The Law of God Is Good and Wise

I've been reading a book by a non-Lutheran writer, who quoted a non-Lutheran preacher (Levi Lusko):

When God says "don't,"

we should read it as "Don't hurt yourself."

That sounds a lot like a certain Matthias Loy hymn.

Ain't it great?

God's don'ts are not constraints intended to ruin our fun, but are rather protections for us.

Don't hurt yourself.

A President's Character -- 8

Sometimes crime victims can avoid becoming a victim.  Recently a kid was shot in our village.  At first it was frightening to think about random shootings happening right here in my neighborhood.  But it wasn't random.  When somebody decides to rip off somebody else in an illegal drug deal, it's no surprise when bullets fly.  But when honest people are minding their own business, not hurting anybody, and they are shot down, it's worse.

Powerful people have the power to destroy others, to ruin those who have done no harm.  If they lack character, there is no reason to refrain from using their power to hurt the little people.  That is why character matters.

A President's Character -- 7

Schools cannot teach everything that a person will need to know.  That's why it's important that students learn to think and to research and to teach themselves.  They need to be able to function on their own in days to come, in matters that are unforeseen.

Same thing regarding whom to vote for.  No one can foresee what kind of terrorist attacks we may face, what kinds of wars will be waged against us, what kind of health epidemics may arise, what kind of environmental disasters may occur.  We must choose leaders who have the character and integrity and wisdom to surround themselves with wise advisors and to choose a safe direction through the troubles. 

No matter how important the issues are, we don't vote for issues (except on referenda).  We don't vote for a platform.  We vote for a person.  And then we must trust that the person will make the right decisions when faced with currently-unknown situations.    That's why character matters.

A President's Character -- 6

I hate it when people lie to me.  If I catch you in a lie, my respect for you goes down.  If I catch you in several lies, I will be suspicious of everything you say for years and years.

I know that nearly all politicians will fudge the truth, not keep all their promises, and do some outright lying.  But lots of them do stay true to a good chunk of what they espouse.  Somebody who runs on an environmental platform may cast some votes that are not what most environmentalists would prefer.  Some anti-abortion congressmen will cast votes that are not fully consistent with pro-life values.  But overall, you know where they stand.

When a person makes a career out of lies and hypocrisy, you don't have any idea what you're voting for.  That's one of the reasons why character matters.

A President's Character -- 5

Government is not the Church.  Government is not supposed to forgive sinners.  Government isn't even supposed to take care of people.  Government has the job of keeping order.  Government's main job is to punish bad guys so that good guys can go about their lives.  There are other things government does, where we all unite to do things bigger than we can do individually: build roads, operate libraries, have a single monetary system.  But these projects can be accomplished without government.  Maintaining order, on the other hand, requires some sort of authority who can punish.

Thing is, though, government's authority comes from the authority of fathers and the authority of God's word.  Even pagan governments, whether we recognize it or not, are wielding the power of God.  When they work opposite of God's law (when they reward the bad guys and punish the good guys) they are, without realizing it, undermining their own authority.  They're shooting themselves in the foot.


That's why we need leaders --regardless of what religion they are-- who will keep the innocent safe from those who would harm them. 

People who are themselves predators are not likely to do a good job of defending the innocent.  Thus, character matters.

A President's Character -- 4

I am under no illusion that presidents, governors, justices, and representatives have been above reproach.  Hardly! 

But there was a day when the big boss of the political "Machine" in a city had to keep up appearances.  There was a day when the philandering politician had to pretend to be happily married, and keep his mistress a secret.  There was a day when embezzlement and fraud were scandalous, instead of evidence of someone being "an astute businessman."

It is bad, but not uncommon, for a politician to live a sinful life behind closed doors.
It is far worse for a politician to celebrate that he takes advantage of people and to advocate for greed.
And it is worse yet when the voters give thumbs-up to this evil worldview.

A President's Character -- 3

But WHY?  Why is morality necessary for freedom?  Maybe morality is necessary in the people, but not necessarily in the elected representatives.  Why is it necessary in politics? 

In selecting men for office, let principle be your guide. Regard not the particular sect or denomination of the candidate -- look at his character. It is alleged by men of loose principles, or defective views of the subject, that religion and morality are not necessary or important qualifications for political stations. But the scriptures teach a different doctrine. They direct that rulers should be men who rule in the fear of God, men of truth, hating covetousness. It is to the neglect of this rule that we must ascribe the multiplied frauds, breaches of trust, speculations and embezzlements of public property which astonish even ourselves; which tarnish the character of our country and which disgrace our government. When a citizen gives his vote to a man of known immorality, he abuses his civic responsibility; he not only sacrifices his own responsibility; he sacrifices not only his own interest, but that of his neighbor; he betrays the interest of his country. (Noah Webster)

Even if we disagree with Noah Webster's comments on scripture and the fear of God, it still stands to reason that those lacking high moral character will have no qualms about fraud and embezzlement.  Their power can be used for selfish purposes rather than for serving the nation.

If the citizens neglect their Duty and place unprincipled men in office, the government will soon be corrupted; laws will be made, not for the public good so much as for selfish or local purposes; corrupt or incompetent men will be appointed to execute the Laws; the public revenues will be squandered on unworthy men; and the rights of the citizen will be violated or disregarded.  (Noah Webster)

Pork.
Legislating from the bench.
Bribes and extortion.
People punished for refusing to violate their conscience and God's word.

Men are qualified for civil liberty in exact proportion to their disposition to put moral chains upon their appetites; in proportion as their love of justice is above their rapacity; in proportion as their soundness and sobriety of understanding is above their vanity and presumption; in proportion as they are more disposed to listen to the counsel of the wise and good, in preference to the flattery of knaves. Society cannot exist unless a controlling power upon will and appetite be placed somewhere, and the less of it there is within, the more there must be without. It is ordained in the eternal constitution of things, that men of intemperate minds cannot be free. Their passions forge their fetters.  (Edmund Burke)

Something must control the sinful inclinations.  If it's not a person's morality, it must be force and power of government.  But if the people in government are immoral, and if they are aiming for immoral principles, then a society continues to collapse.

Quotes found at the website "Quotes on Liberty and Virtue.

A President's Character -- 2

Freedom cannot long exist without morality.

George Washington: Virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government.

George Washington:  Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports.

George Washington: Human rights can only be assured among a virtuous people.

Benjamin Franklin:  Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom.

Montesquieu (quoted by Thomas Jefferson):  When virtue is banished, ambition invades the minds of those who are disposed to receive it, and avarice possesses the whole community.

Alexander Hamilton: The institution of delegated power implies that there is a portion of virtue and honor among mankind which may be a reasonable foundation of confidence.

James Madison: To suppose that any form of government will secure liberty or happiness without virtue in the people, is a chimerical* idea.

Patrick Henry: Bad men cannot make good citizens.... A vitiated state of morals, a corrupted public conscience, is incompatible with freedom.  No free government, or the blessings of liberty, can be preserved to any people but by a firm adherence to justice, moderation, temperance, frugality, and virtue.

John Adams: Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.  It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.

John Adams: Public virtue cannot exist in a nation without private, and public virtue is the only foundation of republics.

Samuel Johnson: No people can be great who have ceased to be virtuous.

Quotes found at the website "Quotes on Liberty and Virtue."

* chimerical = outlandish

A President's Character -- 1

My friend Cheryl wrote an article and spoke on Issues Etc about character.  The first question Todd asked was, "Why do you reject the idea that character no longer matters in our nation's leaders?"

I was stymied by the question.

I listened to Cheryl's response.  I agree with much of what she said, but somehow I didn't find it to be a fully satisfactory answer.  After pondering through some of my chores and projects today, I still do not have a satisfactory answer, but I'm getting closer.

First, though, it should be jaw-dropping to us that we have come to a place where this question even needs to be asked.  If character doesn't matter, then it's okay to have a scoundrel in charge.  Think of that for a minute:  "Shame on you for questioning whether we should put a scoundrel into office.  Why should you be leery of that?!"  Obviously, throughout history, bad dudes have often led countries.  But that might've been due to a coup or because of a king's divine right.  It's usually not because those who were being governed chose to have scoundrels governing them.  We prefer to have honorable men as our leaders.  Duh!

But if we're going to ask questions where the answer should be so obvious that the question shouldn't need to be answered, ... what is the answer?





Quotes from the founding fathers about morality.
Quotes about corrupt leaders.
Bragging about immorality.
Immorality of leaders undermines their own authority.
Lying.
Voting for a person, not a platform.
A reason to refrain from abusing power.

A Jealous God

Jealousy is bad, right?  It's like envy.  It means you're unhappy that somebody else has something you want, or that you might lose what you have -- whether it's stuff or a position or a relationship.

So when God says, "I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God," we see that as a flaw.

Sometimes people think God has an ego problem:  "Hey, don't worship anybody else.  I'm the Big Cheese here, and I want your praise and your accolades."

Sometimes people think God gets hacked off when we don't honor him as we should.  It must hurt His feelings, they think.  Why can't He get over His pettiness, they think.



If you're a parent, you know the terror-of-heart as your beloved child runs toward the busy street.  Or embarks upon some other stupid stunt that's quite likely to endanger him.  If you're not a parent, you probably remember your own confusion after you did something idiotic as a kid.  "Why are you so mad at me, Mom??!  You're glad I didn't get hurt, but you're mad too."



The Lord is jealous.  And it's not about His ego or His feelings.  It's because what hurts Him most is when we insist on harming ourselves.  He loves.  He cares.  He gives.  And when we run off into the busy street, when we run off into danger, it grieves Him.  Not because it damages Him.  But because it hurts us.  And that is why He is "a jealous God."  It's for our protection, for our benefit.  Not for His.

He is the source of life.  When we leave Him, we turn our back on life, and the only thing left is death.  That's why He's jealous for us: He wants us to have life, and have it abundantly.

Idols Are Bad

There it was again today -- somebody saying that pretty churches and statues are bad.  "You shall make no graven images."  Interesting timing, based on what I heard in chapel this morning.

Our Bible story was Exodus 32, the Israelites worshiping the golden calf.  Pastor was asking the kids questions about idols and false gods.  He explained that an idol shows something about God that isn't true.  In this story, it wasn't a golden calf that brought the Israelites out of Egypt and saved them from Pharaoh's armies.

But that little explanation, just a smidge of what he was telling the children, summed up so much for me.  I remember when my friend, Pastor Wiest, was accused by someone of worshiping idols.  Because he wore a crucifix! The person told Pr Wiest, "You aren't supposed to worship idols."  He responded, "But this isn't an idol.  This is the true God."  (Now, I suppose the person could've responded, "That is NOT the true God."  But obviously Pastor Wiest did not think that little piece of metal, on a chain around his neck, really was, in itself, God.  It was a representation of what God in His gracious love did to save us; it showed something true about God.)

An idol shows something about God that isn't true.  That's why it's bad to use a cross necklace simply as a good-luck charm.  That would also be why icons are idols for those who believe those saints merited God's favor because of their superb level of good works, but icons are not idols for those who see them as pictures of God's mercy to sinners.

Also, it really confuses me why a certain group of Christians call a crucifix an "idol" but are perfectly okay with empty crosses.  Wouldn't a cross be a graven image just as much as a crucifix?  Maybe it boils down to their thinking the crucifix shows something about God that isn't true.

Harry Potter

Is it really that hard to understand that reading a story where the setting includes magic and witches is not the same thing as practicing witchcraft?

Is it really that hard to understand that dressing up as a robot, a crayon, or a dragon, and distributing (or receiving) candy, is not the same thing as Satan worship?

Surely He Won't Go to Hell? (part 1)

"So my friend is gay.  He's a really nice guy, and he goes to church and reads his Bible and everything.  Surely God won't send him to hell just because he's a homosexual?"

Forget the friend for a minute.  What does this question show about the one who's asking?

"Just because" he's a homosexual?  "Just because" she sassed her mom and wouldn't pick up her toys when she was a toddler?  "Just because" they committed acts of aggression against Europe and the whole world, resulting in the death of millions of soldiers, and exterminated six million Jews?

Big sins or little sins ... any sin is still sin.  Any imperfection -- no matter how slight -- is Not Being Perfect.  And God requires complete and total and utter perfection for those entering His heaven. 

Luke 3:20

At the end of the story about John the Baptist preaching repentance, we hear that Herod had been rebuked by John for the shenanigans with Herodias and "for all the evils which Herod had done."  So Herod threw John into prison, adding this evil above all to the other evils he had done.

When you think of all the scandalous things that went on in the palace, all the abuses of authority, those little words "above all" make quite a statement.  Lock up the preacher and refuse to hear him?  Luke seems to think that's worse than the adultery and all the other sins Herod committed?  It's almost like an object lesson in the preeminence of the First Table of the Law.

Christ and the Ten Commandments

Okay, we know that the Ten Commandments show us how we have sinned so that we know we need a Savior. 

We probably also know that the Ten Commandments show us what love looks like.  It shows us what Jesus did, how He lived, and what a holy life looks like. 

But there's also something else the Ten Commandments show us about Jesus.  Not just the good He did.  But also the injustice He suffered. 


"You shall not kill."  We killed Him.

"You shall not commit adultery."  We so often go a-whoring after other gods.  We didn't want our Bridegroom.

"You shall not bear false witness."  People told plenty of lies about Jesus during His earthly ministry.  And during His trial.  And during His crucifixion.  And people are still telling lies about Him today. 

And so on and so forth with the other commandments.   They do indeed show us the good He did.  And they show us the bad we have done to each other.   But the commandments also show us, in the cross, the bad that the Son of God endured from us, for us.

Is Profanity Sinful?

For some unknown reason, out of the blue, one of my co-workers begged me (out of the bosses' earshot) to say a naughty word on Tuesday.  "Please?  I never heard you say anything bad.  Please, just one bad word?" 

"No," I answered, confused.

"Please?  I've been having a really bad day, and that would just cheer up my whole week.  For me?  Please!"

"Why?" 

"I just want to hear you say a naughty word."

I was lost as to where this came from, and so was my partner that day.  We thought our co-worker was being quite silly.  Eventually, she suggested, "Hell?  Could you say 'hell' for me?" 

Now, I don't know about you, but to me, hell is not a swear word.  Think about it: the word is a theological term and is even in the Creed.  Confused that she would ask for that word, I asked, "Hell?"  She giggled maniacally and then asked for "another" swear word. 

When she finally went back to her area, my partner-for-the-day suggested to me, "But 'hell' isn't really a swear word, is it?" 

"No.  It's a place." 

"Yeah, that's kinda what I thought."

So I have been thinking about this interchange.  I knew she would pester again for a swear word.  And sure enough, she has. 



I really don't know what I think about whether profanity is sinful.  I do know that cursing and swearing is sinful: the second commandment tells me that.  But the profanity that is merely "coarse language"?  I've heard discussions about why it is sinful and about why it's not sinful.  I've heard discussions about whether "gee whiz" and "golly" and "darn" are sinful, and other arguments as to why they're not sinful.  And honestly, I just don't care.   Those conversations always seem to end up steeped in legalism or antinomianism.

But here's what I noticed.  My co-worker does think profanity is sinful.  She may think that she doesn't; after all, she is not opposed to cursing, swearing, and profanity coming out of her mouth occasionally.  But there is some drive in her to get me to say something "naughty."  Isn't that a tacit admission that she thinks it would be sinful of me to toss out some of those four-letter words?  And here's what I'm wondering: If even the world, in all her revelry and self-indulgence, considers profanity sinful, would that mean it is?

A Pietist Meets Leviticus

What? A person is unclean because he was working in the field and accidentally touched a dead frog? A person is unclean because of certain bodily functions that are unavoidable? Yesterday's story from Leviticus 4-5 mentions guilt due to hearing someone else utter an oath. Today's story from Leviticus 5-6 mentions sinning when you're unaware of it. And the one that (years ago) really made me mad at God -- a person is unclean because of touching her husband's or child's dead body to prepare the deceased for burial.

How on earth is anybody supposed to remain clean???



Um ... yeah ... exactly the point.



I used to think "being clean" was what was most important to God. I thought what mattered to Him was whether I was a good girl. So it seemed very unfair of Him to set up rules that we just could not obey fully. When we studied Leviticus a few years ago, Pastor repeatedly emphasized two things we learn from the sacrificial system: to point to Christ's sacrifice, and to show the people that they could not obey the law and needed atonement from outside themselves.

So what I used to think was unfair is actually a good thing. It was God's way of showing that we can't do the law, no matter how hard we try, no matter how scrupulous we are. It is impossible for us. There is only One who is clean. Our cleanness is imputed to us because of Christ's blamelessness. The law's demands were never intended to be our checklist, but were given to show us our impotence. And that's good news -- even though it's plenty weird to be rejoicing in our impotence. Because Christ is our strength, our ability, our refuge, our perfection.

"The Gospel gives what the Law demands."

Psalm 119:54

Your statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage.

House? On a pilgrimage? Part of the characteristic of being on a pilgrimage is that you do not have a house.

We so often understand "statutes" as law-codes and rules. If you get a parking ticket, it will say that you broke statute thus-and-such. The crime reports in the paper tell what statute was transgressed when the dude was booked by the police.

But God's thoughts are not our thoughts. If His statutes are the covenant made to Abraham, the promises given to the patriarchs, that's a little bit different than our concept of statute. So we sing His statutes in the "house" that is our church. We sing, "Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night in which He was betrayed, took bread...." We sing, "This is the Word of the Lord." We sing, "O Christ, Thou Lamb of God, that takest away the sin of the world...." We sing, "God spoke to His beloved Son, 'tis time to have compassion..." We sing, "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel for He hath visited and redeemed His people."

His statutes ARE our songs at church (the house of our pilgrimage).

I Keep Your Commandments

All through the Psalter, especially in 119, we pray, "I keep Your word" and "I keep Your commandments." Being creatures with a sinful flesh and thus a works-righteous faith, we see those words and think it's about obeying rules. We like rules. We want God to approve of our efforts to keep His rules. Even when we screw up, we still think that our plan to do better next time will make God happy with us.

"I keep Your word" = "I hang onto Your word."

Whether His word condemns our sin (and we agree with its just judgment) or whether His word forgives the undeserving (and we joyfully agree with its declaration of innocence for the sake of Christ) ... we hang onto it. We cling to it. We don't let go of it.

"I keep Your commandments" is more about what we love, what we believe, and what promises we trust in, than it is about stark obedience to rules.

WWJD?

What would Jesus do?

He would be called an antinomian.

(See Mt 3:2, Mk 2: 16 & 18, Lk 11, Jn 9:16)

Interesting...