The LORD saw
that the wickedness of man was great on the earth,
and that every intent [yetzer] of the thoughts of
his heart was only evil continually"
(Gen 6:5).
"The LORD smelled the soothing aroma;
and the LORD said to Himself,
'I will never again curse the ground on account of man,
for the intent [yetzer]
of man’s heart is evil from his youth; and I will never again
destroy every living thing, as I have done"
(Gen 8:21).
"Then it shall come about, when many
evils and troubles have come upon them,
that this song
will testify before them as a
witness
(for it shall not be forgotten from the lips of their descendants);
for I know their intent [yetzer] which they are developing today, before I have brought them into the land which I swore" (Deut 31:21). While an equivalence between the Torah and the Sinai Covenant is typically assumed and nearly universally accepted by Christians and Jews alike (i.e., the Torah is the Sinai Covenant), a close reading of the introduction (Genesis 1-11) and the conclusion
(Deuteronomy 29-34) of the Torah does not support this conclusion.
In the beginning and the end of the Torah, exile from Eden
(Gen 3:23-24)
and from the Promised Land
(Deut 30:1-2)
is certain because Adam [humanity] and
Israel break God's commands.
Israel, like Adam's early descendants, most assuredly
will find themselves in Babylon (Gen 11:1-9; 2 Kings 25).
From the perspective of Moses, the problem has to do with the human inclination (yetzer), which is continually bent on doing evil. The situation cannot be fixed by working harder and trying to do better.
Rather, the problem of the inclination requires
a divine surgeon
who performs open-heart surgery
"Moreover the LORD your God will
circumcise your heart and the
heart of your descendants,
to love the LORD your God
with all your heart and with all your soul,
so that you may live"
(Deut 30:6).
Moses, no doubt, was the mediator of the Sinai Covenant.
But having lived in the shadow of Israel's repeated failures
for 40 years,
and foreseeing the certainties of a broken covenant and exile
(Deuteronomy 4:24-30; 30:1—32:43),
Moses, and all the prophets who followed him,
were
avid preachers of the New Covenant
(e.g., Jer 31:31-34; Ezek 36:24-27).
To be true to the message of
Moses and the Prophets,
therefore,
is to believe in Jesus.
"So, having obtained help from God,
I stand to this day
testifying both to small and great,
stating nothing but what the
Prophets and Moses
said was going to take place"
(Acts 26:22).
"While they were ministering to the Lord and fasting,
the Holy Spirit said,
'Set apart for Me
Barnabas and Saul for the
work to which
I have called them.'
Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them,
they sent them away" (Acts 13:2-3). Cults and cult-like congregations are always tightly controlled and carefully monitored by their "all wise, always right" leaders.
The book of Acts, however, paints a very different picture of healthy leadership. While the twelve apostles had, no doubt, a very unique role in the early church, and their authority is foundational to the church, the apostles do not function as "big brothers" in the book. Key moments in the story of redemption take place when God's people, who are not necessarily at the top of the chain of command, preach God's word (Stephen, Philip, etc.) and pray (Ananias, the church in Antioch, etc.).
Why?
Because healthy leadership and church growth
is all about
The Acts
of
The Holy Spirit,
not the Acts of the Apostles
"So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit,
they went down to Seleucia
and from there
they sailed to Cyprus"
(Acts 13:4).
"On an appointed day Herod, having put on his royal apparel, took his seat on the rostrum and began delivering an address to them. The people kept crying out, 'The voice of a god and not of a man!'" (Acts 12:21-22). Why do we choose to put our hope in people who look nice on the outside but in real life publicly destroy those who tar their image (Acts 12:19), people who do extraordinary deeds in front of the TV camera, but in real life can't even defeat a worm (Acts 12:23)? How much better to put our hope in the God who gives us hope in the face of death (Acts 12:2), freedom from our chains (Acts 12:7), and who is not limited or angered to act on our behalf in spite of our tiny faith (Acts 12:15-16). "Thus says the LORD, “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind and makes flesh his strength, and whose heart turns away from the LORD. For he will be like a bush in the desert and will not see when prosperity comes, but will live in stony wastes in the wilderness, a land of salt without inhabitant.
"Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD and whose trust is the LORD. For he will be like a tree planted by the water, that extends its roots by a stream and will not fear when the heat comes;
But its leaves will be green,
and it will not be anxious in a year of drought
nor cease to yield fruit"
(Jer 17:5-8).
that the wickedness of man was great on the earth,
and that every intent [yetzer] of the thoughts of
his heart was only evil continually"
(Gen 6:5).
"The LORD smelled the soothing aroma;
and the LORD said to Himself,
'I will never again curse the ground on account of man,
for the intent [yetzer]
of man’s heart is evil from his youth; and I will never again
destroy every living thing, as I have done"
(Gen 8:21).
"Then it shall come about, when many
evils and troubles have come upon them,
that this song
will testify before them as a
witness
(for it shall not be forgotten from the lips of their descendants);
for I know their intent [yetzer] which they are developing today, before I have brought them into the land which I swore" (Deut 31:21). While an equivalence between the Torah and the Sinai Covenant is typically assumed and nearly universally accepted by Christians and Jews alike (i.e., the Torah is the Sinai Covenant), a close reading of the introduction (Genesis 1-11) and the conclusion
(Deuteronomy 29-34) of the Torah does not support this conclusion.
In the beginning and the end of the Torah, exile from Eden
(Gen 3:23-24)
and from the Promised Land
(Deut 30:1-2)
is certain because Adam [humanity] and
Israel break God's commands.
Israel, like Adam's early descendants, most assuredly
will find themselves in Babylon (Gen 11:1-9; 2 Kings 25).
From the perspective of Moses, the problem has to do with the human inclination (yetzer), which is continually bent on doing evil. The situation cannot be fixed by working harder and trying to do better.
Rather, the problem of the inclination requires
a divine surgeon
who performs open-heart surgery
"Moreover the LORD your God will
circumcise your heart and the
heart of your descendants,
to love the LORD your God
with all your heart and with all your soul,
so that you may live"
(Deut 30:6).
Moses, no doubt, was the mediator of the Sinai Covenant.
But having lived in the shadow of Israel's repeated failures
for 40 years,
and foreseeing the certainties of a broken covenant and exile
(Deuteronomy 4:24-30; 30:1—32:43),
Moses, and all the prophets who followed him,
were
avid preachers of the New Covenant
(e.g., Jer 31:31-34; Ezek 36:24-27).
To be true to the message of
Moses and the Prophets,
therefore,
is to believe in Jesus.
"So, having obtained help from God,
I stand to this day
testifying both to small and great,
stating nothing but what the
Prophets and Moses
said was going to take place"
(Acts 26:22).
"While they were ministering to the Lord and fasting,
the Holy Spirit said,
'Set apart for Me
Barnabas and Saul for the
work to which
I have called them.'
Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them,
they sent them away" (Acts 13:2-3). Cults and cult-like congregations are always tightly controlled and carefully monitored by their "all wise, always right" leaders.
The book of Acts, however, paints a very different picture of healthy leadership. While the twelve apostles had, no doubt, a very unique role in the early church, and their authority is foundational to the church, the apostles do not function as "big brothers" in the book. Key moments in the story of redemption take place when God's people, who are not necessarily at the top of the chain of command, preach God's word (Stephen, Philip, etc.) and pray (Ananias, the church in Antioch, etc.).
Why?
Because healthy leadership and church growth
is all about
The Acts
of
The Holy Spirit,
not the Acts of the Apostles
"So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit,
they went down to Seleucia
and from there
they sailed to Cyprus"
(Acts 13:4).
"On an appointed day Herod, having put on his royal apparel, took his seat on the rostrum and began delivering an address to them. The people kept crying out, 'The voice of a god and not of a man!'" (Acts 12:21-22). Why do we choose to put our hope in people who look nice on the outside but in real life publicly destroy those who tar their image (Acts 12:19), people who do extraordinary deeds in front of the TV camera, but in real life can't even defeat a worm (Acts 12:23)? How much better to put our hope in the God who gives us hope in the face of death (Acts 12:2), freedom from our chains (Acts 12:7), and who is not limited or angered to act on our behalf in spite of our tiny faith (Acts 12:15-16). "Thus says the LORD, “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind and makes flesh his strength, and whose heart turns away from the LORD. For he will be like a bush in the desert and will not see when prosperity comes, but will live in stony wastes in the wilderness, a land of salt without inhabitant.
"Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD and whose trust is the LORD. For he will be like a tree planted by the water, that extends its roots by a stream and will not fear when the heat comes;
But its leaves will be green,
and it will not be anxious in a year of drought
nor cease to yield fruit"
(Jer 17:5-8).