From Skip Moen’s post at Today’s Word: An African bishop once commented on the Church in America. “I never knew you could do so much without God.” I wonder if Hosea wouldn’t say the same thing. Now I am sure you are going to ask, “But what about Billy Graham? What about Mother Teresa? What about my friends or my pastor? They don’t keep Torah. Are you saying that they don’t belong to God’s kingdom?” No, I am not saying that. Neither is Hosea. What I am saying is what Hosea says. If those who call themselves by His name continue to live in disobedience to His instructions once they know what He requires, then they are on very dangerous ground. There are sins of ignorance. They do not damage our relationship with the Father until we realize they are sins. Then we have to do something about them. Once you know, you’re stuck. Welcome to the mud! Now life is going to get a lot more messy. My greatest concern is for those who refuse to consider rethinking the foundations. It is one thing to be unconvinced. It is quite another to reject the consideration. Hosea speaks to those who should have known better. There are so many today who don’t know because no one has taught them. Those who do know are obligated to live according to their understanding, and to help others see the Way by the way they live. Wow! This is only part of the post, but it really stuck out to me. There were a couple of interesting points: 1. The statement by the African bishop is scary! How much do we do without God and His direction? We do a lot of good things, but how often do we do them on our own initiative instead of watching God? The history of the Christian church is riddled with godless men and women in positions of leadership within the church (okay, really mostly men that I know of because women weren’t allowed positions of leadership). They acted in ways that I can’t imagine God smiling upon (remember the Inquisition?). But they were the leaders of the church. How often does that continue today? Not the Inquisition, the church acting on its own. 2. Sins of ignorance. I always wondered how someone could be held accountable for something they didn’t even realize was wrong. It’s like me punishing my son for something he didn’t know not to do. I believe it’s only fair to give a warning so that the next time he knows. This point goes right along with my next point. 3. You are responsible for what you know. Once I know the rules, I am responsible to play by the rules. Everyone knows the saying, “ignorance is bliss,” and in some ways that’s true (although sometimes the laws of physics hold us accountable even if we’re ignorant). So, that made me think. I know a very rudimentary amount of Old Testament law. And, if Skip’s teachings are true, much of the Old Testament is still relevant today. So, what I do know I am responsible to obey. But that still begs the question. How much? We don’t have to follow the sacrificial system because of Jesus, but if that’s obsolete, what about the other laws about multi-fiber clothing and pork and piercings and tattoos? How can one apply and the other not? Sigh. Anyway, interesting post!
Romans 4:16 So that’s why faith is the key! God’s promise is given to us as a free gift. And we are certain to receive it, whether or not we follow Jewish customs, if we have faith like Abraham’s. For Abraham is the father of all who believe. Interesting story, well, sort of. This caught my attention because it goes back to the question that seems to continually come back to me – why do we follow certain OT rules and not others… and here, Paul is saying that it’s not about the laws and rules that we follow, it’s about faith. That’s part of the interesting story. The second art starts on my Facebook page. One of my friends (thanks Diana!) has posted a link to a blog called Journey Deeper Into God’s Word where the blog author (a pastor) is doing a challenge for 2010 where he’s going to do kind of what I do here – read and post something that he’s studies in God’s word (except he’ll do it every day, hopefully more consistently than I do!). Very cool. But that’s not the interesting part. I go to his January 1 post and here’s the verse: James 2:23-26 : And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God. You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. Sound familiar? That’s interesting… we’re reading the same verse in different books… coincidence? Probably not. Anyhow, oddly, here James is saying that Abraham’s belief is a good work and that man is justified by works (instead of by faith as in Romans), which contradicts what Paul just said in Romans. However, if works are considered different from following customs, then it makes more sense. Also these works seem to be more a result of faith and not a precursor to God’s justification. And, Paul talks about a Promise (I’m not quite clear about what the promise is – it seems to be the promise that Abraham’s children will outnumber the grains of sand, but I’m not sure how that would apply to us). So, maybe it’s two different ways of looking at the same thing? Now I’ve confused myself. I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments if you have more clarify that I do. I feel like I’m swimming in circles.
Matthew 5:17 Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to fulfill them. This verse stuck out to me because a kind reader made a insightful comment about one of my previous posts. And while I believe that tithing is still important, he made some interesting points. This verse is something Jesus said about the OT (Old Testament) law. It’s pretty self-explanatory I think. But here’s always been my question: Why is it okay to pierce your ears but not okay to get a tattoo? The two OT laws are right next to each other in the Bible, but somehow we’ve decided one is fine to do and the other means you’re breaking God’s law and you’re a total heathen. How do we choose which laws to follow? Obviously, the 10 Commandments are OT law and they’re still valid today. I mean, you just can’t go out and kill someone. That’s just wrong. I know that God told Peter that eating meat and pork and all was okay when he had that vision (or was that just metaphorical for accepting all people no matter their color or beliefs). I don’t know. It’s confusing. It’s a little frustrating. I personally think (most) tattoos are pretty cool. I don’t have one but it’s because I’m a chicken and I couldn’t make up my mind what to get anyway. My ears are pierced once (again, I’m a chicken and don’t really like needles). But I know my mother-in-law is adamantly against my husband getting a tattoo (which I think would be really cool). So, where do we draw the line? How much of the OT law to we abide by? If Jesus came to fulfill it but not get rid of it, where does that leave us? Please feel free to put in your ten cents (two cents, whatever) in the comments!