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  • Writer's pictureBible Brian

You can't abide by laws that don't exist


It always amuses me when people come to my pages only to tell me how much they don't need what I'm preaching, and to, as this particular example says, "move along". The phrase "methinks the lady doth protest too much" springs to mind. But I'm not particularly interested in this man's hypocrisy by coming to my page and demanding I move along. Let's unpack his other statement. "I don't need to profess anyone as Lord to be a moral being." Tell me, what is morality? Let's ask a similar question: What is legality?


It shouldn't need to be said that each region has different laws. When you travel to any foreign country, or even a different state if you are in America, you will inevitably have to conform with completely different laws. In Michigan, for example, recreational use of cannabis is legal, but here in the UK, it is still banned. Now, do I need the government to tell me what I think about weed? No, of course not. Take the government out of the picture, I'll still think it's smelly and horrible, and wouldn't touch the stuff. If I went to Michigan, the chances of me willingly picking up a joint are 0. So I don't need the government for that. But what I do need the government for is to dictate the legality of weed. I cannot say "weed is illegal" unless a specific legislative body exists which has condemned it. If that body does not exist, you cannot call weed (or indeed, anything) illegal. In Michigan, weed is not illegal. In the same way, if that body does exist, and does condemn weed, it is illegal. I can't call weed legal here in the UK.


In the same way, you may not need to believe in Jesus in order to naturally live by His laws. Perhaps you just happen to like those laws. But in order to judge the implications of your actions, you do need Him. Is it immoral to shoot someone in the face? If there is no God, the answer is no. There is no legislative body to say it is immoral. Perhaps you won't shoot someone in the face anyway. Great, that just means you don't have that particular desire or tendency. But what if another person will? Without a legislative body to say this is immoral, you can't say it is immoral. You can only say it isn't how you would do it.


You may not need God to dictate how you feel, but you do need Him to objectively judge the implications of your behaviour. Ultimately, the reason so many of us want the laws, but not the Legislator, is because He does not agree with our laws. The things we want to be "legal", He declares "illegal", and sometimes, even the things He declares "legal", we want to be "illegal". We reject the Legislator because we want to be the legislators. We want to enforce our view of morality on the world. But like any legislative body, God declares that there are severe consequences for such treason. Unlike any legislative body, God actually has unlimited power to enforce those consequences. But beyond all imagination, He also has quite a strong desire to not enforce those consequences.


See, God hates sin (that which breaks His law), but loves sinners. This person, though he is at war with the God he says he doesn't need, not only needs God, but beyond all imagination, is in a position to have that need fulfilled. God doesn't want to punish him. He will if necessary, but He took quite the leap in making it as unnecessary as possible. Specifically, He sent His Son, Jesus, to live a perfect life as a man. Jesus never broke God's laws, and so did not deserve punishment, yet He received capital punishment, being beaten and nailed to a cross to die. As He hung His head, He declared "it is finished", signifying that the wrath of God has been satisfied, and the door is now open for reconciliation. To repent of our sin, confess Jesus as Lord, and believe God raised Him from the dead, is to receive salvation, and be granted eternal life in His Kingdom. Alternatively, the punishment for treason is still available. It's probably a good idea not to receive it willingly.

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