It's right there in the Bible. Loud and clear! And yet many people have never heard it or at least have never understood it - or simply not believed it. The Apostle Paul calls God's Law "the ministry of death" and "the ministry of condemnation" (see 2 Cor 3:7-9). I've written about this before, and I'm sure I'll write about it again, so I won't get into the full meaning of it right now. I just want to show how this essential gospel truth is hardly even known in the church!
A listener of our Growing in Grace program, who also became a Facebook friend of mine, recently wrote these words on his Facebook page:
This blow me away, what was engraved on letters of stone, the 10 commandments and Paul calls them the ministry of death, wow! and a ministry that condemns men. Grace and Truth came through Jesus Christ, the truth is, the Law justifies no man.....sigh.....what a freakin relief.On Facebook you can "like" someone's comment. (You can click a little link that says you "like" what the person has shared). So I "liked" his comment. He responded to me:
You should Joel, you did a podcast on it...man that was powerful....I never seen that before.Nowadays I simply take it for granted that this is the truth - that the Law was the ministry of death and condemnation. And sometimes I forget that this is new news to so many people - even people who have been Christians for a long time!
"I never seen that before."
My friend and Growing in Grace cohost, Mike Kapler (Kap), was sharing with me yesterday about a conversation he'd had with some people at church recently. Long story short, he was sitting in on a certain class, and they began getting off of the particular topic of the class and began talking about our identity in Christ. Kap began sharing that Paul called the Law the ministry of death and condemnation. One of the women in the class spoke up and said, "I've never heard that before."
I don't know how long she's been in the church, but my point in all of this is that these are essential truths that should be known by anyone and everyone who has come to know Jesus (and has died to the Law in order to be married to Him - [see Rom 7:1-6 and Gal 2:19-20])! WHY is Law taught as part of the Christian life when the Bible says the exact opposite?!! WHY is today's church in such a state that stuff like this is so revolutionary when it should be the norm? Rhetorical questions. As I said at the start, I understand it. I get it. And that's why we need to keep on sharing the truth that breaks down all these falsehoods!
wrong interpretation.
ReplyDeletein fact, there is no real world application making it, wicked, devious, misleading and....destructive.
I'm like the guy you quoted. I had read Romans over and over and I never saw it until I read a few of your blogs. It TOTALLY blew me away. It was so obvious, so black and white and right there in my face. But I didn't see it! I saw, but I didn't perceive.
ReplyDeleteThus, it just goes to show that it is the Spirit of God alone who gives revelation.
Yep, I hear ya Matt! How shall they know unless someone preaches it? But yet how shall they truly know unless the Spirit reveals it?
ReplyDeleteoh yah, you guys are so special that the spirit has chose to reveal the truth to you and for others who hold contrarian views are left out by the spirit.
ReplyDeleteyou know, the reverse is also true. the spirit has given us new light and those who are part of christianity, since the time of Constantine's rule, were the ones who are blinded
but that revelation will be too devastating for christianity to understand.
I don't think I am special because I saw my own filth under the Law and so turned to Jesus Christ for a salvation that He worked for. I am not exalting myself, but Christ. I'm boasting in my confidence in His once for all sacrifice.
ReplyDeleteUntil I gave up my unbelief and trying to obey the Law, my eyes remained blind to grace.
All we're doing is repeating what the Scirptures say.
Joel! Preach it, brother! I love this kind of stuff. I love the look on the face of some people when we say the 'sacred' 10 commandments is the ministry of death and condemnation. Well, we didn't say it, Apostle Paul did. We are just quoting it... Anonymous says "wrong interpretation". I don't think 2Co 3:7-9 need any interpretation. It's right there.
ReplyDeleteRight on Bino! It's not our words, but Paul's words, and it needs no interpretation.
ReplyDeleteAnd continuing on with Matthew's point, I think the truth is always "there," but sometimes we look right at it and don't see it, apart from the revelation of the Holy Spirit. This isn't a "haughty" or an "I'm so special" kind of thing. It's a "God's timing and purposes" kind of thing. I can't reach that far into the mind of God to fully understand how/why He does things like that, but it just seems that He does.