It Speaks, But to Whom?

 It Speaks, But to Whom?

Over the years I have heard many different people’s perspectives on the OT Law and our obligation to it. Whether we are talking about the Law referring to the 10 Commandments, the complete OT, the Torah (Pentateuch), or simply the Law and the Prophets, people’s perspectives differ. Theologians likewise differ. Some of my friends and/or acquaintances brood over certain Jewish feasts or traditions. Some keep the Sabbath out of duty, while others out of festivity celebrate feasts such as Purim and Tabernacles. What are the NT’s requirements regarding the Law? 

The other day I was reading Romans and came across this Scripture: 

Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God. Romans 3:19 NASB

The word translated Law (nomos), which is capitalized in the NASB, is a generic term meaning law. It could be moral law, the law of sin and death, the Mosaic Law, the Law and the Prophets, or the whole of the OT, or some other law. Just which law or Law is determined by its context. In Romans 3:19 above “Law” is capitalized in the NASB because the context clearly denotes specific law that is associated with the Old Testament. The scriptures that proceed it are from Job, Psalms, Proverbs, and Isaiah, so we must admit that the Law here is more far reaching than the Mosaic Law or the 10 Commandments. However, it must include them due to verse 20. As we juxtaposed verse 20 with Romans 7:7 below, where the 10 Commandments are clearly portrayed, we undoubtedly see the correlation: 

…because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law [comes] the knowledge of sin. Romans 3:20 

…I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, “YOU SHALL NOT COVET.” Romans 7:7 

Whichever Law is discussed here in Romans 3:19 (and believe me commentaries are all over the place), a definitive conclusion can be made that the statement “whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law” is referring to the Jew as the one who is under this Law. To paraphrase then, it would read, “whatsoever the Law’s requirements are, it is only speaking to the OT Jew who is under that OT Law.” Hebrews 8:13 goes so far as to say that the Old Covenant is obsolete.  

Ok take a breath and let’s move forward to get where I’m heading. 

Dear Christian, you are not an OT Jew. Therefore, what the Law says, it is not speaking to you, as it did to the Jew. You, if you are in Christ, you are free from the Law. Free—I mean really free! But that is not where it ends.  

1 Timothy 1:8 says that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully. The Law is detrimental, however, if one uses it illegally. It will wrap you up into a condemnation ball if you mishandle it. Worse yet, it can lead you astray from the grace that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Paul says in Galatians 5:4 that those who seek to be justified by law (any law) have been severed from Christ and have fallen from grace. Paul also equates works of the Law with the flesh—not with faith and not with grace (Galatians 3:2-3). There is benefit to the Christian in the Law:  

For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction [to teach us], so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. Romans 15:4  

Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction [warning, admonition], upon whom the ends of the ages have come. 1 Corinthians 10:11  

Furthermore, the OT gives us great insight into the character of God and His interactions with man. Insights into creation, sin, God’s protection of His people, His absolute sovereignty; there are types, prophecies, prophecies regarding our age and Messiah. Israel's history, the Psalms, and God’s supremacy from beginning to end is all beautifully displayed in the pages of the OT. Reading about David and his exploits, his ravished heart for God, his sin, and his calling as a little shepherd boy all give us hope. There’s Abraham and his many failures turned to being the friend of God. And as Hebrews 11:32 confesses: time will fail me if I tell of the rest. 

We do see ourselves in the pages of the OT. As we read it, it speaks to us too.

But we cannot—we must not—find our rightness-with-God there. There is only one place to find that and His Name is Jesus Christ. 

For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. Romans 10:4

 

 

 

 

A Lot in There

A Lot in There 

My husband and I have adopted a new saying, “There is a Lot in there.”  It came about after a Bible study on Genesis 13. In Genesis 13 we read that Abram returned from Egypt with Lot and all their stuff to the place between Bethel and Ai—to the place where Abram had built an alter to the Lord and called on His name. Egypt seems to have been out of the perfect plan of God for Abram. And it seems he returned to the place he knew God had met with him before. Conjecture, of course, as to why Abram returned to that place in particular. 

Due to strife between Lot’s and Abram’s herdsmen the two decided to part company. Abram, though God had promised him Canaan, offered Lot first choice. Verse 10 and 11 reveal a great deal about Lot: 

10 Lot lifted up his eyes and saw all the valley of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere-- [this was] before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah-- like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt as you go to Zoar. 11 So Lot chose for himself all the valley of the Jordan, and Lot journeyed eastward. Thus they separated from each other. Genesis 13:10-11 

Hadn’t Lot heard about the wickedness of Sodom? Yet he moved so close to Sodom that he eventually ended up inside the city. Why? Because Lot looked with his eyes and chose for himself. He didn’t ask God. I find verse 10 quite telling. The name Zoar means “insignificance.” As Lot looked at this beautiful land, God was saying that it really was like passing through Egypt into insignificance (like the land of Egypt as you go to Zoar). Egypt often typifies worldliness. Choosing by what we see instead of by the Holy Spirit’s leading is worldly and leads to insignificance—spiritual insignificance, that is. Yes, it may look like the Garden of Eden, but if God isn’t leading you there then don’t go. You too may end up first pitching your tent close to Sodom and then ending up inside. The end of this story for Lot is very sad. He lost his wife and everything he had. His moral compass seems lost as well. Chapter 19 says that Lot ended up in Zoar, then from there he moved into a cave. The story further deteriorated from there. 

Both Abram and Lot ended up with beautiful land, though through different means. God gave Abram the land of Canaan. Canaan was so lush that Numbers 13 says the spies brought back clusters of grapes so large they had to carry them on poles. Quite a land. The difference was that Abram asked God while Lot saw and chose.

Abram, when he returned from Egypt, returned to the place he knew God had spoken to him. Lot really never returned. His feet were there but his heart was not. Revelation 2 states that the remedy for the Church of Ephesus was to repent and do the things they did at first. They too had to return or become insignificant, meaning their candlestick would be removed. Maybe you’re at a point where you too need to return.  

Make that choice today. 

Don’t end up like Lot. 

My Holy Spirit Inbox

My Holy Spirit Inbox

Often, whether through a picture or a whisper from the Holy Spirit, names and images  pop into my mind’s eye. I call this my "Inbox." Years ago I recognized that this is a way in which the Holy Spirit speaks. Throughout the years I have prayed for many people whom I have never met as the Lord dropped them into my inbox. I can still see some of them. Usually they are only with me for a few hours or days, though some I have remembered in prayer for years. A couple times I have heard an address without a city (2118 2^nd St), a phrase (Kettle Kids for Andrew’s Journey), or a phone number without an area code. One was Dan 609-6009 way back in the early 2000s. I tried to call this number using close-by area codes, but to no avail. I finally decided that if God had wanted me to call Dan, then He would have given more information. I still remember Dan and wonder if I’ll meet him on the other side. 

One woman comes to mind. She is wearing a brilliant cobalt blue wrap, woven with gold designs. I see her hiding from her pursuers in the night. She is peering from behind a rock wall as she awaits a moment where she can flee. I have carried this woman in prayer for years. 

Then there is Linda. I saw a young blonde Linda, probably approaching 30, stuck in her little red car after she’d had an accident. Her legs were all curled up; she had passed out behind the steering wheel.  

Sometimes people from my past all the sudden come to mind. Not just by way of a thought, rather an invasion into my thinking. Kind of like when a commercial jolts a movie as it stops in an unlikely place. It is totally out of the blue and undeniable. Most of the time it is someone I haven’t thought about for decades. Yet there they are invading my thoughts.  

The last one hit me just the other day as I was planting trees in my yard. Her name is Chahani Rose or Shahani Rose. At first I just thought, “oh that’s a pretty name.” But then after a few moments it dawned on me that it was the Holy Spirit leading me to pray for her. Never had I heard that name before.  

Sometimes I know exactly how to pray for the people the Holy Spirit brings to me, while other times I don’t. In such cases I just pray according to what I see best I can. If He wakes me up in the middle of the night to pray, I store it in my phone so I can remember the next day. The Lord awakened me with the lady in the cobalt blue dress with urgency to pray for her. 

I encourage you to pay attention to thoughts that seem out-of-nowhere. If you are a Christian who has learned to yield your thoughts to the Holy Spirit, then these are likely the Holy Spirit leading you to pray.