This is the third post of six in a series I've labeled "Your Bible is Wrong" as I seek to examine the way that we so often miss the point when examining the Bible. Last time, I hit what will become a refrain, establishing that the Bible is not about you, but rather is the meta-narrative about a God who is in the business of restoring and reconciling his whole creation.
When people approach the Bible as a rulebook, I think they generally do it in one of two ways.
1. The Bible is an outdated, boring list of commands that are at best antiquated and at worst morally disturbing.
2. The teachings of Jesus are wonderful and worth living out. They are the core message of the Bible.
In response to approach number one, I'll be honest, there's portions of the Bible I find . . . boring. And that's not purely because I'm a product of the MTV generation with a 90 second atention span, some parts are just s - l - o - w and seemingly unimportant.
However, our cultural barrier holds us back here and right perspective shows that a set of laws about harvesting wheat (Leviticus 19:9-10) is actually a revelation of God's heart for justice towards the poor and immigrant. Or the fact that an eleven chapter section on how to build a tent properly (Exodus 25-30, 36-40) is actually a detailed, microcosmic glimpse into God's holiness and glory and the precision He deserves. I could go on and on with these examples.
For approach number two, there's need for two clarifications.
First, please don't claim appreciation for Jesus' moral teaching if you aren't prepared to also crown him Lord and King. Jesus claimed to be far more than an ethicist, he claimed to be God incarnate, Messiah, and Savior of the World, so if we reject that claim, then he was a liar and massive fraud. Liars make bad ethicists.
If Jesus genuinely believed he was God, Messiah, and Savior, but wasn't, then he was insane. And while insanity might lead to philosophical fame (See: Nietzsche), it doesn't bode well for trustworthiness in morality (See: Nietzsche).
Finally, some may contend, that Jesus never existed or that his followers simply inflated his reputation and memory, but most likely if you take that position you didn't read this far (yet if you'd like to know my response to that, that's a much longer post for another time).
C.S. Lewis, put it better than I can: "You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to."
Wow, that was a long aside.
A second clarification for those who may claim Jesus as an inspiring, moral teacher. Have you read the commands he gave? You don't have to get too far into Matthew 5 before you should start to lose hope that you'll ever be the slightest bit up to snuff. Inspiration will be replaced by despair in no time.
Have you ever insulted someone? That's equated with murder.
Have you ever engaged a lustful thought? That's equated with adultery.
And the kicker, verse 48: "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."
Those three lines leave you without any hope whatsoever of passing the Jesus Moral Sufficiency Exam.
Which ultimately brings me to my main point, the Bible has rules, but is not a rulebook.
It's a book where each and every rule is a flashing, illuminated signpost to the fact that humanity has not and cannot acheive morality on our own.
We have utterly failed.
Any that's why the Bible is the story of a God who is committed to redeeming and restoring His creation.
We can't follow the rules. You can't. I can't. You haven't. I haven't.
But, He entered this world and fully kept every last provision of the Law, and in doing so, He opened the door for rebels, like me, to enter in by His completed obedience.
God, from Genesis to Revelation, is laying out exactly how He has, He is, and He will bring right relationship back into order. This is good news.
It's not about you. It's not about rules. It's about Him.
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