Some spend their entire lives dancing between darkness and light.
In his letter to the Romans, Paul pointed this out and explained the difference between the Old Covenant way of serving God—under the law—and the “new” way of serving God in the freedom of the Spirit. Christ’s death and resurrection accomplished far more for us than forgiveness. We have been invited into a new way of living. . .
This difference between the Old and New Covenant is beautifully explained in C.S. Lewis’ the Chronicles of Narnia when Aslan laid down his life in Edmond’s place to defeat the power of the White Witch. The Witch thought he was simply following the law of Narnia by taking the punishment Edmond deserved. But Aslan knew the “deeper magic.” He knew that sacrificing himself would do more than just meet the requirements of the law to rescue Edmond from the consequences of his crime. He knew that he could defeat her once and for all by rising again. It was Narnia’s slavery to the Witch that kept everyone in a perpetual state of misery. Rescue from punishment without defeating the source of the misery would be no rescue at all.
“For he will save his people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21
George MacDonald said, “The Lord never came to deliver men from the consequences of their sins while those sins remained. That would be to throw the medicine out the window while the man still lies sick!”
This episode begins with an immense amount of Scripture—various excerpts from Romans 6, 7, and 8. Bear with it to the end! Listen and be reminded of God’s precious promise to us:
“And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.” Ezekiel 36:26
Featured song: Humble Heart - available soon on all digital platforms but for now only on the Stephologie Podcast.
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