Season 5 Podcast 32, A New Voice of Freedom, Argument for the Existence of God, Episode 31, “Principle of Opposition B.”
Season 5 Podcast 32, A New Voice of Freedom, Argument for the Existence of God, Episode 31, “Principle of Opposition B.”
Satan is by nature without law. He hates law. He hates God. He hates everything God stands for. Satan is eternally under the penalty of the laws of God. The apocalyptic apostle John described the fate of Satan well.
Revelation 20:1-3
“And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, 3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.”
There are two sets of laws. Temporal laws and spiritual laws. The greatest battle we face on earth is the natural man versus the spiritual man. It is the epic struggle of man to win the war over himself, to have his spiritual desires overcome his natural desires.
The Ten commandments define that war clearly:
Thou shalt not kill.
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Thou shalt not steal.
Thou shalt not bear false witness.
Thou shalt not covet
Those all represent the natural man. The two great commandments, Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and love thy neighbor as thyself represent the spiritual man.
Only on earth can that battle take place. Only on earth can we kill, commit adultery, steal, lie, or covet. We have earthly lusts, and we covet earthly things. In the Sermon on the Mount, Christ tries to turn our hearts to spiritual things.
3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
Matthew 5:3-11
But opposition does not exist just between temporal laws and spiritual laws, opposition exists within spiritual laws. We see that in the two greatest opposites of all, The Law of Justice versus and the Law of Mercy.
The law of justice represents perfect order. Justice is why there is something rather than nothing, order rather than disorder, law rather than lawlessness, life rather than death, creation rather than maximum equilibrium. God is creator because his laws are perfect. The laws of God represent the very nature of God. Temporal and spiritual law represent the greatest evidence of intelligent design there is. Just as matter and energy self-exist, intelligence self-exists. We are all intelligences. God, the greatest intelligence of all, organized self-existing matter, but first he organized law. Law came first. Order followed. Without law the universe could not come into being. Without law we could not be governed, sanctified, resurrected, preserved, or protected by law. The greatest gift of God is law. Only because of law is there good and evil.
You often speak of paradox. I know, of course, that paradox exists when two thing appear to be contradictory but both are, nevertheless, true. Why is Christianity so filled with paradox?
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free