05-4 Theology of the..

THE TWO-FACED GOD 9
wrath and judgment, and in our despair of self-righteousness to
fashion the honest face of a repentant heart. The law exposes and
condemns our false gods, our self-made plans of well-being, and
our selfish, loveless treatment of God and our neighbor.
But what happens if the law is not at full strength What if it is
mixed with elements of the gospel or simply watered down
What if the word we convey is a “you must,” but we join it to the
message that God is kind and merciful, so an honest sincere
effort will do Sincere, honest effort is something that we can
muster through striving and a commitment to duty. Here a true
encounter with the holy and righteous God is neutralized and
repentance is not produced. The face of God here is a false face—
it reveals neither the God who condemns nor the God who saves
through Christ.
Dead people cannot do anything;
they are out of the running! This
is the curse of the law.
nb
Or consider the more common error of reducing the law to
simply a list of moral dos and don’ts—a plan for how we ought to
behave in daily living. What happens if we present the law only in
terms of the outward dimensions of the Ten Commandments
Do we swear, lie, cheat, or steal Which of us can claim a clean
slate here Nevertheless, we have certainly watered down the law
of love, the law of the Spirit of life. We have reduced it to outward
do-ability. The power is gone.
The law as moral principle may indeed reveal immorality on
our part, but it cannot reveal our true condition of moral bankruptcy
and spiritual deadness. It may confront us with occasional
or frequent “I don’ts” for which we may sense a responsibility to
apologize—as we often do to one another—but mere moral
principle will never bring anyone to the dead-end checkmate of “I
can’t.” There is room to maneuver with mere moral principles of
duty on the legal plane of give-and-take. We know in advance
that a sincere apology must be accepted and we can always renew
our commitment and hope to do better in the future.
Moralizing will never reveal the God who condemns, nor will
it ever produce true repentance. We apologize for the things we
have done, but we repent for the person we have been. Only fullstrength
law destroys the hope of self-righteousness and lays us
open to see the true depths of our spiritual poverty. It is God’s
checkmate that produces repentance and the honest face that recognizes
the need for a gracious God. Anything less turns the good
news into ordinary news or no news at all.
Full-Strength Gospel
Let’s turn our attention now to the ministry of the gospel.
Question: What is the difference between receiving the largest,
most valuable diamond in the world as a free gift and getting it
for a penny If we look at it on the surface, the difference is not
very much at all, just a mere penny. But let’s look at this more
closely. In the first instance we have a gift, and quite a gift at that.
What do we have, however, in the second instance Is it not true
that what we have here is an incredible bargain Notice the big
difference. Great gifts are expressions and signs of great love, if
indeed they are true gifts. The giving of gifts is the way persons,
both human and divine, express their love for one another.
Incredible bargains are different. They are usually expressions of
deception, stupidity, or shrewd business enterprise at work. How
many things do we get in the mail every week that trumpet
incredible bargains and often with the word FREE! scrawled in
big, bold print. But, as it is said, let the buyer beware! We usually
get what we pay for, don’t we Has experience not taught us that
there is a world of difference between a bargain—no matter how
great it may seem—and a true gift. Genuine gifts are expressions
of love; bargains are not.
One of the most common words used to express the gospel in
the New Testament is the word grace. It means gift. Full-strength
gospel proclaims the good news of a priceless gift that the gracious
God who loves us has appropriated and gives to us for the
sake of the saving work of his Son’s death and resurrection. It is
the gift of righteousness, forgiveness, reconciliation. It is the gift
of secured unconditional acceptance now and forever. It is the gift
of freedom, new life, and adoption into the family of God. It is
the gift of well-being now and forever. Pure gospel brings us face
to face with the loving God who, through his Son and with this
grace, brings us back into the most beautiful love-relationship
and matures our faith and love into the full stature of his Son.
But what happens to this precious gift if law is mixed into the
gospel or if it is diluted What if we attach to the gift the requirement
that we love him or our neighbor, even if just a little bit Why,
that’s not asking much for such a priceless treasure as eternal life!
Do you see what has happened The gift has evaporated and we
now have a bargain, perhaps even a good one, but there is no
longer the gift. Moreover, we have turned the face of our gracious,
loving God into a cosmic businessman or huckster who is out marketing
his spiritual wares for a little virtue or affection. Any amount
or aspect of law will neutralize the grace of God and diminish the
power of God unto salvation. Can anyone bargain for your love
God’s love and gifts can never be had for a bargain either.
Let’s look at this also from our standpoint. In our example, the
bargain of a happy forever only requires that you love a little bit.
Will we ever have any assurance of a happy forever How much
does God think is a “little bit” Have we provided enough yet, or
is more needed How will we ever know, until, of course, it is too
late And what about the quality of our love How good does it
have to be Is ours good enough Who knows Even a little bit of
law can rob us of all assurance and confidence that the blessings
of God are truly ours. And if our happy forever is on the line,
what means everything to us finally ends up depending on mere
whistling in the dark. From our perspective, bargains from God
offer no confidence or peace where we need it most: our present
and future well-being.
GROWTH IN CHRIST
When I was a young boy and would drift off aimlessly in the middle
of doing my homework from school or some chore I was
expected to do, my father was usually close at hand and did his