How Should We Then Live – Part VIII

A Biblical View of Ethics

An Eye for an Eye

Justice. Everyone longs for it. Everyone knows what it should look like. Everyone knows when real justice has taken place. Everyone knows what injustice is, too. Even a crooked judge wants to be judged fairly. Since we all fundamentally know what justice is, why do we have so many different views about it? Why are there so many different laws culture to culture? The idea of justice is just one of the many abstract notions that all societies try to address through the development of their legal system. From the legislature or parliament all the way to law enforcement everyone wants the system to be just especially as long as the “justice” benefits them.

As with many abstract ideas like love, valor and honor, what is seen as just for one is potentially seen as unjust by another. What seems like justice for the many might seem like injustice for the few and vice versa. Is there some standard that can be appealed to here? Aren’t all the laws that have been established around the world just sets of arbitrary rules that are impersonally imposed on the teeming multitudes by governments who are overextending themselves to control the masses anyway?  Are the rules really just arbitrary or is there yet something divine behind them? And if someone breaks the rules what should be done with them or to them? What about grace and mercy?

First of all, concerning the nature of universal laws, it can be said that there seems to be quite a bit of uniformity in the laws that we see from culture to culture. For example, most cultures uphold laws and moral codes that are against murder, adultery, stealing and false witness. Of course there are some exceptions to this uniformity like the Sawi people of New Guinea who uphold treachery as a way of life or some ancient Hindu practices of burning the living widow on her deceased husband’s funeral pyre. But for the most part there does seem to be a universal moral law that has permeated every society.

Some have suggested that the uniformity and universality found in our laws and moral codes cross-culturally are just results of millions of years of moral evolution. Others suggest that perhaps this uniformity is something that points to the Divine. The English scholar, author and apologist C. S. Lewis (a former atheist) suggests that since there seems to be a common moral law found among the nations that there then must be a common moral law giver who stands behind this law. He writes “Since throughout the world a seemingly similar moral code (i.e. no killing, no adultery, etc.) can be substantiated, there must be some sort of universal moral code originator or law giver, namely God. …human beings, all over the earth, have this curious idea that they ought to behave in a certain way and cannot really get rid of it.”

The Bible confirms this idea by referring to the law as “God’s law” or emphatically “His law.” The apostle Paul in his letter to the church in Rome contends that when those who “do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them,…”  By implication here the “Writer” that Paul is referring to is God. If God has written His law on all of our hearts maybe that is why we all know what justice should look like.

Secondly, concerning the nature of justice, how should laws be applied and administered in a just society? In the Old Testament the Israelites were given the basis for the administration of God’s law. Where a person had sinned against God through failing to meet His moral obligations before God, God provided a series of sacrifices for the individual as payment and atonement for sin. These requirements for the sacrifices took into consideration the financial capability of the head of household: a bull could be used for a wealthy man while a pigeon good be used for the poor, like Jesus’ parents Joseph and Mary. For those whose crimes against God and society called for stronger measures of justice the execution of what has become known in the Latin as Lex Talionis (an eye for an eye) was enforced. In the book of Leviticus Moses wrote “If a man takes the life of any human being, he shall surely be put to death. The one who takes the life of an animal shall make it good, life for life. If a man injures his neighbor, just as he has done, so it shall be done to him: fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; just as he has injured a man, so it shall be inflicted on him.” This system of administration for the law encouraged two deterrents. It deterred crime by providing a real and measured response to lawbreakers, and it also deterred unjust and overzealous punishment of crime.

In Jesus’ day the problem with issuing justice had become something very personal. Individuals, over against the nation as a whole, had taken the execution of justice into their own hands. It is one thing for a nation to rightly and justly execute justice and punishment against law breakers. It is another for individuals to begin requiring “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.”

There is still quite a bit of confusion about how Jesus saw these issues of justice. But one thing is clear: Jesus said that He did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it. If that is the case then what is Jesus implying when he says in Matthew’s Gospel “You have heard that it was said, ‘AN EYE FOR AN EYE, AND A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH.’ But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also?” For Jesus the clear issue is that there is no room in the execution of justice for personal vengeance. “Vengeance is mine sayeth the Lord, I will repay.” Jesus never turns aside from the exercise of just Lex Talionis among the nations, but at the same time He does make it clear that Lex Talionis is not something that should be employed by individuals. Again, it is one thing for God to use nations to execute justice: It is another for a mob or an individual to exercise vigilantism. If you are turning the other cheek you will not be retaliating, and you will yet be trusting God for His justice.

Ethically speaking it is one thing to bring about restraint of evil and protection of loved ones as compared to taking up personal vengeance fueled by pure hatred. The Scriptures commend us to love and to not repay evil for evil. As individuals we are called to ultimately overcome evil through doing that which is good. This includes executing good and right justice as a people over against workers of evil and destruction.

There is certainly more that could be said here. But suffice it to say I long for a city, any city, that would recognize God’s good and right law and where the people of that city exercise good and righteous justice for all. Of course in the midst of God’s perfect justice we are all longing for God’s grace as well. How wonderful it is to know that God has extended His grace and mercy to us through His Son Jesus Christ. He is the one who took God’s full and just wrath upon Himself that we might be made free from the penalty of our sin through faith in Him. In the end even though God is holy, righteous and just, I am still amazed by His amazing grace.

How Should We Then Live – Part VII

A Biblical View of Ethics

Laws and Principles

As we continue our discussion on biblical ethics we come to this question: What are we supposed to do with all of the other laws that are presented in the Bible? Some have suggested that between the Old Testament and New Testament there are easily well over 500 laws presented. These laws include everything from how to lend money to how women should wear their hair. Are we to be held responsible for all of these laws, too? Some would say that it seems that many of these laws are just arbitrary and obsolete and should therefore be set aside. Others maintain that all of God’s laws need to be kept. Perhaps it would be helpful to know that when God gave His laws to His people they were given to address particular concerns at a particular time for a particular people.

Does this mean that all of the laws of the Bible are ultimately reduced to cultural and historical relativity and are therefore optional in our day and age? No, we wouldn’t say that, but we do need to make sure we can distinguish between the laws of God and the ultimate moral principles behind them. So to begin unpacking this problem we need to first discuss the nature and intent of God’s law. The American theologian Ron Nash has put forward some interesting insights on this. He suggests that there is a real distinction between the laws of God and the ultimate moral principles behind them. First of all, he notices that there are in reality many laws in the Bible that just don’t seem to be applicable in our day and age. For example, we see in the book of Acts that for the early church there was a real problem with syncretism (combining pagan religions with Christianity). That is to say, the first early councils of the church prescribed that people should not eat meat that had been sacrificed to idols in keeping with the Old Testament laws found in the books of Exodus and Numbers. I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty sure my butcher is not involved in this practice. So it seems that these Biblical laws just do not really apply to us anymore.

Nash further observes that many moral problems that we deal with today are just not mentioned in the Bible very clearly. Things like the use of birth control, smoking marijuana, or the laws that govern how we drive our cars are not specifically addressed in the Bible. Even if every moral issue was completely spelled out within the Bible, the Bible would be a book so thick you wouldn’t be able to lift it. So how do we apply laws to our lives that don’t seem to apply anymore, and how do we address issues that aren’t addressed in the Bible?

With respect to the laws associated with meat offered to idols there was even confusion over this law in the early church to such an extent that the apostle Paul goes to great length addressing this issue in his letter to the Corinthian church. He pointed out the distinction between the law and the principle behind the law that is really at stake. Paul suggests that causing a brother to stumble in his faith is of more concern than the law against eating meat sacrificed to idols. Paul asserts that all things are lawful for him, but not all things are profitable to the extent that eating meat offered to idols may cause a weaker brother to stumble in his walk with God. So for Paul even though he believed he was free to eat meat sacrificed to idols, the principle of protecting and loving his brother was at a higher priority than the nature of the law with respect to not eating meat sacrificed to idols.

Nash further points out the distinctions between principles and rules by suggesting that rules are specific while principles of the law are more general. Rules can be easier to apply if you are presented with a specific moral dilemma that the law addresses while it takes more effort to understand and apply principles. Rules end up potentially suffering from relativism while principles are ultimately unchanging before God. But ultimately for us there are two issues: Rules can suffer from potential relativism, and principles can suffer from ambiguity. What seems certain on where we should apply a rule just doesn’t seem as certain as to where we should apply a principle. In the end, however, it does seem appropriate, practical and even Biblical to look for the overarching principles that are behind God’s laws.

Similar to how we approached the creation ordinances previously in our series we saw that behind the law of “no murder” found in the 10 Commandments was the creation ordinance or principle of “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.” We also see in Genesis 1 the moral principle that man was made in the image of God and is therefore an image bearer of God. In other words the reason we shouldn’t commit murder is because of the underlying principles that suggest that we are to fill the earth and that we are to protect those who are made in God’s image. So if we can look for and find the ultimate underlying principles behind God’s laws then all of a sudden we find that the Bible is not ethically obsolete. We find that the Bible is extremely relevant to the ethical issues we are facing even right now and that the Bible ultimately contains precepts and principles that are applicable for today.

Many have suggested that the ultimate ethical principle behind all of God’s law is the duty to love. Jesus clearly articulated this when he was asked which law was the greatest. He simply said “YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND. This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.  On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” From Jesus’ perspective if you are loving God and loving others then you are ultimately upholding the entirety of God’s law as presented in the Bible. It has been observed that the 10 Commandments have been divided into two tables wherein the first four commandments deal with our love for God while the last six commandments address our love for man. The 10 Commandments demonstrate how specifically we should uphold the overall general principles of how we should love God and love others.

What is ultimately governing your ethics today? What principles do you appeal to that govern the difficult moral dilemmas and decisions you face. Unfortunately in our world many are simply governed by the love of self. We see this everywhere that we see a corrupt government, a broken family or a neglected person. Oh that we would all love God and love others as God has intended for us from the beginning. What a world it would be if we all loved the way that God ordained for us to love recognizing how much we have already been loved by God through the gift of His Son. If only we would love in the way that He has first loved us.

How Should We then Live: Part VI – Integrity

A Biblical View of Ethics

In 1979’s top ten hit “Honesty,” Billy Joel crooned the words “Honesty, is such a lonely word, everyone is so untrue.” Unfortunately, the words of this song still resonate with all of us today. Basically, it seems that speaking the truth about anything in our society is just completely optional. From casual conversations to formal agreements the lines of integrity have been clearly erased. Some would say that the lines of integrity have simply been blurred, or perhaps they are merely gray. I would suggest that in most cases the lines have just flat out become non-existent. In our culture truth telling has just plainly become optional. Most everyone wrestles with integrity. Politicians employ rhetoric, salespeople embellish, attorneys misrepresent, students cheat, wives exaggerate, husbands deceive and children fib. Add to this our culture’s insistence on the post modern practice of relativistic license within the use of our language we can’t help but come to the conclusion that Billy Joel was indeed right about honesty’s loneliness within our culture’s lexicon.

At Jesus’ trial Pilate rhetorically asked Jesus “what is truth?” The reality is we all know the answer to this question. We all know what it means for something to be true or false. We all know what it is like to be lied to, and nobody likes it when they have been deceived. We all want the truth. Even a liar knows when he has been lied to, and he doesn’t like it one bit. But unfortunately in our world people with integrity who consistently speak the truth are a rare find these days. 

From the beginning this was not to be the case. Scripturally speaking we are told that from the beginning God established truth as the basis of His communication and relationship with us. Throughout Scripture we are told that God the Creator is the God of truth. In the New Testament book of Hebrews we are told that it is impossible for God to lie. Over and over again throughout the Bible God’s integrity and honesty are put forward with great consistency as the reflection and expression of His enduring holiness.  We must also understand that God is not subject to honesty or integrity as if these abstract ideas existed first, and God must somehow bend His knee to these ideals, but rather God is the generator of all that is true and honest and therefore He is full of integrity and exudes truth. He is only bound by these ideals to the extent that they are the real reflection of His very essence and character. God is the generator of integrity and therefore cannot be subject to it. But this does not mean that truth is somehow subjective or arbitrary for God. For God to be the God of all truth, then He must continually be consistent within His own character. Therefore if God in fact generates and emanates all that is true through His very nature, then we can be assured that God’s Word to us is in fact completely and consistently true. The Psalmist writes “the sum of Thy Word is truth, and every one of your righteous ordinances is everlasting.”

In contrast to God’s integrity we are told that Satan is the real great deceiver. As a matter of fact, we have on record in John’s Gospel that Jesus said that Satan “was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” In Genesis 3 we see that it was Satan in the form of the serpent who first lies to the first couple. It was the serpent who challenged Eve’s understanding of what God had said previously to her. Through his deception he placed doubt into Eve’s mind about God’s integrity. What an irony. The one who is full of lies (Satan) had the audacity to challenge the One who is full of truth (God) by way of a lie. What is sad is that we are still wrestling with the serpent’s lie even to this day. We are still asking the same question with which the Serpent challenged Eve, “Indeed, has God said…?”

The truth is, honesty and integrity are not just a matter of what we say. How we live our lives is also an issue of our integrity. Based on the Creation Ordinances we have already discussed, we need to exercise integrity and honesty in our parenting, in our work, in our government, in our rest and in our marriages. Throughout the Bible we are called to walk in integrity and honesty. Within the 10 Commandments we are instructed not to bear false witness. The book of Leviticus insists that we are not to be liars. The remainder of the Old Testament calls us to walk in integrity. The New Testament makes it clear that there is no room in God’s Kingdom for liars and slanderers.  

So how should we then live, especially in a society that insists that truth telling is entirely optional and where lying seems to be championed? For me the question comes down to whether or not I will choose to trust God with the truth. Can I trust in God’s sovereignty over all things enough to walk in honesty and integrity in all my relationships? I know that I need to desperately seek after God’s righteousness and holiness through pursuing honesty and integrity in my relationship with God, my relationships with others and even within myself. It’s true, sometimes we even deceive ourselves.

What kind of world would it be if we all spoke the truth in love as the apostle Paul calls us to do? What changes would take place in your world if you could really trust in what others were saying? We will never find out unless we first choose to walk in integrity ourselves. Perhaps it would help us to walk as Jesus walked. Jesus said that He is the way, the truth and the life. Perhaps if we all walked in His way and in His truth we would all find a life full of honesty and integrity. If we all walked in integrity as Jesus walked perhaps then honesty wouldn’t be such a lonely word.

How Should We Then Live: Part V

A Biblical View of Ethics

Marriage

In the beginning God outlined for us five major principles for us to live by that were designed for us to maximize our pleasure and joy in life and that would ensure His ultimate praise and glory. These precepts are known as the Creation Ordinances, and they can be found in Genesis chapters 1 and 2. So far in our discussion we have observed the first four ordinances that were established by God prior to the fall of man.

1)      Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. In the beginning God ordained that we would fill the earth with more people who would bring glory to God. God is most honored in being their God while they in turn are submitted to Him as His people.

2)      Subdue the earth. In the beginning God called us to subdue and cultivate the earth thus establishing a Biblical view of work that offered meaning and purpose to all of our labors under the sun.

3)      Rule the earth. In the beginning God ordained government and authority as God established the first king and queen of all creation. They were subject to God’s good, just and benevolent authority, and everyone else in turn was subject to their good, just and benevolent rule.

4)      Sabbath. In the beginning God ordained rest. One day each week was set aside for all of mankind to cease from his labor to enjoy God and His good creation.

Through man’s overt and conscience rebellion against God, the fall of man subjected these ordinances to frustration and futility. Instead of filling the earth as God had ordained, men began to kill and murder each other. Instead of subduing the earth with meaning and purpose, much of work became frustrating and arduous. Instead of good, just and benevolent government, the godless governments of this world became corrupt and self-serving entities where absolute power corrupts absolutely. Instead of rest, men found themselves under the tyranny of the secularly urgent as God was not pursued or enjoyed, and His creation was abused and defiled. God subsequently established His 10 Commandments to uphold what He established in the beginning. No Murder protected be fruitful and multiply. No Stealing and No Coveting protected man’s cultivation and work. No Other Gods, No Idols, No Name in Vain, Honor Father and Mother protected God’s and man’s just and benevolent rule of the earth while Keep Sabbath protected man’s rest as God prescribed in the beginning.

The last creation ordinance that God established was the ordinance of marriage. In Genesis 2 we see that God not only ordained marriage, but He also defined marriage and outlined its purpose. The first deficiency that God declared in the midst of His creation was that it was not good for man to be alone. He went on to prescribe the creation of a helpmate for Adam who would be taken from his side. This helpmate was to be called woman (Hebrew: ishaw) in that she was taken out of man (Hebrew: ish). The great purpose for this arrangement from God’s perspective was that “for this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.” The institution of marriage is what God ordained and defined from the beginning, one man and one woman together in unity. This arrangement isn’t limited to just physical unity but certainly includes emotional, intellectual and spiritual unity as well. God in His brilliant and luxuriant design ordained the idea of unity and oneness within the diversity of marriage. This was established in marriage to reflect God’s very nature in that we are made in His image. From a Christian perspective God is three-in-one by way of the Holy Trinity. In marriage with God as the centerpiece of their union, a trinity of matrimony is established as people throughout the ages have invited God’s very presence and blessing into the blessed and holy union of marriage.

Throughout Scripture we see that God upholds His ordinance and His design. Through two of the 10 Commandments God protects marriage: No Adultery, No Coveting your neighbor’s spouse. In many, many other passages of Scripture we see any other expression of sexual union other than between one man and one woman is strictly forbidden.  In addition marriage is seen by God as the perfect metaphor for illustrating the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus, He maintains that the church and Christ are as the bride and groom in marriage. In marriage we are called to be submitted to each other, the bride to her husband and the groom to his wife. She is to be submitted to him in all things just as the church should be submitted to Christ while he is to lay down his life for her as Christ laid down His life for the church. Again we see unity within diversity which again reflects the very nature of God. Incidentally, the theme of unity within diversity is seen throughout the Scriptures: the unity and diversity of the Holy Trinity, the unity and diversity of marriage, the unity and diversity of Jews and Gentiles, the vine and the branches, the stone and the building just to name a few.

In the New Testament, marriage is further upheld and protected in the words of Jesus when He reminds us that if a man even looks on a woman lustfully he has committed adultery with her in his heart. This is nothing new: We are told in the Old Testament that Job made a covenant with his eyes not to look upon a young maiden. In many other passages we are told over and over again to keep and protect the sanctity of marriage. We are admonished not to defile our own marriage beds through rebelling against what God has ordained in marriage. Unfortunately, we are seeing marriage under increasing attack throughout the world by way of the onslaught of divorce, pornography, adultery and fornication. Added to this is the great pressure against the church to redefine the very essence of marriage. However, Biblically speaking, in the beginning God ordained, established and defined marriage as the union of one man and one woman. 

This June, my wife and I will celebrate our marriage of 27 years. My wife is my best friend and lover. God has granted us a great unity and oneness as Christ is the centerpiece of our marriage. It is a unity for which I am very thankful. She is the love of my life and my only true desire. She is everything to me. I am truly blessed among men to be married to my beautiful and loving wife. Often when I introduce her to people I don’t describe Kathy as my other half. Kathy is not just my other half. Quite frankly she is my best half. She is the best half I’ve got. My hope for you is that you too can find the unity and oneness that God has ordained for you through the love of your life in the unity and oneness of Christian marriage.

He is Risen! He is Risen indeed!

For over 2,000 years Christians have held tenaciously to the singular idea that the man Jesus who is known as the Christ (Messiah) died a grueling death at the hands of the Romans and Jews, was buried and then three days later rose from the grave. All four gospel accounts hold to this foundational premise to Christianity. All of the New Testament writers put the same motif forward without apology. On top of all this support for Jesus resurrection, the Apostle Paul emphatically proclaims in his first letter to the church in Corinth “and if Christ has not been raised your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.” The whole basis for Christianity centers on the atoning work of Christ on the cross and His subsequent victory over death through His resurrection from the dead. Even so, many people over the centuries have wrestled with this notion. Many just cannot get their mind around the idea of a dead man living. The idea just seems so counter intuitive. Where is the evidence? Where are the eye-witnesses? How accurate are the accounts? Weren’t these disciples just desperate men who would say anything to get people to believe their outlandish claims? Aren’t the Gospel accounts full of conflicting and inconsistent testimony regarding the life of Christ anyway?

The reality is there is quite a bit of reliable documentation regarding the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It turns out that the Gospels were written by four men who had access to first-hand accounts of what happened in Jerusalem 2,000 years ago. Matthew and John, the authors of their respective Gospels, were two of the 12 disciples of Christ and provide precise, first hand, eye-witness accounts of what took place. John Mark, the author of Mark was very close to the Apostle Peter as well as Paul. Peter was one of the initial 12 disciples while Paul came to Christ after the resurrection. (This to me is even more amazing since there would be no reason for Paul to come to Christ unless He had been raised from the dead.) Luke was a contemporary and colleague of Paul. All of these men emphatically agree that Jesus rose from the dead. Aren’t their accounts inconsistent? Not when you lay them out side by side. There are no inconsistencies that cannot be easily explained through a simple analysis of comparing competing testimonies. In other words, the few minor inconsistencies point to the actual authenticity of the individual accounts.

Incidentally, the Greek New Testament accounts are the most well documented works of antiquity. There are literally hundreds of extant copies of these works which offer amazing consistency and reliability. In comparison we only have a few copies in Greek of Homor’s Illiad and the Odyssey and no one really questions the reliability or accuracy of Homor’s effort. With the Gospel accounts we have bon a fide eye-witnesses and reliable and historic texts. What about the motives of these authors?

From what we understand, with the exception of John who we believe was exiled on the Mediterranean island of Patmos, every one of these guys died for what they believed about Jesus and His resurrection. There are several possibilities here with respect to the intent and motivations of these authors.

First of all maybe they were all duped into believing something so outrageous and preposterous as to be convinced to die for the cause of an absurdity. However, if this was the case you expect at least one of these guys would wake up to “reality” and somewhere along the line change his story and recant his position on the resurrection. But that just never happened. All of these men held on to the resurrection of Jesus to the death.

Secondly, maybe these men had come together under the banner of an elaborate conspiracy. In other words, maybe they concocted a great lie and made an allegiance about Jesus and the resurrection. Here again we run into logical problems. Who do you know that would die for a lie? Would anyone really knowingly choose to die for a known lie? Also, what did all these guys get for their efforts in masterminding this great hoax? Usually people lie to get something of benefit out of it. But what did these men get? They only received harsh treatment, ridicule and ultimately death for their efforts. It just doesn’t seem likely that if they had created a conspiracy that every one of these men would then in turn die for the lie. Surely someone would recant. But no one does.

Next, maybe the Gospel writers were just confused or misled. Maybe Jesus didn’t really die on the cross. Perhaps He was just really “mostly dead.” All of the Gospel accounts give incredible detail on the crucifixion of Christ. Those who put Jesus to death were trained and experienced torturers. They knew what death looked like. They knew what the human body could endure. Crucifixion is perhaps the most barbaric form of capital punishment. With crucifixion death comes ultimately through asphyxiation. As a man hung on the cross, as long as he could push himself up with his legs he could yet take another breath. In the end if death was taking too long the Roman soldiers would break the legs of the subject so they could not push up to breath any longer. We are told in the Gospel accounts that when the soldiers turned to attend to Jesus they didn’t need to break his legs because He was already dead. Based on these eye-witness accounts it is just so unlikely that Jesus was just “mostly dead.”

Well maybe someone stole Jesus’ body or maybe the disciples lost track of which tomb He was in. Here again we run into logical problems. If the Romans or the Jewish leaders for that matter had stolen the body or knew where Jesus’ body was really buried, all they needed to do was produce the body and Christianity would fade into oblivion. However, no one ever produced a body. In the Middle East it is not uncommon to parade a dead body around in the middle of the streets. But that just never happens.  It is just as unlikely that a group of former fishermen could overcome Roman legionnaires and steal the body. You will recall at point blank range how Peter could only hit a man’s ear with his sword as Jesus was betrayed in the Garden of Gethsemane by Judas.    

There is only really one other possibility.  Perhaps Jesus really was raised from the dead conquering sin and death once and for all. For over 2,000 years many have taken great comfort in these truths simply and accurately put forward in Scripture. From time to time I will run into someone who is critical about the accuracy and authenticity of the New Testament account of Jesus’ life. I usually just ask one question. Have you ever read the Gospels yourself? The usual response is “no, I haven’t.” How is it that a person can be critical of that which they have never investigated or examined? Don’t take my word for it: Read the Gospels for yourself and then you decide if the accounts have the ring of truth in them. For more information about the things I have shared with you, you can also download on your e-reader “More than a Carpenter” by Josh McDowell. As far as the Gospels are concerned, for me the witnesses are consistent, the accounts are accurate and the motives of the authors are pure. He is Risen! He is Risen indeed!

 

How Should We Then Live – Part IV

A Biblical View of Ethics

Rest

 At the beginning of Genesis chapter 2 we see the fourth of the five Creation Ordinances. So far God has ordained that we should be fruitful and multiply thus filling the earth with those who would bring glory to God through being His people while He would be their God. Secondly, God ordained that we would subdue the earth through cultivating and keeping His good creation by granting us meaningful, fruitful and purposeful work. Thirdly, God ordained that we would rule the earth with righteousness and justice as He established Adam and Eve as the first coregents of His awesome creation.

In Genesis 2 God further ordains the fourth Creation Ordinance by establishing rest. From the beginning God ordained that we would set apart one day a week so that we would rest from all of our labors. By way of pattern we are told that on the seventh day of creation “God completed all of His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work.”  It is at this point we are told that God then set apart the seventh day for man and He blessed the seventh day and established Sabbath.  It turns out that the word Sabbath is the literal transliteration of the Hebrew word “Shaabot” or Sabbath. In Hungarian we see a similar root phonetic structure with the use of the word “Szombat.”  In Hebrew the word Shaabot simply means “to cease.”

From the very beginning God ordained rest. From the very beginning God ordained that we His people would set aside one day each week with the sole purpose of ceasing from all our labors and that we would enjoy God and His good creation. Historically Sabbath has always, always, always been the seventh day of the week which in English speaking circles has been represented by the word Saturday. Saturday is the seventh day of the week while Sunday is technically the first day of the week. Historically the Jews have always set aside what we know as Saturday as their day of Sabbath. Generally for most Jews Sabbath starts at sundown Friday night and continues through sundown Saturday night.

God further upholds this fourth creation ordinance in Exodus 20 through the 10 Commandments. Here we are instructed to “remember the Sabbath and keep it Holy.” Again, throughout the Old Testament we see this ordinance and commandment expounded upon to the extent that we see God’s intention for us from the beginning is that we would simply take one day of each week and set it apart as Holy unto Him. What a great God we have in that He would insist that we should cease from all our labors and take one day in our week where we would enjoy Him in the midst of His good creation.

If Sabbath is on Saturday why do most Christians celebrate or observe Sabbath on Sunday? Well originally this was not the case. There has been a lot of confusion over the issue of Sabbath observance throughout two millennia. Technically from a New Testament perspective, for the Church, Sabbath is still Saturday. In the New Testament books of Acts and I Corinthians we are told that the early church observed Sabbath but on the first day of the week, Sunday, they would gather together for worship. In other words, for the early Christians Sunday, or the first day of the week, was a day for Christians to gather together with the sole purpose of working at worshipping God and engaging in Christian ministry only after Sabbath was observed on the seventh day of the week. Also, the early church saw fit to set aside the first day of the week for worship to commemorate the day of the week that Jesus rose from the dead.

If God set apart the Sabbath for us so that we could enjoy His presence in our lives and so that we could enjoy His good creation, what has gone wrong? I don’t know about you but I’m not seeing anyone resting too much these days. As a matter of fact, most people you talk to make reference to the idea that they generally feel tired most of the time. The simple truth is that there aren’t very many people who are taking advantage of God’s Sabbath gift to us. We all know that rest is good for us but not many people take advantage of it weekly. For many a Sabbath day of rest is just simply not observed and every day is filled with all kinds of work and labor to the extent that even when a person is not engaged with his career he is extremely busy sorting out the rest of life’s chores and responsibilities. Because of all the obligations of career, family, church, and or other involvements in ever expanding social networks, no one is getting any rest. Add to this that we are all hooked up to electronic media 24/7, poor diet and limited opportunities for exercise, people are generally exhausted or are approaching burnout. Because not many of us are resting all sorts of sleep disorders are on the increase. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggests that insufficient sleep is a public health epidemic. According to the CDC not having enough rest can diminish your ability to concentrate, restrict your memory, decrease libido and decrease your overall work efficiency and effectiveness. It turns out that God knew what was best for us from the beginning: rest.

So is resting one day a week really an ethical issue? According to God it is. Remember, not only did God ordain that we should find rest once a week but He also insisted that we take this one day and thoroughly devote it to Him. Sabbath is to be set aside as Holy unto the Lord wherein we are to take time out of our busy lives to enjoy His presence and His good creation. Of course Jesus was criticized by the religious officials of His day for not keeping Sabbath. From time to time Jesus was criticized for healing someone or feeding someone or doing something miraculous on the Sabbath. But Jesus reminded these officials that Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath. In other words, it was always God’s intention from the beginning that if someone needed help in life it was always the right thing to do in bringing assistance and aid to people in desperate situations. So Jesus never dismissed Sabbath. He just made it clear that loving people in need has priority over our individual rest. Well, if this is the case it would seem that we would never rest since there are so many people in need. But alas, in the end if you neglect your rest you will eventually be so exhausted that you will be of no help to anyone. Incidentally, in the Gospels we see Jesus constantly slipping away from the crowds and the disciples to seek rest and encouragement from His Heavenly Father in the midst of His intense three year ministry.

So, enjoy your Sabbath. Take one day a week and enjoy God and His good creation. Take the kids for a walk in the woods and show them God’s creative genius in all that He has made. Take a nap on the beach and enjoy the sound of the waves and the warmth of the sun as you listen for His voice. Take time to find a quiet spot to read your Bible and hear what God has to say to you. Spend extended time in prayer to your Heavenly Father as you seek Him for encouragement and wisdom. Know this with certainty. If you don’t plan for Sabbath it will never happen. Make your plans to rest and then keep them. This Saturday help your family find a way to take a break from all of your labors and make time to enjoy God together in the garden of His good creation.

How Should We Then Live – Part III

A Biblical View of Ethics

 Over the past two weeks we have been exploring the premiere ethical considerations that are put forward by the Holy Writ of the Scriptures namely the Bible.  We have already discussed two of the five creation ordinances that are outlined in Genesis chapters 1 and 2. The first was the call for us to be fruitful and multiply. In this ordinance we see God’s desire for us to fill the earth with those who would be His people and wherein He would be our God. The sole purpose would be to maximize His glory through a great multitude experiencing His presence.

Secondly, through Genesis 1 and 2 we were given the great task of earthly employment. In other words, we were called to subdue the earth. From the beginning God gave us the high privilege of cultivating His good earth. This ordinance established the great importance of our labors giving us great purpose and meaning in our endeavors. Further glory is extended to our God by way of expressing His creative image with which He endowed us. This is all for His glory and our good pleasure.

It is interesting to note that the Hebrew root for the word Eden from which we get the illustrious title “the Garden of Eden” simply means “pleasure.” In other words through God’s creation His main concern had been the exhibition of His majesty and glory while at the same time creating an environment for our good pleasure. It turns out that God is not a kill-joy, but rather just the opposite is in view here. John Piper has expressed it this way, “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.” To the degree we are satisfied in God and with God’s good creation we bring Him the most glory in our lives.

The third ordinance that is presented in Genesis chapter 1 verse 28 is God’s call to us to “rule” the earth. In essence God granted the first couple the distinguished offices of King and Queen. Adam and Eve were assigned to be the first King and Queen of all creation as God called on them to not just fill the earth or subdue the earth, but they were called to rule over every living thing on the earth. From the very beginning God ordained the institution of government. What? Wait a minute. How could this be? Governments all over the world are full of corruption and impropriety! Governments are the source of all sorts of evils and tyrannies all over our planet! You mean to tell me that God ordained the incredible mess and injustice of our unjust, unethical and often times inhumane governments?

No, God did not ordain the governments that we see in place and in power today even though He allows them to exist. By the way, we are told in several places in the Scriptures that the nations are but a drop in the bucket with respect to God and that He raises kings and leaders up, and He also takes them out. No, in the beginning what God ordained was authority, government and rule that ultimately rested in the very nature of His person and was seated in His perfect and righteous authority, His just and autonomous government and His benevolent and sovereign rule. I don’t know about you, but I want to sign up for this!

Therefore, Adam and Eve were to serve as co-vice-regents of the One, True and Living God as the first King and Queen over all the earth. They in turn were to preside with the same essence of God’s good governance over every living thing including their children and their children’s children. But what went wrong? In Genesis 3 man rebelled against God, and with the rebellion government has been full of corruption ever since. Ultimate authority has been usurped and undermined, justice has been maligned and overturned, rule has been sold and auctioned to the highest bidder. Many a premiere, president, dictator, king, tsar, kaiser, sultan or prime minister has taken advantage of his office for personal gain or the advancement of pet ideologies with no regard for true justice, authority, government or rule. This has been done to the extent that the only axiom that can be applied to our world is that “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”  

As we look at our world where can we find good government?  Arguably, one might suggest that there are a few pockets where it seems that good government or a healthy sense of justice is upheld, but for the most part and in no small portion most would argue that our evaluations and comparisons of the governments that are found in this world are really a study of the lesser of certain and various evils.

I find it very interesting that later in the 10 Commandments as God gives His law to His people the number one commandment is the reestablishment of God as the ultimate authority. In that we overthrew God’s good government in our rebellion against Him in the garden, He now through the 10 Commandments reestablishes His preeminence as the ultimate Sovereign over all creation. He says, “I am the LORD your God…you shall have no other gods before Me.” Basically what God is saying is that He is the ultimate authority. There should be no other authority but Him and only such vice-regents of authority that are completely subjected to Him. He goes on to protect His ultimate authority through two additional commandments that reflect His ultimate sovereignty and rule.  The second and third commandment make certain that substitute gods (i.e. idols) have no authority and that His name is the ultimate name of authority and is not to be dishonored or profaned among the nations. These first three commandments make certain that God is the ultimate authority for all mankind and therefore only those who are subject to Him will find the execution of government most ethical, most righteous, most benevolent and most just.

What an awesome world it would be if all the knees of our rulers and leaders were bent before the God of all creation who alone is the judge of the universe. In the meantime the Scriptures tell us that we are to be subject to our leaders as far as they are subject to God and His word. As far as taxes are concerned we are told to “Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s”.

And I will continue to wait for the return of the King. For the promise is that one day He will return. I look forward to when Jesus the one true King will reign here with complete rule, authority and vindication. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords.  For now, even though I am subject to the rulers of this world, I will yet be ruled by no one except the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is He who will sit in all His glory enthroned in splendor in the recesses of my heart.