The Word of God is a bridge that connects Earth with Heaven and Heaven with Earth.- Joseph Elon Lillie
“You came down at Mount Sinai and spoke to them from heaven. You gave them regulations and instructions that were just, and decrees and commands that were good.” Neh. 9:13
One of the complaints, about the Bible, that I hear frequently is that it is only a book of do’s and dont’s…rules and regulations for people to follow. While that is a massive oversimplification of the Scripture, even if it were a complete truth, I would say to it “So what? What is your point?”
If the only thing God gave us was a rule book to follow so that we could make our way to Him, wouldn’t it make sense to follow it to the tee? If the Bible is only a regulation book designed to successfully get us closer to God, why do the people who think of it in this way not pay more attention to the rules?
Well the Bible is partially a rule book, but the rules were only given to us in order to show us that we cannot even meet God’s minimum standard. The point of the rules is not to do them but to understand that we can’t do them and therefore will never succeed in life or in getting close to God without some divine help. That leads us to the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus (which is really the point of the Bible).
The instructions in the Bible are good. They are how we are meant to live. But the point of the Bible is that we humans are broken beyond our own ability to repair. We can’t live like we are supposed to until we let Jesus, Heaven’s Repair Man, into our lives to fix what’s broke!
God came down on Mt. Sinai and released the law to the people of Earth…a law we could not obey because we were slaves to sin. He was raised up thousands of years later on a Hill called Calvary to break the power of sin and release grace into our lives so that we could live after His pattern.
Believe on Jesus and receive the power to live!
Lillie-Put 
Very True Pastor J we have been Set Free ( see below ) we can put our flesh to death by the empowering of The Holy Spirit, as we choose to Turn from evil and do good, to be Born again and Perfected in Love and have the mind of Christ who does not choose to sin.
John 8:34-36 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
1 John 3: 9 No one who is Born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been Born of God.
Colossians 3:4-6 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.
Romans 8: 12-15 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father
James 4:7-10 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and He will flee from you.Come near to God and He will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up.
Colossians 3 :1-17 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.
Christian Love from both of us – Anne
You are so right Anne. I love the list of proof texts you have laid out here. They are verses to live by. I am so thankful that Jesus has set me free. His grace has accomplished in me what I could never accomplish in my own striving!
Very True Pastor J we can’t earn our Salvation it is a free gift but we will show we have it by doing what God asks us to do, which is to aim to be perfected in Love and all that is needed for this to happen.
I don’t know about you but as far as I’m concerned I can agree with Paul when he said at one time on his Journey…
Philippians 3:12-14 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
But I seek with the Lord’s leading and empowering to be able to say the same as Paul one day…
2 Timothy 4:7-8 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the Faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for His appearing
Christian Love from us both – Anne
Amen Anne, OUr lead pastor preached yesterday on good works and said that while works cannot save us neither can they be separated from true faith because true faith produces works!
I am so thankful that I have been set free by Jesus. James 4:7-10 speaks to my heart and I am grateful to my King for drawing near to me when I draw near to Him.