Your Spiritual Journey
Out with the Old
OUT WITH THE OLD
You know how it feels when you get a great pair of shoes? The kind of shoes with just the right fit and plenty of support do wonders for all sorts of ailments in your feet, knees and back. After a while, these shoes break down. They don’t offer the support they once did, your body aches return, and you find yourself throwing out those shoes for a new pair. The plan of salvation has similarly changed from its initial inception. I know, what am I thinking comparing shoes to God’s greatest gift?!
In the Old Testament, God’s people had some pretty clear rules about how they were to live and worship. They were told exactly how many animals needed to be sacrificed based on the type of offering, what garments to wear during certain ceremonies and the exact roles each person was allowed to do. After a while, many of these rules either became so commonplace or inconvenient that the people started to modify things. Of course, we know that the people were punished for their disobedience then would repent and come back to God but would eventually fall away forming a cyclical pattern of disobedience, punishment, and repentance. God knew this was an unsustainable plan, but He knew what He had to do.
God’s new plan changed salvation in a big way. When Jesus died for our salvation, He did so for more than just the Jews, God’s chosen people, but for all people and established a New Covenant between God and humans. No longer relevant are the rules for those ceremonial sacrifices; they are instead replaced by the love Jesus taught us to have for God, for each other and for Jesus himself. Yes, there are still requirements for us to complete in order to be eligible for God’s grace, but they are much simpler. We must hear God’s Word, believe that Jesus is the Son of God and came to save us, repent or change our behavior from what we once were, confess that Jesus is God’s son and that it is only through Him that we can meet the Father in heaven, be baptized signaling this belief and commitment to change, and finally live according to the loving example Jesus’ life taught us.
This new plan may not seem as complicated as the rules originally given to the Jews in the Old Testament, but it is still just as important. We must also remember not to become too comfortable with this less complicated plan as we are still tempted and sometimes fall back into old habits.
James Passmore
