Let’s do a series on God’s Law. . . .Last time we discussed the first use of the Law, the civil use. The second is the theological use, the confrontation with God’s demands that makes us realize our sinfulness and our desperate need for the Gospel.
When we read a book, we might consider how we situate ourselves as readers. That is, in the case of a novel, whom do we identify with? What side of the conflict do we see ourselves on? Who is the good guy, who is the bad guy, and which are we?
In the reading the Bible, we tend to identify with the “good guys” and scorn the villains. We can also situate ourselves as external observers, learning various truths from the text and gleaning useful lessons for our lives. That’s well and good. But to gain the most benefit from God’s Word we might situate ourselves differently. Read the text so that it accuses you. So that you recognize that you are the bad guy. That the judgments against sinners apply to you.
When I read the Old Testament, with its seemingly odd prohibitions and harsh punishments, I see that all of the death penalties recorded in the old and superceded covenant are for things I have committed! I have disobeyed my parents and so, by these standards, deserve to be stoned. I have committed idolatry and so deserve to die the death. I am Abihu, presuming to come into God’s holy presence on my own terms rather than His. I am the wicked Canaanites. I am the rebellious children of Israel. I deserve the death penalty that I will eventually receive.
When I read the New Testament, I do not just learn about Jesus so that I can emulate Him and answer the question “what would Jesus do?” I know I should do that, but in all honesty I find that His is a standard that staggers my best efforts. When I read the Beatitudes, I realize that I am not poor in spirit or pure in heart or a peacemaker and that I am not blessed.
The Bible, read in this way, terrifies me. But then in the Old Testament, my horror gives way to God’s constant and unmerited deliverance of His people, to the bloody charnel house that was the Temple with its sacrifices for sin, to the promises that God will send a Savior who will bear my iniquity and heal me with His stripes. And then in the New Testament, my dismay at Christ’s example gives way to marveling at His work of Redemption and free forgiveness in His Cross and Resurrection. And I realize that He is poor in spirit and pure in heart and a peacemaker and that I am blessed after all in Him.
Sometimes I read the Bible–or hear it preached–in other ways, as information or as a learner, but I am always in need of repentance and of depending on Christ more and more. So I am always in need of the second use of the Law.
(Any other insights or applications regarding the Second Use of the Law?)
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