Y Not I

I find that I look for two things when I read through Scripture. By putting what I read into the context of these two things I find that it really helps to keep me from getting off base in what I see Scripture saying to me. I think if you evaluate what others might teach against these two things it might help one identify erroneous and dangerous teachings.

The first thing I look for is consistency. Without a consistent flow, G-d loses all sense of security. G-d is described in Scripture as a strong tower (Psalm 61:3). For this to be true, G-d must remain consistent. He cannot change. Here is what I see as a logic statement. Hebrews 13:8 says Yeshua is the same yesterday, today and forever. If Yeshua and the Father are one (John 10:30), then by extension G-d the father is the same yesterday, today and forever. Therefore even Scripture claims this to be the case. The G-d that was with Abraham, Issac and Jacob is the same G-d that is with you and I today. The G-d� claims love for Israel (Deuteronomy 7:6-8) is the same G-d that loves you and I today. The G-d that claims this love to be an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3) is the same G-d that loves Israel today. If this is the case, then anything that maybe taught or interpreted based on Scripture that somehow has G-d doing a 360 seems to me that it would be a teaching that would need to be seriously evaluated and is most likely an erroneous teaching.

There was a post on an excellent Messianic blog that I frequently read, Kineti L’Tziyon about replacement theology and I had this comment that basically said that replacement theology turns G-d into a rather untrustworthy character. And this goes back to my point about consistency. If G-d changes His love, changes His promises, then what are those promises worth to you today. If He told Moses face to face something that for centuries was clearly believed to be meant for the descendants of Abraham, Issac and Jacob and yet He all along meant these things for another, then He was being deceptive. That is not the G-d I have put my trust into, for that is not a strong tower. That is a tower of jello.

It just seems to make sense that if G-d told the children of Israel that keeping the commandments were a good thing to do, and that now He is telling His children that keeping them is somehow wrong, bordering on sin itself, that does not ring with any sort of consistency. And that leads into the second thing I look for when I read through Scripture – where is the conflict.

The big conflict of Scripture is between the ways of man and the ways of G-d. It is the traditions of man vs. the law of G-d. Oftentimes some like to put other conflicts in there and these conflicts don’t really seem to make sense, for they end up pitting G-d and His ways against G-d and His ways. If Yeshua is the Word made flesh and the Word is the Word of G-d and the Torah is the Word of G-d then how can the Word made flesh do away with the actual Word. It is a crazy conflict. When I read through Scriptures that seem at first pass to be saying that the Torah is dead, I take a second look with the though of the conflict between the ways of G-d and the ways of man, and usually it becomes more clear what Scripture is speaking of.

For example, lets take a look at Colossians 2:13-15. Reading through these verses it is easy to read it as meaning through Messiah the Torah and its regulations have been done away with. Not only that, but the NIV says G-d made a “public spectacle” of doing away with the Torah, which makes it sound like His goal here was to humiliate His own Law. That is why I then look back and try to see how it can fit into a conflict between the traditions of man and the ways of G-d. Certainly the principalities and powers that were spoiled in these verses are not of G-d, so they must be of man. So when I read through it with the proper source of conflict in mind, it becomes more what man might have against us, rather than what the Torah holds against us. With man there is nothing but limitations, with G-d all things are possible, including being righteous before G-d. So, what man holds up as impossible and can even make more difficult with his own traditions that he adds onto G-ds way, G-d can with grace provide the power and ability to walk righteously. G-d changes our heart, not excuses lawlessness.

There are many passages, verses, even entire books that through the years have been taught as a conflict between G-d and Himself. I think by reading these passages, verses and books anew, keeping in mind the great conflict of Scripture is between the ways of man and the ways of G-d and not that of Law versus grace. Also by seeing Scripture in this light we see a greater consistency to G-d and thus both things that I look for in Scripture go hand in hand.

May your readings be blessed. B”H.