Post details: Man, the Moral Law, and the Lord.

03/27/08

Permalink 02:35:27 pm, Categories: Announcements [A]
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Man, the Moral Law, and the Lord.

A man asked Jesus "How can I have Eternal Life?"
To which Jesus said "Obey the commandments."

Does this mean there is another way, besides belief in Jesus, to be granted eternal life?

As you may recall, Jesus told that man "There is one thing you lack ..." And it seems inevitable that anyone attempting to establish a righteousness on their own by obedience to the 10 commands, will find out that there is always "one thing you lack..."

Therefore let us be confident to say that no man will be declared righteous in the sight of God by obedience to the Law.

This does not sum up all aspects of the Law, but it is a useful story about this topic:

A clutz brags about his coordination. However, his confidence is based on ignorance, because all he does is sit around all day upon his hands.
Thus, a wise man (seeing the problem) tells the clutz to get up and fetch some dishes in the kitchen ... and as predicted a crash indicates the inevitable ... the clutz dropped all the dishes! So much for his coordination.
So the wise man gave a command that would reveal to the clutz a problem that he was either unaware of or had otherwise denied ... that indeed he was not coordinated.

And so we read:

Ro 5:20
And the Torah came into the picture so that the offence would proliferate; but where sin proliferated, grace proliferated even more.

plumb
Does not a plumb line indicate where a wall is crooked? Indeed it does.
Does the plumb line MAKE the wall straight? It CANNOT.
Yet once straight, the plumb line will match the wall that was made straight by Another!

I am not talking about mere walls and plumb lines, am I? I speak of man and the Law ... and Another (the Lord) Who makes straight each of us that the Law shows as crooked.

Lets agree that the Moral Law that condemns us is not the essential source by which to mend us. It shows our wickedness, by contrast, and it validates the fruit of the Spirit by comparison.

Comments:

Comment from: Timothy [Member] · http://www.TrumpetCallofGodOnline.com
Amen.

Isa 28:17 -
I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plumb line...
Permalink 03/27/08 @ 14:46
Comment from: pam [Visitor]
When that chalked piece of string snaps agaist each of us there are still gaps in the line it leaves upon us for we are all a work in progress and none of us has been completely set straight. We can't straighten ourselves out anymore than we could begin the work necessary to straighten us (no more than a block wall can begin to fix itself or know that it needs repair) no matter how much time we spend focusing on the straigtness of the plumbline and our own imperfection. We do not give ourselves over to the Law or any other human being for our salvation or our sanctification. Jesus is the only qualified builder of Christians. He is the one who will present us as a spotless bride to His Father. This work is apart from the Law but not contrary to it.

Amen?
Permalink 03/28/08 @ 14:39
Comment from: Judah [Visitor] · http://judahgabriel.blogspot.com
Hey, thanks for posting this, as it was an earlier response by Timothy to a question I had posed. I may do a trackback post on my blog.

Blessings guys.
Permalink 03/29/08 @ 18:02
Comment from: Judah [Visitor] · http://judahgabriel.blogspot.com
RE: Pam, if we could keep the Torah perfectly without breaking it, we could have eternal life. The problem is, we can't keep the commandments; there's something everyone lacks, just like the rich man. I think this is the point of Timothy's original post about this.

We know if we kept God's commandments perfectly and lacked nothing, walking in His ways perfectly without deviation, we would have eternal life. We believe this because:

1. Moses says, "Keep these commandments and you will live". Paul quotes this in Romans and talks about the same thing.

2. When the rich man approached Messiah, asking how he can get eternal life, Messiah replied, "Keep the commandments"

Now here's the problem with that: we can't actually keep the commandments. We ought to keep the commandments, but we're bound to break them.

Because we break them, we need atonement (this is something in accordance with God's Torah). Messiah's sacrifice made a final atonement for this sin, that's what we mean when we say, "Jesus washed my sins away"

So yes, you're right, salvation and eternal life can achieved only through Messiah, since keep God's commandments perfectly is unattainable in our human condition.
Permalink 03/29/08 @ 18:23
Comment from: pam [Visitor]
Judah,

That is true and what I believe as well but sometimes people get the idea that the Law can make them holy and it can't. All Law can ever do is name a crime and the punishment for it. It is very evident in our own society that Law can't prevent crime. Jesus changes us so that we can't love any other god and we don't want to disobey God's commands but still our old nature is with us in this life and we do break them. Our only hope and remedy is Jesus for both our salvation and our sanctification. The substance of God's Law is Spirit as He is Spirit. In Jesus we have that same substance in the Holy Spirit, the power to overcome our sinful flesh not by outward observance of the Law but by spiritual renewal in Christ.

Thanks for conversing with me, Judah.

Pam
Permalink 03/29/08 @ 19:45

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