Can you live up to God's standards? - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my mind and heart in Psalm 119:17-24,

"Do good to your servant, and I will live;
I will obey your word.
Open my eyes that I may see
wonderful things in your law.
I am a stranger on earth;
do not hide your commands from me.
My soul is consumed with longing
for your laws at all times.
You rebuke the arrogant, who are cursed
and who stray from your commands.
Remove from me scorn and contempt,
for I keep your statutes.
Though rulers sit together and slander me,
your servant will meditate on your decrees.
Your statutes are my delight;
they are my counselors."

In this very long psalm (176 verses!), almost every verse speaks
directly of the Scriptures that contain it. Specific focus is placed
on keeping the law. In this section the words used for the Scriptures
are "your word", "your law", "your commands", "your statutes" and
"your decrees". It is not difficult to see the Scriptures themselves
declare their divine authorship. I am reminded of Peter's observation,
"Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came
about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its
origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried
along by the Holy Spirit." 2 Peter 1:20-21. All Scripture is
considered prophecy given Peter's explanation of how it came to be:
men spoke what God told them to, in his behalf.

The psalmist commits himself to keeping God's laws in verse 17, "I
will obey your word." However, the psalm begins with a beatitude
concerning those who "walk according to the law of the Lord", and
expresses what seems to be an acknowledgment of being challenged to do
so, "Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees! Then I
would not be put to shame..." Verses 5-6.

Paul provides some insight into this. First, he observes that no one
lives their lives in conformity to God's law. We are simply unable,
given the sinful nature we all struggle with. As he deals with those
who feel otherwise, he cuts through all the smoke. He addresses those
who feel they keep the law and look down on all others for not doing
so, "You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone
else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning
yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things." Romans
2:1. In Romans 7:6 he simply says of those who have embraced Jesus
Christ in faith, "But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have
been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the
Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code."

If Christians are not expected to keep the law as given to Moses, what
was God's purpose in giving it then? It shows us how needful we are of
his salvation, "Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to
those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and
the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore no one will be
declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through
the law we become conscious of sin." Romans 3:19-20. In Romans 7:13 he
says, "In order that sin might be recognized as sin, it [the law]
produced death in me through what was good, so that through the
commandment sin might become utterly sinful."

Paul spoke of his own challenges in trying to live by God's law. "So I
find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there
with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see
another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the
law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work
within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from
this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!"
Romans 7:21-25.

Here is where dusty and dry theology springs to life for me. God gave
his law to Moses and by it I find I am hopelessly doomed to God's
judgment. I sense my own shortcomings and throw myself at God's mercy.
There, I find that God's own Son came and died a miserable death to
pay the penalty for my sins. In a love I cannot comprehend he reaches
out to me in mercy and forgiveness and offers me a place at his table,
a place in his family despite my failures and shortcomings.

I don't know about you, but I have plenty of shortcomings. I know
because God has provided his law. But the rest of the story is he has
also provided forgiveness through his Son who has already paid the
penalty for all our sins. All he asks is that we embrace him in faith,
as Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and
believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned;
he has crossed over from death to life." John 5:24.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com