Scripture:
1 Timothy 1:1-11
8 Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it legitimately. 9 This means understanding that the law is laid down not for the innocent but for the lawless and disobedient, for the godless and sinful, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their father or mother, for murderers, 10 fornicators, sodomites, slave traders, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to the sound teaching 11 that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me.
Observation:
As the writer encourages Timothy to stand firm against those who have altered the gospel for their own purposes he(most likely a he) cautions agains improper understanding of "the law". "...the law is good, if one uses it legitimately."
This begs the question: How are we to use the law legitimately?
1) "The law is laid down not for the innocent but for the lawless and disobedient." Some of those altering the gospel were ignoring the radically unconditional grace of God by making it dependant upon adherence to part or all of the law. In such a system, the gospel is diminished to a sticker that good little boys and girls receive for achieving perfect attendance to the law. By acknowledging that the law is given not for the innocent but for the guilty, we begin to shift from the error that the law is a manual that shows us how we can earn God's love or wrath through our actions/inactions.
2) The law is not a cure. It is the diagnostic test that allows us to get a handle on what exactly has gone wrong. In this sense, the legitimate use of the law is to kill us that we might be saved. Here's what I mean by that: the first use of the law is to help us see how futile it is to try to be either independent of God or worthy of God's love by our own actions and merits. The first use of the law is to kill our pride, so that we might be open to right relationship with God and neighbour. This is essential to understand because it allows us to read the laundry list of sins and shortcomings that follows as it is intended: instead of a list meant to highlight the flaws and sins of others, it is a list meant to show me that I have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God in many and various ways. For this disease the gospel is the only cure.
3) The law is only ever used legitimately in dynamic tension with the Gospel.
The law says, "you are broken and unable to stand on
your own two feet before God. Deal with it."
The gospel says, "Thanks be to God, you don't have to
stand on your own two feet. Deal with it."
Out of this dynamic interplay is born the second use of the law. Once we know that we can do nothing apart from the providential and redemptive love of God, the law becomes a tool by which I can constrain my sinful nature as I am nurtured, called, gifted, and enlightened by the Holy Spirit to live in right relationship with God and neighbour. To be clear, it is not a path to perfection (see #1), but an invitation to more fulsome participation in the receiving and sharing of what God so freely gives.
Application:
There is no getting around it, I am "... lawless and disobedient, ... godless and sinful, ... unholy and profane...". I am one of those "... murderers, fornicators, sodomites, slave traders, liars, perjurers...".I need the law to sober me up from feeling superior. I need the law to kill my pride. But the Lord continues to show me that it doesn't do anyone any good for me to wallow in my failures. God, through the life, death, resurrection, ascension and continuing reign of Christ Jesus, has redeemed me and turned me inside out. So, no longer do I need to stand superior over friends or strangers; nor, can I lay down from my calling to invite people to follow me as I follow Jesus, who shows us all a better way.
No comments:
Post a Comment