February 2, 2012

Two generations of men studying God's word.

Okay, so it's been a while since I've posted. Work and life...you know how it is. However, I find myself in need of a review. The last couple of weeks, G has been asking, "Who can tell us what we talked about last week" sadly, none of us could recall. Talk about embarrassing!

Don't get me wrong, we all love the study. We can tell you some of the non-BIble discussion we had; we could tell you who was absent and why; but for the life of us, we could not state the main idea, or topic of the study.

So, after a couple of weeks of the question being met with blank stares, it was obvious an omen that the blog needed to be resurrected. You'll find no promises from me, promising to post every week. I'd like to way I would, but too many blogs in the past have proven that life and myself just won't allow a consistency in blogging.

So enough of that. Here's some of what we discussed this past week: Let's start with scripture first:

What does love look like? 
1corinthians 13:4-7
Romans 11:6 how will love come? Grace or works?
II Corinthians 9:6-7. Cheerful giver; don't expect anything in return
Ephesians 4:1-3 walk in unity.
Ephesians 4:31-32. Forgive as God forgave.
I John 3:18 show me you love me.
I Corinthians 13:13 greatest is love


I would wager to bet, this is the part of the New Covenant that the Law+Grace people never get to. I've heard the argument too many times, and I'm betting you have, too.

You see, a lot of folks feel that if we don't have the law, sinning would be running rampage. What's not realized, though, is exactly what's going on at the point of salvation. It's not just a feel good fuzzy feeling, but an actual rebirth. The Holy Spirit comes to take up residence, not simply to visit from time to time, but to actually live in the hearts of his people.  So, once He's moved in? Exactly what is He doing? The Holy Spirit isn't going to lead us to the nasty nine or dirty dozen, as this attitude was so coined; but rather, lead us in a life of love, and dependency onto God the Father.

The calloused Christian has just shrugged their shoulders, and replied, "What's the difference? Tomato, Tomahto--both are the same thing" But really? It's not. The view on Grace allows us to put our focus onto Christ Himself, allowing us to bask in his love and patience. The Legalism has us always focusing on ourselves, making sure we did enough 'good stuff' that we might actually get in; the outward motions might be the same, (not killing, stealing, honoring our parents, loving God, etc) but the motivation on the inside are different. One is done in love, and thinking of others, the other is done in fear of retribution, or in hopes of more 'stars in our crown'.

It's really an important point, to realize the difference in motivation.  The "Law of Love" goes further than the Ten Commandments ever could. Love compels us of all the 'don'ts', but also compels us in all the 'do's'. Don't just "thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's stuff", but we're compelled to take it a step farther and perhaps help the neighbor with his 'stuff', whether repairing, cleaning, or simply enjoying.
Law simply says, "Don't--or else!"

Andrew Farley, a pastor out of Lubbock, Texas, had this to say about the Ten Commandments: Fashioning a safety net of 9 commandments, and what Jesus is saying is, “Walk the tightrope of Grace with me,” You don’t need a safety net. You’re going to find your balance in Jesus Christ, and in Him alone. When we fashion a safety net, it’s essentially an insult to Jesus, “I’ll take you for salvation, I’ll take you for heaven, but in the meantime I am nervous about immorality, and so I need these commandments...” (Click here for the interview with Andrew Farley)


It was good to see our Bible study get this far. Too many times has our New Covenant gotten stuck in the quicksand of debate, when people fear we are giving people a license to sin, intend of a license to trust in His finished work on the cross.