Living Under Grace

Scripture – Matthew 5:27-32: ²⁷“You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ ²⁸But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ²⁹If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. ³⁰And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell. ³¹“It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ ³²But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery.

Observation – (Write down what you see in the scripture.) Jesus takes the letter of the Jewish law and makes it personal. “You have heard….but I tell you.” In that, He makes it much harder. For the responsibility comes to me to make decisions regarding behavior. Rather than giving a list of rules or a joy description that says what a Christian is, He simply says, live like a Christian.

Application – (Write how you will be different today because of what you have just read.) I will keep that responsibility in the forefront of my mind today. How do I live as a Christian? How will I live this day?

Prayer – (Write out a brief prayer.) Lord, here is where your grace gets a little hard to deal with. It’s so much easier to have a clear rule that I obey or I don’t. Yet you call me to make decisions based on your guidance. Help me do that. Help me live in a way that honors you today.