New Discovery Baptist Church Blog

The Law is for Everyone….Wait, what?

2: What does it do?

Last time we met here on the blog (it’s been far too long, I know), we opened with a question: Why did God create the law? We landed with the answer: To reveal God’s character to us, to reveal our character to us, to show us the disparity between the two, and to indicate that we should look to Him to bridge that gap. While that sounds quite profound, we didn’t leave with any indication of what to do with it. This time, I want to steer toward the question: What are these texts for? That sounds like I’m reframing the first question, and perhaps I am, but stick with me, please. If we are trying to understand why God created the law, and we seek to know what to do with it, we must ask the question: What does the law do? I know the syntax is a bit silly, but it’s not without intent. It reminds me of the old joke: “Where does that road go?” To which the respondent says, “It doesn’t go anywhere, it’s been there my whole life and hasn’t moved.” I can’t promise there are no more bad jokes in this installment of the NDBC blog, but I’ll try. Let’s move on and see if we can answer our question, shall we?

As it is often said, Leviticus is the most exciting, engaging book in the Bible. Wait…nobody said that (at least not in my lifetime). Quite the contrary, we often look at the Torah (except Genesis) and say, “That’s the most boring part of my Bible reading plan”, don’t we? As a bi-vocational pastor and leader in the workplace, one thing that I’ve come to learn is that people are a lot more likely to appreciate a directive if they understand why it exists. So that’s where we’re headed today.

We established already that the Torah is 248 explicit commands and 365 prohibitions that act as a formula that we use to earn righteousness, right? Hardly. The Torah does contain 613 instructions, and the Pharisees were convinced that following them was the path to godliness, but there’s one little problem: Jesus. Jesus encountered all kinds of people from every walk of life, and He was kind and compassionate to almost every one of them. There was one group, however, that He seemed to really struggle to be nice to. Who was that? Not just the Pharisees, but the religious elite in general. Pharisees, Sadducees and the scribes as well. Who were the Sadducees? Well, they were a sect of Jews who didn’t believe in resurrection. That’s why they were sad, ya see? Sorry.

Moving on, these religious people were the only people you really see Jesus fussing with. Why do you suppose that is? They knew all God’s commands, they seemed really keen on keeping them as well. What were they missing? What they were missing is exactly what we may be missing: Why was it all there? How do we apply Torah in a way that impacts us as God designed it to? There are some Sunday School answers that hold merit, but don’t fully unpack what we’re after here. “The law shows us that we can’t be righteous on our own” is a very true statement, but it’s incomplete on its own. “The law existed for Jesus to fulfill, as only He could do so and earn our righteousness” is another true statement that doesn’t really answer our question. A more complete Sunday School answer, though even more vague than the first two might be “To point us toward our need for Jesus”. Now we’re trending in the right direction, but we’re not quite there. So let’s dive into my best attempt at Christian philosophy, if such a thing exists.

If we claim to hold a view of scripture that leads us to a conclusion that God created us; that His created humans fell into sin through their own choice; that God made a covenant with certain humans that He always intended to evolve into a covenant with all humans and that Jesus Christ fulfilled this covenant once and for all, we must ask ourselves the question: Why would God be inclined to do such a thing? What did God see in us that would lead Him to do all that He did for us?

Again, we cannot know the mind of God, but we can make observations based on His character as claimed in the Bible, and based on the things He has done, and those observations can give us an answer, albeit an incomplete one. I suspect we could all agree that God’s choice to redeem us is based on His perfectly righteous decision to love us, the sinful creatures that we are. How God has managed to untangle us from our sin that he hates, in order to love us, is beyond my understanding. I just know that He loves us, according to His own testimony and my experience in life.

If we believe that God loves us, and that He redeemed us based on that, then we must understand that this whole overarching Biblical story from creation to Revelation is a picture of how much God loves us, and to what lengths He went to redeem us because of His love. Remember that God knows and sees from eternity past to eternity future, along with all that lies between, we see that there were no afterthoughts in scripture. God did not enact a “Plan B”. In fact God did not have a “Plan B”, because He perfectly understood the outcome of “Plan A” before it began. So even though God hadn’t yet written on the tablets for Moses when Eve decided to lean on her own understanding and disobey God, even though Jesus hadn’t been crucified when the law He was to fulfill was written, God crafted His law with all of this in mind.

Back to our question: What does it do? It doesn’t do anything. It represents something: God’s love for us. That’s right, God created the law, or Torah as I’d prefer to call it, because He loves us. I know what you’re thinking: There is no way that all these rules and regulations are a product of love. Why would someone who loves me try to keep me from so much? And that’s a product of how quickly our modern cultural context overtakes our ability to see scripture clearly. Allow me to illustrate:

Speed limits exist to help guide people into safe driving habits, right? Most police officers won’t pull you over for doing 74 in a 70, right? So we push the envelope. 75, 77, 81, then we see the lights. I’ll leave it to your imagination what expletive you might or might not mutter as you flip your signal on and head for the shoulder of the interstate, already frustrated at what this is going to cost you. You might even feel indignant, because you see cops driving that fast all the time, right? By this point, we’ve completely lost sight of the goal of the law, haven’t we? In fact we never had it, or we wouldn’t have been contemplating that we could get by at 74.

What’s my point? One of the statements I have made that got me admonished in the IFB was that a Godly person needs a thin rule book. What I’m saying is that God’s law exists to help us learn to make good decisions according to His judgment. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; in all your ways know him, and he will make your paths straight. Don’t be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and turn away from evil. This will be healing for your body and strengthening for your bones.” That’s Proverbs 3:5-8. Solomon gets it. God will make our paths straight when we lean on His understanding. The whole notion of Torah as “wisdom literature” is this: These laws, combined with the stories and poetry in the first 5 books of our Bibles are designed to be distilled into principles of living that honor God.

I don’t know if the next blog post will continue about the law, or move on to another topic, I’m going to have to pray about it. At this moment, I feel like everything that needs to be said has been said. Please feel free to reach out to us at New Discovery Baptist Church on Facebook, or me personally at pastor.joevanella@gmail.com if you have any questions, comments or input. As always, feel free to join us online or in person at the service times listed on our website. Have a blessed day!

1: What is the law?

January 25, 2025

Joe Vanella, Associate Pastor of Evangelism

It’s been a cold, snowy January, hasn’t it? As I sit in my office at early o’clock, it’s 15 degrees on the other side of the window, and pretty chilly even here in the office. We’ve missed more church than any of us care to miss due to the weather, and with that comes missing out on Sunday School. But since we’ve been faithfully reading our personal study guides and working through the passages on our own (we have, right?), we should be prepared to consider this thought: Why did God give us the Law?

Let’s be upfront in realizing that we simply can’t know the mind of God. That’s not how this works, and scripture reminds us of this (Isaiah 40:13, Job 39-42, Romans 11:34, 1 Cor. 2:16, etc). So the rest of this is heresy, right? Not quite. While we can’t know the mind of God, we can survey scripture, and with the help of the Holy Spirit, we can see some things that illustrate God’s purposes. In fact, not only can we do this, but we must do this. In the opening paragraph of the book of James, the author suggests that if any of us lacks wisdom, that we should ask God. I don’t think that’s the writer’s opinion, I think that’s the inspired Word of God and that it’s a nudge we ought to be nudged by. So as we dive in, if any of us lacks wisdom (myself included), let us ask God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach.

Let’s begin with the word law itself. What comes to mind when we think “The Law”, is probably different for each of us. Being a nerd who loves to think about language, “The long arm of the law” was the first thought, alongside speed limits, property taxes, and a million other things. The common theme among these is the restrictions imposed by the governing body, and their ability and right/responsibility to enforce these restrictions. Is that what the first 5 books of the Bible (commonly known as the books of the law) are? Not quite. So why do we call these books “the law”? The reasoning is layered. One reason is that it contains the Jewish code of conduct, rules for rituals, framework for festivals and much more, that can be broken down to 613 “laws” (248 commands, 365 prohibitions). This begins with the Ten Commandments, and continues sporadically through the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.

Another part of the reason we use the term law for God’s instructions is because we often translate the Hebrew word “Torah” as law. The funny thing is that isn’t necessarily the best English word to describe Torah. Instruction or teaching would be more accurate ways to depict Torah, as it seemed to be applied across the Old Testament, and even by Christ Himself, as we see repeatedly in the Sermon on the Mount. I believe that scripture consistently supports the definition of Torah as “That which leads to wisdom”. If you disagree, please don’t stop following this series. Stick around, in the weeks and months to come we’ll unpack God’s perspective on His law, from His word, and see where we land. To loosely quote A.W. Tozer, It is the responsibility of a teacher to see things as they are, and upon seeing them, to conform their teachings to them.

As we go through this series of blog posts, my prayer is to seek a deeper understanding of why God created this framework of “terms and conditions”, and what He really wants us to do with them. I want to challenge the common Christian perspective that since the law was fulfilled by Christ (which is absolutely true), it must hold no value to us. I don’t think that’s a responsible approach to interpreting and applying scripture. I believe that God’s law is in our hands in 2025 because God wants us to have it, and not with the place value of a dictionary or history book. I hope to eradicate any thoughts that the law holds nothing more than historical and theological value, because it’s far more valuable to us than that. Lastly, I want to ensure we understand that the law was never a path to being in a right relationship with God. The path to God has been through grace because of God’s mercy since the beginning, and scripture says it will remain there until the end.

I’m trying to keep these short, so I’ll close this week’s post with this response to the question “Why did God create the law?” To reveal His character to us, to reveal our character to us, to show us the disparity between the two, and to indicate that we should look to Him to bridge that gap.

Thanks, and I hope to see you in Church on Sunday!

The Power of Fellowship: A Reflection on Proverbs 27:17

Joe Vanella, Associate Pastor of Evangelism.

"As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another."

In a world where individualism often takes center stage, it’s easy to lose sight of the value of meaningful relationships.  As men, we are taught to be independent, strong, and self-sufficient, but the truth is, we are not designed to walk alone.  Proverbs 27:17 gives us a beautiful reminder of the transformative power of fellowship: "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another."  This verse not only highlights the value of relationships but also provides a framework for understanding the significance of Christian fellowship in a man's life.

The Purpose of Fellowship

Fellowship, at its roots, is about connection.  It's about sharing life with other believers, celebrating victories, bearing burdens, having accountability and growing together.  Proverbs 27:17 captures this beautifully by using the analogy of iron sharpening iron.  In ancient agriculture, mowing scythes were sharpened by a process known as peening.  Using a hammer and an anvil of sorts, the metal at the edge of the scythe would be carefully brought to a razor’s edge by the deliberate and exact blows of the hammer, applying force exactly where it was needed to reform the tool’s cutting edge.  This was done frequently, as the scythe needed to be dead sharp to cut effectively.  The beauty of the analogy here is that peening doesn’t remove metal, it just shapes it into effectiveness.  In a similar manner, we shape one another into better men and better followers of Christ through good fellowship.

Like it or not, this sharpening doesn’t happen in isolation.  It requires intentional interaction, accountability, and often some discomfort.  Fellowship among men challenges us to be better, to grow in our faith, and to refine our character.  Without this sharpening, we risk becoming dull, stagnant, and ineffective in the purposes God has for our lives.

The Importance of Honest and Constructive Relationships

Iron sharpening iron involves a mutual process where both individuals help each other grow.  This is not just about surface-level conversations or casual hangouts; it’s about challenging each other and ourselves, speaking truth into the lives of our brothers in Christ, and holding one another accountable.  Solid men’s fellowship gatherings inherently include some degree of discipleship.

This type of fellowship requires vulnerability and humility.  It's easy to hide behind a facade of strength and self-sufficiency, but true growth comes when we allow others to speak into our lives.  Whether it’s pointing out areas where we need to grow, encouraging us in our spiritual journeys, or offering advice in moments of weakness, iron sharpens iron when men are willing to engage honestly and authentically.

Fellowship Promotes Growth and Strength

Just as a scythe becomes more effective when it is peened, we become sharper through the fellowship of other men.  In the context of faith, this process is essential for spiritual growth.  The Bible is clear that we are not designed or equipped to navigate our Christian walk alone.  We are called to spur each other on toward love and good deeds (Hebrews 10:24), to confess our sins to one another (James 5:16), and to comfort and edify one another (1 Thessalonians 5:11).

When men gather in fellowship, they create a space where growth is possible. They help each other to keep moving forward, even in the face of challenges. When one brother stumbles, another is there to lift him up.  When one is struggling with doubt, another can speak words of faith and encouragement.  This growth isn’t just about becoming better men; it's about becoming the men God designed us to be.

Fellowship and Accountability

One of the greatest and most challenging facets of men’s fellowship is accountability.  Solomon’s suggestion, “Iron sharpens iron, and so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend” (NKJV) implies that we’re prone to becoming dull.  An effective tool doesn’t need to be sharpened, does it?  Like it or not, we’re subject to wear, and to dulling.  That’s why we need fellowship, and the accountability that comes with it.  It’s far too easy to fall into bad habits or complacency when we have nobody to hold us accountable.  Instead, if we have brothers in Christ who are willing to ask the tough questions, challenge us to grow, and remind us of our purpose, we are less likely to stray from the path God has set before us.

Accountability drives integrity. It encourages us to live authentically and consistently, knowing that we have others who are invested in our growth and well-being.  Through accountability, we not only become better men but also better leaders, servants, fathers, and friends.

Creating Spaces for Fellowship

How can we create environments where this kind of iron-sharpening fellowship can take place?  The key is intentionality.  Fellowship doesn’t happen accidentally; it requires deliberate effort and commitment.  Here are a few ways to foster meaningful fellowship among men:

1. Small Groups and Bible Studies – Find a group of men in your church who will commit to walking together in faith.  Engage in regular Bible studies, prayer meetings, or discussions where you can grow together and challenge each other.

2. Mentorship Relationships – Seek out more mature Christian men who can invest in you and offer wisdom and guidance.  Likewise, consider mentoring younger men and passing on the lessons you’ve learned.

3. Accountability Partnerships – Establish an accountability partner who can ask you the tough questions and help you stay focused on your spiritual and personal goals.  Then, be willing to accept reproof when it comes.

4. Serve Together – There is something powerful about serving alongside other men. Whether it’s through church activities, community service, or mission work, serving together builds camaraderie and strengthens bonds.

5. Be Open and Vulnerable – None of this is effective without vulnerability.  We must be willing to share not only our victories, but our failures and doubts with others. When we let our guard down, we create space for true connection.

Conclusion

As men, we are called to be strong, but that strength is not found in isolation.  True strength comes when we are sharpened by others—when we allow our brothers in Christ to challenge, encourage, and support us.  Proverbs 27:17 is a powerful reminder that fellowship isn’t just a nice addition to our lives—it’s essential for our growth.  Just as iron sharpens iron, so too does one man sharpen another.  Let us seek out and embrace fellowship, knowing that through it, we can grow into the men God has called us to be.