Reinterpreting Our Lives In Lieu of Scripture

Introduction

John Owen once wrote,

300 Quotations for Preachers from the Puritans Complying with God’s Law

The truths of God and the holiness of his precepts must be pleaded and defended, though the world dislike them here and perish hereafter. His law must not be made to lackey after the wills of men, nor be dissolved by vain interpretations because they complain they cannot, indeed because they will not, comply with it. Our Lord Jesus Christ came not to destroy the law and the prophets, but to fulfill them, and to supply men with spiritual strength to fulfill them also. It is evil to break the least commandment; but there is a great aggravation of that evil in them that shall teach men so to do.

John Owen was an incredibly influential leader among the Puritans and within the Reformed tradition. If you know anything about the reformed tradition, it might seem abnormal to read of such words from one who aligns themselves with the tradition that sees the law of Moses in such a negative way. However, if you understand the Puritan tradition, you will get why John Owen’s comments bring such balance to Protestant thinking.

John Owen had a high view of Scripture. Yet, his view of Scripture was due to his personal conviction of the Holy Spirit and personal piety. He was not as some reformers have become—one who neglects personal piety in lieu of the grace that has been afforded by the blood of Jesus Christ (Romans 6, 8). Rather, he concluded that if the Holy Spirit inspired the Scriptures, then one who receives Scripture should be transformed by that same Spirit. Therefore, passages such as Matthew 5:17-20 was welcomed and embraced rather than diminished and overlooked.

Here, I want us to spend a little time on what it is Jesus is actually saying in Matthew 5:17-20. Yet, first, I think we should compare what Jesus said to what His followers said, to understand all of this from a Gentile perspective. Else, some may assume that Jesus’s words are strictly for the Jews of His day and not the Gentiles who would come in future ages.

Paul wrote these words,

Romans 3:31 CSB

31 Do we then nullify the law through faith? Absolutely not! On the contrary, we uphold the law.

Romans 8:3–4 CSB

3 For what the law could not do since it was weakened by the flesh, God did. He condemned sin in the flesh by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh as a sin offering, 4 in order that the law’s requirement would be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Paul obviously had this view that the law would play a role in the life of the believer, who may or may not be a Gentile but is a follower of Jesus Christ. Where does he get this idea from? He gets it from His master Jesus, yes. However, he also gets it from the tradition that is Judaism and the way any Jew would think about reinterpreting one’s life in lieu of Scripture. This same Paul also wrote,

Hebrews 4:12–13 CSB

12 For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 No creature is hidden from him, but all things are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give an account.

Here we find that Jesus, Paul, and any other Jews during the times of the first century had a peculiar view of Scripture which caused them to think about their lives in a unique way. That is, they did not divorce their lives from Scripture. Nor did they divorce their lives from religion. Rather, they saw their lives as being one with their religion and their religion infused by Scripture. Therefore, as I think through Jesus’s words in Matthew 5:17-20, I understand the law to be what is needed to fulfill God’s purpose in the world through the faithful obedience.

Here’s how we should think of it. Wisdom is granted by the revelation of God’s command. We are to live in the wisdom of God, and cannot do so unless we become students of God’s law. The wisdom that comes from God’s law is activated through the work of the Spirit who writes it on our hearts. So, when we say we are throwing away the law, we are essentially saying we are getting away the thing that the Spirit uses to grant us wisdom, which is to be lived out in practical ways.

It is important to understand that the word abolish in the first century was a way of saying disobeying. For, one could not abolish the law by simply “throwing it out.” Rather they would abolish the law by breaking it or disobeying it (Deuteronomy 27:26). Therefore, we must conclude that Jesus’s purpose was not to get rid of the law, but reinterpret it in a way that captures the point while opposing those common and illegitimate interpretations that frustrated individual from living out their religious convictions.

Jesus is not proposing that we get rid of the law. Rather, He suggests that we interpret in ways that aligns with God’s original intentions. And from what we have read of Paul, he agrees.

So then, what are we to do today? How are we to understand the law…or Scripture? How should we be interpreting the Scripture to live as practically and religiously as possible? To answer this question, we must first address the current culture’s regard for religion.

Religion in the 21st Century

One of the tragic assumptions of the current day is the world’s disdain for religion. Individuals tend to think of religion as a bad thing, and it is commonly expressed in negative terms. However, religion is not depicted this way in Scripture. First we should understand what religion is and what makes up what Scripture calls pure religion.

First religion is formerly described as worship. That is religion defines they way I worship. Furthermore, religion is the activity of showing love and devotion to a deity; also involves the necessary knowledge concerning beliefs and practice to be able to participate in worship. James wrote,

James 1:26–27 CSB

26 If anyone thinks he is religious without controlling his tongue, his religion is useless and he deceives himself. 27 Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

In James’ letter to the church he summarized perfect religion as being one that looks after others while being moral. Now, who could argue against a religion who’s aim is this? Yet, this is what many have done, and it indicates the inability for communities to exist as harmoniously as God intends, because there are no “principles” to how we should govern our lives as a believing community.

This is the aim of bible study and scriptural interpretation. The aim is to discover what principles should we live by to govern ourselves in the most Christ-like manner. What are the things we can identify in Scripture that will make us look like the community Jesus built. This is a hard task that will take much study and prayer. However, this is the goal and not merely some head knowledge that will give us a cozy feeling of our soteriological security. No, the aim is to discover how do we exist in this world, together.

Rethinking Community in Lieu of Scripture

I titled this lesson as Rethinking Our Lives in Lieu of Scripture. However, considering what James had to say about religion, it may be more helpful to think through the topic as rethinking our community in lieu of Scripture. That is, how do we live our individual lives with the aim of improving, not our lives, but the overall community.