The Christian answer to every question.

I can't take credit for this. I learned it from one of my professors in Seminary. He might be one of the best theologians I ever met... but also one of the humblest men I've ever known...

 

A combination that isn't by accident. Humility is a prerequisite to true understanding and wisdom.

 

But he used to say that there's a single answer to almost every question anyone might ask you...

 

"Why do you want to know?"  

 

Yeah, the answer to every question is another question.

 

And there's reason for that. A lot of times we think we need to give people "academic" answers, easy truths, that might fill a "blank" on some kind of Divinely instituted scan-tron sheet that represents the final exam of life...

 

But God isn't all that concerned with us having all the "right" answers.

 

Because God never answers our questions in a vacuum.

 

Almost every question someone asks has an unarticulated "question behind the question." To put it another way, there's a reason why (usually a very personal one) someone is asking certain questions.

 

God's answers (and the answers we should give) do more than give people information. They affect people at the heart-level.

 

One way that Theologians have discussed this is through what's called the proper distinction between law and gospel. 

 

Before we get to the "content" of God's law and God's gospel... let's talk about the function...  

 

In other words, how does it hit people when they hear "law oriented" vs. "gospel oriented" answers to their questions?

 

First, the law.

 

Theologians talk about "three uses" of the Law. I think a better term would be the three "functions" of the law... because honestly... we don't use God's Word when we talk to people so much as we speak it... and the Holy Spirit uses it to affect people at the gut, or heart-level.

 

The so-called "first use" of the law is like a "curb." It is meant to restrain evil to a certain extent. "Do not murder," had to be said... even though long before there were ten commandments, it was still wrong for Cain to kill Abel (he knew it, too... because the law is written into our hearts, into the fabric of creation... it's a part of the blueprint of God's design for how things function best in his world). It's not always perfectly effective... it's sort of like the rules the teacher hung up in our classrooms the first day of school. They're there because (while we usually know the basics) we sometimes need a reminder to stay in-check. This is sometimes called the "civil" use of the law since it keeps some semblance of peace in the world. [e.g. Romans 13:1-7]

 

The "second use" (what I'd say is the primary function of the law) is more like a mirror. It shows us our sin, our imperfection. It exposes our brokenness. In other words, if we try to measure ourselves up according to God's law, we will invariably find that we fall short. We aren't as "holy" or "righteous" as we might think if we've been spending our lives trying to justify or weasel our way out through little "loopholes" of what we know is right or wrong. The point, then, is to show us that we NEED a savior... we need to rely on God because we can't make it through this broken world alone... we can't find God without divine intervention. [e.g. Romans 7:7-25]

 

The "third use" is sometimes called a "guide." [e.g. Galatians 4:22-26]. It's for those of us who already trust God, who know our behavior doesn't make us righteous and save us... but who out of the love we have for God, out of gratitude for everything God has done in our lives... we want to live our lives in a way that's pleasing and measures up to how God created us to be from the beginning. The thing about this "use" of the law, though, is that on this side of eternity "sin still wages a war" in our flesh.

 

Using the law as a "guide" is sort of like using a wolf as a seeing-eye dog. It may get you where you are trying to go, but it could turn around and bite you (second use/function) at any time.  

 

But it must be stated that the "third use" is the original use of natural law in creation. The only reason why the law always tends toward the second function (showing us our sin) is because we are broken/sinners. In the beginning, whatever was good, right, and beneficial, we delighted in. The "third use" is the Edenic use of the law. It's a reality for believers because (while we still live in the age of the flesh... we are also members of an everlasting age when Eden is/will be restored in the coming Kingdom of God) we have a share in our new reality already in faith.

 

Now what is the Gospel about? What is it's function?  

 

It's just the opposite of the "second use" of the law. The Gospel lifts us up from the pit of despair, from the hopelessness of our broken, perpetually self-centered, condition. If the law shows us our sin, the gospel shows us our savior. S.O.S.!

 

It shows us the good news of the Kingdom of God - a King who takes his throne on two pieces of wood meant for cursed criminals, who suffers and enters our suffering. Who dies and thereby enters our death. How secures victory over all suffering and death through his resurrection victory.

 

Where Jesus goes, you go. If you die with him, you are raised with him. If you cling to him in your suffering, in your despair, he will carry you through it into victorious resurrection life.

 

Beautiful, right? The thing is, words do things. God spoke "in the beginning" and made all things and declared them "good." God also speaks through us by harnessing the words we use, vesting them with His Spirit, and performs the functions he requires to both show us our sinful brokenness... and to show us our broken and resurrected savior. The Holy Spirit uses the "law and Gospel" to break us so he can rebuild us in His image. He uses your words to do it, too...

 

So when someone asks you a question, the answer depends on how they respond to, "Why do you want to know?"

 

Take a few (admittedly controversial) examples that people ask a lot...

 

"Hey, you're a Christian. I need to know. Is abortion a sin?"

 

"Why do you want to know?"

 

Now... here's where the conversation can take two very different routes...

 

"Well, let me tell you why I'm asking. My boyfriend and I are getting intimate and you know, just in case, I want to know it's okay... like if I get pregnant, I can just abort it right?"

 

Well, this might require a more "law" oriented answer. Note, that doesn't mean a "condemning" answer. More like, "You know, God created sexual intimacy for a purpose. It's sacred. It's meant to show his love, and that love should bear fruit. I think using abortion as an insurance policy just so you can do what you want with each other... diminishes God's beautiful design for the kind of intimacy he wants for you. I'd say in that instance, yeah, it's probably a sin because you're looking to satisfy yourself... and there's another life, albeit a potential life, that's at stake. You shouldn't be cavalier about that."

 

But what if the answer to the "why do you want to know" question is this:

 

"Well, ten years ago I had an abortion, and it's tearing me up inside. I can't stop thinking about what my child might be like if I'd made a different choice, and it's destroying me... I just can't shake the guilt."

 

If you piled "law" on a person in that situation, you'd only make it worse! If you just answered and said, "Yes, it's a huge sin! It's murder!" you'd crush them even more. This is a person who is already crushed... they need the Gospel, not more law!

 

You might say, "I understand how hard and painful that must be. But the good news is that Jesus understands, too. You realize, at the cross, he even offered forgiveness to the people who were torturing and crucifying him? He wants to embrace you, to hug you, and to redeem you. And you can trust that your child is in his arms... because he's not a vengeful God, but a God who embraces us in our failings, in our brokenness, and wants you to know that you're loved..."

 

I intentionally chose a very controversial issue to illustrate this... because one of the issues we have (especially these days) is that we've been very vocal about our "law oriented" answers to social issues and the questions people bring... but we really CAN'T answer questions about difficult issues like this that way... because people are asking these questions for different reasons. 

 

The bottom line is that the answers that God gives (and wants us to speak) aren't meant to merely teach people "right" or "wrong," but are meant to drive us to him, to cling to him... and depending where we are, sometimes we need a little law, we need more brokenness. Other times (most of the time) we're broken already... and it would be wrong to shove a knife into an already-broken heart. We need to hear about God's love!!! We need to hear that God doesn't view us through the lens of the worst things we've ever done, or through our failings, or according to our behaviors... he looks at us through the eyes of Jesus!!!

 

The same Jesus who intervened when religious men wanted to stone an adulterous woman... who said, "let he who is without sin cast the first stone" (John 8:7).

 

This woman was already broken... and the religious people wanted to stone her according to the law. But what did Jesus do? Well, he presented those religious people with some harsh law-talk. He showed them they're sinners... and he extended grace to this broken woman. Yes, he told her to go and sin no more, but only because she was literally saved by Jesus, will she find that the fruit of gratitude allows her to change.

 

So what questions do you have? You can ask yourself the same question. Why do you want to know? If I'm asking, "Is it a sin to drink alcohol" because I want to go out and get trashed and act like an idiot... or because I'm trying to use alcohol to "escape" the feelings of inadequacy or guilt I have over something much deeper... I may need a little law to show me what I'm really trying to do... BUT THE SECOND I feel that brokenness... and realize the truth of my condition... I need the Gospel answer. God isn't that concerned with what you eat or drink... but he loves you and he wants you to know that you don't need a substance to get through what's going on... he'll carry you through it!

 

See how much difference that makes? The older I get, the more I realize the wisdom of my professor's advice. Almost every question has a question behind it.

 

Why do you want to know?

 

Only then can we find the answer that draws us closer to God... that brings us the truth we need to hear based on the condition of our hearts.

 

Because God's words do things. They make reality. If he says you're redeemed, if he says you're righteous... you are... 

 

But his words can also tear down the false god of "self" that we hide behind as well. His word kills. His word gives life. Praise the Lord for it!

 

Blessings always!

 

Judah