Compassed About Me

Oh Christmas Tree!

Wrapped up in twine

Their branches tight

Displayed for all the people

Stuffed into cars

Or SUV's

They take the ride back 'home'

.....................................................

Cut free and planted

Trimmed and shaped

In stands of steel and plastic

The tree stands proudly

Lit and draped

With ornaments and tinsel

......................................................

The light atop it

Beckons all

Like a star up in the sky

So bright with promise

Felt by us

Who spend much time in darkness

.......................................................

We gather near it

Drawing strength

The promise of it's presents

But day's soon gone

The tree is stripped

Dead, lying by the curb

........................................................

This doesn't bother

Those of us

Who understand the tree

Without it's dead

And lifeless frame

There'd be no Calvary

Priceless...

Two heavy timbers: 12 denarii
4 Iron Spikes: 1 denarii


The Victory Jesus won on the Cross: Priceless.

Dave

We went to church this this past Sunday at the Carpenter's Shop  to play some music and to hear Dr. David Black talk for a little bit about the reliability of the biblical text. 

I don't have any pictures here, but you can find them here and here.

Dr. Black, or Dave, as he insists people call him, was both very informative and very entertaining, in the way that only people who have a sound grasp of what they are talking about can be.

His main illustration of the ramifications of sound textual transmission was Matthew 5:22.  In the KJV it reads:

Mat 5:22  But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire

In the ESV, which I read, it says:

Mat 5:22  But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, 'You fool!' will be liable to the hell of fire.

If you'll notice, the phrase "without a cause" is absent from the ESV version.  Why is this?  The highly simplified answer is that the Greek texts that underlie these two versions of the Bible are different.  The Greek text that the KVJ  was translated from has the phrase [actually in Greek it is just one word] and the Greek text that the ESV was translated from doesn't.  You may ask yourself, "Why is this?"

Well, it turns out, according to Dave, that there are many reasons why this could be so.  It could have been a copyists error.  Try copying a page from a book, by hand, sometime and see how it turns out.  On the other hand, a copyist may have been trying to "improve" the text.  Say the original copy had "without a cause".  Some copyist looks at that and then considers the ease with which we justify our anger and decides it would be better to just drop that phrase.  Or it could have been the other way around.  Some copyist looked at the ESV type version and thought that it made Jesus look way too harsh and legalistic and so added the phrase to make Him sound more like the loving and forgiving man who died for us. 

In any case, we are left with a bunch of Greek [over 5400 of them!] texts and they all differ from each other.  There are, if some sources are to be believed, tens of thousands of copying "errors" between the various Greek texts.  Fortunately, people who devote their time to the study of these texts, even those who of the theologically liberal persuasion,  tell us that the VAST majority of these "errors" are just misspelled words, doubled words, words used in the wrong context, etc.  In other words, they have nothing to do with the integrity of the text.  These can easily be seen for what they are and accounted for.  They do nothing at all to shake anyone's confidence that we can have as close to the original autographs as can be had. 

There are, David said, approximately 2,000 "errors" that are a bit more serious in that there are real differences in the text that change the meaning of the verses or passages they are in.  The good news is none of these variations touch or affect at all the core doctrines of Christianity. 

I'll be honest with you:  I wish those "errors" weren't there.  It would sure make everything neat and tidy.  But as I faced these issues shortly after Jesus saw fit to save me I realized that our understanding of the Bible is much like our understanding of life.  It is rarely cut and dried and it is rarely black and white. We each have choices to make.

The fact of the matter, as David pointed out, is that we do in all likelihood, have ALL the words of the original autographs.  In fact, we are in a situation where we have MORE than the original words.  We just aren't absolutely certain which of those words belong and which ones don't. 

Does that mean we cannot trust the Bible?  Of course not.  It simply means we have to rely all the more on God as we seek to understand it. 

And, most importantly, as we look at a passage like 2 Timothy3:16:

2Ti 3:16  All Scripture is breathed out by God...

Don't forget the rest:

and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
2Ti 3:17  that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.

Believing the Word is the Word is one thing.  Living it is quite another.  Don't neglect the latter.

Chris

Hope!

Rom 8:24  For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees?

Hope is not a lottery.
Hope is not a chance.
Hope is not a wish.
Hope is not a dream.
Hope is not a fantasy.
Hope is not based on supposition.
Hope is not a half hearted promise.

On an Easter Morning about 2,000 years ago, hope became something real, something concrete, something reliable, something absolutely dependable. 

The tomb is empty!

Hope has been redefined!  Hope has ceased to be an abstract concept, riddled with frailty.

Hope IS Jesus Christ!  Hope is God's way of saying YES:

2Co 1:20  For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.
2Co 1:21  And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us,
2Co 1:22  and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.

Let us therefore live our lives in the peace and security of HOPE. 

Chris

Is God Unfair?

Is God Unfair?

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You'll need a little background for this post.

I post somewhat regularly on a site called Christianguitar.org.  I originally joined the site because I like to play guitar and they have a lot of tabs so it has been quite useful to me.  They also have discussion forums and Theology is among them.  One of the more frequent comments I read in response to discussions about God's supposed injustice is that He is unfair because He ordered the deaths of the inhabitants of Canaan at the hands of the Israelites as they entered the Promised Land.

Well, last week I suppose I heard that last week yet another comment was made on the subject and it was the straw that broke the camel's back.  Someone who used to be a Christian, so they say, sent me a User Comment and I replied to it.  First of all, I didn't like his sarcastic tone, but even more I am just sick and tired of those who, although they are sinners, set themselves up as the arbiters of what is fair and righteous and then proceed to judge God.  So, with all that said, here is the post.  And yes, I was a tad worked up when I wrote it:





This is a private message I wrote in reply to a UC:

I used to be a Christian and am perfectly capable of putting the OT in its proper context. Jehovah was not unabatingly loving to the Canaanites, was he?

Here is my response...the names have been left out to protect the ignorant:

I read your comment on my UC page.

Yes, in fact God did show the Canaanites love and the Canaanites responded by rejecting Him further. 

From the time of the very founding of the Jews, in Abraham, the Canaanites knew of the One True God, for Abraham lived among them. In fact, the Canaanites were descended from Ham, the son of Noah, who certainly knew God.  Therefore, when it comes to knowing God and even further knowing a good bit about Him, they are completely without excuse. Keep in mind, we are not talking about Romans 1 stuff, that somehow these people should have simply known something ABOUT God, they had DIRECT REVELATION FROM God.

And yet they still hated God, even though they KNEW THE TRUTH. Are you asserting that the 400 some odd years after Abraham took his family to Egypt was not enough time for the Canaanites to quit rejecting God? Even at Jericho, in the 7 DAYS it took the city to fall, you really think that's just not enough warning? I mean, all those Canaanites KNEW who the Israelites were and KNEW how God had delivered them from Egypt. Just answer one question: was Rahab killed? No, she wasn't. Do you know why? Because her actions showed her REPENTENT spirit before God.

God has been, is, and always will be faultless in His dealings with people. They never had, never have, and never will have any kind of excuse whatsoever that will acquit themselves before Him, unless of course they plead the blood of Christ. God, quite simply, doesn't have to answer to us and can do as He pleases. He is completely justified in dispensing His wrath in any way He sees fit, which happens to be a good thing for those who believe, for He surely laid it on Christ at the Cross. If you really want to complain about how UNFAIR God is, then I suggest that's where you should start for He took OUR sins and placed them on HIS INNOCENT SON.

I'll pray for you, brother, that the Spirit smacks you a good one right upside your humanistically oriented head. It is my hope that he will do whatever is required to bring you down on your knees and back to Him.

Chris

Another Quiz...

You scored as Reformed Evangelical, You are a Reformed Evangelical. You take the Bible very seriously because it is God's Word. You most likely hold to TULIP and are sceptical about the possibilities of universal atonement or resistible grace. The most important thing the Church can do is make sure people hear how they can go to heaven when they die. Reformed Evangelical 93% Neo orthodox 89% Fundamentalist 79% Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan 71% Roman Catholic 46% Emergent/Postmodern 39% Charismatic/Pentecostal 32% Classical Liberal 32% Modern Liberal 14% What's your theological worldview? created with QuizFarm.com

The Primacy and Sufficiency of Scripture Part 5

It Is Written...

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In thinking about the remainder of the New Testament, it is clear to me that everything that the NT authors wrote was based upon OT scripture. They had a reason for doing this: It showed the continuity of the two testaments. It showed that while there may be two testaments, there is only one Message.

While doing a search on "is written" on my E-sword (if you don't have it, get it! ) software yields a total of 74 verses of direct OT quotations, let's keep it manageable and just consider the Letter to the Romans. (My personal favorite.)

In Romans, Paul employs 21 direct citations of OT Scripture which directly follow the phrase "is written". This list does not include any direct quotations that do not follow this formula, (and there are many of these) nor does it include any allusions to OT Scripture. Here they are:

Rom 1:17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith." Hab 2:4

Rom 2:24  For, as it is written, "The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you."   Isaiah 52:5

Rom 3:4 By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written, "That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged." Psalm 51:4

Rom 3:10  as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one;
Rom 3:11  no one understands; no one seeks for God.
Rom 3:12  All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one."
Rom 3:13  "Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive." "The venom of asps is under their lips."
Rom 3:14  "Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness."
Rom 3:15  "Their feet are swift to shed blood;
Rom 3:16  in their paths are ruin and misery,
Rom 3:17  and the way of peace they have not known.",
Rom 3:18  "There is no fear of God before their eyes."

Psalm 14:1-3, Psalm 4:9, Psalm 140:3, Psalm 10:7, Isaiah 59:7, Psalm 35:1

Rom 4:17 as it is written, "I have made you the father of many nations"--in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. Genesis 17:5

Rom 8:36 As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered." Psalm 44:23

Rom 9:13  As it is written, "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated."   Malachi 1:2

Rom 9:33 as it is written, "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame."

Isaiah 8:14, 28:16

Rom 10:15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!" Isaiah 52:7

Rom 11:8 as it is written, "God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear, down to this very day." Isaiah 29:10

Deut 25:5-10, Job 19:25

Rom 12:19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." Deut 32:35

Rom 14:11 for it is written, "As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God." Isaiah 45:23

Rom 15:3 For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, "The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me." Isaiah 69:9

Rom 15:9 and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, "Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name." Psalm 18:50

Rom 15:21 but as it is written, "Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand." Isaiah 52:15



It seems clear to me that in the process of building his theology, Paul purposely made sure that all of his new revelation was built upon OT scripture. He did not rely upon any sort of oral tradition to make his case.

Chris

The Primacy and Sufficiency of the Written Word Part 4

Have You Heard

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The Sermon on the Mount, at first glance, seems to run counter to the premise of this series, but as I dig further, I find it only serves to reinforce it. The critical phrase is “You have heard...”, which is repeated by Jesus many times in this passage. It would not be at all unusual to conclude that Jesus might be referring to some kind of oral tradition, [and in fact He is, but I'll explain further later] when hearing this phrase, but as we look at the source of these sayings, we find that Jesus is actually referring to written OT Scripture.  What follows are pairs of Scripture citations, the first of each pair being the words of Jesus  and the second being the Old Testament scripture He is quoting:  [yes, you will have to look them up...]


Mat 5:21 "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.'

Genesis 9:6, Exodus 20:13

Mat 5:27  "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.'

Exodus 20:14

Mat 5:33 "Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.'

Deuteronomy 23:23

Mat 5:38  "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'

Deuteronomy 19:21

Mat 5:43  "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'

Leviticus 19:18

As in the Old Testament examples offered previously, the things Jesus refer to do not come through tradition but rather, written scripture.

The only other issue at hand is this: Is Jesus contradicting OT Scripture? It sure seems like He is at first, for the second half of the "You have heard..." formula is "but I say to you".  The key to understanding what He is talking about, though, is to realize that He is not contradicting Scripture but rather contradicting the people's understanding of the Scripture. He is contradicting what people think about God says apart from Scripture.  In other words, He is contradicting the people's oral transmission of it. The teachers of the Law had put a layer of interpretation over the Scripture, and had begun treating this interpretation as equal to or greater than Scripture itself.  This is what circulated among the people.

As Jesus shows, it turns out that this “tradition” was dead wrong.

Chris

The Primacy and Sufficiency of the Written Word: Part 3

A Little More...

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Neh 8:1 And all the people gathered as one man into the square before the Water Gate. And they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that the LORD had commanded Israel.
Neh 8:2 So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard, on the first day of the seventh month.
Neh 8:3 And he read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand. And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law.
Neh 8:4 And Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden platform that they had made for the purpose. And beside him stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah on his right hand, and Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam on his left hand.
Neh 8:5 And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people, and as he opened it all the people stood.
Neh 8:6 And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God, and all the people answered, "Amen, Amen," lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground.
Neh 8:7 Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, the Levites, helped the people to understand the Law, while the people remained in their places.
Neh 8:8 They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.
Neh 8:9 And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, "This day is holy to the LORD your God; do not mourn or weep." For all the people wept as they heard the words of the Law.


Nehemiah had returned to Jerusalem and supervised the building of the city wall. Seeing that this was finished, the leaders of the Jews called Ezra the scribe to come before the people and read from the Book of the Law of Moses.

Once again, at a pivotal moment in Israel's history, God wanted to ensure that His people understood what He wanted. How did He accomplish this? He brought forward the book with the very same words He had given Moses. God underscored the unchanging nature of His character, His Word and His Revelation by bringing forth His unchanging written word.

Chris

The Primacy and Sufficiency of the Written Word: Part 2

An Example...

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This account is an excellent example of why the Written Word is superior to Tradition.

2Ki 22:8 And Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, "I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the LORD." And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it.

I suppose, because of all the idolatry that had taken place under previous kings, the book containing the Law had lain unused for many, many years.

2Ki 22:9 And Shaphan the secretary came to the king, and reported to the king, "Your servants have emptied out the money that was found in the house and have delivered it into the hand of the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the LORD."
2Ki 22:10 Then Shaphan the secretary told the king, "Hilkiah the priest has given me a book." And Shaphan read it before the king.
2Ki 22:11  When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his clothes.

What this says to me is that the King had never before heard these words. In other words, if there were a tradition running alongside the written scriptures, it had failed miserably to transmit the message contained in the Law.


2Ki 22:13 "Go, inquire of the LORD for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found. For great is the wrath of the LORD that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us."

It would appear the King was not alone in his ignorance. Evidently, this lack of knowledge concerning the Law had been going on for generations. There was a complete breakdown in oral transmission.

2Ki 22:16 Thus says the LORD, behold, I will bring disaster upon this place and upon its inhabitants, all the words of the book that the king of Judah has read.
2Ki 22:17 Because they have forsaken me and have made offerings to other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the work of their hands, therefore my wrath will be kindled against this place, and it will not be quenched.
2Ki 22:18 But to the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the LORD, thus shall you say to him, Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Regarding the words that you have heard,
2Ki 22:19 because your heart was penitent, and you humbled yourself before the LORD, when you heard how I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and you have torn your clothes and wept before me, I also have heard you, declares the LORD.
2Ki 22:20 Therefore, behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes shall not see all the disaster that I will bring upon this place.'" And they brought back word to the king.
2Ki 23:2 And the king went up to the house of the LORD, and with him all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the priests and the prophets, all the people, both small and great. And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant that had been found in the house of the LORD.
2Ki 23:3 And the king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the LORD, to walk after the LORD and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people joined in the covenant.


King Josiah was not saved from the coming wrath through tradition, he was saved by reading the Written Word, because it alone still said what it had been saying for generations. It had come from God and it alone was preserved by God.

Chris

The Primacy and Sufficiency of the Written Word

The Primacy and Sufficiency of the Written Word

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This is Part 1 of a series concerning the sufficiency of Scripture.  When we say that Scripture is sufficient, it simply means that we do not need to have any other source of revelation concerning God in order to understand what He desired to reveal to us through it. 

Do we need tradition?  Or is Scripture, in fact, sufficient?

When God gave Moses the Ten Commandments, how did He deliver them? Did He whisper them in Moses' ear and hope that he would remember them, or did He do something a little more, shall we say, concrete?


Exo 24:12 The LORD said to Moses, "Come up to me on the mountain and wait there, that I may give you the tablets of stone, with the law and the commandment, which I have written for their instruction."

Exo 31:18 And he gave to Moses, when he had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.

The principle is simple. God wanted to communicate His Law to His people in a way that could both be remembered and also not be misunderstood. There is only one way to do this, therefore that is the way He chose. He wrote them.

When God decided that it was time for the teachings of Jesus, Paul and others to be preserved, which method did He choose? Again, He chose the written word. Not on stone this time, but written by Him nevertheless on the hearts of the writers, as Jeremiah prophesied. They knew Him, therefore they were enabled to write what they heard from Him. They alone were given this honor.

Much has been made at this point about oral transmission and how this proves Tradition, but this is a futile argument. For who wrote the NT? Was it a group of people 2 or more generations removed from Christ's death, burial and resurrection? Of course not. It was written by the people who knew Him, who walked with Him, who were taught by Him. Apostles all, except for the books written by those who worked hand in hand with those apostles. All were contemporaries of Jesus. What need did they have for oral transmission?

Luke says it best, in explaining the reason for God preserving His word in writing:

Luk 1:1  Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us,
Luk 1:2  just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us,
Luk 1:3 it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus,
Luk 1:4  that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.

God gave the Ten Commandments in Stone.  God gave the New Testament on papyrus.  Why?

As Luke says:

So that we might have CERTAINTY! The obvious implication of Luke's comment is clear: word of mouth cannot be trusted. Luke knew, as I know, the only reliable Word is the written Word.

This is what is lacking in Tradition. There is no certainty. It changes from generation to generation. Even if the argument is made that it doesn't, how can it be proven? There is no evidence! The scriptures exist so that we can have a record that stands alone, apart from the fallibilities of men and councils and popes. They alone are unchanging, everlasting, and sufficient.

Chris

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The Law is Good...

The Law is Good

The Bible makes clear that the Law is good and that there are blessings associated with it:
Deu 30:14-20 But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it. "See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. If you obey the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you today, by loving the LORD your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess. I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the LORD your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them."

Rom 7:12 So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.
Rom 7:22 For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being,

The question that naturally arises is: if the law is so good, then why do people have such a big problem with it?

The problem is, as Paul concludes, that no one can fulfill the Law in a way that is acceptable to God. Remember the definition we have arrived at concerning the meaning of the word “righteousness” from 1:17:

God works to the fullest extent of his holiness and love simultaneously in any given situation, especially as it relates to Jesus Christ and his completed work on the Cross.

The Law points the way to God’s righteousness, it is a perfect roadmap. Unfortunately, we fail on both counts, holiness and love, to fulfill the law. In terms of holiness, the Law defines God’s expectations of us and leaves people without any excuses. In other words, the Law reveals God’s character to us, with no room for us to add anything according to our imaginations. But simply giving people a list of do’s and don’ts is not sufficient because it is in the aspect of Love that we fail most completely. It is the lack of love that keeps us from going the distance as we consider everything a law implies. Love is the dimension of the Law that the Jews missed. Our example would be the Jews and the Ten Commandments. What was the problem with the way they viewed the Law? The problem was that the Jews narrowly defined the law in its holiness, only in dry terms of what was permitted and not permitted and left out its relational aspects, both with God and with each other. This lack of love is evident in their interactions with Jesus, who understood the true purpose of the Law. Walking according to the flesh, they looked only to the fleshly results: whether or not they could justify their actions. But Jesus who was walking according to the Spirit, however, not only saw the actions but the motives behind the actions and what God thought of those motives...

Mar 3:1-5 Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. And they watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. And he said to the man with the withered hand, "Come here." And he said to them, "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?" But they were silent. And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and his hand was restored.

The Jews were both unconcerned with what the man was going through (they did not love him) and what God thought about it (they did not love God). They reduced righteousness down to a set of rules and forgot that the whole point of righteousness is the ability to see what the right thing is and to care enough to do it! Here are a few verses that directly tie love to the fulfilling of the Law.

Luk 10:26-28 He said to him, "What is written in the Law? How do you read it?" And he answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself." And he said to him, "You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live."
Rom 13:10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

Love, by definition, cannot do wrong because it arises out of the Holiness of God. Love points us back to its source.

Gal 5:14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

If these verses are true, then let’s apply Love to the Ten Commandments, making them positive commands instead of negative ones, looking at them the same way Jesus did:

Exo 20:3 "You shall have no other gods before me.

You shall have God completely

Eph 3:16-19 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith--that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Exo 20:4-6 "You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

You shall see the image of God fully formed in you.

Rom 8:29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

Exo 20:7 "You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

When you speak it will be in the Name of the Lord.

Exo 20:8-11 "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

Keep everyday holy by no longer working, (in order to please God) by resting in Jesus.

Exo 20:12 "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.

No Change!

Exo 20:13 "You shall not murder.

You shall be a source of life to people.

Exo 20:14 "You shall not commit adultery.

You shall be one flesh with your spouse.

Exo 20:15 "You shall not steal.

You shall give away your life.

Exo 20:16 "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

You shall be always uplifting towards your neighbor.

Exo 20:17 "You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's."

You shall be satisfied with what the Lord provides you, and most of all, in Him.

The most striking thing about looking at the Ten Commandments in this way is that we have now defined the Law in terms of what we CAN do instead of what we CANNOT do. All good things are permitted and even a quick look down through the list shows just how vast our horizons are. The law points to freedom, not restriction. It is in fact when we ignore the Law that we bind ourselves into small places that restrict us. Think in your own life where not following the Law has led to this. By ignoring the Spirit (literally!) of the Law, we become like the Jews were.

This, is the bridge between the Law and Grace, I believe. The Law is still in effect but it is redefined and, because of Jesus, no longer out of reach.

Chris __________________

The Primacy and Sufficiency of the Written Word

The Primacy and Sufficiency of the Written Word

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Do we need tradition?  Or is Scripture, in fact, sufficient?

When God gave Moses the Ten Commandments, how did He deliver them? Did He whisper them in Moses' ear and hope that he would remember them, or did He do something a little more, shall we say, concrete?


Exo 24:12 The LORD said to Moses, "Come up to me on the mountain and wait there, that I may give you the tablets of stone, with the law and the commandment, which I have written for their instruction."

Exo 31:18 And he gave to Moses, when he had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.

The principle is simple. God wanted to communicate His Law to His people in a way that could both be remembered and also not be misunderstood. There is only one way to do this, therefore that is the way He chose. He wrote them.

When God decided that it was time for the teachings of Jesus, Paul and others to be preserved, which method did He choose? Again, He chose the written word. Not on stone this time, but written by Him nevertheless on the hearts of the writers, as Jeremiah prophesied. They knew Him, therefore they were enabled to write what they heard from Him. They alone were given this honor.

Much has been made at this point about oral transmission and how this proves Tradition, but this is a futile argument. For who wrote the NT? Was it a group of people 2 or more generations removed from Christ's death, burial and resurrection? Of course not. It was written by the people who knew Him, who walked with Him, who were taught by Him. Apostles all, except for the books written by those who worked hand in hand with those apostles. All were contemporaries of Jesus. What need did they have for oral transmission?

Luke says it best, in explaining the reason for God preserving His word in writing:

Luk 1:1  Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us,
Luk 1:2  just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us,
Luk 1:3 it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus,
Luk 1:4  that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.

God gave the Ten Commandments in Stone.  God gave the New Testament on papyrus.  Why?

As Luke says:

So that we might have CERTAINTY! The obvious implication of Luke's comment is clear: word of mouth cannot be trusted. Luke knew, as I know, the only reliable Word is the written Word.

This is what is lacking in Tradition. There is no certainty. It changes from generation to generation. Even if the argument is made that it doesn't, how can it be proven? There is no evidence! The scriptures exist so that we can have a record that stands alone, apart from the fallibilities of men and councils and popes. They alone are unchanging, everlasting, and sufficient.

Chris