Breakthrough

Breakthrough

Ok, I have said this before, but it is REALLY important now…I am NOT a theologian. I am not a Bible scholar, even though I read the Bible every day. Sometimes, however, a breakthrough takes place that I have to try, and I emphasize the word “try,” to write about.

I decided recently to go through the first five books of the Bible, also known as the Pentateuch. I read the fascinating account of creation, the flood, Abraham and all the really neat stuff in Genesis.

Some of Genesis is downright shocking. I found out that Jacob had his twelve sons, who were the twelve tribes of Israel, through four different women, including Rachel. Leah, his wife, who he did not love as much, had six of them, the others through Rachel and some servant girls. I was also reminded of how much Joseph’s brothers hated him; so much, they wanted him dead.

Then…I got into Exodus and the miracles God performed to get his people out of Egypt and beyond.

The hard part started after that. Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy (yet to be read) outlined God's rules and laws that were to be followed by everyone. The detail, and the possible punishment if not followed to the letter were something you had to read again to make sure you saw it right. Punishments ranged from being outcast from the group, to death by stoning. This was accompanied by God telling Moses that He (God) was holy and that is the way things were to be.

It seemed…to me anyway…that you almost had to live nearly every moment of every day avoiding anything that might get you into trouble. One of my pastors said when he was in seminary, they called Leviticus, “the swamp.” Good name!

Then, it was like the Holy Spirit gave me something to look into; Galatians, in the New Testament. In this astonishing letter, Paul is scolding the church at Galatia about wanting to do things according to the law, like being circumcised, for example. His words were clear and to the point. He even confronted Peter at one time because Peter avoided some Gentiles when the Jewish leaders came around. (I love Peter because he is so much like the rest of us.) Paul also said that if we became righteous through the law, Christ died for no reason (Galatians 2:21).

The section that really caught my attention was in chapter 3, verses 23-29. These verses read like this in the NIV:

23 Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. 24 So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. 25 Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.
26 So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male or female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

It was like, “Oh…ok…now I see a connection I have not seen before!” The law has its place, because Paul also said that without it, we would not know how God defined sin, unless the law spelled it out. In Romans 7:7, he said, “What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was, had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, ‘You shall not covet.’” (Once again this is the NIV)

Galatians 5:1 says that Christ set us free so we could indeed be free. The law is a “definer” of sin; a divine “dictionary,” if you please. But the law can only go so far. Grace and faith take over and we become Christ’s, free from sin, and no longer under the condemnation of the law. Christ was condemned in our place. This is an astonishing thought, but that’s what happened.

Amazing, isn’t it?

Thanks be to God.