Drawing Near

A Pastoral Perspective on Biblical, Theological, & Cultural Issues | The Personal Website of James B. Law, Ph.D.

Monthly Archive: November 2018

Thursday

29

November 2018

0

COMMENTS

Yes It Is! The Local Church is the Epicenter of God’s Kingdom Purposes in This World

Written by , Posted in Church Life, Devotional, Faith & Culture, Family

When I was a freshman in high school, I had a football coach who was intense. Really intense. He had a mustache that resembled the look of a proverbial Viking which made him all the more intimidating. He was the kind of man who during his tour-of-duty in Vietnam spent his free time killing water buffalos with his 50 caliber machine gun.

In the strangest of contrasts, school administrators assigned him to teach driver’s education.  I will always remember how he greeted the class as he looked out at us on that first day, “Well,” he scoffed, “This isn’t the freshman class at Harvard.”

I remember his greeting every time I read the Apostle Paul’s assessment of the Corinthian church, “For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.” (I Corinthians 1:26-29)

Paul was saying to the Corinthians, “Notice, your gathering is not made up of the ‘movers and shakers’ of the culture. Your curriculum vitae is not very impressive in the world’s eyes, but that’s okay. It’s okay because the church is not about you. The church is about showcasing God’s grace and glory through the redeeming grace of Jesus Christ.” (more…)

Thursday

15

November 2018

0

COMMENTS

Always We Begin Again

Written by , Posted in Church Life, Devotional

It has been said that nothing drags more stubbornly than a sack of failures. Every one of us who has breathed the air of this world knows what failure is like in one form or another. Whether it is a missed free throw, a failed relationship, a business that went south, or a devastating moral disaster that has caused deep sorrow and collateral damage, the pain from failure and loss can cut deep into the heart.

For the believer in Jesus Christ, His victory over sin, death, and the grave gives to us a living hope and becomes the foundation for our worldview. With an empty tomb, there will always be hope through the Risen One. With every failure and setback we experience, the Lord gives hope and grace to begin again.

In the loving discipline of God, trials come into our lives for the purpose of conforming us to the image of His Son (Romans 8:29). The Lord’s discipline is multi-faceted and masterfully applied.  For instance, God brought corrective discipline into the life of David; preventive discipline in the life of Paul; and educational discipline in the life of Job. (more…)

Thursday

1

November 2018

0

COMMENTS

His Commandments Are Not Burdensome

Written by , Posted in Church Life, Devotional, Theology

Some years ago media mogul Ted Turner suggested that we ditch the Ten Commandments and hold a contest on who could come up with a better set of guidelines. To put forward the idea of replacing God’s standard of righteousness, and the foundation of jurisprudence, with pithy progressive ideas is the epitome of what C.S. Lewis called “chronological snobbery.” Lewis was referring to the danger of saying that things are better because they are new, and deficient because they are dated.

Ted Turner is not the only one who advocates jettisoning the Ten Commandments. Pastor Andy Stanley in his recent book, Irresistible, writes,“The Ten Commandments have no authority over you. None. To be clear: Thou shalt not obey the Ten Commandments.”

Stanley sought to establish that any contamination of the old covenant commands upon the new covenant life found in the grace of Jesus Christ would be a corruption of the whole relationship. However, Stanley ignores that the Old Testament is full of examples of God’s grace and compassion for His wayward people. (Exodus 34:1-6; Psalm 103)

When Moses received the Ten Commandments on top of the mountain, Israel was below breaking covenant with the golden calf. Upon seeing this Moses shattered the stone tablets. (Exodus 32:19) However, God’s grace is on display when He commands Moses to cut two new tablets, and again He would write these wonderful words of life for His wayward people.

In Exodus 34, this is how Yahweh, the Lord God, is described and revealed, “The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.” (Exodus 34:6-7)

Stanley’s view of the Old Testament directly contradicts the teaching of Jesus Christ who never once questioned the authority and trustworthiness of the Old Testament. The commandments that Stanley calls his readers to not obey are all affirmed and commanded in the New Testament. The exception would be the Sabbath command which is presented as fulfilled in the rest found in Christ. (Hebrews 4:1-11) (more…)

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