Paul’s Confidence is in God (Day 33)

Read 2 Corinthians 3:1-6
 
   Some false teachers had started carrying forged letters of recommendation to authenticate their authority. In no uncertain terms, Paul stated that he needed no such letters. The believers to whom Paul and his companions had preached were enough of a recommendation. Paul did use letters of introduction, however, many times. He wrote them on behalf of Phoebe (Romans 16) and Timothy (1 Corinthians 16). These letters helped Paul’s trusted companions and friends find a welcome in various churches. 
   Paul uses powerful imagery from famous Old Testament passages predicting the promised day of new hearts and new beginnings for God’s people (Jeremiah 31; Ezekiel 36). No human being can take credit for this process of conversion. It is the work of God’s Spirit. We do not become believers by following some manual or using some technique. Our conversion is a result of God’s implanting His Spirit in our heart, giving us new power to live for Him. 
 
   Paul was not boasting in these verses; he gave God the credit for all his accomplishments. While the false teachers boasted of their own power and success, Paul expressed his humility before God. No one can claim to be adequate without God’s help. No one is competent to carry out the responsibilities of God’s calling in his or her own strength. Without the Holy Spirit’s enabling, our natural talent can carry us only so far. As Christ’s witnesses, we need the character and special strength that only God gives. 
 
   The old way ends in death; in the new way, the Holy Spirit gives life. Trying to be saved by keeping the Old Testament laws will end in death. Only by believing in the Lord Jesus Christ can a person receive eternal life through the Holy Spirit. No one but Jesus has ever fulfilled the law perfectly; thus, the whole world is condemned to death. The law makes people realize their sin, but it cannot give life. Under the new covenant, which means promise or agreement, eternal life comes from the Holy Spirit. The Spirit gives new life to all who believe in Christ. The Ten Commandments still points out sin and shows us how to obey God, but forgiveness comes only through the grace and mercy of Christ (Romans 7).