09/11/2019
Rose
Friends,
In my Sunday message, I compared Jesus with the Scribes and Pharisees. They loved rules, and had hundreds of them. They sincerely believed that the way to God was by good behavior. Follow the rules, at least most of them most of the time, and God should be pleased with you. But Jesus said "No, that's not how it works." He believed in salvation by grace through faith, redemption as a gift, your place in God's kingdom secured not by your own hard work, but by his on the cross. That drove the Scribes and Pharisees nuts, and to be honest, Jesus wasn't fond of them either.
Rules or relationship. Take your pick. I argued for the relationship. After all, Jesus only ever had two rules for his disciples. Neither were original, and both were about love. Love God and love your neighbor. Rules can't cover every situation. Better to approach people with questions like these on you mind: What's the most loving thing to do for this person in this situation. How would God have me show them his love? How do they need to be loved?
In my message, I was careful to stay away from the ten commandments because, frankly, I wasn't sure what to do with them. Weren't they rules? Didn't God himself give them to us? And how did that fit with what I was trying to say? I couldn't figure it out, so I didn't bring it up.
Now, I have an idea. I want you to think about the ten commandments. Don't murder. Don't steal. Remember the Sabbath. Don't commit adultery, etc. Don't they strike you as vague? They do me.
Take Don't Commit Murder. Sounds straightforward until you scratch the service, and then you're faced with the question, "What counts?" Is self defense murder? What about killing in time of war? What if it's an accident? Applying the seemingly straightforward commandment actually takes some thought and prayer.
Same with Don't Steal. Sure, I shouldn't break into your home and take whatever looks good to me. But what about if I overcharge you for a good or service? Is that stealing? And what if I hire you for some hourly amount, and you goof off a couple hours every day? Does that mean you're stealing from me? And what about taxes? The Bible tells us to pay our taxes, but can taxes ever be so high that they constitute theft? Once again, the supposedly simple commandment is dangerously complex.
And you can do this with all the commandments. None of them are as simple and straightforward as they look. And here's a good Lutheran question: What does that mean?
I think it means that the Ten Commandments are about love. They're designed to do two things. First, they promote loving behavior. Second, they make you have to think and pray about how they apply to everyday life. No, they aren't as simple as they look. And that's good. If they were, we wouldn't have to think or pray or draw close to God to ask for his help. Thankfully, the Ten Commandments are wonderfully, beautifully, perfectly vague enough to make us have to ask, "What's the most loving way to apply them? How do they help me love God and love my neighbor? Are there ever exceptions? Does love demand exceptions?"
You see, even the Ten Commandments aren't really about rules. They're about relationship. I'm sure the Scribes and Pharisees didn't understand that, but off course Jesus did. After all, he wrote them.
In Christ,
Pastor Marty Hufford