THE REFLECTION OF THE REDEEMER IN THE REDEEMED (6 OF 8)
Scripture: Exodus 19:1, Exodus 24:18
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The Reflection of the Redeemer in the Redeemed (6 of 8)
Series: Exodus
Patrick Edward
Exodus 19:1-24:18
Introduction
It's no secret that we live today in an age of autonomy, and what I mean by that is that the freedom of the individual is held as perhaps the highest virtue in our land. Think about it. Regardless of where you stand on the political spectrum, we are all after the essentially same thing: the individual's right to decide what is best for them. Of course, where we get into debate is over the best way to pursue the individual's freedom, essentially how much or how little government is needed for that to happen as well as what to do when one person's freedom conflicts with another person's. But regardless, modern Western society is built upon the belief that the individual's freedom is the most important thing to pursue and protect.
Accordingly, laws are viewed almost as ''necessary evils'', if you will. I say ''evil'' only because the idea of law seems incongruent with an individual's freedom, right? I remember as a kid when seat belt laws became offenses for which you could be ticketed. My mother used to rant on and on about how she should be free to wear her seatbelt or not and the government couldn't tell her what to do. Of course, we recognize that laws are ''necessary'', though, for the protection and peace of society as a whole. So we have them. We'd prefer that we not, but we have them nonetheless just to ensure that all of our freedoms are protected.
My point is that the notion of law and freedom just seem antithetical to one another. Laws seem like impositions placed on us, things that are restrictive but we tolerate nonetheless. Naturally, then, we take a very negative view of law in the Bible. Laws are the opposite of freedom; the opposite of grace in fact. Law is the handmaiden of legalism and the bread and butter of Pharisees. Laws are bad. But that's only if we take our autonomy as the most important thing in the world. In ...
Series: Exodus
Patrick Edward
Exodus 19:1-24:18
Introduction
It's no secret that we live today in an age of autonomy, and what I mean by that is that the freedom of the individual is held as perhaps the highest virtue in our land. Think about it. Regardless of where you stand on the political spectrum, we are all after the essentially same thing: the individual's right to decide what is best for them. Of course, where we get into debate is over the best way to pursue the individual's freedom, essentially how much or how little government is needed for that to happen as well as what to do when one person's freedom conflicts with another person's. But regardless, modern Western society is built upon the belief that the individual's freedom is the most important thing to pursue and protect.
Accordingly, laws are viewed almost as ''necessary evils'', if you will. I say ''evil'' only because the idea of law seems incongruent with an individual's freedom, right? I remember as a kid when seat belt laws became offenses for which you could be ticketed. My mother used to rant on and on about how she should be free to wear her seatbelt or not and the government couldn't tell her what to do. Of course, we recognize that laws are ''necessary'', though, for the protection and peace of society as a whole. So we have them. We'd prefer that we not, but we have them nonetheless just to ensure that all of our freedoms are protected.
My point is that the notion of law and freedom just seem antithetical to one another. Laws seem like impositions placed on us, things that are restrictive but we tolerate nonetheless. Naturally, then, we take a very negative view of law in the Bible. Laws are the opposite of freedom; the opposite of grace in fact. Law is the handmaiden of legalism and the bread and butter of Pharisees. Laws are bad. But that's only if we take our autonomy as the most important thing in the world. In ...
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