For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. (John 1:17 KJV)
John saw a fundamental difference between the Law of Moses and the coming of Jesus Christ. You cannot get round that fact. Try any Bible version that is not forcing a prejudiced interpretation on you. I have just read a set of rhetorical questions in a Christian periodical about 'Biblical Worldview'. For some, it seems, Christianity is largely concerned with conforming the laws and behaviours of the land (in this case South Africa) to the Ten Commandments. Now I am not against people living in line with the Ten Commandments. If we really did, any country would be a safer and more prosperous place. In a place like South Africa, morality and integrity in government and business need all the help they can get, for sure.
However this is not really the prime thrust of Jesus. He did not come to transform a society and it's institutions of Government by forcing them to follow a written code, albeit a supremely excellent one.. Instead he called individuals to turn to God for the remission of their sins.
Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. (Acts 2:38 KJV)
What does this mean? It means turn from living life out of fellowship with God. Receive new life from God. Be baptised as a sign that a new life has begun in you, a new life which will cause your sins to remit, i.e. die out.
You will look in vain in an accurate translation for the common evangelical concept of turning from your sins, or repenting of your sins, as a precondition or preliminary to coming to Christ. if by this we mean, 'are you willing to let go of your sins', fine. If we mean, 'are you by your own efforts putting away your sins', that is not fine. We cannot. The important thing is coming to Christ. Sure, tell people he will deal with your sins more and more as time goes on, and if you are not prepared for that, don't come. But you cannot deal with sin without him. We are here to help people love Jesus passionately from the heart, to partake of and abide in his righteous life, not to make them solid legalists trying to reform themselves. i believe this is not detail. it is vitally important that we realize our only sufficiency (adequacy, competence) is in Christ.
Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; (2 Cor 3:5 KJV)
Look at the Acts verse about repentance in the New Living Translation. This version has been rendered according to a common strand of evangelical 'culture'. the text is a distorted interpretation of the original.
Peter replied, 'Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.' (Acts 2v38 NLT)
This sounds like evangelical orthodoxy, but it does not represent the original text.
The same article mentioned above implied that the death penalty be enforced. I am sure many prosperous South Africans would like this as a deterrent to high rates of often violent crime. However, David effectively committed pre-meditated murder. Unless you are seriously saying he should be let off the hook because he didn't actually do the deed, merely arranged it, then he should have been executed because his violation of the sixth commandment.
We are not to burden people by telling them they must scoop the darkness out of their lives. We are here to show them that Christ wants to fill them with life. Sure, when we have done that, we can exhort them to live according to what they have received.
Paul spends the bulk of Colossians chapters 1 and 2 explaining what Christ has done for believers. Look at it yourself. But he interjects with the odd comment telling us how we should live.
That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; (Col 1:10 KJV)
As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: (Col 2:6 KJV)
So yes we are to walk right. But we walk right having been made aware the impartations of glorious loving acceptance God has made to us. To live under the Law is death. We are living a life of onerous duty and constant 'no's. To live with Christ is fulness of life. Emotional riches. Pleasures at His right hand. The fullness of Christ in us. David loved God passionately. He yearned for more of His presence above all. He understood the emotional life of God. He sinned seriously, and repented. And a few verses from the end of the Bible, Jesus is bold to call himself the root and offspring of David. David and not Moses. Interesting!
John saw a fundamental difference between the Law of Moses and the coming of Jesus Christ. You cannot get round that fact. Try any Bible version that is not forcing a prejudiced interpretation on you. I have just read a set of rhetorical questions in a Christian periodical about 'Biblical Worldview'. For some, it seems, Christianity is largely concerned with conforming the laws and behaviours of the land (in this case South Africa) to the Ten Commandments. Now I am not against people living in line with the Ten Commandments. If we really did, any country would be a safer and more prosperous place. In a place like South Africa, morality and integrity in government and business need all the help they can get, for sure.
However this is not really the prime thrust of Jesus. He did not come to transform a society and it's institutions of Government by forcing them to follow a written code, albeit a supremely excellent one.. Instead he called individuals to turn to God for the remission of their sins.
Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. (Acts 2:38 KJV)
What does this mean? It means turn from living life out of fellowship with God. Receive new life from God. Be baptised as a sign that a new life has begun in you, a new life which will cause your sins to remit, i.e. die out.
You will look in vain in an accurate translation for the common evangelical concept of turning from your sins, or repenting of your sins, as a precondition or preliminary to coming to Christ. if by this we mean, 'are you willing to let go of your sins', fine. If we mean, 'are you by your own efforts putting away your sins', that is not fine. We cannot. The important thing is coming to Christ. Sure, tell people he will deal with your sins more and more as time goes on, and if you are not prepared for that, don't come. But you cannot deal with sin without him. We are here to help people love Jesus passionately from the heart, to partake of and abide in his righteous life, not to make them solid legalists trying to reform themselves. i believe this is not detail. it is vitally important that we realize our only sufficiency (adequacy, competence) is in Christ.
Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; (2 Cor 3:5 KJV)
Look at the Acts verse about repentance in the New Living Translation. This version has been rendered according to a common strand of evangelical 'culture'. the text is a distorted interpretation of the original.
Peter replied, 'Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.' (Acts 2v38 NLT)
This sounds like evangelical orthodoxy, but it does not represent the original text.
The same article mentioned above implied that the death penalty be enforced. I am sure many prosperous South Africans would like this as a deterrent to high rates of often violent crime. However, David effectively committed pre-meditated murder. Unless you are seriously saying he should be let off the hook because he didn't actually do the deed, merely arranged it, then he should have been executed because his violation of the sixth commandment.
We are not to burden people by telling them they must scoop the darkness out of their lives. We are here to show them that Christ wants to fill them with life. Sure, when we have done that, we can exhort them to live according to what they have received.
Paul spends the bulk of Colossians chapters 1 and 2 explaining what Christ has done for believers. Look at it yourself. But he interjects with the odd comment telling us how we should live.
That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; (Col 1:10 KJV)
As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: (Col 2:6 KJV)
So yes we are to walk right. But we walk right having been made aware the impartations of glorious loving acceptance God has made to us. To live under the Law is death. We are living a life of onerous duty and constant 'no's. To live with Christ is fulness of life. Emotional riches. Pleasures at His right hand. The fullness of Christ in us. David loved God passionately. He yearned for more of His presence above all. He understood the emotional life of God. He sinned seriously, and repented. And a few verses from the end of the Bible, Jesus is bold to call himself the root and offspring of David. David and not Moses. Interesting!
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