“Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” It’s from II Corinthians 3:17 and is printed on the t-shirts that Sweden wears for its annual celebration of the 4th. This year it’s being held on Saturday, the 10th a few days after this article comes out. It was also the subject of the sermon this past Sunday.
Back up to verse three of the same chapter. Paul, the Apostle, is explaining that through Christ we now have the Spirit of the living God. It’s not written in ink or tables of stone but “in the fleshly tables of the heart.”
Moses brought down the Ten Commandments on the tables of stone. The passage is Exodus 34:28-35. Moses spent 40 days and nights with God on Mount Sinai. When he came down with the tables his face glowed with the glory of the Lord. He covered his face with a vail to speak to the people.
The ten commandments, God’s covenant with man, now written in stone for the people of God to follow. The first four are how we are to revere God: have no other gods, no graven images or idols, don’t take the Lord’s name in vain, and keep the sabbath holy. The next six have to do with treating others: honor your parents, don’t murder, nor commit adultery, nor steal, nor bear false witness against your neighbor, nor covet.
At first they were kept in the Ark of the Covenant under the mercy seat and covered it with a vail (Numbers 4:5). Once a year a priest would enter behind the vail and make a sacrifice for the sins of the people. Until this time, there was no final redemption for sin. It had to be continued annually. Pastor Josh said it was much like having a credit card. Sometimes you run it up so much, all you’re doing is paying the interest on the debt. The bill still remains. The people were only keeping up. The debt remained.
Jesus was the final sacrifice who paid off the debt. When it was completed, the vail was ripped from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51). We were now free to communicate with God directly. That is liberty. Our liberty was won first by Jesus and then defended by the American soldier. God has richly blessed our country.
Back up to verse three of the same chapter. Paul, the Apostle, is explaining that through Christ we now have the Spirit of the living God. It’s not written in ink or tables of stone but “in the fleshly tables of the heart.”
Moses brought down the Ten Commandments on the tables of stone. The passage is Exodus 34:28-35. Moses spent 40 days and nights with God on Mount Sinai. When he came down with the tables his face glowed with the glory of the Lord. He covered his face with a vail to speak to the people.
The ten commandments, God’s covenant with man, now written in stone for the people of God to follow. The first four are how we are to revere God: have no other gods, no graven images or idols, don’t take the Lord’s name in vain, and keep the sabbath holy. The next six have to do with treating others: honor your parents, don’t murder, nor commit adultery, nor steal, nor bear false witness against your neighbor, nor covet.
At first they were kept in the Ark of the Covenant under the mercy seat and covered it with a vail (Numbers 4:5). Once a year a priest would enter behind the vail and make a sacrifice for the sins of the people. Until this time, there was no final redemption for sin. It had to be continued annually. Pastor Josh said it was much like having a credit card. Sometimes you run it up so much, all you’re doing is paying the interest on the debt. The bill still remains. The people were only keeping up. The debt remained.
Jesus was the final sacrifice who paid off the debt. When it was completed, the vail was ripped from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51). We were now free to communicate with God directly. That is liberty. Our liberty was won first by Jesus and then defended by the American soldier. God has richly blessed our country.
