Following on the heels of yesterday’s post, let’s talk about the consequences of sin for a sec…
In ancient Israel, when a Hebrew sinned, the “natural consequence” of his sin was that he had to pay a penalty according to the Law of Moses.
He might have to pay reparations in the form of money or property…
Or he might have to turn himself over for a period of servitude to the person he had sinned against.
If his sin was really bad he might be excommunicated from the community.
This could be temporary or even permanent.
Now, when a modern Christian theologian speaks of the “natural consequences” of our sin, he’s usually talking about how we break laws in our society.
If we park our car in the wrong spot, we have to pay a fine.
Or if we cheat on our spouse, that will result in divorce.
However, the problem with your modern Christian theologian, a person who likely possesses ZERO understanding of the Torah, is that he commits two errors.
The first error he commits is overlooking the fact that in ancient Israel, both the civil and religious laws were one and the same.
But that’s not the case with modern society.
We’ve got a lot of laws in our society, and I’m sure you’d agree quite a few of them are as far away from Scripture as you can get.
Some of them are even blasphemous from a Biblical perspective.
Like the laws that legitimize homosexual marriage and transgender rights.
So we’ve gotta make a distinction between those laws of society that align with Scripture and those that don’t.
That’s the first error the Christian theologian makes.
The second error your average Christian theologian makes is overlooking the fact that God’s laws do NOT apply to the unsaved.
Remember, God by His Grace, saved Israel from bondage (in Egypt) first, and then afterward gave them His Torah.
The Torah was never meant for the Philistines, the Amorites, the Egyptians, or any other pagan nation.
So for the modern gentile or church theologian to apply some kind of Biblical construct to society’s modern laws is skewed as all hell.
To add to the madness, the gentile church holds to this crazy idea that the law has been done away with or that the Law was only for Israel.
So how can the church judge one for breaking God’s Laws when they hold to a theology that God’s Laws have been done away with in the first place?
It doesn’t make any sense.
Plus, this goes directly against Scripture which says anyone who holds faith in the Jewish Messiah is considered grafted into the commonwealth of Israel and thus subject to the Torah of Israel.
When I say subject to the Torah of Israel, of course, I’m not saying the gentile believer has to take a lamb or goat to an altar to pay for his sins.
No, Yeshua’s sacrifice has already provided atonement for the spiritual and eternal effects of our sins
God FREELY gives us His blessings and peace in exchange for our obedience and trust in Him.
What I’m saying is when we disobey and break God’s commands, it’s a mistake to think there won’t be any consequences because we are now “in Christ”.
God WILL lift His Hand of protection and blessing off of us when we sin.
This means those things we used to be supernaturally protected from will now have the power to hurt us.
These are the so-called “natural consequences” of your sin…
Even if they are of supernatural origin (meaning they resulted because God lifted His hand of protection off of us).
So some folks might use the term “natural consequences” to support their faulty doctrine that God no longer punishes believers.
But if that’s so, then everything that happened to the ancient Israelites for their rebellion was also “natural consequences”?
In that case, the phrase completely loses its meaning.
So here’s the bottom line.
All consequences of sin have always been “natural”.
God’s laws and commands are woven into the very fabric of our universe.
They are just as sturdy and reliable as the law of gravity.
And you wanna know what the ultimate natural consequence of our sin is?
It’s DEATH.
We’re all paying for Adam and Eve’s sin in the Garden of Eden.
Fortunately, through Yeshua’s resurrection, that consequence will also be reversed.
But until Yeshua’s return, we will all eventually pass away.
See you all next time.
NT era, Jesus said:
You have heard it said…
BUT I SAY…
Where was it “heard it said”, and who said it?
Matthew 5:21
Ye have heard that it was said of them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:
Matthew 5:27
Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
Matthew 5:33
Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths:
Matthew 5:38
Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
Matthew 5:43
Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
But Jesus said…
What did he say?
That’s the difference between YOUR Torah, and the instructions of Jesus.
A really good set of questions to set one thinking, Ed.
And seeing that the context is the sermon on the mount, Jesus is talking to the people who followed Him out of town, to hear more of what He had to say.
Many or most of these were people who were unable to read Torah for themselves, and were dependent on the scribes and Pharisees to teach it to them.
When I look at what He said, – “BUT I SAY” – it seems clear that He is in each case raising the bar on the Torah.
In each case, His rule is tougher than Torah.
Which actually makes sense in the light of His two opening shots – in Matthew 5, from V17.
Mat 5:17
I am come to fulfill (not destroy) the law
Mat 5:18
For verily I SAY UNTO YOU, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. (which puts the timing around Revelation 21, or later!)
Mat 5:19
Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 5:20 For I SAY UNTO YOU, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
This seems pretty obvious; keeping Torah BETTER than the experts of Jesus’ day is the MINIMUM standard to enter the Kingdom of heaven.
. . . then He rubs it in with the following set of “BUT I SAY” examples.
Thank you, Ed.
I agree with you
it is common for many to assume that people who do not fall victim to the laws of the state are same as people who serve God well and are enjoying God’s protection.
On the other hand some righteous people are fallen victims of policeand the law etc. and sometimes in prison becomes automatically crushed by society as criminals and as a result families and churches shy away from them.
I have preached this topic many times and not done yet because it is deadly.
Doing the mundane duties of life is good but not good enough to guarantee salvation. You win the best CEO of the year is marvellous, you are the best performing staff in your organization is awesome, you graduated with 1st class is an excellent achievement.
Taking good care of your family, paying the children fees and taking care of your spouse etc make people receive praises. ALL the above are worthy of emulation for the children of God to Promote, but WAIT : Not only On the face value
I simply found out that any nation whose laws are NOT based on the Holy Bible teachings CANNOT SAVE its citizens by simply following their laws. On the other hand, that political leader called president or whatever cannot help you by just being a nice person to his allies and so on with no recourse to the things of God.
Citizens of such nations,including myself have a duty to DELIBERATELY search for our own SALVATION even if it demands breaking the laws of your nation.
It is not simply enough to settle down with good and well- paid salary and attend church services everyday, week etc waiting for retirement and to tell yourself at last, that everything is okay.
Even in some democratically ruled nations where we claim peaceful, there are intense political differences and generate hatred, they skew power and resources to favour a few at the expense of majority so-christians who are silent . Christians in this category who don’t find problem with the situation must begin to reject certain privileges or speak against the disparities and God will bless you
A bit of digressing, but a way to explain where God made Himself clear at the latter part of verse 29 of Leviticus chapter 16. Specifically including the gentiles on the festival of yom kippur.
’29“This shall be a permanent statute for you: in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall humble your souls and not do any work, whether the native, or the alien who sojourns among you; ‘
It was already a signal that foreigners are sorted.
I dare say , it is impossible to understand the New Testament without a proper knowledge of the Old Testament
Now that Yeshua the everlasting High Priest made atonement for us, animal sacrifices are abolished but the seasons are still relevant. Praise God in the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth
Even In the world of business, it is best practice for performing Organizations to take stalk daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, half-year and annually. By so doing you are not taking by surprises some of which are avoidable.
It doesn’t mean we should keep sinning, but who knows what is next
but God is wiser than ALL human wisdom put together
Yom Kippur – Day of Atonement
29“This shall be a permanent statute for you: in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall humble your souls and not do any work, whether the native, or the alien who sojourns among you; 30for it is on this day that atonement shall be made for you to cleanse you; you will be clean from all your sins before the LORD. 31“It is to be a sabbath of solemn rest for you, that you may humble your souls; it is a permanent statute. 32“So the priest who is anointed and ordained to serve as priest in his father’s place shall make atonement: he shall thus put on the linen garments, the holy garments, 33and make atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tent of meeting and for the altar. He shall also make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly. 34“Now you shall have this as a permanent statute, to make atonement for the sons of Israel for all their sins once every year.” And just as the LORD had commanded Moses, so he did.
Happy festival to you all , next year in Jerusalem
Shalom