Spirit and Law
intro – When I was a child, I thought everything was black and white. I wanted a list --- a list would give me a set of rules that would make me perfect. How to win friends and influence people, even those rules were beyond me.
Decalogue is largely rules – If viewed as such, they bring NO LIFE, NO GRACE, NO SALVATION
Romans 8:3 For God achieved what the law could not do because 4 it was weakened through the flesh. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and concerning sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 8:4 so that the righteous requirement of the law may be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
In June, 2011, the city of Alemeda, California, immediately changed its policies after first responders stood by and watched a man drown in San Francisco Bay. The first responders didn't venture into the muddy waters of the bay, even as the suicidal man started treading water and then eventually went under.
According to Michael D'Orazi, the Interim Fire Chief for Alemeda, two things prevented authorities from taking action: First, because it was a crime scene, the police "felt that going into the water initially might not be the best idea because they were unsure if this individual was armed." Secondly, D'Orazi also said, "There was a policy in place that pretty much precluded our people from entering the water." The firefighters "were incredibly frustrated by this whole situation [because] they wanted to get in, they wanted to take action."
Local officials also noted that due to a lack of funding, firefighters had no one properly trained to go into the water. The Alemeda Interim Police Chief was also quoted to say, "It's muddy out there. We don't want [the police officers] sinking. We don't want them in distress."
Fortunately, the policies were changed only a few days after this incident.
Rules made of words are necessarily incomplete. The objective often informs the rules. Don't touch that. Sprinkler system disaster.
Last week we talked about the rules of sports:
thou shalt not go out of bounds
thou shalt not move before the ball is snapped
thou shalt not rough the kicker
If you could play a game or whole season through with no fouls or rule violations, what would you get? Miss congeniality? Victory does not come from avoiding errors.
Kicking in basketball
Even if you could play a game without fouls, you are not guaranteed of winning
Our duty is beyond avoiding sin - Transcending rules of prohibition by truly seeing the goal and visualizing perfection.
Anger and Murder
5:21 “You have heard that it was said to an older generation, ‘Do not murder,’ and ‘whoever murders will be subjected to judgment.’ 5:22 But I say to you that anyone who is angry with a brother will be subjected to judgment. And whoever insults a brother will be brought before the council, and whoever says ‘Fool’ will be sent to fiery hell. 5:23 So then, if you bring your gift to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 5:24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother and then come and present your gift. 5:25 Reach agreement quickly with your accuser while on the way to court, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the warden, and you will be thrown into prison. 5:26 I tell you the truth, you will never get out of there until you have paid the last penny!
Adultery
5:27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ 5:28But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to desire her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 5:29 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away! It is better to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into hell. 5:30 If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away! It is better to lose one of your members than to have your whole body go into hell.
Divorce
5:31 “It was said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife must give her a legal document.’ 5:32 But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife,except for immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
Oaths
5:33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to an older generation, ‘Do not break an oath, but fulfill your vows to the Lord.’ 5:34 But I say to you, do not take oaths at all – not by heaven, because it is the throne of God, 5:35 not by earth, because it is his footstool, and not by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King. 5:36 Do not take an oath by your head, because you are not able to make one hair white or black. 5:37 Let your word be ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no.’ More than this is from the evil one.
Retaliation
5:38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 5:39 But I say to you, do not resist the evildoer. But whoever strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other to him as well. 5:40 And if someone wants to sue you and to take your tunic, give him your coat also.5:41 And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two. 5:42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not reject the one who wants to borrow from you.
Love for Enemies
5:43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor’ and ‘hate your enemy.’ 5:44 But I say to you, love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you, 5:45 so that you may be like your Father in heaven,since he causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 5:46 For if you love those who love you,what reward do you have? Even the tax collectors do the same, don’t they? 5:47 And if you only greet your brothers, what more do you do? Even the Gentiles do the same, don’t they? 5:48 So then, be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
I used to be very offended when the basketball players would foul on purpose.
2:23 Jesus was going through the grain fields on a Sabbath, and his disciples began to pick some heads of wheat as they made their way.2:24 So the Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is against the law on the Sabbath?” 2:25 He said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he was in need and he and his companions were hungry – 2:26 how he entered the house of God when Abiathar was high priest and ate the sacred bread, which is against the law for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to his companions?” 2:27 Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for people, not people for the Sabbath. 2:28 For this reason the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”
Galations 5:13 For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity to indulge your flesh, but through love serve one another. 5:14 For the whole law can be summed up in a single commandment, namely, “You must love your neighbor as yourself.” 5:15 However, if you continually bite and devour one another, beware that you are not consumed by one another. 5:16 But I say, live by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh. 5:17 For the flesh has desires that are opposed to the Spirit, and the Spirit has desires that are opposed to the flesh, for these are in opposition to each other, so that you cannot do what you want. 5:18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, depravity, 5:20 idolatry, sorcery, hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish rivalries, dissensions, factions, 5:21 envying, murder, drunkenness, carousing, and similar things. I am warning you, as I had warned you before: Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God!
Our goal is perfect love in the spirit
From Law by code, ordinance, prohibition and rule to the spirit giving us principled obedience within the framework of God's holy character.
Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 8:2 For the law of the life-giving Spirit in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. 8:3 For God achieved what the law could not do because it was weakened through the flesh. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and concerning sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 8:4 so that the righteous requirement of the law may be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
Lance Morrow, an award-winning journalist with Timemagazine, once set out to write an article asking if there was one universal joke, told everywhere around the world. Here's what happened:
I sent out a query to all of Time's bureaus around the world—Moscow, Beijing, Tokyo, Sydney, New Delhi, Jerusalem, Rome, Bonn, London, Paris, Rio, Buenos Aires, and so on. I asked the correspondents to tell me one or two jokes then current in their part of the world.
It turns out there is a universal joke. It was what Americans refer to as the "Polish joke." Except of course that everywhere, the role of [Polish people] in the "Polish joke" is enacted by some appropriate other group. The Flemings have Walloon jokes, for example. The English tell Irish jokes, and vice versa …. The people in Tokyo have jokes about the people in Osaka. I was once on the tiny island of Grenada (133 square miles) and was told that people on one side of the island had a large stock of vicious jokes about people on the other side of the island; and vice versa.
In the universal humor, as in universal evil, you need the Other. The Other is the butt of your joke, or the butt of your evil. Lance Morrow, Evil: An Investigation
God is calling right now, here, today, for each of us to give up on our tired attempts to merit His favor by avoiding bad behavior and to accept his perfect spirit of obedience with the spiritual goal of entering into His spirit of perfect love.
