2005-09-02
Good Morning Treasured Readers,
Our examination of the meaning of RO 10: 4, "Christ is the Fulfillment of the law," continues with more that the Holy Spirit gives me. The Good News version of the Bible translates this verse to say, "For Christ has brought the law to an end, so that everyone who believes is put right with God." We are not to misinterpret this, as the anti-Nomians might have, to say, "there are no more rules or limits. Once you've accepted Christ as Lord, then you can do anything you want with no negative consequences." Instead, we are to understand the principle of Christ's teaching in JN 8: 31b-32, "If you obey My teaching, you are really My disciples; you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." Anyone who is mature will know that there is real freedom in the exercise of a responsible life-freedom from guilt, freedom from worry about one's relationship with God, freedom from concern about one's ultimate fate. This surely has nothing to do with reckless acts which arise out of having no conscience. I understand this real freedom from the stupidity of my past of doing vandalism as a teenager and always having to worry what will happen if I'm caught. Real freedom of the kind Christ has in mind also is accompanied with peace of mind. The latter is the same gift from God that is described in PHIL 4: 7, "And God's peace, which is far beyond human understanding, will keep your hears and minds safe in union with Christ Jesus."
A righteous man is controlled by a higher law. So the question arises: In view of God's previous directive "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth," [EX 21: 24; LV 24: 20; DT 19: 21], is Christ countermanding this when He says we should "turn the other cheek" in MT 5: 39? There are some passages which help to illuminate this seeming inconsistency in Scripture. MT 5: 38-42 tells us not to take revenge on a wrongdoer, but instead to "turn the other cheek." It also goes on to say "If someone takes you to court for your shirt, let him have your coat as well. And if one of the occupation forces [then the Romans] forces you to carry his pack one mile, carry it two miles. When someone asks you to give something, give it to him; when someone wants to borrow something, lend it to him." The idea here is to set an unexpected example, so that the wrongdoer's action doesn't pull us into a sinful response. This implies having trust in God to bring justice in His own way and in His own time. The higher law demands trust in God that doesn't come to us by our nature. This trust is learned behavior, learned only when one has true faith in God and in His Son. From where does that ability to learn come? I has to come from the Holy Spirit. That is how 1 COR 2: 14 comes to make practical sense, "Whoever does not have the Spirit cannot receive the gifts that come from God's Spirit. Such a person really does not understand them, because they are foolishness to him, because their value can be judged only on a spiritual basis."
We learn more about the question above, when we see that God's instructions are appropriate to the situation. This does not in any way imply situational ethics on His part, because His principles are wholly consistent. When there is a bad attitude or behavior, there will be negative consequences. However, the consequences will be appropriate from God's point of view [not necessarily man's]. EX 21: 1, 12-36 illustrates this point. This passage is God's laws in ancient Israel about violent acts. If a man accidentally puts another man to death, the penalty differs from premeditated murder. In this case, God has ordered the establishment of cities of refuge as specific places in Israel. These are places where the perpetrator of an accidental death may go to be safe from being put to death by the injured family's representative, as long as the wrongdoer remains in them. However, for people who murder their parents, kidnap another to sell him into slavery, or curse their parents are to be put to death. If, in the course of a fight, a man hits another and temporarily injures him, then the first man is to pay for the loss of his time at work and is to care for him until he recovers. A rather odd rule follows in which a man who reprimands a slave and kills him is to be punished. However, if he reprimands the slave and does not kill him, then the loss of the slave's service temporarily is punishment enough. Another rule states that if some men are fighting and a pregnant woman is hit accidentally, losing her child without being hurt in any other way, then he must pay a fine levied on him by the woman's husband, subject to approval by the judges. But if the woman herself is injured, then the punishment is a life for a life. If a slave's eye or tooth is put out by either and man or a woman, then the slave is to be freed in payment for this eye or tooth. I encourage you to read EX 21: 28-36 for more examples of where God is determined to make the punishment fit the crime. I'll discuss some of the other passages which help us to understand God's higher law to which we are called in next week's message.
Suffice it to say at this point that Christ's directives in the Sermon in the Mount do not contradict anything that was said in the OT, but instead is leading us to an understanding of why He is fulfilling the law, "putting it to an end," so as to give us a clear path to eternal life by obeying Him faithfully.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, there are some of your teachings that are harder for us to understand than others. Through first-hand experience, we can see that the gift of the Holy Spirit is absolutely necessary for us to grasp what You are teaching us. Understanding the statement of RO 10: 4 that "Christ is the fulfillment of the law" is one of these teachings. We ask You today to give us the patience we need to dig for answers in Your word, the openness of heart to allow Your Spirit to give us understanding, and the ability to appreciate its true value to our everyday lives. We also know that You alone have the wisdom and the power to give us courage to accept that we are called to a higher law. Through You, we can have the self-discipline to make the changes in our thinking, right decisions, and make godly actions necessary to answer that call. Christ commanded us to "turn the other cheek" toward those insulting us, for example, rather than to lower ourselves to their level by returning insults. The lesson to be learned here is that the example we set is far more valuable than the fleshly gratification we might have by returning the behavior in kind. You call upon us to think first about the consequences of our words and actions before saying them or carrying them out. 2 COR 10: 3-5 gives us a clear-cut response to spiritual warfare, which is what this bad behavior by wrongdoers really is. "It is true that we live in the world but we do not fight from worldly motives. The weapons we use in our fight are not the world's weapons but God's powerful weapons, which we use to destroy strongholds. We destroy false arguments; we pull down every proud obstacle that is raised against the knowledge of God; we take every thought captive and make it obey Christ." You have commanded us to love one another as Your Son loves us [JN 13: 34-35], and You have reminded us to boldly come to Your throne to ask for Your help to do Your will with the expectation that we can have it [EPH 3: 12; IS 46: 1]. We stand before Your throne today to do all those things and to offer You our heartfelt worship, praise, and thanks. To Your glory in Christ's name, we offer our lives and our prayers. Amen.
As mentioned above, I am led to continue writing next week about how to understand God's statement through Paul in RO 10: 4 that "Christ is the fulfillment of the law." All of this must be done on the backdrop of the Sermon on the Mount, which is His second Personality's words of illumination on this important teaching. Each day that I carry out the duties of my own ministry, I am reminded of how very blessed each believer in Christ really is. Of course, we all have difficult challenges to our faith to overcome. Every time I write the incoming prayers and add appropriate Scriptures to them to send to my congregation's prayer chain, I am forced to be driven away from the idea that my challenges are harder than anyone else's or I alone face the problems I have. Our Father in heaven gave His only Son over to be scourged, insulted, and finally crucified in a horrific wave of suffering. He did this for me and for every other believer or potential believer. In His great compassion after three days, He caused Christ to be resurrected to eternal life and honor at His side. He left us with the promise that we too will follow as the "brothers" referred to in RO 8: 25. Moreover, He gave us the gift of the Holy Spirit to help guide us through our efforts to mature spiritually and share the blessings of the Gospel with others. How could any of us who endure in our faith ever feel that we are not blessed?! We don't face our challenges alone, for He brings us together in love with fellow believers and potential believers, who will uplift us when we sorrow and help us to move along that hard path which led from the narrow gate [MT 7: 13-14] over which we must pass. Let me close with asking each of us to read IS 43: 1b-3, which are some of the sweetest assurances our God has ever given us.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn