RELATIONAL OBEDIENCE

RELATIONAL OBEDIENCE: A STUDY OF BECOMING LIKE GOD BY OBSERVING HIS DIRECTIVES November 2024 Lewis Brown SUMMARY There is an enduring conflict in Christian thought and practice about the lifestyle directives given in the Torah, or Books of Moses, to the people of God. Is this due to the natural tendency of humans not to want limitations on their life choices, and also to the damaged relationship between Christian churches and the Judeo-Christian biblical culture? Yes. The dichotomy which has energized the issue for every new generation of believers is that as Christians we are adopted into the family of God, but as Gentiles we are not required to be Jewish. We have seen many ways God’s directives were adopted as lifestyle frameworks in church mores and cultural norms over the centuries, both those directives given in the Old Testament, and those reflective directives given in the New Testament. The rules made on the basis of the biblical “Law” have often been harsh, demanding, unforgiving, and applied without mercy. When contrasted with God’s nature, the dictates and enforcement of such rules have not reflected His intentions. Embedded in God’s detailed commands are His sense of order, fairness, accountability, and gracious care. This study presents the perspective that we can adopt God’s directives for our lives, or the principles behind them (if the actual activity is no longer part of modern life), because He behaves the way modeled in His directives. We, as those who love God, come to care the way He cares, and take on His attitudes. This is because we are part of Him and what He is doing on His earth. The believer can love their neighbor, their family, and even their enemy, because He does. The believer can be generous, hospitable, forgiving, honorable, respectful, and act with integrity because God is, and God behaves this way. The resulting relational obedience means the believer knows, loves, and acknowledges God’s love and rulership. He accepts God’s directives, and accepts God’s help in order to absorb the directives into his lifestyle. He 1 becomes holy as God is, doing what is right and good. Believers who are relationally obedient embrace the law and commandments of God through the entire Bible as doorways to learn to care like Him, to think like Him, and absorb his heart so we act like Him on His earth. AUTHORIAL INFORMATION The author of this essay is a Christian believer committed to scriptural understandings and principles, and to a relationship with God. This author’s personal experiences with God and training in biblical theology have been enriched through congregational life in Christian churches in Africa and in denominational and non-denominational Christian churches in the United States. He is growing through his life as a husband, father, teacher, and leader. Contact at: [email protected]. THE “LAWS” OF THE TORAH AS TAUGHT IN THE NEW TESTAMENT The Law given through Moses in the Torah is often described as a set of harsh injunctions with severe punishments. However, to do so ascribes to God a severe and overcritical nature. It also misses God’s intentions. Anyone who has managed a class of children or raised a family, who has directed a team or company, or who has served the public, knows that there is a way to be fair-handed, firm, kind, and merciful, but exacting, as you provide a safe framework for a group to cooperate toward a common goal. Moses repeats the admonition to love the Lord and obey Him many times in the Torah. These admonitions are relational: “You shall follow the Lord your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him.” (Deuteronomy 13:4) The word translated here “cling” has connotations of sticking with, keeping close, holding tight, and being joined to. The message is to stay glued to God. Embedded in the “Law” are attitudes and behaviors which reflect God’s intentions and His care for people. To study this, let us examine portions of the Law in Leviticus and Deuteronomy. It is intriguing to note that after each topic is addressed in these chapters with a command or demand, it is connected to the relationship with God. He is their God and is to be revered. The relationship with Him is why they are to treat others the way He prescribes. The New Testament writers were Jewish elders in the early Christian churches and reflected their heritage and love of God’s words in their gospels and letters. This included the directives and examples which reflected the Torah, the Books of Moses. Jesus addressed his Jewish people specifically, but the apostolic writers often addressed congregations which were mixed with Jewish believers and Gentiles, or mostly Gentile believers. 2 The gospels and letters they wrote taught the principles behind the commandments of Moses. Colossians chapter 3 reflects many commands seen in Leviticus 19. In Colossians, Paul is teaching the attitudes and behaviors which Moses was calling for in the commandments. Paul directs the Colossians to abandon immorality, impurity, selfish passions, evil desires, and greed. He encourages compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. In Leviticus 19 and 20, Moses directs that you leave fruit from your crops in the fields for the poor, refrain from stealing and lying to each other, show kindness to your neighbor, your workers, the deaf and the blind, that you deal fairly and impartially with all regardless of station in society, and warns that you should not bear a grudge or hate others. Moses summarizes the directives given in the first part of Leviticus 19 by directing that you love your neighbor as you do yourself. Moses goes on to forbid specific examples of evil practices, lustful desires, violations of relationships, and mistreatment of your own selves, your land and plants, the old people, and the strangers who live in society. Embedded in these directives are the exact behaviors and attitudes that engendered the character traits that Jesus, Paul, Peter, and James taught. A comparison of Deuteronomy chapters 19-24 with passages like Matthew chapters 5-7, Ephesians chapters 4 and 5, Romans 12, and the book of James plainly shows the linkage. The New Testament teachings embody the character traits and attitudes enjoined by the commandments in Leviticus and Deuteronomy. LINKING THE TORAH TEACHINGS TO THE NEW TESTAMENT PRECEPTS To clarify the link between the Torah “Law” and the directives in the New Testament, this section analyzes several issues and how they are addressed in both Old and New Testament passages. We will examine two examples: 1) directives regarding care for the poor, then 2) directives regarding fairness and unbiased treatment of others in a community. How does the “Law” deal with the poor in a society? First, let us look at the multiple ways today’s society in the United States treat the poor in the society. The laws hold citizens responsible for their own behaviors, regardless of the pressures and desperation that often drive those trapped in poverty. Attitudes of some in the culture blame the poor for not making efforts to work hard and get out of poverty. Those with insight recognize there are systemic blocks to success. The poor are classed with those in society who lack scruples or morals, those without 3 the drive to better their lives and those of their children. If there are ways instituted to assist them, the recipients are restricted and monitored, because they cannot be trusted to manage any help given them. The directives of Moses includes a number of injunctions about the care of the poor among one’s neighbors and communities. The emphasis in the passage immediately below taken from Deuteronomy is on open-hearted sharing with the needy, because you trust God to bless you, and to provide you with plenty. “If there is a poor man with you, one of your brothers, in any of your towns in your land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart, nor close your hand from your poor brother; but you shall freely open your hand to him, and shall generously lend him sufficient for his need in whatever he lacks. Beware that there is no base thought in your heart, saying, ‘The seventh year, the year of remission, is near,’ and your eye is hostile toward your poor brother, and you give him nothing; then he may cry to the LORD against you, and it will be a sin in you. You shall generously give to him, and your heart shall not be grieved when you give to him, because for this thing the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in all your undertakings. For the poor will never cease to be in the land; therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall freely open your hand to your brother, to your needy and poor in your land.’” (Deuteronomy 15:7–11) The New Testament writers taught generosity. Matthew shows Jesus modeling a landowner who acts like the generous God in the parable in Matthew 20:1-16. The landowner says to the disgruntled worker who had worked the whole day: “Take what is yours and go, but I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with what is my own? Or is your eye envious because I am generous?” Paul describes the sharing that was exemplified in the generous gift sent to the needy in Israel by the church in 2 Corinthians chapter 8. Then, in his first letter to Timothy, Paul gives instructions that sound like the directives in Deuteronomy: “Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed.” (1 Timothy 6:17-19) 4 Embedded in the directive to be generous from an open heart is the trust that God will bless and provide abundantly for the giver, because their obedience is based on a relationship with God. In the American society which does not base care for the poor on the trust in God’s blessing and provision, these directives in the Torah and the New Testament are standards which are not followed. However, a believer can live in today’s society, trusting God, and being generous to those in need around him or her. Now, let us consider a passage in James’s letter which demonstrates the connections James made to the teaching in the Torah regarding fairness and impartiality. In James chapter 2, he addresses the sin of partiality. “My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism. For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes, and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes, and say, “You sit here in a good place,” and you say to the poor man, “You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool,” have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives? Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you and personally drag you into court? Do they not blaspheme the fair name by which you have been called? If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.” (James 2:1-9, NASB) Where did James get this attitude? Some cultures have accepted, even encouraged, favoritism and class distinctions. However, James was a man steeped in the Torah. He had learned that God was impartial and just to all people. He had learned that Moses set out the standards for God’s people to be fair and compassionate, respecting even the poor of the society. Below are examples from the Law which James had studied. “For the Lord your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God who does not show partiality nor take a bribe.” (Deuteronomy 10:17) “You shall not distort justice; you shall not be partial, and you shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and perverts the words of the 5 eyes of the wise and perverts the words of the righteous.” (Deuteronomy 16:19) “You shall not oppress your neighbor, nor rob him. The wages of a hired man are not to remain with you all night until morning. You shall not curse a deaf man, nor place a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall revere your God; I am the Lord. You shall do no injustice in judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor nor defer to the great, but you are to judge your neighbor fairly.” (Leviticus 19:13-15) New Testament attitudes, like those James taught, were lessons concerning relationship with God and others. The New Testament writers were reflecting the provisions of the Old Testament. APPLYING THE DIRECTIVES OF THE LAW IN MODERN SOCIETY What about directives which do not apply directly to modern life? Can a believer apply the principles in a creative way which reflects the love of God? Sometimes the directions given in the Law of Moses are tough to incorporate into a modern lifestyle. However, we can find attitudes and ways to live in today’s world which will demonstrate the directives in the scriptures. Below we will examine one of the directives Moses gives about caring for one’s neighbor and for his possessions. How can we care for our neighbors and their possessions in today's world? Moses taught a person should help one’s neighbor regarding his animals and possessions. Not only should you safeguard them until they can be returned, but you are also to care for the animal or possession. You were directed to help someone if they needed help with one of their animals in public spaces or while travelling on the way. Here is the passage: “You shall not see your countryman’s ox or his sheep straying away, and pay no attention to them; you shall certainly bring them back to your countryman. If your countryman is not near you, or if you do not know him, then you shall bring it home to your house, and it shall remain with you until your countryman looks for it; then you shall restore it to him. Thus you shall do with his donkey, and you shall do the same with his garment, and you shall do likewise with anything lost by your countryman, which he has lost and you have found. You are not allowed to neglect them. You shall not see your countryman’s donkey or his ox fallen down on the way, and pay no attention to them; you shall certainly help him to raise them up.” (Deuteronomy 22:1-4) 6 Current culture in the urban communities in the United States is to seize a missing item for oneself or to leave the care of missing possessions to the public institutions or governmental agencies. Assistance of others who are on the street or in public places is left to policing or service personnel. The residents in the cities in the United States build walls to separate their lots and homes from their neighbors. They put in security systems, and soundproof and screen their properties to isolate and protect themselves from their neighbors. Often it is only the poor, who must live in crowded apartment complexes, who are aware of the lives and the needs of their neighbors. Jesus saw this same attitude being taken in his society and remarked on it. When question about this, He responded with the parable of the Good Samaritan. “But wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead. And by chance a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise, a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and took him to an inn and cared for him. On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return, I will repay you.’ Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands? And he said, “The one who showed mercy toward him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do the same.” (Luke 10:20-37) How can we adapt this principle to today’s society, when most of us live in an urban or suburban setting? Acts of kindness can be practiced, whether small or large, in which we become involved with others, and help those who live and work near us. Often this will take some investment of time, energy, or resources. Our choices to act generously demonstrate care for our “neighbors,” including people we may not know, who are not like us. The principles of the directives in the Bible can be lived even if the situation is different today, and even if the community where we live does not expect us to care for our neighbor. 7 BUT DOESN’T THE NEW TESTAMENT TEACH WE ARE NOT UNDER THE LAW? If we argue we are free of requirements in the relationship with God, does this mean you no longer have to care for anything or anyone else? The “Law,” whether the Old Testament or New Testament “Law”, is about doing what is good and right. If you believe God no longer cares how you feel or act toward others and His world, this attitude will separate you from Him. Such an attitude assumes that even if God cares, the believer does not have to care along with Him. This is misreading and misunderstanding the teachings of Jesus and the Apostles, who taught obedience to God. Hugh Whelchel, in a post called A Biblical Perspective About Obedience at Work (10/4/2024, https://tifwe.org/a-biblical-perspective-about-obedienceat-work/) writes: “A negative attitude towards obedience can also manifest itself in two extremes that theologians call legalism and antinomianism. These also come from a low view of sin and thus, a low view of grace. 1. Legalism is defined as any attempt to rely on self-effort to either attain or maintain our just standing before God instead of grace. Tim Keller often calls it “Religion,” and defines it this way: “I obey, therefore I’m accepted.” This approach to obedience is exemplified by the older brother in the biblical story of the Prodigal Son found in Luke 15:11-32. This white knuckled approach to the Christian life robs us of the joy God intended and leads to a hard self-righteousness. 2. At the other extreme is antinomianism, the idea that because God is gracious and forgiveness is a free gift, obedience to God just doesn’t matter. We can live our lives however we want, believing that there is no place for God’s law in the life of a Christian. Antinomianism leads to a low view of sin and therefore a low view of grace. It goes against much of what is written in the scripture.” If a Christian says he is not under any requirements, how does he respond to the directives and demands of the New Testament writers? He faces the internal conflict of having commandments to obey, while claiming there are no directions for his attitudes, nor are there patterns for his behavior. The believer who does not find ways to become and to do the directives of God lives an empty relationship with God. He/she has been robbed of the opportunities to share God’s care for His creation. 8 In the centuries after the Early Church period, the separation from the Jewish communities set the Gentile church leaders at odds with the Jewish culture. They saw the Jewish leaders as those who rejected Jesus and his teaching, so they made a point of not owning the Old Testament Torah directives. They separated from Jewish precepts and practices. Yet these biblical directives were the basis of the foundational teachings of the early Church communities. Some of the Gentile Church leaders in subsequent centuries created an identification with Christ which did not include the deep history of the relationships of the Jewish people with God. They separated the New Testament teachings from their practical roots in the Torah commandments. These later Church leaders justified their abandonment of the Old Testament by twisting and misusing New Testament teachings. For example, the wise decisions of Acts 15, which left the new Gentile believers free of many constraints of the Jewish lifestyle, and Paul’s teaching about the Law, were used to separate the believers from the sources of New Testament wisdom. However, that is not the perspective of the New Testament writers. New Testament attitudes were lessons concerning relationship with God and others. The New Testament writers were reflecting the provisions of the Old Testament. They urged a connection with the Father God, which had been opened in a whole new way by Jesus. They taught that through our growing relationship with God, we take on God’s character. We care for others the way He cares for them. RELATIONAL OBEDIENCE THROUGH THE BIBLE The motivation to obey God’s directives is found in the relationship with Him. You embrace his “Law” because you love Him. The expressions of love for God and his word run through many books of the Bible. Kings and prophets, psalmists, and priests are recorded loving God and clinging to his words. God is involved in helping the people keep the ordinances. He wants them to be obedient for their own good. God shows His interest, intention, and involvement. He is intent on making a relationship with them, He wants them to be like Him, and He is the One who makes them holy, who “sanctifies” them, a term that means He separates them to Himself and makes them like Himself. Here are several examples of expressions loving Him and embracing His ways from Deuteronomy, the Psalms, and Leviticus: 9 “Now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require from you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the Lord’s commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good? For the LORD your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God who does not show partiality nor take a bribe. He executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and shows His love for the alien by giving him food and clothing. So show your love for the alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.” (Deuteronomy 10:12-13, 17-19) Those who lived in the directives were the ones who expressed their love of God and appreciation for his instruction. Following His commandments was an important part of their relationship with God. This passage is from the “Heth” segment of Psalm 118: “The Lord is my portion; I have promised to keep Your words. I sought Your favor with all my heart; Be gracious to me according to Your word. I considered my ways And turned my feet to Your testimonies. I hastened and did not delay To keep Your commandments. The cords of the wicked have encircled me, But I have not forgotten Your law. At midnight I shall rise to give thanks to You Because of Your righteous ordinances. I am a companion of all those who fear You, And of those who keep Your precepts. The earth is full of Your lovingkindness, O Lord; Teach me Your statutes.” (Psalm 118:57-64) “You shall consecrate yourselves therefore and be holy, for I am the Lord your God. ‘You shall keep My statutes and practice them; I am the Lord who sanctifies you. You are therefore to keep all My statutes and all My ordinances and do them, so that the land to which I am bringing you to live will not spew you out. Thus you are to be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy; and I have set you apart from the peoples to be Mine.” (Leviticus 20:7,8,22,26) 10 “You should diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God, and His testimonies and His statutes which He has commanded you. You shall do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord, that it may be well with you and that you may go in and possess the good land which the Lord swore to give your fathers, by driving out all your enemies from before you, as the Lord has spoken. “So the Lord commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God for our good always and for our survival, as it is today. It will be righteousness for us if we are careful to observe all this commandment before the Lord our God, just as He commanded us.” (Deuteronomy 6:17,18,24,25) The New Testament does not often give commandments the same way the books of Moses do. However, they emphasized two key commandments. When the apostolic writers gave directives to the communities, they emphasized loving God as the motivation and their love for others as the central expression coming from the relationship with Him. Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6 and Leviticus 19 in Matthew 22:37-40: And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ “This is the great and foremost commandment. “The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ “On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” Paul teaches this same perspective in Romans 13:9-10: For this, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfillment of the law.” John links God’s love for us with our love of God and love of each other. He links love with obedience: “We love, because He first loved us. And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.” (1 John 4:19, 21 and 5:2-3) Keeping or “observing” the commandments was seen throughout the Scriptures as part of the loving relationship with God. English translations 11 use the word observe for the posture of spirit and body which embraces God’s directives. The nuances within the word translated “observe,” which is the Hebrew term ‫( ָׁש ַמר‬šāmar), present some interesting connotations, like the concepts to keep, guard, observe, and give heed. 1 We often use the term “observe” in English to mean merely watching or noticing something. However, the Hebrew word šāmar means to do something carefully and diligently. It can also suggest the guarding of or keeping watch over something of value, which is committed to you, for which you are responsible. Add to these nuances the sense that you must pay close attention to the commands of God, to discharge your function or duty with integrity. So, when Moses or Jesus or John say to “observe” the Lord’s commands, they mean diligently obey with keen attention to the One with whom you are communing on your journey through life. CONCLUSIONS Relational obedience is the lifestyle response of the believer to God. It is a willingness to follow the patterns, directions, and attitudes of God in daily life as you share your steps with God. What are the traits of relational obedience? 1) A believer has a relationship with God. He/She knows and loves the one to whom he/she is obedient. 2) The relationship includes acknowledgement and submission to the One with whom the believer is relating. 3) The believer receives the directives, understandings, motivations, and attitudes as God’s, and receives them as they are intended for him/her. 4) The believer interacts continually with God, so that he can absorb the directives into himself and his lifestyle. 5) The believer recognizes he/she cannot become holy like his/her God without the impartation and support of the Spirit of his God. It is He who “sanctifies” the believer. 1 Harris, R. L., Archer, G. L., Jr., & Waltke, B. K., eds. (1999). In Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed., p. 939). Moody Press. 12 Can we as Christian believers then embrace the law and commandments of God through the entire Bible as doorways to learn to care like Him, to think like Him, and to act like Him on His earth? When we do something that is commanded, can we do it WITH Him, attending to His Spirit, and trusting His love for us? Our obedience is then a lifestyle within an ongoing relationship with Him rather than a fearsome obligation or a dreary duty. 13