Quote from Forum Archives on May 9, 2008, 5:52 pm

Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>

Today's message from the PCCWeb Daily speaks about faith and the law.
We all want to be law abiding citizens, but the Jews in their day
created all kinds of laws that had very little to do with what the Word
of God actually says. The Ten Commandments are good laws to follow, but
the thousands of laws that were created after that were unattainable.
The Law is really meant to convict us of sin and show us a need of a
Savior. There certainly are good principles worth following, and we all
want to have sound values, so that even when we make a mistake, we turn
around, confess our error, learn from it, and move forward.

It is sound moral doctrine, based directly on the truth found in
scripture that we need to learn ourselves so that we can apply it, then
share it with others. Again, none of us is perfect; we will, at times,
fail to perfectly follow our own principles - which should be based, not
on our own principles, but our principles should come straight from the
Word of God.

I was talking with my manager this afternoon and we were talking about
"sound moral principles" to govern the way we approach our efforts. I
told him that I could not agree with him more. I did not get into it
deeply with him, but I told him that this very thing guides my own life
principles. Of course, in my case, the hope I have in Jesus Christ as
my personal Lord and Savior is my yardstick, and the only thing I really
look to as my guide.

I am really concerned about what is known as "the apostate church". You
can read about Jesus' warning to the seven churches in the book of
Revelation. I think many of us have lost the proper focus. In the name
of the church or in the name of the Lord we do all kinds of things, yet
I think far too often we have veered away from the Word of God. I am
constantly checking myself on this because I have seen myself wander at
times I thought I was following the faith, so that apostate condition
has threatened me more than once. I am so grateful that the Spirit of
God still moves and convicts me of such things so that I can turn away
from them myself and also warn others about their perils.

Laws are good for one thing: to show us our need of Christ. If we
follow Christ faithfully, I guarantee you that we will abide by every
law that matters. Jesus Himself, for example, clearly said to give to
Caesar that which is Caesar's and give to God that which is God's, so
you can see that His teaching even applies to practical things like
paying bills and taxes! How much more it applies to many other things
that are critical in our lives!

The Word of God is the authoritative answer, and the Word of God is the
Holy Bible. I urge you to read it and keep your focus on what it says.
Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto
the Father but by me." John 14:6

Yours in Christ,
Brian

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Daily-Devotional-for-Friday-May-9-2008.eml