Passage Read: Hebrews 7-8
Meditation Verses: 7:18-19
Thought
Wow! I'm offended by this statement about the Law! I'm more like the palmist who wrote Psalm 119, who praises the beauty of the Law and all its wisdom. But the writer of Hebrews is right in that the Law made nothing perfect, and in that way it was weak and useless. It has value in revealing the character and nature of God, in showing what God calls righteousness. It shows what perfection looks like, but it makes nothing perfect. It is useful for the one who seeks to understand and do righteousness, but it cannot make anyone seek understanding and desire to do righteously. It is a standard by which men are judged as righteous or wicked, but it cannot make the wicked righteous. It called men to circumcise their hearts, because it could not do it for them. But Christ through the Spirit can circumcise our hearts; Christ through the Spirit does turn our hearts from stone to flesh. By our faith in Christ, the Spirit changes us, makes us people who want to know Christ and walk in His ways.
Application
The Law is so helpful for me to understand what God calls love for neighbor, but it is the Spirit that saves me, cleanses me and makes me into one who desires and loves righteousness. The Law is worthy of praise for its beautiful description of godly living. But it cannot make me holy so that I love holiness and pursue it in my life. Only Jesus can do that. Only the Spirit of God does that when I believe the truth about Jesus as revealed in the Gospel. He is my life, not the Law; He is my Lord, not the Law; He is my hope and salvation, not the Law. Through Christ, the Law teaches me many things, but it is powerless to save me.