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Devotionals
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I'll be Damned , According to the LAW
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I'll Be Damned (According to the Law)
(By Michael Newnham)
[Minor editing]
Whenever discussions happen around law and grace, I invariably end up being labeled an antinomian.
This is nonsense...I simply understand what the law and "keeping God's commandments" actually requires biblically.
Because I know that, I know that outside of the Gospel, I'm damned before I finish reading the first commandment.
Some of you don't understand the demands of the law...I'm here to help you with that.
First, the law is broad, Ps. 119:96. It extends it's authority over every thought action of men. Each commandment includes in it all similar commands that relate to it.
For example, when you are commanded to honor your father and mother, it broadly includes all God ordained authority in your life. It's also exceedingly stringent, forbidding every sin and lust common to man.
Second, it is perfect and requires perfect obedience. God doesn't grade on the curve. Any imperfection not only breaks one commandment, it breaks them all. Gal 5:2-6, Ja 2:10
Third, every commandment has both a negative and a positive application, both a duty to be performed and a sin to shun. For example, when the law says "thou shalt not kill", it also commands us to love each other in Christian love. The command "thou shalt not steal", also has within it a command to good stewardship of what you have and a duty to protect the property of others.
To rightly obey the law and keep the commandments, both sides of each commandment must be executed perfectly. I would say that most folks do not understand the dual nature of the law...it crushes you both ways.
Fourth, when one sin is forbidden, all sins of the same type are forbidden, and all causes and occasions to commit that sin are forbidden. Jesus pointed out that if you are angry, you have murdered in your heart. If you look at another woman with lust, you have committed adultery. What to do about this? If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out.
Each commandment is this broad and demands such radical actions.
How you doing with your obedience so far?
The one who truly understands the law understands they are guilty of it all and they run, not walk, to the cross.
They understand that their only hope is the Gospel...They understand that their works are filthy rags and they embrace the finished work of Christ in exchange for those rags.
They walk in gratitude for being forgiven and extend to others the grace they have received.
They harbor no illusions about their practical holiness.
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Davidwayne Lackey 06/19/2015 22:31 |
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JT
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06/20/2015 04:01 |
Nice post
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