Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Has the gospel erased gender


A couple of weeks ago I was told about someone who used this verse to say the gospel removes gender and therefore supports the transgender cause.

If someone claims the Bible says something, we should examine that declaration and see if it is so. That’s just what I did. I examined the verse and its context, I researched commentaries to find what has been the historical understanding of the verse, and I read Paul’s other epistles to see if his own teaching conformed to this interpretation.

Let’s begin with Paul’s epistles. Here is a suggested chronology of his epistles

What’s with the chronology? Some may suggest that Paul grew in his understanding of the implications of the gospel as he went along. I don’t believe this, but for the sake of discussion, I skimmed through the epistles written after AD 57 to see if he taught that gender had been erased by the gospel. Here is a summary (in chronological order):

2 Corinthians - 8:18  And we have sent with him the brother...

12:2 I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago...

Romans – Paul refers to father and fathers, consistently uses the masculine pronoun, routinely addresses his discourse to “O man” ... Then there’s

1:27  And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.

7:2  For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband.

Ephesians -  wives, husbands, men, father and mother

Colossians  - wives, husbands, fathers

1 Timothy – chock-full of references to men, women, older women, younger women, sister, fathers, young men, brothers, widows (a woman whose man has died); he says elders and deacons are men with one wife, a woman is not to teach a man

2 Timothy - grandmother, mother; he calls Timothy “my son” and “man of God”

Titus - the husband of one wife, aged men, aged women, young women, young men

Somebody forgot to tell Paul that the gospel has erased gender! He went so far as to give exhortations that were gender specific as well as church regulations that were gender based. Clearly, there is neither male nor female does not mean gender has been erased or removed or nullified or done away by the gospel. Well then what does it mean?

What follows is the historical interpretation or understanding of this passage using the comments of Chrysostom, Martin Luther, John Calvin, Matthew Henry, and Adam Clarke. Why use such ancient people’s views? If you will notice, these comments are spread out between 400 and 1800 and thus represent the consistent, historical, traditional interpretation of this verse.

Chrysostom, 347-407
There can be neither Jew nor Greek, there can be neither bond nor free, there can be no male and female: for you all are one in Christ Jesus.
See what an insatiable soul! For having said, We are all made children of God through Faith, he does not stop there, but tries to find something more exact, which may serve to convey a still closer oneness with Christ. Having said, you have put on Christ, even this does not suffice Him, but by way of penetrating more deeply into this union, he comments on it thus: You are all One in Christ Jesus, that is, you have all one form and one mould, even Christ's. What can be more awful than these words! He that was a Greek, or Jew, or bond-man yesterday, carries about with him the form, not of an Angel or Archangel, but of the Lord of all, yea displays in his own person the Christ.

Martin Luther, 1483-1546
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female; for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
The list might be extended indefinitely: There is neither preacher nor hearer, neither teacher nor scholar, neither master nor servant, etc. In the matter of salvation, rank, learning, righteousness, influence count for nothing.
With this statement Paul deals a death blow to the Law. When a person has put on Christ nothing else matters. Whether a person is a Jew, a punctilious and circumcised observer of the Law of Moses, or whether a person is a noble and wise Greek does not matter. Circumstances, personal worth, character, achievements have no bearing upon justification. Before God they count for nothing. What counts is that we put on Christ.
Whether a servant performs his duties well; whether those who are in authority govern wisely; whether a man marries, provides for his family, and is an honest citizen; whether a woman is chaste, obedient to her husband, and a good mother: all these advantages do not qualify a person for salvation. These virtues are commendable, of course; but they do not count points for justification. All the best laws, ceremonies, religions, and deeds of the world cannot take away sin guilt, cannot dispatch death, cannot purchase life.
There is much disparity among men in the world, but there is no such disparity before God. "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23.) Let the Jews, let the Greeks, let the whole world keep silent in the presence of God. Those who are justified are justified by Christ. Without faith in Christ the Jew with his laws, the monk with his holy orders, the Greek with his wisdom, the servant with his obedience, shall perish forever.

For ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
There is much imparity among men in the world. And it is a good thing. If the woman would change places with the man, if the son would change places with the father, the servant with the master, nothing but confusion would result. In Christ, however, all are equal. We all have one and the same Gospel, "one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all," one Christ and Savior of all. The Christ of Peter, Paul, and all the saints is our Christ. Paul can always be depended on to add the conditional clause, "In Christ Jesus." If we lose sight of Christ, we lose out.

John Calvin, 1509-1564
He therefore explains, in a few words, what is implied in our being united, or rather, made one with the Son of God; so as to remove all doubt, that what belongs to him is communicated to us.
28.There is neither Jew nor Greek. The meaning is, that there is no distinction of persons here, and therefore it is of no consequence to what nation or condition any one may belong: nor is circumcision any more regarded than sex or civil rank. And why? Because Christ makes them all one. Whatever may have been their former differences, Christ alone is able to unite them all. Ye are one: the distinction is now removed. The apostle’s object is to shew that the grace of adoption, and the hope of salvation, do not depend on the law, but are contained in Christ alone, who therefore is all.

Matthew Henry, 1662-1714
That this privilege of being the children of God, and of being by baptism devoted to Christ, is now enjoyed in common by all real Christians. The law indeed made a difference between Jew and Greek, giving the Jews on many accounts the pre-eminence: that also made a difference between bond and free, master and servant, and between male and female, the males being circumcised. But it is not so now; they all stand on the same level, and are all one in Christ Jesus, as the one is not accepted on the account of any national or personal advantages he may enjoy above the other, so neither is the other rejected for the want of them but all who sincerely believe on Christ, of what nation, or sex, or condition, soever they be, are accepted of him, and become the children of God through faith in him.

Adam Clarke, 1760-1832
There is neither Jew nor Greek - Under the Gospel all distinctions are done away, as either helping or hindering; all are equally welcome to Christ, and all have an equal need of him; all persons of all sects, and conditions, and sexes, who believe in him, become one family through him; they are one body, of which he is the head.

Neither male nor female - With great reason the apostle introduces this. Between the privileges of men and women there was a great disparity among the Jews. A man might shave his head, and rend his clothes in the time of mourning; a woman was not permitted to do so. A man might impose the vow of nasirate upon his son; a woman could not do this on her daughter. A man might be shorn on account of the nasirate of his father; a woman could not. A man might betroth his daughter; a woman had no such power. A man might sell his daughter; a woman could not. In many cases they were treated more like children than adults; and to this day are not permitted to assemble with the men in the synagogues, but are put up in galleries, where they can scarcely see, nor can they be seen. Under the blessed spirit of Christianity, they have equal rights, equal privileges, and equal blessings; and, let me add, they are equally useful.


So, does the phrase there is neither male nor female teach gender has been removed? that God no longer takes note or care of your gender? that you can therefore be any gender you identify with? No, it does not. It teaches that we all have equal access to God through faith in Christ; that by faith in Christ we are all equally justified, regenerated, and adopted; that through this faith we all have equal access to the blessings of the gospel; and that we are now one in him. But as we saw earlier, the remainder of the New Testament has commands that are gender specific, as in husbands, love your wives and I suffer not a woman to teach a man. God made us male and female, with the blessed differences that characterize both. Let us rejoice in our equal access, in our unity, and in the gender God has given to each one of us!

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

The crowning touch


This is the crowning touch to this whole matter of submitting one to another in the fear of God and especially as it relates to Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands and Husbands, love your wives. This is from Adam Clarke's commentary on Colossians 4:2

Continue in prayer— This was the apostle’s general advice to all; without this, neither wives, husbands, children, parents, servants, nor masters, could fulfill the duties which God required of them.

All might, power, and life come from God; his creatures are continually dependent upon him for all these: to earnest, persevering prayer, he has promised every supply; but he who prays not has no promise. How few wives feel it their duty to pray to God to give them grace to behave as wives! How few husbands pray for the grace suited to their situation, that they may be able to fulfill its duties! The like may be said of children, parents, servants, and masters. As every situation in life has its peculiar duties, trials, etc.; so to every situation there is peculiar grace appointed. No man can fulfill the duties of any station without the grace suited to that station. The grace suited to him, as a member of society in general, will not be sufficient for him as a husband, father, or master. Many proper marriages become unhappy in the end, because the parties have not earnestly besought God for the grace necessary for them as husbands and wives. This is the origin of family broils in general; and a proper attention to the apostle’s advice would prevent them all.

Watch in the same— Be always on your guard; and when you have got the requisite grace by praying, take care of it, and bring it into its proper action by watchfulness; by which you will know when, and where, and how to apply it.

With thanksgiving— Being always grateful to God, who has called you into such a state of salvation, and affords you such abundant means and opportunities to glorify him.

That evil word submit part 2

In my last post we saw that the Spirit filled life is marked by Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God. Amen! What a fellowship!

The next thing Paul does is apply this general exhortation, submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God, to five specific relationships, and in this way shows how submitting to one another works in these relationships.

He begins with the wives.

5:22  Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.
5:23  For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
5:24  Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so [let] the wives [be] to their own husbands in every thing.

As you can see, he uses the same word: in v 21 it is translated submitting, in v 22 submit, and in v 24 subject, but it is the same word. Loosely defined, it means to come under the authority of someone. Whose authority? The husband. For the husband is the head of the wife. He compares the relationship of the wife with the husband to that of the church with Christ. As the church submits to Christ, the wife is to submit to her husband.

Next he addresses the husbands.

5:25  Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
5:26  That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
5:27  That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
5:28  So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.
5:29  For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:
5:30  For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
5:31  For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.

This is how men submit to their wives – they love them. But what a charge is given to the men: love your wives as Christ loved the church!! Wow! Talk about a command that is too difficult to observe! Then he elaborates, So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church. Love your wife as you love your own body: nourish and cherish her.

He goes on:
5:32  This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
5:33  Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife [see] that she reverence [her] husband.

He is really telling us something wonderful about Christ and the church, but there is a truth that works in the home, Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.

Notice, Paul adds a new layer to this, “let...the wife see that she reverence her husband.” The husband is to love his wife like he loves himself and the wife is to reverence her husband.  I have a feeling home life would be a lot different if husbands and wives lived like this.

But, and this is something to make a note of in all CAPITAL letters – When he says, wives submit to your husbands, he is not speaking to the husband; the wife’s progress in submission is none of the husband’s business, except perhaps in prayer. And when he says, husbands love your wives, he is not speaking to the wife; the husband’s progress in loving his wife is none of the wife’s business, except perhaps in prayer. And I have a feeling that loving my wife as Christ loved the church will occupy all my attention and energy.

But he continues:

6:1  Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.
6:2  Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;)
6:3  That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.

How do children submit to their parents? By obeying their parents.

6:4  And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

How do fathers submit to their children? Notice first how we have turned this around, we say the mother is responsible for training the children, but he places the burden on dad. And he says dads are not to provoke their children to wrath, but instead to bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. This is rich.

6:5  Servants, be obedient to them that are [your] masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ;
6:6  Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;
6:7  With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men:
6:8  Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether [he be] bond or free.

And servants? Obey your masters, as if you were serving Christ. I think this is cool, wives are instructed to submit, not to obey, children and servants are instructed to obey, not merely to submit. It’s relationship. Wives are not children or servants.

6:9  And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him.

And even masters submit to their servants! How? Treating them with respect and dignity.

Paul sets forth the following truths

1. Christ is the head of the church, and the savior of the body.
2. The church is to submit to Christ
3. Wives are to submit to their husbands in everything.
4. The husband is the head of the wife.
5. The husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church.
6. Marriage is a picture of Christ and the church. This is a great mystery.
7. The husband is to love his wife as his own body, as himself.
8. The wife is to reverence her husband.

Submission is not an ugly or scary thing, it is a part of God’s order, and produces harmony. But, those who are committed to the idea that their will should reign supreme and unchallenged will hate this message. There is so much more that needs to be said about how this works day in and day out, but my point was simply this, The Bible does indeed teach that the wife is to submit to her husband. But as a husband, I gotta say, I’m thinking I will be rather preoccupied with, “So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies, nourishing and cherishing her.”

A happy home is one in which both husband and wife are willing to wash one another's feet

Monday, May 23, 2016

That evil word submit - part 1

 
Submit. Submission. Oh how the flesh recoils! Here in the West this is a bad word, especially when it is linked to “wives”. A couple of years ago I was in a conversation about Christianity with a man who made it clear that one of the most objectionable aspects of Christianity was any form of “wives submit to your husbands." Earlier this year I came across a community calling themselves “Unfundamentalist Christians”. Their statement of faith includes this:

5. God does not want any woman automatically “submitting” to her husband or to anyone else.

The animosity toward submission is very strong. When I became a Christian it was common for pastors and teachers to teach on the home, including the submission of the wife. Today, while we have almost an overload on relationships, we rarely hear anything about this. This is one of the reasons people reject the faith, “It’s anti-women.” Pastors today either shy away from this or explain it away. Of course, the liberal response is to simply reject this and the rest of biblical teaching on women as antiquated and fully embrace feminism

I thought I would take a broad look at one passage where the dreaded phrase occurs and seek to gain an insight into what the Apostle, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, says.

Ephesians 5:22  Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.

The Bible is not a collection of unrelated texts like a phonebook, or a catalogue. Every verse has a context and we gain a better understanding of what is written when we consider the context. Ephesians is an epistle, a letter, written by Paul, and it has a flow of thought. It can be divided into three sections: chapters 1-3, 4:1-6:9, and 6:10-24. The verse before us, 5:22, is found in the second section. The key word in 4:1-6:9 is walk. He uses it five times:

4:1 I...beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
4:17 ...walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,
5:2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us...
5:8 ...walk as children of light:
5:15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise

Our verse occurs under this last walk. Paul sets forth his thought very clearly so we need to follow it. Circumspectly is a fun word, isn’t it? One that we use every day. Ha! Not really! It means correctly, accurately, consistently, in other words, live the Gospel... "As you embrace all its promises, be careful also to embrace all its precepts..."  (Adam Clarke).

You can bet this person is crossing circumspectly!
Here’s how Paul lays out verses 15-18

See that ye walk circumspectly
redeeming the time
understanding what the will of the Lord is
AND
do not be drunk with wine but be filled with the Spirit
speaking to yourselves
singing and making melody in your heart
giving thanks to God
submitting to one another

What’s up with some words being set apart by indentation? This shows us the relationship of the phrases to each other. See that ye walk is an imperative, a command, redeeming and understanding are participles. All that means is they tell us how we walk circumspectly, how we are careful to live out the gospel. We do it by redeeming the time and understanding what the will of God is. The AND indicates that there is another imperative, actually two, don’t be drunk with wine but be filled with the Spirit. So the fifth walk is walk circumspectly and be filled with the Spirit.

You may be thinking, “C’mon, get to the ‘wives submit’ part.” I’m getting there. It is a part of walking accurately and being filled with the Spirit. He has explained how we walk circumspectly: redeeming the time and understanding God’s will; he now explains what it looks like to be filled with the Spirit:

18  And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
19  Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;
20  Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;
21  Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.

All those –ing words are participles and they explain be filled with the Spirit. This is what the Spirit-filled person and church looks like: speaking, singing, giving thanks, submitting. Have you been filled with the Spirit? Is your church a Spirit-filled church? Here’s a test – are you speaking, singing, giving thanks, and submitting? This is not only the evidence of being full of the Spirit, these are also the conditions for staying full of the Spirit. When you are filled with the Spirit this is what you will do and this is what you do to stay full.

Each one is rich but I am concerned with the last one, submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God. Even though the flesh recoils when confronted with “submitting” this is an important part of the spiritual life. Here we are to submit to each other, and this is what it looks like: If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.  Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Philippians 2:1-4

Amen. This is not scary, it’s peaceful. Rather than a war of “my way vs thy way” or “me vs thee” there is a sweet harmony. There is a beauty in submission. Behind strife is an unbent I, determined to have its way. And when two unbent I meet, there is a clash. This is the root of the problem we have with God. He says, “I say” and we reply, “No, no, no, I say.” The Gospel deals with this unbent I. We must repent and believe in Jesus, and when we are born again he goes to work on other areas of our lives marked by this unbent I: we submit to the Lord, we submit to the government, we submit to the elders, and we submit one to another.

This is the context, the background. My next post will take up the verse.

Tuesday, May 17, 2016

How we fulfill the righteousness of the law



The righteousness required by the law is fulfilled in us when we walk after the Spirit. But this is not merely conformity to the letter of the law. Jesus said:

Matthew 7:12 Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.

Matthew 22:36-40  Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. 

His apostle says the same thing:
Romans 13:8-10  Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. 

Galatians 5:14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 

Jesus and Paul both teach that the law is fulfilled by our loving God and our neighbor. And when the Holy Spirit pours out the love of God in my heart he enables me to do just that. But did you notice? Both Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind and Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself are from the law! In other words, that gospel distinctive, Love your neighbor as yourself, is taught in the law! It’s a part of the righteousness of the law.

Let me be very clear. We don’t keep the law in order to be acceptable with God. We don’t keep the law in order to stay acceptable with God. We are not under the law. I don’t need to post the commandments on my wall and then measure myself by them. When I focus on treating people the way I wish they treated me I live the gospel way. But, the new covenant is not simply, “Believe in Jesus and love your neighbor.” No, we are told, For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world. And there are many principles, exhortations, and imperatives concerning righteousness given by the apostles, whose teaching was founded on the teachings of Jesus and the Bible. And do you know what the Bible was for the apostles? The Old Testament. That’s right. We can read the Old Testament and benefit from it, because righteousness is revealed in the law. And as we read the Old Testament and understand it in the light of the gospel, we can learn how to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world.

Let’s see how this would work from Leviticus 19. Why Leviticus 19? I chose this sort of at random - I went to church on Mother’s Day and the Pastor referenced it. As he moved on I continued reading in the chapter. So let’s go:

2 Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy.  
The apostle Peter actually quotes this verse in his first epistle.

3 Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father, and keep my sabbaths: I am the LORD your God.
fear his mother and his father – simply put, Honor thy father and thy mother, this is still gospel behavior
keep my sabbaths – I’m at the third verse and it’s tricky, right? Not really. We are under no obligation to keep the sabbath, we’re not under the law, but we actually do keep the sabbath and all the feasts through our faith in Christ.

4 Turn ye not unto idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods: I am the LORD your God.  
No idolatry now either.

5 And if ye offer a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the LORD, ye shall offer it at your own will.  6 It shall be eaten the same day ye offer it, and on the morrow: and if ought remain until the third day, it shall be burnt in the fire.  7 And if it be eaten at all on the third day, it is abominable; it shall not be accepted.  8 Therefore every one that eateth it shall bear his iniquity, because he hath profaned the hallowed thing of the LORD: and that soul shall be cut off from among his people.  
Clearly this does not apply to us. What? Am I picking and choosing what I like? No. This has to do with a sacrifice and the sacrifices, the priesthood, and the temple all pointed to Christ. He has come and fulfilled all this. There is now a spiritual house, a spiritual priesthood, and spiritual sacrifices.

9 And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest.  10 And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the LORD your God.  
This can not be applied literally by us today - we harvest with machines and our fields are far away from where we live - but it does teach us practical mercy on the poor and the stranger. Think about this: Jesus stressed feeding the hungry and clothing the naked...where do you think he got this?

11 Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another.  
Paul took this and applied it to the new man.

12 And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD.  
Obviously, we are not to swear falsely, Jesus went further, “Swear not at all.” Are we free to profane the name of the Lord? No. “When ye pray say... Hallowed be thy name.”

13 Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbour, neither rob him: the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning.  
James 5:1-6

14 Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumblingblock before the blind, but shalt fear thy God: I am the LORD.  
This is what “love thy neighbor” looks like

15 Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour.
Uh, James 2:1...

16 Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbour: I am the LORD.  
Gossip is not righteous behavior under any covenant.

17 Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him. 
This is a good word. Relationships are tricky, but we can’t harbor hate...

18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.
Well looky here, this brings us to the very place we started! Love thy neighbor as thyself is found in the law. It is the righteousness of the law.

We could continue but I believe I have illustrated my point. And what was that exactly? The law is not bad. We can read the Old Testament and benefit from it, because righteousness is revealed in it. Praise God, we’re not under the law. We’ve been forgiven, justified, and given a new heart and a new spirit by grace through faith. But God is still righteous. And he still desires us to walk in righteousness and true holiness. And this righteousness is revealed in His Word. All of His Word.

Monday, May 16, 2016

So what’s wrong with the Law?


I frequently hear people making disparaging comments about the law. My conclusion? many people think of the law as bad. But, is it really bad?

Consider, neither Jesus nor the Apostles were against the law. In fact, Paul says,

Romans 7:12-14
12 Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.
13 Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.
14 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.

The law is holy and spiritual and the commandment is holy, just, and good - the law is not bad.

So what’s the problem? Me. I’m the problem. For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. And the problem with me is sin. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful. The commandment shows sin for what it is.

Romans 8:3-4
3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:  

The holy and spiritual law has a weakness, and again I’m the culprit – it was weak through the flesh. So, the problem is not that the Law is bad, but I am. It is spiritual and holy but I am not. And right here is the weakness of the Law – it directs me in the right way but offers no help in getting there.

Galatians 3:19
Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions
As he said in Romans 3:20 by the law is the knowledge of sin.

Galatians 3:21-24
21 Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.
22 But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.
23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ...

Here is another weakness of the law, it cannot give life. And yet again the problem is with me – I am dead in sin. But in this passage he expands on the purpose or function of the law, it is our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. The law is holy and spiritual but it cannot give me forgiveness, righteousness, or life. But God gives us life, righteousness, and forgiveness through Christ. This is the gospel! The law leads us to Jesus who is able to give us what the law has shown us we lack. This is what was promised in the prophecy of the new covenant.

But, it is interesting to note what exactly was promised concerning the new covenant:

Jeremiah 31:31-34
31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:  
32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD:  
33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.  
34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. 

This is what God said he will do for us under the new covenant:
† I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts
† and will be their God, and they shall be my people
† they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them
† I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more

Amen! As you can see, the New Covenant is not a breakaway from the Law. No! God writes his law in our hearts. If the Law is bad then the New Covenant is bad. And in a really cool move, in the chapter devoted to the working of the Holy Spirit in us, Paul explains what it is the New Covenant produces in us:

Romans 8:3-4
3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 

Do you see it? The righteousness of the law is fulfilled in us who walk after the Spirit. The Gospel is not anti law, rather, by the grace of God, the righteous requirements of the law are fulfilled in us when we walk in the Spirit. To listen to many talk today, Law and Spirit are at odds - if you walk in the Spirit you’ll have nothing to do with the Law and if you fulfill the law you ain’t walking in the Spirit. But as we can see, this is simply not true.

Here we come to another problem with the law - it doesn’t go far enough. Both Jesus and Paul start with the Law but then raise the bar.

Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, did this with the phrase, you have heard it said ... but I say. One example is in Matthew 5:27-28
Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

Notice, the law said no adultery; Jesus does not repeal this, adultery is still sin, but he raises the bar - to look on a woman to lust after her is adultery. This is the righteousness of the law. And in the rest of Matthew 5 he does the same thing with murder, divorce, swearing/oaths, and vengeance. And he introduced all this by saying, Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

Paul does the same thing. For example, in Ephesians 4:28 he wrote, Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. The law said, Thou shalt not steal, Paul does not revoke this, stealing is still sin, but he goes further - work to have so you can give to him in need. This is the righteousness of the law.

So, is the righteousness of God revealed and reflected in the law? We know that the ceremonial aspects of the law are fulfilled in Christ - they are the shadow, he is the substance; and the civil or judicial aspects of the law applied to Israel and not to the church; but is there any benefit to us in the moral aspects of the law? In other words, can we read the law and say of these commands, “This is the righteousness of God and I ought to obey this?” I believe the answer is, Yes.

The righteousness of the law is fulfilled in us when we...

Ah, that’s my next post, How we fulfill the righteousness of the law


Friday, May 13, 2016

Not under law but under grace


Law is a word with only three letters yet it is a very big word. And folks throw it around like a baseball. What do people mean when they refer to the law?

Just like in the New Testament, I think there are several shades of meaning:

The Ten Commandments
This is the beginning of the law. It has been said there are 613 commandments in all, covering all aspects of life and worship, but the 10 commandments are the core of the law.


The Old Covenant
The covenant between God and Israel made on Mount Sinai, the Mosaic Covenant, is marked by commandments, ordinances, judgments, and statutes, and the keeping of it set Israel apart as the people of God. This covenant is generally divided into three categories: moral law, ceremonial law, civil or judicial law. This division was established by the Jews. John Calvin (1509-1564), in The Institutes of the Christian Religion wrote, “We must attend to the well-known division which distributes the whole law of God, as promulgated by Moses, into the moral, the ceremonial, and the judicial law.”

Francis Turretin (1623-1687), one of Calvin’s successors at Geneva, wrote that “The law given by Moses is usually distinguished into three species: moral (treating of morals or of perpetual duties towards God and our neighbour); ceremonial (of the ceremonies or rites about the sacred things to be observed under the Old Testament); and civil (constituting the civil government of the Israelite people).”


A way of being justified by what I do
Galatians 3:11-12  But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.

This contest between being made right with God by what I do and being made right with God by faith in Christ is often the underlying theme in Paul’s epistles. In Paul’s day the attempt to be justified by what I do is literally the belief that I can be right with God by my observance of the law, but I think it’s safe to summarize any and all attempts to be right with God by what I do as law.


So what does Paul mean by ye are not under the law, but under grace? Or very simply, how does not under the law apply to these three usages of law?

A way of being justified by what I do – clearly we are not under law when it comes to being made right with God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight...But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe.

The Old CovenantIn that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away. We are not under the Mosaic Covenant. The worship, the sacrifices, the priesthood, the feasts, circumcision, the sabbath, the dietary restrictions etc are no longer binding on us, they belonged to Israel and we are not Israel. We are under the new covenant and that’s why it is called the Old Testament.

The Ten Commandments or the moral law – this is where it gets fun! Are those under the new covenant under any obligation to keep the moral commandments of the law?

I frequently hear people make disparaging comments about the Law. My conclusion? many people think of the Law as bad. But, is it really bad?

Ah, that’s my next post, So what’s wrong with the law?