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“What then is the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise has been made…” Galations 3:19
Here’s an interesting passage. The referenced Law is the Law given to Moses on Mount Sinai. It was a written Law that regulated almost every aspect of Jewish life.
From Adam to Moses there was no written Law. God communicated to the people either directly or through prophets. From Moses to Jesus there was the written Law of Moses given on Mount Sinai. From Jesus onward there was again no written law (on stone or parchment). All communication from God was given through his son… Jesus Christ.
The Galations passage explains the need for a written Law. It was needed because God was unhappy with the sinful conduct of the people. In addition it was needed to prepare the people for the coming of Jesus Christ and his superior Law. The Law of Moses micro-managed almost every aspect of Jewish life. The Law of Jesus liberated the Jews and gave them freedom (from the Law) in its simplicity.
With the coming of Jesus we no longer have a law written on stone or parchments. Christ’s law is written on our hearts (2 Corinthians 3:3). The Law that specifically is written on our hearts is to love God and to love our fellow man (Matthew 22:34-40 and John 13:34).
So then an important question comes up… what is the New Testament? Is it analogous to the Law of Moses?
The answer is no. Christ’s Law is written on our hearts. The New Testament is the Christ authorized and Holy Spirit inspired writings of the Apostles (primarily) that explains to us the details of how we apply the Law that is written on our hearts.
A Law written on our hearts is a law we carry with us each and every day. What a great joy and blessing!
Genesis 13:1-12…
“ … and there was trouble between the Shepherds of Abram’s livestock and the Shepherds of Lot’s livestock… and Abram said to Lot, please let there be no trouble between you and me and between our Shepherds and for we are brothers. Isn’t the whole land before you? Please separate from me and take first pick and I will go the opposite direction”
Abraham’s and Lot’s Shepherds were having problems with each other. Sometimes the Lord’s Shepherds have problems with each other too. The problem with problems is that if they are not resolved and not resolved in the proper manner relationships and the flock/congregation can be harmed… sometimes irreparably. Maybe we can learn a few things from Abram and Lot.
Abraham communicated with Lot… he didn’t ignore the issue. The life blood of a congregation is effective communication. A lack of communication especially between Shepherds can make the problem worse. In congregations, Shepherds should never make any kind of decision without first consulting the other Shepherds… even if it’s something as simple as what color to paint a classroom. That sort of communication, even at its simplest and most basic level, begins forming the basis for trust.
Notice that Abraham, in his wisdom, saw the direction things were headed with Lot and took steps to prevent it before lasting harm was done. Abraham reminded Lot that they were “brothers”. The importance of that relationship cannot be over stated. The basis for every relationship is trust. If a husband and wife don’t trust each other they aren’t going to have a very good marriage and if a congregation’s Shepherds don’t trust each other then nothing can be accomplished. Congregations are a reflection of their leadership.
Abraham in his humility told his nephew Lot to pick whatever land he wanted and he would take whatever Lot didn’t want. Shepherds in a congregation should subject themselves in humility to each other (when possible). It’s hard for a relationship to go sour if a pattern of subjection has been established. When some sort of crisis arises in a congregation (and it will), if her Shepherds have complete trust in each other, they can focus all their strength and energy in overcoming it.
Abraham greatly valued the livestock (wealth) that God had given him. He also valued his relationship with his nephew Lot whom he called a brother. In his humility he allowed Lot to take the best pasture lands. Because of his humility God blessed him with much more wealth.
Shepherds in congregations likewise should value the sheep they have been placed in charge of and they should also value their fellow Shepherds. Shepherds don’t always have the same abilities. Some are better at teaching, some are better at hospitality, some are better at sharing their wealth and some are better at communication, etc.
It would be a mistake to de-value your fellow Shepherd because you think your abilities are better than theirs. The proper attitude is to be thankful for your fellow Shepherds and appreciate the different abilities that they have.
Like Abraham, Shepherds in the Lord’s church should constantly be looking for potential problems and should treat fellow Shepherds as “brothers”.
Remember a few milliliters invested in prevention is far less costly than a liter invested in a cure.
The nutritionally wise Shepherd leads his flock to pastures that offer the very best nutrition. Sheep are herbivores, they are designed to eat grass but can also browse on brush. In fact sheep and goats are sometimes used to control brush in pastures.
In the show lamb business lambs are fed grain based diets to develop the kind of body condition that will impress show judges. As a Veterinarian, we see problems associated with feeding lambs a primarily grain based diet. It is not uncommon to attend a sick lamb who has developed bladder stones and suffered a urethral obstruction that is potentially fatal. Sheep are not designed to eat grain based diets and as a consequence suffer from variuos metabolic diseases (Chronic pancreatic inflammation, kidney disease, lamenesses and obesity).
Sheep love to eat corn, sorghum and all kinds of grains… it’s like eating candy for them.
So too the church-flock.
Wise Shepherds feed their flock with a balanced diet of God’s Word. Too many Shepherds and churches focus on things like…
- Fighting the denominations. A bulk of teaching in these type of congregations focus on what’s wrong with other churches.
- Social things. Some churches minimize Bible teaching and focus on fun things… activities and eating and sports and the like.
- Bible study. Some churches overwhelming focus is Bible study to the exclusion of anything social.
- The positive aspects of God his love, grace and care for his people to the exclusion of accountability and punishment.
- The negative aspects of God, his hatred of sin and punishment and destruction to the exclusion of his mercy and forgiveness.
God’s people need the right nutrition… a comprehensive balanced diet of God’s Word and the social things that naturally follow that understanding.
An awful lot of teaching is soft and tastes good (like candy) but can lead to spiritually crippling and sometimes fatal spiritual disease.
Watch out for congregations whose sheep wander off and no one seems to care and whose sheep are spiritually weak and diseased.
If you want to be the right kind of Christian look for a congregation whose Shepherds are wise and who care about their sheep and whose sheep are spiritually sound and happily flock together. The proof is in the pudding.
The letter written by James addresses a group of Christians who were formerly Jews. Understanding the letter can be a challenge when we don’t understand the basis for it. It’s an awful lot like reading someone else’s mail. However, there are some clues in the letter that guide us to understanding the basis of the letter and as such help us in interpreting it. Here are my thoughts.
First of all there are a lot of references to wealthy and poor Christians in the congregation (1:9-10 and 5:1-9). In fact, the letter opens up addressing the poor Christians who are facing temptation by instructing them to embrace the temptation and to be made stronger by it (1:2).
So what was the temptation? The temptation to murmur and verbalize discontent (5:9) against their fellow Christians who were wealthy. An awful lot of instruction is given in the letter to controlling their speech (tongue).
So how were the wealthy Christians abusing their poorer brethren? First of all by discriminating against their poorer brethren and showing preferential treatment to Christians who were wealthier (2:1-4).
In addition, apparently some of the poorer Christians were employed by their wealthier brethren who had held back their wages fraudulently (5:1-4).
A lot of encouragement is given to these poorer Christians to endure the temptation and not respond in a negative way to their mistreatment. In addition, a lot of words are used condemning the actions of the wealthy Christians.
Finally, the last part of the letter is dedicated to enjoining these poor Christian not to dwell on their mistreatment but to pray and sing about all sorts of things (5:13-20). In other words, don’t dwell on your mistreatment but get about the business of God and place your cares upon him.
In todays congregations there are occasional problems among Christians. The lesson from James is clear… don’t make the problems worse by slandering each other but endure the mistreatment and get busy about the business of God placing all your cares upon him. Amen!
In the Bible the Lord’s people have been compared to a flock of sheep and their leaders are called Shepherds. God owns the flock and the Shepherds are accountable to him.
One of the reasons for the comparison is because sheep have value and so do the Lord’s people.
Sheep produce meat, dairy products, wool and Lanolin, etc. The Shepherd finds the best pastures for the sheep so that their nutritional needs are met and they can be productive. He also protects them from predation.
The Shepherd may also vary the genetics of his flock by bringing in Rams who have the characteristics he desires (wool vs. meat types). Frequently a Ewe may produce twins or even triplets. The Shepherd identifies sheep with superior genetics and maximizes their impact in the flock.
If a Ewe doesn’t produce a lamb every year she is culled as are the aged sheep. Every year the Shepherd gives an accounting to the flock owner.
The Lord’s people/church has great value. Her Pastors/Shepherds nourish the flock by teaching from God’s word. They are also taught to congregate/flock with each other. There is no culling of the aged in the church. The aged can still provide sound judgment and provide opportunities of service and honor for the rest of the congregation.
Those who possess superior spiritual genetics, if called upon, will sacrifice their own lives for the benefit of another.
The church’s spiritual economic value is the good deeds she does for each other and for the community.
The goal of the Pastor/Shepherd is to deliver the entire flock/church to their owner (God) on the Day of Judgment… and that’s exactly what God expects of them. Don’t let God down.
In the Bible God’s people are often referred to as a flock of sheep and those in charge of God’s sheep/church are called Shepherds or Pastors.
There are probably a lot of reasons for describing the church as a flock of sheep but one very important reason is because sheep depend upon each other for defense.
Sheep don’t have fangs or claws like a lion. They aren’t swift enough to out run a wolf. They can’t spray repulsive scent like a skunk and they can’t camouflage themselves.
So what can they do? In the wild they can group together in a solid circle with the Rams and older animals on the periphery and the younger and weaker in the interior. A solid front can be intimidating to a predator and the predator may skulk off waiting until an unsuspecting lamb wanders off from the protection of the group to acquire his prey.
Of course domestically, a flock of sheep has a Shepherd who is constantly vigilant watching out for the flock… so too the church.
Just as flocks gather together to ward off predators, Christians congregate together and strengthen each other by learning about God, learning how to lead sin free lives and by learning what it means to live a life of service until Faith is built up and fortified.
Once Faith is mature and the Soldier of Christ is fully armored the great lion Satan will skulk away in fear. Especially if he is facing an army of Christian soldiers.
Remember what Jesus told Peter?
“Upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it”
There are a lot of reasons to congregate together with other Christians and defense is one of those… even sheep know that
Towards the end of the Gospel of Matthew a group of people who didn’t believe in the after-life (Sadducees) came up with a really tough question that they thought Jesus couldn’t answer. They built a story where a woman had been married and widowed by seven brothers. They asked whose wife would she be in Heaven?
Jesus looked at them and told them their mistake was in not knowing that there is no marriage in Heaven (Like… is that the best you’ve got?). They were stunned into silence. One interesting thing about that is that Jesus wasn’t quoting some scripture out of the Bible… this was brand new information to them.
Here’s what I’ve been wondering… why? Why isn’t there marriage in Heaven? I mean, even Stevie Wonder can see that marriage is one of God’s greatest gifts to human kind. Why not have that gift in Heaven?
Think about this, a young man and a young woman commit themselves to each other, the road may be a little rough, they may have different ideas about things but with time the road gets smoother and they find a way to come into agreement and learn to live in happiness.
We all have seen marriages that have lasted sixty years or more and then one spouse’s passes and the other one doesn’t last very long either. Life just isn’t worth living anymore.
So why is there no marriage in Heaven? It might be because marriage on earth foreshadows the relationship in Heaven that all the saved will share with all of each other and with God.
Imagine the love you see between two people who have been married 60 years or so being the same kind of love and emotional intimacy existing between all of God’s people in Heaven for eternity.
There won't be marriage in Heaven between a man and a wife because we will all figuratively be married to each other.
A lot of folks look back on the road they have traveled and see a lot of mistakes and a lot of broken and failed relationships. But they also may see an elderly Christian couple who have overcome those things and take heart and see a little hope and build a little faith that things can be different.
We all make mistakes but we don’t have to keep making those same old mistakes over and over again. A great blessing awaits the people of faith. Set a new course in your life to realize that blessing and live in eternal happiness forever with all of God’s people.
