15 Nov 2014 by Jason Law CM –
One of the central issues affecting Christians today is a lack of complete understanding of God’s grace, and the role and interrelationship of faith and righteousness within it. It seems to be a complex matter, yet these factors are also among the central ones in our relationship with God. After all, it is nothing less than the reason for Christ’s sacrifice more than 2000 years ago.
In this article, I will attempt to take an objective look at the subject, based on much reading and hearing from articles and sermons by others, as well as from my understanding of certain passages from the Bible. I am still in the learning process myself, and I humbly say that there is much more for me to discover in my walk ahead with God. For what it is, the purpose of this article is just to share with the larger Body of Christ about what I have learned in that journey thus far.
We know that the Bible is the infallible word of God, and that everything within it is inspired by God, whether it is in the form of history, allegory, parable, or so on. The Old Testament ties in with the New Testament, and the Bible is a single body of work, not something that is split into two as if the Old Testament has no relevance for us today.
So what can we learn about the whole narrative of the relationship between God and mankind from the time of Creation itself? The Book of Genesis tells us that there was a time before the fall of mankind, when the First Man and First Woman walked with God. The thing to take note at this time was that though Adam and Eve had a consciousness of God, they did not have to think about what is ‘right’ and what is ‘wrong’. They were walking so closely with God that they were as one with Him.
However, this first account in Genesis also tells us about the Fall of Mankind, and this is of utmost relevance to us. The whole account of the Fall can be found in Genesis 3. The verses to take particular note are verses 4-6. What is happening here is that the question that the serpent is hinging on here is the whole issue of ‘being like God’. What the serpent promised was wisdom. What mankind got was a separation from God and the tearing of relationship between us and God.
Whether we take this account as a literal course of event, or something that occurred in the metaphysical sense, one thing remains certain. The serpent promised wisdom for mankind. What really happened instead? From my understanding, what the serpent inflicted on mankind on that day was a Systemic Mindset, also known as Human Wisdom. We no longer functioned naturally in the full operation of God’s Wisdom. Instead, we find ourselves dependent on human systems and wisdom.
Throughout history, we see this. Thus, there was, for example, the conflict between Capitalism and Communism. There are many systems in the world today, some examples of which were and are fascism, racism, atheism, humanism, rationalism, socialism, scientism, psychology, evolution, various financial systems, the Green Movement, and so on, even the religious systems.
Are these systems detrimental? That is an important question. In my opinion, the systems are valid ways to understand mankind today if we treat them in an impartial and open-minded way, rather as aids than defining life principles. But to the extent that they hinder our relationship with God that is the extent to which they are detrimental.
Why do I say this? Because the evidence of my own eyes and events throughout history have shown this. Instead of the benefits that they promised, the world has remained the same and very often the systems of the world has brought in disunity and chaos, warfare and suffering, and even if not so, the feeling of unhappiness or feeling trapped in our lives, in fact leading to other systems that are prevalent today, existentialism and post-modernism.
But 2000 years ago, Jesus had already offered us a way out of this. In the Old Testament, righteousness for the Israelites meant obedience to God’s Laws. The problem was the Israelites treated this as a system, and it did not change the people’s heart spiritually. The people were still removed from God, signified by the fact that only the High Priest could enter into God’s presence in the Holy of Holies. Season after season, they had to make blood sacrifices as atonement, only to fall back and repeat the process again. It became a cycle.
When Jesus came to Earth, He preached about the Kingdom of God. Particularly in the Beatitudes and the Sermon on the Mount, He taught about the purity and holiness of God, and of His standards. For instance, the Law says it is a sin to commit adultery, but according to Jesus, we have already committed sin in God’s eyes if we even have impure thoughts about the woman in front of us. And He stressed one thing; therefore be perfect as the Father is perfect (Matthew 5:48). Earlier, He had said that He had come not to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17).
Yet, numerous passages in the New Testament (2 Corinthians 5:21, Galatians 2:20, Hebrews 10:10) tells us that our righteousness is now in Christ, and that now we’re free. What did Christ’s sacrifice really do for us? Did it free us from the Law? Yes. Does it mean that we’re now free to live our lives as we will, irresponsibly and selfishly? No.
What Christ’s sacrifice really did for us was that it restored our relationship with God, and it conferred on us a covenant of Sonship through Christ Jesus. When we talk about covenants, it implies a binding agreement, not just on one side, but from all parties. There is an ethical responsibility still in the New Covenant, but it no longer relies on the Law, but rather, on our relationship through Christ.
How can we be Christians if we don’t identify with Christ and His values? It becomes an oxymoron; an absurdity. We are the temple in which the Spirit now resides, and the world sees God through Christians (Matthew 5:16). Numerous passages in the Bible caution us that God holds us accountable if we cause our brother or sister to fall.
This seems to have make things tougher for us, but if we’re in a relationship with God, it changes the way we see things. Sin is no longer a matter of what is ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ in the legalistic sense, but rather, something we know that will cause adverse effects on our lives and distance us from God. God’s concern for purity and holiness becomes something that is for our own good; not as a law but as a result of God’s concern for His people.
For instance, is it wrong to have possessions and do we need to live ascetic lives? Apart from good intention and motives like ‘full dedication to God’, there is nothing wrong nor right with possessions. It is not wrong to be materially rich nor is poverty a curse. Righteousness now comes from our role as God’s stewards; ‘based on my relationship with God, how would God want me to utilize the finances He has blessed me with?’
Most issues in our life now come from this lens: ‘Is it wrong to go to the cinema?’ ‘Is it wrong to read Fantasy?’ ‘Is it wrong to follow Christian Rock Bands?’
It is not always easy to resolve issues in the lives of Christians. Many times we will come across challenges or crossroads in which we do not know what to do. How do we know that we are making the right choices?
This is where the role of faith comes in. Faith comes from a relationship with God. Mark Fackler explains in his book ‘Big Ideas of the Bible’; ‘Faith knows what God wants for each person and from each person. It centralizes on the belief that God loves all people and that Jesus is Lord and Saviour. Ultimately, it leads to action characterized by love for God and humankind (Page 67). Faith is a gift from God, exercised when people do, in fact, believe (Ephesians 2:8-9) despite the obstacles (Page 68)’.
Examples abound in the Bible of people who were at crossroads and who ended up pleasing God because they trusted in Him. Not least is the example of Abraham (Genesis 22). Many heroes and heroines in the Bible were tested in challenging times, very often due to attacks from enemies, but God brought them out time after time, rewarding them for their faith. The topic of faith is a whole complete topic by itself but one verse ring clear: ‘It is impossible to please God without faith’ (Hebrews 11:6).
Within the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught us how to pray. The prayer Jesus taught is addressed to our ‘Father in Heaven’, and within the Lord’s Prayer, there are 7 different petitions we can bring to God daily.
This is the immense gift that Christ has given us through His grace; freedom from bondage to Laws, a life of immeasurable potential and richness through Him, a complete relationship with God, and when we pass on, leaving a legacy for our inheritors and returning to our inheritance in Heaven.
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