Welcome to another day the Lord has made that we should rejoice and be glad in. (Psalms 118:24)

Today, we’ll pay attention to God ending the requirement for obedience to the letter of His law, in lieu of following His Spirit.

In today’s scripture, 2 Corinthians 3:6‭-‬9 (NLT), Paul wrote…
He has enabled us to be ministers of his new covenant. This is a covenant not of written laws, but of the Spirit. The old written covenant ends in death; but under the new covenant, the Spirit gives life. The old way, with laws etched in stone, led to death, though it began with such glory that the people of Israel could not bear to look at Moses’ face. For his face shone with the glory of God, even though the brightness was already fading away. Shouldn’t we expect far greater glory under the new way, now that the Holy Spirit is giving life? If the old way, which brings condemnation, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new way, which makes us right with God!

Consider…
The Holy Spirit led me to look up the difference between purchase and refinance mortgages to illustrate the concept of God’s old and new covenants.

Through a Google search I found…
Purchase and refinance mortgages are both types of home loans; however, they accomplish very different goals. A purchase mortgage is a loan that homebuyers secure to finance the purchase of a new home whereas a refinance mortgage is the process existing homeowners go through to LOWER their mortgage rate.

The first parallel the Holy Spirit revealed, is that both a mortgage and a covenant is an agreement between two parties. While, A mortgage is an agreement between you and a lender to purchase a home, God’s covenant is an agreement between Him and us, that makes a way for us to live in His eternal home.

The next parallel between a mortgage and God’s covenant, is there is a person in need of something they do not have and cannot afford on their own. People apply for mortgages to purchase homes, that cost more than they are able to pay on their own. In the same way, God made covenants, to help people obtain righteousness that they could not achieve on their own.

In both cases, we realize it’s our inability that creates the necessity to seek someone who is…
able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, – Ephesians 3:20 KJV

That ‘exceeding abundantly above’, agreement clause, brings us to the next parallels, which is between the refinance and new covenant.

• Both render the original agreement obsolete (Hebrews 8:13)
• Both pertain to the same property (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)
• Both lower the cost of repayment (Romans 6:23)

It’s with all of these parallels that we now read Romans 3:19‭-‬22 (NLT), which says…
Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God. For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are. But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.

Do you see it, God’s old covenant was based on our faulty obedience, but His new covenant is based on our faith in His faultless Son.

The Holy Spirit is emphasizing that Christ, not law, following makes us right with God! So stop running after the rules and run to the Ruler. Indeed, stop making God’s righteousness about what you do, and recognize it’s only possible by Christ living in you. Like Galatians 2:20 (NLT) says…
My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

You see, Romans 8:2 (KJV), tells us…
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

Our new covenant is found in Christ Jesus, who paid the entire debt.

Romans 3:23‭-‬26 (NLT) explains it this way…
For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he makes sinners right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.

I cannot emphasize it enough, we are under a new, debt free, covenant with God. Stop trying to pay, what’s already been paid, and start walking in the righteous path that has been paved by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

The Holy Spirit is telling us to let go of the letter of the law, and take hold of the Spirit of the Lawgiver. If we walk hand in hand with the Spirit, we’ll always be right. (Galatians 5:16)

Today’s song is….
Made New

Blessings 4HG (1 Corinthians 10:31)