Several times I have suggested that Christians
stop the legal constitutional reading of scripture. In this blog post I will
present seven sound biblical reasons. In fact, in this post I beseech evangelicals to
cease and desist from using a legal constitutional reading of scripture and
replace it with a solely redemptive view. This would in no way diminish the
value of the scripture, and it would completely eliminate the schizophrenic Christianity
that presents an illogical and impossible mixture of law and grace
First, Jesus and his immediate followers
changed the focus to a solely redemptive hermeneutic. Jesus stated in John
5:39-40 that the Jews were improperly using the scripture. They erroneously
thought that they could find eternal life in the scriptures and the fact was
that eternal life was only found in Jesus. So then, to use the scriptures for
another purpose then finding Jesus and life is an incorrect use.
Second, Jesus and his immediate followers
redefined the phrases word of God and word of truth from Torah to the gospel,
and Jesus the living gospel. First of all, Jesus always referred to the scriptures
as the scripture (writings) or the Law and Prophets and never referred to them
as the word of God. He did use the word scripture often, you will find it
forty-six times in the gospels and Acts. Finally, I challenge you to go to an
exhaustive concordance and look up the phrase “the word of God.” Then insert
the words scripture/s in place of it, and it will not make sense in context,
however, if you insert the word gospel or Jesus depending on the immediate
passage-context it will make perfect sense each and every time.
Third, Christ Jesus was the end or goal or
purpose of the Law. Paul is especially clear on this point with statements like
“if righteousness comes from the Law then Christ died for nothing,” or “by the
works of the law no person will be justified.” It is clearly summed up in
passages like Romans 10:1-4: “Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to
God for them is that they may be saved. (2) For I bear them witness that they have a zeal
for God, but not according to knowledge.
(3) For, being ignorant of the
righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit
to God's righteousness. (4) For Christ is the end of the law for
righteousness to everyone who believes.” It could not possibly be made more
clear than that.
Fourth, God made Jesus enemies his footstool
when he destroyed the temple and Jerusalem. Who were Jesus enemies? Of course
the answer is the unbelieving Jews. They were the ones who enticed the Romans
to crucify him. They were the ones that persecuted the church. So then, the
first step in making Jesus’ enemies his footstool was the destruction of the
temple and Jerusalem. It did not stop there because ultimately Rome was made
his footstool also. Ultimately however, death was put under his feet with the
destruction of the temple because the Old Covenant, Paul called it the ministry
of death, was rendered completely irrelevant with the destruction of the
temple.
Fifth, Jesus was the lamb that opened the
scroll and brought proper understanding of the scripture. Revelation 5:5 says
it all: “ And one of the elders said to
me, "Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of
David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals."
Prior to Jesus and his resurrection the scripture was hidden and the mystery of
the gospel was not revealed. Jesus did that Luke 24:27, 43-45.
Sixth, The new covenant demands it. Jer
31:31-34 "Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make
a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, (32)
not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I
took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that
they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. (33)
But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after
those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will
write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my
people. (34) And no longer shall each one teach his
neighbor and each his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they shall all know
me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will
forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more."
The underline portion of the above passage completely eliminates the legal
constitutional reading of scripture.
Seventh, A legal constitutional way of
reading the scripture renders the redemptive decrees as not true. Last but
certainly not least the new testament is full of what I call redemptive
decrees. Here is an example of what I am writing about: Rom 10:9-11 “because,
if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart
that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (10)
For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one
confesses and is saved. (11) For the Scripture says, "Everyone who
believes in him will not be put to shame." If one can be unsaved by
not doing something then this statement by Paul is simply a lie. Therefore, the
Christian walk admonitions, (I like to call them reasonable service requests),
cannot negate the declared promise for then, the scripture is absolutely of no value at
all. There are many others throughout the pages of the scripture. The most
famous one that Jesus stated is John 3:16, almost everyone is familiar with
that declaration.
The evidence I have presented is overwhelming…
what are you going to do with it?
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