I (Marianne) had a revelation today, while standing and teaching in front of 50 youth.
In the Old Testament, there are many laws for which the penalty of breaking them is death - usually by stoning. It's always seemed so incredibly harsh to me. Horrific. Unimaginable.
I've heard some of the arguments in the past. For example, the Jewish people in the days of Moses were a nomadic people, not yet settled in one place. Thus, the death penalty was quite practical, since they didn't have the ability to construct prisons. That's one example.
But something clicked in my head today. Let me outline...
Our God is Holy. Absolutely Holy. And Paul tells us in Romans 3:20 that the whole purpose of the Old Testament Law is to make it absolutely clear that God is Holy...and we are not.
Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God's sight by the works of the Law; rather, through the Law we became conscious of our sin. (Romans 3:20)
Three chapters later, Paul goes on to remind us that the penalty for all sin is death - for everyone, but then concludes with an amazing statement:
For the wages [i.e. what we rightly earn from what we do] of sin is death, but the gift [i.e. not earned but given] of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23).
So we see that because God loves us so much, He gives us life instead of the death we deserve. Amazing. This is the gospel in its simplest form.
What clicked in my head today, however, was the answer to the niggling question, "Why does God seem so severe in the Old Testament, but like He's gone soft in the New Testament?" People always say, simply "It's because Jesus came." But that never satisfied me. I wanted to know exactly why.
And here it is.
We still deserve to be stoned to death for those things that were outlined in the Old Testament. The penalty hasn't changed. How do I know? Because of Romans 6:23, which says the wages of sin is death. Not just spiritually. Physically. Like in the Old Testament. So why don't we stone people to death today? It's because the death - both physically as well as spiritually - has already been paid by Christ. And so, the requirement of the Law is already fulfilled.
Our Holy God has so perfectly balanced His justice (for would He be good if He let evil go without consequence?) and His love (which is completely undeserved) in sending His Son, Jesus. And because of Jesus, we're not only saved spiritually, but we're saved physically as well.
Seems obvious perhaps, but it was a revelation for me!
In the Old Testament, there are many laws for which the penalty of breaking them is death - usually by stoning. It's always seemed so incredibly harsh to me. Horrific. Unimaginable.
I've heard some of the arguments in the past. For example, the Jewish people in the days of Moses were a nomadic people, not yet settled in one place. Thus, the death penalty was quite practical, since they didn't have the ability to construct prisons. That's one example.
But something clicked in my head today. Let me outline...
Our God is Holy. Absolutely Holy. And Paul tells us in Romans 3:20 that the whole purpose of the Old Testament Law is to make it absolutely clear that God is Holy...and we are not.
Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God's sight by the works of the Law; rather, through the Law we became conscious of our sin. (Romans 3:20)
Three chapters later, Paul goes on to remind us that the penalty for all sin is death - for everyone, but then concludes with an amazing statement:
For the wages [i.e. what we rightly earn from what we do] of sin is death, but the gift [i.e. not earned but given] of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23).
So we see that because God loves us so much, He gives us life instead of the death we deserve. Amazing. This is the gospel in its simplest form.
What clicked in my head today, however, was the answer to the niggling question, "Why does God seem so severe in the Old Testament, but like He's gone soft in the New Testament?" People always say, simply "It's because Jesus came." But that never satisfied me. I wanted to know exactly why.
And here it is.
We still deserve to be stoned to death for those things that were outlined in the Old Testament. The penalty hasn't changed. How do I know? Because of Romans 6:23, which says the wages of sin is death. Not just spiritually. Physically. Like in the Old Testament. So why don't we stone people to death today? It's because the death - both physically as well as spiritually - has already been paid by Christ. And so, the requirement of the Law is already fulfilled.
Our Holy God has so perfectly balanced His justice (for would He be good if He let evil go without consequence?) and His love (which is completely undeserved) in sending His Son, Jesus. And because of Jesus, we're not only saved spiritually, but we're saved physically as well.
Seems obvious perhaps, but it was a revelation for me!