Gott, die Bibel und politische Justiz: Part 2, Einführung
Moses and The Law-Prescriptive
The Template for a Nation
Gott legt seine biblischen Offenbarung von sich selbst auf einer Zeitachse, beginnend mit der Schöpfung, Mann ist in die globale Gewalt anständige, die Flut, Mann ist anständig in die Gewalt wieder und schließlich Abraham und Gottes Strategie, mit einer Nation an sein Herz und Strategie für alle Nationen offenbaren. Durch Abraham und seine Nachkommen Gott wird "das Gesetz,"Sein Denken auf allen Lebens-und" seinen Sohn,” His solution for redemption of all creation. Das Gesetz wird "segnen" diejenigen, die von ihr leben, setting them free from tyranny, and the Messiah will bring release from “slavery to sin.”
All of Scripture refers back to and build on the Laws of Moses, der Pentateuch. In Matthäus, Jesus makes it clear that The Law and the Prophets build the foundation for His message and His actions:
17″Denke nicht, dass ich gekommen bin, das Gesetz oder die Propheten aufzulösen; Ich bin nicht gekommen, um aufzuheben, sondern um zu erfüllen. 18Ich sage euch die Wahrheit, Bis Himmel und Erde vergehen, nicht der kleinste Buchstabe, nicht zuletzt einem Federstrich, wird mit allen Mitteln aus dem Gesetz verschwinden, bis es alles geschieht. 19Wer eines der geringsten Gebote bricht und lehrt andere, dasselbe zu tun, wird der Kleinste heißen im Himmelreich, wer es aber tut und lehrt diese Befehle wird groß heißen im Himmelreich. 20Denn ich sage euch: Wenn eure Gerechtigkeit, dass übertrifft die der Pharisäer und die Lehrer des Gesetzes, Sie wird sicherlich nicht in das Reich des Himmels.
If our thinking does not build on the values of the Law then we cannot understand where Jesus is taking us with His message. Er ist nicht so dass uns eine sympathische, spineless, Wohlfühlen Brühe. He is actually raising the requirements of the Law to righteousness beyond what Moses could have comprehended. Wir wissen nicht interpretieren das Alte Testament mit dem Neuen, noch das Neue mit dem Alten, sondern sehen sie als eine 4000 Jahre Linie der Gedanke, dass Gott baut. It is a continuum of ideas that begin in Genesis and build towards His ultimate return and what we are to do in the mean time.
It is impossible to define “justice or mercy” without the Old Testament definition of “justice and mercy.” It is impossible to define “political justice” without God’s definition in the Old Testament. Diese Begriffe bedeuten nicht, was wir ihnen zu, weil unsere Geschenke oder Persönlichkeit bedeuten wollen, Kultur oder mal. Sie bedeuten, etwas ganz Bestimmtes zu Gott und nur er hat das Recht, sie für uns zu definieren. If we seek to be God’s ambassadors them we must represent His policies not the current policies of the world or even in some cases the thinking of Christians in our age.
The Law Prescriptive/The Law Historical
The Law is an all-inclusive phrase for both the prescriptive Laws, wie die Zehn Gebote, and the Law applied in the history of Israel. Remember the “knowing” in the Hebrew concept was being able to do as well as repeat. So the test of Israel’s understanding of the Law is in their application of the Law to the times they live in. God corrects them as they take action and reveal their understanding of what they think He has said. So the historical books from Joshua through Ester are as important to our understanding of the five books of Moses as the five books are.
Das Gesetz wird in zwei Formen gegeben, the prescriptive and the historical. The prescriptive gives us the dos and don’ts while the historical gives us the application of the Law in Jewish history and the fruit of their interpretation of the Law gives us an understanding of whether they understand God’s thinking by producing “good” or “bad” consequences. The Law includes what God said in the first place, what the Jews did and what God had to say about what they did. God clarifies the “meaning” of the Law through the history of its application, first by the Jews and later by the Gentile nations. And so we are still today proving by our choices the consequences of applying or not applying the values of God in our communities.
The Prophets are sent by God to tell the Jews why they are going though the circumstances they are experiencing as a nation. Referring back to the Law of Moses, the Prophets point out what the Jews have done, how it compares to what God said and why they are or will experience the consequences of those choices. The Prophets point out what they must do, based on the Law, if they want to stop or reverse the consequences of those choices and return to a state of God’s blessing.
The Messiah comes saying that He has come to build on the Law and the Prophets not to eliminate them. He has come to reveal and secure “righteousness” for us, which the Law was never going to be able to produce. Because no matter how much we obey the Law, sin continues to disqualify us from the Kingdom, even while blessing us on earth.
For our purposes in this book we will look at the prescriptive and historical separately to try to draw out what is being emphasized in each. But for the development of our thinking we must see them as integrated. So in effect we “dissect” to analyze but must put them back together to find application. Beispielsweise, the prescriptive law says adultery is to be punishable by death. But historically this death penalty is not applied to David when he commits adultery with Bathsheba. Warum? Did they just not apply the Law? Oder, was there more to “the Law” than just prohibition? Was the right of the people to ratify or change civil law part of the values “the Law” secured?
If we divide the prescriptive Law out from the historical and then divide that by the values it upholds, you will isolate five values God is reinforcing in and through all domains and all of life:
- Life is sacred
- The material world is real and good and essential for all of life
- Words have power and we are accountable for them
- Everything needs and is redeemable
- Any thinking that takes us away from God’s values will begin to destroy (nicht segnen) uns.
The prescriptive and historical law establishes four institutions given by God with definition of purpose, authority and boundaries to that authority:
- The individual
- The family
- Civil governance
- The institutional Church
Jede dieser "Institutionen" ist eine Art von Autorität gegeben, not all authority, boarders, Rechte, freedoms and responsibilities. They lay the foundation for the values base on civil law. These values do not perfect human beings or society but, auf das Niveau sie niedergelassen sind, und verstärkt, they will create and sustain a more blessed society. These values and institutions when applied reveal God to the human community. They work with the cross to reveal Christ the King but they do not substitute for forgiveness and salvation through Jesus. They reveal the Kingdom that is coming but they cannot perfect that Kingdom on earth. Established and used properly these values produce a higher quality of life in all areas of life but they will not finally perfect man or creation.
In his series on the American Constitution, Fred Friendly of Columbia University and former President of CBS News called these (to be looked up)...
We now have four assumptions on which God builds all His thinking. Five values that are essential to uphold if these assumptions are true, and four institutional authorities that God gives us in order to preserve and perpetuate these Truths and values for the purpose of blessing.
Diese biblische Realitäten Einrichtung eines "Spannung" der Freiheit, rights and responsibilities that must be maintained in order to build healthy individuals, families and communities. They cannot be “balanced” they must be mutually maintained. If we error in one direction or the other we distort God’s plan. God has made the individual free and sovereign. Aber, Da dies von jedem einzelnen wahr, there are limits to the freedom of any single individual. In order for every individual to be free there have to be limits to all of our freedoms. Who has the right and responsibility to create and sustain those boundaries? God has created the family as the authority for and over children. The authority of parents is loving their children. If they are trying to murder their children they are in violation of the sacredness and rights of the individual child’s life. I have the freedom to believe what I live. Do I have the freedom to practice that freedom anywhere anytime or any place? If I believe in human sacrifice for my blessing do I have a right to do it? Or is this an abuse of the sacrifice’s rights? Do we have rights as communities? If most of us agree that murder should be illegal, do we have the right to make it illegal? Are there boarders to the rights of the community? How do we secure minorities rights to action, Kindererziehung und den Glauben nicht zerstören, während die Rechte der Gemeinden?
In all diesen Dingen sind wir die Fragen:
- Wer hat das Recht, die viele Regierungen?
- Woher bekommen sie diese Autorität?
- Was ist der Weg, dass Behörde ausgeführt werden soll?
- Was bedeutet, dass Auftraggeber die Rechte über?
- Wo sind die Grenzen dieser Behörde?
Jedes System des Regierens hat Antworten auf diese Fragen, or is working on them. But are they Biblical answers? We can know what God says about each question. We can know, jederzeit, where our nations laws and system of governance are blessed or in danger. This is the Biblical Template, but we must be willing to exchange the thinking of the world even when it has been called “Christian” and replace it with God’s thinking, auch wenn dass heißt "weltlich."
