What Is the Law? (Guest Episode feat. Brad Wenclewicz)

Hello, everyone. Thanks for listening to Wake Up, Look Up, a podcast where we connect events happening in real time to the gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm Zach Weihrauch. And this summer, we're doing something a little unique as I do a little traveling. I'm having some of my friends guest host episodes that I have produced.

I could not be more excited for you to hear what they have to say, and today's episode is no exception. You're gonna love it. Hi. My name is Brad Wenclewicz. In today's episode, we're asking the question, what is the law?

This question stems from an an article written by a colleague of mine reflecting on a moment when his four year old son asks him, what is the law? In the article, the author reflects on the complexity of the law, explaining how it encompasses rules, ethics, obligations, and societal systems. And the author looks to different definitions, one posed by Aristotle, who defined law as reason free from passion. Seeking a simpler answer for a sign, the author relies on a Hebrew word, shadek, which is often translated as righteousness or justice or, more simply, the right thing. He concludes the article by answering his son, Buddy, the law is doing the right thing.

Now from a Christian standpoint, I agree with my colleague. At its heart, the law is doing the right thing. However, this leads to an important follow-up question. What is the right thing, and who determines what is right? Is it society?

People in power? Kings, queens, presidents, judges? Do you, as an individual, get to determine what is just, or is there something or someone above us, both individually and collectively, which determines what is right, true, and beautiful? From a Christian standpoint, justice is not merely a social construct, a procedural idea, or individual preference, but is rooted in the unchanging characteristic of God. As Isaiah thirty eighteen reads, for the Lord is a God of justice.

Blessed are those who wait for him. Justice is not just about fairness and behavior, but about covenantal faithfulness, doing what is right according to God's standards, not human speculation. And from this standpoint, I have three points on the law or justice that I'd like to make. One, justice is not autonomous. In other words, doing the right thing is not self evident, but is determined by scripture in right relationship with with God.

Certainly, God has placed the moral law in our hearts, which tells us what we ought to do. But the problem with our hearts is that they can be deceitful. As Jeremiah seventeen nine reminds us, the heart is deceitful above all else, and who can trust it? And, therefore, the heart is not a great barometer for determining what is true, and we must base our our truth and justice on something beyond ourself. As Proverbs three reminds us, trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean on your own understanding.

But in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your path straight. Two, justice is relational. The law and justice, when spoken about in scripture, is always from God and for people and by people, and that is because we are made in the image of God. Very rarely will you hear someone seeking justice for the gazelle being eaten by a lion, and that is because justice assumes a moral universe and a personal God who places dignity in every human life. Christ, when speaking of the Old Testament law, looking at the 613 law, summarizes them into two.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. Justice, in its truest sense, shows us what we were created to do, and that is to worship God and be in right relationship with others. And three, justice is redemptive. Justice not only recognizes the evils in the world and how things need to change, but it holds out hope. Unlike a purely procedural or retributive legal system, justice holds out hope of restoration and reconciliation, upholding righteousness while at the same time creating a way for mercy to triumph.

But this hope is only given to us because of what God did on the cross. Restoration and reconciliation are offered to us, but only to those who accept it in Christ Jesus. As Romans three and second Corinthians five reminds us that God made Christ an atonement for our sin, reconciling those who put their faith in him. As a final thought, true justice leads to the cross, to my agnostic friend who lost his mother, to the orphan longing for a family, to the addict seeking to be clean, to the prodigal son finding fulfillment in the temporary pleasures of this world. In all of our longings and sufferings, we long for justice.

And in that longing, I implore you to look to the cross where true, pure justice and unimaginable mercy meet. Justice, found in Christ, will not only answer our questions of pain, but will transform us here, now, and forevermore. So to answer my own daughter's question, what is the law? Sweetie, the law is what is right and comes from God. And from him, all truth, honor, beauty, and love exist.

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Creators and Guests

Zach Weihrauch
Host
Zach Weihrauch
Follower of Jesus who has graciously given me a wife to love, children to shepherd, and a church to pastor.
What Is the Law? (Guest Episode feat. Brad Wenclewicz)
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