Proclaiming the Forgiveness of Sins and Freedom from Laws
[38] Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, [39] and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses.
Acts 13:38–39 ESV
It’s a pretty big deal to say that everyone that believes is freed from everything from which you couldn’t be freed by the law of Moses. The law of Moses established a nation! Jerusalem and its great wall, Israel and its might as a world super power in multiple parts of history, all of those things came to be because of the law of Moses.
But the Law of Moses can’t bring freedom. People obviously want freedom and seek it either by holding on tight to laws (righteousness) or throwing all law and rule away to seek their own desires (hedonism).
But what if God is bigger than rules, and religion is greater than a bunch of laws? If we relate to God with a checklist of laws, at some point the whole system is going to break.
Many newlyweds spend their first few years trying to figure out how to be married according to some rules. She likes this, she doesn’t like that. Don’t ever mention this around him and if you ever see one of these things for sale, you’d better buy it for her without hesitation. After several years, though, what happens? Instead of relating to each other out of fear of the right rules, a mature couple loves each other with grace. This relationship is a reflection of the way God wants things with us!
“Perfect love casts out all fear” (1 John 4:18) and elsewhere it says that God is love. God proclaimed this love through Jesus Christ and showed it through the forgiveness of sins. Since it was Christ that did the sacrificing and the forgiving, the message can be proclaimed out for anyone that would believe it.
This also means that whatever burden we have of guilt or shame or sin can be dropped. The Law of Moses brought punishment and retribution. The forgiveness of God through Jesus Christ brings grace, truth, and peace. Pay attention to things that keep you from being free today, and ask Jesus what He thinks about those things. Watch His love cast out fear as you walk through them and join other people walking in fear too.