Thursday, February 19, 2009
The ABC's of the Bible- Law
Why do I as a Christian eat bacon?
Most Christians have a pretty basic understanding of the biblical concept of Law. The Law of Moses is given by God in the books that are also called the Law (or Torah). But it seems that Christians can often be tripped up with the relationship they now have with the Law.
Several years back I tried to start a witness encounter with a man before realizing that he was Seventh-Day Adventist. So I asked him several questions about the 10 Commandments trying to show him that he has a fallen nature and he countered with a question for me about how I had kept the 4th commandment (Exodus 20:11). I didn't know why I treated Sunday more like a Sabbath than I did Saturday.
Though this post isn't necessarily about the Sabbath I would have been helped if I had a better understanding of the Law. So here are a few ways people deal with the Law.
1. Divide the Law into 3 groups:
Civil Law- Laws which related only to the government of Israel.
Ceremonial Law- Laws relating to religious Israel.
Moral Law- Laws that are universally concerned with God's moral character. Some might just put the 10 commandments here.
2. Only obey that which has been reinstituted in the New Testament:
Christ fulfilled the Law right (Matthew 5:17)? So proponents of this view would say that we should only treat that which is commanded under the New Covenant as a commandment. What does that leave you with? 9 of the 10 commandments (all but the Sabbath).
3. Obey all of the Law except that which is uninstituted in the New Testament:
Christ said that he didn't come to abolish the Law and that it wouldn't pass away right (Matthew 5:18)? So we should follow what the Old Testament says until the New Testament tells us to stop. What does that leave you with? 9 of the 10 commandments (all but the Sabbath).
"Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath." (Colossians 2:16)
So what are my views on the Sabbath you ask? That's pretty complicated. Why do I eat bacon? Any of these 3 ways of dealing with the Law allow it. Maybe Joel should be less concerned with offending people because of food and more concerned with offending them with the Cross.
Grace and Peace,
Stephen
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2 comments:
I wonder what Mr. Osteen (self-proclaimed life coach instead of pastor) does with the Acts 10 text. Four-legged animals were included (clean and unclean). I haven't seen the sermon in its entirety. But something tells me Osteen doesn't deal with Peter's vision.
You're probably right.
There are so many things wrong with this short clip and Osteen's "preaching" in general. What bothers me the most has nothing to do with the connection between his message and the topic on which I was writing. It is that he doesn't want to offend people by talking about sin or wrath but he is ok with offending people when it comes to food. Ridiculous.
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