CONCLUSION - The answer to the question of universal
righteousness lies in the in the heart - a matter of the heart. We might even say that that is the heart of
the matter. For if God has created man
in His own image, that image must reflect not only the ability to do
righteously, but the desire as well - a willful desire to act righteously or
unrighteously.
Nowhere is this better illustrated than in the
lives of Cain and Abel. Abel's sacrifice
was not better than Cain's - Abel's desire was better. That is to say, his heart was right. This is why God said to Cain, "If you do well will not your
countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well sin is crouching at the
door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it" (Genesis
4:7).
"You
must master it."
The word for "master" is mashal מָשַׁל which is a primitive root verb (indicating action),
which means to rule or exercise dominion. To exercise dominion over sin is more a thing
of the heart than of the head - it is of the spirit.
This is precisely why
long ages later nothing about human nature had changed when David made this clear
in his Psalm of contrition: "The sacrifices of God are a broken
spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise" (Psalm
51:17).
The Complete Jewish Bible translates this verse as: " My sacrifice to God is a broken spirit; God, you won't spurn a broken,
chastened heart" (Psalm
51:17).
Does this mean that God is not pleased with acts
of righteousness? Certainly not, but
God's nature, His attributes, His acts, come not from a mechanical
demonstration of truth, but from His lovingkindness. To truly reflect the image of God, we must
act from the heart - a heart that has been fully surrendered to the Image and
Person of God. This is why the advanced
knowledge and adherence to the Law of a high ranking and righteous leader of the
Pharisees while commendable, was yet incomplete, hence Jesus said to Nicodemus: "Truly,
truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of
God" (John 3:3).
Being born again requires an act of surrender,
and such an act is an act of the will.
That act does not save, but it makes salvation possible when it is an
act of faith - "nevertheless knowing that
a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ
Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by
faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law
no flesh will be justified" (Galatians 2:16).
"For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of
yourselves, it is the gift of God" ( Ephesians 2:8).
Faith is an act of the will - otherwise there
would either be universal salvation or universal death. God has called us to righteousness but such
righteousness is to come from the a transformed heart. Does this business of the heart, the will,
faith, and righteousness seem all mixed up?
It should because it is. It is
all inextricably bound together in the mystery of being mortal yet mortal as an
image of the divine.
Human beings have been created capable of
knowing moral truth - right from wrong.
Human beings have been created capable of doing moral truth - of
choosing right or wrong. Human beings
have been created capable of choosing for the right reason, and the wrong
reason. Human beings have been created
capable of full surrender to their Creator, and capable of willful
rebellion. Human beings have been given
the truth - from natural law, the Noahide, and the Scriptures. The choice is ours, and we are without
excuse.
"Come
now, and let us reason together," Says the LORD, "Though your sins
are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like
crimson, They will be like wool" (Isaiah 1:18).
Epilogue
The astute student may have noticed that with
the exception of its use earlier in the reference to Romans 2:15, the word "conscience" has not been
used. The word as Paul employed it in
Romans 2:15 is συνείδησις
(soon-i'-day-sis) meaning the soul as
distinguishing between what is morally good and bad, prompting to do the former
and shun the latter, commending one, condemning the other.
Based on the Greek definition of that word, my
lack of its use might be viewed as an oversight. To explain my reasoning for not using it,
let's take a look at the modern definition of the word.
a : the sense or consciousness of the moral
goodness or blameworthiness of one's own conduct, intentions, or character
together with a feeling of obligation to do right or be good (She had a guilty
conscience).
b : a faculty, power, or principle enjoining good
acts guided by conscience
c : the part of the superego in psychoanalysis
that transmits commands and admonitions to the ego 1
The true (or original) meaning/understanding of
a word can be obscured by its common use or overuse. Notice: " c :
the part of the superego in psychoanalysis that transmits commands and
admonitions to the ego." 1
It may be argued that for the most part (at
least in English speaking Western culture), the word conscience means little more than the learned responses of the ego,
and as such is nothing other than a reaction to external stimuli since human
beings do not possess an everlasting and never dying entity of life - a
soul. In other words, there really is no
such thing as the conscience that is
innate, only learned, and for this reason the common understanding of the word conscience obscures its original meaning.
Therefore, I have chosen to avoid a
misunderstanding by avoiding the clash of terminology.
Finally, have we exhausted the subject of how
human beings know the moral difference between right and wrong? No, we have hardly scratched the
surface. Furthermore, this is not a
course on personal salvation, and certainly not even an introduction to the
doctrines of hamartiology and Soteriology.
Nevertheless, if you the student as you listened
to or read this lecture found yourself agreeing or disagreeing with certain
points, then you have given yourself your own proof that you are capable of
knowing moral truth, and making choices as to how you are willing to process
that truth.
This confirms that both of us are responsible
for how (as an act of our own free-will) we choose to either obey or disobey
natural law, the laws of the Noahide, and the other laws of God as they have
been more fully revealed to us in the Scriptures - laws which are tutors
leading us to Christ, and then sending us as tutors to others.
"Therefore,
we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us;
we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God"
(II Corinthians 5:20).
For a deeper study,
you are encouraged to consider enrolling in our 3 credit-hour academic course
"THE LAW OF UNIVERSAL RIGHTEOUSNESS: Natural Law, the Noahide, and the
Torah." You can check out all of our regular academic programs by clicking
this link: PROGRAMS.
Thank you for sharing time with me. I hope this brief post
will encourage you to want to learn more about the laws of universal
righteousness, and the manner in which God has implanted the awareness of right
and wrong within your own heart and mind.
Soli Deo gloria
Dennis D. Frey, Th.D.,
1.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conscience
