Can right be done wrong?
Is it possible to do the right thing for the wrong reason? If so, can it also be true that one can use what is "right" wrongly?In first Timothy, Paul is writing to Timothy about those who were teaching the Law improperly. But how can you improperly use/teach something that is good?
The Ten Commandments were written by God and given to Moses on Mount Sinai. Most people know the Ten Commandments as a list of religious and moral imperatives or better yet God's do's and don'ts.
These moral guidelines were give to Moses well after the "fall of man" so why would God give a list of laws to His people that He knew they would be unable to keep? That seems weird doesn't it? Kind of like giving candy to a young child and then telling them not to eat it. A little unfair don't you think?
Well I think there is an answer to this question, and to be honest, it's actually really not that hard to understand.
God is Holy, Righteous and Just. So, if God is just then it is safe to say that His justice must be poored out upon all of His creation. Before sin entered into the world (Adam and Eve) God's creation was living harmoniously in perfection as He designed and willed. But because of the fall of man, sin entered into the world and therefore, justice was required. The Bible tells us that "The wages of sin is death..." (Rom. 6:23) which in it's most basic form is mankind's penalty...and God's justice served.
So then why would God have an expectation of mankind which was impossible for them to fulfill? That seems kinda harsh right? Well it is. God hates sin. From the tiniest little "white lie" to the most brutal murder, God hates sin. God did not change His expectation of mankind simply because mankind chose to disobey God. That is not justice. That would be like a modern day judge saying I understand that the speed limit said 55, but since you were doing 60 I'll say that the speed limit really should have been 65. That is not justice and God requires justice.
But there is hope. God is Just, but He also is Love. And because He loves His children, He sent His Son to die on the cross as an atonement to cover the sins of the world.
The Ten Commandments were a reminder to mankind of God's expectations of us. They were also given to us, as a foreshadowing of what was to come. Jesus Christ, the fulfilment of the Law.
Therefore the only way that the Law can be taught and used properly is by the understanding that no man can live up to the expectation of God without the atonement of Christ on the cross, the forgiveness of our sins, a repentant attitude, and a faith and trust in Jesus Christ as Lord.
posted by Jason W. Allen @ 5:59 PM
2 Comments
2 Comments:
Jason is right, you can do something right for the wrong reason but I couldn’t find the passage that he was referring to in first Timothy. He was, however, correct in saying that Paul writes of this subject, but my conclusions are slightly different than his. In Philippians 1:15 – 18 Paul writes that some teach or preach the gospel with wrongful motivations but Paul then basically says, “Who cares.” Whether for right reasons or motivations or not, Christ is proclaimed. Now obviously Christians should be closely watching their attitudes and motives for everything we do and we should also watch closely who we receive teaching from, but if, for some reason, someone decides to preach the gospel to make himself look important or smart (or whatever) in the end the gospel of Christ is still advancing.
I agree completely with his second point. The question of why God would set His standards beyond our reach is one that is brought up continually. Why didn’t God just make us so we wouldn’t want to sin at all? The answer is two fold, and that is love.
Wait, hold the phone! How can an answer be two fold but still be only one answer?
First, love is a choice, not an emotion although emotions play along with love. We don’t “fall” in love, we “choose” to love. That is why someone can hate a person’s actions while still loving them. We learned this from God. He hates our sin, but He still loves us anyway, but because God is just He must give us what we deserve for our sins no matter how much He loves us. A murderer’s mother could still love him deeply, but she knows that no matter how much she loves him he must still pay for his crime by going to prison. Her love alone can not keep him from his punishment. Now our judicial system is a little different than God’s in that we cannot send someone to prison for the crime of another, but in God’s justice this can be done. It isn’t easy though. There is only one punishment: death and the only way for someone to take our place is for that person not to be deserving of death. What good would it be for someone already deserving of death to say I will die for that other person? It would be like a murderer on death row to say I’m going to die anyway so I will die for the crimes of all the other murderers on death row. That wouldn’t be justice, you would need someone undeserving of the punishment.
This is where Jesus comes in. Jesus was the only one in history to lead a perfect life, completely without sin, deserving of nothing but life and the only one who could take our place by dying the death we should have died. Think about this for a second…God saw that we needed a savior and saw that no one on Earth could ever do it, so God Himself humbled Himself, became a man and died for us and poured out His wrath on Himself in order that we might find a way to Him. Why? Because He loves us.
Second, His standards are set high enough that in theory we could reach them but in reality we won’t. Because of this God calls us to strive to be perfect knowing that we could never be perfect. If we could be perfect we wouldn’t need God. The only way we have a fighting chance is to rely on Christ’s strength because it is only through Jesus’ sacrifice that we can be seen as perfect by God. So, God set the rules in order for us to see how weak we are but sent someone, Christ Jesus, to help us achieve what we couldn’t. Why? Because He loves us.
Very well put Chris. The verse I was referring to in 1 Timothy was Ch. 1: 5-11.
Thanks for your insight!
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home