Thoughts after todays Ekklesia...
Just wanted to let you all know, my wife was present, all bundled up, nose dripping and coughing... allergies have hit her hard this year... she should be better by Thanksgiving day but please pray for her - all the coughing makes her body sore, anyway - she said she had enjoyed the conversation, it was different. And it spurred on a distinct conversation between us on the way to a local Cuban restaurant for some Croquetas & Café con leche ... One of the worst false teachings out there is that Christians like to sin – we Don’t. Sure, the flesh might get a flash-in-the-pan thrill from sin, but moments later, the Real us sets off alarm bells. We don’t want to do anything that isn’t guided by the Holy Spirit. We truly want what God wants. Does God want to lie, cheat, and steal? No, and neither do you, and you don’t want to be legalistic either. “Then, what do I do? -How do I know what is right and wrong? - I need a list!” You really don’t. Living by a list was Old Covenant, that’s how Israel lived. Their list was “613 things to do and not do,” ten of those things were the Ten Commandments. They always looked to this directory to define sin. Now, on this side of the Cross, anything that is not of faith is sin (Romans 14:23). “Anything that is not of faith is sin?! What does that mean?!” It means anything you do or don’t do, think or don’t think, which is not led by Christ within you, is sin–but you are NOT sinful. You are a brand new sinless creation! You ARE A SAINT. (2 Corinthians 5:17). “But wait, what do I do! ... I need something to do!” Okay. I’ll give you something to do, but these two things will come naturally anyway as you just be yourself. Here they are: Believe. Love. These are the two new commandments Jesus gave to us (John 13:34, 1 John 3:23). These two commandments are not added to Moses’ 613–because the Bible says that list can’t be modified (see Deuteronomy 4:2)–instead, they’ve replaced them. These commandments are not burdensome.