b>grace</b> is the <i>"better hope"</i> that allows us to <i>"draw near to God,"</i> initially in new birth and continually in a maturing intimacy.</p>
|
|
<div class="dbdbg_prayer">Holy Father, You are perfect in character. Your law is perfect in standard. Your law rightly demands perfection of me. Father, I ask that You remind me often that I cannot live up to that divine requirement on my own resources. Bring to my remembrance this inability of Your law. Stir my heart to trust in that better hope. Lord, I desire to walk closely with You. Thus, I trust in Your grace as the only sufficient hope that will allow me to draw near to You, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.</div>
|
|
</div></div>
|
|
<div class="desc-center"><div class="pad2020">
|
|
<a href="./devotions/daybyday/01/0108.html">Yesterday's Reading</a>
|
|
<a href="./devotions/daybyday/01/0110.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>
|