Liberation -vrs- Limitation
I’m currently in the middle of a sermon series that I’ve never preached before: A series on the 10 commandments.
It’s actually kind of odd that, in over 8 years of regular preaching, I’ve never worked a congregation through “the big 10.” Odd, but understandable. Why? Because even though the RCA’s position on the Decalogue decidedly emphasizes the “3rd use of the law” (that it teaches us how to live in gratitude for the grace God has already extended toward us), many of us still see the commandments as inherently limiting. In other words, we look at the laws as primarily about telling us what not to do.
I’m no exception to this general approach. To read the 10 (or for that matter, any of the other Old Testament laws) as limiting is easy and requires little thought or finesse. The problem with that is that one of the fundamental rules of biblical interpretation is to ensure consistency between our interpretation and those provided throughout the corpus of the scriptures. (We don’t get to interpret the scriptures differently than the scriptures interpret themselves.) Looking at Jesus, we learn that he did not generally view the 10 commandments a limiting (indeed, if that were the case, he would have been regularly guilty of breaking the sabbath commandment!)
What’s the solution? Recognize the commandments as liberating rather than limiting.
It takes a little more thought, since most Christians (or Jews or Muslims, for that matter) aren’t brought up that way, but it is dramatically more helpful!
Think about it for a while. How does it free us to believe in a single God? How does the Sabbath commandment free us? What social and relational liberation is found in the commandments regarding murder or coveting?
The Psalmists often profess a love for God’s commandments, and I’ve never understood it. I think I’m finally starting to get it.
Grace and Peace,
`tim
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