Be careful what you ask for!
How many times have we heard that line? It usually comes from our very own lips—many times uttered as an after-the-fact realization. It further carries a sting to our egos because what was requested didn’t turn out as favorably as first thought.
RIIIIGHT?
We left off last time questioning how an all-knowing God would even write the Law when He foreknew how history would play out.
The Law—or the law system—has its origins when the first sin took place in the garden. The written Law, however, was actually given to Moses at Mount Sinai when Moses was surrounded by the complaining Israelites.
I can imagine the scenario happened something like this:
Israelites: Lord, it seems we cannot please you regardless of what we do. What do You want from us?
God: I want you to trust Me and allow Me to guide you moment by moment.
Israelites: Guide us—perfect! Just give us the guide, give us the steps we need to follow in order to be right with You. We can do it, we will do it! Just tell us what to do and everything will be okay.
God: No, it isn’t the act of doing. The issue is one of trusting. Just trust Me.
Israelites: You can trust us. Just give us a list and we will adhere to it.
God: I really just want you to trust ME.
Israelites: WE insist on a list. Once you give it to us then we will know what You want from us.
(So, the Lord gave the Law to Moses.)
God: I jotted down a few things here that reflect My eternal purity.
(Moses came down from Mount Sinai to deliver what the people insisted upon.)
Israelites: Finally! Read them to us, Moses. Read them so that we will know what to do.
(Moses read to the people.)
Israelites: This is what the Lord demands of us?! We can’t do that!
God: (to Himself) Exactly.
The lighted torch (aka the lightbulb forerunner) went off a flicker too late and the Israelites got more than what they asked for.
God saw how this would play out. He understood that man would think that it would be in his power to keep the Law. God knew that man would think that rule abiding would achieve a right standing with Himself.
Man’s rule keeping was a behavioral-based effort. God knew all of that before Law #1 was ever scripted.
We read in James 2:10 that the one who attempts to keep all of the Law of Moses but fails in just one point becomes guilty of breaking the law in every respect.
So, God gave the Law to demonstrate that righteousness can never come by adherence to religious rule keeping. Fail in one, you have failed in all.
The Law (then and now) is intended to frustrate. It is intended for man to get to a point of despair. It is aimed to break the thinking that any effort by sheer will (works) could ever achieve a successful way to bring God glory.
Recall 1 Corinthians 15:56. The Law gives sin its power. Literally, the Law keeps sin in a perpetual cycle of do this or don’t do that in order to be right with God. The power of this patterned thinking is what Satan uses to lure us to do, don’t, do, don’t. . . you get the picture.
Read the same verse in the AMPC version:
Now sin is the sting of death, and sin exercises its power [upon the soul] through [the abuse of] the Law.
Remember how sister Gotta Do fashioned a version of her own ten commandments? She was imposing spiritual rules to govern her activity. She was setting herself up for failure in the name of rule keeping in order to please and bring glory to God. If she failed in her rules dictated by a “gotta do” mindset, then she failed God.
She was doomed before she even got started and it was all over but the crying!
Not only can we impose rules to achieve a right standing (which is abusing the Law); but such impositions can originate from the pulpit or from other well-meaning but Law-abiding Christians.
Do you see yet another Trojan horse on the horizon? This one is dressed up and concealed as true discipleship.
To state more aptly: legalistic discipleship.
Again, Satan will use anything. And to the born-again believer, discipleship sounds good. However, Satan dresses every one of his Trojan horses to hide his destructive intentions.
Knowledge is power! In all our getting, let’s get knowledge and wisdom. Lets flip the light switch to the ON position and identify this harmful approach to discipleship.
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6a NKJV).
Until next time.