The Law of Love

Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.~ Romans 3:31

Paul stood at a critical juncture in that there were many different voices vying for ownership of the gospel. Romans can be seen primarily as a defence of, and a laying out of the essential tenets of the faith.

Justification by faith alone was absolutely central and pivotal to Paul's understanding.

There were voices calling for strict adherence to the law, as though faith were not enough, demanding such things as circumcision of gentile believers.

And then there were those who were calling for a complete abandonment of the same law, citing grace as the overriding principle and having licentious freedom in mind.

Paul addresses them both here.


Under law, not that most of us have ever felt we have been, we strive to please God and keep the commandments because we are afraid of him and terrified of the consequences of breaking them.

The law makes us conscious of our sin, and of our inability to meet God's standard. It makes us aware of sin but renders us imprisoned within it.  Paul iterates in Galatians 3 that the law was a custodian. a jailer, if you will;

Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. ~v23

But the purpose of this was really so that we would understand our need for a saviour, yes, our need for God himself.

So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.~v24-25

You can see the relationship has changed from prisoner to liberated son.

William Barclay says in his study guide to Romans;

"Up to this time the Jew had tried to be a good man and keep the commandments because he was afraid of God, and was terrified of the punishment that breaches of the law would bring. That day has forever gone, but what has taken its place is the love of God."

He goes on to say that the purpose of the law for a free man is not that they fear Gods punishment but that they want to 'strive to deserve that amazing love'. Because of this change of relationship with God, through Christ we do this not because we are afraid of him, but rather because we love him.

This quote from Barclay is one of my favourites. It lays out our new relationship with the Father in such great simplicity and cuts through our pretentions like a hot knife through butter.

"He knows that sin is not so much breaking God's law as it is breaking God's heart, and therefore it is doubly terrible"

And so the purpose of the law, and even it's righteousness is upheld in those who are justified by faith alone. They are legally made righteous, but also the pathway of sanctification of the heart, the turning of our emotions and lives back to God and his standards, has begun to be walked.

We know the cost of sin.

We know the price of love.

We love our rescuer, and in that love, both his for us and ours for him, we are changed forever.

The God of Both

Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith.~ Romans 3:29-30

I love that Paul is arguing from this standpoint. There is what he considers to be (and in fact is) an indisputable premise underlying his argument. That God is God of all people, and his salvation is available both for Jew and Gentile alike.

There is no racial basis for discrimination with God.

We see it time and again in scripture that he wants to populate the new heaven and the new earth with people from every tribe and tongue. He is a God who loves variety and diversity. Humanity reflects his creativity and in doing so it brings him glory.

The covenant and the law were always a means to lead us all to God. His purpose from the beginning was to bless Abraham so that through him, all peoples would be blessed.

And that means you and I, be we white, black, brown, orange, or blue. His love is accessible through these two simple access points.

The crucified and risen Jesus Christ.

Faith in the same.

Faith raises the bar, but opens the door.

That all who go in may be saved.

Hallelujah.

Basic Spiritual Maintenance

Prelude:

Speaking of maintenance, before I start into the text I just want to apologise for my failure to maintain this blog over the last few months. I found the daily effort to make time to squeeze in my blog writing, (which would inevitably run on and on as I got more into my subject) was proving difficult at best. I took a week off due to some tricky personal circumstances at that time  but found I had little will to return to making that effort again.

I have resolved that I will continue here, hopefully on a daily basis, but in (slightly) reduced form. These blogs will hopefully now be a bit more 'bite sized' .



For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. ~ Romans 3:28

I think those of you who have followed my blog and/or share my theological leanings will understand the concept of justification by faith. I have already unpacked it several times in this series in Romans, but here I just want to take a moment aside to focus on one word. That word is 'Maintain'.

If a car is not maintained it is liable to break down, as I found out to my detriment when my cam belt snapped and took out 12 valves from the engine of the most expensive car I have owned, thus writing it off. The cost of replacing the cam belt was negligible. The cost of not replacing it was thousands of pounds worth of damage.

Why does Paul state that he maintains this truth? He returns to it. He services it. he tweaks his thinking to ensure it is in line with it.

Because, though only one small part of the overall doctrine of faith, it is a vital one. Like the oil I neglected to put into my little Ford Fiesta (and killed it) it ensures the smooth running of everything and stops our faith from breaking down entirely.

I can testify, after many spells in the wilderness, that we 'who place no confidence in the flesh' need to rely on this truth more than anything else. That Jesus Christ is 'all our righteousness'. That apart from his work on the cross and his grace by which we have been saved into, through faith (which is not from ourselves that we may boast) we are lost sinners unable to set one foot into his presence.

The moment we lose sight of that it all starts to fall apart.

And if we do, in our arrogance, if we start to trust in our own goodness, it turns to pride. And pride sets us up for a fall. God opposes the proud.

But God's grace keeps us humble.

It struck me recently, after having 'blown it' in some way or other, how having been caught up in sinful behaviour, I felt like such a wretch and I longed to feel good about myself again, like I did before, that truly this was arrogance, that in my 'goodness' I felt alright, but truly I was just as dependent on grace then as now, only now I was more conscious of my sin. And which, I asked myself, is the more dangerous state of affairs.

In some ways, better to be a wretched sinner who knows it, than  a saint who thinks they have arrived.

No, I do not set aside the grace of God.

I am justified, not by my works but by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself before me.

Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

I  maintain this truth because it maintains me.

If I start to drift from it, I need to secure my moorings.

Keep this truth because it is keeping you.

You are made holy and acceptable to God through Jesus' blood alone.

Nothing you can do or add to please or atone.