Deuteronomy 6:6-25 (5/23/11)
OK, let’s have a show of hands. All those of you who have broken the Law of Gravity – not just defied it by jumping off a building, or exploited it in a plane, but actually broken it – raise your hands. Anybody? You, there in the back? No?
Why haven’t any of us broken the Law of Gravity? Because it’s written into the mass of the universe and cannot, so far as we know, be broken. Those who defy gravity have life expectancies inversely proportional to the height from which they express their defiance, which is why we teach our children not to jump off the roof.
In a similar way, God’s specific Law for us is written into the universe, and it can’t be broken. You are free to defy it, although I recommend strongly against that, as Moses did. God teaches us his Law and writes it into our hearts for exactly the same reason we teach our kids not to jump off roofs: for our own good, to keep us alive.
Psalms 37:23-31 (5/24/11)
The psalmist tells us, among other things, that the children of the wicked are cut off. I tried to find some life-expectancy data on criminals in general, without any luck (much to my surprise). There seems to be considerable agreement, however, that gang members in the United States have life expectancies of about 20 years; as a risk analyst I can tell you that this must be reducing the life-expectancy of U.S. criminals in general by a substantial amount. It appears that the psalmist is correct.
The question is, if the Law of God is written in our hearts, how do we become wicked? Apparently illiteracy is an even bigger problem than we think. What are we doing about it?
Proverbs 3:1-12, 7:1-3 (5/25/11)
God writes his commandments on our hearts, but we are also urged to write his commandments on our own hearts as well. How should we do that?
- Keep your Bible where you can find it, and read it regularly. (Proverbs 3:3-4, 7:1-3)
- Pray about the scripture, and study it with others. (Proverbs 3:5-6)
- Put the principles and commandments of scripture into practice in your life. (Proverbs 3:1-2, 7:1-3)
- Memorize critical scripture verses: “write them on the tablet of your heart.”
Jeremiah 31:31-34 (5/26/11)
Some of our fellow readers are teachers who are retiring in the next few days or weeks. They are looking forward to not having to teach. I’ve been teaching Biblical content for about 30 years, and, while I’m not ready to retire from that, I have been trying for all those years to work myself out of a job.
God is also looking forward to the day when we are all so intimately familiar with his covenant, with his Law, and indeed with God himself, that no one has to teach anyone else.
Romans 2:12-15 (5/27/11)
Paul, who had rabbinical training, says that God’s Law is written not only in the hearts of the Jews, to whom the written Law was given, but also in the hearts of the Gentiles. Therefore, ignorance of the Law is not an acceptable excuse for bad behavior, because no one can claim to be completely ignorant.
More on The Law and Sin
The Law: Given by God
The Law: Civil and Criminal
The Law: Ethics, Morality, and Love
The Law: Written in Our Hearts
Sin: Breaking of the Law
Sin: Apostasy
Sin: Separation and Estrangement
Sin: Unfaithfulness to God is Adultery
The Doctrine of Original Sin
Dead in Sin
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