RE: What Is A Modern Day Pharisee?
This is very similar to what I have been experiencing within the Christian community. I don't find much outside of "you're a sinner and there's nothing you can do about it," which doesn't exactly help anyone come to tangible conclusions about life -- especially during times of suffering. As Paul says in Romans 7: 7-8:
7 What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” 8 But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting. For apart from the law, sin was dead.
And 15-18:
15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18 For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.
And 21-24:
21 So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? 25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!
We are sinners, we do sin, and we always fall short of God's perfection. There are no exceptions, including (especially) not ourselves. The realization and acceptance of this makes us deserving of death in the eyes of God if indeed the 10 commandments are God's law.
As Paul says: we are slave to sin, therefore abiding by the rules of the law is impossible. This does not mean the law is bad. It means the only way we can truly follow the law appropriately is to submit ourselves to Jesus, for that is the only way we can abide by the law from a perspective of love rather than self-flagellant authority.
Insofar as we are slaves to sin we must, as Christians, become slaves to Christ in order to successfully contend with our sinful nature. To become a slave to Christ is to abide by the law out of our love for Him. Without Christ it is a war we cannot win, with Christ it is a war we cannot lose. A war indeed, for following Christ is certainly not an easy journey.
This is a principle of love. Love is typically not flashy and a lot of times is not very pleasant. Too often we have a false depiction of love being this Hollywood fantasy-land that's full of dopamine and miracles. It's typically full of self-sacrifice and involves the acceptance and endurance of some kind of pain, yet it is overflowing with purpose. I believe the purpose that emerges from love is what allows us to transcend the hardship that usually comes with it.
Thank you for your post! Following you -- I hope to entertain fruitful and healthy conversation in the future.
@lamninator, you are completely right about how when one is suffering, the last thing he needs is condemnation - and it's so prevalent in some circles.
When you wrote about the law, I thought of a question, and forgive me if this is offensive. Do you believe the point of the gospel is to focus on following the law? Like out of love for Jesus we will follow the law? Paul points out that the purpose of the law is to be our schoolmaster that leads us to the true knowledge of Christ, insomuch as it's a measuring stick showing us that we don't measure up and it reveals our sinful nature. Yes, it is perfect and good, but the works of the law are dead works without the spirit and it's fruit: Love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, self-control (and against such there is no law). Through this fruit the law becomes part of our fiber and transcends it at the same time by causing it to be obsolete to those who walk in the spirit.
Thank you for reading my article and for your thought provoking comment. I'm following you now too! :)
I would even go so far as to say that we aren't even required to follow the 10 commandments. We have a new law that has been introduced by a new covenant and a new priesthood. (Hebrews chapters 7-9). That law is the Law of Christ (Galatians 6:2), also known as the Law of the Spirit of Life (Romans 8:2), also known as love. Because loving your fellow Christian is loving God and love does no harm to it's neighbor, therefor love is the fulfillment of the law. See Romans 13:10, 1 John 2:7, 3:23, 4:21.
I do not believe that is the point of the gospel, and I agree with you there wholeheartedly. Funny enough as it is, abiding by God's law is something that seems to come about naturally should we choose to follow Jesus in our hearts -- a byproduct.
I suppose the point I was trying to make was: the legalistic approach generally turns into a form of self-tyranny...which in my eyes doesn't work too well. Anyway! Looking forward to reading your future stuff!