10 Commandments, Revisited
Here we have a
retelling of the Ten Commandments. If
you want to compare them, remember that we read them the first time in Exodus
20. Since we spoke about them back in
that blog, let me talk about why they were given here in this blog.
Law and Salvation
First, let’s start
with this question: Does the Christian believe that following the Law brings
about salvation?
No! Absolutely not. No human being can completely obey the
law. Even if we could obey the law, we
would essentially be saying that we could save ourselves, which we also know is
impossible. Salvation comes only through
God’s redemptive act in Jesus Christ on the cross, not through our ability to
do the Law or satisfy the Law. In fact,
if we look at Galatians 3:20 we find that “if a law
had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the
law.” But laws are never given for the
creation of life. As we’ll see in the
next section, laws are given for the purpose of curbing evil. So as Paul concludes, life does not come out
of the Law. We do not have the 10
commandments for the purpose of salvation.
Law and Sin
So then, why was the
Law given if not to provide life?
Paul gives us this
answer in Romans 3:20. The Law was given
so that we might have knowledge of sin.
The Law was given so that we would have access to the knowledge of our
depravity. The Law tells us just how bad
humankind actually is. The law tells
each of us as individuals just how rooted in evil we are, too. The Law gives knowledge of sin.
Knowledge of Good and Evil
What use is the
knowledge of sin other than to make us depressed and get us to loathe
ourselves?
If we return to
Galatians 3 we can find this answer.
Galatians 3:21 says, “But the Scripture
imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ
might be given to those who believe.”
The Law imprisons us. It causes
us to realize how depraved we are so that we might recognize our need for Jesus
Christ. Yes, the law is depressing and
it causes us to not particularly like what we see when we look in the mirror.
We need a savior who is capable of redeeming us. We need something who is more than fully
human and who can be the righteous sacrifice that we are not. In other words, the law is blessed because it
sets us up for understanding just how significant Christ. Our need for Christ is just as significant.
You see, God began unfolding His plan in His relationship
with Abraham. Through Abraham, we hear
the promise that He does in fact have a plan, but it’s a long ways off, needing
many generations and offspring numbering the sands of the shoreline. In Moses, God reveals another part of His
plan. Through Moses we get the Law and understand the
scope of why we need God’s plan. In
David, God reveals even more of His plan through the kingship. In the prophets, we hear about the coming
suffering of the Messiah. When you put
it all together, we have Christ!
God is fundamentally at work. In fact, that is what I love about the Old
Testament. The Old Testament is so much
more than a simple story of the Hebrew people and their rebellious walk with
God. The Old Testament is all about God
working through a rebellious human history to set up His redemptive plan in
Jesus Christ. The Old Testament is
similar to a “behind the scenes” documentary on the making of the
crucifixion. The Old Testament shows us
how the cross event came about and it documents all of the planning, foresight,
and preparation that went into the redemptive act of the cross. This is one of the reasons I love the
Law. It is so much more than something
to make me feel bad about myself. It is
my ability to see God’s plan unfolding before my eyes.
So to put it all together, let’s really understand what is
going on here:
1. God promises Abraham
that His descendants will be great in number and great in purpose.
2. The Hebrew people are
in bondage in Egypt because of famine in the land that Abraham settled.
3. God reveals Himself
as the one who delivers people out of captivity.
4. God gives the Law to
those who were in human bondage in order to expose humanity’s captivity to
sin. Since these people understand
captivity, they should understand the parallel God is making.
5. In giving the Law,
God expects the Hebrew people to go into the world and teach the world that it
is in captivity to sin as well.
Therefore, God expects them to go and be His chosen people (a great
people set aside for a great purpose).
6. Also, in giving the
Law, God sets us up for understanding Christ when He comes so that we not only
know how we are in bondage but also how God does truly set us free.
It might not seem
like it upon a first reading, but this is what Moses is talking about in
Deuteronomy 5. Moses gives the Ten
Commandments and plays his part in this process. In case you didn’t notice, we also have a
part to play in this process. Whereas
Moses really could only conceive of the first 4 parts of this process, we can
see the whole process. Our job is to go
forth and proclaim this whole process as truth.
So let’s get to it!
<><
No comments:
Post a Comment