Ezekiel 18 November 8, 2019
Combining Ezekiel and Hebrews
No Jesus – No Peace
Know Jesus – Know Peace
The old covenant was a two-sided deal. If the people observed God's laws and commands, and they kept them perfectly, he would bless them and give them life. But if they failed to live as his law instructed, they would suffer for it. The penalty was death for violations of the holy law. Wouldn't you know it? Before the ink was dry on the old covenant, they had already broken it several times. This nation was given every advantage to encourage them on the path of keeping the rules. They had seen tremendous God sightings time after time, but just a few hours after a supernatural act, they were back in their sinful habits. All of this is a picture of the human heart. There are no "good people." We have all violated God's holy standard.
But fast forward to Jesus and the new covenant. The keeping of this covenant will come from the inside of our hearts. This new covenant focuses on the beauty of Jesus, not the keeping of the rules. As a result of this new focus, we strive to keep the rules, but we do so out of love. Yet throughout the whole deal, we do not claim our innocence; we claim the amazing grace of Jesus. We admit that we have all fallen short of perfection and need to repent of our sins.
The blessing of today is not in our human effort to keep the rules; our focus is on the beauty of Jesus and knowing Him.
It is true…. Know Jesus and Know Peace.
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