Opus 2026-230: Fullfillment

One of the key concepts we find in scripture about the mission of Jesus is,

Matthew 5:17 (KJV) Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

Most of the comments I hear on this have to do with contrasting law to faith but I don’t think that is the point at all.  It certainly isn’t the point Jesus was making.

We see a similar statement in Luke.  Was Jesus saying He had fulfilled this already?  Notice that Matthew is speaking about the early ministry of Jesus and Luke is dealing with the last moment.

Luke 24:44 (KJV) And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.

I find it interesting that He spoke of fulfilling things that we don’t think of fulfilling.  Prophecy, sure, but how do you fulfill a law?  You can keep a law or obey a law but fulfill?  We see some possible misunderstanding.

I also look to the words of Jesus on the cross when He called out,

(Joh 19:30 KJV)  When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.

Was Jesus saying He had fulfilled this already?

Paul talks about the Law being fulfilled,

Romans 8:4 (KJV) That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

And,

Romans 13:8 (KJV) Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.

Perhaps one of the keys is when it talks about “the law” as opposed to laws.  Are the two expressions the same?  On the surface we see the same word but that does not mean that Jesus and Paul have the same concept in mind.

My current understanding is that Jesus fulfilled all of the purposes of the law and prophets when He shed His blood on the cross.  That moment was the focal point of all human history.  It was the purpose that God implied to Abraham when He spoke of blessing all nations.  My view makes it difficult for those who have glorious eschatological charts that need to be endorsed.

Israel was chosen by God.  It’s whole purpose was to supply an earthly setting for the redemption that came through Jesus.  God still loves them.  They are invited to believe in Jesus as the Messiah.  They are not the cutting edge any more.

homo unius libri

Opus 2024-377: Bring Back the Difference

There is a very significant difference between the concept of the American Republic, and the empires and democracies of history.

Historically governments have been established to maintain the power of the upper classes.  This is true obviously of monarchies, but it’s also true of pure democracies.  Historically democracies have been limited to allowing only the propertied classes to vote and have a voice.  Traditionally women were excluded.  Slaves obviously had nothing to say.  And the poor were not allowed to participate.

The American concept of a constitutional republic is totally different.  The goal was to include everyone in the process and to give everyone a voice while avoiding the dangers of pure democracy.  Originally women were allowed to vote in some of the colonies.  Blacks had a voice.  Slaves were excluded but that was temporary and was eventually worked out.  People were aware of that problem.  But the idea was that the upper classes would not rule everything.

We had this thing called the Checks and Balances.  We had the House of Representatives elected by popular vote.  Every vote counted.  Winner take all in each race.  This insure that the lower classes would always have a voice.  The House of Representatives controlled the pocket book.  The House had the power to impeach.

Originally the Senate was established to maintain the power of those who were more wealthy.  Senators were appointed by the state legislatures and governors.  This was to insure that the majority rule would not be able to destroy the rights of people simply because they were wealthy.  In a constitutional republic, even the rich have rights.

Now it gets a bit sticky and we have to bring in a bit of Bible.  What is the purpose of government?  In monarchies it was to keep the elite in power and anything advancing that was allowed.  The Constitution limits the power of government, however it does make allowance for enforcing the rule of law.  And here we need to look at what Paul said in the book of Romans. Yes, he said we are to be supportive of the government.

Romans 13:1 (KJV) Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.

Keep in mind when you read this that we do not live in Empire.  We do not have a king, emperor, or local Lord, who has the right to tell us what to do.  For us the emperor would be the Constitution, not the president.  That is why our military take an oath to the Constitution, and not to the head of state.

In light of this, you need to also understand a key purpose of government.

Romans 13:4 (KJV) For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.

The government is to bear the sword.  The government is to punish evil.  This is a very important distinction.  Are we to support our government?  Yes.  Does the government have a responsibility also?  Yes.  The government is not there to suppress what we call freedom of speech.  The government is there to punish evil.

So when the government goes after those who have been performing evil acts, don’t go all pious on me and start saying, “Oh my goodness let’s be forgiving.”  No, it doesn’t work that way.  Murder, extortion, coercion, crony capitalism, treason, rape, child trafficking, sex trade, this is only the beginning of the list of crimes against us as citizens and supporting evil in society.  It is not just the governments power to punish this evil.  It is government responsibility.

Keep in mind the difference between vengeance and punishment.  Vengeance is you taking out your personal anger on someone for a wrong you believe has happened to you.  Punishment is a just reward of those who have broken the covenant of society and committed evil acts.  That is the role of the government.

The government needs to accept that duty.  Don’t stand in its way.

homo unius libri

Opus 2020-003: Headlines: A Twofer

It seems like an American drone took out several leading Iranian killers.  How do we respond?

We could have sympathy for their families and loved ones.  We could keep in mind that even brutal killers can have children and wives that care about them. 

We could also rejoice with the many families that will not lose loved ones now that these are gone.  Of course we will never know who those would have been so maybe we can all rejoice that we are a little bit safer today.

Was this drone attack wrong?  For you or me on our own, possibly.  For the government of the United States, no. 

(Rom 13:3-4 KJV) For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:  For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.

Note that one of the legitimate roles of governments is to deal with evil people.  I understand that often depends on your point of view but to any objective observer the United States is much closer to being the good guy than Iran.  Of course if you are an America hater, which includes most of the Democrat leadership and elites, then it doesn’t matter what the facts are, Orange Man bad.

If Iran wants to reciprocate then they will have my blessing is they will identify and eliminate the people in the deep state who feel it is righteous to murder witnesses and manipulate the population for their own personal power.  That way they could go after the real Great Satan and make the world better for everyone.

It is starting to look like a good year.

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-058: Headlines: Time for Swords not Cheeks

The report is out and the conclusion is that there was no collusion.  The meme we keep hearing is a big nothingburger.  The strange thing to me is that even if there was “collusion”, I read that there is no such crime.

The big point of the two year investigation is not so much that President Trump was colluding but that the MSM, DOJ, FBI and CIA were working with the Democratic party in trying to negate a lawful electing and remove the president.  They were trying for a coup and fell on their face.  The big question is where do we go from here.

The criminals and their allies are calling for us to move on and forget it, after all it was yesterday’s news.  That would go along with the Christian concept of turning the other cheek.  After all. if we just focus on the negative how can we move forward?  It is also misguided.  It is time for Donald Trump to move from turning the other cheek to bearing the government sword against evil.  I don’t think he needs to go on the attack for personal revenge but because he is responsible to the Constitution and the citizens of the United States.  He needs to protect us from the coercion of leftist tyranny. 

The Biblical basis is found in Romans 13.  Thus we have,

(Romans 13:1-4 KJV)  Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.  Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.  For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:  For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.

As an individual Trump should forgive.  As President he needs to pick up the sword and “execute wrath upon him that doeth evil”.

It is a clear evil that Flynn and Manafort are sitting in custody while Hillary and Comey are living the high life.  If we are going to see good prevail we must charge the government with rooting out the evil.

Let the trials begin.

homo unius libri

Opus 2015-243: Sword Time

Should Christians get upset if the French government takes strong measures to deal with the acts of terrorism it has suffered?  I think there is a lot of confusion both in Christian ranks and those who have benefitted from the culture that was built on Christian values.  I have written about turning the other cheek.  One truth that must be realized is that the reason individuals can turn the other cheek is because the government is established by God to deal with the big issues.  Consider,

(Romans 13:3-4 KJV)  For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:  For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.

The government has a responsibility to not turn the other cheek.  If you read the different parts of the Bible that deal with breaking the law and sin you find that there are strict punishments that are to be interpreted with common sense and mercy.  Thus, adultery was to be punished by stoning but Jesus said two things.  First,

(John 8:7 KJV)  So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.

That was for the hypocrites that were out for blood, not justice. 

In the same spirit of hypocrisy, those who want to excuse their own sin fail to continue quoting what Jesus was saying.  He didn’t just say, “Be cool”.  His final words to the woman, after the hypocrites had slithered away was,

(John 8:11 KJV)  She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.

He commanded a change in behavior.

In the case of cultural evil and socially destructive behavior the government is to step in and do its job, not just write in the sand.  That means that the French have a responsibility to use the sword against the murderers who are seeking them out.  The same applies to the American government and any other government that is charged with protecting its people.  Military force is ordained by God.  The police are part of his plan. 

Obviously enforcing the law by punishing evil can be abused but it cannot be ignored, at least if you want to survive.  You cannot continue to chop away at the values and principles that built a prosperous and free society and expect the prosperity and liberty to continue to exist. 

homo unius libri

Opus 2015-11: Headlines: Facing Truth and Restraining Hatred

It is hard to miss the iceberg that France it being forced to acknowledge.  Of course the iceberg is the desire of Islam to conquer the West and it’s willingness to kill and destroy to bring us to our knees.  Some people refuse to see reality until it is too painful to ignore.  France may have reached that point.  I doubt it, but I can hope.  Will the rest of the world learn from the pain in Paris or stand around with their fingers in their ears singing “Kumbaya”?

It is hard to admit uncomfortable truth that demands action.

It is even harder to find a reasonable, rational, retrained response that does not destroy our culture as fast as the sword of the enemy.  There is more than one way to kill a culture just as there is more than one way to kill a hostage.

We in the West, who have a heritage of Christian values, need to respond.  We need to respond with strength and determination.  That will involve violence and focus that we normally avoid.  It must be measured, though.  It must not be a seeking of vengeance and reprisal to try to wash away the pain caused by the purveyors of terror.

If we want to remain free and moving forward we must not loose our reason for response.

There is a reason why the Bible says,

(Romans 12:19 KJV)  Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.

Revenge tends to be a cycle that destroys the avenger.  It escalates into a never ending round of murder and destruction.

But that does not mean we go to turning the other cheek as a society.  It means that the governments step up and do what Paul tells us is their responsibility in the next chapter of Romans.

(Romans 13:4 KJV)  For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.

The government has the responsibility to act against evil.  You may be a part of the response if you are in the military.  As an individual you are to turn the other cheek.  As a culture we are to response with violence.  That is what a sword is for, violence.  That is what evil demands, violence.

Notice another point in this verse.  Violence is to be against “him that doeth evil.”  As much as Christians may disagree with Muslims, we do not have a divine mandate to kill people because they are Muslims.  We may consider them “evil” in the sense of being anti-God but they are not doing evil.  The Muslim terrorists may think it is okay to kill everyone who disagrees with them.  That is one of the differences between us and them.  It is an important difference that must not be abandoned out of pain or anger.

The West needs to wake up.  It needs to respond.  It will require violence.  It must be restrained.  It must focus on the evil doers not the entire Middle East.

Hard?  Yes.  But that is the demand of truth and righteousness.  No one ever said it would be easy.

homo unius libri.

Opus 2014-288: Cornerstone Considerations: CUSA, The Highest Authority

On my other blog I made some comments on Proverbs in regard to the government.

(Proverbs 25:5 KJV)  Take away the wicked from before the king, and his throne shall be established in righteousness.

Since that is a devotional blog I don’t want to get into political philosophy and personal opinion as much as I do here.  So I want to dig a little deeper into the struggle of Christians living in an anti-God culture and being led by politicians who mock the standards of God.

I also quoted Paul.

(Romans 13:1 KJV)  Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.

How are we as Christians to be faithful to the call of God to be righteous and support leaders who reject righteousness? 

As Americans we are in a unique position.  You see, we do not have a king.  We have a president.  We have an elected official who takes an oath of office that reminds us what the “higher powers” that Paul talks about really are.  Here it is as a direct quote from the Constitution, Article II, Section 1:

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of president of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the constitution of the United States."

I submit that the highest power that we obey in the United States of America is the Constitution.  It is not the president, congress or the Supreme Court.

We see this in the oath I took when I was drafted into the army years ago.

I”, _____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God." (Title 10, US Code; Act of 5 May 1960 replacing the wording first adopted in 1789, with amendment effective 5 October 1962).”

This oath, with slight variations, is also taken by all officers.  Notice it gives supremacy to the Constitution and limits obedience to orders that are legal. 

Is this sophistry?  You be the judge. 

I also have the words of Peter before the Sanhedrin:

(Acts 4:19 KJV)  But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye.

Of course there is a difference between political opinion and speaking the truth of God.  We sometimes forget that, but we as Christians need to remember that we have a higher allegiance.  One of the struggles we have in a country and a religion that believes in liberty and individual responsibility is that we have to engage our minds and make hard choices.

Welcome to liberty.

homo unius libri

Opus 2014-227: Turning the Cheek and Bearing the Sword

Last year I was reading a book called Blindsided and it made me wonder how we can give a rational response to the challenge of Islam.  What we are seeing in the headlines today just reinforces my concern.

As a Christian, my standards of behavior are molded by the words of the Bible.  In my personal relationships I am guided by the words of Jesus which can be summed up with,

(Matthew 5:39 KJV)  But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.

As a general principle of life this is very important.  The concept of forgiveness and patience is built into the American philosophy.  The problem is the perpetual, misguided and possibly insane bully that looks on forgiveness and patience as a sign of weakness.  That bully, personal or national, ramps up the violence in the face of Christian virtue.

That is why we need to balance a partial teaching of the Bible with a more extensive examination and use our God given ability to reason as we look for solutions.  The Bible also tells us,

(Romans 13:4 KJV)  For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.

You don’t need to read that many times to see that one of the functions of government is to use the sword to deal with evil.  The sword has to be carried by someone.  They can, if motivated and guided properly, be doing God’s work.

We are faced with a great evil.  We have a large group of bullies who are using their big muscles, lack of good will and repeating rifles to extend, expand and execute evil.  They say it is in the name of God.  If they were Christians making this claim I could refute them with our holy book, the Bible.  Since it is Muslims and their holy book is the Koran, I cannot do that.  Neither can other Muslims because the teaching of the Koran allows this kind of behavior and if they speak out against it they are tortured and murdered.

The problem is not going to just go away while the president takes vacations, plays golf and takes advantage of photo ops.

My fear is that maybe a rational response is impossible.  It may be the only way we can fight this evil is to get people so stoked up that they lash out at those who want to destroy us.  A reasoned response isn’t in the cards.  You don’t fight bullying with reason, you fight it with force.

I continue to hope for either another answer or a waking up to the danger.

Youssef, Michael, Blindsided, No City:  Kobri, 2012.

homo unius libri