Saturday, February 18, 2006
Now what?
Postulate 4: Not under the Law, but not free from the Law.
“For though I [Paul] am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law.” (1 Corinthians 9:19-21 ESV)
“For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. For he who said, ‘Do not commit adultery,’ also said, ‘Do not murder.’ If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.” (James 2:10-13)
So what is to be made of this? Is the law meaningless to us now? My answer would be no. God still has requirements (expectations) for you and me. Jesus, in his Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), referenced how we should follow certain regulations. He actually made certain regulations more restrictive (e.g. anger equivalent to murder).
Now there are laws that have become obsolete. Any law concerning sacrifices, burnt offerings, sin offerings, Levitical duties, etc. can be compared to the law in New Hampshire that requires every barn to have a bucket full of water at all times. This bucket law outdated plumbing systems. Now water can be supplied to the barns by pipe. The bucket law (which is still on record) has been made obsolete. However, the principle of this law still exists. As the writer of Hebrews addresses, Jesus was the perfect High Priest and the perfect sacrifice. No sacrifices are required after the ultimate sacrifice. (Circumcision can be added to this group of obsolete laws, but for a different reason. That is beyond the scope of today’s post.)
Apart from obsolete laws there are laws we still hold today. If you flip through Leviticus I hope that you would agree that laws like stealing, lying, cursing, idolatry, corrupt sexual relationships, etc. are still valid. A Christian should not be guilty of any of these. How would we know what sin is if we did not have the law?
What about the Sabbath, tithing, marrying non-believers, and oaths? My gut feeling is they still are requirements from God. Will following them save me? Absolutely not! Should I realize that God still establishes boundaries? Probably so!
“For though I [Paul] am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law.” (1 Corinthians 9:19-21 ESV)
“For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. For he who said, ‘Do not commit adultery,’ also said, ‘Do not murder.’ If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.” (James 2:10-13)
So what is to be made of this? Is the law meaningless to us now? My answer would be no. God still has requirements (expectations) for you and me. Jesus, in his Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), referenced how we should follow certain regulations. He actually made certain regulations more restrictive (e.g. anger equivalent to murder).
Now there are laws that have become obsolete. Any law concerning sacrifices, burnt offerings, sin offerings, Levitical duties, etc. can be compared to the law in New Hampshire that requires every barn to have a bucket full of water at all times. This bucket law outdated plumbing systems. Now water can be supplied to the barns by pipe. The bucket law (which is still on record) has been made obsolete. However, the principle of this law still exists. As the writer of Hebrews addresses, Jesus was the perfect High Priest and the perfect sacrifice. No sacrifices are required after the ultimate sacrifice. (Circumcision can be added to this group of obsolete laws, but for a different reason. That is beyond the scope of today’s post.)
Apart from obsolete laws there are laws we still hold today. If you flip through Leviticus I hope that you would agree that laws like stealing, lying, cursing, idolatry, corrupt sexual relationships, etc. are still valid. A Christian should not be guilty of any of these. How would we know what sin is if we did not have the law?
What about the Sabbath, tithing, marrying non-believers, and oaths? My gut feeling is they still are requirements from God. Will following them save me? Absolutely not! Should I realize that God still establishes boundaries? Probably so!
# posted by Wesley Son of Cornelius @ 9:57 PM 
