Hebrews 10:26-27
The Voice (VOICE)
Now if we willfully persist in sin after receiving such knowledge
of the truth, then there is no sacrifice left for those sins—only the fearful
prospect of judgment and a fierce fire that will consume God’s adversaries
On Sabbath, Pastor Sam told the experience of a student at
La Sierra University who grew up under the must Puritanical form of legalism.
This governed everything she ate, everything she wore, everything she did, and
everywhere she went. No matter how strictly she followed her upbringing, she
couldn’t find joy; only the fearful threat of eternal damnation hung over her
head.
I couldn’t help but feel empathy with her because of similar
feelings in my upbringing. As I considered our plight, I remembered Martin
Luther’s experience. In 1505 he had finished a bachelor’s degree and a master’s
degree in law. He was wending his way down a dirt road to Erfurt when a sudden
storm blew up, and a lightning bolt struck the ground near him. Paralyzed with
fear, he promised Saint Ann he would become a monk. He did and took up every
aspect of a monk’s life, with fervor. He prayed, fasted, slept in the bitter
cold without a blanket, and whipped himself with a zeal that almost took his
life. But he found no peace, no joy, and no freedom from his fear of eternal
punishment in hell. Finally, while reading and meditating on the Psalms and the
book of Romans in the word of God, he fastened his faith and hope in the grace
of Jesus Christ.
Martin Luther wrote “So when you are frightened by the law,
you can say, ‘Lady Law, you are not the only thing, and you are not everything.
Besides you there is something even greater and better, specifically, grace, faith,
and blessing. They don’t accuse, frighten, or condemn me. They comfort me, tell
me to expect the best, and assure me of my certain victory and salvation in
Christ. So there is no reason for me to despair.’”[i]
For many years now, I have rejoiced in the freedom and peace
that comes from a certain knowledge that Christ has forgiven me and saved me−not
because of anything I have done, but because of His love and sacrifice for me.
May I be the means of today
helping someone find this same peace in You, Lord Jesus.
[i] Martin Luther, By
Faith Alone edited by James C. Galvin published in 1998 by World Bible
Publishers, Iowa Falls, Iowa; in the March 15 devotional.
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