Monday, September 24, 2018
619 - Killing the Law
Spirituality Column #619
September 25, 2018
Common Christianity / Uncommon Commentary
Killing the Law
By Bob Walters
So often we go barreling through the New Testament –
especially the writings of Paul – looking furiously for rules to follow or
rules to enforce.
But if you want rules to follow,
read the Old Testament; it has plenty of them, in toto known as “The Law.” One
might also notice, reading carefully, that the Law communicated through Moses
applies only to the Jews. Other nations,
cultures, and civilizations also had “laws,” obviously, but “The Law” wasn’t
for the Babylonians, Philistines, Samaritans, Greeks, Asians, or, moving
forward, Christians. Just Jews.
What the Old Testament also has is
a whole lot of looking ahead – i.e., prophecy – to a specific person who not
only fulfills the Law where the Jews are concerned but also sets the standard
of salvation for all mankind: the coming person of Jesus Christ.
Christianity – too often these days
– looks none-too-inviting to the outside world especially when our too-common
Christian nature seeks to “lay down the law!” in a wrathful and righteous way
against an already broken, hurting, and lost world. End-to-end, the New Testament truly lays out a
new covenant of faith in Christ offering eternal freedom from our sins, a
divine covering of peace and strength, and the final absolute righteousness of
God the Father of Jesus Christ. Am I
righteous? Are you? No and no … but faith in Jesus places us within the
righteousness of the Father. I’ll take
it.
Some folks simply don’t buy into
the mystery that is divine love in Christ.
Others avoid the seeming encumbrance of “having to behave” in a
“Christian” way. Others pass the whole
notion off as a giant exercise in holier-than-thou hypocrisy. The church too often is seen in worldly terms
of time, money, rules, obligations, and restrictions.
These views are not weaknesses of
Christianity, but weaknesses of the world.
Christianity, like Chesterton says, “is
hard.” Not because it is so complex, but because it is so simple. It’s not an endless list of rules that
condemn us; it is a short list of commands that save us: have faith in Jesus,
love God, love others as yourself, love sacrificially, and understand that the
goal of life is not my happiness but God’s glory.
Really, there should be no
“outsiders”; not if Jesus “came for all.”
But the world can’t “see” Jesus, it loves to ask God for stuff, it
believes “Me first” is the correct cosmic order, that “What’s in it for me?” is
the correct cosmic question, and – even where it believes God exists – believes
it is nonetheless free to rewrite life’s basic propositions regarding sex,
family, community, responsibility, and common sense. It stays outside.
The craziest thing about Christ is
His teaching that our love and God’s glory must overcome our human
self-interest. In so doing, we do not
lose our freedom; instead our love becomes our joy and Christ becomes an
encourager, a refuge, and a promise.
Jesus can rule our new, free lives because the Law’s grip died with Him
on the cross.
So read the New Testament not as a
rulebook but as a new offering of freedom.
The Law was about control and condemnation; Jesus is about freedom and
forgiveness.
The best rules are the ones you
don’t notice you’re following.
Walters
(rlwcom@aol.com) reads the Old Testament not to follow its
rules but to follow its road to Christ.
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