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Even though the Jewish people were brought back to their land, were forgiven of their sins, and were inspired by the Holy Spirit to complete the temple, God still had standards for them.
What should we say then? Should we continue in sin so that grace may multiply? 2 Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it?
Romans 6:1-2 HCSB
All of this did not mean they could “go on sinning.”
“No place, time, nor circumstances can alter this law. It is “from eternity to eternity.” It is the revelation of God, and the standard of rectitude in all nations and ages. Unchangeable in its nature, demands, and design, it is designed to educate conscience, to keep alive a sense of sin, and to lead to repentance and faith.”
Preacher’s Homiletical
The other reminder for the people here was that their spiritual standing with God and physical presence in the land He had given them depended on their relationship to Him. They could only live in safety and prosperity by living in Him. It was not obtained by their own works, but by faith, and it would be through obedience that it would be maintained. That obedience was the fruit of their faith. It is the fruit of our faith as well.
“The inheritance was never ‘of the law;’ was never held by any legal tenure—by any kind of desert—any right arising out of the doings of those who occupied it.” Only in Christ are we free from condemnation. We are saved by grace, not by works. “Not of works, lest any man should boast.””
Preacher’s Homiletical