A Passing Thought About Law
The Bible is clear: there are only two people groups in the world; under law, and under grace. Those under law are under the condemnation of the law, and those under grace, for lack of a better term, are under love. When you grasp hold of this concept and become aware of what’s going on around you—you begin to see how people function within these two mindsets. By far, the world functions in an under law reality.
Marriage is probably the best example. Being married legally is what makes you married. Listen to how we talk: “It’s a bad marriage.” We, living in an under law world, accept the notion that a marriage can be bad. Why is that? Because law is what makes a marriage, not love. We readily except the whole idea of a loveless marriage because law defines marriage. You can liken it to talking about Zebras who have no stripes.
Church is the next best example. According to the Bible, mutual love for other Christians is what makes you a real Christian. In contrast, especially of late, what makes you a “real” Christian according to Al Moher, John Piper, and other “Christian” scholars et al? Yep, church membership. Yep, that would be church membership via signing a “membership covenant.” What’s a “covenant.” It’s law.
The law only condemns, and empowers sin, because according to the Bible, the essence of sin is a desire to control others through condemnation. It goes something like this: “Because you are a loser, you need to let me control you for your own good and the well-being of others because you are such a loser that you will not only destroy your own life, but the lives of everyone around you.”
Politically speaking, “winners” may even kill losers in order to save the world. In this sense, many types of mass murders are deemed virtuous. Pay attention where you work; do coworkers attempt to control you through criticism? Does management seek to increase production through fear of termination? This all comes from a law/condemnation mindset.
Also keep this in mind: if the goal is to control you through condemnation, what is the best source for a condemnation catalog? Yep, what people know about themselves. Hence, what people often accuse you of reflects what they are, in fact, guilty of themselves.
The world, and especially professing Christians, are so dominated by a law worldview that a love worldview based on a human body model (the illustration that the Bible uses) is very hard to grasp.
The human body has no authority within it; the head, and its mind, can only make decisions that edify the rest of the body. Most body functions are what we call, “involuntary.” Really, when it gets right down to it, the body is made up of cells that have a mind of their own, but are dependent on how well the rest of the body functions. It’s a matter of mutual submission to need.
That’s how love functions. Law is a guide for meeting the needs of others, not a hammer to to fulfill one’s sinful control-lust.
“If you love me, keep (hold to, protect) my commandments.” The Bible is a love manual for a love worldview, and is not a law for controlling others.
paul
Paul's Passing Thoughts 
I linked this article.
Happy belated 2018 to all of TANC’S Brigade!
LikeLike
Ditto, Martin. Thanks.
LikeLike
I attended a memorial service recently. The deceased did not want to have a service in a “church” (good dude!), as he believed belonging to one did not make him a born-again Christian (good dude!).
My point: I see a family feud (my son and I are the only ones not in a Calvinist super cult; sorry John Immel, for using “cult” too lazy to think of something more severe right now) when my time comes to go. Because I’m a closet pragmatist (yes, I am), I ‘ve already told my nearest (son) some basics: no songs but those I will have chosen and it won’t be the usual stuff (hell, no), no church building, no “pastor” of any kind, no coffin in the venue, no burial (cremation only). I explained that by that time, I’d be with the Lord since my physical death already. I have already asked my son to say a few words; he agreed.
You see, all of the things I have mentioned above are law (somehow, this evil lot plucks laws and commands out of the air) and they have the evil audacity to try to control even after physical death. How impudent is this lot? There have to be carriers of the spiffy coffin into/out of the Reformed/Calvinist/Reformed Whatever “Church; there has to be a Calvinist minister conducting the charade; there have to be bunches of flowers; women must wear hats, guys must wear suits (no matter the weather); there must be weeping and references to “God that giveth and taketh away” every three minutes; hell must be mentioned 467 timers but no gospel must or can be offered–no preaching of the gospel (because the question of the elect have been settled already); there have to be sad, protestant songs with its lies; and the coffin must be right up in front, elevated, and open for all to see (so that the children could have beautiful life-long nightmare’s of uncle John’s biblical funeral service; there has to be a second service at the cemetery with a new lot of coffin carriers, etc. And. and. and. And all that for a movement of which the members do not even acknowledge or know the New Birth. But they know the devil MacArthur and his cohorts. Let’s see where THAT gets them.
Oh, I also told my son no foreign refreshments. I don’t want people to run around at my memorial service… You must come, if you want to, say, “Yeah, he was different but he IS with His Jesus now. Settled. Done. Oh, may I please have another of those delectable beef sausage rolls?”
And no cold finger food delicacies…
It’s so liberating (since 1981) to be free of this lot and of their law. From darkness to light; from death to life.
LikeLike
No sausage balls? You are indeed a Philistine! lol
LikeLike
Depends on who makes ’em, I guess. I’m talking about cold finger stuff…sounds ‘spooky’ at a memorial service. Lol. Just a play on words. I confuse myself when I’m not where I usually am until I bump into myself at about 11 am.
Yes, I have been called a heathen plenny-a-time. Roll me a sausage ball. Philistine; oh well.
Blessings.
LikeLike
John, my great-Grandmother (back in 1920s in Poland) was forced by the local Catholic church to sell her last cow in order to have a proper Catholic burial for her husband. CRIMINAL. If she was to refuse she’d be shunned by the whole village.
LikeLike
Thanks for sharing. I used your example to explain how this stuff works to my kids. We are studying the reformation period in history, and I’m making the point that it doesn’t have to do with theology as much as which group is going to have the authority to control the resources, namely land and revenue.
LikeLike
Thank you Paul for taking the time to write this post.
LikeLike
My pleasure.
LikeLike