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Today's Little Lift
by Jim Bullington
He was a radio comedian during the 50’s and 60’s. He called himself Brother Dave. I recall one of his schemes in which he had come up with a system that would eliminate all crime. That’s exactly what he said, “…eliminate ALL crime!” That, by any standards, would be an impressive feat. Yet, reflecting on his proposal, I think he was right; he had a plan that would result in the elimination of all crime. What was his suggestion? Simple; make everything legal and crime would be instantly eliminated!
Paul wrote about something akin to Brother Dave’s proposal when he penned, “For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise made of no effect, because the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression.” (Romans 4.14-15). Law is intended to constrain man. It is intended to preserve that which man has and protect it from others. However, if there were no law, there could be no breaking of the law (i.e. crime). Paul’s intent in this text was to show that faith is of no consequence if the promises made to Abraham could have been obtained through law. However, such was not the case. The law-keepers of the Old Testament never kept it perfectly. In the absolute sense, there were no law keepers. Some attempted to keep it with much more determination than others, but NO ONE kept it perfectly!
Thinking one step further, there has never been a time in man’s existence when he did not have law, even from the very dawn of creation, God gave man something to do; He expressed His will. God’s instructions to us have varied widely from time to time, but there has always been law. Cain and Abel lived under law. Noah and His contemporaries lived under law. Abraham lived under law; Moses lived under law; on an on the list could go. All people living under the Old Testament were people who lived under law. However, not all those who lived under law were people of faith. The two are not synonymous.
So far as the promises of the Old Testament were concerned, there were two great classes of promises. One class had to do with physical Israel; the other had to do with spiritual promises. God made promises to some based on their lineage only; others were made promises based on their faith. Those which totally depended upon one’s lineage were not spiritual promises. Spiritual promises have always hinged upon faith; it could not be otherwise. The great mistake which many made in the Old Testament (and which many are still making today) was in thinking that physical blessings were indicative of spiritual approval. If such had been the case, faith indeed would have been void!
The receipt of a physical blessing from God’s hand in no way indicates His spiritual approval of the one receiving the blessing! This fact is still a confusing matter to many, but that should not be the case. Imagine what this world would be like if the physical blessings that we receive were directly proportionate to the degree to which we please God. As our faithfulness increased or decreased, blessings would be added or removed. The sun would not shine on the unfaithful nor would the rain fall on his crops. Health and wealth would be reserved for the faithful few. What a crazy, mixed up world that would be!
Serving God is a matter of faith, not fortune! Serve Him for the spiritual blessings that are promised and you will never be disappointed!
Questions:
1. What does it mean to transgress law?
2. What kind of world would it be if there were no law?
3. If physical blessings are directly tied to God’s spiritual approval, did Job’s friends have a point? Why or why not?
4. What motive(s) must prompt us to obey God?
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