There there is the spiritual realm and there is the physical realm. Those in this physical realm have no true concept of the spiritual realm, having only physical realm reference points to work from. As a result, the spiritual realm is conceptualized following a physical pattern.
Good and evil become relativistic instead of absolutes. The result of this is that what is spiritual and absolute is rejected by those with strictly physical, carnal perception. For such people, their lives in relation to others becomes a physical construct that is modified over time through experience. But when it comes to the spiritual plane, there are no such experiences, so that what is concluded based on scant and incomplete evidence becomes solidified in the mind, and it is invariably falsehoods based on physical experiences.
Despite plain statements in Scripture regarding spiritual things, even the very nature of God, such information is filtered through a carnal mind; manipulated, parsed, re-assembled into what is acceptable to a carnal mind. It is a process that essentially takes God and modifies Him into something fashioned in the image of carnal man, not unlike the God’s of ancient cultures, such as the Greek gods whose variants popped up all over the ancient world, borrowed and renamed. In this regard then, it is surprising that when Paul visited Athens, he noticed an object dedicated and inscribed to the “unknown god” where Paul started there.
From here, you might well notice the change in position based on what information Paul afforded them regarding this unknown god, for they were beginning to see that the gods of their culture suffered the same maladies of mankind when it came to pulls of the flesh, where their gods demonstrated human characteristics and not those attributes one might assume the gods would present. They were no better than men now, in their eyes. And if no different in behavior than men, then the obvious conclusion would be that they do not exist; that they were creations of men made in the image of man. They could hardly be seen realistically as superior beings to men having the same foibles of men.
A similar pattern follows when it comes to carnal men trying to understand the nature and attributes of the True God, tainted by man’s same natural proclivity of transference and projection.
God gave the Hebrews a covenant law, with much fanfare. Many people today conclude that, seeing as this law originated with God, it must reflect the Nature of God, it must possess the attributes of God, and it is how God judges mankind and is what God expects of mankind.
That is the relativistic approach, where good and evil are not perceived as absolutes, and where God is absolutely good and man is absolutely evil, born with an evil heart described by God as “deceitful and desperately wicked.” The result is that God condemns evil and evil men. The law, being a blood covenant law, took evil works and even evil thoughts, and prescribed a suitable punishment for evil and evil people: a death sentence. A banishment from His presence. An eternal existence where there is nothing truly good.
Those who embrace the law cannot perceive that the law was given to the evil Hebrew nation as a carrot on a stick, where they could never receive the “consideration” for compliance with the law. The law was essentially a rope, given to them whereby they would proverbially hang themselves with it.
Evil man sees the law as the means whereby he can ‘prove’ himself before God; that he can do good, despite his wicked heart, also referred to as a heart of stone and an evil heart of unbelief.
In order to better explain this, consider how man uses tools, even a rock. It can be used for a useful purpose we would call “good” like building a wall, or it could be used for evil, such as an offensive weapon. A sword can also be used both defensively and offensively to ward off an attacker bent on doing evil with the tool.
The law is no different. It too can be wielded as a weapon in order to lie to one another and destroy another, which is exactly what the Pharisees did with the law, using it as the means to deceive themselves and others, and to conquer and destroy Jesus. In this regard, consider what Paul wrote about the law:
(1 Timothy 1:8-10) But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully; °Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, °For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;
The Pharisees used the law unlawfully. They applied it against those it was not intended for; the righteous, called of God, who, through conversion and a new heart that is not deceitful; is not desperately wicked; is not a stony heart, and is not an evil heart of unbelief.
Yet, that is what we see happening to the early, fledgling church of God; where the Sanhedrin wasted no time or effort in bringing persecutions against the church in an attempt to destroy it, using the law as their weapon of choice.
None of this has changed in 2000 years. The law that properly applied lawfully only to evil people ends up in the hands of evil people who unlawfully use it against the righteous ones, whose righteousness was derived through faith, even as Abraham’s righteousness was imputed to Him by God due to his faith in God.
Evil people have an inherent hatred of good. True good. And they cannot conceive of anyone being good who is not keeping the law any more than did those Pharisees of Jesus’ time. They embrace the law that ultimately condemns them. The law does not condemn those they persecute with it.
Doing good and being good are tied to the law by evil people who reject a pure, unfeigned faith that comes from what is now a pure heart:
(1 Timothy 1:5-7) Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned: °From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling; °Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm.
The law of faith and the Spirit is rejected in favor of the old covenant law of sin and death, where evil people refuse to believe they are evil, having a deceitful heart, and now go after those who are now dead to the law; not under the law; freed from the law, and having been redeemed from the law by Christ so that the law can no longer condemn them. They are freed from condemnation (Rom. 8:1) meted out by the law that was designed for evil men with evil hearts that they cannot recognize as such.
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It is important that you understand; Everything on this blog is based on the current understanding of each author. Never take anyone's word for it, always prove it for yourself, it is your responsibility. You cannot ride someone else's coattail into the Kingdom. ; )
Acts 17:11
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