The Traffic Laws
Like any good, law-abiding citizen, I always do
my best to follow the traffic laws. As a result, I haven't received a traffic ticket in
-- let's say -- 15 years? And that last ticket was
actually for an accident -- one that wasn't even my fault
-- not for a traffic violation. Pretty good, hey?
Of course, you might say that this is because I just never
get caught . . . But in all honesty I can tell you that I
always TRY to not break the traffic laws. I don't
speed, and I use cruise control constantly to make sure of
this! I don't pass a double yellow line. I
just "poke" behind the slow ones until it is legal to
pass. I come to a complete stop at red lights before
turning right. I use my blinkers. I don't drive
with my horn. I check all my mirrors before changing
lanes, and I ALWAYS wear my seatbelt! Not bad, if I
do say so myself. And of course, I have
received my just reward. I haven't had a ticket in
15 years! Mind if I pat myself on the back???
But wait a minute . . . maybe
I do remember the time I forgot my wallet at home
and ended up driving without my drivers license . . . And
there was that time at work when I went out over lunch to
bring the car up into a closer parking spot. It was
such a short trip . . . I'm not completely sure I
put my seat belt on . . . And the last time I was in
Quebec, I did turn right on red a couple of times
before I found out that is illegal there. And I
suppose I have forgotten my blinkers a time or two.
Not on purpose, mind you, but I seem to recall completing
a turn or two lately and realizing I hadn't put them on.
Then there was the time I was passing someone in a passing
lane, only to have the passing lane run out before I
completely my pass. And you know those corners?
The ones that are always posted "50 km/hr"? Of
course, nobody ever takes them that
slowly--except on icy roads, that is--and I really think
they are posted so slowly just for the dangerous
occasions. And as hard as I try to hold the car at 80
km/hr (standard limit for country roads in Ontario,
Canada), there has been a very few times when I've glanced
down and found the speed had crept up, unawares, to 90 . .
. And even when I use the cruise control, it
sometimes allows the speed to get up as high as 83 or 84 .
. .
Hum. Now that I look at
it this way, I'm starting to feel a little less smug . . .
But then, I haven't had a ticket in 15 years . .
. Maybe you're right. Maybe I was just lucky that I
didn't get caught . . . Maybe.
But what if . . .
What if my car had a special
recording system that would record each and every
"mistake" I made? What if this special record was
forwarded to the local police station on a minutely basis?
What if each time the police station received a record of
my disobeying the traffic laws, they would issue a ticket?
What if breaking the law by going even 1 km over the speed
limit was punished the same as driving 140 km/hr?
What if . . . not this is a bit far-fetched, but I'll put
it down anyway . . . What if breaking traffic laws was
punishable by death?
If all these things were
true, I guess you might say that I would try REALLY hard
to not break any of the traffic laws! But I
already try not to break any of the traffic laws, but
something always creeps in, unawares . . .
Does any of this sound
familiar to you? Everyone who drives a car is
subject to traffic laws. And everyone is also
subject to another very important set of laws: God's
laws! The 10 commandments! But there are a few
problems with this!
** First: The Bible tells us that we can keep 9 of
the laws without fail, but if we fall short, even a little
bit, in the 10th, we are guilty of having broken the whole
law (James 2:10: "For whoever keeps the whole law and
yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all
of it.").
** Second: We are told that God sees each and every one of
our sins! (Job 34:21-22: "His eyes are on the ways of
men; he sees their every step. There is no dark place, no
deep shadow, where evildoers can hide." and Heb 4:13:
"Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight
Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of
him to whom we must give account.") This is like
having a computer in the car that records each and every
time we turn without a signal, each time we don't put on
our seatbelts, each time we go even 1 km over the speed
limit!
** Third: The Bible tells us that the punishment for
breaking the law is death. (Rom 6:23: "For the
wages of sin is death . . .").
** Fourth: The Bible tells us that no one
has ever been able to keep these laws (Rom 3:23-24:
"for all have sinned and fall short of
the glory of God . . ." and Acts 15:10-11: "Now
then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks
of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our
fathers have been able to bear?")! In
fact, Paul makes reference to the 10 commandments
themselves as bringing about death: "Now if the
ministry that brought death, which
was engraved in letters on stone . . ."
(2 Cor 3:7).
You don't need a fancy
translation to see where I'm going with this! If we
can't keep the law even when we try, if God sees our every
move, and if breaking the law is punishable by death, then
we are all doomed for destruction, friends! Every
last one of us! We can't do it. It's not
possible. We're doomed to die.
You see, God's laws are a bit
like traffic laws! I try to follow the traffic laws,
but sometimes I become distracted and am unaware of what
those laws are! Or sometimes, I am not paying
attention well enough to monitor my speedometer. And
sometimes I am unsure if those speed limits (for sharp
turns) are even put there for normal driving!
My friends, I spent 35 years
of my life trying to follow God's laws as diligently as I
try to follow the traffic laws. And for a time, I
thought I was doing a pretty good job! But the
closer I got to Jesus, the more inadequate I realized my
efforts to keep God's laws really were! For example,
I have never killed anyone in my life, and I try hard to
forgive most people who have wronged me. But
sometimes I don't forgive immediately . . .
Sabbath-keeping was another problem. I tried to
neither buy nor sell on the Sabbath. I tried to not
make others work on my behalf. And I tried not to
work myself. But something as common as picking up
the telephone and turning on the lights require that
someone be working! And what about cooking? I
could pre-prepare my meals. I could leave the dishes
sitting in the kitchen until after sunset. But I
still had to heat the meals and put them on the table!
I was still working! It couldn't be done. As it
stood, I was doomed to death, despite how hard I tried to
keep the law of God! The law had become a burden, a yoke,
just like the one described by Paul: "a yoke that
neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear"
(Acts 15:10)!
But praise be to our
Everlasting Father and His Eternal Son, Jesus Christ,
there is another way: "For the wages of sin is
death, but the gift of God is
eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
(Rom 6:23) God's Gift. God's grace, through
Jesus Christ: "This righteousness from God
comes through faith in Jesus Christ to
all who believe. There is no difference, for all
have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and
are justified freely by his grace through
the redemption that came by Christ Jesus."
(Rom 3:22-24)
It's as simple as that, my
friends! The law of God does not need to bring us
death, even though no matter how hard we try, we cannot
keep the law, for God has provided a better way! All
we have to do is accept God's gift of Salvation through
Jesus: "I am the gate; whoever enters through me
will be saved." (John 10:9). All we have to do
is proclaim the name of the Lord: "And everyone who
calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." (Acts
2:21) and "That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus
is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him
from the dead, you will be saved." (Rom 10:9-10).
Whew! That's good news,
my friends! It doesn't matter if I fall short of the
law. It doesn't matter if God sees me. It
doesn't matter that my actions merit death. I am
covered by the blood of the lamb, and I am saved! I
no longer need to bear the yoke of slavery ("It is for
freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and
do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of
slavery." Gal 5:1)
Does this mean I have license
to sin? No. "What then? Shall we sin because we
are not under law but under grace? By no means!"
(Rom 6:15-16) "What shall we say, then? Shall we
go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no
means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any
longer? Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized
into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were
therefore buried with him through baptism into death in
order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead
through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new
life." (Rom 6:1-4)
What does it
mean then? It means that I am not under the burden
of the law. I am under grace! "For sin shall not
be your master, because you are not under law, but under
grace." (Rom 6:14). I am free of the burden of
the letters engraved in stone that only brought death.
In Christ, I am free, for "It is for freedom that Christ
has set us free.: (Gal 5:1)
Have you confessed "with your
mouth, "Jesus is Lord", and "believed "in your heart that
God raised Him from the dead"? If so, then you, like
me have no need to worry about that little computer in the
car that reads each and every traffic violation! But
if you have not done so, if you have not accepted His gift
of Salvation and invited Him to be the "boss" of your
life, why wait another minute? Why not do it now?
To answer the Savior's Call, Click here (http://answers2prayer.org/saviours_call.html)
Love in Christ,
Lyn
Lyn Chaffart,
Moderator, The Nugget, Scriptural Nuggets (
www.sermonillustrator.org/minisermons/ ), Answers2Prayer Ministries,
www.Answers2Prayer.org ,