Traditions are interesting things. Some are very good… some are fun… and some… just don’t make sense.
There is a story about a young woman who was cooking for friends. She was having roast beef and before she put it in the roasting pan, proceeded to cut the ends of the roast off. Here husband watched and asked why she did this. She replied, “Because my mother did this.”
Of course the husband seeing it a waste of good beef, asked, “Why did your mother do this?” and the young wife said, “I don’t know, but I bet she had a really good reason, like it helps with flavor or it cooks better somehow.”
Later she called her mother, and she finally got around to asking the big question.
“Mom, why do you cut the ends off the roasts before you cook them?”
Her mom laughed a bit and said, “Because my pan is too small.”
I see this as applicable in a couple of ways. First off much of what we are taught is caught. We watch and learn and literally catch things and learn how to do this. I have seen this in my daughter as she watches her big brother and has decided that walking is way cool! She is now trying to figure out how this upright walking thing works by watching her brother. LOL!
Also, sometimes things get passed down because that is how it was always done. It may be right… or even wrong… or just funny as in the story. Often when it is wrong it can lead to sad results and cause some very bad teachings being set out as truth… and after generation after generation, it gets set in the psyche if those who accept it as truth.
Traditions of man in relationship to our Christian faith has been victim of this for centuries and even now… more than ever I see many confused on some of the very basics of our faith.
One area is about “obeying God’s commands”. On one level there is no issue as that is what the scripture teaches. But, the issue is this:
- Often people have a misunderstanding of obedience
- Often people confuse where and how obedience works in the life of a believer
- Often people confuse being obedient with obeying the Ten Commandments, or doctrines or even traditions.
I am not sure if I will be able to get to all these point in this one post. I do tend to get to the heart of the issue very quickly on this topic though.
- Often people have a misunderstanding of obedience
Obedience is a funny word in scripture, and without a basic understanding of Grace and the finished works of Christ one will be hard pressed to understand it. I will not go into all of this as I have in many other posts gone into Grace and the finished works of Christ. Mostly I have gone into this in my posts on the exchanged life, which is basically this:
I received forgiveness at the Cross... But still was dead, I received the Life of Christ as a result of His Resurrection, and now live a life that is not my own. Jesus not only took away my sins… but gave me His eternal Life. It's now as I say, Jesus gave His Life for me, to give His Life to me, so He can Live His Life through me.
But what of this elusive obedience? The best scripture to explain this is in Romans 5:
11. Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
12. Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned-- 13. for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law.
14. Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come. 15. But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!
16. Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man's sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification.
17. For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.
18. Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men.
19. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.
20. The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, 21. so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
With this passage, “sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned.”
Adam and Eve fell in sin in the Garden. So with that sin entered the world. The world is now held hostage and is waiting for release. With this sin, death came, and because every man sins… every man dies. Pretty simple so far?
Sin was in the world before God gave the Law… so people in that time where not held to the Law… as in the Ten Commandments which came later and for an entirely different purpose than many teach today. It was because of Adam a man, that all men are judged for he was the pattern or model of the “one to come”… meaning Jesus.
Then God added the Law to add to our transgressions Galatians (3:19) and that is and was it’s purpose. It is in a way to add insult to injury! Not in a bad way, but in a way to drive us to God for mercy and grace.
Now the Good News! Romans 5: 8… God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!
10. For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!
11. Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
God showed His Grace and Mercy to us by giving us His Son to die in our place… even more than that to take on the wrath on Himself in our place.
Many think they need to get cleaned up to come to God… yet, the truth is you can’t get clean enough… and beyond that, while you where still and enemies of God, God reconciled you by Jesus’ death on the Cross… but many just stop there… and this adds to their confusion as they equate forgiveness with salvation. There are two extremes in this.
- Universalism
- Exclusivism
Now if anyone has read any of Brian McLaren’s books you will see that he often gets caught in this conundrum. As he says, “each has their advantages and their disadvantages.” The issue I see is that by just stopping at the cross and equating forgiveness with salvation, one can only have these choices. That is why I preach the exchanged life and spend so much time on speaking of the Resurrection of Jesus and that being we have received His Life unto salvation! Romans 5: 10 pretty much wraps this up… “For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!”
Being reconciled through the cross means that the door to heaven is open… but one still will die if one does not take care to the death issue… Romans 6: 23. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
It is not sins we need saved from, but our death… for God forgave our sins… really God took care of sins with the sacrificial system… but with Jesus it is now “once for all.” (Hebrews 7:27)
Notice again that the gift of God is not just forgiveness but also eternal life in Christ Jesus! Now once the sin and death issue is taken care of… we can move on to obedience…
But this post is long enough, so next time.
Blessings,
iggy
1 comment:
loveya bro, lots!!
Elson
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