Law Matters: The Law and the Scriptures (3)

After they had finished speaking, James replied, “Brothers, listen to me. Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them a people for his name. And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written…” Acts 15.14, 15

The Law of God is the cornerstone of divine revelation. All subsequent revelation builds on what the Law of God began to make known concerning God and His will. All present events and future revelations must be viewed as occurring within the organic framework of the Word of God and the plan of redemption, and must be understood and acted on accordingly.

As James and the elders gathered with him in Jerusalem demonstrate, if we want to understand how to know God’s will in the present, we need to practice a three-way look at all times.

First, we need to understand the present situation – or, in the case of a text of Scripture, the text in its present, original situation. The elders assembled in Jerusalem were confronted with a difficult question, that of the status of Gentile believers with respect to Old Testament ceremonial and religious laws as emblems and means of saving faith. Paul, Barnabas, and Peter argued passionately against the Judaizers, citing many examples of God’s favor on the Gentiles apart from their meeting the requirement of circumcision. The assembly listened carefully, in order to understand clearly as much as they could about the present situation. At all times the Law of God and its application were continuously in their minds.

It fell to James to turn the minds of the assembly from “looking around” at the present to “looking back” at the revelation of God in the prophets – which, as we have seen, are developments and extensions of God’s Law. He cites Amos 9.11, 12 to show that the arguments of Paul and Peter fit exactly with what the Scriptures of the Old Testament anticipate and foretold. He seems to imply that even as God was giving the throne to David – the throne promised in Genesis 49.9-11 and qualified in Deuteronomy 17 – He had the Gentiles in mind as part of His Kingdom.

From there James turned to “looking ahead” to where they should go from there. He recommended a course of action rooted in the past, unfolding in the present, and which would become normative by additional revelation into the future.

Look around, look back, look ahead. This is how to understand the Word of God and to apply it to our daily lives. Understand our present situation or question as fully as possible; or understand the text we are considering in its own present situation and circumstance. Look back, beginning with the Law of God, to see how divine revelation would guide our thinking. Then look ahead to project – from the past through the present – how we must understand and act in a manner consistent with the whole counsel of God. In the case of a text of Scripture, look for subsequent revelation to unfold the meaning coming from the past through the present of the text you are examining. In the case of present circumstances, let the Word at all stages of its unfolding guide your understanding about the present situation, then act in a way that continues the progress of the Kingdom toward the glory of God and the exaltation of our returning King.

This three-way look will help us to keep on the trajectory of divine purpose, will, and favor as we see that revealed at every stage in Scripture and throughout the course of Christian history.

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