The old covenant
law contained many "shall nots" which had a purpose that is now fulfilled. We
are not under that old legislation anymore. Now we are under the new covenant
where God provides all for us as a gift and we are free in Him. This covenant
also contains some "shall nots" - yet they are so different from the old "shall
nots" - rather than making me feel depressed and guilty, they make me feel safe and warm and joyful in Him! They are
focused on our secure relationship with God rather than our erratic behavior,
for the New Covenant has a relationship focus and not a works focus. These are
the "shall nots" I have found in the new covenant. I only used Jesus' words in
John. I'm sure if I looked through the rest of the New Testament, I could find
many more! Anyway, here are those "shall nots" that I found:
His promises
to us in the New Covenant of grace:
1 - You SHALL NOT hunger, but shall
be fully satisfied with Him (John 6:35).
2 - You SHALL NOT thirst, but
shall have within His very Spirit as an ever-flowing fountain of eternal life
(John 4:14).
3 - You SHALL NOT walk in darkness, but shall have the light
of life (John 8:12).
4 - You SHALL NOT be a slave to sin or the devil's
lies, but shall be free indeed (John 8:32-36).
5 - You SHALL NOT perish,
but shall have everlasting life (John 3:16).
6 - You SHALL NOT be
snatched from His hand, but shall be safe (John 10:27-8).
7 - You SHALL
NOT come into judgment, but have already passed from death to life (John
5:24).
8 - You SHALL NOT follow a stranger, but shall know and follow
your Shepherd (John 10:4-5).
9 - You SHALL NOT have your joy stolen, but
shall rejoice with great joy (John 16:22).
10 - SHALL NOT be left
desolate, but shall have the His Spirit with you always to comfort you (John
14:16-18)!
With His very Spirit inside us as our best friend and LIFE,
holding us, loving us, keeping us, living through us AS us, how can we go wrong?
If God is for us, who can be against us? We shall not be put to shame but will
always be led in triumph, love and grace! All as a gift through Jesus' work for
us and His wonderful grace, not ever through our efforts! What a wonderful
covenant the New Covenant is!
- Under the Waterfall
No comments :
Post a Comment