Dial Daily Bread

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

Sometimes the most wonderful gift can be wrapped unattractively. That
is true of certain “Bible doctrines” that outwardly appear boring
or even burdensome, but which are marvelous blessings. One is the Bible
doctrine of the Sabbath; in His mercy God asks us to “remember” it,
to keep it holy (that’s all, to keep holy what He has already made
holy!). And Satan wants to make that blessed “remembrance” to appear
burdensome.

Another “doctrine” that appears dry as dust (it used to be that way
to me!) is the Two Covenants, an idea that only high-tech theologians
wrangle about in their ivory towers. And the Bible Commentaries were no
help. It seemed that God was experimenting on Israel, trying this or
that method to save them, and since the old covenant was one of His
experiments that went bad, He had to think up another method, the new
covenant. But that created a REAL problem: if God Himself has not been
sure what to do to save us, how can I be sure of anything?

Then the light broke through the clouds, when I read a little book
entitled The Glad Tidings, a verse-by-verse study of Galatians. To me
it was intensely interesting. God always has had only one way of saving
people; He was not experimenting with different ways; the new covenant
was always His way; but the people are the ones who tried to invent a
different way to get to heaven--they came up with the old covenant
idea. The simple, sunlight truth is that God is too wise ever to try to
make bargains with sinners (don’t forget, “saints” are sinners by
nature), because He knows they can not fulfill their part of the
bargain.

His new covenant is not a “contract” wherein both parties, God and
the sinner, strike a bargain agreement. It’s always His own simple,
straight-forward promise to save the sinner by the sacrifice of
Himself; and the sinner’s proper response is not to promise to DO
this or that, but to believe, appreciate, God’s promise--just as Abraham
believed. And there is where the trouble lies: Abraham’s descendants
at Mt. Sinai did not have his faith. So they contrived a different
response to God’s new covenant promise: they promised to obey (which
promise they broke in a matter of days; Ex. 19:8; 32:1-8).

So, get under the new covenant today! Believe God’s promises to you,
and that faith will produce the obedience that has worried you, as it
did for Abraham.

Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
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