I have been reading and listening to a Christian author by the name of Skip Moen. PhD from Oxford, self-made millionaire who lost everything (material) in the blink of an eye, who seems to be committed to discovery of the meaning of scripture from the Hebrew perspective and world-view. I hadn't given it much thought before, but doesn't it make perfect sense? God chose the descendents of Abraham, molded them into a nation and used them throughout history to carry out His plan of restoration. They are still his chosen people and we Gentiles, by God's grace, are fortunate to have been grafted into that people. I have often wondered why we pay so little attention to our Hebrew roots when we are adopted into that nation. Dr. Moen's work is beginning to shed some light on that question and many others.
In a nutshell, Moen contends that post-modern Christians, influenced by the invasion of a Greek-based world view and perspective, behave as though the Torah, God's instruction book for life, only applies to the Jewish people, not to Christians. Jesus, Himself said that He did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. He and, with very few exceptions, the writers of scripture (old and new testament)were Torah observant Jews. Why, all of a sudden, does it not apply to us anymore when the One we want to be like, followed the Torah in obedience to the Father? Did God change? It really has nothing to do with salvation and never did. Salvation comes from Grace and Grace alone through our faith in the One who died in our places. So Grace determines my salvation but grateful obedience determines my usefulness to God in accomplishing His purposes.
It occurred to me that accepting God's grace and then ignoring His intructions about how to live would be like the man who, through unrighteous and foolish living, found himself completely destitute and owing $1,000,000. Then one day, he meets a man who shows compassion on him by paying 100% of his debt. In the process, it cost the second man everything he had. The two met afterward and the compassionate man outlined detailed instructions for living a financially wise life from this point forward. He even wrote them down for the first man to take with him. The man whose debt was paid listened to every word, nodding in agreement, then turned around, walked away and completely ignored the advice. Within a short time, the man was back in debt, wondering how it could have happened to him again.
I wonder what would have happened if he had followed the advice out of gratitude for what was done on his behalf. Do you think things might have turned out differently?
I wonder if we Christians should re-visit the instructions that our Savior left for us?
