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The Plumb-bob of God

Words of Faith Final

The Plumb-bob of God
Words of Faith 7-28-2021
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2021
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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Romans 3
    [19] Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. [20] Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.

         It is hard to face, but the primary purpose of "the Law"-- the commands of God revealed in the Bible-- is to make us conscious of sin, not make us free from it.  
         Yes, the Law provides for us the basic shape of civilized society.  Yes, the Law provided the basic identity of the people of God to be "apart" from the world-- the Sabbath, dietary restrictions, and the honor of God.  But the Law can never cause holiness.  
         A speed limit does not cause drivers to lower their speed.  Only a driver can lower the speed.  The speed limit itself simply makes the speeder conscious of the boundary of the sin.  Even a driver who abides by the limit for a time is not changed or transformed by the limit or even his will.  
         In the same way, a bathroom scale does not cause a person to attain a healthy weight.  The scale only makes one conscious of the "sin," or how much we vary from the goal.  The scale is not evil, though we may curse it; it is simply honest and unwavering.  Other than the power of truth, it has no power.  
          A carpenter will use a plumb-bob, a cord with a pointed weight on one end, to discern how straight or "plumb" a wall is.  But the plumb-bob cannot make a wall straight.  The carpenter drops the line, and either the wall is straight, or it is not.  The plumb-bob simply reveals the "sin," even if it is the most subtle variation from "plumb."  
           The Law functions similarly to reveal how far we fall short of God, how we are missing the goal, or how much we vary from "plumb."  Sin is not only what we do that falls short; it is also who we are in our broken condition.  Even when we attain "perfect" behavior for a time or a perfect "weight," we are still a wall out of plumb.  
          A carpenter will tell you that all walls are out of plumb, even if just a little bit.  In our finite view, we may think it does not matter because the variance at the top of an eight-foot wall is so minuscule that we cannot see it with the naked eye.  But protract that angle into the heavens, and we will discover that a fraction of a degree is equal to a million miles in God's sight.
         The Law simply measures our variance from the character of God.  Though we may see only a tiny variation, that fraction puts us a million miles from the target.  Paul actually tried to use the Law to make himself holy, but the harder he tried, the more he varied from the target, and the more the Law simply declared him to be a sinner.
          All that we can do is confess. Confession is not a matter of revealing things to God.  God already knows all things.  Confession is agreeing with God about those things He has revealed.  God has revealed that we are out of plumb by light-years.  He has revealed that we break the limits.  We vary from His perfect plan.  Confession is when we agree with God on these facts.  Sin is sin.  I am a sinner.  I am lost without a Savior. I can never bring my life into plumb.

       Father God, I confess.  I confess that I am a sinner who is lost, not only because of things I have done but because of who I am.  I confess.  I am broken and frail, bent at my core, and lost without You. Save me by Your amazing grace.  In Jesus' Name.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2021
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)        
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2021 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.