JESUS CRACKED THE CODE

Code language is an interesting concept.  Swordfish at the door.  Jasper from Saginaw.  Blue Bell.  Ah, even from our childhood codes told us who "we" were.

We use some of those in the church.  Auditorium.  Closing prayer.  Invitation song.  "We" know the exact meaning when "they" may not be able to decipher insight.

Jesus is the word  to crack the code of legalism.  He puts it away.  I doubt I'll live long enough to take in this Truth and this Glory.  After all, he is eternal in nature.

A challenge "we" face among our many codes is that we fail to move from Code to Person; Law to Jesus.  They are not the same.

If not careful we will interpret NT Law as simply a step up from OT Code.  If we fail to let the OT lead us to Jesus, both OT and NT have failed.

Carl Ketcherside wrote many decades ago, It is easy to develop a Pharisaical attitude about the New Covenant Scriptures as about the Old.  If we condition our relationship with God on the basis of knowing a compilation of sacred writings, rather than faith in Jesus, we actually make the Bible our God.  As a result, we become inconsistent and insecure.  Every interpretation, exegesis, or opinion that disagrees with our own is considered treason.  Our problem is that we make the basis of our hope an agreement with men, not a covenant with God.

The church suffers loss in areas because we have known our Bibles well without knowing our Jesus very much. 

You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that bear witness of Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me, that you might have life...Jn. 5:39.

Jesus alone cracked the code.  May we treasure new authentic life in the Spirit of God.