Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Parallels between NT and OT

Here is the scripture used in today's post!
Today's post will be short, but I thought it to be very relevant to what we discussed this week. Sunday we discussed how the whole first chapter of James paints the picture that all sin is the same. At the heart of all sin is the desire to lord over our own lives and make choices for ourselves. That is the desire implied in James 1:14. As I was reading for my Old Testament class this morning I came across a passage in the text book that points to a very similar concept way back in Genesis 2 & 3.
"Eating fruit may appear innocent enough! But the action itself displayed something immoral below the surface: rebellion against God's command (Gen 2:17 - "...except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat this fruit you will surely die."). Temptation always entails a challenge to God's Word (Gen 3:1, 4, 5), which he speaks for our eternal good. God alone understood the full danger of disobedience. He always knows what is best for us." (Arnold & Beyer, Encountering the Old Testament, p. 83)
As we go through our weeks, we ought to pray for God to reveal the ultimate Sin in our lives and deal with it, rather than all the specific actions that grow out of it. That is surely a big part of the wisdom and spiritual maturity that God desires for us!

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