Subject: What of the Law applies to me a believe? |
Bible Note: Dear MJH, No, I'm not upset with you personally. I'm just annoyed at the human heart that is so resistant to gospel truth. A pastor ministering sound doctrine to the flock must necessarily have great patience. Clearly, being a pastor is not part of my calling. You see, the law has only the power of death (Romans 3:20; 7:5-11; Galatians 3:11). Complying with the law doesn't make you more acceptable to God (Isaiah 64:6). Indeed, rather it only shows further our agreement that we simply agree with its assessment of our complete failure before it (Romans 2:14-15). God loves us because of what the Son did (1 John 4:10). Consequently, we can't increase or decrease that love one tiny jot, especially not by the law. How could we even come remotely close to the incredible and perfect atonement of our Savior? In the light of that -- how does all the obedience in the world to the law compare? Zilch. This is probably a lousy example, but bear with me. When I was a student decades ago, I worked for a time in low-temperature physics. I suppose the technology has vastly improved, but at that time "making" liquid helium took days. Now liquefied helium is really odd stuff. Imagine a container that has a tiny hole in it. Indeed, imagine that the hole is so small that air itself is unable to pass through it. If you place liquid helium in such a container it simply drains away. That's exactly the way grace behaves. One tiny bit of the law, and the whole thing drains away (Romans 11:6; Galatians 5:4). Okay, here's another example: Imagine that I invite you to dinner. I've hired the best chef in the region to prepare a beautiful meal. Rich and expensive delicacies are spread before you on the best china, silver, and crystal. The aromas alone are incredibly tantalizing. Before you begin to eat, though, I say, "I really hope you enjoy the meal. However, I think it only fair to tell you that there is an extremely tiny amount of raw sewage somewhere in all that food. Don't worry, though, the total amount is less than a grain of salt. But I assure you that everything else is perfectly sterile." How does this fact change the appeal of the meal? I hope this extremely important point is being driven home. If a person wants to give up grace, by all means, climb aboard the well crowded legalism band-wagon. However, if you head that route, grace gets completely thrown out (Galatians 3:2-3), and your righteousness must exceed that of the most law-abiding people in history (Matthew 5:20). In Him, Doc |