Episode 275: I’m Talkin. . .Law

I’m Talking, episode 275, for July 23rd, 2023.

This is Joel from the I’m Talking microcast, where I share my thoughts on a topic that has piqued my interest this past week.

This week, we’re talking law.

When I think of the word law, it’s probably just as you imagined.

It’s the rules that govern a society that, that may govern an organization or something like that.

It’s nothing really complicated, but, um, it, and it is a common word that we use.

And in general, unless the laws are off-putting or unfair in our opinion, or something like that, we often don’t have a problem with law, with rules, because that keeps us out of anarchy.

It, it, it keeps a society in control.

It can also keep a society down.

And those are kinds of laws that we don’t like.

And so there are those that we may have to stand up against as a people group that say, these are oppressive, or these are just not good for the organization or, or for humanity as a whole.

But more often than not, our problems with the law is not the law itself, but the enforcers of the law.

They enforce it in a way that we may not read it.

They enforce it in a way that makes the enforcer feel like they are maybe above the law and they may even make up in a sense, their own laws in enforcing and keeping peace or whatever their responsibility might be.

And that often rubs people the wrong way also.

And then the other thing that gets us on occasion is those who feel like they’re above the law, whether it’s in an organization, they’ve reached a level where they say, well, those rules don’t apply to me, or whether it’s in society.

And they just think that laws are for others.

They’re not for them and they don’t have to obey them.

And that also challenges us.

And therein lies an additional challenge for those of us who call ourselves Christians.

As Christians, there’s really two sets of laws that we talk about when we talk about the word law.

One is the society in which we live.

The Bible says that God has put rulers over us.

It doesn’t mean that they’re just, doesn’t mean that they’re right.

It doesn’t mean that they’re Christian and they follow God, but they are in authority and God and his sovereignty has allowed that.

And laws are made in that society that we have to follow.

The second law that comes to mind as a Christian is the law in the word of God.

And there are some as Christians who would say we no longer live under the law because of Christ’s work on the cross.

And I believe that’s true.

It’s just the definition of the word under.

And so that therein lies a problem in the Christian community, just as in the non-Christian community, those who feel they are above the law.

The problem in the Old Testament was generally with the enforcers.

These people say what the law means, and that’s what you have to follow.

And Jesus came and turned that upside down during his time short ministry here on earth.

But he also said a couple of things that we have to keep in mind.

One is he said, I did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill.

So one of the reasons that the law existed was to point out to us that we are sinners.

We cannot live up to God’s law, to his perfection.

And so in recognizing that we’re sinners, we call on the name of Jesus Christ and accept him as our savior, which puts us no longer under the law, but does not put us above the law.

Jesus also said, not one jot or tittle, which Bible teachers I’ve listened to say are the smallest characters in the original language.

And Jesus said, not one will pass away because that is how important he said the law was before the coming of God’s kingdom.

So when Jesus comes again, the whole system gets changed one more time.

And in a world where there is no sin, in a world where God is in control continually, he is now, but where people actually follow him and there’s a separation from those who don’t choose to follow him and those of us who choose to follow him and sin will be no more.

Well, if sin is no more, we do not need a law to point out sin to us.

So then the law will be abolished.

But until that time, there are laws that Jesus Christ has fulfilled that we don’t have to do anymore.

Animal sacrifice might be the biggest one, and there are probably others that more deeply thinking Bible scholars might tell you about.

But it doesn’t mean that the Old Testament does not apply to who we are as Christians.

It just means that we need to live free of the law and that we aren’t under it, but not ignoring the law, thinking we’re above it.

And so those are the challenges that we have as Christians that I want to leave you with you this week as we think of the word law, because once you have that grasp, only then can you live abundantly and free.

Until next week, this is Joel from the I’m Talking microcast.