Revcort's Ramblings

Scripture Focus

“Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” — 2 Corinthians 3:4–6 (ESV)

Devotional Thought

As we continue through Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, we come to a statement that is at the very heart of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In verse 6, Paul writes, “For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” Those few words summarize one of the most important truths we can understand about our relationship with God. They also help us understand the distinction between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant, between the Law of Moses and the salvation that comes through faith in Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, this distinction has sometimes been misunderstood and even distorted to justify ideas that are completely contrary to what the Scriptures actually teach.

Throughout history, there have been those who have suggested that the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament are somehow different. Some have even suggested that they are two entirely different gods. According to this thinking, the God of the Old Testament is angry, judgmental, and full of wrath toward sinful humanity, while the God of the New Testament, particularly Jesus Christ, is characterized entirely by love, acceptance, and inclusivity. Some even suggest that Jesus came to do away with the Law of Moses altogether, setting aside its moral requirements and replacing them with a kind of unconditional acceptance that makes no demands upon those who follow Him. Unfortunately, such interpretations can become convenient ways for sinful humanity to justify lifestyles and behaviors that God’s Word clearly identifies as sinful.

There is just one problem with that understanding. It isn’t what the Bible teaches!

Jesus Himself addressed this issue in Matthew 5:17 when He said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” Jesus did not come to destroy God’s Law. He came to fulfill it. God’s character has not changed, His holiness has not diminished, and His standards of righteousness have not been lowered. The same God who judged sin in the Old Testament is the God who sent His only Son into the world to save sinners in the New Testament. God’s love and mercy are clearly demonstrated throughout the Old Testament, just as His holiness and righteous judgment are revealed in the New.

God has not changed, and neither has humanity’s fundamental problem. God still hates sin, and He still loves the people He created. Those two truths are not contradictory. In fact, they help us understand why the Gospel is such wonderful news.

When God gave the Law to Moses, He was revealing His holy character and making clear what He required of His people. The Law identified sin and established the standard of righteousness. But there was a problem, and it wasn’t with the Law. The problem was with us! God’s Law is holy, righteous, and good, as Paul tells us in Romans 7:12. But sinful humanity is incapable of keeping that Law perfectly. If we intend to establish our own righteousness before God by keeping His commandments, then perfect obedience is what righteousness requires. And who among us can meet that standard? Paul answers that question in Romans 3:10 when he writes, “None is righteous, no, not one.” A few verses later, he declares, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

And that is precisely why Paul says, “The letter kills.”

The Law cannot give life to sinners because it cannot make sinners righteous. It reveals our sin, exposes our guilt, and pronounces the judgment our disobedience deserves, but it cannot remove that guilt or change our hearts. When we attempt to earn righteousness through obedience to the Law, we discover that the very standard we are trying to satisfy becomes the testimony against us. The Law reveals our condemnation, but it cannot provide our deliverance.

However, none of this took God by surprise. He did not give the Law to Israel, wait to see whether humanity could keep it, and then hurriedly come up with another plan when everyone failed. God’s plan of redemption was established long before Moses ever stood on Mount Sinai. Peter describes Jesus in 1 Peter 1:19–20 as the precious Lamb of God, without blemish or spot, who was foreknown before the foundation of the world. The cross of Jesus Christ was not God’s emergency response to humanity’s failure. It was His plan of redemption from the beginning.

And here is where the glorious truth of the Gospel comes into focus. There actually was One who kept God’s Law perfectly. There was One who never sinned, never disobeyed the Father, and never failed to meet the righteous standard of God’s holiness. That One is Jesus Christ! He lived the life of perfect obedience that none of us could live, and then He willingly offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for our sins. Paul explains in Romans 3:26 that God is both “just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” God did not simply overlook our sins or pretend that His righteous requirements no longer mattered. At the cross, God’s justice was satisfied, and His mercy was magnificently displayed. Through faith in Jesus Christ, we receive the righteousness that we could never earn for ourselves.

This is why Paul begins our passage by declaring that our confidence is through Christ toward God. He immediately adds, “Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God.” Paul understood that he had absolutely nothing to boast about in himself. Even his calling and ability to serve as a minister of the New Covenant came entirely from God. And if that was true of the Apostle Paul, how much more should we recognize that our standing before God rests entirely upon His grace rather than our own accomplishments?

But Paul doesn’t stop with the inadequacy of the Law. He goes on to declare the wonderful truth that “the Spirit gives life.”

Under the New Covenant, God does something that the Law, by itself, could never accomplish. He doesn’t merely tell us what righteousness looks like. He gives us new life through His Holy Spirit. When a person places genuine faith in Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell within that believer, bringing spiritual life to one who was dead in trespasses and sins. And this was God’s promise all along! In Ezekiel 36:26–27, God promised to give His people new hearts and put His Spirit within them. The New Covenant fulfills that promise through Jesus Christ.

Now, we need to be careful not to misunderstand this. Paul is not saying that obedience no longer matters or that Christians are free to live however they please. Quite the opposite! The Holy Spirit who gives us life is also the Spirit who produces holiness within us. Grace does not give us permission to continue in sin. It delivers us from sin’s condemnation and begins to break its power over our lives. We do not obey God in order to earn salvation. We obey God because, through Jesus Christ, we have been saved and made alive by His Spirit.

So, let me ask you something today. What are you trusting in to make you right with God? Are you depending upon your religious activities, your moral behavior, your church membership, or your attempts to be a good person? Or are you resting entirely upon what Jesus Christ has accomplished on your behalf?

Because no matter how hard we try, we will never be good enough to save ourselves. But thanks be to God, we don’t have to be! Jesus Christ has already done what we could never do, and the Spirit gives life to all who place their faith in Him.

That is the glorious message of the Gospel!

Reflection Questions

1. Have you ever found yourself depending upon your own goodness, religious activities, or obedience to God’s commandments as evidence that you deserve His acceptance? How does Paul’s statement about our sufficiency coming from God challenge that thinking?
2. Why is it important to understand that God’s holiness, justice, love, and mercy are consistent throughout both the Old and New Testaments? How does this help us appreciate what Jesus accomplished on the cross?
3. What is the difference between attempting to obey God’s commandments to earn salvation and obeying Him because we have already received salvation through faith in Jesus Christ? How should the presence of the Holy Spirit change the way we live?

Closing Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You for the wonderful truth that our salvation does not depend upon our ability to make ourselves righteous. We confess that we have all sinned and fallen short of Your glory, and that no amount of human effort could ever make us worthy to stand before You. Thank You for giving us Your Law to reveal Your holiness and expose our need for a Savior. Most of all, thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus Christ, who perfectly fulfilled Your righteous requirements and willingly gave His life as the sacrifice for our sins. Thank You that through faith in Him, we can be forgiven, declared righteous, and made alive by Your Holy Spirit. Forgive us when we begin to trust in our own accomplishments rather than resting in the finished work of Christ. Help us to understand that obedience is not the means by which we earn Your love, but the grateful response of hearts transformed by Your grace. May Your Holy Spirit continue His work within us, making us more like Jesus each day. And may we never lose our wonder at the glorious truth that while the letter kills, the Spirit gives life. In the precious name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, we pray. Amen.