December 4, 1999
A church ad showed a picture of two hands holding stone slabs inscribed with the Ten Commandments. The ad copy read: “For fast, fast, fast relief, take two tablets.”
Dr. Laura would agree. She says the sick moral climate in America can be cured only if people listen to God and do what He says.
Others disagree. In fact, some even say we have too many rules already, that religion imposes only restrictions. What we really need is more freedom.
Seeing that morals are not as important as they used to be does not require a degree in sociology. However, can more rules bring up moral standards or change people’s behavior? Or do rules simply raise our awareness of guilt?
That church sign implies that obedience to God will bring relief not guilt. Relief from what? God says we should not steal. If everyone obeyed, crime rates would decline. God says we should not commit adultery. If everyone obeyed, divorce rates would nose dive.
But life has other problems that call for relief. What about single mothers who need jobs with enough pay to cover their needs and the cost of daycare? What about sickness, financial debt, strained relationships, unemployment or other pressing issues? Would adding these commands give relief for these problems? Or complicate them?
We could say that keeping the laws of God has value in society but argue with the “fast relief” part. Ask any teacher. Ask any parent. People simply do not change overnight.
On the other hand, a few self-righteous folk might see this church sign and applaud. They wonder why people act the way they do. They insist everyone should put God first and live decently. Then the world would not be in this mess.
In Jesus’ day, the Pharisees fit this profile. They looked down at those “less religious” but made the mistake of thinking they themselves were okay. Jesus called them hypocrites.
So, can taking these “two tablets” actually give relief? The Bible teaches that the Law of God stands forever. It is important. However, the Bible also teaches that no one can keep His Law perfectly, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
So why have these ten? If putting them on the classroom walls had no effect, why did my Sunday School teachers do it? The New Testament gives the reason: “The Law was our tutor, to bring us to Christ.”
The self-righteous think that obedience to God’s commands is their ticket to heaven. They assume their adherence will give them favor with God. They do not understand or will not accept that everyone falls short. Our efforts at law-keeping do not impress God. The Apostle Paul wrote that keeping the commandments could not impart life. In Romans 3, he says people “are justified by faith apart from observing the law.”
This does not nullify the law as if it were unimportant. God’s standards are high. However, the Bible teaches that “all our works of righteousness are like filthy rags” in His sight. The gospel declares that our only hope is in His grace, not in our own efforts. As the Bible says, we “are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”
For those who believe in Christ, the commands remain to show us God’s high standard. Repeatedly, we see that our hearts are prone to sin. We are in constant need of God’s grace. In that sense, taking two tablets does give relief — it relieves us of the ignorance of sin — but the tablets do not cure the problem of sin nor any of the results of sin. Only Christ can do that.
Showing posts with label living proof. Show all posts
Showing posts with label living proof. Show all posts
Monday, October 16, 2017
Monday, August 15, 2016
The Best-selling Book .......... Parables 471
June 27, 1995
Our new encyclopedia takes up less space than a pocketbook. This latest version of Grolier’s features information on thousands of topics, has colored photographs, movies, animated drawings, even sounds. We can read about doves but also watch their flight pattern. We can see how an eagle catches a fish and watch a butterfly emerge from a cocoon. With multimedia computers and a library of CDS, one picture is indeed worth a thousand words.
Even though the industry is evolving from paper and ink, the ability to publish words remains valuable. Where would schools, universities and other learning centers be if we had no books, historical records or written wisdom from the past?
Publishing, CD or otherwise, also has strict standards. For instance, encyclopedias must be accurate because readers depend on them. Not only are details checked and rechecked by editors, errors are spotted and reported by critical readers.
Publishing is an old art. It is mentioned throughout the pages of the Bible. Kings published decrees on animal skins, papyrus, or stone tablets. For them, putting important laws in writing added a sense of authority and permanency over mere oral commands.
The Word of God in its printed form also carries a sense of authority and permanency. In spite of many attempts over hundreds of years to discredit or destroy it, the Bible has survived. Since mass publication started in the 1400's, it has been number one worldwide in sales. The psalm writer probably did not know how prophetic his words were when he penned: “The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it” (Psalm 68:11).
If there were no printed records of God’s activities among men, could Christianity survive or even exist? If it had been passed on by word-of-mouth, would its accuracy remain intact? For that matter, do people believe in any philosophy or creed without an unchanging text? Publishing is a vital part of our spirituality.
God could have used other methods to convey and preserve His word and His will but He choose to use a Book. It was a good choice. We still have thousands of ancient copies, with variations of less than 5%. However, many people insist the Bible cannot be true to the original manuscripts thus is unreliable, or it is a collection of fables. Perhaps a verbal telling and retelling would never survive those accusations, but the printed version stands firm, just as God promised. Lives are still changed by reading and applying it.
On that vein, God’s Book is not a volume of scientifically verifiable data like Grolier’s and for that reason, attempts to “prove the Bible” vary in success. Instead, God offered another argument for the validity of His Word. He challenges those of us who believe it to prove it by our lives. We are supposed to be as open and honest about ourselves and God’s message as God is. This “proof” is not a demand for perfection but a call to “tell it like it is.”
In other words, people are more apt to believe the Bible when there is a match between what God says and how His people live! The Apostle Paul put it this way: “You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. You show that you are a letter from Christ... written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.”
Similar to Grolier’s CD version, Christians are “living letters” from Christ. Our lives should be “moving pictures” that speak volumes about the truth in God’s Word. However, we must remember that critics also evaluate our lives. We want to be sure we do our part to keep the Bible on the best-seller list.
Our new encyclopedia takes up less space than a pocketbook. This latest version of Grolier’s features information on thousands of topics, has colored photographs, movies, animated drawings, even sounds. We can read about doves but also watch their flight pattern. We can see how an eagle catches a fish and watch a butterfly emerge from a cocoon. With multimedia computers and a library of CDS, one picture is indeed worth a thousand words.
Even though the industry is evolving from paper and ink, the ability to publish words remains valuable. Where would schools, universities and other learning centers be if we had no books, historical records or written wisdom from the past?
Publishing, CD or otherwise, also has strict standards. For instance, encyclopedias must be accurate because readers depend on them. Not only are details checked and rechecked by editors, errors are spotted and reported by critical readers.
Publishing is an old art. It is mentioned throughout the pages of the Bible. Kings published decrees on animal skins, papyrus, or stone tablets. For them, putting important laws in writing added a sense of authority and permanency over mere oral commands.
The Word of God in its printed form also carries a sense of authority and permanency. In spite of many attempts over hundreds of years to discredit or destroy it, the Bible has survived. Since mass publication started in the 1400's, it has been number one worldwide in sales. The psalm writer probably did not know how prophetic his words were when he penned: “The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it” (Psalm 68:11).
If there were no printed records of God’s activities among men, could Christianity survive or even exist? If it had been passed on by word-of-mouth, would its accuracy remain intact? For that matter, do people believe in any philosophy or creed without an unchanging text? Publishing is a vital part of our spirituality.
God could have used other methods to convey and preserve His word and His will but He choose to use a Book. It was a good choice. We still have thousands of ancient copies, with variations of less than 5%. However, many people insist the Bible cannot be true to the original manuscripts thus is unreliable, or it is a collection of fables. Perhaps a verbal telling and retelling would never survive those accusations, but the printed version stands firm, just as God promised. Lives are still changed by reading and applying it.
On that vein, God’s Book is not a volume of scientifically verifiable data like Grolier’s and for that reason, attempts to “prove the Bible” vary in success. Instead, God offered another argument for the validity of His Word. He challenges those of us who believe it to prove it by our lives. We are supposed to be as open and honest about ourselves and God’s message as God is. This “proof” is not a demand for perfection but a call to “tell it like it is.”
In other words, people are more apt to believe the Bible when there is a match between what God says and how His people live! The Apostle Paul put it this way: “You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. You show that you are a letter from Christ... written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.”
Similar to Grolier’s CD version, Christians are “living letters” from Christ. Our lives should be “moving pictures” that speak volumes about the truth in God’s Word. However, we must remember that critics also evaluate our lives. We want to be sure we do our part to keep the Bible on the best-seller list.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)