In the old west, wanted posters went out to the sheriffs offices throughout the country. These posters bore names, pictures whenever possible, a reward when applicable and for the most violent offenders the call was to capture them, “dead or alive”. Sheriffs and their deputies were busy people, taking care of the needs of their towns and communities. So they were not able to spend the time it took to capture these wanted outlaws. This gave rise to the vocation of Bounty Hunting. In those tough times, brave men would make a living or extra money by hunting down outlaws to collect the reward money. That sounds to me like a very dangerous way to make a living, especially since the bounty hunters had to hustle to find the outlaws before the sheriffs found them. But the law did whatever it took to apprehend those who broke the law.
As we begin reading our Bible, we don’t read very far before someone broke the law. It was chapter 3 of Genesis when Adam, Eve and the serpent cooperated in breaking the only law God had issued (do not eat from the tree in the center of the garden). Things only got more complicated from there.
By the time we reach Genesis 6:11, God finds the whole earth is corrupt (except Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord), so God sent a flood to destroy the Earth because people were breaking the Law. Then God implemented more laws to keep the peace. Genesis 9:6-7 adds, “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man. As for you, be fruitful and increase in number; multiply on the earth and increase upon it.”
Looking at life in those days, we think it must have been simple for the folks to live within the bonds of the law. After all, all they had to do was be nice to one another and multiply on the Earth. But in chapter 11 we find the people refusing to occupy the whole and deciding to all live in one city. So God confuses their language, which causes them to scatter throughout the world. Once again trouble gets out of hand in chapter 19 in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Once again they weren’t being nice and they weren’t multiplying, so—ZAP —God torches the place. Are you starting to see a pattern?
In Exodus the Hebrews are held as slaves by the Egyptians, who weren’t being nice or allowing them to multiply over the Earth and guess what? You know it; God sent the plagues and the Pharaoh set the people free. Now Moses is leading the people and God adds the 10 Commandments in order to keep the peace. Moses didn’t even make it down from the mountain before the people were causing trouble. So God continues like a sheriff from the old west enforcing the laws, arresting, killing and rehabilitating the outlaws.
More and more laws were added to the list and all that really did was to increase the opportunity for people to break laws, which increased their chance of punishment. It was a vicious cycle repeated over and over again. No matter how many laws and how much punishment was issued people just couldn’t get it right. There can never be enough sheriffs, enough jails or enough bounty hunters to stop people from breaking the law.
So God changed the rules. He abolished the law (Eph. 2:15). He opened the prisons and set the captives free (Lk 4:18). In order to ensure justice He placed the sin of us all on Jesus, then cleansed us from our sin by Jesus’ blood (1Jn 1:7). God, if you will, returned us to the Garden of Eden where only a single law existed, “You must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die” (Gen. 2:17). Now the only Law that exists is failure to call upon the Lord Jesus for salvation, (Jn 3:18, “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”)
Because of this gift of grace, God has managed to shut down the jails and the bondage of sin that entangles us and defeats us. By removing the Law, God has effectively laid off every sheriff and put every bounty hunter out of work by replacing the Law with grace. An amazing grace, amazing love, and an amazing life. In John 8:31-36, “… Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” …. “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
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