God Without Religion_ Can It Really Be This Simple_ - Andrew Farley [3]
There I was, standing in front of so many PC-compatible laptops in my price range. And there was only one model from Apple. I had never owned a MacBook, and the learning curve with a new operating system seemed unnecessary. But just as I was ready to walk away with another PC, it happened. One sly comment from the savvy salesperson, and I was sold.
“You know, nowadays you can install Windows software on a MacBook. You can use the older, familiar operating system on your new Mac hardware.”
Next thing I knew, I was at the checkout with MacBook in hand. The compatibility of the old and familiar with the new and shiny was precisely what convinced me.
Which notebook computer was the most reliable? The MacBook. And which had the best customer service? The MacBook. Still, what I wanted was a compromise so the transition would seem easier. I wasn’t comfortable with making a radical change, at least not without “training wheels.”
It’s not much different when it comes to the old way of religion and the new way God longs for us to know. We’re used to thinking we need religion to keep us on the straight and narrow. Even when we buy into the simplicity of “Jesus plus nothing” for salvation, we might try to make Jesus fit alongside some religion for the long haul. Just like I was tempted to do with the MacBook, we end up mixing the old with the new.
God’s simple message for us is like our New Year’s declaration “Out with the old and in with the new.” Through the voices of New Testament writers, God pleads with us to firmly place our confidence in his new way, not allowing even a hint of religion to creep in. God wants us to put all our stock in one place, but that feels risky. To be safe, we’d rather take our religion along for the ride.
By the way, I never ended up downloading any PC software onto my MacBook. When I got home, everything just worked. It was incredibly easy to use. I guess I forgot all about the old operating system once I realized Apple’s new way was simpler and better.
How do you completely drop the old way of religion? Easy. Just get to know God’s new way. Then there’s no looking back.
Incompatible Jesus
Even if we want to mix old-time religion with our newfound life in Christ, we really can’t. At least, not if we want to keep Jesus in the picture. Yeah, you can put PC programs on a MacBook, but you can’t make Jesus fit with the old way of the law.
Here’s one reason why: the lineage of Jesus.
The lineage of Jesus? Yes, Jesus’s lineage is one of the strongest arguments for abandoning the old way and grabbing on exclusively to a brand-new way.
Today, we call upon Jesus as our high priest, our representative before God. But Jesus was born into the tribe of Judah. And here’s what Moses, author of the law, said about priests serving from the tribe of Judah: Nothing. Zero. Zilch. Moses never once mentioned any priest being allowed to come from the tribe of Judah. God himself forbade such an idea. God told Moses that only the tribe of Levi was to serve as priests:
[Jesus] belonged to a different tribe, and no one from that tribe has ever served at the altar. For it is clear that our Lord descended from Judah, and in regard to that tribe Moses said nothing about priests. (Heb. 7:13–14)
For thousands of years, Old Testament priests came from only one place—the tribe of Levi. Then Jesus shows up on the scene, breaking all the rules. He’s an illegal priest with a “passport” that disqualifies him for priesthood.
Why would God do this? Why would he arrange for Jesus to be born into the tribe of Judah? It would’ve been a lot easier sell if Jesus had been from the tribe of Levi. The Jews would’ve recognized his Levitical authority. They could’ve just tweaked their understanding of Moses to make room for what Jesus was adding to the mix.
Apparently, God wasn’t looking for a smooth transition. He wanted to turn everything upside down. And he began by having Jesus be an unqualified priest according to the law.
New Priest = New Way
We look to Jesus as our representative before