Over the space of this writing we’ve looked over the entire time period of man as it is recorded in the Bible. We’ve seen that in the beginning man had only one law to follow, to obey God. We have seen that in the beginning man was a three part being; a man of spirit, soul and body. The result of the disobedience of Adam was that man died spiritually. That part of man which existed in the spiritual realm, his spirit part, died and man became no different than any other animal. He became a man of only soul and body. God, over time, put in place the Law of Moses. This law set forth a set of rules and behaviors that were to be followed in order for a person to be righteous before God. Many of the these laws concerned the worship of God, sacrifice of a blood offering to cleanse one temporarily of unrighteousness as well as a number of dietary laws and laws regarding the behavior we should have one towards another. The law also included punishments for certain behaviors and conditions. The Word of God describes many of these punishments as curses. We have also seen that the Law of Moses was only applied to the people of Israel and those that chose of their own accord to follow that law and believe in the one God. One of the reasons for this I believe was to keep this group of people as pure both spiritually and genetically as possible because from them was to come the Messiah. [If this is your first time reading this blog, I suggest you read the prior 16 posting in this series for a more complete background and understanding of these points.]
Finally, around two thousand years ago a child was born, Jesus. Who as the Son of God walked as a man and obeyed God. He was offered up as the final sacrifice for man sin, thus nullifying the Law of Moses. Jesus offered himself as a sacrifice for us. [Ephesians 5:2]. His sacrifice was not like those of the animals required under the law. His was the final sacrifice that redeemed the entire human race from all of their sins. [Hebrews 10:12, 13] and he sat down at the right hand of God his work finished. In order to receive the benefits of this offering one still had to accept Jesus as Lord and believe that God raised him from the dead. [Romans 10:9, 10] The sacrifice of Jesus was final and it brought about the end of the Law. [Romans 10:4 – 13] The book of Hebrews explains in great depth the difference between the sacrifices under the Mosaic Law and the one time sacrifice forever of Jesus upon the cross.
All of this is wonderful; however God did not stop with just redeeming us from the curse of the law and ending the law. God made those of us who believe His sons [I John 3:1, 2]; born again, or from above [John 3:3-7]. One receives a new birth when one accepts Jesus as Lord. It is not a new physical birth, but a spiritual birth and man becomes once again what he was in the Garden of Eden; a threefold being of spirit, soul, and body. That which died in man when Adam sinned against God has been birth in him and he once again has a part of him which exists in the spirit realm.
Now that all of this has taken place we can begin to understand why God treats sin so much differently in the Old Testament than He does in the New Testament. It is because in the Old Testament man was spiritually dead and spiritual matters had to be handled in the physical realm only. Man now has a connection with God and the spiritual power to take the battles totally into the spiritual realm. If we can understand this, then we can take the action that God desires in both the spiritual and physical areas of our walk. We must take Ephesians 6:12 to heart when it says that we do not wrestle with issues in the physical, but in the spiritual. We are not often going to see God act in a vengeful or angry manner among His church or among those who do not believe. Instead we will see God act in love and mercy, willing to forgive men their many sins and welcome them into sonship with His Son Jesus. All men until the return are given the same chance to accept Jesus Christ and the manner in which He will come to them will always be out of love and never in hate or vengeance.
God bless you all and thank you for reading through this. I hope you have learned as much as I have in writing this. My prayer for all of us is that we never forget God’s divine favor towards us, and his mercy in forgiving us our sins. Each man or woman on the street has the potential be a son of God no matter what their past issues were, or current issues are. Jesus was the payment for all mankind and all who are willing to accept this grace are welcome in his presence.
Keith Carter Ministries 