THE LAW! The Scary Three Letter Word.
THE LAW! In
Christian circles this word can be scarier than the word, “devil”. After all,
we can just plead the blood of Jesus and satan will scatter. But this Law… Oh
my, it was given by the angry and wrathful God of the Old Testament until Jesus
came along and cooled His Father’s temper. We just can’t dismiss the Law like
we can the devil. Not that it will be brought back upon us or anything, but
nonetheless it is like the disciplinary paddle hung ominously on the wall to
remind us of what we were delivered from and to fly straight or else!
Many visualize a
dirty, sweaty, big burly, leather clad, masked medieval dungeon master standing
before us with thick, rusty, heavy chains and shackles, ready to put us in the
stocks in a dark, dank, lice and rat infested dungeon when we hear the words,
“THE LAW!” And when ministers flail their arms behind the pulpit and exclaim,
“You don’t want to be under the bondage of the LAW do you!?” Like a wide-eyed,
frightened little kid we silently and slowly shake our heads, “No.”
These are nothing
more than satanic lies, misconceptions about what the Law really is. A satanic
lie, because satan is a legalist, and he knows if he can get Believers to
dismiss and even break the Law (aka: SIN, I Jn. 3:4), this silently gives him
permission to do anything he likes to us. Because in dismissing or breaking the
Law we forfeit the protection obedience to the Law provides.
When we think of
the Law, we think of all the, “can’t’s.” Can’t eat bacon, can’t eat lobster,
and can’t shop on “Sunday.” The, “you better, or else,” scares us too. You
better tithe and fast! But Jesus came so we don’t have to do that stuff anymore
and we can eat whatever we want, after all we are now living in the age of
Grace thank God! The Law has been done away with right!? At least for the
Gentiles anyway. I mean, the Law was given to the Jews after all and they still
have to obey it.
To be delivered
from Egyptian bondage, only to be put into bondage under the Law makes no sense
and makes God look cruel.
For you are a
people holy to the Lord your God. Out of all the peoples on
the face of the earth, the Lord has chosen you to be his treasured possession.
– Deut. 14:2
When you have a
child, don’t you want the very best for your baby? Baby Einstein DVD’s, all
natural foods with no GMO’s. Gotta baby proof the house to keep the little tike
safe! Only the latest, greatest baby gadgets and technology to keep our little
treasure happy and safe will do!
When you fall in
love, you will sacrifice to get your love that engagement ring she wants. You
will wine and dine her like no other before her! She is your treasure after
all! You would lasso the moon and give it to her if you could.
Who was birthed as
a nation coming through the birth canal of the Red Sea? It’s the shady cloud
protecting from the desert heat by day and the fire to ward of the night time
desert chill. It was food that came down from heaven like rain, it was water
from a rock! Nothing was to be held back for God’s Bride!
The Law which is
more accurately translated, “Instructions,” is God’s best for us physically,
mentally, spiritually, morally and socially.
Deuteronomy 4:6 Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and
understanding to the nations,
who will hear about all these decrees and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.”
It’s a guide to
set us up for success in life and how to have the best personal relationship
with God and our fellow man. Not to shackle us and bog us down.
If it were such a
scary thing as we’ve been led to believe, then why was King David head over
heels about it and droned on and on about it in the longest Psalm (119) in the
Bible!?
We desperately
need to clear up our gross misconceptions regarding the Law and see it for the
beautiful, divine love letter that it is.
First Fruits of
Zion says about the Israel and the Torah in its Ha Yesod Student handbook, Introduction,
Pg. xv:
“They are the most ancient guardians and protectors of
the Scriptures, and it is extremely difficult to interpret the Scriptures
properly without comprehending them as the Israelites would have understood
them.
…God did not give the Scriptures (and covenants) to
Israel to be their sole possession.
Rather, He revealed His heart, mind, and will to Israel so that it would share
His Word with the rest of the world… we are saying that all Scripture which God gave to Israel have application and meaning
for all believers, regardless of
whether they are physical descendants of Israel or not.”
