“Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the
Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For I say to you that
unless your righteousness surpasses that
of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:17&20
and you will
find rest for your souls
As we continue our look at the invitation of Christ to rest
it is important to look at His audience. Jesus was speaking to Jews when He
shared this invitation. He knew these groaned
under the weight of their ceremonial laws and the traditions of the elders. He tells them that by coming to Him they would
be freed from these burdensome rites and ceremonies. Christ tells them to come to him, to believe
in him, and to trust him, and him only, for salvation. Doing this, he will give
them rest - rest from their sins, from the alarms of conscience, from the
terrors of the law, and from the fears of eternal death. These Jews had sought to find favor with God
through the Law. They had discovered
what Paul proclaimed in Romans 7. While it is a lengthy passage, it bears
reading to understand the burden of the Law.
For
we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin.
For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. But if I do the very
thing I do not want to do, I
agree with the Law, confessing
that the Law is good. So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which
dwells in me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh;
for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I
do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing
the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which
dwells in me. I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who
wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man,
but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law
of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members.
Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?
Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I
myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh
the law of sin. Romans 7:14-25
Grace brings rest! We are bound by the pressures of the demands
of the Law. We exist under the pressure
of not meeting a standard or an expectation.
With grace we can rest in the arms of acceptance and sufficiency through
the blood of Jesus Christ. When we know
the grace of our God we can rest. Grace
brings comfort. When we have God’s
grace, we are accepted, forgiven, loved, and redeemed. The penalty of the Law is cancelled by the
payment of our Lord.
The grace of God brings us all things good in life. We receive healing, prosperity and eternal relationships
through the grace of God. The first time
grace is mentioned is in Genesis. Here
is an interesting scriptural insight from the Genesis statement Noah found grace (favor) in the eyes of the Lord. The
name Noah in the Hebrew means Rest. Rest found
grace. The key to finding the grace
of God is to rest in the work of Christ.
Many Christians struggle with the demands of the Law instead
of resting in the provision of Christ.
The Law is proud and demanding yet Jesus says, I am gentle and humble in heart.
The Law condemns; Jesus saves.
The Law burdens us with guilt; Jesus frees us with grace. The Law is bondage; salvation in Christ is
liberty. “Come... and you will find rest for your souls.
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. Romans 5:8-9
