(Part 2 and Conclusion)

(As part of a series entitled “Out of the Fire and Into the Skillet”)

A LIVING LOVE LETTER

2 Corinthians 3:3
“Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.”

A living love letter! Jesus is God’s living testament of love to the world. We Christians are His hand-written love letter to sinners. Don't let the word "epistle", used in 2 Corinthians 3:3, confuse you. Epistle is just an old word for a hand-written letter. In Matthew 5, our Lord instructs His disciples, that they are the light of the world and to let their light shine. He goes on to illustrate the impossibility of keeping the Law, by giving various examples of the strictness of the law. For example, in Matthew 5:27-30, Jesus uses the 7th commandment to illustrate that if a person lusts in their heart, it is the same as committing adultery. He is teaching them and us that no one is capable of keeping the law. Keep in mind that in Matthew 5:17, Jesus tells His disciples that His intention is not to destroy the law and prophets, but rather to fulfill them.

Jesus fulfills the Law by keeping all Ten Commandments to the letter, with no exceptions. He did what no one else could do, then He gave Himself as the perfect sacrifice for sin, thereby satisfying God's Covenant requirements. Those of us who accept Jesus’ sacrifice as payment to God for our sins, redeem this promise and claim the benefits Jesus has bought by His righteous sacrifice. In other words, we accept Jesus as our Savior. When we accept Jesus as Savior, God's laws are written upon the fleshly tables of our hearts. See Jeremiah 31:33 as an Old Testament reference and Hebrews 10:16 as New Testament reference.

What is truly written upon our hearts must find its way out in our actions: "For with the heart we believe unto righteousness and with the mouth we confess salvation." (paraphrase of Romans 10:10).

The self-righteous people in Luke 7 called Jesus a "Friend of Sinners" because He wasn't acting like they thought a Messiah ought to. He was socializing with a woman who was a known sinner and Simon, the Pharisee hypocrite, derided Jesus in his heart. Jesus, knowing this and loving the Pharisee also, called Simon out by proposing a riddle of two debtors. One debtor owed the creditor 500 and the other owed 50. The creditor completely forgave them both. He asked Simon, which of them would love the creditor most. Simon rightly judged the one who he forgave the most. Of course, Simon was the one who had little debt, the sinner woman was the one with much debt and Jesus is the creditor.

How much sin debt has Jesus forgiven of us? Don't you think it's about time we get out of our comfort zones, and let our lights shine, unhindered by what others think?
Next week, IN THE WORLD, BUT NOT OF THE WORLD?

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