Which Ministry?

2Corinthians 3:3-6 - ...clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart. And we have such trust through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”

Old and new, death and life. Hearts of stone or hearts of flesh. Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. (Matthew 5:17)

Tablets of stone=Ten Commandments

Tablets of flesh=law of Christ, within our hearts

God made a covenant long ago with Abraham that He would be his God and the God of all his descendants. Abraham had so much faith in God that he was called righteous. 

In the Old Testament God started out with a list of commandments. Because those commandments could not be perfectly kept, there were sacrifices made continually. God finally chose to bring about one final possibility for permanent solution...His Son, who would be sacrificed and die, like all the animals of the Old Testament sacrifices. 

This same  covenant is for those today who seek Him. We become Abraham's descendants when we come into complete and utter submission to Jesus Christ. The other evening in a Bible study we were reminded that living and being in Christ and receiving His promises is predicated on a whole bunch of "if" statements. If we do this, He will do that. I saw an article once that said the Bible is an "iffy" book! It is. A very rough estimate tells me there are hundreds of if statements. It was this way from the very beginning and is still the same today.

God never changes His ways to suit our desires. We must change our ways to suit His. This concept goes so against our human nature...but IF we follow and obey Him, His promises are for us. God only offers one promise to those who do not...eternal death.

Often I write that it is not by our works, our sufficiency, that we attain eternal life. That would be based on the tablets of stone…the commandments, the law, the sacrifices necessary to atone for sin. I came to Christ through the Spirit of God, who changed my heart’s attitude. He took my heart of stone and made it flesh. My sufficiency now is from God. Giving myself to Him I am part of the new covenant. As stated above, the letter (the works, law and sacrifices—apart from God) kill because it is we who try to work for our salvation. But the Spirit gives life...through God’s grace, His Son, His Son’s atoning blood. In Christ alone.

Christ came to fulfill all those laws we could not keep. The laws are there to show us we cannot keep them. If we cannot keep them, there is but one other choice. We must seek a Savior. We must seek the Savior. In Christ alone. It is through the law of Christ and a heart change. Sincerely seek Him and He will save. He will gladly save the lowest of the low, the most wretched person, which we all are anyway. He is no respecter of persons but wishes that none perish. None. When the choice was before me, I chose the ministry of the Spirit, not of the flesh. 

Romans 3:20 - Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…