Light for the Path

Over the course of the last few days I have embarked upon a journey. Not a journey to reach a destination necessarily, but rather a journey of illumination of the path of a Christian in the peculiar time of earth’s history in which I find myself. This illumination has exposed things of great interest and things of great danger—the two not necessarily divorced one from the other. The closest description I can think of is a minefield in a meadow bursting with a profusion of sensory delights. The best single word I can think of to describe that picture in my mind is “deceptive.”

I grew up in what some might call a sheltered environment—one which I am thankful for in retrospect, even if I didn’t always appreciate it at the time. In his infinite love and grace, the Creator and Saviour of the world placed me in an environment in which his word—the Word of God—was the ultimate authority. I have no great conversion story in which I was rescued from the streets, or pulled from the brink of an abyss of addiction. However, I have been heretofore a recipient of no less a miracle in that the Lord Jesus Christ has redeemed my soul and kept me by his grace. Oh, that is not to say I have not sinned grievously, for that would be a lie and a sin in itself. However, I count myself as another miracle of God’s grace no less than one saved from the lowest estate.

The reason for that is the very character of sin—a word which has almost disappeared from our modern vernacular. We make mistakes, errors, exhibit poor judgment, and a host of other acknowledged shortcomings, but never sin. God, however, has a different dictionary than we do—one that does not change with the passage of time because it is unswerving and unerring Truth. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6), therefore he sets the standard, not us. That standard says that “There is none righteous, no, not one” (Rom 3:10) and consequently “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” (Rom 3:23). In other words, it doesn’t matter how “big” the sin is, sin is a departure from God’s standard.

In the story of the prodigal son the repentant profligate says, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight.” (Luke 15:21) Even though he had squandered the father’s resources and besmirched his reputation, the sin was against heaven—against God. The sin was evident to the father because he knew God’s standard, but the offence was against God, not man. As a result, sin must be judged by God.

This judgment is unavoidable, “for the wages of sin is death” (Rom 6:23) and “the soul that sinneth, it shall die.” (Ezek 18:4, 20) That is not the end however, for “it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” (Heb 9:27) That judgment is meted out by the God against whom all sin is committed. (Rev 20:11-15)

There is, however, a remedy for sin—provided by the same God who judges sin—in the person of his eternal son, Jesus Christ. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) There is no other way, for the rest of the verse quoted previously from John 14:6 states that “no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” Anyone who does not believe in the only begotten son of God “is condemned already.” (John 3:18)

Why is that? How can someone be condemned already just because he or she does not believe in this self-proclaimed son of God? “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” (John 3:19)

So we have come full circle—no one can meet God’s standard, so God had to send a substitute to meet the standard for us. And herein lays the crux of the matter, and my real purpose in writing. If no one can meet God’s standard, why did he give Moses the law and require the Israelites to keep it? If there are none righteous, and only a substitute from God himself would suffice, what was the purpose of the law given in the Old Testament with its multitude of ordinances, sacrifices, and feasts? Furthermore, do they apply to a Christian as well as to the children of Israel to whom they were given?

It is my intention, with the Lord’s help, to write a little on these subjects each day. I do not intend it to be an exhaustive study by any means, but rather an overview of what God’s word says on these very important matters. There are many questions that plague us when it comes to God’s plan and purposes, but that is because we put far too little value on what he HAS revealed to us. The Psalmist declared, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Psalm 119:105) We will never have the peace and contentment that God desires for us until we trust God’s word in all matters, one step at a time.

My opinion is of no value—and neither is anyone else’s. It matters not what any one of us “thinks” about an issue—it only matters what God says about it. For that reason, my hope and prayer is that any who read this delve into the scriptures themselves to discover what God has to say about these things. There are many disagreements among Christians, and they are all because of one simple fact, or rather the antithesis of fact: error. That may seem like a harsh thing to say, but God is not the author of confusion. If two Christians disagree on a matter of scripture, one or the other—or quite possibly both—are in error and not in communion with the Spirit of God on the matter. “For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.” (1 Cor 14:33)

May the Lord help every believer in him, this writer most of all, to put his Word above all else. After all, “the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)