STANDARDS OF OBEDIENCE
Obedience is important to God. But God does not want obedience according to the rules of RELIGION. What he wants is that people will obey his voice.
STUDY TIP: See this link for a detailed discussion about obeying God’s voice.
Jews understand obedience to be with respect to the Torah (i.e. The Law). Christians understand obedience to be with respect to Jesus and portions of the Ten Commandments. They both understand that obedience to God’s word is what God wants. They do not, however, understand that what God wants is obedience to his voice. Thus they practice religion according to what the know. The problem is that they only know in part and reason like children. They do not yet understand that the obedience God is talking about is to his voice — not to the written word. They are obedient to what they can see (i.e. the written word) but they do not have faith to trust in the voice that they cannot see.
Faith deals with spiritual things. Faith, Grace, Mercy, Peace, Love, Heart, Glory, Blessing, Spirit and Truth are all purely spiritual. These qualities have no material substance. They cannot be seen, touched, smelled, heard, acted out or tasted. Along with the fruit of the Spirit (i.e. love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control), they comprise matters of the heart. They are not matters of the flesh.
STUDY TIP: See this link for a detailed discussion of matters of the heart.
Also see Faith for detailed discussions of faith.
Also see Flesh, Works and Deeds for a detailed discussion of flesh.
With a good understanding of the heart, faith and flesh, we can begin to understand the essence of the stumbling block. Because it is a very complicated spiritual concept we want to be careful that we do not simplify it too much, but we will take the risk of doing that to help readers get a grasp of the basic idea which we will state as follows. It has two parts: The written law and the spiritual law.
The written law is a stumbling block in the sense that it appeals to the human inclination to engage in religious activity that can be seen, touched, smelled, heard, acted out or tasted. The law appeals to the human habit and desire to build and manipulate the human environment. It is also a stumbling block in the sense that it appeals to the human inclination to follow a human leader.
The spiritual law is a stumbling block in the sense that it is not part of man’s human nature which is trained to deal with things that can be seen, touched, smelled, heard, acted out or tasted. Purely spiritual things that are not part of normal human life are difficult to grasp because they cannot be seen, touched, smelled, heard, acted out or tasted. Great faith in the unseen is required to understand spiritual things.
With this simple explanation we can begin to see why God makes such a big deal about the flesh and faith. They are polar opposites in nature. Flesh can be seen, touched, smelled, heard, acted out and tasted, but spirit contains none of those qualities. But because God is spirit and wants to recreate us into his image, his plan for us involves retraining humans to think and act (or not act) in more spiritual ways than in his habitual fleshly ways. It is a difficult process, and it will never be totally completed as long as we have fleshly bodies, but God finds it to be in his best interests and ours to work with us to make it happen little by little like the potter works with clay to reshape it into its desired form so that it can be used for its desired purpose.
We saw the difference (i.e. faith and The Law) between Jews and Christians presented clearly in Romans 9:30-33. But while few Christians regard the entire Law to be the standard of obedience that defines God’s standards for righteousness, they would agree with what James says about being guilty of the whole law if only one point is violated. Nevertheless, because Christians like to say that they are under grace and not under the law, they think that they have a personal exemption that gives them license to pick and choose which laws they want to observe, or, if they need to observe any of them at all. The way we see it, this is evidence of serious double-mindedness.
While Jews and Christians do accept obedience as an issue in their relationship with God, they disagree with each other about the mechanics (i.e. grace/faith or The Law) of exercising obedience. More important is the fact that the terms by which that obedience is fulfilled are different from God’s terms. Understanding this difference is essential to being in a New Covenant relationship with God. The consequence of failure to understand this difference is serious.
We see the consequences of the stumbling block for Israel in the book of Romans:
Romans 10:1-5 Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. 2 I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but it is not enlightened. 3 For, being ignorant of the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4 For Christ is the end of the law, that every one who has faith may be justified. 5 Moses writes that the man who practices the righteousness which is based on the law shall live by it.
COMMENTARY: We see here that zeal for God may not be a good indicator of spiritual enlightenment. What the Apostle Paul is referring to is zeal for enforcement of the Mosaic Law in its literal sense. He says further that this zeal for rules and rituals that have made Judaism distinct do not qualify as righteousness. They are only rules and traditions taught by men.
Jews had obedience to the letter of the law down to a fine art. They were, and continue to be, very exacting about observing every detailed aspect of the law. And where the written law failed to provide enough detail, the Pharisees added their own interpretations of what God might have meant for them to do if he would only have written it all down for them. What they added is commonly called the “Oral Law,” which carries as much weight as the written law for orthodox Jews.
What they missed in their zeal for perfect obedience to the written law was the right heart attitude. In God’s view, strict obedience to rules does not constitute righteousness. Yes, obedience is necessary, but it must be rooted in love for God and not on a desire to be seen as righteous or spiritual by others. It must be the New Covenant law where it is written on the hearts of men by the Spirit of God — not written in doctrinal manuals, liturgies and rituals to be performed over and over again with legalistic zeal.
Furthermore, the written law could never be detailed enough to cover all the nuances and special conditions in life where God’s character could be and should be applied. Life is much to complex, and God is much to complex to hope to ever get it all down in writing. And even if it could be written down, no mortal person could ever hope to absorb it intellectually so it could be applied in real life situations.
God’s answer to that dilemma is to have the law written on the heart. Then all the legal details disappear in the spontaneous flow of God’s character lived out through the people who have his Spirit living in their hearts. When the Spirit is alive and at work, God’s people can respond to all kinds of life situations at all times. His love and mercy and humility is always in view to the world so that people will see him for who he really is.
Obedience to the written law, however, does not reveal who God is. The written law becomes a dry list of do’s and don’ts. These behaviors designed by men for men to follow are the stuff of religion. They do not represent the character of God.
Christians of all denominations who read this will be comforted in their hearts about their religion because they do not embrace the same rules and rituals that the Israelites/Jews do. Christians do not perform blood sacrifices, do not observe the seventh day Sabbath, and do not wear the clothing, and do not generally embrace or follow any of the rituals for which Jews are so well known. Furthermore, Christians will tend to condemn and criticize Jews for all their legalistic rituals. They are comforted with the assurance they because they believe in Jesus they need not work for their salvation like the Jews do.
What Christians fail to recognize, however, is that they have their own rules and traditions made by men. Like the Jews, they are zealous for ritualistic practices for which they find real Biblical evidence in the New Testament that these are the things that real believers should do. Little do they realize, however, that they have fallen into the same trap as Jews. They have read their Bibles just like the Jews read the law and created rules for righteous behavior from the written word. And then, again just like the Jews, they have added their own oral laws to fill in the blanks of what God failed to include to help make their theology complete.
Beginning with a little Biblical truth, Christians, like the Jews, have added to and subtracted from the law to create their own unique brands of religion. They are all similar in that they recognize Jesus, and they follow many of the same religious rituals and practices, but, like the Jews, their righteousness is based on what they do. They say, of course, that their righteousness is based on their belief in Jesus, but then they continue to do all their religious work anyway. They are double-minded.
Romans 10:4 says that Christ is the end of the law. When Christians read this, they interpret it to apply to Jews and their religious devotion to the Mosaic Law. They do not interpret and apply it to themselves and their own rituals and practices. Somehow, they think that God wants them to do ritualistic things that he did not want Jews to do. Somehow they think that their preferred rituals and practices are more acceptable in God’s eyes than the rituals and practices the Jews follow. They do not consider that Christ being the end of the law means that he is the end of all law — even the laws (i.e. rituals, practices) that they are so zealous to follow.
Some Christians will argue that their preferred rituals and practices are not laws at all, that they are in the Bible and should be followed. Well, so is the Seventh Day Sabbath! So is the prohibition against eating pork! So are the Feast Days! Why do some commands apply to them and why do other commands not apply to them? They are double-minded.
The sad fact is that Christians are just as zealous for their laws as the Jews are. If you doubt that, imagine a church without baptism or communion or funerals or weddings. Imagine church without a service on Sunday morning. Christians of all denominations would reject any church that did not offer these rituals. And if they do zealously hold on to these rituals made by men, they are holding on to the letter of the law. They, like the Jews, have missed the Spirit of the law. For them, like the Jews, their righteousness is based on what they do (i.e. their religion) — not on the law in their hearts — no matter how they might try to rationalize the legitimacy of their religions.
Christians, like the Jews, have stumbled on the law. They have done the easy thing which is to obey the written law. They cannot resist the temptation to do in their flesh what God intends to be done in the Spirit (i.e. in their hearts). They show that they do not really believe that the Spirit of God lives in them and works through them moment by moment in all circumstances for his purposes. If they did really believe that the Spirit lived in them and worked through them, they would have no need to do any religious rituals or practices that only appeal to other people who share their affections for those rituals and practices.
Just like the material Sacrifices, Tithes and Offerings of the Jews meant nothing to God, the rituals and practices of Christians also mean nothing to God. Worse than that, they are offensive abominations to him.
Romans 11:2-12 Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. 2 I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but it is not enlightened. 3 For, being ignorant of the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4 For Christ is the end of the law, that every one who has faith may be justified. 5 Moses writes that the man who practices the righteousness which is based on the law shall live by it. 6 But the righteousness based on faith says, Do not say in your heart, “Who will ascend into heaven?” (that is, to bring Christ down) 7 or “Who will descend into the abyss?” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart (that is, the word of faith which we preach); 9 because, if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For man believes with his heart and so is justified, and he confesses with his lips and so is saved. 11 The scripture says, “No one who believes in him will be put to shame.”
For both Jews and Christians, ritualistic obedience has become the standard by which righteousness is measured. For Jews, ritualistic obedience is based on the letter of The Law (Torah) handed down to Moses from God. The rules of obedience have been developed further by rabbis who have composed their own interpretations of the Torah and codified it in the Oral Torah, various parts of which are called the Mishnah, the Talmud and Midrash. Together these comprise the Oral Tradition of Jewish literature which carries legal significance equal to, or even greater than, the written Torah given to Moses.
Christians, on the other hand have their own oral laws. Christians would object to referring to the term “oral law, but, the way we see it, traditions and theologies based on two thousand years of Biblical interpretations by Christian theologians is the equivalent of oral law. They may be based on Biblical scripture (mainly New Testament) just like Jewish Rabbis base their opinions on the Torah, but what is written remains essentially the work of men who have formed their own interpretations of what God meant in the literal words of the Bible.
Speaking specifically about Christianity, doctrines advanced by theologians do not typically translate directly into ritualistic behaviors. Nevertheless, different religious groups adapt worship practices that agree (more or less) with their theological doctrines. Even religious groups that classify themselves as “non-liturgical” design worship traditions that they believe are consistent Biblical events. For example, they read about baptism and they perform baptisms. They read about priests with fancy robes, so they create religious leaders with titles and special clothing. Or they read about people speaking in tongues, and they speak in tongues. They read about prayer and they pray. And on and on it goes. They do in their flesh what they read was done by Bible characters while always missing the spiritual significance behind what was done.
What results from two thousand years of this interpreting and adapting activity is a wide spectrum of worship styles and related physical paraphernalia (e.g. clothing, buildings, music, etc.) that distinguishes each religious organization (both Jews and Christians) even though they all claim to worship the same God. The few common beliefs that organizations share do not translate into common worship traditions. And so what you get is a diverse menu of religious choices from which a confused world must choose — if it is to choose at all. And if it does not choose, we do not wonder why given the differences between all the choices. We don’t know about anyone else, but that causes us to wonder about the legitimacy of any of them.
So what does this have to do with The Law as a stumbling block? We will develop the detail further in this series of pages, but for now here is the point that must be made:
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Like it or not, believe it or not, the whole law, not just part of it, is the foundation of both religions. And we cannot stress too strongly that the whole law includes all God’s commandments, statutes and ordinances. It is not just the condensed version of the law found in the Ten Commandments. Nor is it just the teachings of Jesus unless you consider that Jesus’ teachings affirm the whole law.
Finally, The Law is not limited to the standards of righteousness that your religion (i.e. church, synagogue, etc.) says it is. All religious organizations selectively choose which doctrines they want to emphasize and follow and effectively ignore the rest of the Bible. Simply put, The Law is the criteria for staying in covenant relationship with God and it is the basis of the New Covenant of which Jesus is the mediator. This should be what matters.
STUDY TIP: Read The Law for a full discussion of the significance of The Law.
More to the point of this discussion, The Law is also the downfall of both religions. Yes, The Law is good, but there are conditions to this truth. To understand this we must study our way through several scriptures.
1-Timothy 1:8-11 Now we know that the law is good, if any one uses it lawfully, 9 understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for man-slayers, 10 immoral persons, sodomites, kidnappers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, 11 in accordance with the glorious gospel of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted.
COMMENTARY: At first, this seems totally contradictory. How can The Law be good only if it is used lawfully? Common sense says that if we observe The True Law we observe it lawfully. Otherwise we are observing a False Law. How are we to know if we are lawful or not if we are doing exactly (i.e. literally) what God says to do? This sounds like a Catch 22 situation in which you can’t win. We hasten to say, however, that it only seems like a situation where there is no getting it right. Be assured that there is a way that is right and good for God’s people. It is a narrow way to be sure, but God, in his faithfulness has provided it for his people.
Many people will want to ask how a loving God could put his people in a Catch 22 situation? But if you think that is hard to understand, look at verse 9 where we read that the law is not for the just, but for the lawless and disobedient. How does that work? Aren’t the just (i.e.righteous) the ones who successfully keep The Law? If the just are not already keeping The Law, how can it be said that The Law is not for them? On the other hand, how can it be said that The Law is laid down for lawless sinners? Aren’t the sinners the ones who are breaking The Law?
This is confusing to say the least. But there is an understanding about The Law that brings clarity to it all. Keep reading.
Looking back to verses 3-6 of 1 Timothy 1, we see Paul’s strong warnings about listening to people who pretend to be teachers of The Law but are actually promoting controversies about The Law. They are using The Law unlawfully for their personal gain (financial and esteem of men). We discuss this situation thoroughly in Commercial Religion. It is interesting to note that God places such lawless men in the same category as murderers, sodomites and other kinds of sinners. Obviously God has high standards for teachers of The Law.
For more understanding of 1-Timothy 1:8-11, visit The Law.