CEM’s Ron Dart on the Law and Repentance

In his March 1, 2008 post, CEM’s Ron Dart wrote:

Reflections on Psalm 1

     The law of God is not a yoke of bondage, nor is it shackles and chains. It is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. The law of God is a descriptor of what works in life. The man who internalizes it gains an edge. Men will study books day and night that they think will give them an edge in the stock market. They do it for money. The law of God gives a man an edge in everything.

      The law can be a painful study because we break it so often. It is not that we can’t keep the law in any one of its parts or on any given occasion. We can do that. But keeping it perfectly all the time is rather beyond most of us. Superficially, the law seems complicated, but that is only because the law is about life. It is life that is complicated. So when we study the law, and “meditate on it day and night,” we routinely come across mistakes we have made. There is no gain in agonizing over past mistakes. The gain is in recognizing them and correcting them. The grace of God is what allows us to use the law without being discouraged by it.

      The stock market makes a good analogy; we do not feel guilty when we make a mistake investing. We cut our losses and try not to make the same mistake again. When we study the law of God, we do feel guilty. Yet, what God is after is not guilt, but change. What he wants us to do is learn from our mistakes and not repeat them. It’s called repentance.

And the above is essentially correct.

The law of God is not some type of horrible burden that we should violate because we are not perfect.

Jesus taught:

Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect (Matthew 5:48).

And even though Paul noted:

…all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).

He also wrote:

For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries (Hebrews 10:26-27).

Thus, we are to avoid sin. Much more than most Protestant theologians tend to teach.

Several articles of related interest may include:

Hope of Salvation: How the Living Church of God differ from most Protestants How the Living Church of God differs from mainstream/traditional Protestants, is perhaps the question I am asked most by those without a Church of God background.
The Similarities and Dissimilarities between Martin Luther and Herbert W. Armstrong This article clearly shows some of the doctrinal differences between in the two. At this time of doctrinal variety and a tendency by many to accept certain aspects of Protestantism, the article should help clarify why the Living Church of God is NOT Protestant. Do you really know what the Protestant Reformer Martin Luther taught and should you follow his doctrinal example?
Were the Pharisees Condemned for Keeping the Law or Reasoning Around it? Many believe that the Pharisees were condemned for keeping the law, but what does your Bible say? If they were not condemned for that, what were they condemned for?
The Ten Commandments Reflect Love, Breaking them is Evil Some feel that the ten commandments are a burden. Is that what Jesus, Paul, Peter, James, and John taught?
Was the Commandment to Love the Only Command? Some have stated that John’s writings teach this, but is that what the Bible really says?
The Ten Commandments and the Early Church Did Jesus and the Early Church keep the ten commandments? What order were they in? Here are quotes from the Bible and early writings.