From job description to the dictates of love

Law There was a man who employed a maid and gave her a job description. She was to wake up at 7 every morning and prepare breakfast for him and his elderly sick mother and make sure she took her medicine. Later she was to clean and tidy the whole house and do the laundry. After that she was to cook lunch for his mother and to make sure his mum took a nap. Later she was to cook dinner and take his wheelchair-bound mother for a walk in the nearby park. After dinner she was to iron the clothing and prepare his mum for bed. On Sundays she had her day off, and he would take care of his mum then. The maid did her best to follow the job description but she often failed and faltered, and she did her best to cover her failures.

The man fell in love with the maid and confessed his love for her. She responded in kind and soon they got married. After the wedding, the man took out the old job description and tore it away and said to her, “You are now my wife. We have a love and trust relationship with one another. We do not need a job descriptions. Do as your love dictates.”

The wife did everything she used to do for the man, now her husband, and his mother, now her mother in law. However she did even much more, giving them both much love, affection and she bore three children.  She did more than her old job description and with more love, energy, purpose, devotion and faithfulness.

But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of written code. (Rom 7:6)

But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.(Gal 5:18)

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  • A new website called “Liberate”, that proclaims the splendor of the Gospel. Hope that everyone reading this can check it out. It is also for those who are worn out by trying harder. May you be liberated to serve God in rest and in freedom. Here is the link: http://liberatenet.org/

  • This analogy only works for those who are employed as female maids. Males seldom become maids and get the opportunity to marry their female employers. Many females choose better work where it is seldom that they will have the opportunity to marry their male boss.
    ……. Some females are daughters of rich tycoons who do not have any job description. Such socialites will usually marry the sons of rich tycoons. They do not really have jobs and their mountains of money make even more money.

    Also, this analogy seems to be equating wives with maids. Ie men marry in order to get loving maids, not loving wives.

    I think this analogy is only half true, wrt the constant debate about ‘Law vs Grace’.
    ……. This analogy is very true for Jews(who keep Moses Law/job description-JOHN.15:3) who convert to Christianity, eg Peter and Paul.
    But this analogy cannot work when Gentiles(who are quite lawless=no job description) convert to Christianity, eg Timothy and Luke.

    In the maid-analogy, job description is like God’s laws. Most Gentiles do not know much about God’s laws b4 they converted; so the Holy Spirit of God won’t be able to inscribe God’s laws into their hearts and minds.(HEB.8:10 & 10:16, ROM.7:7 & 6:15) New Gentile Christians(GC) who are ignorant about God’s laws(Moses Law) will tend to commit sins bc the HS cannot help them if they do not know the Word(of God/Jesus Christ) in their hearts.
    ……. For Jewish Christians, the HS was able to easily inscribe God’s laws into their hearts and minds when they were born again bc as Jews they had kept Moses Law since childhood.
    ……. Only with the knowledge of God’s laws, could JC(the Word) and the HS empower them to supernaturally walk(or live) according to the Spirit,(not according to their evil flesh/hearts) and produce the fruit of the Spirit.(JOHN.6:63 & 15:5, GAL.2:20 & 5:16-22)
    ……. By the false prophets’/pastors’ fruits, we shall know them(MATT.7:15-23), ie they are unrepentant law-breakers or evildoers(works of the flesh).

    2TIM.3:14-17 says “ALL Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction,…….”
    ……. ALL Scripture means every Word that came from the mouth of God(MATT.4:4) and that includes both the Old and New Testament.
    ……. It is an error to teach Gentile Christians to ignore the OT, esp the moral laws in Moses Law, eg DEUT.18:9-14, LEV.10:9, etc.

    Of course, we should not teach the GC to be like the Jews, ie to believe that they are saved from hell by keeping Moses Law or God’s laws. That’s legalism or a wrong doctrine.
    ……. But the continued ignorance of God’s laws(ignorance of the law is no excuse) by new GC can result in being cursed by God(DEU.28:15) and the death of the seed Word of salvation(MATT.13:18-23) GC should heed the warning of the Word of God at HEB.10:26-31, 1COR.6:9-11, REV.21:8, etc where ignorant and unrepentant evildoing believers failed to inherit the kingdom of God.

    At ACTS.15:29, God gave new GC nearly full exemption from Moses Law, so as not to burden them with drastic changes to their lives. I think God was loving by giving them reasonable time to transform their former lawless lives to law-abiding lives.
    ……. They should utilise their liberty from the Law to grow spiritually by feeding on the Word/JC(JOHN.1:1, 1COR.3:1-3). They should not remain forever in the lawlessness of their former unconverted lives.

    Eg the law of circumcision required the male Jews to be circumcised as babies. This law is good(ROM.7:12). It reminded them about their Abrahamic covenant, was more hygienic and reduced lustiness by desensitizing the forehead of their penis. That is why uncircumcised China and India have very large population, ie they bred like horny rabbits.
    ……. Requiring new adult GC to be keep Moses Law and be circumcised would incapacitate them for > 1 month and they would be in a hell of an agony when they ‘accidentally’ have an erection, eg if he got a sexy wife.(GEN.34:25) Since Moses Law did not save people from hell, it was not necessary to put them thru “hell” on earth or burden them.
    ……. Instead, they could circumcise their hearts(ROM.2:29) by walking in the Spirit in overcoming the strong lust that is in their evil hearts/flesh(MARK.7:20-23). Ie, when they allow the HS to empower them to obey the Word/JC, “Thou shall not commit adultery(EXO.20:14) or incest or rape or fornication, etc(LEV.18)”. The HS only answers to the Word/JC(JOHN.16:15)
    ……. This ability to keep God’s laws was not achieved by their own strength, willpower or wisdom.
    ……. Also, it is advisable for male babies of GC to be circumcised bc this is not a burden to them.

    The HS can help(JOHN.14:16) new GC a lot if they learn more about the Word of God in the OT. Keeping God’s laws, esp the moral laws, will bring much earthly blessings from God(DEU.28:1-2) bc they do not go straight to heaven when they converted. Ignoring them will bring dire consequences.

    For the Jewish Christians, the Law came to them first, then only Grace.
    For the Gentile Christians, Grace came to them first, then only the Law.
    The end “product” of both should be the same, ie law-abiding believers.
    It was wrong for the Jews to reject the Grace of Christ and stubbornly believed that the keeping of Moses Law could save them from hell.
    I think it is equally wrong for GC to totally ignore the laws of God and stubbornly believe that Grace has already saved them from hell when they converted.(1COR.9:24-27, 1TIM.6:11-12, 2TIM.2:5 & 4:1-8)

    I believe Scripture says that only law-abiding believers inherit the kingdom of God.(REV.22:15)

  • IMO,……. At MATT.25:1-13, the Lord Jesus gave the parable of the ten virgins, which is about His 2nd Coming.
    …. The 5 virgins who took oil together with their lamps were able to meet the bridegroom who came at an unexpected hour.
    1. Virgins symbolize purity. They r likened to law-abiding believers who hv kept their hands free from sins/evil deeds.
    2. The lamps which give light in our dark world symbolize the light of the Word/JC(JOHN.1:9). Without the lamps, the ten virgins would hv stumbled in the dark nite, getting lost in their way or getting bitten by snakes(Satan) or falling into a ditch.
    3. The oil that feeds the lamps symbolize the Holy Spirit who empowers believers in accord with the Word of God.

    So, it is law-abiding believers who rely on both the Word/JC n the HS to do things that pleases God the Father, who will be able to meet JC at His 2nd Coming.

    At 1JOHN.4:8, the apostle John said that there r 3 that bear witness on earth that Jesus is the Christ; the Spirit, the water , n the blood; n these 3 agree as 1.
    …. 1JOHN.4:6 says that JC came by water n blood. JOHN.1:1 says JC was the Word.
    …. So, on earth, believers hv to rely on JC the Word n the HS in order to meet JC at His 2nd Coming n to go to heaven to meet God the Father(see the face of God – REV.22:4).

    Grace or a Spirit-filled life should produce the fruits/works of the Spirit, which is obedience to the laws/Word of God.
    …. Grace uses the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Lamps n oil.

    Peace.

    Peace.

    • … Grace or a Spirit-filled life should produce the fruits/works of the Spirit, which is obedience to the laws/Word of God…

      Finally something that I can agree with you! 🙂

      Indeed, true grace from God will (must) eventually produce many fruits in a believer’s life, amongst which is the power to obey His laws.

      So knowing that grace surely produces obedience, why not simply receive the former in faith and thanksgiving rather than the common Christian response of just going after the latter by one’s own power and efforts?

      I honestly think if we all depend on God to produce the fruit in our lives by his grace, we will see a lot more results in our walk.

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