Day Four: Statute

"The Twelve Days of Christ" series looks at Psalm 119's twelve Hebrew words for God’s Word, and a connection to the church for each one.

"We have no government armed with the power
capable of contending with human passions
unbrideld by morality and religion."
~ John Adams

Day Four: Statute
chuqqah: fem. noun (or choq: masc noun), "regulation, law, ordinance, decree, mandate"
from chaqaq: verb, to cut, to inscribe, to engrave, to decree

You are good, and do good;
Teach me Your statutes.
~ Psalms 119:68 (NKJV)

Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good... I agree with the law that it is good.
~ Romans 7:12,16 (NKJV)

Parents make rules. "You're not allowed to" this and "you must do" that. We issue such decrees having in mind not so much the specifics as a good overall outcome for our children. First problem is, kids listen to the letter of the law and ignore the spirit. No lawyer could ever be as creative in finding a way around the statute as a child is.

Second problem is that you simply can't make enough rules to cover all undesirable behavior. I finally declared the default rule: "If I think you should have known better, you're accountable."

My twisted sense of humor is amused that despite the 613 statutes which the Lord gave Moses, He says in Jeremiah 32:35 of His people's sin: "I did not command them, nor did it come into My mind that they should do this abomination." I cannot help but picture a loving Father clenching His divine jaw in exasperation that His children might think to do the unthinkable.

The above two words for statute (chuqqah and choq) both mean "written in stone." Make no mistake: this is required stuff.

It's required, but we cannot do it.

So Jesus set us free from the requirements of law. He first met the death penalty for our violation, then wrote the upon our hearts the Law of Liberty. While Jews find unity in observing The Law, church unity comes through the Spirit of the law. He does not dictate the outward compliance demanded by the Old Testament, but the higher standard of the New and improved Testatment.

More on that tomorrow.

Father in Heaven, You are good—You are holy!—and desire for us Your best. Please soften our hearts to the statutes You wish to write upon them. Please put in us a yearning for all that is of You and Your goodness. I love You!

#churchunity
Contrasting points-of-view, questions and feedback are invited. Post to BuildingHisBody.com "Comments" or e-mail to BuildingHisBody@gmail.com. Copyright 2009, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
Photo from blog.timesunion.com

Day Two: Judgments

"The Twelve Days of Christ" series looks at Psalm 119's twelve Hebrew words for God’s Word, and a connection to the church for each one.

"Peace is not the absence of war but the presence of justice."
~ Harrison Ford

Day Two: Judgments
(also Edict, Justice, Ordinances)

mishpat : masc. noun, "judgment, verdict, sentence, formal decree"

My soul breaks with longing
For Your judgments at all times...
My flesh trembles for fear of You,
And I am afraid of Your judgments.
~ Psalms 119:20,120 (NKJV)

But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.
~ 1 Corinthians 11:32 (NKJV)

I worked with legal terminology full-time for fourteen years. Wrote tons in it. Still think it. Sub-consciously, I knew half of the twelve Hebrew words for God's word in Psalm 119 are legal terms, but they're too natural to me to make note of them—until I start writing to my non-legal audience of Christians.

We are no longer at war with God. We have been set free from the law by grace, and likely take little note of law as we try to build our lives on God's Word, which is filled with words of justice. Our eyes pass over legal words, thinking them for only the condemned on some future date. But Paul speaks of the works of Christians being put on trial (1 Corinthians 3:13). He also makes the distinction between the condemnation of the damned who remain at war with their Creator, and the judgment Christians face in being chastened.

Way, way back in the Old Testament, God's will was synonymous with His judgment. The commandment "do not murder" was still 2500+ years in the future when God judged Cain for murdering Abel. He judged Sodom perhaps 550 years before the Law of Moses. Human courts throughout the millennia have rendered judgment based on "natural law," or the inherent morality of mankind which understands it is wrong to do things such as murder, rape, and lie.

The author of Psalm 119 expressed childlike contrast between the soul which longs for justice, and the trembling which faces it. In our hearts, we understand without being told that there is right and wrong, there is chastisement outside written rules, and we desire justice.

In being conformed to the image of Christ, His church needs unity. We still need childlike longing for His judgments, and together ask the Lord for what He has decreed as His will. As the church seeks such judgments, rather than judging for ourselves what is God's will, we will indeed find unity in God's perfect will.

Do you disdain judgment? Consider one of the edicts from the God Who does not change:

Turn to me and show favor,
Your edict [mishpat] for those who love Your name.
~ Psalm 119:132 (author)

Lord, all Your judgments are good and righteous and filled with blessing. Please help our hearts to desire what You have judged to be Your will, and to find perfect peace and unity in it.

#powerofwords #churchunity
Contrasting points-of-view, questions and feedback are invited. Post to BuildingHisBody.com "Comments" or e-mail to BuildingHisBody@gmail.com. Copyright 2009, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
Photo from lawrence.sd.us

Competing with God

"The church that is man-managed instead of God-governed is doomed to failure."
~ Samuel Chadwick

Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters... Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand... Make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way.
~ Romans 14:1,4,13 (NIV)

Whatever is not from faith is sin.
~ Romans 14:23 (NKJV)

"The Holy Spirit ... will teach you all things."
~ John 14:26 (NKJV)

Paul moves on from the discussion of submission to authority to address quasi-authority and disputable matters.

Throughout his letters, Paul clearly establishes what constitutes overtly immoral behavior which is dishonoring to the Lord Jesus and inappropriate for those who are His. Galatians 6:1 teaches that if someone is caught in a sin, someone spiritual should restore him gently.

But here in Romans 14, Paul brings up how to handle disputable matters. A believer is not to condemn or judge whomever he or she sees as weaker believers—particularly not over disputable matters which are not immoral.

Although we can offer counsel or help give directions to a person searching for guidance, God is the first Authority. He is able to make His will known to a person through His Word and Holy Spirit—and He is able to make the believer stand. The voice of the Holy Spirit must be the believer's first Teacher and Helper. Each of us must learn to recognize His voice, to distinguish it from the voice of Self or satan, and to live out our actions by faith in God.

If we impose our opinions upon other believers as false quasi-authority, we compete with the voice of the Holy Spirit, and serve as stumbling blocks.

Father, I confess that these words are written by one who has competed with Your voice in times past. Please help all of us in moments of stillness to read Your Word, listen for and recognize Your Spirit's voice, and heed You. Please show us if our counsel competes with Your Counselor.

Contrasting points-of-view, questions and feedback are invited. Post to BuildingHisBody.com "Comments" or e-mail to BuildingHisBody@gmail.com. Copyright 2009, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.