Romans 4:13-25
"It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. For if those who live by law are heirs, faith has no value and the promise is worthless, because law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression. Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring--not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. As it is written: 'I have made you a father of many nations.' He is our father in the sight of G-d, in whom he believed--the G-d who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were. Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, 'So shall your offspring be.' Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead--since he was about a hundred years old--and that Sarah's womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of G-d, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to G-d, being fully persuaded that G-d had power to do what he had promised. This is why 'it was credited to him as righteousness.' The words 'it was credited to him' were written no for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness--for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification."
THOUGHTS:
My daughter is taking driver's ed classes right now. She is learning hundreds of laws that most of us seasoned drivers have forgotten, until we've broken one and been ticketed or injured. There something about the "law" that is about protection, that is about right living, good living, holistic living. The function of law is to guide our action - we do or don't do something - and those protect and guard us.
The same could be said about the law of G-d. It guides us. It directs our actions. It offers protection and healthy living and so much more. The Torah was not made irrelevant in Christ, as some might think. But instead Christ filled full the law. He was the law - the Word - the perfect expression of Torah. There are so many things I could address and contemplate in those statements; however, I want to say this: Jesus was the perfect expression of Torah because it wasn't just about the law but it was about the heart. He held both heart and law perfectly. We don't follow rules or regulations just to follow them to be accepted, to be loved. We follow them as an act of love. The Torah is a gift, Christ is a gift and a response follows. When Paul says "For if those who live by law are heirs, faith has no value" he is not saying the law is dead or irrelevant. There are people who live by Torah because of faith. And there are people who live the law without faith. Paul is addressing the heart.
I can follow the letter of the law and can completely miss the heart of the law. And it must be said that I can follow the heart of the law and be missing something absolutely essential to my faith in ignoring the letter of the law. We have an obligation to both. Jesus was constantly drawing attention to this very thing. The Sermon on the Mount is an exposition on this heart and law issue. You might be tempted to argue that the law has been abolished, but remember that Paul says just verses later that "the promise comes by faith...not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham." If we slow down and look at what we really believe and how we behave --we have to admit this is a place where we could use some discipleship, some growth and some openness to what G-d might be trying to say.
If we say the law is gone and abolished, then why do we incessantly cling so tightly to pointing out the sins of others? Why do we carry guilt and shame for sins of our own? If we read literally, "And where there is no law there is no transgression" and we follow the logic through, we are left only to say that with the abolishment of the law the ability to sin is gone because without law there is no sin. If there are no rules to break, there's no breaking them. If there is no mark to hit, there's no hitting it.
This, of course, is ridiculous. But we do this all the time. We say Jesus abolished the law, yet we hold people to that law every chance we get, while not holding ourselves to it. I believe that this should cause us to pause and check ourselves. What is it that we believe and how does that inform our behavior? If those two things don't match than we have a problem. We have an area that G-d is longing to develop, to mature and set free. Paul is arguing this very thing! We are unique individuals. "There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:38) In the Kingdom of G-d we are responsible to honor both law and heart because the law was never written to be excluded from the heart. The law is love. "Hear O Israel, the Lord our G-d, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your G-d with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your strength and love your neighbor as yourself." This is the greatest commandment (law) - this is the fulfillment of Torah!
"We have faith, or belief, and we believe. When we receive faith, we "faith" by trusting and believing in G-d. We also receive content, namely G-d who is the content of our faith. In this way, both the knowledge of G-d and the act of trusting G-d converge as gift and response. We also have love and we love. We receive the capacity to love in G-d first loving us. We love by loving G-d in return and our neighbors as ourselves. In this way, both love of G-d and the act of loving our neighbor, converge as gift and response. Finally, we have hope and we hope. We receive hope through the vision of Jesus' ministry on earth--a ministry that ushered in the kingdom of G-d. We hope by living in the present with an eye on his promised kingdom. In this way, the now and the not-yet converge as gift and response." (Angels, Worms, and Bogeys: The Christian Ethic of Pietism, Michelle A. Clifton-Soderstrom, pg. 100)ACTION:
Gracious Lord, it all comes back to love, not just in our hearts but in our actions. My actions, my behavior honor and live out my belief and my heart. May I be a person that walks in step with Jesus, Torah made flesh. May I be a person that looks to him and seeks his heart.
No comments:
Post a Comment