“Since this new way gives us such confidence, we can be very bold. We are not like Moses, who put a veil over his face so the people of Israel would not see the glory, even though it was destined to fade away. But the people’s minds were hardened, and to this day whenever the old covenant is being read, the same veil covers their minds so they cannot understand the truth. And this veil can be removed only by believing in Christ. Yes, even today when they read Moses’ writings, their hearts are covered with that veil, and they do not understand.”
2 Corinthians 3:12-15 NLT
The problem with the Old Covenant was that it set the bar to achieving a standard of righteousness acceptable to God so high that it could not be attained by human effort. All the Law of Moses achieved was making people aware of their sinfulness. However, the Law of Moses was given to the nation of Israel to reveal God’s holy character, define sin, and set them apart as a distinct, righteous nation. Today, many of our fellow members of society have a vague concept that God exists, and they think they can gain access to Heaven because of their claim that they are “good” people. They don’t break the laws of our democratic society, and they occasionally attend church for a Christmas service or a wedding. Therefore, they say, they have done all that is required to pass Heaven’s entrance exam. And they claim a backup position, through some kind of twisted logic, that God is all-loving and would never send anyone to hell.
But to a believer in God, these assumptions don’t fit in with what the Bible teaches. The Old Covenant also points towards the need for a Saviour to fulfil the requirements of the Law, and we, with the benefit of hindsight, see the provision God made for the salvation of all who come to Jesus in repentance, believing that it is only through Him that they can gain access to Heaven. But in Jesus’ day, there were the Pharisees who believed that they could achieve the standard required for eternal life with God by following every rule and regulation in the Law. Jesus rebuked them, as we read in Matthew 23:23, “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things”. Jesus called them “blind” because they failed to see and understand the purpose of the Law, and, worse, they failed to recognise the One God had sent to fulfil the purposes of the Law. In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said about the Law, “Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. … But I warn you—unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven!” (Matthew 5:17, 20). The religious people of those days, and they were still present when Paul was travelling around the Middle East, had “hardened minds” and a “veil [covered] their minds so they cannot understand the truth”.
Those “fellow members of society” that I referred to earlier also have a veil covering their minds. It is a veil made of their own selfish and sinful ways. A veil constructed of false assumptions, lies and a lack of understanding about the things of God. A veil that, once in place, blocks them from access to the only One who can save them and provide them with the gift of eternal life. But Paul helpfully reminded the Corinthians that “this veil can be removed only by believing in Christ”. No amount of scrubbing or any other form of personal effort can remove the veil; it is only through Jesus, because, as he said, He is the “way, the truth and the life. No one can come to the Father except through [Him]” (John 14:6).
There is much that we pilgrims still do not understand about God and His Kingdom. But there was that day when God, through His grace and mercy, removed the veil from our minds and beckoned us through the door between the kingdom of darkness and the Kingdom of Light. As we look around in this wonderful new world, we realise that we are only receiving a glimpse of what it will really be like when we get there. If only we could close the door behind us, the door where the two kingdoms had collided on the day when we believed in Jesus. If we could have closed that door, then we would have found ourselves unable to return to the sinful world that we had left. But for a little while, we are citizens of the Kingdom of God, living in a world we don’t really want to be in, a world of darkness and sin. We remain God’s ambassadors, tasked and commissioned to share the Good News about Jesus.
Dear Father God. Through Your grace and mercy we are citizens of Heaven. We don’t deserve such favour of course, but You have called us into Your Kingdom. We are so grateful, and we pray that You help us help others find the narrow gate that leads to You and Your glory. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 