Ever read the book of Job?

No? Why not?

Then let me just draw your attention to a largely ignored subject of the book—Job’s three friends. Remember these guys? The losers, ingrates, judgmental pharisaical know-it-alls? The world’s worst friends? Honestly, I’ve heard it all but I’ve seldom heard it preached like it really was.

And how was it?

Truth is, these guys were amazing! They would put 99.9% of us to shame. They were not horrible friends and I can prove it. Let’s just look at a few things they did and then ask ourselves if we know any “friends†who would do the same…

Ok, it’s also true that ‘after all this’ they each took a turn at playing amateur psychologist and tried to ‘label’ the horrific events in such a way that made sense to people at that time. Yes, they offered some pretty weak and baseless theories that did not exactly help matters. But all of that was after they showed how true blue they were!

When I think about the type of friendships most people have today they mostly seem to consist of golf buddies, fantasy football mates, trash talking, one upmanship camaraderie and the like—you know, not too deep, not too committed—basically surfacy stuff. Can you see anyone in your fantasy football league taking a week off work to just sit in silence with you, take care of you, try to encourage you with actions rather than useless words?

I can’t. And I include myself in this evaluation.

Would the other three in your golf foursome tear their Nike Polo shirts and throw their Footjoys into the nearest pond empathizing with your pain?

Probably not.

And I won’t even go there about shedding actual tears—real men don’t cry has been the official slogan for guys over roughly the last hundred years—so you can bet you won’t be seeing crocodile tears or even moist eyes—unless they’re lubricating their contact lenses.

So let’s be honest about this story—the friends weren’t losers and ingrates. They were three men who cared very deeply for their good friend, Job. They were men who would probably have done anything to help him. They were also men who pushed Job to get back up and on track again—it’s just that their theories about God and the spiritual situation before them were…wrong.

So where does that leave

At the end of part one.

 

It is profoundly important and fascinating to me that Jesus didn’t say this the other way around. In other words, “where your heart is, there your treasure will be.” Instead, he said, “put your treasure in heaven, and your heart will inevitably and allow.â€

I’ve talked to scores of people who tell me they wish they could have the heart spiritual greats have for the Lord. Some even seem fearful that they just don’t have enough love in their heart to begin with—that they weren’t wired that way, “why don’t I love Jesus like I’m supposed to do?” They say. It could be (doesn’t have to be but could be)—that they do not know anything about the practice of,  “heart manipulation.†Now I’m not a big fan of manipulation in general, usually it’s wrong—but our heart is a stubborn thing—therefore if we can redirect it toward the right things, I’m all for it.

Typically, that is not the direction of most people’s hearts. Look at what God said about the condition of the human heart in Jeremiah 17:9,

Sounds kinda hopeless, doesn’t it?

With man it is—but nothing is impossible with God. He says our hearts can be redirected toward good and godly pursuits. We just need to do a little heart manipulation—and the kind He describes is as effective as defibrillation for some people. It’s shocking at first, but eventually, your heart starts beating in a new rhythm for the things of Christ rather than the things of this world.

Why not give it a try?

If your dissatisfied, disillusioned and discouraged with the dead end roads our culture takes us down toward happiness, then redirect. Turn your heart in a new direction by laying up treasures in an entirely different place—heaven.

I know of no other way to save a dying heart.

This is a marathon series, not a sprint. For parts 1 and 2 click the following links (Part 1 … Part 2)

And now, the most common reason people raise the topic of being “under grace and not law…â€

To get out of tithing.

Friends, I promise you there are a gazillion great reasons for living under grace rather than bondage to the Law, but the above is not one of them.

Once again, let’s take a look at Matthew 5:17-18,

Since we know now that Jesus did not ever claim to be abolishing the law (quite the opposite in fact) we now need to ask what He meant by, “fulfilling the law.†How was the law not fulfilled before Christ?

Or, to put it another way, How was it not ‘accomplished?’ How was it not ‘complete?’ How was it not ‘established?’

It was none of these things because it was entirely temporal in nature. That’s right, the law was never meant to be the end all, beat all, show-stopper of Christianity. It couldn’t be. Why? Because every sacrifice offered for sin before Christ (no matter how close to perfect it seemed) was imperfect because of the Fall—because of the sin disease. So these temporary, imperfect sacrifices could do no more than point the way to the perfect lamb who would one day come, live a completely sinless life, and pay the sin price once for all with His shed blood on the cross. This is why we no longer need to offer sacrifices to God of lambs and goats and rams or anything else for that matter. It’s done, over, accomplished. Didn’t Jesus say this on the cross?

“IT IS FINISHED!â€

But what about the law? Does this mean that it should be abolished as well?

No. Jesus already said it would not be—it would be fulfilled, but not abolished. The purpose of the sacrificial system was completely fulfilled on the cross at Calvary, but the purpose of the law (to point people to Christ) will not be completely fulfilled until everyone who the Holy Spirit points to Jesus is saved and we see Jesus face to face.

Now listen very carefully at this point because here is where I may lose some of you. You can’t be saved through the law (you never could) but the law still points out the fact that we are sinners in need of a savior. It’s just that we do not respond to the conviction of the law by going out and purchasing a nice, plump little lamb and burning it on a make shift altar in our garage. No, we respond to the conviction the law brings by accepting the once for all sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. People in the Old Testament were saved by faith in God for what He would one day do. People in Jesus’ day were saved by faith in the present Lord and what He was doing. Today we are saved by faith in the finished work of Christ. No matter what point in history you lived there is still (as Luke said in Acts 4:12) only salvation through Christ—“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.â€

Ok, pastor Rob, I get that, but what about those pesky “seemingly contradictory” passages you alluded to earlier? Passages like Ephesians 2:15-18, where it seems like Paul is saying the opposite of what Jesus is saying? Or Hebrews 7:18-19? Quickly, I’ll address each of these…

First, the passage in Ephesians. Here it is,

 The scope of Jesus’ work as our “peace” is detailed here.

First is the work of union which is bringing together both Jews and Gentiles–that is, “believing” Jews and Gentiles. They are no longer Jews or Gentiles, but Christians. Strictly speaking, it is not accurate even to speak of them as Jewish Christians or Gentile Christians. All fleshly distinctions, such as nationality, were nailed to the cross.

The second phase of Christ’s work for our peace might be called, “demolition:”

This speaks not of a literal wall, but of an invisible barrier set up by the Mosaic Law of the commandments contained in the ordinances which separated the people of Israel from the nations around them. This is talked about in the Believer’s Commentary as follows,

Umm, ouch.

Pretty strict, eh?

The third aspect of Christ’s work was the abolition of the enmity that smoldered between Jew and Gentile and also between man and God. That is what’s being abolished–not the law. Paul identifies the law as the “innocent cause of the enmity, that is, the law of the commandments contained in the ordinances. The law of Moses was a single legislative code; yet it was made up of separate, formal commandments; these in turn consisted of dogmas or decrees covering many, if not most, areas of life. The law itself was just, holy, and good (Romans 7:12), but man’s sinful nature used the law as an occasion for hatred. Because the law actually did set up Israel as God’s chosen earthy people, many Jews became arrogant and treated Gentiles with contempt. In return, as one can imagine, the Gentiles weren’t the Jews biggest fans either.

Jesus died to pay the penalty for all law that has been broken by anyone at any time. Thus, He completely satisfied the righteous claims of the Father. Now approaching God via a strict adherence to the rule book (the Law) would be foolish (and useless). The law was a GPS instrument meant to point the way to Jesus. It was a runner in a relay meant to hand it off to the final runner–Jesus–who took the baton and ran the final lap. In this sense, it is correct to say that believers are no longer under the law but under grace.. However, this does not mean that they can live as they please; it means they are now enlawed to Christ, and should live as He pleases.

And Hebrews 7:18-19?

This one’s easier. Simple really. Again, this passage isn’t talking about “abolishing” the law in the sense that we are trashing the 10 commandments or something. It’s talking about the ultimate upgrade–from “something” that merely pointed out the problem of sin to “someone” who provided the solution! In coming to fulfill the law, Jesus would no longer point out our flaws and ask us to clean up our act–He would now “take all our flaws (sin)” upon Himself and deal with them once for all time.

The law couldn’t do this–it was inadequate. Jesus can and did–He’s more than adequate! But listen, again, that doesn’t mean the law was evil and needed to be abolished. It did it’s job.

Think of it like using a “Pointer Dog” on a  hunt. These dogs will literally ‘strike a pose’ (Not like Madonna–but you get the point) that resembles pointing. Follow the direction they seem to be pointing and you (the hunter) will locate your prey and can shoot it (sorry PETA readers). The dog was therefore, ‘useful’ in pointing you in the right direction, but your furry little companion is not going to kill the pheasant for you. So, since he can’t ‘complete the job’ does this make your little four legged friend bad? Should you ‘abolish’ him?

Of course not.

Listen, I know it’s not the perfect illustration, but hopefully your beginning to see where all this is headed. Living under Grace raises the bar, it doesn’t lower it. And it certainly doesn’t abolish it altogether.

Now, back to the tithe…

Look at Luke 11:42-43,

Jesus here, indicted the Pharisees for the very thing they were so good at: majoring on the minors, concentrating on external details while ignoring that which was essential and eternal. It was not their tithing that was wrong, but their failure to love. In fact, if it were the tithing Jesus was getting at, then He would never have added, “…You should tithe, yes,…†Again, if tithing were wrong Jesus would not have said the opposite! Again, tithing was not even the issue here—it was, once again, a “matter of the heart.â€

Listen, “If one truly loves. Tithing will follow, for while it is possible to give without loving, it is not possible to love without giving!â€

To wrap up, here is what is meant by “fulfilling the law.†In fulfilling the law Jesus is saying that mere ‘shadow things’ are now revealed in all their fullness by the ‘shadow castor’ God (Jesus). Now both sin and good works move from the written tablet to being written upon our hearts. Here are some examples…

Examples of  both Sin and doing good—Old Testament (Law)

Same Examples—New Testament (Grace)

Question? What’s tougher, the law or grace?

Seems like grace after reading the above! But, if that’s all we glean from this then we’ve missed the point. Jesus certainly wasn’t trying to set up even higher hurdles to jump in the New Testament then we see in the Old Testament. No, what He was doing was clearly establishing the truth that we are all sinners whether we do bad things, think bad things, dream bad things or even try our hardest to do good things. That’s because we are born sinners! All of us. Every single one.

With one exception.

Jesus Christ.

But this still leaves unanswered the mystery of what Jesus meant by fulfilling the law.

He meant no more shadows, no more alluding, no more pointing, no more temporary fixes and no more outward conformity. He’s after the heart. The apostle Paul named the law a “school master that pointed out our sin and drove us to Jesus.” It is Christ alone who can transform us into sons and daughters who do good out of love for Him rather than by following a rule book. This is why Jesus said that the most important, most pivotal commandment of them all was the commandment to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and soul!” Why is it the most important? Because it’s a “matter of the heart.” And out of love in our hearts for Christ (from His Holy Spirit living inside us) comes the power to live righteously before Him–a power no rule book is capable of giving.

To those, therefore, who protest that the concept of tithing being prescribed in the law is no longer relevant to those who live under grace, I point out the following: Tithing is seen prior to the law when Abraham tithes to Melchizedek (Genesis 14:20). Tithing was commended by Jesus when He told the Pharisees that, although they should remember justice and mercy, they should not cease to tithe (Luke 11:42). Tithing was taught by the apostle Paul when he told the Corinthians to give according to how, God had prospered them (1 Corinthians 16:2)—which the early church took to mean tithing, as is seen in the writings of Jerome and Chrysostom. Tithing precedes the law, is spoken of by the Lord, and is seen in the Epistles. Therefore, to say tithing is not applicable in this day and age, I believe, a failure to understand the full council of scripture and church history. And what is the result of this failure?

Whoa Pastor Rob! Now hold on a minute. A curse? What curse?

We bring home our paychecks. Where does it go? The Lord says, “I blew it all away! It’s cursed because you’ve robbed Me. What could have been, what I shaped you for, created you for, longed to see in you can’t be blessed because the blessing has been removed.â€

Back to Malachi 3 (verse 10)

This is the only place in all of scripture where God says, “Prove Me!†And if we do, according to Jon Courson (one of the best theologians ever and one of my favorites—if you haven’t guessed by now) we’ll see at least 3 things happen…