Dear Trekker,
A few years ago one of my sons exclaimed, “Goodness, Dad, have you gone liberal on us?” Perhaps some trekkers may say something similar after reading my remarks here…yet, an appeal to orthodoxy vs. legalism.
The other day, while reading a proposed doctrinal statement in a lay magazine concerning a denomination of which I have been a member, these “essential tenet of the faith” words leaped out at me: “living in obedience to the Word of God.” Sounds legitimate and somewhat non-threatening! But, I immediately said to myself, would it not be more precise to say, “living in consonance with the Scriptures!” One may say, “What’s the difference?” Perhaps quite a bit!
I grew up in a denomination that believed one can “backslide” and “lose” one’s salvation “if we don’t obey the Word of God”, particularly as interpreted by those in authority. Over time I came to believe this was quite erroneous for a number of reasons, but principally for one… the Gospel is about grace alone… we can neither earn it, nor keep it or lose it, only believe it, “that God so loved the world that whosoever believes in Jesus Christ (the Son) will not perish, but have eternal life.” Jesus Christ spoke these words to Nicodemus, and then said (John 3, v 21) “whosoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.” We do nothing to retain truth; it is ours by grace, and we only reveal it by lives of belief and love for God and people.
When reading the phrase “living in obedience to the Word of God”, I immediately thought of the Apostle Paul’s challenge to the church of Galatia. Certain religious people there, even after coming to the light of the good news of grace in Christ, were laying “additional burdens” on new believers. Such religious people could not accept “sola gratia” (a rallying cry of the Reformation 1500 years later as this “problem” never seems to go away and so I write about it 2000 years later), but insisted “the law” (of course as they interrupted it) had to be obeyed. So, if a Gentile in the 1st century wanted to be a believer in Christ, he had to become a Jew too, i.e. be circumcised, etc.
In essence, a person’s salvation was also dependent on what that person could do, some outward, bodily sign, i.e., that salvation was dependent on his keeping or obeying the law of the Old Testament. Hence, man was earning his salvation. Paul was saying emphatically, “No, it is grace only!” The Reformers were saying, “It is grace only, sola gratia”. And this is my point. Trekker, we who have all sinned and come up short of the grace of God, and who therefore are not righteous and do not even seek God, can only accept the love of God offered through Christ, make one tremendous leap of faith and fling ourselves, helpless, resourceless and defenseless, on the love of God.
An old hymn captures this so well:
“Not the labors of my hands; Can fulfill Thy laws’ demands;
Could my zeal no respite know, Could my tears for ever flow!
All for sin could not atone; Thou must save, and Thou alone.
Nothing in my hand I bring, Simply to Thy Cross I cling.
Naked, come to thee for dress; Helpless, look to Thee for grace;
Foul, I to the fountain fly; Wash me, Savior, or I die.”
For Paul the Apostle and for me, trekker, the essential tenet is not what I can ever do for God, but what God has done for me and all people of history. Ours is a gospel of belief!
Confessors in every age must be careful even as the Jews, the religious people of Paul’s day, needed to be. As the Jews were prone to believe the greatest thing in one’s life is the Law, and God gave that law to Moses and on that law our lives depend, we too may treat the Scriptures similarly today, seeing the trees, but missing the forest.’ Abraham, the founder of the Jewish nation, lived 430 years before the law was given to Moses, Paul recalled for the Galatians, noting that Abraham found favor by an act of faith, simply believing God’s promise. Nothing has changed today. We believe in God’s promises fulfilled in Christ. (Trekker, please read through Paul’s letter to the Galatians in the New Testament. It takes about 15 minutes at the most. It is so revealing and foundational for trekkers.)
So now, as then, what is the place of the law? It is given to us by God so it must be good. It defines sin, it demonstrates what sin is. But more importantly, the law steers us to the grace of God. Because we are born sinners, i.e. not walking with God and alienated from Him, we can’t keep the law, before or even after accepting grace. The law is unyielding and we fall short, defeated in the end, always.
So, if it is really only about grace, why try to obey? Because the law is good, moral, practical, helpful and outlines a loving lifestyle. Jesus went about “doing good”, as the Scriptures say repeatedly, and He always kept the law by loving His heavenly Father and his neighbor. We should do likewise! But be careful… no additions!
This view of grace only will be both a beacon and barrier to restrict our judgment of others, or of striving inordinately to obey any law. We love to justify our actions (we do it all the time, don’t we) and “obeying the law” is our foundation to do so. We can so easily “look down” on others in our pride! We can take credit when no credit is ever due! God forbid!
Trekker, let’s keep the Gospel as it is… one gospel, full of grace and truth. This Gospel is Jesus, the Lifegiver; He is the Word of God. Let’s fall in love with Him, again and again, and un-hesitatingly respond to His wooing through the Spirit within.
Your trekker friend,
Jim Meredith
