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Romans 5
One of the key teachings that Paul puts forward, and that we’ve discussed here several times, and that the church STILL struggles with, to-this-day, is found right in today’s reading in verse 20:
“Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, ...”
Why did God give us the Law? Why the 10 Commandments? Do they still apply today? The teaching is crystal clear on this, but we Christian traditions have mucked this up a little. The 10 Commandments aren’t for you and for me - they aren’t given to us to follow as Law. They are no more applicable to us than the rest of the law. They weren’t written for us, they weren’t meant for us, and they don’t apply to us directly. That is the bottom line.
If you are someone who’s had the law lorded over you, as if it is a law meant for you and that you are supposed to follow, then I am sorry. That’s not correct theology. That’s Christian leaders using the Bible as a whip rather than as an invitation. If it happened to you during your youth, I especially apologize because you had no way to investigate and rebut that kind of treatment. That has been going on for years and it is one of them major detractors from the flourishing of the church.
That being said, just because the Law wasn’t written for you and for me, it doesn’t mean that the law isn’t helpful. Read it...no the law that the Jews put in place with 600+ rituals and steps and all of that, but the 10 Commandments. There is good stuff in there. For instance, the Sabbath...that is something I don’t always follow that I SHOULD always follow. I have lived long enough to recognize the wisdom in that command.
Paul teaches in other places, and we’ll get to this, that though the law doesn’t directly apply to him, it doesn’t mean he should live apart from it completely. He says that things in this world aren’t technically ‘off limits’, but that his determination as to whether or not to engage with them isn’t on that basis, it is under the basis of whether or not they are helpful. Are they helpful to his mission and his purpose, which God has given him...that’s the better question. Frankly, that’s a harder question to answer; it is personal, it is customized for each person, and (imagine this) it requires a personal connection with God in order to really know the truth that applies to each of us.
Today I am reminded that we really are free from the Law and from the 10 Commandments. And, because of that truth, we can turn to them and we can appreciate the wisdom that is contained in these ancient teachings, and we can adopt them willingly, because we know they were given to the Israel for her benefit, and given to me for mine - they aren’t meant to be a means of coercion from the church.
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By Steve AndersonOne of the key teachings that Paul puts forward, and that we’ve discussed here several times, and that the church STILL struggles with, to-this-day, is found right in today’s reading in verse 20:
“Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, ...”
Why did God give us the Law? Why the 10 Commandments? Do they still apply today? The teaching is crystal clear on this, but we Christian traditions have mucked this up a little. The 10 Commandments aren’t for you and for me - they aren’t given to us to follow as Law. They are no more applicable to us than the rest of the law. They weren’t written for us, they weren’t meant for us, and they don’t apply to us directly. That is the bottom line.
If you are someone who’s had the law lorded over you, as if it is a law meant for you and that you are supposed to follow, then I am sorry. That’s not correct theology. That’s Christian leaders using the Bible as a whip rather than as an invitation. If it happened to you during your youth, I especially apologize because you had no way to investigate and rebut that kind of treatment. That has been going on for years and it is one of them major detractors from the flourishing of the church.
That being said, just because the Law wasn’t written for you and for me, it doesn’t mean that the law isn’t helpful. Read it...no the law that the Jews put in place with 600+ rituals and steps and all of that, but the 10 Commandments. There is good stuff in there. For instance, the Sabbath...that is something I don’t always follow that I SHOULD always follow. I have lived long enough to recognize the wisdom in that command.
Paul teaches in other places, and we’ll get to this, that though the law doesn’t directly apply to him, it doesn’t mean he should live apart from it completely. He says that things in this world aren’t technically ‘off limits’, but that his determination as to whether or not to engage with them isn’t on that basis, it is under the basis of whether or not they are helpful. Are they helpful to his mission and his purpose, which God has given him...that’s the better question. Frankly, that’s a harder question to answer; it is personal, it is customized for each person, and (imagine this) it requires a personal connection with God in order to really know the truth that applies to each of us.
Today I am reminded that we really are free from the Law and from the 10 Commandments. And, because of that truth, we can turn to them and we can appreciate the wisdom that is contained in these ancient teachings, and we can adopt them willingly, because we know they were given to the Israel for her benefit, and given to me for mine - they aren’t meant to be a means of coercion from the church.