Read the Bible

¹ Does is seem like we are tooting our own horns so that y'all will believe we are who we say we are? Do we really need some letter of introduction or endorsement concerning the things we've done? ² Nope! Y'all are our letter of recognition that has been read by everyone. ³ That's right, y'all are a living letter, written not with quill and ink, but with the Holy Spirit. This new letter wasn't written on stone tablets like the first one, but rather on human hearts by the Spirit of God.

⁴ We can say this proudly because of our never-ending trust in God through Jesus Christ. ⁵ Now we know we ain't qualified or worthy of this task, but we tell you it is God working through us that allows all these good works. ⁶ He signed us up as day hands of a new agreement from himself to his cowboys. This new agreement, or code, is not a set of written rules, but a written promise on our soul by the Spirit.

The Good News of the New Code

⁷ The old agreement was a code of condemnation that brought death. This code was written on stone tablets and shone with the glory of God, but just like how Moses's face shone the same way, it was already fading away. At first, the people of Israel couldn't even look at Moses. ⁸ If the old code shined bright with God's glory but faded, how much more will the new one shine even brighter. ⁹ What I mean is, the old agreement was a code of condemnation that judged people guilty of sin and brought death. Even so, it was filled with God's glory. So surely this new agreement, a code of confirmation that forgives people of sin and brings life, has even more glory from God. ¹⁰ In fact, the old code's glory is really nothing compared the new code's magnificent glory. ¹¹ Since the code of condemnation that was brought to an end came with glory, then surely the code of confirmation that brings life, forgiveness, and never ends, has more glory by far.

¹² We can talk openly about this new hope without being ashamed. In fact, it gives us confidence and boldness we never had before. ¹³ We aren't like Moses, who hid his face with a wild rag when he came off the mountain. He didn't want them to see the glory that had already started to fade away. ¹⁴ But the people didn't notice because their hearts were hard like stone. Even today when the old code of condemnation is read, it covers their minds where they cannot see or understand the truth. This covering can only be removed by believing in Jesus, who brought the new code of confirmation with him. ¹⁵ Yep, even today when the code of Moses is read, hearts and minds are covered and they cannot understand. ¹⁶ But when someone changes and believes in the Lord and decides once and for all to ride for him, that covering is stripped away. ¹⁷ The Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit is, there is freedom. ¹⁸ Our faces don't hide behind wild rags to keep people from seeing the glory of God. We show the Lord's glory, not in our faces, but in our hearts and in our lives that are being changed to be like his. As we change more and more, there is more and more glory that belongs only to the Lord—who is the Spirit.