The Challenge 9
February 2005
Hello again. Two weeks ago I was on a Business
trip that lasted for six days and took me to Tampa for a day and a half,
Phoenix for two days and then to Las Vegas for three days. Then took a
red-eye home only to have to work on fixing my septic tank and pump most of the
day on Sunday. I'm supposing that was punishment for being on a trip for
so long. But, before you jump to any conclusions about how nice my trip
must have been I must tell you that traveling for business really stinks.
I mean a powerpoint
presentation in a conference room is the same no matter what city you are in
and hotel beds pretty much stink. Hey, this is funny... when was the last
time you had to drive a car that you had to roll your own windows down, lock
every lock manually and pray that it would make it up the tiny hills in
The Law
So, a couple of weeks ago we talked about works and how we are not saved by the
things we do... but the things we do show that we have been saved - the thought
in James is that the outpouring of our good works demonstrates an active faith
that is alive. It is a pretty hard concept to work through sometimes and
since we are dealing with hard topics, why not talk about the Law? No,
not the police, I'm talking about the Law of God. As you've become aware,
I am reading the book of James. It is one of my wife's favorite books in
the bible and that is true for many Christians around the globe because it is
one of the most practical books in the word of God. But it is also one of
the hardest books to plow through if you happen to have recently read Paul's
inspired words in the book of Romans-specifically those in chapter 3...
"for by the law is the
knowledge of sin." Rom 3:20b
"But the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed..." Rom
3:21a
"Therefore, we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the
deeds of the law." Rom 3:28
One might conclude that the "law" is a bad
thing. In fact many of us are taught that we are no longer "under
the law" but instead we are "under grace". Galatians says
"...no one is justified by the law in the sight
of God..." Gal 3:11
"Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law..." Gal 3:13
"Therefore, the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be
justified by faith" Gal 3:24
Then while reading the very popular book of James you
come across the passage in chapter 2 that goes like this:
"... and so do as those who will be judged by
the law of liberty." James 2:12 (NKJV)
or the NIV translates it this way -
"Speak and act as those who are going to be
judged by the law that gives freedom," James 2:12 (NIV)
So, we have a little bit of conflict in our minds
that says, "wait a minute here. I know that
I'm saved by faith alone and I will no longer be judged by the standards of the
law, and yet James is asking me to speak and act like I'm going to be judged by
the law. So what do I do?" Great question.
Do I have to abide by all the laws of the Old Testament? I thought Christ
took care of that for me so I did not have to do the things of the Law.
Which Laws do I now have to do and which ones don't I have to do? What if
I don't do them? Are they required for me to get into heaven? Is
the Law good or is it a curse?
We as Christians seem to focus on the New Testament
and concepts like grace and love but we tend to ignore the things like the
Law. We shy away from things that are "legalistic". There
are even extreme people who say that the law means nothing to us as Christians
anymore.
There was a quote from an unknown professor of one of
the teachers that I read regularly who said this,
"Would you, after obtaining a one-hundred dollar
bill, proceed to throw away the fifty-dollar bill crumpled up in your
pocket?"
Well, would you? He was specifically addressing
the Old Testament, the Law and the Prophets. So why are we so eager to
throw away the Laws of God...? The answer again lies in the perspective
of the person you are addressing. The concept is very closely associated
with last week's Challenge on works (so make sure you've read that one first or
catch up on it before we go forward.) Interestingly enough, James' whole
handling of the subject of "works" follows immediately after this
statement on "act[ing] as those who are going to
be judged by the law".
So, are you - as a Christian - supposed to act like
you are going to be judged by the Law even though you are saved by Faith alone
and you are not going to be judged by the Law any more? The answer is
absolutely YES! Do the Laws of God still apply to you and me even though
we are saved from the "curse of the law"? Again the answer is
absolutely YES!
We as Christians need to understand that God is
unchanging. He is the same in the Old Testament as well as the New.
His Laws are as righteous today as they were in the days of Moses, Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob. Just as in the concept of works, it is where we are in
our relationship with God that determines how the law is applied to us... If we
are unsaved and we have no faith in Christ the law is used to point us to our
utter inability to save ourselves. It is used to show us that we have all
fallen short of the glory of God. It is used to show us a better
way. It is used to bring us to Christ. But once we are saved by
faith alone the law changes from a curse to what James calls the "Law that
gives freedom". The law becomes something that we want to do out of
obedience and love for a God that has saved us from eternal separation from
Him. He knew that if I tried on my own to fulfill the law in order to get
to be with Him, I'd fall short. He put the law out there for me to see
that I could never make it on my own. But once he provided the way
through faith to be with Him eternally, the law becomes the righteousness of
God that I strive to obey - not to earn my way to be with Him but instead
because of a heartfelt love and willing obedience for His perfect law.
Following the law with that in mind is no curse- it is freedom. I am now
free to follow God's law willingly instead of being forced to follow it in order
to get into heaven.
Maybe a few verses can walk us through this better
than I can...
"This Book of the Law shall not depart from your
mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do
according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way
prosperous, and then you will have good success." Joshua 1:8
"I will meditate on Your
precepts, And contemplate Your ways." Psalm 119:5
"My hands also I will lift up to Your commandments, Which I love, And I will meditate on Your
statutes." Psalm 119:48
Joshua and David in the Old Testament both believed
that meditating and loving God's laws (or precepts or statutes)
was a good thing! But what about the New
Testament writers?
"Do we then make void the law through
faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law." Romans
3:31
Paul is saying that we absolutely are NOT to void the
Law. Instead we are to establish it. What does that mean? It
means that we are to continue to obey God law - not to earn our way into heaven
- that work is already done - but we are to continue to establish His law here
on earth through love and obedience and in order to show others who are not
saved the way to Christ.
"What then? Shall we sin because we are not
under the law but under grace? Certainly not!"
Romans 3:31
What is sin? Falling short of God's law!
Are we to fall short of God's law intentionally now that we are no longer
"under the law?" Paul says certainly not!
But more importantly, God stated in the Old Testament
that He was going to make a new Covenant with His Children. And when He
said this He stated that when the new covenant was made, the result would be
that His "law" would no longer be on tablets of stone or in books to
read but would instead be in the minds of His people and it would be written on
their hearts...
"But this is the covenant that I will make with
the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their
minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be
My people." Jeremiah 31:33
After Christ came, the book of Hebrews confirms that
the new covenant Christ established fulfills the Old Testament promise of
Jeremiah by actually quoting Jeremiah twice...
"For this is the covenant that I will make with
the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws in
their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they
shall be My people." Hebrews 8:10 and again in Hebrews 10:16
And probably the best evidence is Christ Himself when
he was preaching the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew...
"Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or
the prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill." Matthew
5:17
"Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of
the commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of
heaven, but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the
kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5:19
Christ fulfilled all the Law for us so we can be in
Heaven with Him...but we are to DO and TEACH the law as well. The Law is
not destroyed. The Law is now in our hearts and minds. We are to be
doers of the Law -not to earn our salvation, but out of obedience and Love.
It might be good to go back to the Psalmist and think
of God's law the way he did...
"The law of his God is in his heart; None of his steps shall slide." Psalm 37:31
"I delight to do Your
will, O my God, And Your law is within my heart." Psalm 40:8
"Give me understanding, and I shall keep Your law; Indeed, I shall observe it with my whole heart.
Give me understanding, and I shall keep Your law;
Indeed, I shall observe it with my whole heart." Psalm 119:34
How do you view God's law? Have you forgotten
about it? Have you laid it aside? Are you obeying His law? Go
back and look at his laws... read the Old Testament passages ... as that old
professor said... Don't throw away the fifty in your pocket (the Law) just
because you found a hundred (the new covenant of Grace through faith) on the
ground!
Take care, friends!
Until next week time ~ Dave
To make comments, to suggest topics you'd like me to tackle, to get past
devotionals, or to be added to this weekly "devotional email" please
write to: Dave Hansen at philip419@earthlink.net