Tag: faith

The Song of the Mountains

On By Bp. Justin ElwellIn Applied TheologyLeave a comment

verse I – the first commandment

From the midst of a fiery shaking mountain (Ex. 20:18), the mighty sound of the shofar (ram’s horn) breaks through the air, as the majestic voice of the Lord God spoke what might be understood as an ethical guide to covenant community – in short, a Suzerainty treaty: commandments describing not only our obligation toward the Suzerain Himself, but also our obligation toward the human other – however, and wherever they might appear. Such a powerful and majestic scene to reveal obligations? ethics? commandments? The condescended power and presence of the Living God invaded the ages to reveal His heart in the form of words that should lead to faithful and loving action.  

Unlike the ethical philosophies developed by man, the Ten Words, הַדְּבָרִים עֲשֶׂרֶת, were not developed over time by God, or fine-tuned as He grew in knowledge; rather, they are a revelation of His own moral character, colloquially, His heart. If we consider the words of the apostle Paul, they are a type of republication of His character that had been imprinted upon the human heart, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse” (Ro. 1:20). Humanity, however, had “become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless” (Ro. 1:29-32). A realistic picture, albeit not a very inspiring one.    

So where do we begin with the Ten Commandments?

When considering the Ten Commandments, if you look to Catholic, Anglican, Reformed, Orthodox and Lutheran accountings, we find that they all begin in the same place, Exodus 20:3, “You have no other gods before my face.” Only Jewish sources reckon the opening statement found in Exodus 20:2 as the first commandment. Christian theologians through the ages have considered Exodus 20:2 as the “prologue” or the “preamble” of the Decalogue.

This understanding comes from what appears to be a lack of a particular or specific imperative, as it only contains the identification of the Lord God and His rescue of the Jewish people. Yet, Judaism finds in Exodus 20:2 a positive precept to believe in the existence of God – Judaism understands that the first commandment, “I am the Lord your God…” emphasizes that the Decalogue stems from the Lord’s own ethical and moral character, and that it marks the source of their authority – the Lord Himself. 

So what is the first commandment?

אָנֹכִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ, אֲשֶׁר הוֹצֵאתִיךָ מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם מִבֵּית עֲבָדִים

“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.”

In contrast to how a human authority or agency might begin a legal code – first establishing the authority upon which the code rests (the preamble of the Constitution of the United States as an example, “We the people, in order to form a more perfect union…”) – this does not happen with the announcement of the Decalogue. By saying, “I am the Lord your God…” the Lord does not attempt to prove His authority or even His own existence, as the existence of God is accepted as fact from the beginning of the Torah narrative (Gen. 1:1). Yet, He does not identify Himself by the works of creation; rather, He identifies Himself by the action of redemption.

So it would be logical to ask why? Creation was not witnessed by humanity, the exodus was. In contrast to creations revelation of an all-powerful God, the exodus revealed a personal, loving God. Further, before Israel could take their place as “a nation of priest” (Ex. 19:6) they had to be released not only from physical bondage, but also mental and emotional bondage. In this regard, the reference to Egypt is not only important to Israel, but to the entire world – as He is announcing Himself as the God of Freedom (Ps. 119:44-45). 

The first commandment, then, at its heart, is a positive exhortation to recognize the sovereignty of God.

An important point of consideration:

Contrary to the perspective advanced in popular theology, the Ten Commandments are not a type of legalism; they are not legalistic, or a form of bondage; quite the contrary, they are the result of grace. 

The Ten Commandments begin with grace – as they were given after liberation from slavery – an act of grace. He did not give the Law and then free Israel from slavery; rather, He freed Israel, and then explained what freedom would look like. Therefore, it would be incorrect to consider the Ten Commandments, or any commandment of God, to be a type of bondage – what man does with or to them can lead to enslavement. The goal of the Torah, to include the Ten Commandments, was to establish freedom not bondage; as the apostle James writes, “But he that looked into the perfect Torah, that of freedom, and continues in it, not a hearer that forgets, but a doer of work, this one shall be blessed in his doing of the Torah” (James 1:25). Or as Paul explains in Romans 2:13, “For not the hearers of the Torah are righteous in the sight of God, but the doers of the Torah shall be declared right.” Both verses of James and Paul are given within the cradle of faithing action (Gen. 15:6), specifically messianic faith. 

It would be easy to look upon our inability to “keep” the Law “perfectly” (actually this construction is a bit of a misnomer) as a sign of its defective nature; rather, we are called to obey the Torah/Instructions of God, even with our lack, as it continually points us to Messiah Yeshua/Jesus (Jn. 15:15; Ro. 10:4; I Jn. 5:3). So the Decalogue is not a type of systematic religion, or bondage, it is, as we will discover in the development of this series, as with the Gospel, a way of life in faith (Ps. 1:2; cf. Ps 119:11, 105). 

Let us consider the first commandment more closely:

It begins with “I am…” this is personal, not impersonal; revealing to us that 1) He is, and 2) He is personal and relational. This first command uses both His personal name and impersonal title: יהוה (YHVH) and אלהים (Elohim), and causes us to note both His personal and transcendent nature as the source of objective moral authority.  

It continues “your God…” the emphasis here is on “your,” as He is the God of every individual, from generation to generation, not solely the exodus generation.

Continuing, “who brought you…” He is not only seen in creation or history, but He involves Himself in the destinies of humanity – additionally, this creates a moral claim upon those He delivered – the redeemer God, the Suzerain, sets the rules.

Finally, “out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” First, why identify Egypt and the house of slavery. Egypt, as we will consider in the second commandment, was a land of falsehood, idolatry and wickedness – all that stands opposed to the holiness of the Living God, and represents the physical, mental and emotional slavery that humanity needs to be delivered from. Slavery, as practiced in Egypt was complete; and represents the height of cruelty from which humanity needs to be delivered – both those who practice such, and those who are subject to it. 

In sum, this first commandment is a positive precept to acknowledge the Lord God and His sovereignty – His transcendent nature – His personal nature – and His desire for us to be free before Him. As we will consider in the coming articles, the Ten Commandments begin to define for us, and call us to understand more intimately, our obligation to the Living God, our neighbor, stranger, enemy and human communities. As I have mentioned previously, these concepts that can be reduced to the greatest commandment (Matt. 22:35-40) or the “golden rule” (Matt. 7:12), but we still must understand how the Lord defines right action – as this is the “Law and the Prophets.” 

The Ten Commandments are part of what is understood to be the “moral law,” as opposed to the “ceremonial” or “civil” laws – although no such categorizations are found in the Torah. As we will consider in the development of this Song of the Mountains series, Messiah provides for us, in messianic faith, proper fulfillment – proper interpretation – which is why we will be considering the Sermon on the Mount, and examining these two mountains synoptically. The Lord who gave these words desires humanity to be free, all peoples; and He will tell us how that works among covenanted people. 

We first learn then, that the Ten Commandments begin with grace and then define freedom for those who have been set free – which should stir in us a desire to see others freed as well. 

Shalom. Be well.    

The Scenic Route…

On By Bp. Justin ElwellIn ADK, Applied TheologyLeave a comment

To understanding “destroy” and “fulfill.”

“Do not think that I came to abolish the Torah and the Prophets! I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill.”

Matthew 5:17 TLV

Trail directions on the way to Mt. Colvin, ADK, October 2019.

My previous theologically focused blog considered the “Mt. Marcy” of the Sermon on the Mount – the Golden Rule. The Golden Rule (Matt. 7:12) is an ethical reduction of all that had been taught in the Sermon to that point to help Yeshua/Jesus’ audience, past and present, apply His words in daily life. As noted, without the attachment of, “For this is the Law and the Prophets,” the Golden Rule would lack theological foundation, leaving the ethical actor uninformed as to the godly action in his immediate situation. 

Still, if we read the Sermon carefully, we note that Messiah frames His entire discourse between two statements referencing the Law and the Prophets – Matthew 5:17 and Matthew 7:12, respectively. For what purpose? Let’s trek through to the answer.

When we approach Matthew 5:17 in its context, it seems out of place; after all, the preceding verses have discussed brokenness, mourning, meekness, being merciful, pure in heart, etc. … So why does Yeshua make this statement at this point?

Those listening heard something that our modern ears miss. With all that Yeshua has described, culminating in the doing of good works, one might have concluded that Yeshua was setting aside the Law and the Prophets. As what He has described since the opening of Matthew Chapter 5, does not necessitate Law or prophetic verse. Yet, Yeshua knowing the hearts and minds of men states clearly: don’t think that, as I have no intention of setting the Law and the Prophets aside, but to bring you to their fulfillment.

The common conclusion today in the church is that the Law, Torah, has been set aside. Nevertheless, what Yeshua is saying does not lead us to receive that theological position with confidence. Followers of Messiah, whether Jew or Gentile, are not to be antinomian; rather, they are to hunger and thirst for God’s righteousness, not a righteousness of the Pharisees (Matt 5:20; cf. Matt. 6:33), in right application (I Cor. 7:17-20). 

My Bible.

The most striking aspect of Matthew 5:17-20 is that rather than expunging the Torah from the minds of His followers, Yeshua is expecting fulfillment. This statement I make with some exceptions, and readily acknowledge that it can be easily misconstrued. Consider the remarks of reformed theologian John Frame, “In one sense, no law of God is ever set aside or abrogated (Matt. 5:17-20). But there are some laws that, because of events in redemptive history, we come to observe, in our new covenant age, in very different ways from what God asked of the old testament Israelites. The commands to worship God by sacrifice, for example, continue to be normative, but we now worship by sacrifice of Christ.”

The Laws and instructions of the Lord remain normative – but not all of them remain literally normative today –  they remain ethically instructive, but not necessarily literally applied. This, certainly is by the covenant Lord’s design. Laws regarding the agricultural restrictions, years of release, sacrifice, and ritual purity are not literally normative today – neither in Israel or in the nations (where they never were applied). Yet, they remain the normative standard according to the Word of the Lord, which is forever settled (Ps. 119:89; cf. Jn. 17:17). The nuance of normative and literally normative applicability of commandments is often overlooked in the faith community – due in part to a wrong application of fulfillment theology.  

To add to this confusion, the apostle Paul tells us in Romans 10:4, “For Messiah is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” Messiah is the Τέλος (telos), the teleological purpose, end, or goal of the Law, as the Torah was to lead us to recognize our need for reconciliation by the Lamb and the prophet who was to come (Gen. 22:8; Deut. 18:15).

To read this, one would think that Paul had a very negative view of the Torah indeed – the same Torah he called “holy, right and good.” Yet, Paul knew that the Torah, as given through Moses, was to be a teacher of the righteous standard, the normative standard, of the Lord – not the goal itself. The Torah taught a newly liberated people proper moral, ethical, spiritual, religious, social, governmental and interpersonal behavior – but it also revealed to us the impossibility of un-regenerated man living by it (I Tim. 1:8-10) – resulting from a lack in man, not the Torah itself.  

In this we find our need for a Savior.

Unfortunately, many believers have an unnecessarily negative opinion of the Law: believing that through Messiah there is unrestricted freedom (Gal. 5:13). Some are of the opinion that in order to be free we must be free of law, this is both illogical and unlivable. The United States of America is considered the freest society in the world – but it has more laws on the books than any other nation in the world. The root of this problem is that the Greek word translated law, νόμος (nomos), is speaking in terms of civil law – not instruction. The Hebraic understanding of Torah is: loving instruction that helps us reach the mark (Ro. 10:4) – while sin is to be off the mark – both being references to archery.

When Yeshua said “I did not come to destroy the Law and the Prophets, but to fulfill,” His immediate audience understood His language; consequently, they were able to clearly hear His message. So what do these two words, destroy and fulfill, mean in ancient Jewish thought?

            Destroy – to interpret a text incorrectly, thereby destroying its underlying meaning. 

            Fulfill – to interpret a text correctly, thereby making the underlying meaning evident.   

Messiah Yeshua gave the fullness of meaning of the instruction of God (Torah), sitting upon a mount, much like Sinai (Matt. 5:1-2). His Sermon sets the stage for many corrective lessons on living and applying the Torah to life that we will read in the Gospel record – correcting traditions and customs that had become burdensome (Matt. 23:4), in doing so, leading people back to the heart of the Lord’s revelation. He expects His followers to live by the normative behavior it prescribes as possible and applicable (Jn. 14:15), not in rigid, legalistic observance, but in Spirit and in truth. He underscores this by expressing the importance of teaching the Torah and the Prophets, and bringing their ethical and moral meaning into our lives, and the lives of those being discipled (Matt. 5:18-19; 28:18-20).

That being said, and here is my caveat – Yeshua warns about becoming self-righteously fixated, by telling us that our righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and the Pharisees (Matt. 5:20). The scribes and the Pharisees kept the Torah, by way of the traditions of the elders, meticulously; a standard that seemed impossible to reach for the average Jew. Yet, Yeshua will later explain that some Pharisees left the most important matters of faith undone (Matt. 23:23). Righteousness is not measured by outward appearances, but by faith in the Lord and the fruit it produces (Matt. 7:18-20).  

The standard of faith is set in Genesis 15:6 (covenant of faith) – apart from the Sinai revelation (covenant of discipleship) – Abraham believed the Lord and it was accounted to him for righteousness. This caused the author of Hebrews to explain, “Without faith it is impossible to please Him (the Lord), for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Heb. 11:6). Therefore, we must be faith-ing (faith is a verb not a noun in the original), and when we believe the Lord through Messiah Yeshua, our righteousness will exceed the apparent righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees because we will fulfill – rightly interpret and apply – the command given to us by Him: to, “love your neighbor as yourself…love the strangers as yourself…love your enemy,” found in the Torah and the Renewed Covenant.

Messiah Yeshua has not destroyed the Law and the Prophets, He fulfilled them by providing proper understanding and application, so that through faith in Him we might be able to live faithfully. Finally, after correcting misapplication and wrong thinking regarding the Law and the Prophets, which is as important today as it was then, He brings His message to a conclusion on this high peak, “Therefore, do unto others, as you would have them do unto you. For this is the Law and the Prophets.” Right application of the Word He both affirmed and fulfilled for us (Matt. 5:17).

Now, we go and do likewise.   

Shalom. Be well.