For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by our sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the sinful man in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to our sinful nature but according to the Spirit. (Romans 8:3-4)
In my sinful nature, food is my idol. Anything we crave other than God is an idol. I want to be thin, but I have no willpower. I can’t do it on my own, but God helps me. For my snack I’m eating an eighth of a jar of peanuts instead of the whole jar. The Holy Spirit within me nudged me to lose weight. My painful joints also screeched the message, I needed to lose weight and exercise.
If my husband would’ve told me I was fat and needed to lose weight, I would have been hurt, and I might have tried to hurt him back (lol). Our human nature doesn’t like to be bossed or nagged. The Law (The Ten Commandments) reminds us of our shortcomings, and we don’t like an outside source to remind us we have faults. Because the Law tells us what to do, it is weakened by our rebellious, sinful nature.
But God had a perfect plan. He sent His son to teach us two new commandments. “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.” If we love all the time, it is impossible to sin.
God also sent Jesus to be the perfect sin offering. On earth, Jesus was tempted by Satan as we are, and he was tortured more than most any of us have been tortured. Jesus understands us. He understands why we can’t follow the Ten Commandments, even though we want to. His Spirit nudges us, reminding us we are doing wrong. We usually sin to cover up a problem or because we have low self-esteem. He wants us to pray about our problems and low self-esteem. He tells us we are wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14). He might help you solve your problem immediately or it might take months until He shows you the first step to solve it, waiting for the right time or developing the communication process (prayer). But I can tell you from experience, He is faithful, and He will show you the way out. The Ten Commandments can’t make you more Christ-like, but Jesus can.
Father God, it is impossible for me to follow every rule, so thank you for replacing them with two. Love God and love others. Even though I’m incapable of loving all the time, when you nudge me, I remember to love. Thank you for sending Jesus to make my life easier. In His name, I pray, amen.