No man has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwells in us, and his love is perfected in us.
1 John 4:12
A mature love in the believer is not in the works but is delivered from the start and endures. Let us not be distracted by badges subject to human measurement.
Do you have a Moses in your community or country? Of course not. Neither do I. We can stop pretending to be Israel because there is only one Israel and one Moses. Law and obedience did not work, and thousands of years of claims of being “in covenant” are false.
A brutal interpretation of the questions on John 7:19-23 might look like this.
John 5:45-47
Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuses you, even Moses, in whom all of you trust. For had all of you believed Moses, all of you would have believed me; for he wrote of me. But if all of you believe not his writings, how shall all of you believe my words?
People whose lives are defined by law and regulations are sure to be tainted with accusations and condemnation. One cannot have fire in one’s bosom and not get burned. So in an attempt to bring their accusation to the proper context Jesus answered and said unto them:
The disease that allows people to dress up everything like ancient Israel is virulent and more pervasive than we imagine. It sets in only when the claims of the gospel are rejected. Which court do we know stands ready to permanently dismiss every case if the accused confess?
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God knows the answer and you who teach others to stop doing whatever the law says we should never do should either say what God says or do what the law requires. Plead guilty.
Now we know that what things whatsoever the law says, it says to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
Romans 3:19
When people get up in church to read, sing, pray, make announcements, or pronounce a benediction try to transform their task into praise leading I wonder how many hallelujahs did they utter in the previous hour or two. I wish they would just get on with their duty.
Is hallelujah in church becoming a convenient fig leaf for a low level praise life? I think so. Church language is often very different from the language of daily life.
Deny that the dead do not praise God and you show whose side you will take when the lying wonders break out. If we take both David and Solomon to the landfill whose legs will we stand on?
I said, “What good is it if I die and go down to the grave? The dead just lie in the dirt. They cannot praise you. They cannot tell anyone how faithful you are.
Psalms 30:9
I can guarantee you that my great, great, grandfather’s loins were rocking with protest against the slavemaster and his assertion of property rights. If you are wondering, I am a descendant of African people, a part of the waves of westward transported labour to America and the Caribbean.
Since the 17th century, European powers (Spain, Portugal, France, England, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany) have been exploiting their own poor and people in far-flung lands with various justifications.
I would have been a runner: running off the slaveowners property to entrust my life to God. They would have had to chain me 24/7 or kill me.
Running is good for the believer.
We live because Christ gave us life
We sing because Christ gave us a song
We conquer because Christ gave us the victory
We should run – live – for life’s sake and remember that our crown does not come from anyone overcoming sin. Even with laws in our hearts and near countless constant recitations of God’s will we come to God with contrition or prove that we are still lost, having no Spirit to help because we did not really believe that God forgives sin all the time and powers our life moment by moment.
If you had the free of charge power of an exorcist you would not leave it at home.
Life is Fun, But Not a Joke 