I Fought the Law and the Law Won

So what's the deal with the law anyway?

That's the question Paul begins answering in verses 19-20.  He's working hard to surgically remove the spiritual shrapnel among the Galatian church left from the attack by the Judaizers.  

They've convinced these believers that Jesus saves but it's up to each of us to work like crazy to maintain our salvation by religious rule-keeping.  

He's flipped through the pages of the OT to disprove this idea while explaining that God has always said, "The righteous shall live by faith" (Gal 3:11; Hab 2:4).

So what's the deal with the law?  That's the obvious question at this point.  If God's promise to Abraham is not voided by God's law that came some 430 years later, then what's its purpose (Gal 3:17-18)?  

Paul addresses the 800 pound gorilla in the room: So what's the deal with the law anyway?  "Why then the law?" (v19).  Let's be clear what "law" he's talking about.  This is the law that God gave Moses at Mt. Sinai after God freed His people from slavery in Egypt (Ex 19-31).  

If you're scoring along at home, that's not just Ten Commandments but 613 laws Yahweh gave His people after busting them out of Egypt.  All they had to do was obey them perfectly and everything was peachy.

But there was just one small problem.  God's standard is perfection.  God's standard is absolutely impossible.  

You see, God didn't give His law to save.  God gave His law in order to reveal just how jacked up we are.  Paul says it this way: "It (the law) was added because of transgressions" (v19).  

Yahweh handed the law to us through Moses to reveal our sin, our inability to save ourselves and our desperate need for a Savior.  

God gives us the law as a wall that we slam into.  The very moment we try to save ourselves through obeying the list, we quickly realize that we've brought a toothpick to a knife fight.  We would have better luck trying to reach the moon with a step stool.  It's just not possible.

I soon find out that when I attempt to follow the law, I'm actually fighting the law.  It surrounds me.  Everywhere I turn, the law never stops its unending attack on me.  The fight is pointless.  I fought the law and the law won.  And it does so EVERY time.  

So again it forces us to ask, "What's the deal with the law?"  The apostle tells us that the law "was added because of transgressions" (v19).  

I think Matt Chandler explains this incredibly well.  He says the law is simply a diagnostic tool.  It's like an x-ray, MRI, CT scan or ultrasound machine.  All it does is reveal our desperate condition.  

No matter how many times we go back for another diagnostic test, these miraculous medical tools don't heal.  They simply disclose the disease.  

God gives us the law so that we can understand there is only one cure: Jesus Christ.  That's Paul's point in both Romans 7 and 1 Timothy 1:8-11.  The law is good.  We're the problem.

For those who think that Jesus ignored the law or softened the law, you may want to crack open the Gospels.  Ever tried to obey the Sermon on the Mount?  Sheesh!  

Christ takes the OT law and lets us know that God's impossible standard is even higher than we've ever imagined.  Jesus didn't ignore the law.  It reminds me of the company in the commercial that doesn't make anything, they just make it better.  

I fought the law and the law won.  And it wins EVERY time.

Paul goes on to say that God gave us this diagnostic device called the law "until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made" (v19).  

He's clued us in earlier that this "offspring" is actually Jesus (Gal 3:16).  And God made His promise to Abraham and his descendants (Gen 12:2-3).  In other words, the Jewish people.  

Jesus came first to the Jews to then offer God's salvation to the entire world (Gal 3:7-9; Gen 22:18).  Remember, the majority of believers in Galatia aren't Jewish.  

They need to know they don't have to become Jewish in order to follow Christ.  That's what the false teachers have told them.

The apostle uses the phrase "the promise was made" (v19).  This is the verb επαγγελλω/epangello.  It's the verb form of the noun επαγγαλια/epangelia, which means promise or pledge.  

Paul uses both of these words a total of eleven times in this short letter.  Nine of those occurrences are in chapter three.  

What's this promise?  Glad you asked.  The Gospel.  Jesus.  God fulfills EVERYTHING in Him!

Paul pulls back the divine curtain just a bit to let us know that the law "was put in place through angels and by an intermediary" (v19).  

A couple of different times we read in Scripture that angelic messengers play a role in delivering God's Word (Acts 7:53; Heb 2:2).  But that's about all the info we get.

The intermediary he writes about is undoubtedly Moses.  The Israelites wanted know part of any face-to-face contact with an awesome God.  They begged the Mighty Mo to do it for them (Ex 20:19; Dt 5:5).

The meaning behind verse 20 is a little murky.  "Now an intermediary implies more than one, but God is one."  Most likely it refers to God's role as both the initiator of the covenant promise to Abraham as well as the ratifier.  It describes God's grace to us.  

There was absolutely nothing Abe did to instigate such a promise, ratify such a promise or keep such a promise.  It was only through the sovereign and amazing grace of God.

In the end, Paul lets us know that God gave us His law to break us, not to save us.  It's a diagnostic tool.  Not a therapeutic treatment.  Only Jesus saves.  Only Jesus heals.

I can fight the law, but the law wins.  EVERY time.

©2012 

Jay Jennings

Diagnosis versus Therapy

In the previous verse, Paul let’s us know that we’re fools to pursue any sort of self-salvation project.  If that’s the path we choose, we need to understand the requirements.  

God requires perfect and complete obedience if we decide to use His law to seek salvation.  Follow all or face the consequences.  

In verse 11, the apostle tells us the results of those who have tried following and obeying the law to save themselves.  “Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law” (v11).  No one.  Nobody.  Zip.  Zilch.  Zero.

God’s requirements are too high, too stiff, too difficult, too overwhelming.  There’s not one person who’s beaten the system.  Many have tried.  Many still do.  

The Pharisees are a perfect example.  There are still many Christians and Jews who try it today.  You know how many are successful?  “No one is justified before God by the law” (v11).  God has pitched a perfect game.  And He always will.

So what’s the purpose behind the law?  If God didn’t give it to us to save us, what’s His reason?  God has graciously given us His law in order for us to realize our desperate need for Him.  

When we hold the mirror of His righteous requirements up to our less-than-holy lives, we immediately understand our dire need for a Savior.

So the law is best understood as a diagnostic tool.  It is a spiritual MRI.  A divine CT scan.  A supernatural ultrasound.  It doesn’t heal anybody.  It doesn’t cure anything.  It only reveals our disease and helps diagnose our brokenness.

In the second half of verse 11, Paul gives us the therapy.  “The righteous shall live by faith” (v11).  In other words, he let’s us know that the remedy for our sin sickness is simply placing our faith in Jesus.  He’s the ONLY ONE who was able to obey God’s law.  

He did it because He is God.  He did it because He is the Son.  He did it because He is filled by the Spirit.  Lived a perfect life.  Died the perfect death.  In our place.  On our behalf.  When we place our faith and trust in Him, we receive the right standing God requires (2Cor 5:21).

You might think that this is an idea exclusive to the New Testament.  But Paul quotes OT prophet Habakkuk to make his point.  “The righteous shall live by faith” (Hab 2:4).  The minor prophet drops some major truth.  

The doctrine of justification by faith isn’t a NT idea, it’s a biblical idea.  It goes all the way back to the beginning.  Remember that Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness” (Gen 15:6; Gal 3:6).  This is THE Big Story of the Bible.  

We all need a Savior.  And the only way we are made right is when we trust in Him to save us.  In the NT.  In the OT.  In the 21st Century.  It doesn’t matter.

Just like an MRI, x-ray, ultrasound, or CT scan can’t heal us, the law can only diagnose.  There is one cure.  There is one remedy.  There is only one prescription.  Faith in Jesus.  The Good News is the Great Physician is ready to heal you.

©2012

Jay Jennings

Rules Are Made FOR the Broken

“Understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine” (1Tim 1:9-10).

Rules were made to be broken. Come on, even the most goody-goody types among us feels that way many times. I admit it. Too often it seems like laws and regulations are just the Man trying to keep me down. To keep me from having fun. To keep me from getting to work on time when leaving from home ten minutes late. Just the idea of somebody trying to tell me what to do suddenly gives me the urge to do just the opposite. I’m sure that’s never happened to you.

Here in a letter to his buddy Timothy, Paul wants him to know that God’s rules aren’t for the rule followers. “Understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and the sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine” (v9-10). God is NOT trying to harsh your mellow. He gives us His law in order to show us how badly we need a Savior. His rules weren’t made to be broken. His rules are made FOR the broken.

Let’s take a moment and set the scene. Tim is in Ephesus, a large port city on the west coast of what we know today as Turkey. This place is a real cultural, racial, and religious melting pot. The apostle and his posse planted a church there a few years back (Acts 19). It was a whole scene. A huge fight at the local synagogue where rabbis gave Paul the boot. The man from Tarsus sets up shop for two years at a local meeting hall in order tell everyone who will listen about Jesus. The Gospel rolled through the city like a tsunami. Even the apostle’s hankies cured diseases! There’s a crazy story about seven exorcist wannabes trying to get in on the action and then getting their tail kicked by demon. The Good News was bad news for the occult. One day everyone who turned to Christ for salvation burned all of their magic books. Things really got wild when the Gospel had a huge economic impact on the local idol-making industry. We’re talking Ferguson-like riots. 

Fast forward about 15 years later. Paul is finally out of prison after 5 years of being held on trumped up charges. He’s back on the road around the Mediterranean Rim planting more churches and telling people about the resurrected Rabbi/Carpenter from Galilee. He’s handpicked his sidekick Timothy to pastor what is now a megachurch in the big port city (1Tim 1:3). But it’s anything but smooth sailing. A team of spiritual con artists are stirring up trouble in the church. It’s Tim’s job to shut them up and shut them down (1Tim 1:3-7). These false teachers are completely misusing the Bible to bully believers. Chances are they were peddling a false gospel and telling folks that Jesus may have gotten them into God’s kingdom but it’s up to them to stay in. You’ve got to follow the rules. You’ve got to check all the boxes. One false move and God is just waiting to zap you with a lightning bolt for your disobedience. I’m sure you’ve had the displeasure of running into some of these same kind of religious law enforcement officers in your life too. Talk about police brutality!

Paul tells Tim, “Now we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully” (1Tim 1:8). Clearly the false teachers are NOT using God’s rules and regs in the right way. Not in the way Paul and Tim use it. The apostle goes on to write, “The law is not laid down for the just” (v9). In other words, if you think you don’t need Jesus, He won’t ever come to your rescue. Dr. Luke tells the story about how Christ tells a bunch of self-righteous religious thugs, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance” (Lk 5:31-32). John Burke likes to say that no perfect people are allowed in the church. The so-called perfect people don’t understand the real purpose of God’s law. They’re working a system of self-salvation. They are their own judge. They personally set the standard for what it means to be good and what it takes to be saved.

The apostle wants us to know without a doubt that the purpose of God’s law is to diagnose and reveal our sin. I might think I’m doing pretty stinkin’ great. I believe I’m a good person. Then suddenly I hold my life up to God’s perfect standard. It’s readily apparent I have sinned by omission and commission. Oh, I might do a decent job for a while, but Scripture eventually shines a spotlight on my crimes and misdemeanors. And it’s everywhere I look. Old Testament. New Testament. Ten Commandments. Sermon on the Mount. If my situation’s not desperate enough, then I read this. “For all who rely under the works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, ‘Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them’” (Gal 3:10; Dt 27:26). Even Jesus’ kid brother if I simply fail to keep one little law, I break the whole book (James 2:10). If I’m not 100% perfect in my obedience, I’ve completely failed. God gives us His rules to drop us to our knees. His commands don’t save. They don’t even come close. They diagnose. They don’t heal. They drive us to get help. You see, God’s rules are made FOR the broken.

Meanwhile back in Paul’s letter to Tim, the man from Tarsus lets his protege just who’s to be on the receiving end of God’s law. “For the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine” (v9-10). Well, that’s quite a roster. Looks like it might be a description of some sort of evil team of super villains like the Suicide Squad. 

The first six in the list all travel in pairs. According to John MacArthur, these dastardly duos describe direct sin against God mentioned in the first half of the Ten Commandments (Ex 10:1-8). The rest of the gang basically tick off the remaining rules in God’s Top Ten one by one. Is there really any reason to go through each one of them? Didn’t think so. Oh, did you see yourself anywhere in the list? Look again. As they say on the surveys, “Check all that apply.” If you’re like me, you’ll probably find yourself checking more than one box. Believe it or not, that’s a good thing. A VERY good thing. Because God’s law drives us to our knees. It breaks us and points us to the Good News. God’s rules are made FOR the broken.

There are a couple of GREAT stories from the life of Jesus that explain this idea. After Christ saves a Jewish traitor named Levi and makes him a disciple named Matthew, a bunch of religious bullies get their undies in a bundle when they see our Savior partying with some unsavory characters. “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick” (Lk 5:31). Once we’ve been diagnosed by God’s law, we realize we’re very, very sick. Otherwise, we don’t have a clue about the cancer of sin that’s ravaging our body. God’s rules are made FOR the broken.

A little later in Dr. Luke’s biography of Jesus, the Son of God says did you hear the one about the Pharisee and the tax collector who walk into the temple (Lk 18:9-14)? As a superstar in the Jewish faith, the Pharisee thinks he can save himself. He’s got this thing knocked. He has the gall to look around and compare himself to the rest of the rabble who’ve come to worship. In comparison to the creeps in this crowd, he’s an absolute rock star. Not so fast, my friend. Jesus points out someone over in the corner who’s easy to miss. It’s a tax collector. The Jewish people consider these folks so filthy that they classify them as a special kind of sinner. But Christ says take a closer look at what culture calls a scumbag. The dude is so broken that he can’t look up. “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” (Lk 18:13). Jesus makes it clear that of the two, the tax collector understands that God’s rules are made FOR the broken.

God’s law will reveal the disease of my sin, but His Gospel is the ultimate miracle drug. Maybe you think you’re too far gone if you find yourself on that list. You’re not alone. Check out Paul’s letter to one of the craziest collections of Christians the world has ever seen. It’s the church in Corinth. He not only runs down God’s “do not save” list, but then adds a crazy twist at the end. Check it out. “Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolators, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1Cor 6:19-11). Did you catch that? “And such WERE some of you” (1Cor 6:11 emphasis added). Past tense. They used to be. That’s before God’s grace turned everything around. His Gospel is a game changer. 

If you haven’t figure it out yet, we’re ALL on that list. We just haven’t realized it yet. Take a look around. Who do you see? Every single person out there has fallen short of God’s perfect standard (Rom 3:9-10, 23). Now take a look at the person in the mirror. Yeah, I’m talking to you. You and I are no exception. God’s law sets the bar so incredibly high that none of us are able to meet it. Not you. And certainly not me. The law of God makes it obvious that I’m horribly broken. We desperately need to place our faith in the only One who lived the perfect life and took the punishment for our rebellion. Trust in who Jesus is. Trust in what He’s done. 

God’s rules are made FOR the broken.

Bullies and the 10 Pound Bible

“Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully” (1Tim 1:8).

Fire can help and it can hurt. It can be helpful and it can be hurtful. The same flickering flames in the fireplace that warm you up on a frosty night can also burn your house to the ground and kill your family. When we use fire properly, it’s wonderful. But it’s deadly when mishandled. Timothy is dealing with a similar situation in Ephesus. No, the middle school kids aren’t playing with matches at a lock in. (On the other hand, if your middle schoolers are spending the night at the church, you probably need to make sure none of them brought a lighter.) 

A team of false teachers have infiltrated the Ephesian church and their counterfeit gospel is damaging believers (1Tim 1:3-6). Paul already kicked two of these bad teachers to the curb (1Tim 1:21). Clearly, a few more of these spiritual snake oil salesmen are still around. They think they’re hot stuff when it comes to teaching God’s Word but don’t have a clue what they’re talking about (1Tim 1:7). They are totally misusing Scripture and abusing the followers of Jesus. The apostle contrasts their way of teaching and tells Tim, “Now we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully” (v8). When the law of God is used correctly, it’s constructive, not destructive. It’s helpful, not hurtful. These bad teachers are simply playing with fire and somebody’s going to get burned.

Paul begins by reminding Tim, “Now we know that the law is good” (v8). By “we,” he’s drawing a distinction between themselves and the false teachers. Let’s be clear on the teams involved. You’ve got the good guys who are good teachers teaching the Good News. That would be the “we.” That would be Paul and Tim. On the other side of the field are the bad teachers teaching bad news. The reason the apostle has left his protege in Ephesus is because he’s a teammate. Paul trusts Tim. It’s important to remember that we’re not alone. Following the Lord isn’t a long, lonely ride like your some mysterious High Plains Drifter for Jesus. We do it together. We do it as a team. So who are your teammates you can count on? Who is your “we?” 

As partners in grace, this dynamic duo knows “that the law is good if one uses it lawfully” (v8). A quality carpenter always uses the right tool for the right job. Paul and Tim know when, where, and how to use the law of God. The apostle makes it clear that it’s “good” (v8). This is the Greek adjective kalos, which can mean beautiful but can also describe something as useful and practical. Paul goes out of his way to tell the church in Rome about how incredibly awesome God’s law really is. “The law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good” (Rom 7:12). God’s law is a handy dandy tool when used in the right way. It’s helpful, not hurtful. It’s constructive, not destructive. 

You can be sure that’s NOT how bad teachers are using the law. They misuse God’s commandments to crush and cripple Christ followers. Let’s be honest, you’ve seen it for yourself. Maybe you’ve personally been on the business end of a 10 pound Bible. This is when some bully appoints themselves as a religious law enforcement officer. They are more than happy to call you out and condemn you every time you get out of line. Think of them as biker gangs. Jesus dealt with thugs called the Pharisees during His earthly ministry. Now Paul and Tim are ready to rumble with similar hoods in Ephesus. These jerks are carelessly throwing the law around, trying to make folks believe it’s up to us to maintain our place in God’s kingdom. According to their twisted teaching, if we want to stay saved we need to follow every single rule and regulation. Jesus may have gotten us in, but it’s up to us to work to stay in. 

If you’re wondering, THAT’S A LIE FROM THE PIT OF HELL!!!! We place our trust in what Jesus has done on our behalf. He does the work that we could never do for ourselves. Christ perfectly obeyed every single commandment in the Old Testament so that we aren’t held accountable for it. I’ll be the first one to admit that reading through OT books like Leviticus and Numbers makes my head spin. It’s just rule after law after commandment. Let’s read them differently. Read them with the revelation that Jesus did all of that. Every single one of them. For you. For me. We trust in Jesus’ perfect life of obedience, His death for our sin, and His spectacular resurrection on our behalf. If you’re wondering what else you need to do in order to maintain your place in God’s family, Jesus shouted the answer from the cross. “IT IS FINISHED!!!” (Jn 19:30 emphasis added with pleasure!).

Meanwhile Paul reassures his boy Tim that God’s law is awesome “if one uses it lawfully” (v8). The original language here describes God’s good law as legitimate and correct according to proper use. A few years after this letter, the apostle will write Timothy a second time and use this same word (Gr. nomimos). “An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules (Gr. nomimos)” (2Tim 2:5). So it also pictures an athlete who follows the rules of athletic competition. They don’t cheat. There’s no Deflategate scandal. No Spygate controversy. No suspicion of steroids or PEDs. This isn’t NASCAR where if you’re not cheating, you’re not trying. Good teachers and pastors use God’s law as it is supposed to be used. There’s no cheating. No fudging the truth. 

So what does it mean to use the law of God “lawfully” (v8)? The best illustration is one from medicine. Think of the law like a diagnostic device like a CT scan, MRI, or x-ray. What incredible tools they are to health care professionals. These machines allow doctors to look inside our bodies and diagnose the disease. Once they’ve figured out what’s wrong, they know exactly what sort of treatment plan to pursue. No matter how many times you get a CT scan, it doesn’t treat the disease. The law is a diagnostic tool. God gives us His law in order to see our desperate need for a Savior. It points out just how much we need the Gospel. 

Look at it this way. The law is the diagnostic. The Gospel is the treatment. Without God’s good law, we wouldn’t know how bad our condition is. Going back to the law over and over again doesn’t provide the treatment for our sin. Only the grace of Jesus does that! Or in the words of Paul, “For by the works of the law no human begin will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin” (Rom 3:20). When used correctly in combination with the Gospel, God’s commandments have incredible healing power. King David had a hit song all about it’s rejuvenating ability. “The Law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul” (Ps 19:7). The law can’t save. But it can tell us how badly we need to be saved. The law is used for our diagnosis, not the cure.

When God’s commandments are used as intended, they’re awesome. When they’re used a weapon, they’re awful. Knowing when, where, and how to use His wonderful Word is incredibly important. Or in the Message paraphrase of verse 8, “It’s true that moral guidance and counsel need to be given, but the way you say it and to whom you say it are as important as what you say” (v8 The Message). Use God’s rules and regulations carefully and graciously. He gives them to us for our own good. Just like a loving dad tells his kids to not play with matches, He gives them to us for our own protection. It’s NOT to be used to hammer and hurt people. Stop bullying people with your 10 pound Bible. 

The Right Tool for the Job

“And be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith” (Philippians 3:9).

Let’s get this on the table from the start. I am NOT a craftsman. I’m no handy man. Never was. Never will be. Do I have a toolbox in the garage? Absolutely. But it’s more of a curious container of mysterious objects for strange uses. With my confession on the table, we move forward. There’s an old adage, “A good craftsman never blames his tools.” A master carpenter uses the right tool for the right job. Here in Philippians 3:9, Paul admits he’s spent years using the wrong tool. He’s been using God’s law to save himself. Picture trying to paint your house with a hammer. Attempting saw a 2x4 using screwdriver. The law of God is a GREAT tool. It’s just the wrong device for the project. The apostle doesn’t blame his tools. Instead he lets us know there’s only one instrument for the job. Or should we say one Person. Jesus. We trust in the work He’s already done instead of trying to do it ourselves. Since that’s the case, I’ll stop rummaging through my toolbox.

Paul’s point is warn his friends back in Philippi about some spiritual snake oil being sold all around the Mediterranean rim. A team of religious hucksters are peddling a message that says Jesus may get us into God’s kingdom but it’s up to us to stay there. They’re spreading a counterfeit gospel of rule-following and ritual in order please God. The apostle lets us know that obedience to God’s law not only doesn’t save us, it also doesn’t keep us saved. He knows from personal experience. Take it from somebody who knows. The former Pharisee makes it clear God’s law is a great tool, but it’s the wrong tool for the job.  

The apostle starts at the end of the project. When it’s all said and done, he wants to “be found in Him” (v9). The ESV translates Greek word eurisko as “found.” It means to discover, locate, come across, or prove to be. The term includes an element of surprise! If the word looks familiar, it’s where we get our exclamation, “Eureka!” That’s apparently what the ancient Greek scientist Archimedes would yell out whenever he made a discovery. Matthew writes how Joe’s girlfriend Mary “was found (Gr. eurisko) to be with child from the Holy Spirit” (Mt 1:18). Surprise! Jesus uses it when encouraging folks listening to His Sermon on the Mount. “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek and you will find (Gr. eurisko); knock, and it will be opened to you” (Mt 7:7). When we continually keep searching for God’s kingdom, we’ll find it. Eureka! Earlier in this letter, Paul drops lyrics to a first century worship tune which sings about our Savior “being found (Gr. eurisko) in human form” (Phil 2:8). Who saw THAT coming?!? 

We’re talking about the stunning discovery of being “in Him” (v9). Smart guys in ties call this union with Christ. When Jesus saves us, we suddenly obtain that He’s done for us that we could never do on our own. We’re suddenly and surprisingly “in Him” (v9). Great Googly Moogly! Think about that for just a second. We go from rebels and terrorists against God’s kingdom (Rom 5:10; Col 1:21) to sitting right next to Jesus in the heavenly throne room (Col 3:1). That’s why they call it AMAZING grace! We didn’t do a dang thing to earn it or deserve God’s goodness. Suddenly, we’re “in Him” (v9). If ever there’s a surprise worthy of OMG, this is it!!!

Paul backs up to describe the tool that didn’t work. He eventually discovered he couldn’t save himself. Being found in Jesus means “not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law” (v9). Better than anyone, the man from Tarsus knew trying to build an impressive religious resume is a total waste of time (Phil 3:4-6). His personal performance is nothing more than a big steaming pile compared to a relationship with Jesus (Phil 3:7-8). I can’t save my self by following the rules. It’s like drowning in the ocean and trying to throw myself a life preserver. I. Can’t. Do. It. 

God didn’t set forth His law as a handy dandy do-it-yourself manual. His law is meant to prove once and for all we CANNOT do it on our own. His law crushes me. His law destroys me. It exposes my inability, my ineptitude, my futility, and my desperation. The law of God isn’t the cure, it’s the diagnostic device. Think of it as a spiritual MRI. A divine CT scan. A supernatural x-ray. It only reveals my disease of sin and disobedience. These awesome machines can’t save you no matter how many times you use them. Lots of us give it the old college try and attempt self-salvation through obedience. Good luck with that. According to Jesus’ kid brother James, violating even the most minuscule of rules means violating all of them (James 2:10)! God graciously gives us His law to diagnose our rebellion. “For by the works of the law no human being will be justified in His sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin” (Rom 3:20). Diagnostic devices don’t heal. That’s not what they’re designed to do. The law is an awesome tool. But we must use it for the right job. Our diagnosis.

The right tool for the job of salvation is the Gospel. The real cure is the Good News. The only therapy that truly works “comes through faith in Christ” (v9). Would you like a phrase to keep in you hip pocket that makes you sound super smart? This is what theologians call imputed or alien righteousness. No, this isn’t something that happens when you’re abducted by extraterrestrials and subjected to some sort of weird experiments aboard their interstellar spaceship. No, this is a close encounter of the Jesus kind. The Son of God came to earth to do for you and me what we could never dream of doing for ourselves. Jesus obeyed all of God’s rules. He never broke the law. No sins of commission. No sins of omission. He lived the perfect life of obedience to God’s law we’ve completely failed to live. He died the brutal death for our sin and disobedience we should have died. He rose to a jaw dropping new life we certainly don’t deserve. He’s the sinless and spotless Lamb of God who makes us perfectly clean (Jn 1:29). 

Just in case you missed the big idea, Paul repeats his point. There’s only one way to get our hands on what Jesus has done for us. It’s “the righteousness from God that depends on faith” (v9). We can’t earn it. We can’t buy it. We can’t pile up enough brownie points. We only receive God’s righteousness by trusting in the life Jesus lived for us. The apostle says putting our faith in our Savior puts an end to the rules. “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes” (Rom 10:4). Paul sums up this idea of Jesus’ substitution on our behalf in one of his letters to the Corinthian church. “For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2Cor 5:21). There are a lot of pronouns there. You can’t tell the players without a scorecard. Read it this way. “For our sake God the Father made His Son Jesus to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Jesus we might become the righteousness of God.” A guy named Luther liked to call this the Great Exchange! Jesus takes our filth and gives us His perfection. As a result of this totally lopsided trade, actually become God’s righteousness. Christ does for us what we can’t. 

So stop trying making your salvation a DIY project. You can’t follow all the rules. You can’t do enough good stuff. Going to church is the wrong tool. Reading your Bible everyday is the wrong tool. Being a great parent and spouse is the wrong tool. Even putting together an impressive religious resume won’t get it done. You don’t paint your house with a hammer. You can’t saw a 2x4 using screwdriver. The law of God is a GREAT tool. It’s just the wrong tool for the project. There’s only one that works. Trusting in Jesus.

The Good News about the Bad News

“I’ve got bad news and I’ve got bad news. What do you want to hear first?” I’ve lost count of the number of times someone has asked me that. I don’t know about you, but I ALWAYS want to hear the good news first. But Nehemiah 8:9-12 reminds me once again that it’s better to break the bad news first. There’s a method to the madness. It’s only when we realize just how bad the bad news that we realize just how good the Good News is. 

As a result, a very strange thing happened one day in Jerusalem. What begins as a funeral turns into a party. Let me explain. God’s Law absolutely crushes God’s people. It exposes their sin. It makes it painfully clear that they can never save themselves through obedience. The bar of perfection and holiness is way too high. The result is death and separation from God. Think of the most painful funeral you’ve ever attended. And then realize that it’s yours! I told you this is bad news. This is exactly where God’s Gospel comes to our rescue. That’s when we realize that God does for us what we could never do for ourselves. He saves us when we could never save ourselves. What was our funeral is now a party! You see, it’s only when we realize just how bad the bad news that we realize just how good the Good News is. 

Let’s crank up the Hot Tub Machine for Jerusalem in Tishri 1, 445 BC. God’s chosen people are steadily coming home to the Promised Land after an extended period of captivity in places like Babylon and Persia. We arrive at a citywide Bible study. People pack the square to hear Ezra read from the first five books of the Bible (Neh 8:1-8). He’s one of the greatest Bible teachers anyone has ever heard (Ez 7:6, 10). The dude reads Scripture for nearly six hours! The huge crowd breaks up into smaller groups to discuss what they’ve heard and what they should do about it. It’s not long before tears begin to flow. 

Nehemiah, Ezra, and the rest of the small group leaders go out of their way to tell the people that this is no time to cry. “And Nehemiah, who was governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, ‘This day is holy to the LORD your God; do not mourn or weep’” (v9). They tell the people today is a day to celebrate God. He’s circled this day on the calendar to party. Twice in those first five books, the LORD tells His people about an annual shindig one the first day of the seventh month called the Feast of Trumpets (Lev 23:23-25; Num 29:1-6). And wouldn’t you know it, that’s today! Not once, not twice, but three times Nehemiah and the other leaders that “this day is holy” and not to mourn, weep, and grieve (v9, 10, 11).

But no matter what they hear from the platform, the huge crowd cries. “For all the people wept as they heard the words of the Law” (v9). Instead of cheers, there are tears. That’s what the Law does. It crushes us. It destroys us. God’s Law sets His holy standard so high that we can never, ever meet it. We would have better odds lacing up our Air Jordans and trying to jump from Earth to the moon. Yeah, good luck with that. Just in case you need a reminder of just how you and I stack up against God’s Law, let’s take a quick look back at some of the lowlights of the Pentateuch. The Creator gives Adam and Eve access to the goodness of the entire garden but tells them to stay away from one tree for their own protection. Ever seen the meme “you had one job”? It started in Eden. Yeah, their disobedience was the epic fail of epic fails. Over in Exodus, God gives Moses His Top Ten. If you fool yourself into believing you’ve nailed those, you need to check Jesus’ little ditty called the Sermon on the Mount. Then there’s that feel good book called Leviticus where God goes into meticulous detail about His sacrificial worship system. Most of us can’t even read through Leviticus much less do what it says. And in case we’re not crushed by now, there’s Deuteronomy. God uses Moses to drop the hammer of His Law one more time to make sure we get it through our thick skulls that obedience is impossible. 

God’s Law causes us to cry because it’s impossible to obey. That’s exactly the point. Think of the law like a medical diagnostic tool. An MRI. A CT scan. An x-ray. If you want to know exactly what’s wrong, you put on one of those breezy medical gowns and get climb inside. Doctors use this amazing technology to figure out what’s going on inside you. God uses the law to reveal the cancer of sin in each one of us. But there’s one problem. As great as these diagnostic marvels are, they can’t heal. No matter how many times we climb into the MRI machine, it can never heal me. It only reveals what’s wrong. God’s Law reveals my sin. The prognosis is terminal. The bad news is bad. REALLY bad.

Nehemiah tells the people that while the prognosis is fatal, there is indeed a miracle cure available to each and everyone there. “Then he said, ‘Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength” (v10). The governor announces that this is no funeral but a party. Stop crying. Start eating. Stop mourning. Start drinking. And make every effort to take the party to those who didn’t have anything to bring. Get your eyes out of the mirror and stop obsessing over your sin. It’s time to get your eyes on the goodness of our gracious God and party! 

With the bad news still ringing in their ears, the people undoubtedly hear the Good News. While God’s Law is the diagnostic tool, God’s Gospel is the therapy. He does for us what we could never dream of doing for ourselves. God sets the impossible standard. He exposes our sin. But He doesn’t leave us there. He meets that impossible standard for us. That’s why the Apostle Paul wrote to his buddies in Rome about how God is both the “just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Rom 3:26). The Son of God came on His amazing rescue mission to do everything we couldn’t. He lived the perfect life that we failed to live. He died the death for our sin that we should have died. He rose to glorious new life that we don’t deserve. In the middle of His incredible Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells the crowd that His mission isn’t to toss God’s standard in the trash but to be obedient to it on our behalf. “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Mt 5:17). We experience the healing of the Gospel when we place our trust in what Jesus has done what we couldn’t do. 

The people of Jerusalem back in 445 BC didn’t know all the specifics about the resurrected Rabbi/Carpenter from Nazareth that we do. That’s why they call it “BC,” as in “Before Christ.” But the Old Testament is full of promises of One who is to come. That promise starts just after the Fall (Gen 3:15) and is a consistent theme throughout. Nehemiah, Ezra, and the Levites explain that Messiah is coming to heal. He’s coming to restore. He’s coming to save. He’s coming to dry their tears. 

The bad news is REALLY bad. But the Good News is SPECTACULARLY good!