A Loophole

[0:00] A pastor's reflections. A loophole. Exodus 20, 17. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house,! Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is thy neighbor's.

[0:19] Psalms 139, verse 7. Whither shall I go from thy spirit, or whither shall I flee from thy presence? Proverbs 21, 30. There is no wisdom, nor understanding, nor counsel against the Lord.

[0:36] Fallen man is always looking for a loophole by which to advantage himself. If only he could find a way to get around whatever law, regulation, or responsibility that he knows he is obliged to fulfill.

[0:49] Man, therefore, views God as the ultimate rule-setter, and so is always looking for the God loophole. If only he could find a way to advantage himself at God's expense.

[1:05] In Exodus 20, 17, God is rounding out the last of the Ten Commandments. I am sure at this point, Israel is also thinking that they wish they could find a loophole to some of these commands.

[1:17] Maybe there is a way they could gain the benefit of God's law without having to actually keep all of God's law. As God was speaking forth this last command, they may have been thinking this was it, finally, the command that contained a loophole.

[1:36] Okay, as long as I don't covet my neighbor's house, wife, manservant, maidservant, ox, or his donkey, I'm good. But then God finished this command with the sweeping statement, or anything that is thy neighbor's.

[1:55] Well, that did it. There goes the loophole. With God, there are no loopholes. There is nothing that God has overlooked. There is no clause or phrase that he has misspoke or misspelled.

[2:08] With God, there is only the ever-present reality of the accountability and responsibility that we owe to our Creator. In God's commands, there are no loopholes that fallen man could ever find to advantage himself at God's expense.

[2:27] So God made one himself. Remarkably, God himself made a way that fallen man might be advantaged at God's expense.

[2:38] Seeing no way for man to come out from under the curse pronounced by the law, God himself became a curse to open a loophole by which we might enter into all the advantages of God.

[2:54] God would send his one and only Son to die man's death so that man would now have the amazingly unheard of advantage of living God's life.

[3:05] How silly it is for us to still be seeking ways to get around God. As if we could somehow slip something by the Lord, if only he wasn't looking.

[3:18] The reality is, we don't want anything to get by God. We want God to be fully aware and fully involved in everything. Romans 8.28 And we know that all things work together for good.

[3:32] I am so glad for the anythings and all things of God's word. What one thing would you choose to not be a part of all things working together for good?

[3:50] Colossians 1.20 Which of the all things reconciled to God by the cross would you have God leave out?

[4:06] No. I am so thankful there are no loopholes to God's law, God's love, and God's grace. But there is a loophole to God's heart.

[4:18] And it is Jesus. Today, don't let the fallen nature convince you that there is no advantage with God. On the contrary, all the advantages of God have been made possible not by loopholes, but by nail holes.

[4:36] Jesus, thank you for paying the price for my advantage. Thank you for bearing the disadvantage of the cross. So that all the things of my life may now come under all the advantages of your life.

[4:52] Help me today to live in the advantage of your love. Amen. Amen.