Layman's Lines

Come Now, Let Us Reason Together

2006-03-05T06:10:00.000-08:00

Come Now, Let Us Reason Together

Isaiah Chapters 1-4

Isaiah son of Amoz

Our survey of the book of Isaiah will be quite fast-paced, as evidenced by the four chapters we are covering in this lesson. We will find the book of Isaiah, or at least sections of it, very familiar to us, not only because the prophecy of Isaiah has inspired hymns and other songs, but also because Isaiah is the book most often quoted in the New Testament to relate the life of Jesus to prophecy regarding the Christ. This is especially true of the Gospel according to Matthew (see: Matthew 3:1-3; 8:16-17; 12:14-21; 13:10-15; 15:7-9).

However, while much of the scripture of Isaiah is familiar to us, we know little about the man himself. The introduction of Chapter 1 (verse 1) indicates that the ministry of Isaiah spanned the reigns of the Judean kings Uzziah, Jothan, Ahaz, and Hezekia. His interaction with Hezekia is recorded in 2 Kings (20:1-7) and in more briefly in 2 Chronicles (32:20-22). For most of the prophets, we have a fair amount of biographical detail. For example, we have many biographical details for Jeremiah (Jeremiah 26:7-9) some of which are inseparable from the prophecy of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 13:1-11). The prophecy of Hosea is also highly biographical (Hosea 3:1-4), and of Jonah we know a brief section of his life story, but almost nothing of his preaching.

As we do not know much about the prophet, we do not know very much about the origin of the book that bears his name. There is general agreement Bible scholars that the book has either two or three distinct sections, each with their own editor, and perhaps completely separate authorship. I am certainly not a Bible scholar, but I do a few opinions regarding such literary analysis.

Whatever we believe about the origin of scripture, we should not be ignorant of any theories posed by serious, learned authorities, especially those who are dedicated Christians.
The value of such scholarship only exists insofar as it contributes to the understanding of the message of the work in question.
Such scholarship does not in any way threaten the authority of scripture. We do not have the original texts, and if we did, there would be few of us who could read them. Our faith in scripture is a faith in the process which began with the original inspiration, continues through the establishment of cannon and the development of our modern translations, and culminates with our inspired reading and study.

With these considerations in mind, we will begin to address the book itself.

Hear, O Heavens!

The first chapter of Isaiah establishes the situation of the people with respect to their God. In the beginning section (verses 2-4) the Lord says even the beasts know to whom they belong, but the people have rejected their God. The following verses (5-6) that ask the people why they continue to harm themselves are similar to the passage in Jeremiah (30:12-3) where the Lord describes the people of having a wound that cannot be cured. They are in am impossible situation and they have deserted their Lord, who alone can do the impossible.

Further on (verses 11, ff.) the chapter finds agreement with the prophet Hosea (6:6) declaring that the rituals of worship have no meaning if the people have abandoned their Lord. Even in such grievous sin, the Lord has not deserted the people, and we have in this chapter one of the best known and most reassuring passages:

Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

(Isaiah 1:18 KJV)

Swords into Plowshares

Chapters 2, 3, and 4, have in common their description of the Day of the Lord. The vision given to Isaiah with regard to this day is twofold. On the one hand, there is in the latter part of Chapter 2 and continuing through Chapter 3 and into Chapter 4 the description of the awesome day when the people will flee to the mountains (2:19-22; Hosea 10:8; Luke 23:30). On the other hand, this section describing destruction and devastation the Day of the Lord will bring is bookended by the restoration and hope that are also a part of that day. In Chapter 4, this hope is expressed in the form of a branch, or remnant of the people who will be found righteous and to whom the presence of the Lord will be a real and will provide guidance an shelter.

In Chapter 2, the verses which look forward to the Day of the Lord also express hope, in words that are evocative of real peace even to those who are not familiar with the Bible.

And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

(Isaiah 2:2-4 KJV)

According to My Gospel

2006-03-04T22:12:00.000-08:00

According to My Gospel

Romans 16

Pheobe

It is stylistic of Paul to begin letters with a general blessing and end them with a section of personal greeting, and his letter to the Romans, as we can observe from the number of personal greetings included in this final chapter, is true to this style. While this final chapter seems straight-forward enough, there is in fact much debate regarding this chapter, and we should not be ignorant of that debate.

First, there is Paul's mention of Phoebe, to whom Paul refers as a “servant”. The Greek word that is used here is diakonos which is the word our Lord used in telling his disciples that the first shall be last, and the greatest must be a servant (Mark 9:35). It is also the term that came to identify an office in the early church: “deacon”. One line of thinking is that Phoebe was not a deacon, but a “deaconess”, which is an entirely different form of office. There may be passages that support differing roles for men and women, but this is not one of them. Greek is not a gender-neutral language; so Paul's reference to Phoebe as a deaconess is no different that our distinction (one of the few that still exist) between a waiter and a waitress: there is no difference between the two other than gender. Paul may have intended different roles for men and women, but this usage of the “deaconess” does not support such distinctions. Paul was simply constrained by the Greek language.

Greetings

Another issue with the present chapter is the number of personal greetings that were included in a letter to a church that Paul had never visited. Several possible explanations have been presented. To begin with, it is said that Paul may have been trying to establish a relationship with the Roman church by stressing the number of acquaintances that he had in common with the church. Another line of thinking says that these personal acquaintances were not with the Roman church at all, but are explained by the general use of the letter in the early church, and these personal greetings were addressed to individuals in other churches to which the letter was circulated. Evidence to support the idea that Chapter 16 was not an original part of the letter include the fact that several of the early manuscripts do not contain this ending. However, it is possible that this same fact supports the argument in favor of the original validity of this chapter, in that because of the personal nature of the chapter, it was excluded form copies which were circulated among the churches.

While the Jews were largely treated well (at least by comparison) the relationship was never an easy one, and the Jews were more than once expelled from Rome itself. Paul met Priscilla and Aquila in his travels among the gentiles because they had been expelled from Rome (Acts 18:2). Apparently, the husband wife were now returned to Rome, and if so, Paul may have met other Jewish Christians who had once been expelled from Rome but had since returned.

Still another idea is that these were individuals whom Paul had met in his travels among the gentiles, but who had subsequently returned to Rome. As evidenced by the example of Priscilla (Prisca) and Aquila, the relationship between the Jews and the Romans was one of considerable turmoil. The Jews were given special privileges not offered to other peoples dominated by the Roman Empire. For example, they were allowed to keep the Sabbath and this precluded their service in the Roman army. Such service was required of all the other nations under Roman rule.

Whatever the explanation for the origin of the chapter may be, it does not detract from its status as scripture, inspired by God, and profitable for instruction in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16). Whenever we approach scripture, we put our faith in a process that begins with divine inspiration, extends through the recording and translation, and and continues with our inspired reading of the text. Scholarly examination is no threat to scripture. The power of scripture is only endangered when the people of God refuse to encounter the word of God.

I, Tertius

The personal nature of this closing chapter is extended in a very interesting way by the inclusion of a greeting from Tertius, who “wrote down this letter.” Though Paul was well educated and spoke Greek as primary language (he would have studied Hebrew as a part of his Jewish education) it was his custom, and the method common to his day, to dictate his letter to a scribe. Here, the scribe makes himself known by included his greeting in with the greetings from Paul. By contrast, in Galatians 6:11, we have recorded the intrusion of Paul into the dictation of the scribe.

We do not know who Tertius was or have any further mention of him. Or, perhaps we do. There is some speculation that Paul's recording secretary was Silas. This possibility is suggested based on the observation the “Tertius” and “Silas” are etymologically related in that “Tertius” is a Greek name derived from the Greek word for “third” and “Silas” is a Hebrew name taken from the Hebrew word for “third”. So it may be that, in the same way Simon was Peter, Saul was Paul, and (perhaps more like) Bartholomew may or may not have been Nathaniel, there is some possibility that Tertius was Silas.

According to My Gospel

Humility, one may observe, was never one of Paul's best traits, and his ego seems always to be brimming beneath the surface if not presenting itself outright. Here, his assertion of the importance of his gospel and the message which he preached is more than enough to make the more timid of us cringe. But Paul, of course, was never timid; if he were, he would not have been Paul. We do, however, shorten “The Gospel According to John” for example, to simply “The Gospel of John” and we may similarly refer to the same as “John's Gospel”. This claim by Paul, then, of “his” gospel is appropriately applied to Romans, as it, more than any other Pauline letter, contains a systematic presentation of Paul's “theology” – his account of the Gospel: the Gospel according to Paul.

I Will Go to Spain

2006-03-04T21:46:00.000-08:00

I Will Go to Spain

Romans 15:14-33

Full of Goodness

In verses 14-16 Paul is somewhat apologetic to the Christians in Rome for the way he has spoken to them thus far in the letter, saying that it was only to “remind” them of what they already know. But, even if Paul says they are “full of goodness” the original recipients of the letter may have been, as perhaps we are, uncertain as to Paul's assessment of the human condition. In the same letter, Paul has described us all as sinners (3:23) on the one hand, and on the other declares that we by our very nature do what is right (2:14-15). Indeed, Paul's description of himself appears inconsistent. On the one hand he establishes his credentials as not only a mature Christian (14:14, 15:1) but an apostle, a special messenger of Christ (1:1). On the other hand he admits that he himself continually struggled with sin (7:14-20). Further, Paul tells us that all of creation awaits the day when we are united with Christ (8:19-21).

Does Paul believe we are saints or sinners, or is it possible that Paul believed we are both saints and sinners? Though Paul repeatedly speaks very negatively of “the flesh” (7:5, for example) he also speaks very positively of our ability to know and to do what is right and even finds good in Israel's rejection of their election (10:1-4). But in the end, Paul knows that it not about how good we are. “It does not, therefor, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy.” (9:16 NIV)

I Glory in Christ Jesus

It would be easy to find laughable Paul's continual assertion of his humility. Here, in verses 17-22, he says he can take no credit for the many great things he has down because it is Christ who worked these accomplishments through him. Of course, he might not have mentioned these accomplishments at all. Elsewhere (2 Corinthians 12:7-8) he says that his “thorn in the flesh” kept him from boasting about his great accomplishments. Again, he would sound less like someone proclaiming his humility from the rooftops if he did not mention these accomplishments at all.

Yet, somehow Paul gets away with this very pointed modesty, and there are very valid reasons for this. First, we really do believe Paul when he says here that he gives all the glory to Christ, and in Galatians (Galatians 6:14) where he says that he glories only in the cross of Christ. What does it mean to glory in the Cross of Christ? Jesus identified the cross with self-denial (Matthew 16:24).

Self-denial is the second reason we must accept Paul's pride in his modesty. His list of hardships (2 Corinthians 11:23-33) is both astounding and humbling. We live in a world of greater opportunity and greater need than Paul could have imagined, but where is the Paul of today, who would give up even a little personal comfort for the sake of others? When Paul here quotes from Isaiah 11:10 saying that those who were not told will see, and those who have not heard will understand, it reminds us painfully of his earlier question (10:14-15). How shall they hear without someone preaching to them?

I Will Go to Spain

In the final verses of the chapter (verses 25-33) Paul gives us some clue as to where and when he wrote the letter, reiterates his desire to go to Rome, and tells us also of his future plans. Paul was in the process of gathering an offering from the Gentile churches that he would take back to Jerusalem, where the Christian Church was being persecuted, and where people were in real need. Paul (who was still then called “Saul”) and Barnabas heard of these troubles through a prophet (Acts 11:25-30) and the disciples of the Gentile churches gathered together an offering to send to Jerusalem.

So, Paul had his plans set. He would go to Jerusalem to deliver the offering, then pass through Rome on his way to Spain. We could ask ourselves what would draw Paul into Spain, but he has already answered this question for us. He has, at the time of his writing to the Romans, already evangelized the Roman territories, and Spain was the new frontier. We have the hindsight of history and know that Spain was one of the great powers to follow Rome, and that the Spaniards would become world explorers. If Paul foresaw any of this, it would explain his great interest in going to Spain.

But things did not work out as Paul had planned. The offering he took to Jerusalem took him, in a sense, to Rome. It was while Paul was in Jerusalem delivering the alms from the Gentiles that he was attacked by the Jews and taken before Felix (Acts 24:17-27). Paul himself then facilitated his trip to Rome by appealing his case to the Emperor (Acts 25:9-12).

So Paul made it to Rome, but not as he had planned. So far as we know, he never made it to Spain. We do not know with any degree of certainty what Paul's eventual fate became. In 2 Timothy, we hear the words of a man imprisoned and deserted by everyone save Luke. Luke himself ends the Book of Acts without resolving Paul's fate but merely stating that Paul was imprisoned for some time and continued to preach while under guard.

We do not know exactly how Paul felt about his fate. He is, after all, the one who exhorts us to give thanks in all things (Ephesians 5:19-20). In Romans, Paul assures as that whatever may happen, God always has a plan of redemption.

In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord directs his steps.

(Proverbs 16:9 NIV)

The God of Endurance and Encouragement

2006-03-04T21:18:00.000-08:00

The God of Endurance and Encouragement

Romans 15:1-13

The Weak and the Strong

In the previous chapter, when Paul speaks explicitly of those who are “weak” and, by inference, those who are strong. The word Paul uses in in that setting is astheneo, which is used in Gospels to mean those who are physically weak because of illness. In Chapter 15, Paul refers explicitly to both the weak and the strong. The word Paul uses for the strong is dunatos, which means “powerful” or “capable”. The word translated here as “weak” is a different from the previous chapter. It is adunatos, the opposite of dunatos.

The terms “weak” and “strong” or “ineffective” and “effective” are ordinarily applied judgmentally. In our society, there are few terms that are more pejorative than “weak”. A person can be a lier and a thief, deceptive and corrupt, and a host of other negative traits, but still be effective and capable. In fact, it certainly seems that these characteristics actually enhance ones ability to get ahead. But whatever positive qualities one might have: honesty, fairness, consideration, intelligence, or faithfulness, none of these qualities will excuse event the slightest sign weakness. In “the survival of the fittest”, the fit are always understood to be the strong. Nice guys finish last.

Given this perspective, in order to understand these chapters, we must ask ourselves two questions. To begin with, we must ask ourselves how Paul can count himself among the strong, when he himself admits his weakness. Here in Romans, for example, Paul reveals his own inner struggle between what he knows he should do and what he actually does (7:15). In addition, Paul is well known for his “thorn in the flesh” which Paul somewhat comically describes as preventing him from claiming the greatness he deserves (2 Corinthians 12:7).

The second question we must ask ourselves is how Paul, in the very context of forbidding judgment (14:4) and encouraging unity (15:6) can apply such judgmental and divisive terms. To this point, Paul has consistently united us all in sin (3:9; 3:23) in salvation (1:16) in the Lordship of God (10:12) in judgment (14:10) in grace (3:22; 5:18; 11:32). How can Paul describe us all as equal members of the body of Christ (12:3-5) but at the same time divide us into these superior and inferior categories?

As Christ Has Welcomed You

In our society, we do not like paradox. Though few of us are scientists, we believe in the scientific method. Though we actually understand very little of the world around us, we like to believe that the world is understandable. Understanding the world is not important in itself, but we believe that what we can understand we can control. If there is a common tenet of Western society, it is that we are masters of our own destiny. We can be what we want to be – achieve what we want to achieve. Even the most underprivileged child can overcome adversity and become president (but why would anyone want to?).

Of course, this cannot be true. To begin with, it is simply impossible for everyone to become president. But more than that, poverty and oppression are real adversaries which are not so easily overcome. But we persist in this believe for two reasons. First, it allows us to believe that we can control our lives. This is the same sort of idolatry that the Lord spoke of through Jeremiah. When we trust in society, technology, or the work of our own hands, we abandon the living water for our own broken cisterns (Jeremiah 2:12-13) and put our faith in gods that cannot help us (Jeremiah 2:27-28).

Further, this belief in our own accomplishment relieves us of any responsibility for other people. If we are masters of our own destiny, then others are as well. If my brother or sister cannot overcome their poverty or oppression to succeed in the land of opportunity, then it no fault of mine. Paul tells us that in matters of faith, we are beholden to each other. In so saying, he is in keeping with the teaching of our Lord, who tells us that our responsibility extends to every aspect of the lives of those around us (Matthew 25:31-45).

The God of Endurance and Encouragement

Though you and I may be troubled by paradox, it is a part of the nature of our God, exemplified in his Christ. Paul was well aware of the mystery of the will of God, which he relayed in Ephesians (1:3-10) and in Philippians (2:5-11). Here, he calls God “The God of endurance and encouragement,” a brief reminder of his earlier reference to power of God revealed in the patience of God (9:22-26). This idea may seem counterintuitive: in our world, the strong have no need to be patient – it is one of the advantages of being strong. But with Christ there is the paradox of strength is revealed in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9).

What can explain the greatest being humbled and the strongest becoming weak? As recorded in John, Jesus says that it is because of the love of God for the entire world – love which calls us into unity with God and with each other (John 17:22-23). It is in this same call to unity that Paul calls us to treat each other with respect. If God can be humbled for our sake, can we not make ourselves humble for the sake of others?

And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

(Matthew 10:38-39 ESV)

A Matter of Righteousness

2006-03-04T20:56:00.000-08:00

A Matter of Righteousness

Romans 14:13-23

Therefore

Context is always important in Bible study, and Paul himself indicates the importance of context in this passage by prefacing the passage with the Greek oun, translated “therefore”. Paul in Romans uses this word many times in both the positive (5:1) and the negative (6:1). In this way, Paul indicates that the argument of this passage is not only connected with the previous statement that each of us must give an account of himself before God (14:12) but with the entire argument of the letter that salvation is an act of God that is not dependent on our actions (9:18) but that our encounter with this grace of God requires in us a response which will shape the way we live (8:12-13).

In addition to this larger context, we must also consider the more immediate context of the passage, which ostensibly is a discussion of dietary restrictions. It is in this context that the NIV translates the Greek oudeis in verse 14 as “no food” instead of the word “nothing” which it mentions in a footnote. Elsewhere in the New Testament, this word is either translated as “nothing” (as in Luke 12:2) or “no one” (as in John 14:6). However, while the argument Paul presents uses the occasion of dietary restrictions, it is in fact a discussion of our freedom (presented in the first half of the chapter) and responsibility (presented in this passage) as Christians. The idea of freedom in Christ must have been new to those to whom Paul wrote, the majority of whom had either been Greek slaves or slaves to the Jewish law, but to us the idea of the hand-in-hand connection of freedom and responsibility is common knowledge, if not common practice.

Judgment

We must also consider in context Paul's assertion that we may not judge each other (verse 13). This is a very hard saying, first because we are so accustomed and inclined to considering our own accomplishments in relation to those of others (Luke 18:10-14) but also because it is hard to understand in light of our responsibility to judge for ourselves between right and wrong (Matthew 7:17-20). There are two interpretations which would restrict the admonition against judgment in ways that would make it more understandable (or perhaps more tolerable).

The first is to place this admonition in the context of 14:1, which constrains the caution to the scope of those issues which constitute “disputable matters”. In this line of thought, there are matters about which the Bible contains clear teaching about which there can be no dispute. Paul is a source of such teachings, and provides us a list of unarguably sinful acts in the first chapter of Romans (1:28-32). The more common citation, however, comes from Galatians (5:16-26).

The second interpretation which provides a restricted understanding of this prohibition is to place it entirely within the bounds of the church (Matthew 18:15-17; but see also 1 Corinthians 5:12-13). In this interpretation, we are enjoined from judgment against other Christians, but free to judge those who are unbelievers. If we combine this with the previous interpretation, then we may judge for ourselves who is and who is not Christian, because we know which matters are indisputable, and then may judge those we do not deem to be acceptable to Christ.

One must wonder whether Paul would be amused or exasperated by those who would take his teachings as law. Paul's continual assertion in Romans and in other writings is that there is no legal definition of salvation. “God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy.” (9:15a) To use the words of Paul as the definitive basis by which may judge others is groundless. To use any means to decide for ourselves who God should condemn is an affront to the grace of God (2:1-4).

A Matter of Righteousness

“Hate the sin; love the sinner” is a common sentiment, but the only commandment to hate Christ gave us is the commandment to hate our own sinful selves (John 12:25). Paul tells us that the kingdom of God is not defined by hate, nor is it defined in any way by sin, but by righteousness, peace, and joy. The kingdom is not defined in the negative, by the means of exclusion or punishment, but in the positive, by the means of inclusion and favor. According to Paul, righteousness is not for condemnation, but it is the good news of salvation (1:16-17). “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (8:31b)

This entire discussion, of course, is evocative of the words of Christ, who enjoined us from judgment of others not only because of the consequence of judgment upon ourselves, but because we are simply unfit to judge (Matthew 7:1-5). No one sets out to be a hypocrite. The problem with the plank in my own eye is that I can never see it. It is to our great benefit that judgment belongs only to God, who has entrusted it to Christ (John 5:22), and we know what the judgment of Christ is like.

The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, "Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?" This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her." And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more." (John 8:3-11 ESV)

Whether We Live or Die

2006-03-04T20:29:00.000-08:00

Whether We Live or Die

Romans 14:1-12

Whose Faith Is Weak?

Many of the subjects to which are given so much attention in the writings of Paul generally and in the Letter to the Romans in particular seem completely out of date to modern (post-modern?) Christians. In this passage, Paul discusses dietary restrictions and the observance of special holy days. While there remains a minor (in terms of the size of the population involved) dispute over the observance of the Sabbath, the idea of a religious dispute over dietary matters may seem strange to us.

Coming from our modern standpoint to an understanding of this dispute, we might begin by understanding what it is not. To begin with, though we might reasonably expect that the church or churches to which Paul wrote in Rome to have been comprised largely of Gentiles, it appears to be the case that there were a large numbers of Jewish Christians in the church, as well. Historically, we know that there were perhaps as many Jews in Rome at the time as there were in Palestine. There are also indications from the letter itself that it was addressed to a congregation that at least included a number of Jews, if it was not predominately Jewish. The lengthy discourses on the children of Abraham, the role of the law, and the eventual redemption of the nation of Israel all suggest this conclusion.

We might reasonably expect, then, that a dispute over dietary standards might have arisen between the Jews, whose dietary restrictions constituted fully a third of the Law, and who therefore viewed dietary matters to be matters of morality, and the Gentiles, whose dietary practices must have seemed to the Jews not only lax, but scandalous. This, however, does not characterize the dispute to which Paul refers. Instead, Paul refers to a dispute between those who eat meat and those who are strictly vegetarian. It is not clear how this dispute arose – whether it originated with those who, like most modern vegetarians, limit their diet to vegetables out of concern for the treatment of animals, or arose from the apprehension that any meat that might be available had preciously been sacrificed to idols, and therefore was not fit for Christian consumption (1 Corinthians 8:7).

In carefully considering these instructions from Paul, we must not only recognize that it does not concern a dispute between the Jews and the Gentiles, we must also understand that Paul's instructions do not merely regard questions of diet and days. When Peter received his vision in which the sheet came down before him laden with all manner of unclean things (Acts 10:11-20) the importance of the vision was not the relaxation of dietary standards, but inclusion into the family of faith those that had previously been seen as unclean.

In these verses, we must also understand that the matter at hand is not simply diet. Though Paul has largely moved from theological argument to practical application, he has not abandoned the rhetoric that has brought him to this point. Paul has already explained that it is not important that we are biological children of Abraham, but that we have the faith of Abraham (9:8). It is not the circumcision of the flesh that matters, but the circumcision of the heart (2:28-29). It is not the letter of the law that matters, but the spirit of the law (7:6). It is not the symbolic death of baptism that frees us from condemnation, but the death of self and sin (6:1-4). In the same way, though Paul does not use the words of Christ, his argument is that it is not what goes into our mouths that defiles us, but what comes out of our mouths (Matthew 15:11).

We might further consider those to whom Paul refers as “weak in the faith.” The term Paul uses here is astheneo. In the Gospels, this word is used to describe those who were sick and were brought to Jesus to be healed (for example, Mark 6:56). In the letters of Paul and the Letter to the Hebrews, it is translated “weak”. Again, there are various possible interpretations of this term, and we do well first to consider what Paul does not mean.

We might take the terms “strong” and “weak” to mean those who have greater or lesser faith. This interpretation would be groundless, not only in the context of this passage, but in the larger context of Romans (though the English words “believe” and “trust” are used in 10:9-11, these are translated from the same word that is here translated “faith”) but also in the context of the teachings of Jesus, who taught that even a mustard-seed of faith would move mountains (Matthew 17:15-20). We should, however, consider the characteristics of those whom Paul labeled “weak”. First, they were those who held a position contrary to the position of Paul. Paul was not unlike ourselves in this regard, and we must therefore not underestimate this fact when reading this passage and the similar one in 1 Corinthians. Second, we must notice that, at least in this case, it was those who held the more restrictive position that Paul considered weak, and those who held more open views that Paul considered strong.

We Belong to the Lord

What, then, is Paul saying? If we discount the idea that Paul speaks of the weak in derogatory terms – an idea that we must discount, as Paul only introduces the terms to point out that we must not judge each other; then is he advancing some form of moral relativism, in which we each live by our own moral standards that cannot be judged by or imposed upon the morality of others?

As we have seen so far in our study of Romans, the response that Paul has given to such notions is consistently and forcefully in the negative. To those who would say that we can accomplish good through doing evil, Paul offers no respect (3:5-8). To those who would say that grace is such a good thing that we should sin more so as to experience even more grace, Paul presents the simple truth that our encounter with Christ must transform us as though we had died to our former selves and come alive again in Christ (6:1-7). To those who would ask how a God who gave us choice could blame us for our choices, Paul presents a God who has consistently and lovingly reached out to those who reject him (9:19-24). To all those who would say that the judgment of God is so severe that there is nothing we can do, and to those who would say that the love of God is so great that there is nothing we must do, Paul presents the judgment of God indivisible from the love of God (11:22).

We cannot judge each other, Paul says, because we belong to the Lord not to each other, and judgment belongs to God, not to ourselves. Paul has already presented us a picture of that judgment – a judgment in which God is seeking to redeem and not to condemn (8:31-39). For some of us, this forgiveness is wonderful when applied to ourselves, but exasperating when applied to others. In this way we find ourselves kindred spirits of Jonah, who was sick to death of the love of God (Jonah 4:1-4).

Whether We Live or Die

The NIV begins this passage with the term “disputable matters”. It would be convenient to believe that these were simple matters like eating meat or vegetables, whether we wear a tie or a T-shirt, or what sort of music is necessary for worship. These issues, we might magnanimously say, are disputable. At the same time we hold as indisputable those matters about which there is the most dispute.

Does Paul say that our belief on such issues does not matter? In fact, one can get the idea from reading these later chapters that we simply do not matter very much. In social settings, we must always put others, even our enemies, above ourselves (12:14-19). In political settings, we must always submit to authorities, even those who seem bent on harming us, because they are agents of God (13:1-2). Even in religious settings, we cannot demand consideration, but must be considerate of others. In fact, in these verses Paul claims that it does not matter whether we live or die.

I do not know about you, but it certainly matters to me. Paul makes it very clear that what we do and and what we believe matters to God. Though it often escaped our attention, we do not have to try very hard to notice that what is important to God is not what is important to us. God has different values than we have.

Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”

Then Jesus said to the disciples, “If any one would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?” (Matthew 16:23-25a)

The process of “sanctification” (6:22 RSV) which “leads to holiness” (6:22 NIV) is the process of losing this world and gaining our souls.

Understanding the Present Time

2006-03-04T20:10:00.000-08:00

Understanding the Present Time

Romans Chapter 13

Submit to the Authorities

The major theme of The Letter to the Romans is salvation by grace. Paul makes it abundantly clear that there is nothing we can do to attain salvation. But, in response to those who would argue that it therefore does not matter what we do (3:8, 6:1) Paul's response is emphatic (3:8, 6:2). In earlier chapters, Paul has presented careful theological argument. In these later chapters, Paul offers practical instruction and exhortation for our daily response to grace. Chapter 13 continues in this theme of practical instruction. Though it contains some of the plainest language in all of Romans, it includes one of those passages that is difficult for us to understand because we cannot believe that it means what it very obviously says.

In verses 1-7, Paul explicitly instructs us to respect earthly authorities and submit ourselves to them. We should do this not only out of fear of retribution (verse 4) but because it is the right thing to do (verse 5) because these authorities are established by God (verse 1). The assurance that earthly authorities offer no “terror” to those who do what is right (verse 3) seems particularly hard to understand in our present time.

There are various ways of interpreting this passage. One is to understand the passage as describing the best case scenario in which earthly are willing agents of God and therefore do not give godly citizens any cause to fear. If we accept this interpretation, then it follows that this instruction does not apply to those authorities that are not actively seeking the will of God. We could then conclude that authorities which are manifestly antagonist to God require our disrespect and open opposition. We might support this interpretation with the response of Peter and John to the Jewish rulers who would have restrained Peter and John from spreading the Gospel (Acts 4:18-19). In this case, however, Peter and John were interacting with authorities who did claim divine authority, but were not acting in a godly manner.

In contrast to supporting civil insurrection, Peter instructs us (1 Peter 2:13-18) to submit to every earthly authority – even going so far as to instruct slaves to submit to their masters. Also, we must consider Paul's audience. Paul was addressing Christians in Rome, where the authorities were in open apposition to the authority of God. In Romans, Paul acknowledges the persecution suffered by Christians (8:18) and elsewhere recounts the various difficulties he himself had suffered at the hands of the authorities (2 Corinthians 11:24-25). Can it be that the Bible endorses the horrific acts of corrupt government, even to the point of supporting the abominable institution of slavery?

The question is, of course, rhetorical. We know from our understanding of a powerful and loving God that this cannot be the case. How, then, can we understand this passage from Paul and the similar passage from Peter? First, we must acknowledge that the perfect will of God is in no way imperiled by the imperfection of this world. Paul has already stated that the plan of God to offer salvation to the Gentiles was accomplished through Israel's rejection of that same salvation (9:6-8; 11:11-16). The first step in accepting this instruction, then, is to acknowledge that earthly authorities can be agents of God, even though they are unaware of or are in open opposition to that will.

The other idea that is essential to understanding this passage is one that is in direct confrontation to our Western world view. Though if pressed we will admit that “life is not fair” and “there is no justice in this world” this is not the view that motivates our daily lives. Instead, we expect to be treated fairly, and when we are not we expect just recompense. This is clearly not the view advanced by Peter and Paul. While we can expect persecution, even when we abide by the law of this world, we cannot demand worldly justice, but must accept our situation without complaint. This, after all, is the justice of God, who demonstrated justice through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the very person of God. This is the pattern of the justice of God; it is not demanded as recompense, but offered as a gift.

Fulfillment of the Law

In verses 8-10, Paul uses a very typical device as he turns a metaphor “on its ear” and in so doing seems to take the discussion to an entirely different train of thought. Here, Paul uses his admonition against indebtedness as a launching point for a discussion of the debt of love. In complete agreement with Jesus (Matthew 22:36-40) Paul offers “love your neighbor” as the one requirement which, if met, would satisfy the whole of the law.

In light of the considerable attention Paul has paid to discrediting the law, we might well ask ourselves how he can now suggest that the law has any authority. We must always consider in the proper context those passages which discuss the failure of the law. It is always Paul's intent when discussing the law to present it as having no application to salvation, which is a gift of grace, but having definite application to our response to grace. Though we have no power to affect our own salvation, salvation has an affect on us.

Though Paul's transition to the subject of love may seem abrupt, it is by no means out of place. The motivation for grace is love (8:39, John 3:16). The justice of God is inseparable from the love of God (8:31-34). Love calls to love. The love of God, who in Christ submitted himself to us, calls us to submit ourselves in love to the world around us (Matthew 5:38-48). We are called to be perfect, and we are not relieved of this call because it is not easy or practical.

Understanding the Present Time

In verses 11-14, Paul encourages us to have an understanding of the present time. Who among us would not appreciate such an understanding? We live in an age where absurdity, indecency, and corruption have reached a level that seems to tear at the fabric of reality. The extent of evil seems too great even to understand, much less to overcome. What can we do in the face of such a great threat? As usual, Paul gives us practical, understandable advice: do what is right. Even in the face of such evil, which we like to think is unique to our present time, God is still God. We know what is right, and we must put away what is evil.

It would be easy to say that Paul, and indeed the whole of the First Century Church, had a quaint but mistaken idea of the timing of the Lord's return, and that this understanding caused them to live with a sense of urgency which, in the present time, we cannot attain. In view of history, we might believe that we cannot be expected to live with such urgency. After all, Paul lived with the idea that Christ could return any day. Surely that understanding was wrong, and we have no desire to be wrong. If we were to continue in Paul's belief, we might even commit the grave sin of looking foolish!

If Paul was wrong in his urgent expectancy of the coming of the kingdom, then so was Christ (Matthew 4:17, 25:1-13) who called us to behave as though the kingdom was near, even though we do not and cannot know the time of its coming. This nearness of the kingdom could mean two things. It could mean that we have limited time to put our affairs in order and must therefore act quickly to secure our own salvation. In that sense, it might be viewed as a threat. But a threat is also a promise, of a sort, and the justice of God is both a threat and a promise. This is the kindness and sternness of God (11:22). As surely as the nearness of the kingdom means imminent justice, it also means imminent grace. We must repent, because the kingdom of heaven is near. We may repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.

For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it. See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil;

(Deuteronomy 30:11-15 KJV)

Overcome Evil with Good

2006-03-04T19:43:00.000-08:00

Overcome Evil with Good

Romans 12:14-21

Bless and Do Not Curse

In earlier chapters, Paul has presented careful theological argument which primarily dealt with what we should not do: we must not depend on the law, on anything of our own making, or of any effort on our part to achieve salvation. Salvation is an act of God, and not of men (9:16). Even in the context of this argument, however, Paul has been careful to reject any notion that, since there is no way to achieve salvation by our own action, our own actions do not matter at all. To those who would say that our sin only serves to glorify the grace of God, Paul responds with complete dismissal (3:8; 6:1-2). In these later chapters, Paul begins to deal very practically with the question of how we should respond to grace. In the earlier passages of Chapter 12, Paul stresses the need of the church for a unity that is based on mutual respect. We are one body with many members. This metaphor suggests not only that we respect the abilities of others, but that we have proper respect for our own abilities.

In the chapters to come, Paul will deal with the relationship of the Christian to the authorities here on earth, and will return again to instruction for interaction in the Christian community. In the present passage, Paul deals with our reaction to those, either within or without that community, who would seek to do us harm. Either to stress the importance of what he is telling us, or to forestall any notion of diluting or otherwise misunderstanding his instruction, Paul tells in both the positive and the negative that we must bless, not curse, those who persecute us.

Blessings and courses are, of course, only words. Even though we might still have a difficult time pronouncing a blessing on those who would injure us, we know that any serious interpretation of this passage requires us to go beyond words to action. Indeed, the parallel with the words of Christ in the sermon on the mount (Matthew 5:38-48) is quite clear. When one would ask us to go a mile with them, we must offer to go two; when one would take the shirt off our back, we must offer our coat, as well. We cannot simply pronounce a blessing on our enemies; we must actively be a blessing to them.

Burning Coals

In support of his argument, Paul – who did not have the Gospels to quote – quotes both from Deuteronomy 32:35, where God exclusively reserves vengeance, and from Proverbs 25:21-22, where we are told that aiding our enemies will not only make us deserving of reward from God, but that it will “heap burning coals” upon their heads. We must wonder why, if our aim is to heap coals on their heads, we are forbidden to act spitefully to them in the first place.

Whatever the meaning of that phrase in Proverbs, we cannot understand the instruction from Paul (and Proverbs by way of Paul) as a theologically-sound, Biblically-approved method of repaying our enemies for the wrong they have done to us (or that we perceive they have done to us). Instead, Paul's discourse is moving from faith (our acceptance of the grace of God) to religion, which is the practice of our faith.

For Paul, religion was a very practical matter. It was not a matter of race (4:13) ritual (2:29) or code (7:6). It is, instead, the way we treat each other (13:8-10). In this, he not only has the agreement of James (James 1:27), but is also in complete agreement with our Lord, who both announced his ministry (Luke 4:16-21) and claimed his mastery (Luke 7:18-23) by healing the sick and defending the poor. This ministry is also what our Lord requires of us: a ministry that is defined by a cup of cold water (Matthew 10:40-42) or by a kind word or deed (Matthew 25:31-46).

Overcome Evil with Good

Paul ends this passage with what on the face of it is a very strange command: do not overcome evil with evil, but overcome evil with good. In this world, it certainly seems as though evil has all the tools techniques for success. Nice guys, it seems, finish last, but the one who is willing to do what it takes will be richly rewarded. We must carefully consider how we can come to a meaningful, functional understanding of this command.

First, we must understand that the command is not a recipe for domination any more than the command to be good to our enemies is an acceptable means of destroying those enemies (except in recognition that a friend is no longer an enemy). The command to do good is not directed at them, but at us.

We must also consider that we do not define success, but God does, and God's definition of success must be accepted on faith. It is a definition in which the first is last and the last is first (Matthew 20:20-28) and in which our Lord, and the eve of his betrayal, even as his disciples were deserting him and his enemies were massing to capture him, proclaimed “I have overcome the world!” (John 16:32-33)

Living Sacrifices

2006-01-01T06:05:00.000-08:00

Living Sacrifices

Romans 12:1-13

Responding to Grace

In his other letters, to greater and lesser degrees, Paul deals with topics which arise from his personal knowledge of the recipients of those letters. We can, for example, think of the exhortations to a young preacher found in 1 Timothy, the remonstration of the “foolish” Galatians, the plea for a runaway slave in Philemon, and the tired entreaty to “come before winter” in 2 Timothy. Though all of his letters are profitable for doctrine, reproof, and instruction in righteousness, whether because he had no personal knowledge of the churches in Rome, or because other factors in his ministry gave rise to such a document, the Letter to the Romans is the most systematic presentation we have of the Gospel according to Paul.

To begin with, we are all equal. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” (3:23 KJV) The consequences of this sin are very real. “[T]he wages of sin is death.” (6:23a KJV) Yet there is good news. “[T]he gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord.” Though we have earned death, there is nothing we can do to earn the gift. “[T]he gift is not like the trespass.” (5:15a NIV) “It does not, therefore, depend on man’s effort, but on God’s mercy.” (9:16 NIV)

Given that there is nothing we can do to earn salvation, we may have many questions. “[I]f our righteousness brings out God’ righteousness more clearly, what shall we say? That God is unjust in bringing his wrath on us?” (3:5b NIV) “Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?” (6:1b NIV) “[W]hy does God still blame us?” (9:19b NIV). Though the Sovereign God says “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion” (9:15b NIV, quoting Exodus 33:19) this is not a threat, but a promise: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (10:13 NIV, quoting Joel 2:32) We are free to accept or reject this mercy. This is the “kindness and sternness of God.” (11:22b NIV)

While there is nothing we can do to receive grace, Paul is constant in maintaining that we must respond to grace. We do not deserve grace because of our nationality, as the children of Abraham thought, but we must become spiritual children of Abraham, because “it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring.” (9:8b NIV) No ritual or outward sign, such as circumcision, has the power to bring us grace, but we must respond to grace with an inward “circumcision of the heart.” (2:29 NIV) We do not achieve grace by strict observance of the letter of the law, but by the Spirit. “We have been released from the law so that we serve in a new way of the Spirit.” (7:6 NIV)

Having established our equality in sin and grace, the inability of the law to conquer sin, and the continuity of God’s redemptive plan in the face of rejection by the “Chosen People”, Paul now turns to bring full attention to the subject of our response to grace.

Reasonable Worship

The verses of Chapter 12 are familiar and powerful. In verses 1 and 2 Paul exhorts us to respond to grace by letting go of the influences of this world so that we may be transformed with a new mind. In the last hours before his betrayal Christ prayed for his disciples, including those present with him and those who were to come, not that we would be removed from the world, but that we be protected from it and that we be sanctified by the word of God. (John 17:13-20) Here, Paul says that this abandonment of the ways of the world and submission to the process of sanctification is worship. The world offers many idols which we often try to put in the place of God. Such idolatry is always an attempt to put ourselves in the place of God: the idols have no power over us, but it is our choice to worship them. We worship God by acknowledging that God is God.

Paul says that this worship is “reasonable” as it is translated in the KJV. The Greek word is logikos, the source of the English word “logic”. When John says “In the beginning was the word” (John 1:1 KJV) he uses a related Greek word, logos, which combined the Jewish idea of the powerful word of God with the Greek idea of the mind of God. The word Paul uses is similar in that it could refer to speech or speaking and also to the mind or the soul – these were probably not separate concepts to Paul. In either sense, Paul is not saying that our living sacrifice is neither something we think of from time to time, nor some spiritual feeling we have when the spirit strikes us, but it is an appropriate response to the grace of God; God in Christ gave his life for us, it is reasonable and appropriate that we give our lives to God.

Sober Judgment

In verses 3-8 Paul once again shows his ability to move from lofty levels of powerful theological concepts to the everyday level of common sense. We are who we are, and we are not any more, but we are not any less, either. As it is with the human body, as the body of Christ we are “fearfully and wonderfully made.” (Psalm 139:14) We are not all alike, but we all have value. Others have a responsibility to acknowledge our value, and we have a responsibility to realize our value. We could have all the gold in the world, but if we kept it hidden away all our lives, it would be of no value to anyone. The list of assets Paul mentions here is not meant to be complete, but illustrative. We all have gifts, and whatever they are we must devote them to the service of God.

Living Sacrifices

Verses 9-13 continue Paul’s practice of illustrating by example. This is not meant to be a complete list of requirements for Christian living; that sort of legalistic approach is just the sort of thing Paul decries in preceding chapters. Instead, it is mean to show in common-sense terms what it means to be living sacrifices in the service of our Lord who announced his ministry with these words:

The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. (Luke 4:18:19 KJV, quoting Isaiah 61:1-2)

The Kindness and Sternness of God

2005-12-18T05:39:00.000-08:00

The Kindness and Sternness of God

Romans Chapter 11

The Jews

Chapter 11 is the final chapter in the extended passage Paul devotes to the status of his own people, the Jews. There is an ongoing theme in the Letter to the Romans, which has to do with the state of humanity in relation to God. The aspects of this theme include the relationship of sinful humanity to a perfect God, the existence of free will and the complete knowledge of God, and the supremacy of the will of God over the will of individuals, nations, and all of humanity. Central to this theme is the sufficiency of the gift of grace: there is no human accomplishment, not even the strictest possible adherence to the holy law of God, which can make us worthy of the love of God; our salvation is given to us because of the nature of God, and not because of our nature or our actions.

In keeping with this theme, the discussion of the status of the Jews begins in Chapter 9 with the statement that the failure of the Jews as a people to live up to the promise God made to them is not in any way indicative of a failure of the will of God. Instead, Paul says that God bore the rebellion of the Jews “with great mercy” (9:22) in a way which demonstrates the “riches of his glory to the objects of his mercy.” (9:23) Beginning at the end of Chapter 9 and continuing into Chapter 10, Paul clearly states the error of the Jewish way of thinking. They were given the law as a guide, but they had taken it as a means of salvation. In so doing, they had seen salvation as something attainable, something that could be deserved and achieved. Throughout Romans, Paul continually asserts that salvation is achieved though grace by faith, an idea that he presents quite eloquently, perhaps quoting a liturgy of the First Century Church: “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (10:9 NIV)

The Remnant

In verses 1-10 of Chapter 11, Paul continues his style of one-sided argument that is characteristic of Romans by asking if God had then rejected his chosen people, and then firmly answering in the negative. Instead, Paul points out that the Lord’s covenant has never been fully accepted by the entire nation of Israel. In support of this, Paul quotes from a passage in 1 Kings (19:9b-18) which we recognize as a well-known interaction between God and Elijah. We know it for the “gentle whisper” (NIV) or “still small voice” (KJV) of the Lord. Paul wants us to notice that even when Elijah felt as though he alone was the only left serving God, the Lord revealed to him that there were still seven thousand that had not succumbed to the worship of Baal.

In this discussion, Paul uses two terms (specifically in verse 7) that are easily misunderstood. First, he refers to the remnant as “the elect” and says of the others that they were “hardened” or, as it is translated in the KJV, “blinded”. The first idea is one that Paul has already used in Chapter 8, where he references the complete knowledge of God, who exists outside of time, and the eternal plan of God for our salvation. Nothing, Paul says very eloquently, can separate us from the love that has been from before the beginning and will continue after the end. The idea of the elect does not describe those elected, they are not a particular group that has found favor with God, but instead it describes the sovereignty of God, who elected to share his love with all those who will accept it.

The other term that Paul uses in contrast to the elect are those whom God “hardened” or as it is translated in the KJV, those whom God “blinded”. Paul has also used this term briefly before, and will expand upon the idea later in the chapter. The previous use was in Chapter 9, where Paul quotes from Exodus 33:19, in which God says to Moses “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” (NIV) In context, God offers this as a statement of assurance to Moses, who was justifiably anguished at the prospect of leading the people of Israel. Paul correctly quotes it as an example of the sovereignty of God to show mercy or to withhold that same mercy.

Intentional, Circumstantial, and Ultimate

There are three words which have been used to describe the will of God in context of the free will of humanity: Intentional, Circumstantial, and Ultimate. The will of God is always intended for our own good; whatever questions we may have about life, death, salvation, or condemnation, the answer is always found in the love of God. The will of God can be accomplished in every circumstance. What ever may happen to us, God always has a plan for our salvation. Ultimately, the will of God will be accomplished. The will of God has been ordained for all time.

In verses 11 and 12, Paul speaks of the circumstantial will of God. God used the circumstance of Israel’s transgression to bring the gospel to the Gentiles. That is how “their transgression means riches for the world.” (NIV) What could have occurred if the Israelites had accepted the role God offered them? We will never know the answer to that question, but God promised Abraham (at the time called, “Abram”) that he would be a blessing to the entire world. (See Genesis 12:3, for example). God was able to fulfill that promise even though the nation of Israel continued to reject the will of God, even to the point of rejecting God’s very son.

The Kindness and Sternness of God

In verses 13-24, Paul continues to speak of the way in which God used the transgression of Israel to bring redemption to all men. In this section, he says he is speaking directly to the Gentiles, a reminder that there were as many Jews in Rome as there were in Palestine, and that the Letter to the Romans addressed a church that was comprised of both Jews and Gentiles.

In Romans, Paul makes use of many metaphors, often with one metaphor leading to another and then another in succession and always with the understanding that no human analogy is sufficient to describe God’s love for us. In this passage, he refers to the Gentiles as “ingrafted branches” but, contrary to the usual process of grafting a cultured branch onto a hearty, wild root, Paul describes us as wild branches grafted onto a select, cultured root.

But we are to take no pride in this. God had offered salvation to the Israelites and because they rejected it, God rejected them. We are no more or less special than the nation of Israel; if we fail, God will reject us as well. This is the “kindness and sternness of God.” We are given a choice. Like the nation of Israel, God has graciously given us every opportunity to avail ourselves of the free gift of salvation. We may accept it or reject it.

If we continue to reject it, then like the Israelites of whom Paul spoke, we will become “hardened.” The word Paul uses which is translated “hardened” actually means to become petrified, but was used figuratively to mean “calloused” or “stupid.” It is a natural process. If we continually reject the love of God, we also do not accept God’s love for others. If we continually reject the truth, we certainly cannot become wise.

The Mystery

In verses 25-36, Paul speaks of the Mystery of the love of God, which is inseparable from the will of God. God’s will is always intended for our good. Even God’s design of free will is intended to our benefit. In every circumstance, God has a plan for our redemption. If God blessed the Gentiles even through the disbelief of the Israelites, and would continue to bless the world even though our disbelief, how much more could our acceptance of the will of God be a blessing to world? Ultimately, the will of God is never in question. The entirety of the plan of God has already been accomplished. It is only our limited understanding of time that prevents us from understanding this mystery.

The knowledge of God is immeasurable; we cannot know the mind of God. We cannot buy or earn the favor of God, but the love of God has been revealed to us from the foundation of the earth.

How Shall They Hear?

2005-12-11T06:02:00.000-08:00

How Shall They Hear?

Romans Chapter 10

The End of the Law

Chapter 10 is the second of three chapters which are almost entirely devoted to the status of the nation of Israel. In the previous chapter, Paul begins by expressing his heart-felt anguish over the Jewish rejection of the gospel and ends by directly dealing with the failure of legal approach to salvation. In the present chapter, he repeats the desire of his heart for his fellow Jews, and with the support of many Old Testament passages, elaborates on the necessary ruin of those who believe that salvation is a thing to be obtained, and not a gift of grace.

In verses 1-4, Paul describes the Israelites as earnest people who are zealous for God. These are admirable qualities, but we do well to be reminded that good intentions and even good work are not enough. The people of whom Paul spoke had put their good intentions above the will of the Lord; they rejected the righteousness of God and tried to obtain a righteousness of their own through faith, not in the mercy of God, but in the law.

To those who put such trust in the law, Paul presents Christ as the end of the law. This is not in contradiction of his earlier confession that the law is holy, righteous, and good (7:12) but in agreement with the testimony of Jesus himself that he was the fulfillment of the law. In Matthew 5:17-20, Jesus says that not even the smallest marks in the Law and the Prophets will pass away “until all is accomplished.” In the same passage, however, he tells us that we must have a righteousness that exceeds that of the Pharisees, who were the epitome of those whom Paul commended for their zeal for God. In the rest of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus proceeds to reinterpret the law with regard to murder, adultery, divorce, justice, and other major points of the law. In each case, the Pharisees and teachers of the law had developed careful and elaborate procedures by which the law could be kept, but Jesus pointed out that they had become devoted to the letter of the law and abandoned its spirit.

Believe and Confess

In verses 5-13, Paul again compares the rule of the law with the righteousness that comes by faith. In the first of many Old Testament references in this chapter, Paul quotes a passage from Leviticus that presents the law in relation to life. In Leviticus 18:1-5, the Lord commands the people to live, not as the people of Egypt, where they used to live, and not as the people of Canaan, where they were going, but in accordance with the law of God. Paul might also have chosen the passage in Deuteronomy 6:1-3, where the Lord explains that his commandments are provision for our health and long life.

In a way, the Jews had taken the commandments as a way of life, but they had also taken them as a means of salvation; they had come to believe that their own efforts in attention to the law could bring them life. To those who believed that salvation could be accomplished, Paul evoked the beautiful passage from Deuteronomy (30:11-20) which was sure to be well-known to all the Jews. In this passage, the Lord clearly presents salvation as a thing not to be achieved (by ascending to heaven or crossing the sea) but a thing very near to us, a word that the Lord has already put in our mouths. The law is of the Lord as a guide to life, but the Lord himself is the source of our life.

Paul explains that this word is the very gospel he was preaching, that if we believe with our hearts and confess with our mouths that Jesus is Lord, we will be saved. Though the Greek root of our modern Western separation of head and heart was emerging even in the time of Paul, it was the Jewish idea that both emotion and reason were of the heart. The belief of which Paul speaks is neither a cool, detached, completely intellectual understanding that has no heart-felt meaning, nor a blind emotional condition that has no reason, but a belief that is from our center; it is a belief that reunites our very souls with the soul of their Creator.

But if we must believe internally, we must also confess externally. “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown before my Father in heaven.” (Matthew 10:32, 33 NIV) But it would be a mistake which draws us into the same trap that snared the religious people of whom Jesus and Paul spoke to begin to define and delineate just how this confession must be made or how the acknowledgement is shown. While I am reluctant to say that anything contrary to the service of our Lord is in our nature, it certainly seems that we all have a propensity to this sort of legalism. We are like the disciple who responded to the command of Jesus to love his neighbor by asking “and who is my neighbor?” (Luke 10:29) If we are to confess with our mouths, we want to know just what form this confession should take. Perhaps we not only want to know so that we can make the correct confession, but also so we can tell if others confess correctly.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus makes this statement in a different way, one which is perhaps less open to a legalistic interpretation. In John 14:21, Jesus says “Whoever has my commands and obeys them is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by the Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.” (NIV) In this verse, Jesus speaks of keepings his commands, which we might think of as a checklist – do this, this, and this, and you will be saved – as identical with loving him. In the more extended passage in John, Jesus first says that the one who obeys his commands is the one who loves him, and then that the one who loves him is the one who obeys his commands; that is, they are one in the same. To love Jesus is to obey his commands; to obey his commands is to love him.

The Same Lord

Paul goes on to say that this salvation by faith is available to all. The statement that there is no difference between Jew and Gentile must have been staggering to those who heard it. The Jews knew themselves to be the chosen people. Paul begins the previous chapter with a long list of benefits from the Lord which were theirs alone. They had a special relationship with the Lord. They began to believe that they had this relationship because they were special.

Paul quotes two Old Testament scriptures in support of his claim. The first, from Isaiah 28:16, he has already quoted at the end of the previous chapter. The second is from Joel 2:32, and it is a passage which is also quoted by Peter on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:16). But whether the Jews would accept either of these passages as applying to the Gentiles, and with him conclude that all humanity is the same, there is no way that anyone can refute the other side of Paul’s argument: that there is only one Lord who is Lord over all. The same Lord who so graciously offers us salvation offers that salvation to everyone. The Jews believed that the Gentiles were beyond salvation, and we may feel the same way towards various people of our day, some we know and some we do not, but the gift is not ours to give or to retain.

How Shall They Hear?

One of the reasons the writings of Paul are so challenging is that they treat with such gravity issues which today are little known to us. We are not great students of the law in the way the Scribes and Pharisees were. We know almost nothing of ritual sacrifice or cleanliness. Nor do we, in general, place such important on tradition. In short, we do not know what it was like to be a Jew.

But, there is another challenge in reading Paul, and that is that his thinking is very agile. He can at one moment be expounding upon deep, theological truth, and at the next on solid, everyday advice. When one of his points brings another to mind, it is immediately included in his discourse. Perhaps this is an aspect of his mind, or an artifact of the way in which he dictated his letters, or it may be that there is simply a difference in the letter-writing of his day, and the sort of writing we expect from a modern reference book.

Whatever the case, in verses 14-15, Paul detours from his treatment of the status of the Jews to a subject which is always on his heart, the mission of the spread of the gospel. Paul knew himself to be an Apostle, which means “one who is sent” and it is in this thought that the passage reaches its zenith. “How shall they preach unless they are sent?” (NIV) However, it is not only, and not most importantly, a passage that is intended to support his own calling as an apostle, but one that cries out to the need of those who have not heard and accepted the good news of Jesus Christ.

I Have Held Out My Hands

In the closing verses of the chapter (verses 16-21) Paul uses even more Old Testament citations to point out that the Jews of his day had heard the call of God and rejected it. To those Jews, Paul says that God in his sovereignty has made himself known, not to those whom they expected, but to those of his own choosing. Even to those who reject him, he continues to hold out his hands.

Paul begins the chapter, not in condemnation of the Jews, but in fervent desire and prayer for their salvation. The Lord is patient with those who reject him, and offers his grace to all who would believe. Do we share this earnest desire that all should be saved? How shall they hear?

The Potter’s Clay

2005-12-08T19:30:00.000-08:00

The Potter’s Clay

Romans Chapter 9

The Human Condition

A continuing theme throughout the Letter to the Romans is a discussion of the human condition. Paul continually refers to the nature of “the flesh” contrasted with the nature of “the spirit”. There is also the contrast of created beings living in a world dominated by death as apposed to the Living God who created all things and has no beginning or end. The letter begins with the affirmation that gulf between man and God does exist, but that it is bridged by God alone, by grace through faith.

In considering the human condition, Paul offers a significant discussion of the role of the law. The law is holy, he says, but he strongly asserts in various ways that the law is not a means of salvation. No amount of adherence to the law can make us holy. Our salvation is through the gracious will of God, and not through any actions of our own. Having stated this, Paul then deals with many related questions. There is the question of those who lived before the law was given, those who lived between the time of the law and the time of the coming of Christ, and the status of the Gentiles, who never had the law. Also, Paul gives careful consideration to question of what we might properly call our religion, that is, the practice of our faith. The questions that arise in regard to our daily living include whether we may continue in sin, since the grace of God continues to abound, whether or not it makes any difference what we do, since we are unable to achieve righteousness by any action of our own, and whether or not we even have any choice in our actions, since the Lord, not constrained by time, has always known who will and who will not accept salvation.

In answer to these questions, Paul explains that though the coming of Christ was an event that occurred at a particular point in time, the plan of God for our salvation has always existed. Though we cannot achieve righteousness, by the grace of God our faith will be credited to us as righteousness. Having accepted the grace of God, we must now live as slaves to righteousness, abandoning our former slavery to sin. Though we remain mortals in a fallen world, nothing can separate of from the love of God that is ours in Jesus Christ. The Spirit intercedes for us; Christ is on the right hand of God pleading for our salvation; and God, who alone can judge us and whose judgment will certainly come to pass, is not eager to condemn us, but rather stands ready to justify us.

The Law, the Temple, and the Patriarchs

Having addressed these important issues, the one that still weighs on Paul’s mind is that status of Israel: the chosen people of the Lord. In Chapter 9, he begins an extended discussion continuing through chapters 10 and 11 which addresses this concern. In verses 1-5, Paul speaks from his heart of his love and pity for Israel, his own race, and presents a list of their various advantages. To mention three, they had been given the law, the temple, and the witness of the patriarchs.

Paul has already addressed the issue of the Jews and the law. The law was given as their religion, that is, the practice of their faith. They had instead made it the object of their faith: they believed they could attain the favor of God through adherence to the law. This type of exchange theology has not been limited to the Jews. We are all prone to this error in thinking. We begin by making the mistake that God is limited to our understanding: we begin to think that what we know of God is all there is of God. Once we begin to limit God to human terms, it becomes hard to distinguish the will of God from our own desires. We can believe that if we act in a certain way which we understand to be prescribed by God, then God must respond by granting not only our salvation, but material blessings, power over our enemies, and our proper recognition as the uniquely chosen people of God. It is so easy in abstract discussion to recognize this as arrogant idolatry, but it is not so easy to recognize in the very real terms of our daily lives.

In addition to the law, Paul says that the Jews had been given the Temple of God. Here again the people of God had subverted the intent of God. As early as the time of Moses, the people feared the presence of God. When Moses descended from Mount Sinai, his face was changed from being in the presence of God, and the people could not bear to look upon it. They established Moses as their high priest to intercede with God for them. God gave first the Ark of the Covenant, then the tabernacle, then the temple as a place for God to come and be among the people, but the people used all these as a means to separate God from their daily lives. Though they knew intellectually that God is omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent, spiritually, they limited God’s presence to the temple, so much so that when they were exiled from their land and from the temple, they felt themselves cut off from God. This process of compartmentalizing is also not uniquely Jewish. We all at times act as though we can limit God to some aspect of our lives – that how we behave in church should be different than how we live our lives. When we try to make God smaller, it is difficult for us to rely solely on God’s presence and action in the areas of our lives where we are most at risk.

The Jews also had the special blessing of the patriarchs, the succession of great men of faith, with whom God dealt in a dramatic and inspirational manner, and through whom God earnestly desired to establish an eternal covenant with the people of Israel. God presented Israel with a unique and specific purpose, but the people began to believe that they were chosen because they were special, and not that they were special because they were chosen. We too can become trapped in the thought that our unique relationship with God is an exclusive relationship that sets us apart from all others. We rest in the thought that God is on our side, and forget that we are called to be on the side of God.

Paul is not alone in his anguish over the plight of Israel. Jesus cried out over the people who stoned the prophets, but whom he would gather as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings (Luke 13:34). It is sobering to think that both men were addressing the most deeply religious people of their day: people who had all the advantages offered by God, who studied their scriptures and earnestly sought the will of God for their lives, but who could not see that they had seriously and fundamentally erred in that pursuit.

Children of the Promise

In verses 6-13, Paul begins to revert back to his rhetorical style in previous chapters, wherein he makes some statement, gives his own voice to any possible objection or misinterpretation of that argument, and then refutes any such objection. His concern in this section is that the condition of the Jews might be interpreted not as a failure of man to live up to the purpose of God, but as the failure of God to carry out that purpose in man.

Paul’s immediate defense of this claim is to say that “Not all Israel is Israel” by which he means that not all the natural descendants of Abraham are among the chosen people. He points out that Ishmael, the son of Abraham by Hagar, was excluded from the covenant, and even though he was the twin brother of Jacob, who became Israel, Esau was also excluded. Moreover, the prophets had spoken of Israel being reduced to a small remnant, so that very few of the descendents of Israel would participate in the covenant of God.

Paul goes on to say that the spiritual children of Abraham are the “children of the promise.” Paul is not alone in this thinking. John the Baptist told the religious leaders who cam to his baptism that they should not delude themselves into thinking that they were special simply because they were children of Abraham, because could raise up children of Abraham even from the stones that lay all about them on the ground (Matthew 3:9). Also, the Apostle John says of Jesus that he gave us the right to become children of God – children not of natural descent, either by birth or adoption – but entirely by the will of God (John 1:11-12).

The Potter’s Clay

In verses 14-21, the voice of the objector is back in again in full strength, as Paul states that our salvation is not by any human means, either lineage, desire, or accomplishment, but entirely by the mercy of God, and then asks how we can be held accountable if everything depends on the will of God. Out of context, the verse Paul quotes from Exodus 33:19 may sound as if the will of God is capricious or arbitrary, but in context this statement is one of certain assurance, as it is part of an exchange between Moses and God, wherein Moses repeatedly asks for assurance that the Lord will be with him and the people of Israel on their journey. The Lord assured Moses that he would be with them, and that they would be secure in his compassion and mercy.

Paul’s next analogy can also be disturbing if we take it out of context, as he seems to portray us as inanimate lumps of clay, completely at the mercy of the potter to do with as he will. In context, we know that Paul has consistently represented God as a loving, patient God who bares our failures and our accusations with grace and mercy, but who has a definite plan for or lives – lives which he holds in his loving and capable hands.

Great Patience

Paul’s argument in verses 22-29 is somewhat difficult to follow. He begins by saying that God is willing and capable of showing his justified wrath to those who are prepared for destruction, but goes on to say that God acts with great patience and mercy, so that the objects of his wrath become objects of mercy. The Old Testament quotations in the passage show that even though the people of Israel may dwindle to the smallest of remnants, that remnant will be saved, and that God will call “his people” those who are not his people. Paul applies this latter thought both to the Jews who had rejected the choice of God, and to the Gentiles, whom the Jews had not considered the people of God.

The Stumbling Block

In verses 30-33, Paul clearly states the failure of the Jews and the success of the Gentiles. The Jews pursued righteousness, but depended on themselves to achieve this righteousness through adherence to the law. The Gentiles, in contrast, had not pursued righteousness, but had obtained it, not by any actions of their own, but by faith. Continuing to contrast God’s wrath and mercy, Paul presents Christ, the instrument of our salvation, as the stone that is the “head of the corner”. Those who put their trust in this stone are forever secure, but for many the stone is a stumbling block.

The ways of man are not the ways of God. In this present age we cannot fully understand the mind of God. By the grace of God, we can by faith come to know the love of God. Though God bears with great patience our entanglement in the self-centered logic of this world, there will come a time those who reject the love of God are themselves rejected. Paul’s attitude gives us a model to which we must compare ourselves. Have we become content in our salvation to the exclusion of all others, or have we become the new Israel, a priestly nation through whom all nations will be blessed?

More than Conquerors

2005-11-27T05:58:00.000-08:00

More than Conquerors

Romans 8:28-39

Predestined

If Paul had not already dropped his argumentative tone in favor of eloquent, powerful, inspired rhetoric, he might have once again interrupted himself in the middle of verses 28-30 of Chapter 8 to clear up any confusion there might be over his use of the word “predestined”. As he asked himself previously when discussing the issue of the gift of grace: “Shall we go on sinning, so that grace may increase?” (6:1 NIV) he might now ask how it could matter what we do if we were predestined for the call of God. In fact, is there anything we can do of our own free will if the outcome is predestined?

As we consider this issue of our own free will, we should first note that there is no contradiction at all between the issue of our choice and the fact of God’s foreknowledge. In this world, we understand the issues of cause and effect, and the constant law that the cause must come before the effect. We might ask ourselves, then, if our actions are foreknown, how can they be free, and if they are not free, how can we be held accountable?

In fact, the only conflict there can be between our free will and the foreknowledge of God is manufactured when we try to limit God to the sequential, cause and effect reality of our world. The creator of this world is not limited to the reality of this world. In this world, things come to be and then later are no more. This is not so with God, who always has been, and always will be. God can know our actions before they happen because God exists outside of time. In this world of instant access, where it often seems that nothing, even in the remotest corner of the globe, happens without being recorded and almost instantly disseminated for our consumption, still we have only the vaguest understanding of why events occur and what their impact will be. But what we vaguely understand as cause and effect, before and after, God understands whole and complete. God’s knowledge does not limit our choice; it is only through the love of God that we have any choice at all.

But Paul does not only speak of what God foreknew, he also speaks of what God predestined. Paul also uses this idea of God’s predestination in 1 Corinthians 2:6-9 and in Ephesians 1:3-14. If foreknowledge of God is no threat to our free will, what can we say about this issue of predestination? We must ask ourselves what it is that has been preordained.

Though the love of God is the simplest thing there is, we often understand it as something very complex. Again, this happens when we try to impose our understanding of the way things should happen onto the will of God, or try to impose the logic of this world onto the mind of God. One of the traps we fall into is to think of the Old Testament God as distinct from the New Testament Christ. In contrast to this, we have the witness of Paul, of John, and of Jesus himself.

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is also before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. (Colossians 1:15-20 NIV)

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was the life. And that life was the light of men. (John 1:1-4 NIV)

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me… I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know the Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” (John 14:1, 6-8 NIV)

The love of God made available to us through Jesus Christ has always existed; it is not some bargain that is now available for a limited time. God is not like that. What is beyond time is also beyond change. The provision for our salvation was predestined in the sense that it has always existed and always will. It is this security that Paul refers to when he says “in all things God works for the good of those who love him.” (8:28 NIV) No matter what has happened to us, or what we have done to ourselves, in whatever situation we may find ourselves, God has provided for our salvation through “the Lamb of God, slain from the foundation of the world.” (Revelation 13:8)

Who Is He that Condemns?

Verses 31-34 begin one of the three most recognizable passages in all of Paul’s writing. Together with the “love chapter” of 1 Corinthians and the description of Christ that Paul either wrote or quoted in Philippians (2:5-11) this section of Romans is one of the most often quoted sections of the Pauline letters. These beginning verses of the section are often quoted in the sense of the Might of the Right: with God on our side, we cannot be defeated. But this sense is not the central meaning from Paul, as we can tell from the context. Paul has just been speaking (in verses 26-27) of the way in which the Spirit intercedes for us even when we have no words to pray. Here, he goes further to say that that Jesus is also at the right hand of God interceding for us. Lest we see this picture as one in which a stern, judgmental God is tempered by the influence of the Spirit and of Jesus, who represent us, Paul reminds us that it is God himself who gave us his only son in order that we might be saved.

Paul was an Old Testament scholar, and it is certain that when he used the phrase “He who did not spare his own Son” he was thinking of Abraham and Isaac. Though Abraham was willing to give his son (Genesis 22:15-18) he was not called on to do so. But God himself, without being asked, and while we were still sinners (Romans 5:6-8) gave his only son. Though the judgment of God will fall upon the ungodly at his appointed time, the salvation of God is available at all times. God is not waiting to condemn us, but to redeem us.

If God is for us, who can be against us? It is God who justifies, who is he that condemns? (8:31b, 33b, 34a NIV)

More than Conquerors

There is so much power in the very words of this closing passage of Chapter 8 (verses 35-39) that they are a comfort simply to hear over and over again. As we hear them, we may imagine poor Tertius, the scribe who wrote down the letter (16:22) struggling to keep up and keep his amazement in check as Paul, caught up in the Spirit, paced the floor in front of him, pouring forth the words of his inspiration. There is nothing that any commentary can add to the power of these words. Even so, we might spend a moment considering what Paul means when he says that we are “more than conquerors.”

Certainly, if we consider the list of perils that Paul presents, they are formidable, and if he says that these things cannot separate us from the love of Christ, he does not mean that we will not experience them, but that they cannot overcome the promise of God, which was predestined from the foundation of the earth. Having participated in the death and resurrection of Christ (6:5, 8) the life and death of this world no longer has any claim on us. If God himself does not condemn us, then we have nothing to fear in this world or the next.

But Paul does not say we are conquerors, or even the epitome of conquerors, but that we are more than conquerors. How can this be? We are neither winners nor losers if we do not play the game. Nothing can be taken from us that we give up freely.

For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. (Matthew 16:25 NIV)

I have told you these things so that you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. (John 16:33 NIV)

Sighs too Deep for Words

2005-11-26T08:37:00.000-08:00

Sighs too Deep for Words

Romans 8:15-27

Joint Heirs with Christ

In previous chapters, Paul has used many analogies to describe our condition with respect to the law, our sin, and our redemption from sin. He has used the illustrations of death, marriage, and slavery to describe the Christian’s current relationship to his or her former self. In Chapter 8, Paul speaks, not in analogy, but of our true state, which is that we are children of God. In verses 15-18, Paul uses another analogy as he describes us as having the spirit of “adoption” or of “sonship”, depending on which translation you read. The word used in verse 15 is huiothesia, which literally means to “make as a son”. Both the Jewish and Greek societies were entirely male-dominated and patriarchal, and the idea of adoption only applied in the sense of inheritance, in both material goods and social stature. It is in this spirit that Paul makes the bold claim that we are no longer slaves, but joint heirs with Christ.

Of course, Paul is not the author of this idea. In John, 15:14-17, Jesus tells us that we are no longer servants, but friends if we do as he commands, and his commandment is that we love each other as he has loved us. Also, it was Jesus who taught us to pray, crying out “Abba, Father” (Mark 14:36). Paul was very much a product of both Jewish and Greek patriarchal societies, and his Jewish background forbade that he even speak the name of his God. It is surely the witness of Jesus through the Holy Spirit that taught him to speak of God as a loving parent.

But what is it that Paul speaks of as our inheritance? Certainly, a major part of it is our victory over death, which means victory over all of this life. The writer of Hebrews uses this same line of thought in Chapter 2, verses 10-15, where he says that through the life and death of Jesus, we are all one family, and by his sacrifice, we are no longer slaves to the fear of death.

But to share in his life, we must also share in his suffering. Even for those of us who are quite privileged, this life is not long or easy. But we have already been born again, as Peter says in 1 Peter 1:23-25. The things of this world are not permanent, but the promise of God has no beginning or end.

Pains of Childbirth

Though his most eloquent words are later in the chapter, in verses 18-25, Paul has dropped all his argumentative, doctrinal discourse and speaks in flowing words of praise and adoration, but these are not empty words, and though they are uplifting words by their very sound and spirit, they also hold truths to be carefully considered.

It is said that J. R. R. Tolkien helped convert C. S. Lewis to Christianity. Both men were great lovers of myth, and it is said that in their pre-conversion discussion, Lewis remarked that that the stories of the Bible were myths like any other. Tolkien is supposed to have replied, “Yes, except that they are true.”

It is in that sense of “true myth” that the stories in Genesis teach us of the plan of God, the choice of the human race, and the effect that this choice had on all creation. After Adam and Eve sinned, and God confronted Adam with his sin, Adam replied “The woman you put here with me – she gave me some fruit of the tree and I ate it.” (Genesis 3:12 NIV) If we can imagine Adam standing as he said this, with one finger pointed towards God and the other to his wife, we get a picture of the fallen relationships that result from sin, relationship with each other and with God.

But the story goes further. In verses 17-19, God tells Adam that all of creation is cursed because of man’s sin. It is this idea that Paul is thinking of when he says that all of creation awaits the day when it will be “liberated from bondage and decay.” The Greek word Paul uses for “creation” is ktisis, and this is the same word that Jesus used when he commissioned us to “Go into all the world and preach the good news to the whole creation.” (Mark 16:15 RSV) Certainly, this means that every kind of human being is included, but we must remember that we serve a God who looked at all of creation and said that it was good (Genesis 1:31) and who loved the world (Greek kosmos) so much that he gave his only son, that the world, through him, might be saved. (John 3:16-17)

Hope

But it is not only creation that waits this day, but we ourselves. Paul says we have the “firstfruits” of the Spirit, meaning that what we have now is just the beginning of what we will see in the latter day, the day for which we hope. In perhaps his most memorable passage, quoted even by non-believers, Paul speaks of that day.

Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love, and the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:12-13 NIV)

In our everyday conversation, the word “hope” is very weak. We hope for things that we fear will not come to be. We hope because we are uncertain. It was not so for Paul. Earlier, in Chapter 5, verses 1-5, Paul goes from faith to hope, a hope that will not disappoint. Faith is proof. It is not scientific proof that can be reproduced in a laboratory. It is personal proof. We have faith in the present, because God poured out his love into our hearts. We have hope for our very certain future, when we shall see face to face, and know fully, as we are already fully known.

Sighs too Deep for Words

In the mean time we have the comfort of the Holy Spirit. When Jesus promised the coming of the Holy Spirit, he spoke of the Spirit as “another Counselor” (John 14:16) meaning that the Spirit would be a counselor like himself. Indeed, just as Jesus and the Father were one, so it is with Jesus and the Holy Spirit, for Jesus goes on to say “I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you.” (John 14:18) In verses 26 & 27, Paul speaks of the work of this Counselor – one whose mind is known to God, and who knows our hearts and minds – who helps us in our weakness. There are many aspects of human frailty, but what Paul speaks of is our inability, at times, even to tell our loving God what it is we need. There are many times that we can do no more than cry “Abba, Father,” and sometimes we fail even that. In those times, the Spirit intercedes for us, with “sighs too deep for words”.

The Spirit of Life

2005-11-26T08:28:00.000-08:00

The Spirit of Life

Romans 8:1-14

Therefore

Paul begins Chapter 8 with the Greek word ara, which is translated here as “therefore”, indicting yet another conclusion drawn during his extended argument in which he has at times taken both sides, the side of the Gospel on one hand and the side of various objectors on the other. If we look at the “road” behind us we can see the highlights of the argument so far.

Paul has said that the glory of God is no secret, as it is made known through all creation, and because of this we are all without excuse (1:19-20). This is not just a matter of whether or not we are ignorant, but in fact we are all sinners (3:23). Despite the fact that we are sinners, God loves us, and gave his son to die for us (5:8). Though we deserve death, not simply physical death, but eternal separation from God, instead we have been the free gift of life in Christ (6:23).

As he has made these and other arguments, Paul has continually inserted the voice of one challenging or misunderstanding his statements, and he has spent a great deal of energy in trying to clear up misunderstandings about the law in particular. And, indeed, Paul says many things about the law that are easy to misunderstand. We must always remember that what Paul has to say about the law, he says in the context of salvation. The law is not a means to salvation, and was never intended to be. We are saved by the grace of God and no amount of dedication to the law, or anything else that we ourselves attempt to do, can save us.

Paul concludes the previous chapter with a confession that is a summary of the human condition:

So, then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. (7:25b)

Spirit and Flesh

It is this statement that is most directly addressed by Paul’s “therefore” in verses 1-8. If we want in our minds to obey God’s law, but are prevented by our very nature, what is our condition? How can we be saved? Paul also asks this question at the end of Chapter 7: “Who will rescue me from this body of death?” (7:24b)

We may be “wretched”, we may be sinners, and we may think of ourselves as worthless and irredeemable, but we are not condemned by God. How is this possible? Paul says it is because of another kind of law, the law of the Spirit. While the “law of sin” brings death, the law of the Spirit brings life.

In this passage, Paul contrasts the idea of the Spirit with the idea of “the flesh”, as his words are correctly translated by the KJV. In the NIV, it is most often translated as “sinful nature”. This is to try to convey the meaning of Paul’s use of the word, which is to express an idea of the worldly, self-centered nature of man without God. In verse 5, he says that those who live “by the flesh” have their minds occupied by the appetites of nature. Now, we have to be careful in interpreting what Paul says here in complete context. Paul has addressed many possible traps in our thinking, and one of them is to view nature, including our nature, as irredeemably corrupt: it does not matter what we do, because we are only human, and therefore corrupt by our very nature. Paul himself says in verse 8: “Those controlled by their sinful nature cannot please God.”

Paul, however, did not see humanity as worthless, nor, to our great advantage, does God.

The Obligation

In verses 9-14, Paul says there is an option. We do have a choice. There is a way for us to please God. We do not have to be controlled by the appetites of this world. We can, instead, be lead by the Spirit. Where our efforts apart from God lead us to death, the Spirit gives us life. Paul cannot mean mere physical life and death. We will all die. Paul is talking about something else, something that surpasses our life and overcomes our death. He calls this the Spirit of Life.

And, we have an obligation, Paul says, which is not to this life. In fact, we have an obligation to lay down this life.

Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. (Matthew 10:37-39 NIV)

What does it mean? How, on the one hand can Paul say that we are sinners by nature, and on the other that we must be led by the Spirit? If it is our nature to sin, how can we follow the Spirit? And what can Christ mean when he says that we must lose our lives in order to find them?

There may be many ways to address this question, but Paul has been struggling to show that it matters how we live our lives. Separate from God (“in the flesh,” as Paul puts it) we are self-centered pagans; our lives mean nothing because we can achieve nothing. We can struggle all we want against nature, but nature will ultimately win. We can achieve all the wealth we want, but we will lose it. We can build buildings, write songs, dream dreams, but it will all be for nothing.

Children of God

But we have another option. We can become children of God. If we are as hopeless as Paul has described us, why would God have us as his children? If we have no value in this world, why would God, in the form of Christ, give himself to save us?

The answer is not to be found in us, or anywhere in this world. Our value comes from the love of God. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with our nature, with the way we were made, but we were not made to live apart from God.

Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations. (Psalm 100:3-5)

The Law of Sin

2005-11-26T08:19:00.000-08:00

The Law of Sin

Romans Chapter 7

The Spirit and the Letter

Chapter 7 is an important transitional chapter for Paul’s ongoing argument of the status of the law. The argument actually concludes in Chapter 8, but it is Chapter 7 that shifts the focus from the status of the law (and, as a result of that, our status with respect to the law) to a focus on us as individuals, and our status with respect to the righteousness of God.

To begin the chapter, in verses 1-6, Paul uses yet another human analogy to describe our status with respect to the law. Jewish society was unquestioningly patriarchal. By the time of Jesus and Paul, the clause of the Mosaic Law which concerned divorce (Deuteronomy 24:1) was taken very literally to say that a man could divorce his wife for any reason and without any intervention. All he was required to do was to give her a bill of divorce. There was, however, no provision (other than death) that would allow a woman to separate herself from her husband. As long as they both were alive, she was bound to him to serve him.

Paul, in a twist on this analogy, says that we are no longer bound to the law, not because the law has died, or because the law has released us, but because we ourselves have died to the law. This idea that we have died to the law, having participated in the death of Christ, has already been established in Chapter 6 (see, especially, 6:8-10) and this analogy of a woman, completely liberated from her former attachment to her husband, is presented here as further argument for our current status. We are no longer bound to the law, but instead bound to God through faith in his Christ.

Of course, we must always remember to take Paul’s attitude toward the law in context. When speaking of the effectiveness or applicability of the law, Paul is always referring to the law as it applies to salvation. Paul’s final word (in Romans) on the ultimate value of the law will be found in the coming verses. Here, he speaks of the “sinful passions aroused by the law” that we experienced in our former, sinful nature. Paul refers to this former nature as “the flesh” or the work of our “members”, that is, our bodies. As he has used so many other terms metaphorically (slavery, circumcision, baptism, etc.) so he does with this idea of the flesh. It is not simply the literal appetites of the flesh that Paul refers to, but that within us that desires the things of this world rather than the things of God.

In a first glimpse of an idea that he will develop in Chapter 8, Paul here says we are released from the law in order to serve “in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.” It is this idea of serving the spirit of the law, rather than the letter that Christ preached in the Sermon on the Mount. When he said “You have heard that is was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth,’” (Matthew 5:38) Jesus was referring to the idea of fair reciprocity that is advocated in Exodus 21:24, Leviticus 24:20, and Deuteronomy 19:21. But Jesus calls us to a righteousness that “surpasses that of the Pharisees” (Matthew 5:20). The Pharisees religiously followed a strict, literal, interpretation of the law, but Jesus calls us to follow a higher, Spirit-led, interpretation. Though Paul appropriately says we are liberated by this interpretation, this liberation only applies to the sentence of death provided by the law. Though the law no longer applies to every detail of our outward appearance and action, the interpretation of the law that Jesus gave us applies to our inward attitudes and prejudices as the source of our outward behavior.

Is the Law Sin?

Still worrying about the possible misinterpretation of his words, Paul again in verses 7-13 takes on the role of the dissenter to his argument, and asks the rhetorical question “Is the law sin?” The immediate answer is “Certainly not!” Far from it, Paul says the law is holy. Actually, he says that both the law and the commandment are holy. It is not certain what Paul refers to when he makes this distinction, but it is possible that he refers to both the Ten Commandments on the one hand, and the broader collection of Mosaic Law, and perhaps including the Rabbinical tradition on the other. In any case, though one could interpret Paul’s earlier statements to indicate a failure in the law, here he makes the positive aspect of the law clear: the law was given “in order that sin might be recognized as sin.” In other words, the law provides instruction on righteous living, but is not itself a means to righteousness.

The rest of Paul’s argument in this passage is harder to follow. He speaks of having been alive apart from the law, which may refer to the sate in which we all exist before we know right from wrong, and then of the our state once we are aware of the law, which is that sin sprang into life and we died. Once we are aware of the law, we become subject to the judgment of the law, and we are as good as dead; no amount of adherence to the law will make us righteous. Righteousness cannot be achieved, but it is freely given.

The Law of Sin

In verses 14-25, Paul drops his former theological argument concerning our state in relation to the law, and instead presents a very personal account of our state as sinful creatures of a righteous God. It is a very powerful personally testimony, but in order to understand it fully, we must first consider Paul’s apparent separation of mind and body, desire and action, or what he refers to as himself verses the sin which lives within him.

As we have considered previously, when Paul refers to the body or the flesh, he is speaking metaphorically of that within us which desires the things of this world. Here, when Paul speaks of the body as apposed to the mind, or the sin living within him that separates his desire from his actions, Paul is not introducing a theology of dualism that would separate our actions or our physical bodies from our spiritual life and obligations. Instead, he is trying to address the question of how we, having been freed from sin, continue to lead sinful lives. In this respect, he is not saying anything any different from what he has said about law and salvation: no matter how much we desire it, we cannot attain righteousness; it is only available by grace.

This, Paul says, is the law of sin. God’s law is good, but by ourselves we will never attain it. Whatever we attempt on our own, however noble the attempt might be, we are still putting ourselves first and supplanting the grace of God. What then can we do? We can give thanks to God for Jesus Christ, who will rescue us from the law of sin and the body of death.

Slave or Free?

2005-10-30T05:16:00.000-08:00

Slave or Free?

Romans 6:15-23

The Troubling Question

As he has earlier in Chapter 6 (verse 1) and still earlier in Chapter 3 Paul again in verses 15-18 asks if we may continue to sin, since we are, as he has said, free from the law and under grace. The question must be an important one, or Paul would not have placed so much importance on it. Why was it so important? In his first reference to it (Chapter 3, verse 8) Paul says that he has been “slanderously quoted” and some claimed that this was, in fact, what he was saying. We can easily see why this is so. On the one hand, Paul was saying to the Jews that they were, in fact, free from the interpretation of the law that they had lived with all their lives. It is difficult for us who have not lived under that interpretation to understand what a burden the law was to them. It told them in detail how to dress, how to eat, how to worship. In fact, it controlled nearly every detail of their lives from the time they were born until their death, and even included the details of how their bodies should be prepared after death. To be free from such a law must have been very liberating, indeed.

From the Greek perspective, what Paul seemed had to say about this life and the next must have fit well into their philosophy of dualism, which had been interpreted to say that this life is not real, but only a projection of reality. In Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, he likened our interaction with the world around us to those seeing shadows on a cave wall. We can only experience the table in front of us through our perceptions; we cannot experience the table itself. Further, the table itself is not real, but an example of the idea of “table”. Paul himself is very clear that there is nothing in this life that we can do to obtain the next life. What, then, does it matter what we do in this life?

In our modern times, in Evangelic churches, we have the great promise of John 3:16 and we stress that time of conversion as the turning point in a Christian’s life; but after that, then what? Are we to go on sinning, as Paul rhetorically asks? How should our belief affect our actions?

Slaves to Righteousness

Paul uses slavery as a metaphor both for our former condition and for our current situation. Again, in modern times we are not used to the idea of slavery, but it was predominant in the time of Paul. In the Roman world, a slave was considered a living tool, completely at the mercy of the slave owner. Some were slaves because of their birth, being of a certain class or race, still others were slaves as the result of political upheaval, when own country was completely overtaken by another. But when Paul says “you offer yourselves to someone” he was talking about yet another form of slavery, one in which, for financial reasons, a person would sell himself into slavery, more or less of his own choosing.

Paul says we had offered ourselves as slaves to sin, but we have become slaves to righteousness. Paul makes it clear that the change is due to our own choice (if not to our accomplishment) when he says that we “wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which [we] were entrusted.” It is important to note that it is we who have been entrusted to the teaching, and not the reverse. Paul had been a Pharisee, a Jew of Jews, and as such had been entrusted with a complex oral tradition of law that the Pharisee was expected to keep and pass on to those that follow.

The words of Jesus our not ours, they are not entrusted to us. Though heaven and earth may pass away, the words of Jesus will remain (Luke 21:33). The word of God is not entrusted to us, but we have been entrusted to the Word. (John 1:1-5)

The Wages of Sin

In verses 19-25, Paul continues, as he says, “using human terms” in his metaphor of slavery. Paul says that he uses this metaphor because we “are weak in [our] natural selves,” or, as the RSV puts it, because of our “natural limitations.” This may mean that he is using an imperfect example because of our inability to understand, or that he is using the example of bodily enslavement because of the “weakness of [our] flesh” as the NKJV says.

Paul adds two thoughts to his metaphor in this passage. First, he says that our slavery to sin was “ever increasing,” indicating that sin leads to more sin. The appetites of our worldly existence are never satiated, because what we want we cannot achieve. In contrast, Paul says we are now slaves to righteousness, and we have the promise of our Lord that, in contrast to our earthly desires, those who hunger and thirst after righteousness will be filled (Matthew 5:6). So, Paul contrasts the fruit of wickedness, which is more wickedness, to the result of righteousness, which he says “leads to holiness”, the result of which is eternal life.

The RSV calls this process that leads to holiness “sanctification” and the nature of this word has the feel (so I am told) of the original Greek. The word “sanctify” means to make holy and the compound suffix “-ification” indicates a process. The word “sanctification” is from the Latin. The original Greek is hagiasmos, and the ending asmos is indicative of a process. We do not in, any sense of the world, “achieve” holiness. We are undergoing the process of sanctification, as God makes us holy.

The second idea that Paul introduces in this passage is the idea of the “wages” and the “gift”. There is, as is often the case, something lost in the translation from the Greek. The word Paul uses that is translated “wages” is a word for a soldier’s pay, in salary, rations, or other benefits. In contrast, the word which is translated “gift” is charisma. We know that word in a different sense, but the Latin donatovum is more familiar: it is the source of our word “donation”. On special occasions, the emperor would give a “gift” to the army that was totally unearned, and it is this word for “gift” that Paul uses. Paul is saying that all we can achieve through our own endeavor is death, but we have been given the completely unearned gift of eternal life in Christ.

Slave or Free?

Paul is somewhat apologetic of his use of slavery as a metaphor, but it is certainly a Biblical idea. Christ tells us “No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and despise the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and wealth.” (Luke 16:13) We are perhaps more familiar with the KJV “You cannot serve both God and mammon.” This word “mammon” is the Greek adoption of an Aramaic word, and it means wealth, not in the sense of some amount of wealth, but in the sense of wealth personified, that is, it means the whole idea of wealth.

Before Paul used the analogy of slavery Jesus used very similar words. In John 8:34-36, Jesus says that whoever commits sin is a servant of sin. How then can we be free? We can be free if the Son makes us free. Paul wants us to consider what this means for our daily living, and says that we should be slaves to righteousness, submitting ourselves to the process of sanctification. Jesus says that we must “hold to” or “continue in” His teaching. “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32)

Shall We Go on Sinning?

2005-10-23T06:07:00.000-07:00

Shall We Go on Sinning?

Romans 6:1-14

What Shall We Say, Then?

In Chapter 6, Paul returns to the present to consider how the gift of God should change our lives. In verses 1-4, he presents an option we are supposed to recognize as ridiculous, when he asks if we should go on sinning. He is back to arguing both sides of the case, when he suggests that we should continue in sin, so that grace may continue. Paul calls on the symbolism of baptism to say that we have followed Christ in his death and resurrection, raised to a news life, so that our former ways must end.

The idea is a preposterous one, of course, and one we would we would not consider today. We would not, for example, think that we can continue to live as we like, as long as we come to church on Sunday – most Sundays, anyway. We would not believe that we can compartmentalize our lives between the sacred and the secular, and think that what we do in the one has no effect on the other. We would not seek gain for ourselves at the cost of the poor and oppressed. Or would we?

The Body of Sin

In verses 5-7, Paul goes on to say that we are free from sin, because our old self is dead. But is that the way it seems? Does it feel like we are free from sin, or that sin still has a hold over us? Is there something wrong with those of us who still feel captive to sin? In the next chapter, we will read that Paul himself remained a slave to sin, “What I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” (7:14b) So how can he say we are free from sin?

When Paul says that we are dead to sin, he did not mean that we will never sin again, but that we are free from the obligation of sin. We have been raised to a new life, and Paul is clear that this new life should be different from our old life. How can the new life be different if we still sin? The first difference is that we know we are sinners. This knowledge must change our lives, but the change is in what we desire, and not what we achieve.

Death no Longer Has Mastery

We must remember, in reading verses 8-10, that when Paul says “we believe that we will also live with him” he is not making some weaker statement than when he says we known that Christ was raised from the dead. As we have seen, the English words “believe” and “faith” are both translated from the same Greek root, as the verb form and the noun form, respectively. When he says we believe this and we know that, he is not talking about something we are still skeptical of, that might be true and might not, but something we know by faith to be true and certain.

Later on, Paul will tell us that “the wages of sin is death.” (6:23a) Here, Paul says Christ paid that debt for us that we might be saved from death. This is a promise for the future, when we will follow our Lord through death into the eternal presence of God, but it is also a promise for the present, for eternity has already begun, and we have begun our eternal life in Christ. The life we once lived, we lived to sin, now we must live to God.

Instruments of Righteousness

The transition in verses 11-14 is characteristic of Paul. He can speak of lofty things; he can make strict, legal arguments, and then transition to simple, practical things. In this passage he gets down to basics: we must not let our bodies rule over us. If this immediately makes us think sins of a sexual nature, then Paul was right to admonish us, if that is where our minds are. But the body also wants food and comfort and security, and what it wants, it wants in excess. More is always better, where the body is concerned.

But Paul is not alone in the idea that we must die to self and control the appetite of our mortal bodies. In Matthew 16:24-26, the Lord himself tells us that we must each take up our cross and follow him. “What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?”

Paul exhorts us to offer our bodies as instruments of righteousness. How can the very instruments of wickedness become instruments of righteousness? In the same way that we mere humans can become children of God. It is his doing, and not ours.

The Gift Is not like the Trespass

2005-10-22T16:43:00.000-07:00

The Gift Is not like the Trespass

Romans 5:12-21

Death through Sin

In this later half of Chapter 5, Paul deals with the theological issues of sin, death, grace, the role of the law, and the role of Christ. In studying this passage, we will find Paul’s general argument much easier to follow that his specific statements.

The difficulty in following Paul’s specific statements begins with the problem of simply understanding his grammar. If we look at verses 12-14, we see that Paul begins with one thought in verse 12, but does not quite complete it. He starts to tell us that sin, and through sin, death came into the world through Adam, but he begins this in a comparative way and never finished the comparison. The KJV treats all of verses 13-17 as a long, parenthetical thought. The NIV treats verse 12 simply as an unfinished sentence. However it is treated grammatically, Paul begins to make a comparison between Adam and Jesus, but follows another thought about the role of the law.

But what is it, exactly, that he says about the law? Before the law, he says, there was sin. But he seems to say that this sins did not matter, because there was no law, so sinners could not be held accountable. Nonetheless, everyone died, even those who did not “sin by breaking a command.” We could understand this as an argument based on the concept of “Original Sin”. In this idea, we are all sinners by nature, having inherited the sin from Adam (though, curiously, not from Eve).

Certainly, the story of the original sin (Genesis 3) tells us that sin changed the world. With the fall of man, all of nature fell. But did all humans inherit sin from Adam? The story of Cain and Able tells us that we sin by choice. In Genesis 4:7, the Lord says to Cain that he will be accepted if he does what is right. This implies that Cain knew what was right and would be held accountable for doing wrong, even though the law had not yet been given.

In fact, Paul himself has made this same claim for the Gentiles (Romans 2:14-16) who, he says, had the law written on their hearts. So how can he now say that the world was ignorant, and therefore not to be held accountable, before the law? We can address this question in different ways. The first, as has already been mentioned, is the idea of Original Sin, which says that we inherit Adam’s sin even if we do not sin ourselves. Again, this argument seems contrary to Paul’s statements here and previously (Romans 3:23) that we have all sinned.

We can also address the question by carefully parsing what Paul says. He says that all have sinned, and mentions “those who did not sin by breaking a command.” How could they break a command, if the commandments had not been given? So, perhaps he is speaking of those who sinned, but not by breaking the commands we know today.

Finally, we can address the question by remembering that when Paul, a Pharisee, speaks of the law, he means something quite specific and detailed. The Pharisees ritually observed a tradition of written and oral law, the extent of which is hard for modern Gentiles to understand. That law would certainly not be known to the Gentiles or to those who came before Moses, and those who did not know it could not be culpable for breaking it.

But, all of this is beside Paul’s main point, which is that sin brings death.

The Gift Is not like the Trespass

In verses 15-17, Paul goes on to contrast the gift of righteousness with the trespass of sin. The gift, he says, is not like the trespass. Here, we must understand that Paul is taking some poetic license when he says that “judgment followed one sin.” Paul was a careful student of scripture, and he knew that, in the garden, God found both Adam and Eve guilty of sin, and passed his judgment on the both of them. But Paul wants to compare the judgment that came through Adam (a symbol of the human race) to the redemption that comes through Christ.

“The gift is not like the trespass,” Paul says. Judgment comes as the result of the action of man but the gift is freely given. The trespass brings death, the gift brings life. There have been many trespasses, but the gift overflows to many.

One Man

In verses 18-19, Paul continues his comparison of Adam and Christ. This comparison is made more clearly and famously in 1 Corinthians 15:21-22: “As in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.” This is the same statement that Paul makes here: “For just as through the disobedience of the one man all were made sinners, so also through the obedience of one man the many will be made righteous.”

Again, we must be careful to understand Paul’s metaphoric usage of Adam. When he says we were all made sinners through his sin, does he mean that we would not be sinners if he did not sin? I know myself to be a sinner. If all humanity remained sinless before me, I would be Paul’s Adam. Like Adam, we are all subject to judgment for our sins. Through Christ, we are freed from that judgment.

Life through Grace

In the last verses of the chapter (verses 20-21) Paul returns to the law, saying that the law increases the trespass. Again, we must remember what the law meant to Paul. First, it had become an enormous burden, more than just a way of relating to God and each other, it had become a religion. Second, no matter how complete the law might become, or how carefully it might be followed, it is not the way to salvation – it will always show us as sinners, and the wages of sin is death. We only find life through grace.

While We Were still Sinners

2005-10-09T05:55:00.000-07:00

While We Were still Sinners

Romans 5:1-11

Peace with God

Prior to Chapter 5, Paul has stated that, because of our unrighteousness, we are all subject to the wrath of God, but that, through faith in God, we can be made righteous and therefore escape that wrath. In verses 1-2, Paul goes on to say that, not only will we escape wrath, but we will be at peace with God.

As recorded in the Gospel of John, before Jesus is arrested, the last word of encouragement he has for his disciples is a wish that they might have peace. (John 16:33) He says that they can have peace, even though the world provides tribulation. Peace means more than an absence of hostility; it means security and safety. Paul says we stand in grace. The love of God is no fickle thing that is offered to us one day and withheld the next. Through the grace of God we have true security that this world cannot provide.

Hope

In verses 3-5, Paul goes on from faith to hope. Faith is fulfilled in the present; hope will be fulfilled in the future. Paul says that even our suffering leads to hope, and hope will not disappoint, but that is not our everyday experience. We have hopes for better health, for more money, for an easier life, and we are often disappointed.

Our experience with God is different from our experience with this world, because our experience with God is based on the love of God. Paul, speaking directly about the love of God for the first time in Romans, says that it is “poured out” into our hearts. The word Paul uses here is the same world Christ used at the last supper, when he said “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.” (Luke 22:20) This is the measure of God’s love, that he would sacrifice himself for us. We can place our hope in that love and never be disappointed.

While We Were still Sinners

In verses 6-8, Paul speaks directly of this sacrifice. He says that it happened at just the right time, while we were still powerless. The word that is translated as “powerless” also means “feeble” or “sick”. So, Paul at first says that God gave himself while we were not the whole, well beings we should be, and then later states plainly that it was while we were still sinners. We had no ability to help ourselves, and we were undeserving, but Christ gave his life for us, anyway. Who would do that? Paul says no one would do it. Somebody, he says, might give their life for someone special, but no one would do it for a powerless sinner. But God did.

Joy

In verses 9-11, Paul goes further to say that, in our former state, we were enemies of God. We were made in God’s image, and with the law written on our hearts. We knew right and wrong and we chose the latter. While we were doing that, God reconciled us to him. We were enemies of God by our choice; we are children of God by his choice.

Paul says we are not only reconciled, but we are saved. The word translated “saved” here is the same word that is used to mean “healed”. So, Paul says we were sick, and we have been made whole.

Because of this, Paul says we rejoice. As we struggle in this world it is easy to forget this joy. In this world, even for those of us who lead very comfortable lives, even happiness is rare, and true joy is just not to be found. But our hope is in the glory of God. Whatever happens in this life, that hope will not let us down.

Credited as Righteousness

2005-10-02T06:08:00.000-07:00

Credited as Righteousness

Romans Chapter 4

The Covenant with Abraham

Having already stated that righteousness comes through faith in Jesus Christ, in Chapter 4, Paul provides the Old Testament roots of this New Testament idea.

In verses 1-3, Paul begins with Abraham, who, technically, at the time of this reference, was “Abram”. The story is in Genesis 15:1-6, where God first established a covenant with Abram. God told Abram his offspring would be as the stars in the sky. Abram believed God, and this belief was credited to him as righteousness.

As this statement is the basis of the chapter, we must carefully consider what it means. First, we must remember that, as used in this chapter, the words “faith” and “believe” are the same. While we do have the idea of “faith” in a totally abstract sense, as in “Baptist”, “Catholic”, etc. and of “beliefs” as tenets of such faith, that is not how the words are used here. Instead, “believe” is the verb form, and “faith” is the noun form of the same notion. “Faith” is the act of believing.

So, we have the two words defined in relation to each other, but what does “faith” mean? What does it mean “to believe”? The writer of Hebrews provides us with an elegant definition: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1) Paul also provides us with a definition later in this chapter. For now, let us consider that faith is personal proof. In this day of the scientific method, proof is something that is repeatable and observable. Faith is not scientific, it is personal, but it is proof, nonetheless.

And then there is the word “righteous”. It means to be morally just. We know that no one is just but God. The scripture says because Abram believed God, he was treated as though he were righteous.

Right there in the first book of the Old Testament we find God, with very New Testament ideas.

The Covenant with David

In verses 4-8, Paul brings David into the discussion. The passage that Paul quotes gives us a definition of what “credited as righteousness” means. David says that it means our sins are forgiven, covered up, and will never count against us.

Like Abram, the Lord made a covenant with David. The account is recorded in 2 Samuel 7. David wanted to build a temple for the Lord, but the Lord said he could not. Even though David’s sins were forgiven, he was not the man the Lord wanted to build his temple. Instead, the Lord promised David that his house and kingdom would endure forever. Even though David could not have foreseen how this promise would come true, He did believe the promise.

Circumcision

Paul returns to the topic of Abram/Abraham in verses 9-12, where Paul questions the role of circumcision. The question Paul asks is whether Abram was credited with righteousness before he was circumcised and became Abraham. The story of the institution of circumcision is given in Genesis 17. What the devout Jew noted about this scripture is in 17:14, where it says that any uncircumcised male has broken the covenant. What Paul wanted us to note is that this story comes after the covenant story. In 17:2 God says that it is in confirmation of the covenant, and in 17:11 that circumcision is only sign of the covenant. The question of circumcision meant more to Paul and his audience than it does to us today, but it is a part of his argument, so we must bear it in mind.

The Covenant with Moses

In verses 13-15, Paul again returns to the question of the law. There are two things we must note. First, Paul does not use the same “which came first” argument about the law as he did with circumcision. There are two reasons for this. First, Paul has already given it up, as he has said that even the gentiles have the law written on their hearts (2:15) that is, God’s law is a part of our nature as creatures of God created in God’s image. Second, the Jewish scholars would not have bought it, because they made the same sort of claim for Abraham. Since the law was so important, they wondered how Abraham and the rest of the patriarchs could have kept the law, and they came up with the idea that they had foreknowledge of the law.

The next thing we must note is that Paul seems to be completely dismissing the law, or even saying that the law is hostile to us. We must consider that Paul is only discussing the law in relationship to justification, that is, he is dismissing the law as a method of salvation. Put yet another way, he is dismissing the law as basis for a relationship with God.

The law was given as covenant with the people through Moses. There are two accounts of this covenant. In Deuteronomy, it is clear that the law is to be kept as part of a loving relationship with God (Deuteronomy 6:4-9). In Exodus, it is clear that the covenant was to lead the Israelites to be priests to the nations of the world (Exodus 19:5-6). If it was easier for the people to hold on to their special relationship to God than to be priests to other nations, and easier to write the law on their doorposts than their hearts, who can blame them?

Our Father Abraham

Everything is possible through God, Paul says in verses 16-17. It is God who “calls things that are not as though they were.” Paul says that Abraham was the first person of record to receive righteousness through faith, and as such he us the father of us all.

The New Covenant

In verses 18-25, Paul gives us a definition of faith. He says that though Abraham and Sarah were too old to expect children, Abraham was “fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.” Abraham, Moses, and David were great men through whom God accomplished great things, but they were only men, and they could not achieve righteousness through their actions. They were men of faith. Was their faith greater than ours? When God made his covenant with Abram, Abram’s first question was “How can I know?” (Genesis 15:8)

God is eager to make a covenant with each of us. Not a covenant of circumcision, or of law, but a new covenant through the blood of his son, Jesus. (Luke 22:20) If we believe in him, it will be credited to us as righteousness; our sins will be forgiven, covered up, and will never count against us.

Righteousness through Faith

2005-09-25T05:52:00.000-07:00

Righteousness through Faith

Romans Chapter 3

Faithfulness

Paul’s literary style in Chapter 3 is a bit difficult to follow, as he raises question after question and supplies his own answers, sometimes supplying answers that he intends for us to understand are obviously wrong.

In verses 1-4, Paul begins with the question of faithfulness, and asks if our unfaithfulness with nullify God’s faithfulness. Why would such a question even occur to Paul? How could our actions have any affect on the actions of God? In this section, Paul is arguing the importance of the law, and we read in Deuteronomy 5:1-3 that the law was given to the people as a part of their covenant relationship with God. Paul reasonably asks would happen if the people were not faithful to the covenant relationship.

Paul was a good Old Testament scholar. He knew that the people could break the covenant, and that they would suffer for it, but that God would remain faithful. As God told the people through the prophet Jeremiah: “I have loved you with an everlasting love.” (Jeremiah 31:3)

Let Us Do Evil that Good May Result

In verses 5-8, Paul asks a very difficult question. If God is always willing to forgive us (That is God’s nature) and we are always in need of forgiveness (that is our nature) how can God judge us? Are we not doing God a favor by giving him an opportunity to do good?

We have many ways of justifying ourselves. We say that we are choosing the lesser of two evils. We say that we are making the best of a bad situation. We say that the end justifies the means. They are all ways of trying to make the wrong thing look right.

Not Righteous

In verses 9-20, Paul uses a rabbinic technique called “stringing pearls”, quoting passage after passage to underscore his point that no one can achieve righteousness. We know that the law was given as a part of the covenant relationship with God, to show us how to live. Paul says that the law makes us conscious of our inadequacies. There is no way we can live up to the law.

Again, we have to ask the question how God can judge us. If we are made to fail, how can we be held accountable?

Righteousness through Faith

In verses 21-31, Paul responds to the justice of this situation. Though we have never been able to obtain righteousness, righteousness has been granted to us. Paul says we have nothing to boast about, because it is not our doing: this righteousness is nothing we can achieve, and we must remember that, because we try to make faith a work of its own. We make faith a thing to be achieved, measured, and compared among the saints. But though our faith is necessary, it is not an act, or a work, but a surrender. Our righteousness is achieved, not by our actions, but by the grace of God.

This is God’s justice, that though we do not appear worthy, God makes us worthy. Though we were made in such a way that we could not achieve perfection, we were made to be perfect.

Circumcision of the Heart

2005-09-18T06:10:00.000-07:00

Circumcision of the Heart

Romans Chapter 2

Judge Not

Having just taken the Greeks to task in the previous chapter, Paul begins Chapter 2, in verses 1-4, by saying that the Jews have no right to judge. First, he said, the Jews were no better behaved than the Greeks. Considering the impressive catalog of immorality Paul attributed to the Greeks in 1:26-32, this must have had the Jews frothing at the mouth. Probably, they loudly objected, demanding to know how Paul dared to say they had behaved like these amoral Greeks.

I do not know what their actual behavior was, perhaps they were good people, but Jesus had already explained that the rules for keeping score were not what they had been thinking. The scribes and Pharisees brought Jesus a woman caught “in the very act” of adultery, and continually pestered Jesus, saying that the law required her to be stoned. Jesus, famously replied “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her” and they all went away, one by one (John 8:4-11). What were there sins? Maybe they had already heard Jesus say: “You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:27-28) Jesus told them that the commandments are not for accusing one another, but that they are about how we feel as well as act towards one another.

Paul goes on to say that only God’s judgment is righteous, and we, who are subject to his righteousness, have instead been shown kindness. If we do not extend kindness, tolerance, and patience to others, then Paul says we show contempt for the kindness God shows to us.

Doing Good

In verses 5-11, Paul continues with his theme of equality of Jew and Gentile, but along the way he touches on another subject that is worth close attention. Let us begin by noticing that the passage is filled with Old Testament terminology. Even the term “repent” in New Testament times (which I suppose extend to our day) has largely been replaced. In our day we have the great promise that “whosoever believeth” shall be saved, and so we have a general call to belief, instead of a call to repentance. Why then, does Paul call us to repentance, and to a life of good works?

We do have that great promise of salvation, and it can never fail, and can never be taken away from us. The same Christ though whom that great promise was made gave us very clear statements about the living of our lives. There are a handful of them, and they are all very similar.

Do to others as you would have them do to you. (Luke 6:31)

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. The second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40

A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. (John 13:34).

So, Jesus had very definite ideas about how we are to live our lives. Is it a part of salvation, or a separate thing? We are saved by faith, but Paul and James want to know if faith can be separated from works. The question is an interesting bookend to Christ’s interpretation of the commandments. If I can break the command against murder, for example, by keeping hate in my heart, can I keep the commandment to love my neighbor only in my heart? If I see my neighbor sick, or in prison, or in poverty, can I simply feel love in my heart, where Jesus says the commandments must be kept, or is there something I must do? I need to know the answer, because, if it is the latter, there is quite a lot of something that needs to be done.

A Law unto Themselves

Before reading verses 12-16, we need to remind ourselves that Paul dictated his letters, and did so in the days before word processors, or even cheap pen and paper, so very little editing went on. As we have been noting, Paul has been switching back and forth between addressing the Jews and the Greeks (or gentiles) and at the same time developing a summary of the gospel. If you can imagine the scene as Paul paces back and forth before Tertius (we meet him in 16:22) getting more and more excited about his various trains of thought, but each one taking him further from his central thought. In these verses, it begins to break down, and either Paul or Tertius, or both, begin to have trouble keeping up.

It will help us to read it to note that verses 14 and 15 are an extended parenthetical remark. If we read 12, 13, and 15, we see that Paul is saying that law or no law, we will be judged by our behavior. Those who do what is right will be judged righteous, and those who do not will perish. How do we know what is right? That is where the parenthetical remark comes in. Paul says that the Jews have the law, so they have no excuse. But the gentiles, even without the law, know what is right. It is written on their hearts, Paul says.

After all, how mysterious is “love your neighbor as yourself”?

You Call Yourself a Jew?

In verses 17-24, Paul really lays into the Jews, because they should have been an example to all the other nations, a priestly nation of ambassadors for their God. Instead, they set themselves up as better than the other nations, and in the name of their God, proclaimed the other nations beneath contempt. One of the nice things about reading Paul, though, is that he is always talking about the law, or circumcision, or some problems in some little church somewhere, and never has anything to say about us.

There is a fancy word: “syncretization”. It means to bring together different ideas or philosophies. Paul spent so much of his effort syncretizing the Jewish religion and the Christian faith that we have to spend some effort syncretizing at least Paul’s terminology with ours. Paul talked about what it meant to be Jewish, about the importance of the law, and about circumcision all in a way that are foreign to modern Christians.

It is hard for us to identify with everything it meant to be Jewish, but it certainly meant to be the people of God. Paul asks them what they had accomplished with their special status as a people of faith: had they been a priestly nation, leading others to the Lord, or had they instead been a poor example, preaching their own importance, rather than the love of God. When we understand the words Paul was using, the message hits closer to home.

Circumcision of the Heart

In the final verses of the chapter, verses 25-29, Paul continues to talk about being a Jew, being circumcised, and keeping the law. In reading these verses, we have to keep in mind the previous verses where Paul has already established that it is not the hearing of the law, but the keeping of the law that matters, and that the gentiles know right from wrong by their very nature as creatures of God (a very different idea of human nature than we often assume).

In these passages, Paul addresses another Jewish idea: that the gentiles cannot have a relationship with God simply because they are gentiles. After all, God chose the Jews and God gave them circumcision as the special mark of his covenant. We can almost hear them say “We do not judge the gentiles, God does.” Again, it is so good that Paul is talking to some thick-headed Jews from centuries ago, and not to us.

But Paul says that what God really wants is a circumcised heart. The Jews knew all about circumcision. They had Mohels who were trained, and they knew all the rituals. But how do you circumcise a heart? And then Paul goes further with a little pun that is lost in our translation. He says of a man with a circumcised heart that his “praise is not from men, but of God.” This is a strange statement, on the face of it. There are places in the Bible where God has positive things to say about individuals, but not praise, exactly. But, here is the pun. The word “Jew” is derived from the word “Judah”, which itself means “praised”. Paul says that those who are circumcised in heart are made “Jews” by God.

The idea of circumcised hearts is not Paul’s, by the way; it is the Lord’s himself. He says, for example, in Deuteronomy 30:6 that he will circumcise our hearts that we may love him with all our hearts and all our souls, and live.

Paul, on good Biblical basis, says that we cannot judge others – not on their actions, race, or creed. But we do know right from wrong, and we must repent of our evil ways. To repent means to change and Paul says that this change does come from a statement of faith, or from baptism, or from dressing up and going to church on Sunday, or from any other external act. Paul says it requires inward change. He calls it “circumcision of the heart”. This change cannot be performed by any ritual or tested against any code or human standard. It is performed by the grace of God and tested by his love.

The Wrath of God Revealed

2005-09-11T05:56:00.000-07:00

The Wrath of God Revealed

Romans 1:18-32

Men Are without Excuse

In verses 18-20 of Chapter 1, Paul says that men are without excuse. I think he is wrong in this. The men and women that I deal with on a day today basis have many excuses. There is an excuse for why my car is not ready when it was promised, for why I was given soup when I ordered salad, why the contracted task was not completed even though the money was spent, and so on. I never want to hear them, because they are never helpful, and they often insinuate that the whole thing was my fault in the fist place. But Paul was wrong; men (and women) have plenty of excuses.

What he meant, of course, was that we have no legitimate excuse, and I would be with him there, because I have certainly not heard one lately, but what he says is astounding. He says that the divine nature of God is revealed through creation; the invisible nature of God is revealed through the visible nature. This kind of talk must have upset Paul’s traditional Jewish friends, who believed that God revealed himself through the prophets, and were just getting used to the idea that he had revealed himself through a son. We too think we have a handle on God’s revelation. We tend to think that it is a thing of the past, all completely recorded for us in the Bible. In fact, the last book of the Bible is called “Revelation” and that seems to help neatly sum it up for us. Paul tells us that God uses every means to reveal himself, and his revelation is his choosing, not ours.

The Truth and the Lie

In verses 21-25, Paul continues with his claim that the Truth of God was available to men, but goes further to say that they exchanged it for a lie; they claimed to be wise, but they became fools. Among men, Westerners in particular, the Greeks had just cause to call themselves wise. They were not all great philosophers, but they valued thought, and the value they placed on it gave rise to great thinkers like Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.

But two things happened. The first is common, sordid tale of the failure of society. It is distressing to think about, but we can look throughout history and see how easily society fails under stress. It fails when times are hard and people become scared, angry savages. It fails when things go too well and people become too lazy to care. Greco-Roman society expanded at an amazing rate, and the rich people became amazingly rich. They began to believe that acquiring and having were what life was all about, and they were very good at it, so they would be fine. But it was a lie, and it did not last very long.

The second thing that happened was that the great thinkers quickly discovered what fools we all are, although maybe they did not quite see it that way. Plato is credited with the first description of our limits of understanding. Is the table I see before me real, or is it an example of “tableness”, the true reality? Do you and I experience the table in the same way? How can we know? In our own time we have had Heisenberg, who has explored the limits of what we can know about the physical world, and Gödel, who has demonstrated the limits of logical and philosophical systems.

If these philosophers found limits to what they could explore, did they abandon them and look elsewhere for answers? No, they were proud of their findings; and I suppose justifiably so. As a tool, science is powerful, it makes crops grow where there were none, it brings clean water into peoples homes, and it saves lives. But as a belief system, it is a lie.

Like the Greeks, we think we are smart, we think we are rich, and we think we are strong. In the ways of the world, these words are just lies. You are never smart enough, or rich enough, or strong enough.

God Gave Them Over

The final verses of the chapter, verses 26-32, contain a laundry-list of sin and wickedness. Paul begins (even in verses 24) with sexual immorality, possibly because it was a class of sin for which the Greeks were well known, and which the Romans had assimilated along with the rest of Greek culture, but the rest of the list seems to be everything Paul can think of off the top of his head. In fact, he says “they have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity.”

Paul says this happens to us as a direct result of exchanging the Truth of God for our own lies. Further, Paul says of these unnamed men “God gave them over.” What does that mean? Why would God give anyone over?

The single word used here is used in many other places in the New Testament. Whenever the King James uses the word “betray” in reference to the Son of Man, it is translating this same word. The one who would betray him would “give him over” to those who had him crucified. It is also used, for example, in the parable of the unmerciful servant, when the master gives him over to the jailer (Matthew 18:32-34).

Paul says that man rejected God to pursue our own pathetic, unhealthy desires and in judgment, God has given us over to those desires.

The Wrath of God Revealed

In the first verse of this section (verses 18) Paul says the wrath of God is being revealed. Right away, there are problems. How can a loving God even have wrath? How can an all-powerful, loving God take out his wrath on his helpless creation?

We know from science that cold is not a force. There is energy in heat, but not in cold; cold is the absence of heat. But, if we were to switch off the sun, it would get very cold; the cold seem like a terrible, unconquerable force. If we switched off the sun by choice, we would be choosing our own death.

Paul has already established (in verses 16-17) the life-giving power of the gospel of God’s love. In these verses, Paul says we have control of the switch.

Not Ashamed of the Gospel

2005-09-04T06:10:00.000-07:00

Not Ashamed of the Gospel

Romans 1:1-17

Paul

In verses 1-5 of Chapter 1, Paul introduces himself as an apostle and servant of Christ Jesus and says that he is set apart for the gospel of God. The term “apostle” means “one who is sent” and its use in Christendom originated with the twelve that Jesus selected and sent out. Paul resolutely claimed the title for himself after his conversion experience. We know of this Damascus road experience from Acts, where it is told three times: once by the narrator of Acts (9:1-19) and twice by Paul himself (22:3-16, 26:4-18). Paul does not recount this experience in any of the letters which now exist. Instead, he says only that he saw the Lord (1 Corinthians 9:1, for example).

We do know something about the life of Paul (or “Saul”) before his conversion, as he himself tells us he was “circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews” (Philippians 3:5) and Acts reports that how zealously he pursued the Christian church. We do not know, however, what eventually became of him.

The story in Acts makes it sound as though he was released from one imprisonment in Rome and went on another missionary journey before ending up, at the end of Acts, in a rather comfortable house arrest. This second imprisonment is not supported by the letters, however, and from the letters, 2 Timothy in particular, we have that heart-wrenching call to “come before winter” (2 Timothy 4:21) from a Paul who is deserted by his friends (only Luke is with him) has fought the good fight, and is ready to leave this world.

Romans

In verses 8-15, Paul addresses his audience: the church at Rome. This is a very unusual letter for Paul for, as he says in this greeting, he had never met the church. Because Paul had never met his audience, the nature of the letter is somewhat different. First, the letter is less personal. This is true not only in the sense that there are fewer personal greetings, but in the sense that Paul is not writing in regard to problems within the church about which he has personal knowledge. Instead, the letter is a more general summary of Paul’s theology than we find in any of his other letters.

It is not known who founded the church at Rome. Later content of the letter seems to assume that the congregation has some familiarity with Jewish law, yet in this section Paul says that he wants to minister to the church at Rome just as he has among the “other gentiles”. Perhaps, if there were Jews at the church, there were both Jews and gentiles.

As an aside, this passage contains two examples of complete ethnocentrism. There is the Jew/gentile divide and the Greek/barbarian divide. For a Jew, you were either a Jew (one of God’s chosen) or you were not – you were gentile, and therefore completely without value. From the Jew’s prospective, God chose the Jews and did not value a gentile. We know that is completely wrong, of course, but it surprising how easy it is to put a label on a group of people, for whatever reason, and come to that conclusion again today. The Greeks as a nation had been overrun by the Romans, but the Greek culture flourished under Roman rule. For a Greek, you were either Greek, or you were not – you were barbarian. This word meant to have no culture, and it meant, literally, to say “bar bar”, because the Greeks could not understand the language of the people around them, and assumed it was nonsense.

Paul came into to this divide between Jew and gentile and between Greek and barbarian with the Gospel of God which is for everyone.

The Just Shall Live by Faith

These next two verses, 16 & 17, are jam-packed. Paul is definitely through with preliminaries at this point, and getting down to business.

Here, Paul speaks of the gospel as being the power of God. The word “gospel” comes (somehow) from the Greek evangelion, which means “good news”. It became a Christian word after Jesus announced his ministry in the temple in Nazareth by reading from Isaiah (Luke 4:16-21). So, it was associated both with the good news that Jesus preached, and the good news of Jesus Christ himself.

Paul says this power is a power for salvation for all who believe. Our Lord called this power “love” when he said “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3: 16) Paul, too, says this gospel gives life. “The just shall life by faith,” he says, quoting Habakkuk 2:4.

Most of us (and when I use a phrase like that I am almost always admitting my guilt and hoping that there is someone else out there like me) well remember that brief passage of scripture “The just shall live by faith.” Though, we certainly remember it from Paul, and not from Habakkuk. And, while we remember John 3:16, we tend not to remember 3:17, which says: “For God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved.” But, those two verses in John say just what these two verses Romans say, using somewhat different words.

Jesus says that God sent his son. That is certainly the gospel, or “good news”. It was God acting out of love: the power of God. Paul (as he is translated) uses both “believe” and “faith”, but these are the same word: to believe is to have faith. Jesus says we are not condemned but are saved, Paul says we are made righteous. Jesus says we will have everlasting life, Paul says we will live.

Not Ashamed of the Gospel

Paul said he was not ashamed of the gospel, and why should he be? It sounds like wonderful, powerful, life-giving stuff. But it is not the power of this world. The power of this world lets me draw a dividing line between me and mine and all the rest of you. If I am very powerful, I can draw that line pretty much where I want. The power of this world divides between the “haves” and the “have-nots”. It divides between Jew and gentile, and between Greek and barbarian. We have the power to make those divisions and we want the power to make the division between the just and the unjust. Sometimes I find myself like Jonah (Jonah 4:1-3) not proud of the gospel, but angry at the God who wants to share it with the whole world.

Why are we like that? Why are we so intent on condemning others, rather than sharing the gospel? Is it because we know we do not deserve the gospel ourselves. That when Paul (or Habakkuk) says “The just shall live by faith” it secretly makes us worry, and to hide our secret, we lash out against others?

The Good News is that God wants to save us, not condemn us, not because we deserve us, but because it is in his power – his loving nature – to do so, and not just us, but the whole world, too. And our world needs saving.

What Will the Outcome of All this Be?

2005-08-28T05:35:00.000-07:00

What Will the Outcome of All this Be?

Daniel Chapters 9-12

The Covenant of Love

The story in Chapter 9 does not begin with a vision, but with a prayer. In verses 1-3 we are told that Daniel made preparation to pray by studying scripture. There was no formal cannon in Daniel’s time as there is in ours. Still, it seems unusual that Daniel, a contemporary of Jeremiah, would include the book of Jeremiah in the classification of scripture. In any case, Daniel was aware of Jeremiah’s prophecy that Israel would be exiled for 70 years. This prophecy is found in Jeremiah (25:11-10 and 29:10-12) and in 2 Chronicles (36:20-23). The rise of Darius may have made the future seem uncertain for the exiles, and perhaps Daniel wanted to know how much longer they had to wait, and what would happen afterwards, and what would happen while they were waiting, so he prayed.

Daniel’s prayer, contained in verses 4-19, is very interesting in at least three ways. First, Daniel says that God keeps his covenant. That is, the current situation is not God’s fault. When we know that God is in control of everything and therefore nothing can happen unless God permits it to happen, it is sometimes hard to refrain from blaming God for our predicament. But Daniel knew that God is a just and loving God, and that the fault lay with the people, who had sinned.

This is the second interesting thing about the prayer. Daniel says “we have sinned against you.” How do you suppose Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego felt about this “we” business? Do you suppose they told Daniel to count himself among the sinners if he wished, but to leave them out of it? After all, they had been in the fiery furnace, for heaven’s sake. But we are all sinners, and Daniel came right out and admitted it. “We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy.”

The third thing to note is that Daniel did not make any specific request. He did not bargain with God. Daniel asked that the Lord forgive them, and look with favor upon them. That is faith.

While Daniel was praying a vision began. This vision was somewhat different in character from the others. In it, Gabriel comes and speaks to him, and tells him of the “seventy sevens”. This may be interpreted literally as seventy weeks, or as seventy “hebdomads” or weeks of years (490 years). In verses 25-27, Gabriel tells Daniel some of the things that will come about during this time.

This is a very interesting answer to prayer. Daniel begins to pray about the seventy years, some number of which are already complete by the time he begins to pray, and he is answered with, as best we can understand, a vision regarding 490 years. The visions only get stranger.

Gabriel and Michael

The whole of Chapter 10, and also the first verse of the following chapter, is introductory to another great vision. Daniel has been in a state of mourning, which includes a partial fast. In this state, Daniel has a vision in which he again encounters the angel Gabriel. Those around him at the time do not see the angel, but something frightens them so that they run and hide. The initial encounter with the angel is very strange. He says he would have come sooner, but he was delayed by the “prince” of the Persian kingdom. We do not know who this prince is, but Gabriel does refer to Michael as “one of the chief princes” who came to his aide. In the end, he seems to say that he is battling against the prince of Persia and the prince of Greece, and no one supports him except Michael.

In Chapter 11, Gabriel gives Daniel a long account of the political conflicts that will arise in the future. There are no beasts at all in this account, and therefore no horns. Instead, there are kingdoms of the North and South, A king who exalts himself, and a place called the Beautiful Land – there is less symbolism, but it is still not very direct. In general, it is a longer version of the previous visions.

What Will the Outcome of All this Be?

In Chapter 12, the vision from the previous chapter continues. Verses 1-4 are interesting and important for a number of reasons. First, Michael is revealed as the “prince” or angel “who protects your people”. Exactly what this means, we really do not know. The Bible itself does not provide many details about angels. We know that Michael is an archangel from Jude 1:9, where we are told he argued with the devil over the body of Moses. There must be a story there somewhere, we just do not know it, or very much else about angels.

These verses also speak of the resurrection from the dead. Daniel is the earliest book to show a theological understanding of the resurrection. Though the psalmist used similar phrases, Daniel is the only Old Testament book to use the phrase “everlasting life” as it was used in the New Testament.

Finally, given that Gabriel is talking about a time when the dead are rising from their graves, some to everlasting life and some to everlasting shame, it is clear that we are no longer talking about 70 years, or 490 years, but the very end of time.

In verses 5-13, the vision continues. Someone asks how long, and the very enigmatic answer comes again “a time, times and half a time.” Daniel, who has been silent for so long, finally asks “What will the outcome of all this be?” He is answered that the wicked will not understand, but the wise will understand. I find this troubling, since I do not understand much of it.

Daniel is told that it will all be fine in the end, which does not really seem like that much comfort, given that he has been told there will be enormous trouble, perhaps continuous trouble, before the end. But, to be fair, it is the question Daniel asked: what will the outcome be? On the one hand, it may seem unsettling that the answer to that question is beyond this world – that nothing in this world will ever be quite right. On the other hand, it is good to know that nothing in this world will cause that outcome to fail.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:35, 37-39)

In his daily life, Daniel bravely faced the difficulties of being a child of God in an unbelieving world. In his visions, he saw that these difficulties would continue until the very end of time. Though the words of the prophecy are sealed, we like Daniel want to know what the outcome will be. This much we do know: the answer is in the love of God. It is what the wise will understand and the wicked will never understand.

Not by Human Power

2005-08-21T04:44:00.000-07:00

Not by Human Power

Daniel Chapters 7&8

Apocalypse

With these chapters we leave the familiar stories found in the narrative section of Daniel and transition into the apocalyptic section, which features Daniel’s dreams or visions. The word “apocalypse” is the Greek word for “revelation”. On that basis, all scripture is apocalyptic, but because of the association of the word with the book of Revelation, in modern times, the word “apocalypse” has become associated with eschatology, or the end of the world, and “apocalyptic literature” has come to mean literature which contains prophecy of the end times. A common characteristic of this literature is that it is highly symbolic, with the meaning purposely obscured.

With the book of Revelation, the original purpose of the heavy symbolism was to use a shared code that would be understood by its immediate intended audience, but not by others. Over the years, we believe we have reestablished some of this code, but certainly not all of it. Daniel does not understand his visions, himself. When they are explained to him, he pronounces the explanation “beyond understanding.” (8:27) All scripture is profitable, but we do well to approach this latter half of Daniel with a different expectation than we might with most other scripture.

The Four Beasts

The setting in Chapter 7 returns to the time of Belshazzar. As recorded in verses 1-14, Daniel has a vision, though it is at first called a dream. The vision is of four terrible beasts, the fourth with ten hours. The horn is a symbol for power, and one of these horns becomes powerful, itself. The Ancient of Days comes in judgment, and strips the beasts of their power. One like a son of man comes and is given all authority and a kingdom that will never be destroyed.

In verses 15-27, Daniel, still in his vision, asks one of those attending the Ancient of Days for an explanation of what he has seen. This guide tells him that the beasts stand for four great kingdoms, though he does not name them. The fourth will be a kingdom like no other, and the horn a very powerful king of that kingdom. The saints, he says, will be handed over to that king for a time, but his power will be taken away, and the everlasting kingdom will be established.

The End of the Matter

In verse 28, Daniel says, “This is the end of the matter,” causing some to speculate that the book initially ended at this point, an idea that is further reinforced by the fact that the Aramaic section of Daniel does end at this point, with the rest of the book continuing in Hebrew.

Another possibility is that Daniel was speaking only of the matter of the vision which ended at that point. In any case, there is evidence of some editorial work at this point, as the vision recorded in this chapter begins in the third person, and the words “he wrote down the substance of his dream” in verse 1 either indicate that the editor is beginning to quote from Daniel’s record of the dream, or it may mean that Daniel “wrote it down” by dictating it to a scribe. The transition to Hebrew probably indicates that a different source for that section of the text, though that need not indicate a different source for the original words of the text.

The Ram and the Goat

The activity of Daniel’s vision found in Chapter 8 is contained in verses 1-14. It has only two beasts, a ram and a goat. Again the symbolism of the horn, meaning power, is very prominent. In this vision, the first beast, the ram, is very powerful and it seems he cannot be defeated. Immediately, however, there comes a goat, who also has powerful horns, and who defeats the ram. Then there is a strange business with the horns of the goat: the single horn becomes four, and there is intrigue among them. One of them becomes treacherously powerful, and unholy. Someone in the vision asks how long it will take for the vision to be fulfilled, and the answer, given to Daniel, is 2,300 evenings and mornings.

As the vision continues in verses 15-27, it continues with an explanation of the activity which has occurred. As Daniel stands wondering what he has seen, he hears a voice commanding the angel Gabriel to explain the action to him. Gabriel explains that the first beast, the ram with the two horns, represents the kingdoms of Mede and Persia, and that the Goat stands for the kingdom of Greece, which will destroy the Median and Persian empires. From Greece will arise an unnamed, deceitful, wicked king, who will come to power for a time.

Not by Human Power

It is easy to think Of Daniel only as the man we read of in the familiar stories in the early chapters of the book of Daniel: the strong, healthy, wise man who is rewarded for his diplomacy and insight. But these visions show another side of Daniel: a man deeply troubled by his exile in a foreign land.

Indeed, the book of Daniel is written for a people in exile, to show the people of God how to live in a world of unbelievers and give them hope that times will change. When they will change is an interesting question. On the face of it, it seems as if the angel Gabriel plainly says that one of the beasts represents the kingdom of Greece, but it would be hundreds of years before the Greeks would become a factor. Gabriel also says that these prophecies should be “closed up” because they pertain to the end times. Perhaps he meant that symbolically, in that the meaning of the prophecy should be hidden. There are certainly ways in which the prophecy could apply to this, or almost any time. Christ told us that we will continue to hear of wars and rumors of wars before the end (Matthew 24:6).

If we cannot be sure when these events will occur, we can be sure how they will occur. The angel Gabriel tells Daniel they will come about, but “not by human power” (8:25). It is a good thing that we do not depend on human power to set things right, or on human standards of what is right.

So, these exiles had a promise of a better future – a promise that remains today, now that the exiles are long dead. We must understand what the promise meant to them in order to see what it can mean to us. There is, on the one hand, the ultimate promise of a secure future, no matter what happens: one day there will be a perfect order and the present evil will no longer have any power over us, no longer separate us from God. But, if there is a future promise, then there is also a present promise. We cannot be secure in the future if we are not secure in the present moment. Though evil is at work in the present world, some times in the form of our very selves, God is present with us and, though terrible things may happen, though we may do terrible things, God’s promise is secure; we are secure.

Daniel in the Lion’s Den

2005-08-14T05:51:00.000-07:00

Daniel in the Lion’s Den

Daniel Chapters 5&6

Some Historical Notes

Before considering the very familiar stories contained in these chapters, we must first take note of historical references which raise some issues. First, there is the mention of Belshazzar, son of Nebuchadnezzar, who succeeded his father as king. There is no historical support for the existence of this Belshazzar. Instead, there is a record of a Belshazzar, son of Nabonidus, one of the kings of Babylon. There are other aspects, such as the madness of Nebuchadnezzar described in Chapter 4, which are historically similar to Nabonidus, and these lead some scholars to believe that there is some confusion of names in Daniel between the two kings.

There is also the succession from Belshazzar to Darius the Mede, and the concept of the Median rule of Babylon before its conquest by the Persians. Again, this goes against current historical evidence. There is a Darius mentioned in Ezra, Haggai, and Zechariah, but this seems to be Darius I, the first of three Persian rulers, not a Mede.

The resolution of historical discrepancies like these is certainly beyond the scope of this discussion, but we should never be ignorant of their existence. Still, the Bible is not, primarily, a historical document. Not, at least, in the common sense. To the extent that it is a history, it presents the history of God’s interaction with man. But it is more than that. Through the Bible, God continues to interact with us and reveal himself to us.

These two stories, though very familiar, have meaning that has an impact on our daily lives, and they are worth reading again and again. These historical issues do not lessen the meaning of the stories in any way.

The Handwriting Is on the Wall

Though the story in Chapter 5 is not quite as familiar to us as the other narratives in Daniel, it has given us an idiom that has become a very familiar part of our English usage. In fact, we use it in two ways. We say “The handwriting is on the wall” when we mean that the outcome is definite, and “He cannot see the writing is on the wall” when we mean that someone is not aware of the fact that their outcome is definite.

As we can see from verses 1-9, the latter usage does not quite fit the story, as Belshazzar was in the middle of a banquet and enjoying the good life of being a king when, in fact, he did see the writing on the wall, but he could not understand it. As is the pattern in the Daniel stories, he called all his wise men, but they could not interpret it, either, and the king was greatly troubled.

The queen, or possibly the queen mother, intervenes and tells Belshazzar that there is a wiser wise man, Daniel by name, who can surely interpret the writing. Daniel is brought forth, makes a lengthy address to the king, and in verses 25-31, interprets the writing.

The choice of words in the writing is very interesting, they are all words for coins, but which also have other meanings. The words are as follows.

Mene: This is the word for mina, a unit of money, but it also meant numbered.

Tekel: This is the word for shekel, but it also meant weighed.

Peres: This is the word for half mina or half shekel, but if can also mean divided or Persia. It appears in three forms in the text: Peres, the singular form, Parsin, the plural form, and, in the KJV, Uparsin, which means “and Parsin”.

Daniel tells the king that his days are numbered, he has been weighed in the balance and found wanting, and his kingdom will be divided among the Medes and Persians. The king acknowledges Daniel, but we are not told that he acknowledges the authority of the Lord in any way.

This story is reminiscent of two passages from the New Testament, both from Luke Chapter 12. In verses 16-21, there is the story of the Rich Fool, who made plans for himself on this earth, but like Belshazzar, was not rich towards God. In verses 54-56, Jesus calls the crowd hypocrites, because they could interpret the simple signs that affected them materially, but not the greater signs that affected them spiritually.

Perhaps some of us are like Daniel and have the gift to help others see the handwriting on the wall, but all of us are like Belshazzar, the Rich Fool. We are weighed in the balance and found wanting. We have no means to restore the balance ourselves, but it has been restored for us through the grace of God.

Daniel in the Lion’s Den

Chapter 6 has what is most certainly the most famous story in Daniel: Daniel in the lion’s den. Like the rest of the narrative in Daniel, it is quite wordy. In the beginning verses, there is jealousy brewing against Daniel among the other administrators and satraps (provincial governors). These schemers look for a weakness in Daniel, but find none. Finally, as recorded in verses 5-9, they decide the only way to trap Daniel is through “the law of his God.” So, they convince the king to issue a decree forbidding anyone but himself to pray for the next thirty days.

In verses 10-18, we read that the trap works perfectly. The king, who does not appear to have asked many questions when the subject first came up, is distressed when he hears that Daniel will be sent to the lion’s den. But, the law is the law, what can be done?

In verses 19-28, we read what we already know from this very familiar story. Daniel is saved from the lions and prospers, the schemers (along with their wives and children) are killed by the now very hungry lions, and the witness of Daniel causes the king to praise the living God.

Of course, there is no way that the king could have said “I made a mistake!” That is not the order of things any more than it is the order of things for a den of hungry lions to sit all night and stare at a fine specimen. It is comforting to know that our God is the God, not only of the natural world he created for us, but of that complex of society and ego we create for ourselves.

The Fiery Furnace

2005-08-07T19:14:00.000-07:00

The Fiery Furnace

Daniel Chapters 1-4

Introduction

As we begin to address each book of the Bible, it is always good to attempt to establish some understand of the original authorship and audience of the book, in order to understand the general purpose of the book. Many books, such as the book of Daniel, are not “signed” by the author, and the authorship must be determined through traditional or analytical evidence. The book of Daniel presents a number of analytical problems.

Perhaps most surprising is that the book is written in both Hebrew and Aramaic. The book begins in Hebrew, switches to Aramaic in the second chapter, and then returns to Hebrew in the seventh chapter. With the change in language, the book also has a change in form. The Aramaic chapters are narrative, and speak of Daniel and his companions in the third person. The Hebrew chapters contain Daniel’s visions, which he relays personally, and which are apocalyptic in nature.

This notion of the two sections of Daniel having so obviously been formed into one is a strong indication that some editor, probably later than Daniel himself, is responsible for the collection and organization of scripture we have today. There are indications that this editor was very late, and that the work of the editor involved some application of the scripture to his own age, which was possibly as late as the second century B. C. Such application is always a temptation with apocalyptic writing, which seems either to apply only to the age for which it was written, or equally well to all ages.

We must not let this idea of authorship challenge us. We know that all scripture is inspired by God. When we approach scripture, we put our faith in a process which begins with original authorship and continues down through our modern translations. Each time we read scripture, we participate in its purpose: the ongoing revelation of God to mankind.

Nonconformists

Chapter 1 tells one of the stories from the book of Daniel that every child in Sunday School knows. If, in a child’s Sunday School class, it is taught as a lesson in the importance of eating the right foods to grow up healthy and smart, maybe that is not a bad thing, but there is more to the lesson.

These four young men were of the Lord’s chosen, but were forced to live among as strangers in a foreign land. Even their names, all of which honored their God, were changed to honor the pagan god of the land in which they were held captive. But these four showed that changing what they were called did not change them. The Israelites had very strict dietary laws. They could not eat meat offered to idols, they could only eat certain kinds of meat, the meat had to be slaughtered a certain way, and they could not eat meat cooked with milk or milk products, just to mention a few things. The cooking utensils had to be ritually clean, as well, and cooking of anything clean would make the vessel unclean.

So, though they had been offered food and wine from the kings table, the safest thing for them to do, if they wished to follow their dietary regulations, was to eat raw vegetables and drink water. They found a way to do this without disparaging what they were given and insulting their host. One wonders what the others were eating, as in only ten days Daniel and crew were healthier than those eating the king’s fare. The Lord blessed them and they learned the ways of the Babylonians and entered the king’s service.

In Romans 12:2 Paul tells not to be conformed to this world. The writer of Daniel knew full well that the fall of Israel began as the Hebrews came to accept the customs and religions of the indigenous peoples of the area. Daniel and his friends refused to accept the customs of the Babylonians. In the John, Chapter 17, there is an amazing prayer, as Jesus prays for us, the believers that will come. He prays that we will be in the world, but not of the world.

The First Dream

In Chapter 2, Nebuchadnezzar has a dream. Apparently, it is a troubling, recurring dream. His reaction to the dream is somewhat strange. He calls in his wise men and tells them they must not only interpret the dream, but first tell him what he has dreamed! There is some beating around the bush, but then the king orders all the wise men killed, because they have failed to do as he commanded.

Daniel himself becomes involved in verses 12-19. Imagine the surprise of Daniel when the commander of the king’s guard showed up to put him to death because he had not interpreted a dream he had never heard about. Daniel reacted calmly. He discussed the matter with the commander; he asked the king for time; he and his friends prayed to God for mercy. It is very significant that they should pray. Many of the Israelites had abandoned God for their idols. Others had abandoned God for their religion. These believed in the god of Israel, or the god of the Temple, but they did not believe in the God of heaven who could hear their prayers wherever they were.

In verses 24-29, Daniel is brought to the king to interpret the dream, but he s careful to say that he is not the source of the interpretation, but that God has provided the interpretation, because God has a message for the king. Daniel refused to take credit for the work God did, or the gift God gave him.

The Fiery Furnace

Chapter 3 has another very famous story from the book of Daniel. The king had an image made, and ordered the people to bow down to it. We do not know were Daniel was in this story, but Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego would not bow down to the image, even though they were threatened with death. Their calm assurance is instructive: “Our God is able to rescue us from your hand… but even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not worship the image of gold that you have set up.” (Verses 17&18) We have the benefit of hindsight, and know that they were saved, but they did not know they would be, yet they still refused.

How many images does our society ask us to worship? Do we always even notice? We may never be tried by fire, but there is always one with us, one on which we cam depend. His presence does not allow us to say that nothing will ever happen to us, but to have faith that we will be safe, no matter what happens to us.

The Second Dream

Chapter 4 contains the story of a second dream, the nature of which is very strange. The form of the chapter is a letter written by the king, telling the people that he had a dream, it was interpreted by Daniel, and the events came true. The reason that is very strange is that the prediction of the dream is that the king would be driven from the kingdom and live like a wild animal. According to the king’s letter, about a year after the dream occurred, he was on the roof of his royal palace when a voice from heaven came to him and restated what was to happen. Then, he had what today we might call a “psychotic break” and lived out in the wild for a while.

As was predicted in the dream, he eventually got over it.

The City Called “The Lord Is Here”

2005-08-04T05:41:00.000-07:00

The City Called “The Lord Is Here”

Ezekiel Chapters 40-48

The New Temple

The final chapters of the book of Ezekiel recount another grand vision, one which bookends the vision Ezekiel experienced in the very beginning of his ministry. The vision begins in Chapter 40, where in verses 1-5 Ezekiel introduces the vision by saying that 14 years after the fall of the city of Jerusalem, God took him to some future manifestation of the city. There Ezekiel met his guide, a man whose appearance was like bronze, and who had a measuring device in his hand. This guide instructed Ezekiel to watch and listen carefully and tell everything he learned.

Immediately, Ezekiel does begin recounting the vision in considerable detail. Verses 5-16 provide the nature of these extended passages, which continue through Chapter 42. They record the elaborate way in which the guide shows Ezekiel the various features of the temple area and measures each feature as they come to it. Many of these features have little meaning to modern gentiles: the inner and outer courts, the inner and outer sanctuaries, the North Gate, the South Gate, the rooms for the priests, and the rooms for the sacrifices. It all sounds very foreign and very complicated and somewhat like a dream. But anyone who reads the Bible seriously knows that all these features had been very real. And Ezekiel may have been experiencing this new temple in a vision, but his guide was there with a measuring rod, measuring out each detail, letting Ezekiel know that the vision was of something very real.

But what is reality? Philosophers, poets, theologians and others have long discussed this question, and with it: what is truth? What is right and what is wrong? The Bible often reminds us that there is no reality, no truth, morality apart from God.

The New Covenant

It is in Chapter 43 that we truly see how this vision is a closing compliment to the early vision of Ezekiel found in the first ten chapters of the book. In the very first chapter and the first verse, Ezekiel says that he was standing with the other exiles by the Kebar River, and he began to experience God. This was not supposed to happen, so far as any Israelite knew, as God was supposed to dwell in the temple. In Chapter 10, as Ezekiel’s vision progressed, he saw the glory of the Lord leave the temple.

In chapter 43, verses 1-5, Ezekiel sees the glory of the Lord come and fill the new temple. Why should the temple remain so important to the people when they have seen through Ezekiel that God is not limited to the temple? We also know a personal God who is available to each of us at any time, but it is still very important to have a dedicated place of worship, a place for us to go into the presence of God. We also, may try to limit God to the confines of that building, which is not a good thing, but it is good to go into the house of the Lord.

But, if the people may have been primarily concerned with the temple, verses 6-9 show that the Lord had something else in mind. In this passage, the Lord offers Israel a new covenant. They were to put away their idolatry, and the Lord would be their God forever.

From this promise of a renewed covenant, the vision returns briefly to measurement, as the altar is measured. This mention of the altar introduces sacrificial laws, and this establishes a minor Deuteronomy within Ezekiel. These chapters of revised law and administration are interrupted in Chapter 47 as the guide returns and, in verses 1-12, shows Ezekiel a river flowing from the temple, getting wider and deeper the farther it flowed from the temple. The river was filled with life, and blessed the land on both sides.

The symbolism of this river is not hard to understand: it was giving life in abundance because the glory of the Lord was there.

The City Called “The Lord Is There”

After this brief return to the narrative nature of the vision, the remainder of the vision (and the book of Ezekiel) deals with boundaries and division of land. Finally, in the last verse of Chapter 48, we are told that this new city will be called “The Lord Is Here.” Does this refer to a real city? Is it, like a number of prophecies, one that has more than one fulfillment?

There is no reality without the Lord. God’s reality always goes beyond our existence. It goes beyond the rebuilding of a single city or nation, beyond a single place or time. The temple at Jerusalem was rebuilt, but was lost again; and any city that can be built can be destroyed, any temple we may erect can be torn down. Our Lord has promised us that wherever two or three are gathered in his name, he will be with us (Matthew 18:20).

The message of Ezekiel is not so different than other profits. We have sinned, as individuals and as a nation. There are consequences to sin and they cannot be escaped, save one. One of the consequences of sin is that we separate ourselves from God. God is worthy to judge us, but is always ready to bridge any gap, go any distance. If we choose, God will put away our sin and come to us again.

Gog of Magog

2005-08-04T05:37:00.000-07:00

Gog of Magog

Ezekiel Chapters 38-39

Gog of Magog

Chapter 35 contained a prophecy against Edom, which at first seemed out of place, as it was not among the group of prophecies found in previous chapters against the nations surrounding Israel and Judah. There was a literary significance for the placement of the prophecy, however, as it was presented as a prophecy against Mount Seir, a landmark of Edom, and this prophecy was paired with the prophecy in Chapter 36, which is directed towards the mountains of Israel. While the former is a prophecy of destruction, the latter is a prophecy of redemption. Chapter 38 also contains a prophecy against a foreign nation, but it is not clear what nation it addresses.

In verses 1-5, the Lord addresses the leader of the nation as “Gog” and refers to the nation itself as “Magog”. These names are unknown to us in this setting. “Magog” is known to us as one of the descendents of Noah (Genesis 10:1-2) and the other names mentioned in these verses are known from Biblical and extra-Biblical sources. Because the book of Ezekiel has no direct reference to the Babylonians, many have supposed that Ezekiel, who was a captive in Babylon, could not refer to the Babylonians directly, and the names Gog and Magog are code words in Ezekiel for the Babylonians, as they are in Revelations 20:8 for the Romans.

There may be some difficulty with this interpretation, however. In verses 7-9, the Lord makes clear that this prophecy concerns future events that will happen after the nation of Israel is restored in the Promised Land. So, this cannot simply be a coded denunciation of Babylon, it is something different. It is a prophecy of the future, a future that perhaps has not yet happened, or perhaps happens all the time.

In verses 10-16 we read that Gog and the people of Magog will make up their own minds, and come out of their own strength and with their own motives without any regard for the will of God. In Ezekiel, this is the consistent judgment of the nations; it is not a question of whether their motives are good or bad by the standards of the world, but that they are not the motives of God. The passage goes on, though, to say that event through the action of people who are completely separated from the will of God, God is in control. It is a difficult thought, but a comforting one.

Know that I Am the Lord

In the final passage of the chapter, verses 17-23, the Lord says that Gog of Magog is the one who has been long prophesied. This prophecy may be what is known as “The Day of the Lord” and had not yet been fulfilled in Jesus’ day (Luke 21:10-11). Chapter 39 tells us that the Lord will protect Israel from Gog. Verses 11-20 describe the glory of the defeat of Gog in two different ways. The first says that the burial of the defeated will be so vast that it will block the way of travelers, and will take months to complete. The second is even more gruesome, and describes the blood and meat of the dead as being offered up as a sacrifice eaten by the birds and wild animals, which are invited to gather and feast.

To a nation that has been wronged, this promise of utter conquest must have sounded very good indeed. But the Lord has no need of conquest, and is not driven by revenge. There is another motivation here, another force at work.

In verses 21-29, the Lord speaks of the people’s separation from the presence of the Lord because of their own sin, because they had rejected the covenant relation the Lord offered. But the Lord promises a day when the people will be brought back into that relationship and forget their former shame and unfaithfulness.

The words “They will know that I am the Lord their God” echo as a refrain throughout the book of Ezekiel, as God continually reveals himself to us. Sometimes that God is the Sovereign Lord, the all-powerful being seated in an indescribable throne. Sometimes that God is the Good Shepherd, ready to lift us up even out of our graves. But always he is our God, and we are his people.

Can These Dry Bones Live?

2005-08-04T05:28:00.000-07:00

Can These Dry Bones Live?

Ezekiel Chapters 34-37

The Good Shepherd

In Chapter 34, the word from God through Ezekiel begins with a condemnation of the “shepherds of Israel”. In verses 1-6, the Lord says that the shepherds, the priests and other leaders of Israel, had concern only for themselves, that they made no attempt to help their flock, and instead ruled them brutally. As a result, according to the Lord, the flock was scattered over the earth with no one to care for them.

In the following verses, the Lord says that he is at odds with his appointed shepherds, and in verses 11-16 says that he himself will shepherd the sheep with kindness and justice. We are familiar with this imagery from the New Testament, but the Lord is described as our shepherd beginning in Genesis (Genesis 49:24, for example). The Lord goes on to say, in verses 23 & 24, that he will place one shepherd over them: his servant, David. How can this be? How can the Lord be our shepherd and David be our only shepherd, especially given that David is long dead?

When Jesus, who was the “Son of David” and who was both God and man, said “I am the good shepherd” (John 10:11), he was not only describing the nature of his ministry, but stating his fulfillment of this prophecy. Whereas the corrupt shepherds thought of themselves and treated the sheep brutally, “The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” It is easy to think of this as an act that happened once in history. But in Revelation Christ is called the “Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” (Revelation 13:8) The all-powerful God, who created us and everything we know (and everything we do not know), sacrifices his will to us from moment to moment, as we reject his love. Jesus was God as man, the embodiment of that sacrifice, the good shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep.

Prophecy for the Mountains

Chapter 35 contains a prophecy against the Mount Seir, which is a mountain in Edom, and in fact, the chapter is a prophecy against the nation of Edom, and the reference to Mount Seir is just a literary device. There has already been a brief prophecy against Edom in Chapter 25. The prophecy in this chapter is more detailed, but is consistent with the earlier prophecy against Edom and the other nations. Basically, it states that Edom saw the fall of Israel and Judah as an opportunity for itself, and disregarded the will of God. The Lord says that, Since Edom acted in violence and out of anger and jealously, they would experience violence, anger and jealousy.

We may certainly wonder why this prophecy against Edom is here, and not with the previous collection of prophecy against the neighboring nations. The answer is found in Chapter 36, where there is a paired prophecy of redemption for mountains of Israel. In verses 1-12, the Lord says to the mountains that though the enemy has taken them as a possession, they will once again be home to the people of Israel.

In verses 16-21, the Lord reminds the people that it was because of their own actions that they came to their situation. In verses 23 and 24, the Lord says that he will redeem the people “For my own names sake”. This idea has also been recorded in Chapter 20. On the surface, it might seem to portray a god who is more concerned about his image than the well-being of his people. Of course, a god of that nature could find better ways of making himself look good. For the ancient people, a name had great meaning. It revealed something of the bearer’s true nature, and that is why the people of God were so careful with the name of God. Having reminded the people how they had behaved, God is saying that he would act, not in response to their behavior, but in keeping with his nature.

Can These Dry Bones Live?

Chapter 37 has, in verses 1-14, the most famous passage in Ezekiel, and one of the most famous passages in the Bible. Though this vision was not as difficult for Ezekiel to describe as the earlier vision of the moving throne platform, it must have been terrifying to see, as first the bones and then the breath came together to form a living army.

Much has been said and written about this passage, as it is rich in meaning. Two things stand out on this occasion. First, there is the wisdom of Ezekiel. When the Lord asked if the bones could live, Ezekiel answered “O Sovereign Lord, you alone know.” Ezekiel could have answered that it did not seem possible to him, and that would have underestimated the power of God. He could have answered that all things are possible for God, but that would have been a theoretical answer to a specific question. The truth is that we never know, and God always knows.

The second is the wonderful promise of this passage. It was a promise to the nation of Israel, perhaps not carried out as they expected, as Jesus later said that God can create children of Abraham even out of stones (Matthew 3:9). It is a promise that speaks of God’s power over the grave, which is a comfort for all of us, not just for our own lives, but for the lives of those we love.

But this promise was originally to the living, who felt like they were nothing but dry bones, and had no hope. God says “I will open your graves and bring you up from them” and we must remember that, for the Israelites, the grave was an unclean place. This is the image of God finding us in our most hopeless, shameless place, and breathing new life in us.

You Alone Know

What is the will of God? We read Old Testament stories and have our own experiences that make it seem like a cold, horrible thing. Ezekiel knew the answer. Only the Lord knows his will; only the Lord accomplishes his will. The book of Ezekiel has some ground-breaking theology, as the Lord reveals that he deals, not only with nations, but with individuals. “The soul who sins shall die” (18:4) and, with the voice of the Good Shepherd, “I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak” (from 34:11-16). Even in the imagery of the valley of the dry bones, if the Lord chooses to raise up a vast army, he does so by finding hopeless, helpless individuals in their secret, shameless places, and giving them new life.

Not the Righteousness of the Righteous

2005-08-03T19:35:00.000-07:00

Not the Righteousness of the Righteous

Nor the Wickedness of the Wicked

Ezekiel Chapter 33

The Watchman

We do not know who edited the book of Ezekiel, whether it was Ezekiel himself, some contemporary student or scribe, or some later editor, but someone collected and recorded the prophetic sayings and actions of Ezekiel and formed them into the text of the book. The work of the editor is evident in the dramatic pause created by the prophecy to the nations in the previous chapters, and in the recapitulation in the first half of Chapter 33 of some points made in earlier chapters before moving on to new and important material.

God’s call for Ezekiel to be a watchman over the house of Israel, found in verses 1-9, is somewhat more elaborate, but essentially the same as the account in 3:16-21, where it is included as a part of Ezekiel’s call to the prophetic ministry.

Not the Righteousness of the Righteous

Nor the Wickedness of the Wicked

Verses 10-20 also reiterate an earlier theme, one that was discussed at some length in Chapter 18. This passage, particularly verse 12, puts the message to us a little differently, telling us that judgment is not about the “Righteousness of the righteous or the wickedness of the wicked.” The Lord knew us well (of course) and expected us to say that this does not sound like justice to us.

There is some explanation to be had in the passage. The Lord says, speaking strictly hypothetically, “if the righteous man trusts in his righteousness” and this is certainly something we can observe in the behavior of the people of Israel. They believed they were the holy people and that God was on their side, and they forget to be holy and to be one the side of the Lord. Further, the Lord says, in summary, that if the wicked man turns away from his sin, he has done what is right.

Righteousness is not something we obtain. It is not a cloak we put on, not a pill we take, not a place we can go and stay there and be righteous. Righteousness is a part of our ongoing relationship with God.

The City Has Fallen!

In verses 21 and 22 we read that word has come to the Babylonian exiles of the fall of the city of Jerusalem, and that the prophetic silence that had come upon Ezekiel since the time of his wife’s death was lifted.

Verses 23-29 tell of Israel’s corruptions and foretell their fate. They have broken the law of sacrifice, depended on their own strength instead of relying on the Lord and engaged in all kinds of immorality. As a result, many would be killed and others would be exiled. Many of the exiled would also suffer and die.

Why Will You Die?

We must consider why the editor of Ezekiel placed the reiteration of the call of the watchman and the nature of God’s justice here before the fall of the city of Jerusalem. It could be that it was to let the people know that they had been warned. They had a watchman, and the watchman delivered his message, and they did not listen. Further, they had depended on their own righteousness and that righteousness had failed them.

But, if this were merely a way for Ezekiel to wash his hands of them, then why would the passage have the voice of the Lord pleading “Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, O house of Israel?”

Times were already bad for the people of Israel, and their last hope was about to fall, but their trust was misplaced. They believed themselves to be the chosen ones, and they forgot that they had been chosen; they believed themselves to be righteous, and they forgot who made them righteous.

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.

(1 John 1:8-10)

Ezekiel and the Nations

2005-08-03T19:19:00.000-07:00

Ezekiel and the Nations

Ezekiel Chapters 25-32

The Nations

After the dramatic events of the death of Ezekiel’s wife, the narrative turns from prophecy regarding the fate of the nation of Judah to that of the surrounding nations. The prophecy recorded in Chapter 25 concerns the nations of Ammon, Moab, Edom, and Philistia. Each of these nations is denounced for their treatment of Judah. In the case of the latter three nations, the exact nature of the charges is not clear, but for Ammon we are told (in verse 3 and again in verse 6) that the nation took pleasure in the downfall of Judah.

No matter what our station in life, weather we are comfortable at ease or poor and oppressed, it just seems a natural emotion to take pleasure in seeing someone else get what we think they deserve. To our way of thinking, it does not seem right to be condemned for something we only think or feel about someone who was in the wrong, in any case. But this is not God’s way of thinking. We have been commanded to “Do unto others…” We must only feel compassion, but actively show compassion.

Tyre

Chapter 26 begins an extended lament on the fall of the nation of Tyre which continues through several of the following chapters. In this first chapter of the lament, we are given an immediate sense of the sinful attitude of the nation of Tyre. In verses 1-3 we are told that Tyre looked upon the fall of Judah as their opportunity to gain power. In addition to the failure of compassion of which the other nations were accused, the nation of Tyre made its plans, either without considering the will of the Lord, or assuming that the Lord would be on their side. What the people of Tyre certainly did not do was seek to be on the side of the Lord, and so they found themselves working against the Lord.

Also in this chapter we begin to see why the prophecy against Tyre, a foreign city and an enemy of Judah, was presented as a lament. In verses 17 and 18 we are told that Tyre was a great power, and though some were afraid of that power, many were afraid of the vacuum that would be created when that power fell.

The greater part of Chapter 27 gives tribute to the beauty, power, and riches of the nation of Tyre. We are told (in verse 3) that the nation was well aware of its admirable qualities. Though there is no condemnation in this chapter for such utter patriotism, it is easy to see that the words are about Tyre and Tyre alone, and in Chapter 28 we read (in verse 2) the accusation of ultimate idolatry: the people had set themselves up as gods, believing either that they had no need for God, or that they exclusively knew and acted on the will of God.

In the second half of this chapter, verses 11-19, we have a very interesting account. The Lord begins by telling the people of Tyre that they were once perfect in the Garden of Eden. Almost exclusively, genealogy from Garden of Eden is used in the Bible to show the legitimacy of the Israelites as the chosen ones of God. Here God says to Tyre, an enemy of Israel, that they also had lineage from the garden, that they also are children of God, and that they were separated from God, not by God choosing one nation over another, but by the consequence of their own actions.

Egypt

The prophecy against Tyre is followed by another extended prophecy, this time directed towards Egypt. This prophecy is also presented as a lament, as Egypt was a great nation, as well. The prophecy begins in Chapter 29, where we read in verse 3 that, like the ruler of Tyre, Pharaoh had set himself as a god. Pharaoh was so far gone on the idea as to claim that he had made the Nile for his own purposes. This, of course, was mere play-acting, and Pharaoh would soon find out the true nature of things. Chapter 30, verses 20-26 contains the prophecy of how Pharaoh will lose his illusions about being a god. The reference to arms in this passage is symbolic of strength, and the passage indicates that Egypt will be dealt a significant military blow and, before it can recover, will be finished by another terrible blow.

Though we have been reading a lament for Egypt for some time, it is in Chapter 31 that we get a sense of why we should morn over the passing of such a corrupt nation, as the very Sovereign Lord declares Egypt to have beauty and majesty without compare. (We should note that the text names Assyria, when the context is clearly Egypt. The reason is not clear, but it may be that a comparison of Egypt to Assyria is intended.) Though we would never question the morality of the Sovereign Lord, that same Lord is not willing to dismiss an entire nation as simply “evil”. In these verses we are reminded that even a corrupt nation is a home to many, as the tree was home to the birds, beasts, and even all the great nations. Further, though the Lord has in many places decried Egypt as corrupt and idolatrous, here he says “I made it beautiful, with abundant branches.” This is the great tragedy of Egypt’s idolatry. The towering tree was made by God and should have been a force for good, but the nation of Egypt said “We made this ourselves, for our own purposes.”

Who Is Listening?

Chapter 32 contains the conclusion for the Egyptian lament and the section of prophecy for the nations, as in verses 17-32 we find a review of all the nations beyond the grave in Sheol. It is reasonable for us to wonder at this point about the intended audience of this prophecy. While it might have been possible for those who remained in Judah to hear Ezekiel’s prophecy regarding their actions and their fate, it is unlikely that Ezekiel had access to all the nations mentioned in these chapters. In any case, Ezekiel was delivering his message to those around him, just as he delivers it to us, even if it was a message regarding some other set of people far away and, for us, long gone.

How then, are we to react to the judgments of the Lord against nations long gone? One theme among these stories is that we must react with compassion to those around us, even those whom we believe deserve the judgment of the Lord, because:

At the hear of even the worst situation, there are people like you and me,
The Lord, who is the ultimate authority on good and evil, does not view people as wholly good or evil, and
We are all children of God – and all sinners.

For My Own Name’s Sake

2005-08-03T19:07:00.000-07:00

For My Own Name’s Sake

Ezekiel Chapters 18-24

The Soul Who Sins

In Chapter 18, the Lord delivers a lengthy discourse which begins with an idea exemplified by a proverb of the day. This proverb is set forth in verses 1-3: “the fathers eat sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.” The idea being that the failures of one generation are afflicted upon those that follow. In the following passage, the Lord carefully reiterates that this idea is not accurate. Though it would be instructive, given the focus of ethics today, to review the morality that is reiterated in this passage, the verses are somewhat repetitive, and we will not go into them in detail.

In verses 19-32, the Lord goes on to say that, not only is the proverb about fathers and children not true, but a wicked man may be redeemed, and someone who has acted righteously may sin and, in any case, it is the one who sins who will die. The Lord knows us and speaks for us to say “That is just not right”. It is against our logic. In our world, the innocent pay for the actions of others, sometimes people they have never even heard of, and it is against our logic and even our morality to say that a guilty man should simply change his ways, or that a righteous man be condemned for a single act; the former seems to lenient and the latter too harsh. How can this be justice?

There are two things we must consider. First, there is no promise here that the fall of Jerusalem would be stopped. The people of Israel and Judah had acted sinfully, and as a consequence of their actions, the nations fell. The living and dying talked about in these verses is what we might call the wages of sin (Romans 6:23), not the immediate, earthly consequences, but the eternal significance of our actions – actions that would separate us from God. Theologically, it is significant that Ezekiel is one of the earliest books in which this idea of individual sin and responsibility are discussed.

We must also consider that the Lord does not delight in the death of the wicked. We often act as if the opposite were the case. As if, in fact, the Lord were quite as delighted as we are, and had just the same notion as we do of who “the wicked” are. But we must be very careful. The verses at the end of the chapter that say: “Why would you die, Oh house of Israel? For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord of Israel. Repent and live!” are directed to the Lord’s own people – the wicked ones.

For My Own Name’s Sake

Chapter 19 has two different laments, one comparing Israel to a lioness with two lion cubs, Israel and Judah, and another comparing Israel to a vine. In the first case, the two young lions are mistreated by the neighboring nations; in the second case, the vine is badly treated by some unknown hand. The laments concern the sad state of the nations, but make no mention of how this state came to be.

This is sharply contrasted with Chapter 20, which contains an indictment of the people of Israel who continually rebelled against the Lord. There are very interesting passages here, for example, in verses 13-14, where the Lord says that he could have destroyed the people of Israel, but did not, “for my own name’s sake.” A passage like this taken out of context can be quite disturbing, as it seems to portray the Lord as prone to genocide, but stopped by vanity.

The phrase “for my own name’s sake” is used again later in the chapter, when its meaning is more understandable. In verse 44, the Lord tells the people that, though their actions may deserve destruction, the Lord would deal with them according to his name’s sake, that is, according to his nature, and not according to their actions. Though we may deserve destruction, it is the nature of the Lord to redeem us.

Swords, Sins, and Sisters

Chapter 21 contains a number of oracles which are loosely related around the symbolism of the sword. Just to keep in mind the kind of thing that God asked Ezekiel to do, we should consider that, in one of these, the Lord had Ezekiel mark out the two possible paths the king of Babylon might take, either against Judah or the Ammonites. He was supposed to set up signposts, etc. and show how the king would stop at a certain place and cast lots and consult the liver of a slaughtered sheep. All this playacting must have been pretty weird.

Chapter 22 is a long catalog of Jerusalem’s sins. They are not all that shocking to the modern world. We seem to have invented a few new ones since Ezekiel’s time.

Chapter 23 tells a story of two sisters, one that represents Samaria, the other that represents Jerusalem. The first sister makes some really bad choices and falls on hard times. The second sister sees her mistakes, but then does the same thing. The language in the story is of a spurned lover, hurting over his loss.

The Lord’s Will

In Chapter 24, in verses 15-24, we read a very moving story. The word of the Lord comes to Ezekiel that his wife will die. Moreover, the Lord tells Ezekiel that he must not engage in the common mourning rituals that were the expected practice of his day. After Ezekiel’s wife dies and the people see that he is not mourning in the accepted way, they ask him what it means. Ezekiel says that it is a message from the Lord that the city of Jerusalem will fall, and so many will die in such panic, that there will be no time or energy for mourning. This is not unlike the command God gave to Jeremiah to refrain from marriage, mourning, and feasts.

Because we believe in a loving God who is in control of this world, we sometimes make the mistake of trying to comfort people in times of crisis by telling them “It’s the will of God.” Ezekiel knew that we can find the will of God, even in the most difficult times. While the situation we are in may not have been a part of God’s plan, God has a plan for us, no matter what situation we are in.

Kicking Around in your Blood

2005-08-03T18:57:00.000-07:00

Kicking Around in your Blood

Ezekiel Chapters 12-17

Whatever I Say Will Be Fulfilled

In previous chapters, God has instructed Ezekiel to act out prophecy in various ways which must have seemed very strange to his audience, as for example, Ezekiel was told to lay on one side and then the other for a period of over a year, and to make a clay tablet replica of Jerusalem and lay siege to it. In Chapter 12, this method of Prophecy continues, as we read in verses 2-11, the Lord told Ezekiel to pack his belongings as if preparing for exile, and then to dig a whole in “the wall” and pass through it. We do not know what wall this could be, but the Lord instructed Ezekiel to perform these things in plain site, so either Ezekiel invited people into his home, or he chose a wall that was in a public place.

These actions accomplished the purpose of the Lord: the people asked Ezekiel what in the world he was about. The Lord told Ezekiel to explain that the prophecy concerned the whole house of Jerusalem. “As I have done, so it will be done to them.”

We know, of course, that God is the ultimate inspiration of scripture and that we, whoever we are when we approach it, are the intended audience. Even so, when we approach scripture we must develop some understanding of the setting of the scripture in terms of the original author and audience. With Ezekiel there may be some question as to who collected the prophecies and edited them together into the book of Ezekiel, but there is (speaking in the broad terms of a layperson) no question that the source of the book is Ezekiel.

The question of the audience is a bit trickier. A great deal of the text of Ezekiel is related to the fall of Jerusalem. It is generally accepted, and there is some evidence in Ezekiel, that there was communication between Jerusalem and the exiles in Babylon. On the other hand, there was Jeremiah, the prophet to the remnant; why should Ezekiel, the prophet in exile, preach to the remnant? And why use such dramatic means, which would certainly have greater impact on Ezekiel’s fellow exiles than on the remnant in Jerusalem?

One explanation is that the immediate audience for Ezekiel was his fellow exiles. These exiles would not have been as affected by the act of the fall of Jerusalem as they would the idea of the fall of Jerusalem. All of this actually has some bearing on our interpretation and application of the book of Ezekiel, and specifically on the final passage of the chapter.

In verses 21-28, the Lord asks Ezekiel about a proverb: “The days go by when every vision comes to nothing.” Taken out of context, it sounds very much like our proverb: “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” It is a very cynical view of the world. But, we know from this passage that the proverb specifically applied to the actions of God. Today, we seem to have two prevailing notions about God’s day-to-day activity in the world. On the one hand, there is the notion that God is like some grand clockmaker, who made the world and then stood back to watch it run. The other idea, which is just as terrible, is that everything that happens is the will of God. We provide “comfort” to parents who have lost their children to a drunk driver by saying that this is the will of the Lord. “God does nothing” and “God does everything” are two sides of the same coin. They are both cynical views of the world.

How could these exiles, dragged from their homes to the desert of Babylon, cling to the idea that nothing ever happened? It was because they had misplaced hope. Their hope was in Jerusalem. The temple was in Jerusalem, and God, as they believed, was in the Temple. They found it much easier to believe in a god they could contain in a temple in a city, than in a Sovereign Lord that could redeem them wherever they were.

False Prophets and Idolaters

In Chapter 13 the idea of the false proverb is expanded into the condemnation of false prophets. In verses 1-7, the Lord says that these prophets simply make up their prophecies, and in verses 10-12 the Lord says that the prophets’ claim of peace is just whitewash over a flimsy wall which cannot withstand even the elements. If it cannot withstand the wind and the rain, how can it withstand an actual attack?

Chapter 14 goes from false prophets to idolaters. In verses 1-6 we read three very important points about this sin of idolatry.

It was idolatry in their hearts. While the Israelites had been guilty of the worship of graven images, this “great idolatry” was an image within their own hearts.
Idolatry is the essential sin, in that it turned the people away from God. Sin is always choosing something over the will over God. Whatever we choose – often it is our own will – is our false god.
The Lord’s reaction to the idolatry of the people was to act to redeem them and to call them to repentance.

The latter half of the chapter deals with a topic that is a major theme in Ezekiel: individual and corporate responsibility. In this chapter, the subject is introduced in verses 12-14, where we must first briefly consider the three characters that are mentioned. Noah, of course presents no problem, as he is an ancient figure who would have been well known to Ezekiel. Job may or may not be a problem. It is assumed that the book of Job was written much later than the book of Ezekiel, but of course the story of Job may have been around long before the book of Job. There is a real question, though, whether the Daniel from the book of Daniel would have been before Ezekiel, or more contemporary, and if contemporary, if he would have been an iconic figure in the same manner as Noah and Job. But, having raised that issue, any conclusion, or theory, perhaps, is beyond the scope of this discussion.

The point of these names is that they were individuals who were iconic in their righteousness. The Lord says of Jerusalem that the righteousness even of such individuals as these would not save the city. Their righteousness would save only themselves. Perhaps, then, there were righteous people in the city. Still, the city as a whole was had sinned against the Lord and there would be consequences to that sin.

Today, we have almost the opposite view as the Israelites. The Israelites understood God to deal with the nation of Israel, more or less immediately. That is to say, when the nation did the right thing, the nation prospered and when the nation did the wrong thing, the nation suffered. Today, we think of God as dealing with individuals, but not immediately. So, we may sin or be righteous, and while God may help us in this life, our ultimate reward is in the afterlife. The book of Ezekiel continually deals with the ideas of individual responsibility and the corporate affect of individual choice.

The Useless Vine

Chapter 15 briefly investigates the vine purely as wood. From a literary point of view, it is very interesting. It points out a few things the vine is not good for, and rather obliquely mentions that it is good for burning. Of course, the purpose of the vine is to bear fruit, and if it were bearing fruit, one would not be wondering what it might be good for. So, without saying it, the passage says that the vine is not bearing fruit, and that when a vine does not bear fruit, it can only be thrown into the fire. (John 15:4-6)

Kicking Around in your Blood

The entirety of Chapter 16 is devoted to an extended allegory. The allegory is a love story, which in verses 1-5 describes Jerusalem (which we must understand as referring to the Hebrew people) as the most abject of orphans, rejected at the moment of birth. Verses 6-8 say that the Lord came by and found the orphan girl kicking around in her own blood and took her and raised her and, when it was time, entered into a covenant with her.

This comparison of the love of the Lord to pure, marital love is only a literary device, of course, the love of God goes far beyond our human love, but it establishes a reference for the actions of the orphan, about which we begin to read in verses 15-19. In these verses, there is no indication even of any gratitude, much less of any returned love. Instead, the orphan uses all the things the Lord gave her to turn away from the Lord and pursue other lovers who, in turn, take away these things.

The Lord’s reaction is summarized in verses 59-63, and it involves a combined message of judgment and atonement. How can the orphan get what she deserves and be atoned for all she has done? The Lord always remembers the covenant. We do not always remember the covenant. When we break the covenant, we break our relationship with God. That is what we deserve. God is always ready to reestablish the covenant and make atonement for our sin.

Will It Thrive?

Chapter 17 is another allegory. This allegory has to do with the cedars of Lebanon, which were symbols of the glory of Jerusalem. As the story begins, first one and then another eagle takes a shoot from the top of a cedar away to another land and tries to get it to grow. The Lord asks “will it thrive?” The Lord himself explains that these eagles symbolize Babylon and Egypt taking away exiles into their lands. The Lord says that these are the efforts of men, but that God himself has a plan, and will take a shoot and bless it, and it will thrive.

Some General Comments

2005-08-03T18:54:00.000-07:00

Some General Comments

These entries are the lesson notes for a Bible study class. The lesson plan follows the Explore the Bible Series from LifeWay. This series is designed to study the entire Bible a book at a time. In practice, the student and teacher guides cover only select scriptures from the larger assigned passages each week. These notes attempt to at least summarize the content of all the text.

The author uses the NIV for study and reference, and on most occasions when there are quotes in the text, these are from the NIV. The links are through the Blue Letter Bible, which has a number of available translations, but the NIV is not among them. The author has chosen the RSV in its stead.

The author is not sure why these notes are here, does not expect anyone to see them, and does not have any idea what will become of them.

Glory and Judgment

2005-06-12T06:00:00.000-07:00

Glory and Judgment

Ezekiel Chapters 4-11

Prophetic Action

In Chapter 4, the Lord begins to tell Ezekiel to do some very interesting things as prophecy to the people. Rather than simply deliver words of prophecy, the Lord tells Ezekiel in verses 1-4 to make a clay replica of Israel and lay siege to it to symbolize what will happen to the city. If this is not strange enough, verses 4-8 say that Ezekiel is to lie first on one side and then the other for a period of 430 days to symbolize the total time the people of Judah and of Israel will be in exile.

In Chapter 5, verses 1-4, Ezekiel is told to shave off his hair and beard and carefully measure it into thirds, one of which he is to burn within his model city, another he is to attack with the sword around the city, and the rest he is to scatter to the wind. This is to show what will happen to the whole house of Israel, save for a few strands that cling to his robe.

They Will Know that I Am the Lord

In Chapter 6, Ezekiel returns to words, which are at first directed to the mountains themselves, though they begin to be directed towards the people who live there. The word that the Lord gives Ezekiel for the mountains is that the high places of worship would be destroyed, and the people who worshipped idols there would be slain. In the latter half of the chapter we begin to get a sense of the purpose of all this prophecy, as in the closing verses 13 & 14 the Lord says that when all this comes to pass, “Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

The Lord, of course, is the Lord, and does not have to prove this in any way to any one, but it seems that the people were not behaving as if there were a Sovereign Lord who was active in their lives. Chapter 7 makes it clear that this is a time of judgment for their actions. In verses 5-20 the Lord says that the end has come, and judgment is here. The people have been an arrogant, violent nation, depending on their wealth and the “gods” that they have made.

The final verse of the chapter is quite ominous “I will deal with them according to their conduct, and by their own standards I will judge them. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

The Temple Vision

Ezekiel has seen some strange things already, but the extended vision which begins in Chapter 8 is strange indeed. As recorded in verses 1-12, while Ezekiel is sitting in conference with the leaders of the exiled of Judah, the Spirit of God grabbed him by the hair and took him back to Jerusalem to show him the terrible things that were happening there.

First, within the temple, there is some “idol of jealousy”. What this idol was exactly, we do not know. Certainly, however, it was an idol to a false god, and it did not belong in the temple. But further, there was a secret room in the temple, and in it the very leaders of the temple were practicing idolatry. Curiously, they were doing this in secret, though they claimed the Lord either did not know or did not care what they did.

In the final verse of this chapter, the Lord says “Therefore I will deal with them in anger; I will not look on them with pity or spare them. Although they shout in my ears, I will not listen to them.” This is a continuation of the thought that closes the previous chapter “I will deal with them according to their conduct.” The people turned away from God and taught themselves to follow idols and as a result their relationship with God was broken and they had separated themselves from God’s grace.

Glory and Judgment

In Chapter 9, Ezekiel is no longer the focus of the action. Having witnessed the sin of the people, he is left to watch as, in verses 1-6, the Lord gives orders for a census of the city to be taken, and for all the unrighteous to be slain. This action is immediately carried out, and in Chapter 10, verses 1-2, the Lord gives another order for this “man clothed in linen” to fill his hands with coals from the throne platform to scatter over the city. We must assume the man in linen clothed in linen completes this request, because Ezekiel gets caught up in once again attempting to describe the indescribable glory of the Lord that he loses track of everything else.

In Jeremiah, the judgment of God is never separate from the love of God: God is worthy to judge us because God loves us. In Ezekiel, judgment is an aspect of the glory of God: God may judge us because God is the Sovereign Lord, completely perfect, and entirely beyond our knowledge. The two ideas are in no way contradictory.

Ezekiel continues to grapple with his description of the glory of the Lord for some time until, in verses 18 & 19, we read that the glory of the Lord begins to move. We will read in the next chapter of the eventual destination over the mountain east of the city, but the symbolic importance here is that, as a part of the judgment against the people, the Glory of the Lord left the temple.

Hope

Ezekiel’s vision continues in Chapter 11, as he sees various Jewish leaders, some of whom he recognizes. These men have become self-important, and Ezekiel is told to prophesy to them. As he is doing so, one of them dies. It is hard to know whether these men are aware of Ezekiel’s presence, or if all of the prophetic vision is for Ezekiel to bring back to his fellow exiles, but Ezekiel certainly does do the latter. He begins to fear for the complete obliteration of Israel, and he is returned to his people. In verses 14-21, the Lord tells Ezekiel that, despite the wickedness he has seen in others, he and his people have their own mission and their own promise.

It may seem arrogant of God to remove himself from his people because he did not like the way they were behaving. We do well first to remember that an all-powerful being cannot, by definition, be arrogant. More importantly, we must remember that God is a completely other being, who makes himself available to us in the first place. We cannot reject him forever. Fortunately, he is working within us, to replace our hearts of stone with hearts of flesh. He wants to be our God, and us to be his people.

Ezekiel Saw the Wheel

2005-06-05T05:46:00.000-07:00

Ezekiel Saw the Wheel

Ezekiel Chapters 1-4

Introduction

Ezekiel as a book is almost certainly the words of the prophet Ezekiel. There is, according to scholars, some evidence of editorial work on the text, but the editor may have been Ezekiel himself. The chronology of Ezekiel is fairly well ordered, and there are references to events for which the dates can be established via external sources. The setting of the book is slightly more difficult to establish. The author himself states that he is among the exiles in Babylon. Much of the prophecy, however, is directed to the city of Judah, and the prophet makes a visionary visit to the city itself. After the fall of Judah, there are many oracles against the surrounding nations.

Among the themes of Ezekiel are the following.

God is beyond our understanding.
We have sinned.
Judgment is sure.
Redemption is possible.

Ezekiel Saw the Wheel

Chapter 1 begins in verses 1-3 to identify Ezekiel and establish the time and setting. What exactly is meant by “in the thirteenth year” we do not know, but it has been translated “in my thirteenth year” and may mean when Ezekiel was thirteen years old. If so, it would be the time that Ezekiel would become a man and, if he had been in his homeland, begin to participate in the priestly duties. Instead he received a strange vision from God.

The record of the vision itself begins in verses 4-18. The vision is quite complex, and there has been a great deal of speculation as to the meaning of the figures in the vision. Lately, of course, there has even been speculation that what Ezekiel saw was a spaceship flown by aliens. Others look for symbolism in each feature of each creature and device. Whether Ezekiel intended or was aware of such symbolism we do not know. It is clear that he was struggling to describe what he saw using the language and imagery he had at his disposal.

As the vision continues, Ezekiel’s struggle continues, and his imagery begins increasingly to fail. In verses 25-28, we find that what Ezekiel is seeing in his vision is a throne platform. He has difficulty describing the throne itself, and as for what he sees on the throne, he can at last only say “This was the appearance of the likeness of the Lord.”

They Will Know

In Chapter 2, God calls Ezekiel to be a prophet. As recorded in verses 1-5, the Lord tells Ezekiel first to “get up” as there is a time for abject worship and a time when work is to be done. The Lord says that the prophet must speak, even though the people may not listen. This may at first seem like callous disregard for their fate, but it is regard for their fate that caused the Lord to call Ezekiel and many other prophets. “How are they to hear without a preacher?” (Romans 10:14)

We should note that the Lord begins here to call Ezekiel “Son of man” and continues to use that title for Ezekiel as recorded throughout the remainder of the book. This is significant because it is also the favorite title that Jesus used for himself. Though it did in later writings have a Messianic significance, its use here is to emphasize Ezekiel’s humanity in the face of his experience with the Lord; Ezekiel was not only a man, but the son of man – the very essence of man, and very different from God.

Sweet as Honey

Ezekiel’s commissioning continues on into Chapter 3, with the story of the eating of the scroll, which is recorded in 2:8-3:3. Besides being edible and tasty, the scroll has the curious feature of having writing on both front and back. A number of suggestions have been made as to the meaning of this, the most obvious being that there were simply too many words of lamentation and woe to fit on one side of the scroll, so the scroll was jam-packed with them on both sides.

Though the imagery may be unique to Ezekiel, the idea is not. The Psalmist speaks of ordinances of the Lord being sweeter than honey (Psalm 19:9-11; Psalm 119:102-104) and Jeremiah says he ate the words of the Lord (Jeremiah 15:16). The idea behind the imagery was that once Ezekiel was called, he must be prepared; he was not to go speaking his on mind in the name of the Lord, but to speak the words the Lord gave him.

A Watchman

In verses 16-21, the Lord tells Ezekiel that he bears an awesome responsibility. It would be so easy to misrepresent this responsibility so that it becomes our burden to instruct and even to force others to behave as we understand they should, but the Lord was very clear that it was Ezekiel’s task to do as he was told. This responsibility for others was not limited to Ezekiel, but Christ passed it on to us, when he gave us the keys to the kingdom (Matthew 16:19).

Not What We Expect

In verses 22-23, the Lord tells Ezekiel the Lord tells Ezekiel to go out to the plain. Ezekiel does, and there he sees the glory of the Lord, just as he did at the Kebar River. This must have been very strange for Ezekiel, in a number of ways, but he was a priest, after all, and so he knew where God dwelt, and were to go to experience the glory of the Lord, and it was not by the river or out on the plain or anywhere in Babylon, but back in Jerusalem. He only had an inkling of what God wanted him to say, but he did find that God was judging, not only the actions of those rebellious sinners he would be preaching to, Ezekiel’s actions, as well. It was not what we expected.

It’s comforting to have a God we expect. It is nice to know where to go to find God. It is easy to believe we know what God wants for our lives. But someday we may find ourselves by the Kebar River, far from everything we ever expected for our lives, and without anything we planned to depend on. If we do, it will be good to encounter a God that is bigger than our expectations and has plans that go beyond our dreams.