Tag-Archive for » freedom «

Freedom or Slavery

Saturday, August 18th, 2012 | Author:

Therefore do not let what is for you a good thing be spoken of as evil; for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but rightouesness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.  Romans 14:16-17  NASB

Good thing – What is the emphasis of Paul’s statement?  Is it on the “good thing”?  When it comes to interpreting this verse, many exegetes act as if the most important element of the statement is the freedom found in the “good thing.”  In other words, they would claim that Paul wants us to experience this “good thing” and not get caught up in what we eat and what we drink.  Therefore, this verse is used to support an anti-kashrut theology (no dietary regulations).  But is that what Paul is really saying?

Paul argues that righteousness, peace and joy are the goals of the Spirit and the objectives of the community.  The kingdom of God doesn’t consist of regulations about eating and drinking.  But don’t draw the conclusion that eating and drinking have nothing to do with the Kingdom.  First concentrate on the most important matters.  Those happen to be submission to God and compassion toward others.  Paul’s point, in perfect alignment with Yeshua, is that we who follow the King are not acting as He would act if we seek the freedom to do as we wish.  Freedom devoid of concern for others is not a good thing.  If we employ what we call a good thing in such a way that it becomes a sign of the lack of righteousness, a cause for dissention and the absence of joy, then we have defeated what the Spirit intends.  Our “good thing” becomes the occasion for calling what we do evil.

The point is this:  righteousness, peace and joy should be the goal.  Then no one can claim that what we consider good for us causes any breach in the community.  Paul is not endorsing those who claim their freedom is good and therefore unimpeachable.  It is not a good thing to do what those outside the community do.  Gentiles who came into the believing community might have thought that their prior practices were perfectly acceptable since they now had a relationship with the one true God, but Paul says otherwise.  Coming into the community means adapting to the ways of the community, and in this case, the community expressed its life through Torah observance.  Following Yeshua HaMashiach means living in such a way that my behavior is acceptable to God and approved by men – not all men, obviously, but by those men who are also aligned with the Kingdom.  This means the standard by which I live is not my so-called freedom or my assessment of my “good thing.”  The standard is what promotes righteousness, peace and joy – and that is the exact purpose of Torah.

Righteousness is not defined by me.  Righteousness is what God calls righteousness.  Peace is what results from living in harmony with others, a harmony that implies common standards of behavior.  And joy is the exuberance of being accepted by both God and men.  None of this can happen if I use my “freedom” to oppose the ways of the fellowship.  In our contemporary culture, where freedom is the sine qua non of human existence, we ignore the context of fellowship in an ancient Semitic culture.  In that culture freedom is not the essence of humanity.  Responsibility for others is what makes me human.  And I can hardly express my humanity if I claim that I am free to live as I choose, unless, of course, I choose to be apart from the Semitic culture.

Topical Index: freedom, good thing, eat, drink, kashrut, diet, Roman 14:16-17

Category: Today's Word  | Tags: , , , , , ,  | 10 Comments

The Scales of Justice

Monday, July 30th, 2012 | Author:

Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I am gentle and lowly of heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  Matthew 11:29  ESV

Yoke – Yesterday we connected Paul’s idea of “bond” with Yeshua’s statement about “yoke.”  “Freedom comes in chains,” we said.  When Yeshua invites us to take His yoke, He is not offering liberty.  He is offering glorious constraint; constraint that instructs us in a way of life delivered from toxic anxiety and confusion.  But the Greek word zygos has another meaning that heightens His invitation.  Zygos also means “scales.”  It is found in Revelation 6:5 and in Leviticus 26:26 (LXX).  The horseman of judgment comes with scales in his hand.  He will weigh the deeds of men.  But by what standard?  Both the rabbis and Yeshua tell us that the standard for these scales is the “yoke” of the law (Torah), an excellent wordplay in Greek!

Do you suppose that the translator of Yeshua’s words in Matthew’s Greek had this wordplay in mind?  When you hear, “Take my yoke upon you,” do you also hear, “Take my scales upon you”?  Do you connect “yoke” and “law”?  It would be hard to read the Greek translation of Yeshua’s Hebrew without making this connection.

Far too often we read this verse without its connection to Jeremiah or its nuances in Greek.  We read the verse with the eyes of Plato and Aristotle.  We think Yeshua is offering assistance (forgiveness and restoration) without obligation, at least without obligation to others.  We want rest, not duty.  So we convert zygos into something akin to “removing all my burdens.”  We look for Platonic peace, that is, freedom from everyone else.  But zygos as “scales” can never provide such fictitious folly.  All of Torah is about obligation – to God and to others.  The “Law” is a way of living in the world, among those who occupy the same place and time.  When we take on Yeshua’s zygos, we take on the standard which the third horseman brings.  There is no rest without scales just as there is no peace without chains.

Perhaps this is enough for today.  Perhaps we have already been convicted of our ungodly desire to be “free” of all those burdens of others.  Perhaps the horseman finds us wanting.

Topical Index:  Matthew 11:29, yoke, zygos, freedom, law, Torah

TRAVEL NOTES:  In about a week, I will be traveling to Europe where I will lecture on a cruise ship through the Greek islands.  Don’t worry, Today’s Word will continue as usual and all your book orders will be taken care of without delay.  I will just be out of email contact for some time.

Category: Today's Word  | Tags: , , , , ,  | 20 Comments

Take My Yoke

Sunday, July 29th, 2012 | Author:

 being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.  Ephesians 4:3  NASB

Bond – Syndesmos is the Greek combination of words that mean “together” and “band or shackle.”  We might think of this word with the imagery of a chain.  Each link is welded together with the next.  The “bond” is only as strong as its weakest link.  This all seems quite ordinary.

Until we connect this idea to two others:  peace and yoke.

First we must recognize that Paul’s concept of peace is tied to chains, not freedom.  To preserve the unity of the Spirit, we must be chained together.  Those seeking freedom from obligation are not suitable for unity of the Spirit.  They are, in fact, opposed to God’s exhibition of unity, found in the community that embraces the Spirit of the Lord.  In the Bible, freedom is a function of voluntary obligation, not individual liberty.  The biblical concept stands in utter opposition to our culture of indulgence even if that indulgence is laced with spirituality.

Once we realize that freedom comes in chains, then we are prepared to understand Yeshua’s statement about the zygos, the yoke.  A yoke not only ties us to Him, it shackles us to each other.  The yoke is the implement of peace, the equipment of the saints.  Just as Yeshua exhorts us to take His yoke and find rest, Paul reminds us that the bond of true fellowship is the unity of mutual obligation.  And, of course, this is one of the meanings of that great Hebrew word hesed.

Do you think of chains when you think of peace?  Do you see yourself as handcuffed to the Spirit, shackled to the truth?  Do you rejoice in your obligations toward others?  Do you know what it means to be bound to the Lord?  Does your desire to serve Him result in yoking yourself to another?

Unless you can answer these questions with affirmation, you probably haven’t left the world of Greek “freedom” behind.  There is no unity without the clank of metal or the feeling of restraints.

Topical Index:  bond, syndesmos, yoke, zygos, peace, freedom, Ephesians 4:3

Category: Today's Word  | Tags: , , , , , ,  | 6 Comments

A Reasonable Conclusion

Sunday, October 30th, 2011 | Author:

“If therefore the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed.”  John 8:36  NASB

Therefore – Don’t we love this verse!  I hear it all the time.  “Jesus set me free.”  “I’m free because Jesus died for me.”  The great mantra of the Western world is “Freedom!”  Of course, none of us bother to ask what freedom meant in the biblical context.  We just assume that being able to do what I wish to do is the desired state of human existence.  Freedom becomes a synonym for lack of restraint or hindrance.  With this in mind, we imagine that “Jesus” came so that we might never again be under anyone’s thumb.

There’s just one problem.  Or maybe two.  The first problem is that freedom in the Bible means nothing like unrestrained or complete liberty.  More about that later.  The second problem is that this verse is far too often quoted without the “therefore.”  The addition of the little word oun implies that the statement about being free follows from a previous discussion and it is on the basis of that previous discussion that the terms must be defined.

What is the previous discussion?  It is a conversation between Yeshua and other Jews about the relationship between obedience and sin.  Yeshua tells these Jews that if they became His disciples, they would accept His teaching and would continue to express in their lives what He taught to them.  Then they would be free.  They misunderstand Him, thinking that He is speaking about physical slavery, so they object, claiming that they have never been enslaved by any man.  Yeshua corrects them.  They are in fact slaves to their own behavior, in this case, to the yetzer ha’ra.  He notes that whatever a man practices continually is the master of that man.  So we see that the conversation is not about restraint of physical liberty at all.  It is about the power of the yetzer ha’ra to dictate how men live.  At this point, Yeshua tells the audience that He has the ability to release them from this power.  In other words, the entire discussion is not about doing whatever we wish to do.  It is about being freed from the power of the evil inclination.

And accomplished how is this?  (Think Hebrew verb first, like Yoda).  By keeping His instructions – by following His commandments – by living according to Torah, just as he did.  “If you continue in my word,” says Yeshua.  What does that mean?  Well, for starters it means doing everything He tells us to do, namely, the list of New Testament commandments (which, by the way, assume and endorse the Old Testament commandments).  In biblical terms there is no such thing as unrestrained, uninhibited liberty or freedom.  But there is release from guilt and release from the dominance of the yetzer ha’ra.  This kind of release is a trade.  We trade guilt and corruption for Torah obedience, and in the process we discover that life lived God’s way is a blessing.  Continuing in His word becomes orderly alignment with the grain of the universe.  It isn’t freedom to do whatever I wish.  It is the power to serve as I was designed.

Why are we free indeed?  Because only when we are under the protection of Torah are we able to be who we really are.  And that is biblical freedom.

Topical Index:  free, freedom, John 8:36, therefore, oun, Torah

Just a footnote from Cyndee who does my proofreading.  She said, ” John 8:36:  It’s a good thing I own a hard copy of the 1963 NASB since Bible Gateway AND Blue Letter Bible AND BibleCC ALL quote this verse as ‘so if’!   So much for trusting online translations.  I guess even the 1995 NASB version has translation bias that the general reader won’t pick up on.”

 

Category: Today's Word  | Tags: , , , , ,  | 2 Comments

More Than I Am

Thursday, July 30th, 2009 | Author:

“Then if the Son sets you free, you are free indeed.” John 8:36

Free – Freedom is an important word in a man’s vocabulary. We have talked about it a lot. We recognized that the Greek idea of freedom is centered in the relationship between the individual and the State. For the Greeks, freedom is the capacity to choose my own actions with the minimum restraint necessary to maintain civil order. While I can’t do anything I want to since that would lead to anarchy, I should be constrained only by what is absolutely essential and nothing more. Freedom in Greek thought is self-will. To be free is to have liberty to determine my own destiny.

Of course, Yeshua isn’t thinking (or speaking) Greek. The Hebrew concept of freedom is centered in a relationship with God. As such, it is focused on God’s design, intention and will – not my desires or expectations. To experience freedom is to experience the safety of belonging to the Lord as the object of His concern. In other words, freedom means to be owned by Him. To be free is to be submitted to His purposes for me. In this sense, the only free man is the slave for he is the only person who can take no care for his own life. Care is the master’s responsibility. The slave’s only obligation is to do the will of the master. Therefore, the Hebrew idea of freedom is exactly the opposite of the Greek view since the Greek view is built around the idea that I take charge of myself.  In the Hebrew view, I am the object of God’s concern.  In the Greek view, I am the object of my own concern.

Heschel offers another insight into the Hebrew view of freedom which is especially important for those who are surrounded by the Greek idea of self-willed liberty. Heschel notices that freedom in the Bible is set in relation to sin. Yeshua reflects this insight in His statement about serving either God or mammon. No man can have two masters, but every man has one. No man is “free” of all masters for the biblical view is that I am already held captive by my own self-serving willfulness even if I am “free” of external restraints. The noble savage is still a slave to himself. Since this is the case for all men, the only way Yeshua can truly set us free is if He has the capacity to allow us to surpass ourselves. In other words, we must be able to transcend the “tyranny of the self-centered ego.” No man is free until he is no longer held captive by his own desires.

But here’s the rub. No man is able to free himself from his own desires because his desire to free himself simply tightens the chains that hold him. He is self-defeated. To be free, a man must be released from himself by another. Thus, Yeshua says, “If the Son sets you free,” not “if you find freedom in the Son.” There is a crucial difference here. Yeshua does not give you the means by which you free yourself. That is not possible. You cannot free yourself for you are a prisoner of your own desires. Yeshua must act to free you from yourself. And in this sense, true freedom comes when, through His grace, you surpass yourself. To be free, you must be more than you are.

Sounds great, right? Sounds a little theoretical too. So, what does this mean for me today? It implies that freedom is not a state of being. It is an event in life. I experience freedom when I discover that Yeshua enables me to be more than myself. In other words, I am free in the action of putting aside myself and expressing righteousness toward another. Freedom is not about me! It is about loving my neighbor. It is about going beyond the tyranny of myself and acting benevolently toward another at cost to myself. In other words, from the biblical perspective, freedom is what I experience when I express agape love. I am free in the event, the action, of surpassing myself for another. Freedom is ultimately relational. It can only be found in giving myself up for the sake of someone else.

That’s why God is free! And that’s why, when the Son sets you free, you can really be free.

Topical Index: freedom, tyranny, Greek view, eleutheros, self, John 8:36

Category: Today's Word  | Tags: , , , , ,  | 5 Comments

Care-Less Freedom

Sunday, July 05th, 2009 | Author:

Then stand firm in the freedom with which Christ made us free, and do not again be held with a yoke of slavery.  Galatians 5:1

Freedom – Heinrich Schlier wrote an incredibly insightful article on the Greek word eleutheros. His comments are so good that they are worth contemplating:

The NT . . . realizes . . . that even in the retreat into inwardness man is not free.  For in the NT it is evident that freedom is not absent because there is inadequate control of existence but because there is no control at all, and therefore no self-dominion. 

Self-preservation by retreat into inwardness is merely a way of losing one’s true self.  In the face of lost existence there is only one possibility of coming to oneself, and this is by surrender of one’s own will to the will and power of an external force.  Man attains to self-control by letting himself be controlled.

Freedom from the Law thus means specifically freedom from the moralism which awakens hidden self-seeking.  It means freedom from the secret claim which man makes on himself in the form of legal demand.  It means freedom from the meeting of this claim in the form of legal achievement.  It means freedom from self-lordship before God in the guise of serious and obedient responsibility toward Him.

Our freedom, then, is not an existential return to the basis of individual existence, the soul.  It is the event of a historical life radically sacrificed for others. 

Christian freedom is realized in service which renounces personal claims and is concerned only for the salvation of others.  [It] voluntarily seeks the edification of others.

Schlier’s insights are profound.  If you want to know freedom from the biblical perspective, you must realize that freedom is not inward release and individual liberty.  Freedom is the outward event of denying yourself for the benefit of others.  It is exactly the opposite of what the Greeks and the contemporary culture believes.  To turn inward is to turn toward the myth, the dangerous deception, that freedom comes from self-control.  No!  Freedom comes from giving up control, from submitting my will to the will of the external God.  Freedom comes from giving myself away.

In relation to the Law, I can never gain freedom if I use the Law as a means of control.  When I do that, I intend to obligate God to reward me because I am keeping the Law, and that is another form of self-lordship.  The Law was never intended to give me freedom.  It was intended to point me in the direction of submission.  Yeshua’s act releases me from the obligation (the debt) imposed on me by the Law.  I am free from the debt in order that I may now legitimately sacrifice my will to His will.  Since I have nothing to gain in terms of salvation, I enter into submission without a hidden agenda.  I submit only to please Him, not for the possibility of reward but for the purposes of love.  Freedom comes when I care less about myself and give myself to others.  Freedom is the direct result of care-less living.

If we are going to talk about freedom – the freedom that comes through and in the anointed one, Yeshua HaMashiach, then we will have to first unhook all that Greek mythology as well as the misconstrued Christian Greek-based idea that the Law is opposed to grace.  We will have to see that freedom is the by-product of submission and service to others.  It is discovered in the actions of benevolence toward the community, not in the preservation of myself.  When we see freedom in this light, we will understand why Jesus said, “If the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed.”

Now, do you really want to be free?

Topical Index:  Schlier, eleutheros, freedom, self-control, Galatians 5:1

We will look at this topic several more times over the next few weeks.  Understanding what freedom really means is a very important part of understanding what Yeshua accomplishes on our behalf.

Heinrich Schlier, “eleutheros”, The Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Vol. 2, pp. 487-502.

Category: Today's Word  | Tags: , , , ,  | 5 Comments

The Delusion of Freedom

Saturday, July 04th, 2009 | Author:

Then stand firm in the freedom with which Christ made us free, and do not again be held with a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1

Freedom – Are you free? Don’t be too quick to answer. It depends on your concept of freedom. In order to understand what Paul says about freedom in Christ, we first have to realize that Paul is not talking about our usual idea of freedom.

The Greek and Hebrew ideas of freedom are radically different. Our society and world culture have adopted the Greek view. Therefore, when we think about the meaning of Paul’s words, we often import this Greek concept of freedom into Paul’s thought. That leads to some very serious theological and practical mistakes. So, let’s start by examining the contrast.

For the Greeks, freedom is ultimately a matter of politics. Plato defines freedom as the ability to be at one’s own disposal. In contrast to the bondage of slavery, freedom is independence from the will of others. Of course, the limiting factor in any discussion of freedom must be the state because the political reality is that I live in community and am not able to do whatever I please whenever I wish. If freedom is defined as my choice to do anything I want, it is really anarchy. My “freedom” is always limited and determined by the needs of the society. In other words, the scope of my freedom is determined by the state. In Greek thought, it is the role of the state to operate in such a way that every individual is granted as much freedom as possible without jeopardizing the freedom of others. This requires a rule of law for where there is no rule of law, there is only individual power and the ensuing chaos that comes with the rule of the most powerful. If you want to see what happens when freedom is unrestrained, take a good look at Somalia. For the Greeks, freedom is always freedom under the law, never freedom from the law.

Of course, this immediately raises the question, “Whose law?” The Greek answer is once again a political one. The law is determined by the will of the people (actually, the citizenry). Therefore, the control of individual freedom is handed over to the will of the majority. Our concept of democracy is based on this Greek idea. Nearly all of the political furor today is heated discussion about who will determine the rule of the majority. It’s pretty clear that the simple addition of the will of the people is no longer considered the rule of the majority. Multi-culturalism and tolerance are attempts to give more weight to some factions of the society than to others. So, majority rule is deliberately skewed to fit what is politically correct. Under the guise of “empathy,” the summation of the choices of individuals is altered so that the rule of the majority is now the rule of those who speak for what they consider the majority.

Now notice what Paul says. Does Paul suggest that if we are free under Christ we are no longer subject to the rules of the state? Of course not! That would be a declaration that Christians are anarchists. Do you see that Paul is not using the term eleutheros (freedom) in the same way that the Greeks use it? He is not talking about a political reality at all – at least not in the way the Greeks understood freedom within a political reality. Yeshua did not set you free from consideration of the political reality of community. Far from it! Yeshua endorsed community (“love one another”). So, if freedom under Christ is not freedom from the law, then what is it? It is freedom to be a slave to the King. You and I are no longer restrained in our relationship to the Holy One of Israel. We are no longer withheld from His presence. Why? Because we have been set free from the required punishment that inevitably follows from our sins. Now we are free to obey!

For the Greeks, freedom is individual self-will governed by rationality (therefore, it is not law of the jungle). But in the New Testament, the lack of freedom is not result of inadequate controls or laws but rather no control within the heart of man. Therefore, we cannot fix the problems associated with freedom in a society by enacting better laws. What is required is a change of heart, and that cannot be accomplished on our own since we are the very ones who oppose any restraints on personal liberty. In this sense, existence threatens itself. The real issue of freedom is not my ability to take whatever actions I wish. That is an external problem, constrained by the state. The real issue of freedom is internal. To be free I must be set free from myself. This can never be an act of self-determination since self-determination is the problem.

From a biblical perspective, the problem is sin, not politics. The Greek concept of freedom is set in the framework of the polis, but the Hebrew idea is set in the framework of righteousness (tsedik). In the Hebrew view, the law does not restrict. It enables. It enables me to know what it means to act with righteousness. It provides the definitive guideline for what it means to love others. It points away from me toward community.

What is freedom from the Law? It is freedom from the required punishment that the law brings. It is deliverance from what I deserve. The Bible recognizes that self-rule is blindness. Self-rule denies the sovereignty of God. Self-seeking existence leads to death. So, submission to God’s rule leads to life. To surrender to God is freedom – freedom from the tyranny of self, from the futility of self-seeking and from the penalty associated with a life bent on its own control. There is no idea of self-determination in Hebrew thinking. There is only submission or rebellion.

Now, ask yourself, do you really want to be free?

Topical Index: freedom, eleutheros, politics, law, self, sin, Galatians 5:1

Category: Today's Word  | Tags: , , , , , ,  | 10 Comments

Changing Vowels

Tuesday, April 28th, 2009 | Author:

The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tablets.  Exodus 32:16

Graven – One of the reasons we read the sages is to discover the insights about God’s Word that come from centuries of exploration.  Often we find something that we would have passed by without noticing.  This verse is a good example.  A change in the vowels tells us something important about the attitude toward Torah, but unless a Hebrew sage pointed us toward this change, we would never have been blessed with the discovery.

The Hebrew root word here is charath.  It means “to engrave.”  Seems pretty simple, doesn’t it?  But once we realize the word is used only one time in Scripture, we are encouraged to look a little deeper.  Anything that appears only once has to have some special appeal since God decided that this word, and only this word, was the proper word for this idea.  Here’s what the rabbis tell us:

“Read not charuth (graven) but cheruth (freedom) for no man is free but he who labours in the Torah.”  (Everyman’s Talmud, p. 130)

Why can they make this change?  Because Hebrew is written without vowels.  The only way I know which vowels belong in the word is by remembering what I have been taught about the pronunciation of the word.  Yes, eventually the vowels were added with dots and dashes, but for centuries the proper pronunciation of the words was passed orally from one generation to the next.  So, when the consonants CH-R-TH appear in the text, I have to add the proper vowels to make the word.  What the rabbis saw was that a small change in a vowel revealed an enormous insight into the purpose of the Torah.  The reason a man embraces Torah is so that he will experience freedom.  Torah is not rules and regulations, legislation and constraints.  Torah is freedom.  It removes from me all of my doubts, worries and concerns about what to do, what is right and how I should live.  I do not have to struggle with which action to take.  I am not left to decide for myself what is good and what isn’t.  God has given me the game plan.  All I need to do is follow it.  I am free in a way that no one who tries to construct his own ethics will ever be.  There is freedom on these tablets.  And all that was needed to see this was a change in the vowel.

This vowel change speaks directly to us.  How many times have we struggled with the dilemma of knowing the right thing to do?  How many of us have felt the pangs of hoping that what we do will be good and pleasing to the Lord but not knowing for sure because we don’t have a guide?  How many times have we confronted ethical choices without clear direction – and had to make it up as we go along?  That isn’t freedom, my friends.  That is slavery to an internal ethical code, too easily subject to contemporary pressures and evaluations.  How much simpler would life be, and how much more enjoyable, if my choices were put in God’s hands by just doing what He says?  If the Son shall set you free, you will be free indeed.  All you need to do is follow the instructions.

Topical Index:  Torah, sages, vowels, freedom, Exodus 32:16, charath

Category: Today's Word  | Tags: , , , , ,  | 5 Comments

James in the Psalms

Sunday, April 19th, 2009 | Author:

You have said to YHWH, “You are my Lord, I have no goodness except in You.”  Psalm 16:2    

Said – The Hebrew verb amar is fairly common.  It is used in all kinds of situations where the next phrase is a quotation.  Since Hebrew has no punctuation, it’s a useful little verb, showing us who said what.  But that isn’t the only thing that amar does.  The second implication of amar is particularly important in this context.  Amar not only introduces a quotation, it also implies that the speaker’s words are followed by actions.  This is James’ letter found in the Psalms.  What you say is what you do.  If you claim to have faith, your life must demonstrate that claim in actions.  In Hebrew, the only people who say something but do not do it are liars.

“You are my Lord.”  Adonai atah.  The phrase is not simply a declaration of belief.  It is an obligation to action.  If YHWH is my Lord, I am obligated to follow His direction.  I do not live according to my own rules.  I do not make it up as I go along.  For YHWH to be my Lord, I must be His servant.  I wait on His instructions, follow His commands and live according to His decisions. 

While we don’t give it much thought today, in other ancient cultures such a declaration would have been considered repugnant, insulting and unconscionable.  Nothing was more humiliating than to be a servant (slave) of someone else.  Outside Israel, freedom from dominion by another was considered absolutely essential to human existence.  The Greeks would have vomited at the thought that the path to spirituality was through servitude.  If we really think about it, we probably find the same revulsion in our society.  When governments and politicians extol the virtues of freedom, they are not expressing the Hebrew point of view.  They are endorsing Greek values . . . freedom at any cost.  They do not realize or understand that freedom at any cost is destruction, both to society and individuals.  There is no freedom in this world.  Jesus’ insight into the necessity of serving one master or the other does not find much credence in contemporary worldviews, but He is right.  Believers are never called to freedom.  They are called to slavery – to acknowledge that “You are my Lord.”  Unless we preach slavery, we will never know comfort, security and fulfillment.  We will be like the false prophets who cried, “Peace, peace,” when there was no peace.  We cry “Freedom, forgiveness and fortune instead of “Adonai atah.”

David appeals to God for preservation.  He may do so only because YHWH is his Lord and Master.  A Master takes care of a slave.  No such obligation exists between a Master and an employee, much less a stranger.  The role the Master plays is contingent on the submission and fidelity of the slave.  Too many times we hear “Christians” cry “Lord, Lord,” but they do not do what the Lord says.  They are not His slaves.  They do not use the Hebrew verb amar because their words are not followed with actions.  And from a Hebrew point of view, they are not confused or carnal.  They are simply liars.

Topical Index:  amar, slave, freedom, Lord, Psalm 16:2

Category: Today's Word  | Tags: , , , ,  | 17 Comments

What Is Not

Friday, August 08th, 2008 | Author:

All things are lawful to me, but not all things are profitable.  1 Corinthians 6:12

Lawful – How we long for the removal of all requirements over our lives!  We want to be free!  What we mean, of course, is that we want to do whatever we want to do whenever we feel like doing it.  That is societal suicide, as the world is once more discovering, but it doesn’t stop our natural desire to throw off all the constraints.  So, when we read this declaration from Paul, we quite naturally understand it in terms of our own desire to find justification for self-enhancing actions.  We remove the context and proclaim, “I am free under grace.  I can do anything I want to do.  I don’t have to live by the Law anymore.”

Of course, Christians would never believe that Paul’s declaration means they can steal, lie, murder or commit adultery without consequence.  Some “laws” seem so basic that even a declaration of freedom like this one does not overturn them.  When Christians offer this verse for justification, the issue is usually all the other instructions in the torah, in particular those instructions that appear to be just for the Jews.  The battle cry, “I am under grace,” is used to rationalize ignoring God’s commands to Israel.  But maybe we haven’t looked at this verse as seriously as we should.

The Greek word exesti is not found in the Greek version of the Old Testament.  It is a New Testament word, used most often in the description of Jesus’ interaction with the Pharisees over what is “lawful.”  The word itself comes from two Greek words, ek meaning “out of” and eimi meaning “to be”.  So, it can appropriately be translated “what is possible, what comes out of what is” as well as “lawful.”  It all depends on the context.  Paul is not talking about a person can do but rather about what a person must do.  This is particularly important in the Corinthian church where personal liberty created an atmosphere of license that opposed the very heart of God.  Paul addresses this ungodly behavior not by commanding obedience but my pointing out that voluntary submission to what delights God and benefits others is the true path.  In other words, while Corinthian Christians can do all kinds of things (and, in fact, are doing them), they have missed the point.  Christianity is not a religion of legislation but rather an act of devotion.  That simply means that some things may not be done even if they could be done.

Now let’s look at the greater context.  Does Paul ever suggest that walking with the Messiah means we are free to ignore torah?  Does he proclaim that grace overthrows law?  Certainly not!  How could Paul exhort us to follow his example just as he follows Jesus unless he means that he is as faithful to the torah as Jesus was?  How could Paul claim that he never violated any of the torah or the traditions of his people and still proclaim that he can do anything he wishes?  Paul’s point is about the reason that a believer follows God’s instructions.  That reason is not based in forced compliance but rather in grateful submission.  We are human.  We have free will.  We can choose anything that is possible.  But we don’t.  We choose based on what God calls good because we love Him.

The goal of life is not about liberty.  It is about slavery to the One who loves us.

Topical Index:  Freedom

Category: Today's Word  | Tags: ,  | Comments off
« Previous Entries