Day 311 (Through the Bible in a year readings for today: Jeremiah 46-48; Hebrews 4)
THE TWO-EDGED SWORD
“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12 ESV)
The sword was a common weapon in The Bible. The Old Testament Hebrew and New Testament Greek words for sword refer to both swords and daggers. Some were short, others were long, some were straight, others were curved, but regardless of their differences, they were always very deadly at close range.
In our verse for today, God’s Word, the Bible, is called a double-edged sword. Double-edged swords were useful for both offense and defense. What we find in the Bible are two basic messages, Law and Gospel. Both messages touch our souls and spirits. God uses the Law to wake us up to our sinful and lost condition. He then uses the Gospel to pick us up with the good news that Jesus paid for our sins on the cross. The hymn writer beautifully lays out both sides in this stanza:
The Law reveals the guilt of sin
And makes us conscience-stricken;
But then the Gospel enters in
The sinful soul to quicken.
Come to the cross, trust Christ, and live;
The Law no peace can ever give,
No comfort and no blessing.
(Salvation unto Us Has Come, Lutheran Service Book, CPH, 2006, #555 stanza 8)
Heavenly Father, thank You for giving us the Bible, Your spiritual sword that directs me to repent and believe, and then motivates me to live. Give me a hunger for Your word, that I may daily read, mark, learn and inwardly digest this precious gift. In Jesus’ saving name. Amen.
Pastor David Paape
Daily Bible Reading Chart covering the entire Bible in one year.
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