Pastor's blog

There is a law in one county in West Virginia that says no pastor may tell jokes or humorous stories from the pulpit. I'd be in trouble there. It's entertaining to imagine what scenario led to that law. It's more entertaining still to imagine a court room scene where a pastor stands before a judge accused of violating that law. What's a judge to do?

Well, if the judge is "righteous" he will uphold the law. I know that sounds odd, but that's what righteous means. In the courtroom, what's right is the law. A judge is righteous when he or she remains to committed to it and upholds it. Too bad for the pastor.

This image is often used when we talk about God as righteous. In other words, God is a judge who is committed to upholding the law (as in the 10 Commandments). As the story goes from there, we are people who have not followed the law. Since God is righteous and must uphold the law, we must be punished. In our place, though, stands Jesus. God punishes him in our place so that we can receive mercy. This is what we've always been taught. This has often been quite confusing to people inside and outside of church.

This version of the story seems to say that God's righteousness prevents God from being merciful; as if their at odds with one another. In this version of the story, God can't shower us with mercy until his righteousness has been taken care of. It doesn't make much sense to many people. Maybe this version of the story is confusing for a reason. Let's imagine that God is righteous, that God is committed to what is right. But let's also imagine that what God is committed to is something other than the law. Like what?

Throughout the Bible, God has made promises. Promises to Noah. Promises to Abraham. Promises to Moses. Promises to David. Promises to all of God's people. They are promises to save from sin and deliver from death. Throughout history God has done things to keep those promises. The Bible actually calls them "righteousness-es." In other words, God does things to show that he is committed to what he has promised.

Giving Moses the law was one of those righteousness-es. Paul's letter to the Romans says that in the gospel is another of those righteousness-es. The message about Jesus has the power to save us from sin and deliver us all from death, Jew and Gentile, male and female, slave and free. The message about Jesus shows us that God is committed to his promises to save and deliver. Another verse in the Bible says that, in Jesus, all of God's promises are a "yes."

A new version of the story would go like this, in showing us mercy through Jesus Christ God is being righteous, God is remaining committed to his promises to save us from sin and deliver us from death. Notice the difference? In Jesus death on the cross, God is not satisfying his righteousness so that he can show mercy. Instead, God is being righteous; showing us an ultimate display of mercy and love in order to save us from sin and deliver us from death.

Wrestle with that. Let me know what you think.