Now that the summer is well and truly over, we’re all getting settled back into some sort of routine- whether we like it or not! The start of an academic year presents the mystery of the unknown. Some of us have another year at school, college, uni or work, while others are faced with completely new surroundings and situations.

 Although we may have no idea what is to come, what we will achieve, or what challenges we may find ourselves up against, we can rely on the fact that God will help us through everything we encounter, and is always there for us. J  

“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline.”  2 Timothy 1:7

Sunday Morning Upstairs Sessions.

Recently in F2G Mandy and Nigel brought up the subject of Old Testament laws (The Law of Moses), such as those mentioned in Leviticus and Deuteronomy. The big question was, ‘should we as Christians still obey these laws?’

 We watched a Bible Study which looked into this issue and portrayed the idea that the Old Testament law was ‘external’ while we now live by an ‘internal’ law. The best way to explain this in a summary is that in the Old Testament, the introduction of sin caused a separation between God and Man. Although God still loved and protected humans, He had to keep a distance in order to remain pure - He couldn’t mix with sin. This is why so much of the Old Testament contains animal sacrifices, laws about temples and tabernacles, and laws on stone tablets. At this time, the law was exterior to Man.

However, when Jesus Christ died for us, He paid for all our sins, which allows us to have a proper relationship with God. So now, we no longer have to use temples or tabernacles, because God lives in us through the Holy Spirit. Also, the law is now much more internal, as explained by the new covenant mentioned in Jeremiah 31:31-33, which talks about how the law is now written and determined by our hearts.