Paul and law

This Sunday we took a look at some of the things Paul has to say about laws, law, and the Law, in Galatians.

Was Paul confused? He says we are not under the law, then he says we are under a law, and then he says there are some things we do which are against no law. Lots of talk about law but little clarity . . . but is that really true? The short answer is, “No.” Paul is not confused and there is clarity there but only if we spend a moment or two ensuring we know what is actually being talked about.

[An aside: One of the most pernicious problems with the interpretation of Scripture is the excellence of our translations. Sound odd? Let me explain. If our Scripture translations used words we didn’t understand and/or had difficult sentence construction we would know we have to make sure we understand what is actually going on. Modern translations, at least in English, have smoothed all of that out with the unfortunate side-effect of making us think we understand what is going on when sometimes, sometimes we really don’t. If you want to discuss this further, drop me a line, I’d be happy to go into more depth regardless of whether or not you think I’m correct.]

Part of both sermons is devoted to drawing some distinctions between the various uses of the word “law,” with a bit of discussion about “freedom” thrown in for good measure. Once that is done we get down to the nitty-gritty of what might be going on here and come to the conclusion that what Jesus said about law is the way forward. Let me know what you think.

“Law or no law” Knox Presbyterian (to download, right click and select “Save Link As . . .”)