Who Has the Original Blueprints?

SAMUEL PESTES | Proclamation Contributor | 

Who designed this building, anyway? 

The other day while driving we ventured upon a most unusual house that caused us to stop and gaze at it in amazement. It was a hodge-podge if ever I saw one. There was no specific design to it. It looked like a mixture of unrelated rooms that were patched together by some amateur. Each section was a different color. There was no pattern to the roofline, and the foundation, which was on different levels, was all cracked up. Yet it looked relatively new, as though it was just being worked on. Obviously, whoever was putting it up was doing so without a master plan or blueprint. It was a happening!

That structure reminded me of much in modern Christianity. Why are there so many pieces to it? Why are we so many parts that do not fit together harmoniously? Why does the world see us as a hodge-podge of conflicting and often competing organizations? Can we blame them for turning away? 

Instead of excusing ourselves by creating lame reasons for our dilemma, let us face up to the facts and admit that someone (maybe all of us) have lost the original blueprint. Did God miraculously create this world out of nothing and then turn it over to us humans without any guidelines? What did He want us to do with the foundation He gave us? In short, where are the original blueprints for the building? 

Another question: Suppose we do recognize the original foundation, is it possible for us to build on that foundation, with each one of us using our own design for what we build? That, friends, is exactly what many have been doing! That is why unbelievers are looking at us and saying, “No thanks!” They often equate Christianity with the low moral values and the self-centered lifestyle they see exported for profit. Let’s see what the apostle Paul said on the subject in 1 Corinthians 3:11-15. It’s scary! 

For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is…It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he builds survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss…

Imagine! Paul said that even if it were possible to build on the foundation of Jesus Christ, but use our own ideas (which God considers as nothing but wood, hay or straw, in designing the super structure), such work will be rejected and burned up! It is possible to start building on the foundation of Jesus Christ using our own inferior ideas and ambitions, and then find all our work rejected because we did not carefully follow the instructions that the Master builder gave us in His blueprint. Here are some examples showing how easily we can deviate from God’s plan when we become infatuated with our own grandiose ideas for building God’s kingdom.

Imagine! Paul said that even if it were possible to build on the foundation of Jesus Christ, but use our own ideas (which God considers as nothing but wood, hay or straw, in designing the super structure), such work will be rejected and burned up!

I make a distinction between the term “Christianity” as it is used today, and the original “Christ-centered faith” that was the foundation of the saints from the beginning of time. Many people do not know what “Christianity” means today. Most people think of Christianity as a religion which may include a variety of conflicting flavors poured into the same bottle like the Heinz variety of ketchup.

One of the hottest topics dividing Evangelicals today is, what role should Old Covenant laws play in the Christian faith? The church has come full circle to where the believers in Galatia were in the days of Paul. Was there a place for Old Covenant laws in the Christ-centered faith? In shock and amazement Paul wrote to them,

You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? Galatians 3:1-3. 

Paul’s question was: after beginning entirely by faith, are you now trying to maintain your standing with God by trying to observe the law? Does God release you from the law only until you are saved and then send you back to the same law to prove yourself? That is witchcraft, Paul said. Just as God can save you by faith in Christ alone, so, by His Spirit, He can keep you by faith alone. You do not have to revert to the law to prove anything! Then in Romans 3:31 Paul seems to reverse himself: 

Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law. 

Confusing? To the man without God’s original blueprint as a guide, this apparent contradiction makes no sense! Then, to illuminate those born of the Spirit, in a statement that further confuses the carnal mind, Paul said this regarding the 10 commandments: 

Now, if the ministration of death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory… will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious?…But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read… Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. 2 Corinthians 3:7,14,15. 

Here again, the law on stone and the Old Covenant seem to find no place in the gospel commands of Paul. He indicates that people whose main focus is to try to prove their loyalty to God by observing the law on stone do so because they are blinded by a veil that is pulled over their heads. How do we put this together with the next statement by the same writer? 

So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, and righteous and good (Rom. 7:12). 

Compare this with what he wrote in Romans 3:20: 

Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law.

If a person is not made righteous by observing the law, nor does he maintain his right standing with God by observing the law, what place does it have in the life of the Christian? The problem is that some have not recognized the original blueprint that God gave us. Many have never seen God’s original blueprint. They cannot even tell you whether or not the 10 commandments, which were the essence of the Sinai Covenant, were carried over into the post-cross era to become part of the New Covenant of faith or not. Most would guess that they were, with a few exceptions, of course. The main exception being the 4th commandment which required Israel to observe Saturday as the holy day of rest. When some are asked who gave them the right to dissect the decalogue, they merely shrug and go on to the next topic. We’ve got to be able to do better than that if we wish to reach the world. 

To clarify, let us see what Paul meant by the term “law”. The Greek word for “law” is nomos. It is a general term that may refer to a law, ordinance, custom or a tradition. It does not refer to the 10 commandments per se! It may include the Sinai law but is not limited to that law. Nomos generally refers to the whole Torah which in turn includes all the Jewish religious customs and laws. Nomos does not distinguish between the 10 commandments and the other Torah laws. When Paul wrote that “we uphold the law,” he was saying that the law was not a mistake, but that it had served its God-ordained purpose in pointing Israel to the coming Redeemer. Having done its work, Israel was released from its tyranny (Acts 15:10; Rom. 7:6; 10:4; Gal. 3:24, 25) and was freed to live by faith as did Abraham before them. In that sense the Nomos (Law) was holy and just and good. 

Are You Playing With Lego Toys?

The confusion arises when people take their favorite sections of the Bible out of context and use them like children playing with Lego toys. Out of the same pieces one makes a car, another makes a boat while another will create a house. It is not enough merely to keep texts in context within their own epistle. For example: The letter Paul wrote to the Romans was not intended to cover the entire gospel message. It was written to address some particular problems that existed among the believers in Rome. The letter to the Galatians was not written to reveal the whole gospel either, but to deal with a particular problem facing the church in Galatia, and so on with the other letters Paul wrote. 

Even Paul’s letters in their entirety were not meant to be studied apart from the gospels by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

Even Paul’s letters in their entirety were not meant to be studied apart from the gospels by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. And even those must be seen against the Christ-centered background that God had given to Adam and later revealed to Abraham. On the cross, Christ confirmed the covenant of Righteousness by Faith that He and the Father had jointly given to Abraham (See Genesis 15:17 and Hebrews 9:16,17). Unless we can stand back and get an overall view of the plan of redemption from the beginning of time, we will miss seeing the forest for the trees. This error has often fragmented the church. 

Jesus Christ and the writers of the New Testament all based their teachings on the foundation of righteousness by faith that He and the Father had revealed to Abraham in Genesis 15:6. Christ expanded its borders to cover man’s whole relationship with his Creator. The New Testament writers showed how that faith could conquer the futile religions based on righteousness by works to which Judaism had also fallen victim. That is the reason Jesus was crucified by the Romans at the insistence of the established “church”. As one prominent Christian theologian told me recently, “We will have to fight the same battles over legalism that Paul had to fight.” 

Another clue to understanding the Bible is to remember what Peter said in 2 Peter 1:20. 

Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

This text warns us not to depend only on our reasoning powers to figure out what the Bible means. We must let the Bible be its own interpreter lest we split the body of Christ into hundreds of fragments. Peter himself faced this challenge. In 2 Peter 1:15, 16 he wrote:

Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.

For the final authority in understanding statements that on the surface appear contradictory, we should find what Jesus said about the same subject. Rather than argue over what Paul might have meant, let us see what his Tutor said. Take Romans 3:31 for example. After telling us very explicitly that the Old Covenant law has no place in our salvation, he appears to throttle down his own argument with the statement: 

Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law. 

Does its fulfillment destroy, or validate a prophecy?

It is almost amusing to see how writers go through all manner of mental contortions trying to harmonize this with his main theme of Righteousness by Faith, which is not of works, lest any man should boast. Why should we struggle to understand what Paul meant, when Jesus explains this perfectly? Facing a similar challenge from the Pharisees who also accused Jesus of destroying the laws of Judaism, He replied this way: 

Do not think that I have come to do away with or undo the Law and the prophets; I have come not to away with or undo, but to complete and fulfill them. For truly, I tell you, until the sky and earth pass away and perish not one smallest letter nor one smallest hook [identifying certain Hebrew letters] will pass from the Law until all things [it foreshadowed] have been accomplished (Matt. 5:17,18 , Amp).

What was the main goal or objective of the Law and the prophets? Let us read Jesus’ own words again.

…And these [very Scriptures] testify about Me! John 5:39 (Amp).

It is clear that the goal and purpose of the Law and the prophets was to prepare Israel to receive Jesus the Messiah. Paul verifies this in Romans 3:21.

But now a righteousness from God, apart from the law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 

If the purpose of the Law was to help prepare a people to receive Christ as redeemer, then its purpose was accomplished when the Redeemer came. Its job was done, or fulfilled, to use Jesus’ own words. The Law was not destroyed! It had simply run its course and ceased to have any further function. Would you say that when a prophecy comes to pass it is destroyed? Absolutely Not! It is fulfilled! The Law was not a mistake. It was holy and just and good, and it completed the purpose for which it was designed. It was a schoolmaster pointing Israel to the coming Messiah (Gal. 3:24).

Looking at Paul’s statement in Romans 3:31 in the light of Jesus’ words, we find that there is no contradiction in what Paul was saying. He was simply saying that the Law was, and remains, proof that Jesus Christ was the true Messiah. The Law was designed to show Israel that they could not win God’s favor by ceremonies or by rule keeping, but that they needed a Redeemer from beyond themselves. The Law and the prophets identified Jesus as the fulfillment of that hope. They were fulfilled in Him!

Conversely, Jesus’ life and ministry validate and authenticate the Law that foretold His coming. That proof will remain for all time. Today the Law stands validated, not because we are still under its authority, but because it verified our Foundation, who is Jesus Christ. Because He remains, the testimony of the Law stands. For example, when the ancient Roman Empire had run its God assigned course, it’s purpose was fulfilled. Its contribution to history remains to this day, but we are not subject to its authority because after it’s purpose was fulfilled, it was replaced. 

In the Scriptures the words “Law” and “covenant” are often used synonymously.

For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. By calling this covenant “new”, he has made the first one obsolete: and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear (Heb. 8:7,13). 

Having fulfilled the Law, Christ replaced it with grace. Grace succeeded Law. To find our way out of the religious wilderness, which is the product of human reasoning, we must start at the beginning by asking ourselves some questions. How can we expect the heathen to take us seriously so long as our own house is divided over the central theme of the gospel?

• Who gave Abraham the Covenant of Righteousness by Faith?
• Who was the mediator of the Abrahamic Covenant? 
• Who gave Moses the Sinaitic Covenant?
• Who was the mediator of the Sinaitic Covenant—Christ or Moses? 
• What was the relationship between the Sinai Covenant and the 10 commandments?
• What time span was allotted by God to each of those covenants? 
• How can these themes impact my personal relationship to Jesus? †

—Republished from Proclamation!, September/October, 2002.