Paul's Passing Thoughts

While taking a short break yesterday, I decided to do some channel surfing. I stumbled across the movie, “Veronica Guerin.” The movie is based on a true story. Guerin was an Irish Journalist who started writing about the Irish mob during the 90’s. They didn’t like that. They warned her to stop thrice: once by firing shots through the front of her house, once by threatening to kidnap her son, and once by shooting her in the leg. She wouldn’t stop. This courage eventually caught up with her in 1996 when she was assassinated by Irish drug lords. They shot her six times with a .357 magnum. Her murder evoked outrage among the general public and led to laws being passed that decimated the Irish mob. One such law enabled the government to seize any asset that couldn’t be validated by a source.

This all caused me to revisit something that has always haunted me because I wondered if she was a Christian. I don’t know if she was or not, but for sure, unbelievers often partake in heroic and righteous acts that do nothing to earn them any favor with God for salvation purposes. I always find myself pleading their case before God with a heart that admires them for their courage or righteous acts, often knowing they have something I don’t have at times, even as a Christian. Some theologians say their righteous acts are ALWAYS for the wrong motives, but I don’t buy that for a second.

One such case, that of Oskar Schindler, almost demands a verdict on the question. As far as can be ascertained, he wasn’t a Christian: “Although he never formally renounced his religion, Oskar was never more than an indifferent Catholic” (The New York Times. 13 October 1974). Schindler’s heroics in saving 1200 Jews during WWII is well documented. He employed them in his munitions factory, and had them classified as vital workers in the war effort when the fact of the matter was that many of them did not possess those qualifications. Motives? He dissipated the profits of the lucrative business to support workers who could not really contribute to the bottom line, but was merely supplying cover for them.

However, in study that has become necessary due to the pious proclamations of New Calvinism concerning the supposed dichotomies between law and gospel, I think I am much closer to an answer. As a typical dumbed-down Christian of this era, enslaved to the musings of arrogant seminarians, I have only recently begun to understand the biblical concept of all humanity being born under the law. It’s a broad subject, but the element I would like to focus on is the fact that under the auspices of this topic is the reality that every human born on earth has the law of God written on their heart.

Which is another fascinating biblical topic (and another reason why New Calvinists want you to think the Bible is not topical), the whole subject of writing on hearts. New Calvinist, especially the New Covenant Theology type, make a really big deal out of the law being written on our hearts by God in the New Covenant as if writing on the heart is unique to the New Covenant. Before that, supposedly, it’s significant that the law was written on tablets of cold, hard, stone rather than our whittle soft, fleshy hearts. It adds to the whole New Calvinist motif that there is some great gulf between law and gospel. Only problem is, among many others—the complete culmination of the New Covenant is obviously future (see Jeremiah 31), and there are other forms of heart writing going on. In fact, in the Old Testament, WE are commanded to write the word of God on our own hearts:

^“Keep my commands and you will live; guard my teachings as the apple of your eye.
Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart” (Proverbs 7:2,3).

“Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man” (Proverbs 3:3,4).

Then in Romans 2:14,15 we find the following:

“Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.”

So, the law of God, in some kind of general form, is written on the hearts of all people and administered through the conscience. On that same wise, even Christians are commanded to yield to their consciences: Acts 23:1, 24:16, Romans 9:1, 13:5  (not necessarily proof of innocence: 1Corinthians 4:4), 2Corinthians 1:12, 4:2, 5:11, 1Timothy 1:5, 1:19, 3:9, 2Timothy 1:3, and Titus 1:5.

Is this law written on the hearts of all people responsible for their heroic actions? I strongly suspect that’s the case. Interestingly, here is what Herbert Steinhouse wrote about Oskar Schindler in The Real Oskar Schindler:

“Oskar Schindler’s exceptional deeds stemmed from just that elementary sense of decency and humanity that our sophisticated age seldom sincerely believes in. A repentant opportunist saw the light and rebelled against the sadism and vile criminality all around him. The inference may be disappointingly simple, especially for all amateur psychoanalysts who would prefer the deeper and more mysterious motive that may, it is true, still lie unprobed and unappreciated. But an hour with Oskar Schindler encourages belief in the simple answer.”

But what of biblical texts like Isaiah 64:6 which says, “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.”

I believe this text speaks of individuals who attempt to earn salvation through righteous acts, or to prove to God (or to themselves) that they are “good” people. Unlike New Calvinist, I reject the idea that this text refers to all righteous acts of all people—even Christians. I seriously doubt that God sees the saving of a child from a burning house as “filthy rags.” Many writers mention that nobody knows for sure why Oskar Schindler did what he did, including himself, but if Oskar Schindler was a confirmed Christian—that would be the reason given, and often is. The crux of the great mystery surrounding Oskar Schindler is that he was a German; and what he did for Jews, and wasn’t a Christian to boot. No?

So what does this say regarding the New Calvinist attitude towards the law? Can we really reach a lost world when unbelievers put more stock in the law written on their hearts (even if they are unaware of it) than professing Christians put in the actual written, every word that comes from the mouth of God, detailed law of God? Would a gospel message that devalues the word of God not be a violation of their own consciences in many cases? What of the New Calvinist mantra that trying to show forth the gospel with our good works is “trying to be the gospel rather than speaking gospel.” Is that a message that is going to resonate with those who only do what’s right because of the law of God written on their hearts? It’s doubtful.

It seems that a gospel that includes this truth about the law is also a gospel that speaks powerfully to people who are morally upright; in many cases, more so than professing Christians. They only do what they do because of what God wrote on their hearts, but the problem is, they will be judged by that same law. Both Christians and unbelievers will be judged by the law (but not for justification). For Christians it will determine eternal rewards (2Corinthians 5:10). For unbelievers, it will determine their degree of eternal punishment (Matthew 11:24).

And let there be no doubt, when unbelievers judge Christians, it’s according to the law as well. If our lives don’t even measure up to the standard of their own consciences, then “As it is written: ‘God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you’” (Romans 2:24,). Jesus said in Matthew 5:16, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

When Christ began his ministry, the religious climate was barely any different than today. Apparently, it was commonly taught that a prophet would come and abolish the law (Matthew 5:17). The religious leaders of that day had a “relaxed” attitude towards the law (Matthew 5:19), and contrary to the New Calvinist lie that the Pharisees were expert law-keepers, Christ warned His audience that their righteousness needed to surpass that of the Pharisees (Matthew 5:20) who were “lawless” both in their inward thought life and outward behavior (Matthew 23:28, 34-36). They also commonly misapplied the word of God according to their own preference (Matthew 5:21-48, 15:1-9) making the law of God “void” (Matthew 15:6).

As New Calvinism deemphasizes the law and dumbs it down into a gospel narrative

(reductionism), the unregenerate will practice just as many attributes as professing Christians display—the same attributes that Peter commanded us to add to our faith in 2Peter 1:5-11. Basically, New Calvinism is blurring the line that unbelievers know is there.

When unbelievers do extraordinary things, though it is applauded, it is not really known why they do it. Heroes are still a mystery. On the other hand, these are imperatives spoken of in God’s word; for example, courage, virtue, justice, etc. So when Christians do these things, it is assumed that they did it because they are Christians—it’s what Christians do—because they are God’s children and we are like him.

New Calvinism asserts that all the righteous acts of men are filthy rags. The ONLY difference between us and the unregenerate is BELIEF in the “historic Christ event.” Well, the demons believe in that event also and shudder. And unbelievers are not going to buy that package either—their consciences won’t let them. But isn’t the movement growing? Right, with a bunch of professing Christians looking for the latest novelty—heaping to themselves teachers with itching ears.

paul