Opus 2024-246: The Law of…

One of my favorite chapters in the Bible is Psalm 19.  It has a lot of encouraging thoughts in it.  One of them is this, regarding the law,

(Psa 19:7 KJV)  The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.

As I was reading it today, I noticed that the verb used at the beginning of the verse in the NASB was “restoring” rather than “converting”.  I checked other translations and that seemed to be a common difference.  The law gets a lot of bad press.  In the New Testament the apostle Paul is regarded by the theologians and their clones as especially anti-law.  Not so much king David.

I noticed that here the phrase used is “the law of the Lord”.  Often we talk about the “law of Moses”.  What we seem to be ignorant of is that most of the time what people are actually talking about is the law of the Pharisees.  While the law of the Lord and Moses are probably the same, the law of the Pharisees is a perversion of the original.

The intent of the law was not to bind us in legalism.  Re-read the verse above.  If you have time go to the 19th Psalm and check it out.  The law is there to make life good.  It is there to enrich you.  It is there to lift you up to new heights.  Try to take the word of God in the sense in which it is offered and not the way the theologians tell you what it means.

Being citizens in a country that was established with a belief in the rule of law, and that the rule of law gave us liberty to live our lives, we should be very careful about throwing the law of the Bible out the window.  We get our sense of the rule of law because we believe in a God who believes in the rule of law.  Of course, both are interpreted and applied with mercy and grace.

Make it so when your life.

homo unius libri

Opus 2024-121: Just Perfect

People quarrel over the idea of perfection as expressed in the Bible.  Some say no such thing is possible.  Check out these two verses, one in the OT and one in the NT.  The word “perfect” appears in both the KJV and NASB,

(Psa 19:7 KJV)  The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.

(1Jn 4:18 KJV)  There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.

The problem is not that this perfection is impossible.  The problem is using our cultural definitions of a word rather than seeking to understand how it is used in the Bible.

I am sitting outside this morning and, to be honest, it is a perfect morning.  It is positively awesome.  There is a refreshing breeze and I’m told it’s about 73°.  It is a perfect morning.

Yesterday was also a perfect morning.  I am told it was 71°.  It was a very light breeze.  It was a perfect morning.

I can go on like this.  There are numerous perfect mornings and yet each one is different.  Why do we have so much trouble with his word perfect?  We know in our hearts what it means.  Why do people refuse to accept it?  Much of the problem is beginning with a theology that says there is no such thing as perfect in spite of the examples of the word.

Another word we have trouble with is “sovereign”.  We have trouble with the conflict between the idea of God, being omnipotent, and us having free will.  We have the trouble with so many other issues.  Lighten up, broaden your mind, think.  The universe is beyond you.  God never said you would understand every mystery.  He also gives you permission to contribute crazy ideas that might answer the paradox.  

Who knows, you might get lucky and be right.

homo unius libri