'Caught Off Guard' Concerning God's Law

A guest preacher where my mother worships once emphasized that Christianity is a thinking religion. After the sermon a friend of my mom quipped something like, “I wish God could have just told us what to do so we wouldn’t have to do so much thinking.”

I want to show you a familiar passage of Scripture that illustrates God’s expectation for His people to engage in thought even when He has given simple and direct instruction. Jesus said:

You have heard that it was said, “An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.” But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.

—Matthew 5:38-39

Jesus did not teach anything new. He simply applied thinking, or discernment, to the letter of the law. Without discernment a person would merely obey the letter of the law.

Let’s be more specific. Suppose a friend accidentally injured one of your eyes. According to the law, justice demands that you injure his eye in the same way your eye was injured. How would you carry out that kind of justice? Can you picture yourself actually looking into his eye and planning a way to injure him just as you had been injured!?

Blind and thoughtless obedience to the letter of the law would result in a nation of people bearing the scars of the eye-for-an-eye legislation. Yet, giving thought to the law one would conclude that it is not practical to demand justice in every case. Rather than injuring my friend to obtain justice, it would be better to show mercy, forego justice and endure the injury.

It is true that the eye-for-an-eye system of justice insures justice, but do we really want justice in every case? Let’s answer by turning the circumstances around. What if you were the one to accidentally injure someone else’s eye. What does justice demand for you!?

Let’s change the circumstances once again. Imagine that one of your children injured another one of your children. (If you are not a parent, let me assure you that a parent’s heart is heaviest when one of his/her children is hurting.) What would you like to see in your children? Would you like to see strict justice so that the injured child injures your other child? Do you really want to have two injured children?

When Jesus taught concerning the eye-for-an-eye legislation, He revealed the mind and heart of God who regards us as His children. God doesn’t want injured children, but children who show mercy and who love forgiveness. God wants His children to grow up to be like Him.

Are you in agreement with my mom’s friend? Would you prefer that God just tell you what to do? Or do you see the wisdom in developing discernment?

King David wrote: “O how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day.” (Psalm 119:97) Can you believe he loved law!? Astounding! What do you think David saw in the law? By meditating on the law and discerning God’s instruction, David saw the very heart of God.

Listen to the words of the Apostle Paul:

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. 

 —Romans 12:2 (ESV)

Discernment is about opening your mind and heart to God’s instruction so that it transforms your mind into the mind of God.

Mark Stinnett

October 3, 2021