"'Does that mean I can't even trust what is good [that is, the law]? Is
good just as dangerous as evil?' No again! Sin simply did what sin is so
famous for doing: using the good as a cover to tempt me to do what would
finally destroy me. By hiding within God's good commandment, sin did far
more mischief than it could ever have accomplished on its own." (Rom
7:13, MSG)
Last time we discovered how prone we are to sneaking
into the forbidden. Somehow it fascinates us, even though some will fall
to their death, like some of those who trespassed beyond the safety of
the fences in Niagara Falls. We often rationalize: "This would never
happen to me!" Still, danger is out there, one moment of inattention can
be fatal, whether we think we are safe or not.
Something good,
like the commandments, that were created for our own good, turned into
an attractive temptation. Just like the "Do not trespass" signs, the
temptation to breaking the law has become our reality. That's what sin
does! Hiding behind the good, it tempts us and brings us to our own
destruction!
Only One did the impossible. He did the opposite of
what most of us do. He never sinned, not even once. Instead he went a
step further: He fulfilled the law! "(Jesus said:) I have not come to
abolish them (the commandments) but to fulfill them." (Matt 5:17b, NIV2)
According to my dictionary, fulfill refers to: "to meet the requirements
of" and "to bring to an end" and "to complete". In other words, Jesus
met the requirements of the law. He completed the law fully!
The
One who never broke the law died on a lonely cross on our behalf, so
that we lawbreakers, who truly deserved death, would not have to pay the
price of our transgression. Jesus paid it all, fulfilling the
consequences of the law so that we wouldn't have to go through that.
Instead we are completely forgiven. He died so that we could live!
There are many who have died for others. Take, for example, Dieter
Wohlfahrt, a twenty-year old Austrian student attending the Technical
University of Berlin. Since August 13, 1961 his goal was to help the
Eastern Berliners escape to the West, away from the heavy yoke of the
Russians. He used the sewage system to do so. It seems the Russians
discovered his tactics, as one day when he went back to help East
Berliners escape, he discovered that the sewage system had been blocked
off.
That didn't stop him from continuing to help these poor
Eastern Berliners. December 9, 1961, Dieter, with some of his friends,
cut through the Eastern barbed-wire barriers at Staaken with the purpose
to help the mother of one his friends escape. He was unaware that
someone had betrayed him, and the border patrols were on high alert to
get him. As soon as they saw Dieter and his friends, they started to
shoot. His friends were able to escape, but unfortunately Dieter was hit
in the chest.
He was bleeding to death. No one dared rescue him
on that death strip, not even the British military police. He died
because he wanted to save as many Eastern Berliners as possible from the
yoke of the Russians.
That was the goal of Jesus Himself: To
bring as many as possible to freedom from the oppression of sin. His
death, however, though he never broke the law, gave the opportunity to
anyone, even East Berliners, to be freed from the yoke of sin and
experience real freedom fully: "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because
he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to
proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free." (Luke 4:18, NIV2)
We can be free
through the merits of the Risen One. Wow!
Who in their right mind
would prefer to remain a prisoner? Come to Jesus and experience His
abundant grace. You, too, can be freed. Imagine that! This is too good
to be true, but it's real. He freed me. He freed many of my friends, and
He will free you too, if you so desire.
Good news: You won't have
to go through barbed-wires! Whew!
Rob Chaffart
Shot for Freedom. Radical Grace from the Book of Romans (7:13)
Today's Bible Verse:
"Sin simply did what sin is so famous for doing: using the good as a
cover to tempt me to do what would finally destroy me." (Rom 7:13b, MSG)
Shot for Freedom. Radical Grace from the Book of Romans (7:13)
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