Chalke Talk 41 - The Spirit or The Letter of the Law?

Carrying on from the previous week, Steve builds on his assertion that Jesus excludes certain parts of the Old Testament in his preaching, such as Joshua or Judges, because they condone violence in the name of God. And that, in fact, the message Jesus came to preach was one of hope and peace.

[@mountbrocken]

I couldn't agree more. I think that we often try to make sense of the books of the Bible and create a coherent picture of it from a literal interpretation of what is said in it. This is where doctrines such as Dispensationalism, Calvinism, etc., come from. But a much better way to read the Bible is the way Jesus read it, from the eyes of God, not from the eyes of Man. We often assume that Moses had it all together, David had it all together, etc. But they were imperfect. Jesus clarifies what the Spirit was doing with these individuals. As he stated, "you have heard an eye for an eye, but I SAY..." Right here we find Jesus' hermeneutic, which is to embrace all of the books of the Bible, but to understand WHAT was going on and to fulfill the law, not merely enforce what was misunderstood by Man.

[@hreader]

The Rt Rev Rod Thomas could do with listening to this episode (see current Church Times online).