Nineteen years of being raised in the church. 13 years of being a Christian, and it has only come in the last month that I have begun to see what it is to be a Christian. The duties that come with being a Christian were thrown down my throat, without ever understanding the purpose of them. Rules are not meant to be broken, but when the reason for those laws is unknown, obeying them becomes meaningless.
Romans 3:20 – “Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.” I’m currently reading through Romans, and over and over again the Law is being questioned. At the time Paul was talking to Jews who believed that their obeying of the laws justified their righteousness and eternal life. A statement that is not quite what it should be is much harder to be shown false than something blatantly false. God’s intention of the Laws is a complete shift from what the Jews, as well as a lot of Christians today assume.
The Law is there so that “sin might be recognized as sin” (Romans 7:13). The Law is to show what sin is. When we reflect on life, the Law then becomes an indicator of how sinful we are. The proceeding step is to admit that we are incapable of righteousness without the help of something/someone else. The Law was put in place hundreds of years before Jesus as a precursor for our need for Him and our salvation through Him.
Romans also discusses the God/Adam divide. From Adam (and his sin) we were made sinners, but from Jesus we were given the option of righteousness. The Law shows our humanness and sinfulness, reinforces our need for God, as well as the importance of Jesus’ crucifixion followed by his resurrection. Following the Laws has become tradition in Christianity, with too little emphasis on the fact that it is a constant reminder of our need for salvation and our inability to earn salvation from God through our actions.
Dead on truth! The law is wonderful and dreadful at the same time. Thanks for you thoughts, and i think they are 100% Biblical
ReplyDeletethanks man! the "100% Biblical" is about the best comment you could pay me
ReplyDeleteShouldn't christianity be more about your relationship with god and not based on laws that you must follow. i think that is one of the primary reasons that christianity drives people away from it. just a thought...
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you. Our relationship with God is inevitably more important than our obedience of the laws. I know that that statement is a little right/wrong, but I hope you see what I'm trying to get at. I think the reality is, though, that it is easier to say "don't do this" than to take the effort to help grow people's relationship with God. Because of this, I think, a lot of the Church has tried to take the easier approach. Although I must restate something: the Law is a key element to our salvation in Christ. Without the Law we would not know of our need for Christ, and then a continuing reminder of God's grace.
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