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Grapevine

Uphold The Law By Faith

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Grapevine

“Do we, then nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather we uphold the law.” -Romans 3:31

The Jewish nation has been religiously upholding biblical law for millenniums. Let’s just say, “they’re really good at it.”

The book of Romans talks about being freed from bondage to the law, which is great news for us gentile (non-jew), hippy people of “the way,” but poses some challenges for our rule-abiding jewish friends. I mean, if you’ve been following the law faithfully, and now everyone wants in without any work, you’d be a little miffed.

It’s for that reason that scripture gives so many illustrations of the Kingdom being offerred freely:

  • The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard [Matthew 20:1-16]
  • Ingrafted Branches [Romans 11:11-24]
  • The Parable of the Wedding Banquet [Matthew 22:1-14]

So as hoodlum gentiles, how do we uphold the law? We uphold the law by faith in Jesus; by realizing that apart from Christ, His holiness and sacrifice, we hold no claim to salvation or eternity in the Kingdom.

Our faith that God sent His begotten son, Jesus, to be our sacrificial lamb — our “Christ” (meaning “messiah”, or “savior and liberator of a group of people”) — declares that Jesus upheld the law and offered his perfection to us as a gift. After all, it’s God’s will that all should come to know Him [1 Timothy 2:4].

The fact that we trust Christ as the fulfillment of the law, for our sakes, reinforces that the law is important. It simply admits that, in our own strength, we are hopelessly inadequate to satisfy the law.

Application
Are there areas of your life that you are still clinging to works to ease the punishment deserved by your sin? Are you taking pride in your purity, church attendance, Bible knowledge or servanthood, thinking that makes you a “better person”? When was the last time you stopped to ponder your depravity and need for a savior?

“Father, forgive me for ways I try to work my way to You. I am nothing without You and rely completely on your gift of salvation. May my heart by convicted, that my faith would increase, so that Christ would be glorified and the law be upheld by my faith and reliance on His sacrifice. Teach me to offer grace freely and not judge based on works. To you be the glory, forever and ever, amen.”

Developing an Internal Locus of Control

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Our world has given itself to laws, but in turn become lawless. Instead, we must nurture an internal locus of control, that we may be free.

These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desires. -Colossians 2:23

We HATE rules! Sometimes we love to hate ’em. Let me explain.

We live in a world where rules abound. Speed limits, seat belt regulations, minimum drinking age, no swimming, no skateboarding, no cell phones, minimum height required… sometimes our rules get wacky:

  • Bear wrestling matches are prohibited.
  • Dominoes may not be played on Sunday.
  • It is illegal to wear a fake moustache that causes laughter in church.

(Those laws are just laws in the state of Alabama! Each state has their own ridiculous laws.)

&nsbp;
How does this effect us?

We learn to hate law and authority because of how they restrict us; the abundance of laws seem to reduce us to brainless lab-mice in a maze.

Unfortunately, we’re so tired of man’s laws, it’s no wonder we reject God’s laws and distrust His authority!

&nsbp;
Why do we chose to live like this?

So why are these laws put into place? Assumedly, most are to protect us from ourselves and each other, but they bear evidence of our belief that we, as humans, believe ourselves incapable of making right decisions.

Empty Airport Security Line
Have we been reduced to lab mice?
For example, the flashing “Do Not Walk” exists because someone thought it necessary. At some time or another, folks must have crossed without looking. Refusing to respect traffic, these ignorant walkers were rudely introduced to the bumper of a passing car — in response, we constructed rules and posted signs to protect ourselves. However, in the process we choose captivity over freedom and rules over responsibility, and remain like stranded castaways standing deserted on a street-corner island.

Freedom is dangerous. Freedom requires responsibility and responsibility demands consequences — a consequence either enjoyed or suffered. Freedom comes with the potential for pain. It means we can get hurt. For this reason, some avoid it.

But is a life without freedom, any life at all?

&nsbp;
What have we become?

The deeper question I have is this: have we formed laws around ourselves in such a way as to remove the possibility of pain — but in the process, stripped our ability to lead ourselves? to govern ourselves?

Have we, unknowingly, stripped away our “internal locus of control” — that inner compass that steers us? Have our rules made ourselves blind and deaf to our very own consciences?

I say this, both temporally and spiritually. We’ve come to trust rules and not our very own hearts.

Our abundant rules are evidence that our internal locus of control is undeveloped. We have lost trust of our own ability to wield freedom rightly.

 
The Danger

The problem with this is that when we begin to distrust our hearts, we loose something that is truly essential to being human – our will.

C.S. Lewis describes in The Screwtape Letters that while Satan and God are both interested in our will, Satan desires to steal, kill and destroy it, while God invites us to surrender it, so that he can restore it within us. God wants us to have freedom and choice, personality and individuality. Satan only wants to destroy our souls and leave us empty.

Another danger is this: when we lose trust in our hearts, we surrender control to the decision-making abilities of others, and rely on law instead of our God-given internal locus of control. This may not seem like a bad thing, but a society of law-abiders operates out of fear, not love. They obey the rules, but nothing has changed internally. They are one step from utter lawlessness, because that is all that has been developed internally – lawlessness.

 
Understanding the deceitful heart

The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? -Jeremiah 17:9

I grew up hearing this verse, and believing it, because it is true — yet it is only true in terms of the unregenerate heart. When the Holy Spirit comes upon our hearts and we surrender our hearts, minds and lives to God, believing that He sent Jesus as Lord and savior, we are made new. Our hearts are renewed as we surrender to the Holy Spirit, and it is important to learn to trust both the Holy Spirit and the promptings within our hearts.

The process of listening and obeying to our regenerate hearts develops our internal locus of control.

This piece is essential to following Christ. Our internal locus of control is essential because it flows out of obedience to a loving Father and is much stronger than an external locus of control. Countless men and women have risen to great places in leadership and authority, only to lose it all because they failed to develop their internal locus of control.

If the Kingdom of God is to come to earth (and it is!), it’s citizens must learn to operate by the law of the Kingdom. This law is “written on the hearts of man” [Jeremiah 31:33].

 
Developing an internal locus of control

God develops our internal locus of control in many ways. One of the essential methods is through scripture. Regularly put yourself in the Word. Read the Bible in large chunks and pick it apart in small studies… both are good for increasing your understanding of God and knowledge of His heart.

Self-discipline is another way He develops your internal locus of control, freeing you from reliance on outside rules and legalism. I highly recommend Celebration of the Disciplines by Richard Foster. Read through it and test some of the disciplines he writes about.

Listen for His promptings and obey them, even if they seem silly. If you know the Lord as your savior, but you aren’t hearing his voice, pray that you will begin to hear it. If you used to hear His voice, but it’s been a while, think back to the last thing you heard Him say to you; if it was a command, then do it. If it was truth about you, then believe it. But learn to foster an environment where you are actively listening for His voice and obeying it.

 
Closing thoughts
This is a part of my life that is being developed, and always will be developed. As God teaches me more and prompts me to share, I’ll be writing more about the subject. My prayer is that, as a people of the way, we would be markedly different from the world in the way we live, love and respond — that we would move by the counter-intuitive influence of the Spirit and that many would come to know Him, in Spirit and in truth, as a result.

Our golden retreiver, Boo Radley

James 1:25-27 Law of Freedom, Speech and Blessing

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But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it — not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it — they will be blessed in what they do. Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Law that gives freedom. What does that mean? In my world, laws only make things difficult, boring and exhausting. Just think about all the laws that go through your head throughout the day without you knowing it: bring your driver’s license, have auto insurance, wear your seatbelt, don’t speed, obey the traffic signal, use a hands-free device while driving, don’t jaywalk… and the list goes on. And that’s just getting to work!

So how do we understand a “law that gives freedom” when we are constantly confronted with a worldview shaped by laws that confine? First, I have to shift my frame of mind and acknowledge that while the lawmakers who make the rules of the road are fallible and finite, the God of scripture is perfect, powerful and all-knowing. And while both parties may have good intentions in mind for their laws, the latter happens to have hand-crafted each and every one of us, forming us out of His infinite love, creativity and desire for us to be in unity with Him. This helps me trust that the law of freedom has my best future in mind.

Our golden retreiver, Boo Radley
Boo Radley
We have a golden retriever named Boo Radley. We got him from the Humane Society and have had to work out a few “kinks” in him; the biggest of which is his trust and agression. We’ve worked hard to get him to understand that people are not threats and that if he would only stop growling when he’s scared, that he would enjoy endless sources of treats, petting and praise from all our friends. But instead, he grows stiff, stares you down and seems to say “Don’t touch me or I’ll bite your arm off.”

This is so often where I’m at with God. I don’t realize that the intent of His plans, which are laid out in his law, are for my freedom and benefit. I assume that He is “out to get me” and that I need to fend for myself, when in reality that is the farthest from the truth.

They will be blessed in what they do. Again, this is not always the case for us. Sometimes it seems that we get penalized for following the rules. But this is not the case with God. My wife and I have been married for almost 5 years now and we remember being told how difficult the process would be. We heard horror stories of how painful and miserable marriage is and that we should “avoid the ball and chain” if we could. A friend of mine is getting married tomorrow and I heard people giving him similar advice at his bachelor party.

But the truth is that we are seeing God’s plans play out completely different from the world’s plans. We have seen the joy and lightheartedness that comes from living by God’s law. By being honestly (Luke 16:10), we can trust what each other says. By being patient (Proverbs 15:18), we enjoy grace for each other. By encouragement (1 Thessalonians 5:11), we are strengthening each other. By seeking to serve (Acts 20:35), we are humbled. By honoring the golden rule (Luke 6:31), we are cared for. By stewarding our money (Hebrews 13:5), we don’t fight over it.

We could not have known all this blessing if we did not engage in the law of freedom.

Keeping a tight reign on my tongue. This piece is always a challenge, right? I mean, for some of us it’s about avoiding four-letter words. For others, it’s about sharing information that’s not ours to share or discussing other people when they’re not around. For me, it’s simply learning to be silent.

I catch myself very often wanting to chime into a conversation to add my incredibly interesting, but ultimately self-promoting thoughts or stories. In reality, my contribution is simply to make me feel better. I can guarantee I’ll have a moment today where my conscience will kick in and say “okay, you can be quiet now”. One of my favorite verses on this topic is Proverbs 17:28.

Even fools are thought wise when they keep silent; with their mouths shut, they seem intelligent.

To look after orphans and widows. This one is dear to my heart. Our culture has become so complacent about the destruction of marriage and lack of commitment. Men leave their wives and children at the drop of a hat, just because they get tired of the promise that they made. Because of this, countless boys and girls are growing up without fathers. Single mothers are responsible for paying the bills, keeping the house and somehow playing both roles of nurturer and leader in the household.

There are some in the global church that are trying to change that, but in general, the average congregation seems silent on this. My dream would be to see us each come alongside these hurting “widows and orphans” and help fill the void caused by these missing fathers. One great avenue to do this is by connecting with WINGS, a local ministry devoted to helping women and children in need.