Fixing What's Broken

For awhile now, I have noticed the increase in the use of broken or brokenness in discussions on the condition of people’s health, families, relationships, etc. Even with the increased knowledge and insights of various scientific and humanitarian endeavors, the human condition continues on a continual path of disarray, deterioration, and destruction. In recent weeks I have heard a couple sermons rightly describing the multiple examples in John 11. Following the narrative, one is presented with several examples as experienced by those in Bethany—debilitating sickness, earnest longing, dwindling hope, followed by death, grief, lament, and finally resignation—all within the span of a week or so. Those examples and others like them throughout Scripture provide a rich resource from which to draw and describe sin’s devastating effects. That being stated, I have also noticed the increased trend to ignore the cause of brokenness. In other words, an otherwise well-crafted presentation pointing out our dysfunction and need for rescue never gets to the underlying cause.

Why would someone fail to mention the root cause of the problem? Is there no desire to effect real change? Is there no expectation that change can be effected? Perhaps the pastor is tempted to soften the immediacy and severity of the condition in order to appeal to a mixed group, thinking that believers do not need to be reminded of the cause, and believers will not accept the explanation. Or perhaps the pastor simply fears giving offense, which is so easily taken in this culture. Whatever the reason, the net result is that, in spite of any passionate offering of Jesus as Savior, the gospel, as defined in Scripture, is never actually given.

For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. (1Co 15:3–5)

Christ died for sin, so without conveying that part of the message, there is no gospel. While Jesus may be offered as a savior or the savior, in effect that Jesus merely saves from our circumstances and feelings, but not our sin. We are offered a good therapist, or a moral example to admire and emulate, not One who transfers from death to life and cleanses from all unrighteousness. In an attempt to be relevant, nothing of substance is offered. All are left to wallow in the mire of their sin.

Instead of a veiled or milquetoast presentation offered in a way that salves the conscience, better to be forthright and forceful to all concerning sin, righteousness, judgment, and abounding grace. Friedrich August Crämer, rightly understanding that the force of Law and Gospel is not to be softened or otherwise nuanced based on audience but delivered for full effect, said:

Preach the Word, which is the power of God! Picture in vivid colors the deep misery of sin, so that the hearers become alarmed at their sinful state. Then preach also the Gospel in all its sweetness, pointing the people to Christ crucified, so that they come to a living faith in their Savior.*

This he directed to believers that they be reminded of the depths of misery from sin and be spurred to share Christ as “givers who will not look on their contributions as great sacrifices, but who will thank God that they are considered worthy to help in the spread of the Gospel by which they have been saved.” Yes, all are to have their sin made apparent that repentance and refuge might be sought in Christ. May our pastors be so caring that the message goes forth boldly and clearly to deliver the cure.


*  Quoted in The Lutheran Pioneer, Vol. 31.8, August 1909.

Addressing the Symptom or the Source?

Recently, I have been pondering the common usage of “broken” and “brokenness.”  I looked for a dictionary definition on-line and found several definitions:

• infringed or violated
• interrupted, disrupted, or disconnected
• weakened in strength, spirit, etc.
• tamed, trained, or reduced to submission
• (of a relationship) split apart; not intact
• (of a family) disunited or divided by the prolonged or permanent absence of a parent
• not smooth; rough or irregular
• ruined; bankrupt

We know the effects are common to the human condition and empathize with those currently enduring them.  Life is difficult and messy.  Desiring to convey understanding and compassion, we use such language to describe stress and hardship in ourselves and others.  As Christians, we know the real problem: all creation is ruined because of sin.  However, a question remains.  In our efforts to address and ease human suffering, do we go too far in softening our language to ease that pain?

One does not need to go far in Christian circles before encountering therapeutic language in response to the pervasiveness of brokenness.  Evangelism has become communicating the aforementioned empathy.  Songs relate how Jesus can fix the hurts and burdens.  Radio stations bill themselves as positive and encouraging.  Pastors preach a relationship with Jesus.  The problem is not the language.  We are called to compassion.  We can walk through Scripture identifying the passages that are the basis for these actions.  Indeed, we should teach and practice the care due to the downtrodden, discouraged, etc.

This is not a new phenomenon.  Decades ago, mainline denominations shifted from preaching God’s Word in truth to appeasing hearers in order to address societal ills.  In an effort to create a level social strata, immediate conditions were salved, even improved, with the desire that those receiving help would then attend church services and be grafted in the to local flock.  As time progressed, those ills became more varied and debauched as culture shifted in nature from communal to personal: “What I need (or think I need) must be honored or met.”  With this shift, the centrality of what kept the denominations grounded has been replaced with affirmations of the individual and personal choice.

Sadly, sections of conservative denominations and independent churches that watched the decline of mainline denominations has begun sinking into the same morass.  Those groups lacking a formal confessional foundation appear to be particularly susceptible to the downward slide, but they are certainly not alone.  Congregations are seeking to be relevant to the culture for the same reasons that mainline denominations tried—expecting different results.  Instead of focusing on collective ills, the congregations have focused on the personal, offering multiple ways to connect with the local assembly.

We are called to help, but there is a serious flaw in the way the above has been practiced: the root cause is minimized.  Dealing with the symptoms, scant attention is given to the source issue of sin.  Considered the new hymnody of western evangelicalism, Praise & Worship (or contemporary Christian) music gives itself over to personal feelings and experience.  Consider the following first verses from two songs written 150 years apart:

Hallelujah! What a Savior	You’re Beautiful
Phil­ip P. Bliss	Phil Wickham
Man of Sorrows! what a name For the Son of God, who came Ruined sinners to reclaim. Hallelujah! What a Savior!	|   I see Your face in every sunrise |   The colors of the morning are inside Your eyes |   The world awakens in the light of the day |   I look up to the sky and say |   You're beautiful

The differences between them are ever so subtle—not.  While both claim to glory in the Son, the emphases cannot be further apart: the former in a savior, the second in what exactly?  To be fair, both speak of the need for the cross, though in quite different terms:

Guilty, vile, and helpless we; Spotless Lamb of God was He; “Full atonement!” can it be? Hallelujah! What a Savior!

|   I see You there hanging on a tree |   You bled and then you died and then you rose again for me |   Now You are sitting on Your heavenly throne |   Soon we will be coming home |   You're beautiful

The former explicitly conveys our desperate condition and need for rescue, while the latter speaks of a sacrificial act and a reunion, both of which I should appreciation, but what they entail is never given.  We are left with a selfless, humanitarian act, but to what end?  In the final analysis, we can appreciate the effort, but why does it matter ultimately?

This is one example among many methods of communication that can be given.  When presenting the Gospel, we have an obligation to make known the whole truth.  While experiences and outcomes are nice to understand, we should not end there.  Comfort and healing of soul does not come from the outward application of biblical principles.  That comes from believing on God’s promises in Christ Jesus.  In trusting the finality of a full atonement, we rest in the work completely accomplished for each of us.  He died for me, therefore all He gives is mine as well.

Many will say that because we believed once in the the saving work of Christ, we are free to pursue the upward life by through our efforts if we but have enough faith.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  While freed from the law of sin and death, believers carry within them the old man that must be put to death daily.  Only by daily reliance on Christ, on the sure Word of God delivered to us, can the walk of faith be taken much less finished.  The endless appeal to relationships and emotions will produce growth that will wither and die, either through lack of depth or the heat of outward pressure.  Rather than settle for the “feels,” long for and cling to the pure milk of the Word by which you grow and might be part of a crop that produces thirty, sixty, or a hundred-fold.

Got Rest?

Thus says the Lᴏʀᴅ, the God of Israel: I led you up from Egypt and brought you out of the house of slavery.  And I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all who oppressed you, and drove them out before you and gave you their land.  And I said to you, “I am the Lᴏʀᴅ your God; you shall not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell.”  But you have not obeyed my voice.  (Judges 6:8-10)

Midianites and Amalekites were having their way raiding Israel.  For seven years bands of invaders swept through the country from east to west and back again, leaving a wasteland via plunder and pillage.  God allowed this because the people of Israel had returned to doing evil: a lesson needed to be given.  After enough time the people of Israel “were brought low” and in the midst of their affliction “cried out for help to the Lᴏʀᴅ.”

We know nothing of the man who came with the message of the Lord.  In fact, I would say we might likely be surprised there were any prophets in Israel considering their spiritual state.  Should we be?  Reading enough of the Bible, especially the sections we call the Major and Minor Prophets, we see that their historical settings are generally when governmental leaders are self-serving, encouraging rapid decline, while spiritual shepherds are leading people astray.  The prophet is sent with the message of condemnation to elicit confession and repentance. 

The prophet gave a blistering message.  Notice the opening sentence: “I led you up from Egypt and brought you out of the house of slavery.”  While the encouragement may be self-evident, the rebuke is scathing as it reminds the people of a time on Sinai when the Lord spoke those same words to Moses to introduce the Ten Commandments (Exod 20:2).  The people would know immediately where the rest of the message was going.  The Lord then uses the prophet to heap more on their heads by reminding them of His work on their behalf in driving out the nations, giving the Promised Land, and assuring them that He was their God with nothing to fear of any other so-called god.  But Israel had not obeyed.  What a stinging rebuke.  The Almighty Creator of heaven and earth delivered a people and fought for them to secure what He had promised, and they neglected Him.

Yet within the biting and stinging rebuke was encouragement the people needed.  God had made promises.  He had delivered them.  He had fought for them.  He was (and is) a God that is close and not far off.  He is still their God, and they are still His people.  What comfort!  Though there is not an explicit word of good news, this has prepared the people for the deliverance to come, as about this time the angel of the Lord comes to Gideon with the most shocking of pronouncements, “The Lᴏʀᴅ is with you, O mighty man of valor.”  A people who had been beaten down and broken to the point of hiding out in caves and other holes in the ground were to be delivered by a man who could only see the circumstance and not the God of grace and promise.  That same God still delivers today.

We live in a world beaten down and broken by our own hand.  Since the day Satan tempted Eve and both ate of the forbidden tree, sin ran rampant throughout mankind, and we look upon the devastation millennia later.  Rather than the marauding hordes absconding with physical goods, Satan perpetrated a master stroke through deception and subtlety: the first couple would willingly hand over their very souls.  From that time onward, we have continued on that path, eschewing what satisfies the soul and replacing it with that which can not.  The pursuit to fill the emptiness drives our cravings for that which drains further.  Whether or not we believe the attempts are are a noble goal of reconnecting with the divine—whoever or whatever that might be—each person is trying to fill a void that cannot be filled by human means.

In the aftermath of the Fall, God made a promise to crush the head of the serpent.  There would come a time when this great wrong would be made right.  Choosing a people for His own possession, God entered into a covenant with them, showcasing how He was different from all other gods and bestowing on them the privilege of being His witness to the world.  This covenant contained not just promises and blessings, but also warnings and consequences.   The relationship between the Lord and His people was one based on God’s attributes and character and was therefore entirely holy in nature.  God and His people were set apart for each other, therefore what came between (i.e., sin) had to be put away.  While there were temporary remedies through the shedding of blood, nothing was sufficient for the ultimate task.  God had to give Himself to be the final sacrifice and did so as the Son, second person of the Godhead, came into this world, put on humanity.  In so doing, He crushed the serpent’s head: sin no more had dominion.  What does this mean for today?

We still live in brokenness caused by sin.  We still seek for what cannot satisfy.  One can expect this behavior from the world.  Satan has so deluded them that the pursuit of vain things is considered the purpose of life with wealth or notoriety the pinnacle achievement; or discovering those things to be out of reach, they simply grasp for any fleeting bits of meaning.  Sadly, many in the Church act the same way.  Either they try to continue justifying themselves thinking to add to the work already completed in Christ for their salvation or to work fervently to prove myself as worthy of having received salvation.  They fail to understand that when Jesus said, “It is finished,” He meant just that.  God’s favor is gained by believing on the Son, not engaging in a flurry of “spiritual” activity at home or the local assembly, nor engaging in so-called meditative and contemplative practices masking as Christianity.  Jesus calls us to rest in Him.

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.  (Matt 11:28-30)

Law and Grace

A few thousand years ago, a nation of people descended from the same person were assembled at the base of a mountain in the Middle East, which was covered with thick, dark, thundering clouds.  In Exodus 20, God gave to Moses His “Ten Commandments” or more properly “Ten Words.”  If I would ask you how God, there at Sinai, began His proclamation, what would be your answer?  I dare say that 90% of you would respond, “You shall have no other gods before Me.”  And you would be wrong.  The first words were, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.”  Do you hear what He said?  YHWH introduced Himself as both the God of all power and the God of all grace!  The people were brought out of Egypt, not because of something they had done or merited, but because our God is a promise-keeping God. It was all for His name's sake.  Israel was the beneficiary.

Grace at the beginning of the Law—how can that be?  In giving the Law, God declared Himself to be altogether holy, demanding no less for His people.  The Ten Commandments encapsulate the Law with “You shall …” and “You shall not …”.  I cannot help but wonder if, when the Lord had finished the statements on coveting, the people may have wanted to retract their agreement: “All that the LORD has spoken we will do” (Ex 19:8).  How will they follow through on their end of this?  Perhaps a better question is: How would you?

Because God is Lord of all, He is free to demand things from His people.  He sets stipulations and expectations, and we are obligated to fully follow and obey.  Go through the commandments and compare your life to the list.  How do you compare?

• •  You shall have no other God's before Me – Have you placed something before God?
• •  You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain – Have you scandalized His name?
• •  You shall honor your father and your mother – Have you dishonored your parents?
• •  You shall not steal – Have you taken something that is not yours?
• •  You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor – Have you passed along information about someone that was not true? Or turned out to be not true?

To these questions, you might reply “Yes” or “Too often” or “Sometimes.”  If you said “No” to any, you simply do not understand the problem.  An honest look exposes our inability to keep them.  How, then, would anyone uphold his end of the agreement?  He doesn't—God does.  These were written looking forward to a completion as God promised His active sanctifying work in the one who lived by faith.  But here too mankind failed, and the Law damns both them and us because none can keep it.

The Law is holy, righteous, and good, but was wholly inadequate in that it could never take away the root problem—our sin.  Sacrifices were prescribed to cover sin, one for one, as a constant reminder that none was sufficient to perfect the believer.  A final sacrifice needed to be made—one that could overcome the devastating effects and consequences of sin for all people and all time.  To bring this about, Jesus, the eternal Son of God, took on human nature and willingly went to the cross to die, and not just die, but gloriously rise again, to demonstrate His victory over sin, death, and the Devil.  The Law is fulfilled.  No condemnation remains for those who are in Christ Jesus.

It All Points to Him

Psalm 19 is divided into three main sections, each describing an aspect of the divine law being proclaimed.  The psalm can be outlined this way:

Law of Creation (1-6)	The heavens declare the glory of God,     and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech,     and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words,     whose voice is not heard. Their measuring line goes out through all the earth,     and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun,     which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,     and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy. Its rising is from the end of the heavens,     and its circuit to the end of them,     and there is nothing hidden from its heat.
Law of Moses (7-11)	The law of the Lᴏʀᴅ is perfect,     reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lᴏʀᴅ is sure,     making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lᴏʀᴅ are right,     rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lᴏʀᴅ is pure,     enlightening the eyes; the fear of the Lᴏʀᴅ is clean,     enduring forever; the rules of the Lᴏʀᴅ are true,     and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold,     even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey     and drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them is your servant warned;     in keeping them there is great reward.
Law of Grace (12-14)	Who can discern his errors?     Declare me innocent from hidden faults. Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins;     let them not have dominion over me! Then I shall be blameless,     and innocent of great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart     be acceptable in your sight,     O Lᴏʀᴅ, my rock and my redeemer.

David gives a three-step description of how he knows who and what God is and what that means for the life of faith.  Theodoret of Cyrus comments on this psalm:

Blessed David in this psalm teaches men the harmony between these [divine laws]: firstly, the one the creator preaches in creation; then the one given through Moses, instilling a greater knowledge of the creator to those willing to attend; after that, the law of grace, perfectly purifying souls and freeing them from the present destruction.

Commentary on the Psalms, 19.1

These sections build from one to another.  As we take in the functioning of creation in its precision and recognizes there is someone or something keeping order.  From there, God’s law revealed through Moses and the prophets supplies details of that someone: there is a Creator, and He wants us to know of Him.  Though the revelation is marvelous to mankind, even this is not sufficient for David.  Beyond all that the Scriptures had within them—those things in which we could delight—still there was an understanding that more must be coming.  The Law is good, but David recognized his own shortcomings.  There was a universal need yet to be met, one which the psalmist longed to have applied to himself and, by extension, all who love the Lord.  We who love the Law know that it only reminds us that we are sinners.  We desire a permanent atoning sacrifice and a firm declaration of God that the guilt and condemnation is removed.

You may be thinking, “That sounds like an outline of Romans,” and you would be correct. Paul uses similar logic:

Law of Creation	For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.  For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.  (Rom 1:19-20)
Law of Moses	Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God.  For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.  (Rom 3:19-20)
Law of Grace	There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.  (Rom 8:1-2)

All that God has made and revealed declares who and what He is and where we stand in relation to Him.  A sufficient guilt-bearer and intermediary were required to reconcile God and man, and only Jesus, incarnate God, could provide a full satisfaction.  There is nothing more than to believe on that saving work and heap adoration on the source of salvation, as Paul put it:

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!  How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
    For who has known the mind of the Lord,
        or who has been his counselor?
    Or who has given a gift to him
        that he might be repaid?”
For from him and through him and to him are all things.  To him be glory forever.  Amen.  (Rom 11:33-36)

I end with Theodoret’s closing comments on Psalm 19:

[David is saying,] “I long to enjoy … presenting my soul to you completely free from blame.  On receipt of pardon from you for my past failings, may I offer to you everlasting hymn singing, giving my unwavering attention to your sayings.”… By way of supplying a finale to the psalm, he called him Lord insofar as he is maker and creator, and redeemer insofar as he frees us by the regeneration of holy baptism* from our former perdition, redeems us from enslavement to the demons, and bestows on us incorruptibility and immortality.  The psalm includes both former and latter subjects: it instructs us firstly on creation and providence; in the middle on the Law; and finally on grace.  Now, the New Testament provides these goods.

Commentary on the Psalms, 19.13-14

* Theodoret was a firm adherent of baptism as a means of grace.

Law and Gospel from Elihu the Buzite

White Horse Inn is doing a short series on the gospel in Job.  The latest podcast took up Elihu’s response to Job and his three friends.  Elihu has been listening patiently and attentively hoping to to find wisdom in the conversation of the older men.  Job has been pleading his cause: no intentional unrighteousness has been committed:

Surely you have spoken in my ears,
        and I have heard the sound of your words.
You say, “I am pure, without transgression;
        I am clean, and there is no iniquity in me.
Behold, he finds occasions against me,
        he counts me as his enemy,
he puts my feet in the stocks
        and watches all my paths.”  (Job 33:8-11)

Elihu rebuts with a weighty blow:

Behold, in this you are not right.  I will answer you,
        for God is greater than man.
Why do you contend against him,
        saying, “He will answer none of man’s words”?
For God speaks in one way,
        and in two, though man does not perceive it.
In a dream, in a vision of the night,
        when deep sleep falls on men,
        while they slumber on their beds,
then he opens the ears of men
        and terrifies them with warnings,
that he may turn man aside from his deed
        and conceal pride from a man;
he keeps back his soul from the pit,
        his life from perishing by the sword.  (Job 33:12-18)

Elihu reminds Job that God is responding but in a way he is not recognizing.  Though Job may not have committed intentional sin, he is still guilty as a member of the human race.  God has been making himself known.  His holy requirements are ever before them in the everyday affairs of life.  In abundant mercy, God restrains the intentions of mankind’s sinful, self-destructive ways lest a worse calamity befall.  He sends continual reminders of the vast expanse between holy Creator and fallen created.  Still men fail to comprehend the message and has not learned what David wrote: I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you” (Psa 16:2).

As in Job’s case, there are those times when someone is faced with suffering, and death seems certain.  Even then the Lord is extending his grace, and much more than any has considered possible.

Man is also rebuked with pain on his bed
        and with continual strife in his bones,
so that his life loathes bread,
        and his appetite the choicest food.
His flesh is so wasted away that it cannot be seen,
        and his bones that were not seen stick out.
His soul draws near the pit,
        and his life to those who bring death.
If there be for him an angel,
        a mediator, one of the thousand,
        to declare to man what is right for him,
and he is merciful to him, and says,
        “Deliver him from going down into the pit;
        I have found a ransom;
let his flesh become fresh with youth;
        let him return to the days of his youthful vigor”;
then man prays to God, and he accepts him;
        he sees his face with a shout of joy,
and he restores to man his righteousness.
        He sings before men and says:
“I sinned and perverted what was right,
        and it was not repaid to me.
He has redeemed my soul from going down into the pit,
        and my life shall look upon the light.” (Job 33:19-28)

“If there be for him an angel, a mediator”—this is the very one for whom Job had sought, yet beyond his imaginings.  This one is sent from God, not to “argue the case of a man with God, as a son of man does with his neighbor” (Job 16:21), but to declare mercy and grace.  That mediator would declare deliverance based on a ransom with the end result that the person is restored better than from where he had fallen.  His righteousness and relationship to the Lord can be restored, and there will be fullness of joy in recounting his wicked, sinful condition that was due punishment but received overflowing mercy and grace.  All this he brings it to pass to bring sinners to himself.

Behold, God does all these things,
        twice, three times, with a man,
to bring back his soul from the pit,
        that he may be lighted with the light of life.  (Job 33:29-30)

The above tale is not a fanciful scenario painted by Elihu to encourage Job, but is a plan organized and implemented by the Lord of Glory himself.  Our mediator, Jesus Christ, was purposefully sent to redeem a people:

This Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.  (Acts 2:23)

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.  (Gal 4:4-5)

All this because of his love for us.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.  (John 3:16-17)

We Draw Near by a Better Hope

For on the one hand, a former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness (for the law made nothing perfect); but on the other hand, a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God.  (Heb 7:18-19)

The Law ceases to have effect, he is saying, and the hope of better things is introduced.  It ceases to have effect, not for being evil (the frenzied view of the heretics), but for being ineffective and incapable of providing the perfect benefit.  It must be noted, of course, that he refers to the obsolete prescriptions of the Law as ineffective and useless—circumcision, sabbath observance, and such like things.  The New Testament also bids us observe to a greater extent the commandments: You shall not kill, You shall not commit adultery, and such like things.  In place of the former, therefore, we receive the hope of good things to come: it relates us to God.  An oath, however, confirms God’s promise for us.

Theodoret of Cyrus, “The Epistle to the Hebrews”

Law Gives a Glimpse of Duty; Gospel Gives Fullness of Done

Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.  For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?  It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.  (Heb 2:1-4)

The ministry of angels was involved in the first giving of the Law, whereas in this case the Lord in person was first to propose the saving teaching, and those who were in receipt of the apostolic grace welcomed it.  While the Law gives us a glimpse of what has to be done, the Lord's teaching is the source of eternal salvation.

Now, since Moses also employed wonder-working, it was necessary for [the author] to show the superiority of grace in this respect, too.  In this case, it was not only the Lord who worked wonders but also his divine disciples and their successors.  He also showed the New Covenant to be resplendent with spiritual gifts: of old the inspired authors alone shared in the spiritual bounty, whereas now all the believers enjoy this grace.

While he said this to encourage them to give heed to the divine teaching more zealously, he brought out the difference between the former and the latter under guise of exhortation.  It was very wise of him to say God witnesses to the message through miracles.  The demonstration is beyond question, and the reliability of the witness indisputable.

Theodoret of Cyrus, “The Epistle to the Hebrews”

The Law Is Holy and Good—and Impossible Apart from Christ

Now, the purpose of teaching that it is impossible to fulfill the Law is not to encourage or excuse carelessness, sloth, and intentional negligence…rather, it is so that

• (1) we, confessing the powerlessness of our abilities and the imperfection of our own righteousness, may flee for refuge to Christ, “who has redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having been made a curse for us” (Gal. 3:13); “through [Him] God has done what was impossible for the Law” (Rom. 8:3), “that He might be the end of the Law for righteousness for all who believe” (Rom. 10:4).  The glory of having perfect righteousness must be reserved for Christ alone, who is “holy, blameless, unstained, separated from sinners” (Heb. 7:26).  Those who ignore and reject His righteousness “seeking to establish their own, are not under the righteousness of God” (Rom. 10:3).  Therefore the first use of this teaching lies in the article of justification, namely, that we not set before God’s judgment our imperfect and variously stained obedience to the Law but that we may learn that we are justified by faith in Christ.
• (2) The second use of this teaching lies in the article on good works, that we may learn that by the natural powers of our own free choice we cannot begin the sincere and true obedience we owe the Law, but the Law of God “must be written on our hearts” through the Holy Spirit (Jer. 31:33), so that we may begin to show not merely an external obedience but also an inner one with a spontaneous spirit and from the heart.  On the other hand, because this inchoate obedience is still very far from the perfection the Law requires, we cannot boast about it before the judgment of God but are forced to confess that “all our righteousnesses are as menstrual rags” (Isa. 64:6) and that, “when we have done everything, we are still but unworthy servants” (Luke 17:10).
• (3) Lastly, it serves to teach us that the inchoate obedience of the regenerate is pleasing to God, not because it satisfies the law perfectly but because it proceeds from faith in Christ; through such faith its imperfection and remaining fault is covered.

Johann Gerhard, On the Law

Ignorance of the Law Is No Excuse

Ignorantia juris non excusat is a legal principle holding that a person is liable whether or not the offender knows that law exists.  Mankind does not like a strict, disciplinarian, all-or-nothing approach to governance.  Guilt remains, though a judge may be lenient in the administration of judgment because of ignorance or in cases of mental deficiency or incapacity.  Martin Luther noticed this when he wrote: "In the affairs of government there is room for invincible ignorance, as when someone is at fault because he is encumbered by sickness or is insane" (Lectures on Genesis, Gen 12:17).  Where leniency goes awry is in the application.  Attempting to mitigate the effects of our wrongful actions to our fellow man, we excuse ourselves by claiming ignorance or diminished mental capacity in hopes of escaping the due penalty for willful actions.  What is meant to administer mercy in justice becomes a weapon to allow unbridled expression of our innate depravity.

The same principle of inexcusable culpability is in effect before God.  He has established a law consistent with his character against which all offenses are capital.  The first statute imposed on humanity was simple and clear: do not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen 3:17).  Obedience is required; disobedience carries the death penalty.  As the Lord continued to reveal more of himself through his commands, the norm never changed.  Man responded by excusing himself rather than acknowledging the problem.  Luther continued:

But these ideas [of invincible ignorance] should not be carried over into religion and matters of conscience.  We are born with the blindness of original sin.  That evil is invincible in the sense that it holds even the regenerate captive; but this does not make it excusable, the way the scholastics have declared invincible ignorance excusable, so that it directly excuses…, that is, does away with sin entirely.)

Ibid, Lectures on Genesis

The reasoning went like this: if the nature of the offense and its penalty could be sufficiently ignored, it never existed at all.  But while people and nations have done this to one another on a regular basis, "God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap" (Gal 6:7).  You and I are guilty, without excuse.

To deal with both the demands of the law and our inability and unwillingness to abide by it, God the Son took on our human nature, fulfilled all the righteous requirements, and freely accepted in himself the full penalty due to us (Rom 3:21-26;1 Pet 3:18).  This he did, not because we deserved any of it, but because he loves us (John 3:16; Rom 5:8).

Adding to Grace Is Falling from Grace

Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you.  I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law.  You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.  For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.  For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.  (Galatians 5:2-6)

Judaizers had been working overtime to nullify the effects of the gospel in the lives of the Galatian believers.  Promoting obligatory external manifestation of God's working in these Gentile believers, they had been successful in turning hearts by adding to what God had accomplished in the cross of Jesus.  No longer was the atoning sacrifice sufficient.  These believers were being taught that, though baptism was a public repudiation of the past life and a declaration of faith in the Lord Jesus, it no longer buried someone with Christ to walk in newness of life (Rom 6:3-4).  Circumcision was now the required addition to complete the work of salvation.

According to the Galatians passage, the reverse is true.  When we add to grace, we actually fall from grace.  When we attempt to complete a finished work, Christ is no longer the all-sufficient sacrifice.  He is not the offering who removes our sin from us.  Much as the recipients of the epistle to the Hebrews were former Jews tempted to return to their sacrifices, the Galatians were pushed to confirm that Jesus' suffering and death was not able to cover their sin and take the same Old Covenant path.

This is no small matter.  Above, Paul speaks of those who take would circumcision as "severed from Christ" and "fallen away from grace."  These are serious words.  A. T. Robertson (Word Pictures in the New Testament) writes that these have made their identification with Christ "null and void" and "left the sphere of grace in Christ" to took a stand "in the sphere of law as your hope of salvation."  He goes on to say:

Paul does not mince words and carries the logic to the end of the course.  He is not, of course, speaking of occasional sins, but he has in mind a far more serious matter, that of substituting law for Christ as the agent in salvation.

Clearly, Paul marks those who now want to take circumcision—not stating that any had already taken this step but is warning against this act of apostasy—as fully turning their backs on the grace of God found in Christ Jesus and as those of whom "it is impossible to restore again to repentance … since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt" (Heb 6:4-6).  They have no further recourse for salvation after abandoning the redemption and reconciliation won by Jesus.

Conversely, those who live by grace through faith are "eagerly waiting for the hope of righteousness" through the Holy Spirit.  They live in full assurance that what Christ promised and won on the cross is waiting for them in the final resurrection.  Let us then hold fast our confession of faith (Heb 4:14).

Recognizing Your Ministry

Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory?  For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory.

[Paul] called the ministry of the Law a ministry of death since the Law punished the transgressors.  So if from a source of punishment, death and letters carved on stone, he is saying the person mediating them was invested with glory of countenance such that it was impossible for the viewers to bear the brightness coming from it, how much more those ministering to the divine Spirit will enjoy greater glory.  By ministry of the Spirit, note, he referred to those ministering to the Spirit, as likewise ministry of death those ministering to the Law, namely Moses.  He makes a comparison between Moses and the heralds of grace, and shows him bringing inscribed tablets and them supplying the grace of the all-holy Spirit—the Law punishing and grace giving life; the glory coming to him lasting for a short time and theirs continuing forever; in one case Moses alone sharing in the glory and in this case not the apostles alone but also all those who have come to faith through them.… The Law condemned the sinners, whereas grace accepts them and justifies them through faith: it leads them to divine baptism and grants them forgiveness.  So if the one ministering to the former shared in glory, much more those serving the latter will enjoy it to a greater extent.

Theodoret of Cyrus, "The Second Letter to the Corinthians" on 2 Corinthians 3:7-9

Jesus Suffered Injustice for the Unjust—You

For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do.  By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

He says not in the likeness of flesh, but in the likeness of sinful flesh, for he certainly received the human nature, but human sin he did not received—hence that which He thus assumed he calls not the likeness of flesh, but the likeness of sinful flesh, because though He had the same nature with ourselves, He yet did not have the same character or disposition.  He means, then, that the law having been unable to bring to effect its own design—by reason of the weakness of those beneath its covenant, possessing as they did a mortal nature, and one answerable to infirmities and passions—the only-begotten Word of God, becoming incarnate, by that human flesh overthrew sin, fulfilling all righteousness and admitting no taint of sin; and by enduring the death of sinners, as though Himself a sinner, manifested the injustice of sin, in that it delivered up to death a body over which death had no just claim.  And this then both overthrew and put an end to death: for in thus submitting to death through the unjust sentence of sin (while not at all answerable to it, in that He never committed sin) He became the price of redemption of those justly subjected to death, as one free among the dead.

Theodoret of Cyrus, "The Letter to the Romans" on Romans 8:3-4

Death to the Law and New Life in the Spirit

Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead.  It would have been indeed in strict consistency with the example adduced to have said, "the law is dead," that is, has ceased, but in consideration of the spiritual weakness of the Jews, for they greatly exalted the law, and from a desire not to afford an opportunity of finding fault with it to the heretics who denounced the Old Testament, he avoids saying that the law has ceased, but declares that we have died to the law by baptism which saves us, and then rising again have been united to Him who has Himself risen from the dead, that is Christ.  And as he had called the faith which is in the Lord a marriage and union, in keeping with this image he shows the fruit also arising from marriage, in order that we may bear fruit for God.  What then is this fruit-bearing?  That our members become the instruments of righteousness.  And most aptly does he show that the law itself leads us to be joined to Christ, for it did not forbid a woman to be married to a second husband after the death of the first.  And then he goes on to point out the difference.

For while we were living in the flesh, that is, according to the law (for the legal ordinances concerning the flesh, as of foods and drinks, of leprosy, and such like, are what he here calls the flesh), our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members.  He says not "in" the law but by the law.  For the law, which is good, does not itself bring about sin, but sin uses [it] for evil.  Neither indeed do our members themselves bring about sin, but the inclination of the soul to the worse has brought its operations to effect by our members.  And what then springs from this?  To bear fruit for death.
 
In these words he has taught us that before the coming of [the covenant of] grace, while we were living according to the law, the attacks of sin to which we were subjected were the most powerful, in that the law showed indeed what ought to be done, but offered no help to do it.  But now we are released from the law.  He still continues in the same cautious mode of expression, and says not, "the law is made to cease," but we are released from the law, that is, it is inoperative as regards ourselves, we are no longer under its polity.  And how are we released from it?  Having died to that which held us captive.  For when we were subjects of the law we came to baptism, and dying with Christ, and with Him rising again, we were united to our Lawgiver, and no longer need the polity of the law, for we have received the very grace itself of the Spirit, as what follows proves, so that we serve not under the old written code but in the new life of the Spirit.

Theodoret of Cyrus, "The Letter to the Romans" on Romans 5:4-7

Faith Completes What the Law Cannot Achieve

[Paul] neither extols the Law unduly, owing to Jews' impudence, nor does he provide the impious heretics with an occasion of criticism.  Instead he shows it giving the necessary instruction and proposing the teaching of righteousness, though unable to achieve this on account of the weakness of those on whom the law was imposed.  Then he teaches that faith put into effect the aim of the Law: what the latter was willing but unable to achieve, faith brought to completion through the grace of the all-holy Spirit.

Theodoret of Cyrus, "The Letter to the Romans"*

* Commentary on the Letters of St. Paul, Vol 1, (trans. Robert C. Hill; Brookline, MA: Holy Cross Orthodox, 2001), 43.

Why the Law?

Have you ever wondered why the Law came through Moses?  Let's stop and think about this for a minute.  Abraham was given a most wonderful promise (Gen 12:1-3) which extended to Jesus (Gal 3:16) and ultimately to those who believe (Gal 3:22).  But between Abraham and Jesus, the law was given through Moses.  Does anyone besides me find this peculiar?  God gave a promise to two specific people filled with certainty based on what he himself had chosen to do according to the counsel of his will.  It was free to the recipients.  Between these two is something that appears counter because it appears to run counter to the whole concept of promise: God gave commandments, statutes, and precepts that required a certain response.  The Law does not fit with the promise, so the question remains: why introduce it?

Thankfully, the Lord told us through Paul why the Law was given:

Why then the law?  It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary.  (Gal 3:19)

Some of you might be underwhelmed with this revelation, but bear with me.  The promise given to Abraham was generous beyond imagination with the hope of land, seed, and blessing—and that blessing to the entire world.  The only needed response was to believe it.  The problem is in how that belief was worked out.  Their efforts in life though influenced by the promise were governed largely by the societies they lived in and what had been handed down from their ancestors.  Beyond that, this nasty condition called a sin nature was manifesting itself through these early want-to-be Promise Keepers.  Daily, they sinned and transgressed against God but were unaware in what ways.

To rectify the ignorance and more fully reveal what divine character was truly like, the Lord proceeded to give the people 10 commandments broadly defining the person's relationship with God and man.  He then proceeded to give hundreds of laws detailing how these were to be carried out, which they would certainly fail to perform—an affront to the Most High.  To account for sinful conduct, a series of sacrifices were established to cover sin.  For approximately 1200 years, the people of God worked under this system: a very long time period but necessary to prepare the people for the one "to whom the promise had been made"—Jesus, the Christ.

To summarize Galatians 3:22-26, the effectual work of the Law was to demonstrate our inability to meet God's righteous demands and hold those under it in a benevolent captivity and imprisonment as a guardian until the necessary sacrifice for all sin should be made by Jesus.  Being now freed from the Law, we are justified by faith: not being baptized into Moses, but being baptized into Christ.

The promise given to Abraham was never rescinded or altered, but we needed to see the sinfulness of our sin.  My abhorrent nature needs a Savior.  The "man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief" (Is 53:3) has covered that by giving his soul as an offering for sin being crushed and put to grief by his Father (Is 53:10).  What a thought, that one holy and spotless would die for me!

Bold I Approach Th'eternal Throne

The last verse of Charles Wesley's hymn seemed fitting as a title for this entry. During the past week, as I was reading in both Romans (for Bible study) and Hebrews (personal devotions) the following passages struck me as somewhat connected.

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.

Romans 8:1-2

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

Hebrews 10:19-22

What is the connection? Both writers are comparing what was true under the Law with what is true now with the Gospel. Consider for a moment the problem of sin in Romans. Paul makes his case in the preceding chapters that we are free from the law of sin that was awakened by the Mosaic Law. Now, instead of being in bondage as a slave of sin, we can walk in newness of life. The Law could never deal with sin once for all. It was weak being the epitome of limited atonement—one atoning sacrifice for one sin. That was all, no carry-over. But in Christ, we are able to live as free men and able to put to death the deeds of the flesh that war in us.

And what of the other passage? There the writer has reminded us that the way to God had been barred by a veil or curtain. We could only get so close and entry to the innermost area was only available by one person once per year, and then with the blood of the sacrifice. Christ has made that sacrifice for us. His blood is the sacrifice that atones for all time. As priests we have entrance to the most holy place where God dwells, and we are welcome. No longer are we common but are sanctified for his use by the washing, not as the Levitical priests, but through regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.

Christians stand in a wonderful place—free from condemnation and complete access to the God of heaven. Do not miss out on these wonderful gifts by presenting your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life. (Romans 6:13)

It's Not About You; It's About Jesus For You

For anyone who has listened to the weekday radio program, Issues, Etc., those are familiar words. I enjoy listening to this Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod affiliated program, because Todd Wilken is a good host and interviewer, and the program has relevant topics from a unique (for me) perspective.

This past January 14th had a segment on the topic of "decision theology."[1] Todd was interviewing Bryan Wolfmueller, pastor of Hope Lutheran, Aurora, CO who related the follow comments.

The question that [Lutherans] ask is not, "Have you made a decision for Jesus?" but rather "Has Jesus made a decision for you?" The question is not, "Have you accepted Jesus into your heart?" but rather "Has Jesus accepted you into his heart?" The question is not "Have you given your whole life for God?" but rather "Has God given his whole life for you?". . . It's Jesus who's done it all. It's Jesus who won [our] salvation. It's Jesus who's made the way to heaven open for [us]. And to know that, to know the answer that, yes, even though my faith wavers, even though I have doubts and I have questions, yes, Jesus has given himself to me. Yes, he has prayed for me. Yes, he has poured out his life and his blood so that I would be his and my sins would be forgiven. And there's no question, there's no doubt, there's no room for wondering there. It's just this absolutely wonderful, forgiving, confidence-building assurance that I am the child of God.

That gave me pause. A potential problem of decision theology is the notion that, since I had to actively decide for Christ, then I must constantly be working as if the work of atonement secured on the cross was not complete. We question ourselves out of uncertainty and find either Bible verses lifted out of context or "helpful" brethren instructing us on all that must be done externally to continue in righteousness. The Law of Moses gets replaced by the Law of "First Pious Church of the Only True Brethren." Eventually, we wrap ourselves in a cocoon of laws and obligations to keep the world out or implode under the burden and walk away from it all. What we need to remember is that the work is done. There is no more atoning work left. The Lord has done it all.

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (Romans 8:1-4)

[1] Arising out of a reaction to the Reformed teaching on predestination (see "Election"), advocates teach that man is saved and born-again when he makes a decision to accept Jesus Christ (see "Arminianism"). Taken from http://www.mtio.com/articles/aissar101.htm.