It sounds like a fairy tale beginning yet it is true to say that, ‘once upon a time’, products were made to last and in times of scarcity, people needed to make things last. Nowadays, partly due to rapidly changing technologies, ‘planned obsolescence’ and customer expectations for the latest model, things we buy have much shorter lifespans. Cars, computers and mobile phones are products that well illustrate the concept of ‘built-in obsolescence’. Phone kiosks like this one now look quite comical and quaint, some having been creatively repurposed as book exchanges, defibrillator locations, food banks and even prayer hubs. You can even buy them for garden features. It’s not just products that can become outdated as we’ll see but the most remarkable thing is that something God introduced was subsequently declared by Him to be obsolete. How can that be if God is real?
- ‘My own fear, if I have one myself, is a fear of being obsolete. This is a world that changes very fast, and one of the main human desires is to belong to, to be part of, something. It’s probably one of our greatest needs next to oxygen’ – Paul Polman
- ‘You need continuity. You need a commitment and continuity’ – Jeff Fisher
- ‘Stick to the basics, hold on to your family and friends – they will never go out of fashion’ – Niki Taylor
- ‘That’s why we trust the Bible – it speaks to both realities: the unchanging human condition and the constantly changing cultural conditions. It speaks to all generations. We trust the Bible because it’s the truth. It was the truth when it was written, and it is the truth now. It’s the truth now because it’s living truth’ – Mike Yaconelli
Laws can become obsolete – in 1313, an English law was passed banning MPs from entering Parliament wearing armour. Platform shoes, flairs and hotpants are examples of fashions that came and went. Hundreds of scientific theories, political ideas and economic assumptions have been superseded. So what is it that God introduced and has been declared obsolete?
- ‘When God speaks of a “new” covenant, it means he has made the first one obsolete. It is now out of date and will soon disappear’ – Hebrews 8:13
You may recall that the ‘Old Covenant’ was based on ‘Law’ (the Ten Commandments) – when God’s Laws were broken, the sacrifice of an animal was made to cover the wrong doing. The trouble is that we humans just love sinning so much that we cannot stop being disobedient – the continuous death of animals could only be stopped by one perfect sacrifice. This is when God replaced the ‘Old Covenant’ with the ‘New Covenant’ at extreme personal cost, that of the death of His only Son as the perfect sacrificial lamb. Jesus gave himself for sins which he did not commit – it was as an act of ‘Grace’. The cross of Jesus means that Grace has replaced Law – there is therefore no more death of animals on our behalf for Jesus’ death is fully sufficient to cover all of our sin. This is why Grace is sometimes called ‘Outrageous Grace’.
- ‘God’s righteousness comes through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ for all who have faith in him. There’s no distinction. All have sinned and fall short of God’s glory, but all are treated as righteous freely by his grace because of a ransom that was paid by Christ Jesus. Through his faithfulness, God displayed Jesus as the place of sacrifice where mercy is found by means of his blood’ – Romans 3:22-25
- ‘Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness’ – Lamentations 3:22-23
- ‘(God)The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, “You are a priest forever”. This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant’ – Hebrews 7:21-22
- ‘Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever’ – Hebrews 13:8
For some reading this, you may wonder what this is all about! Essentially, you cannot impress God and win his favour by ‘doing’ for that way of life is called ‘Legalism’. Instead, we come to God knowing we have fallen short and that his nature is always to have mercy – Grace says that a repenting sinner is forgiven for the sake of Jesus’s death. The way of Law and animal sacrifice were pointing ahead to what God had decided was far better, that of Grace through Christ.
- ‘Christ made us free. Stay that way. Do not get chained all over again in the Law and its kind of religious worship’ – Galatians 5:1
Two scenarios:
- Employment is a blessing but it can be a slog. Imagine being in a job that you hate with all the demands upon you of commuting, appraisals and an unreasonable employer (Legalism and Law).
- Then, someone pays your mortgage, all other debts and gives you what you need to live on (Grace and Freedom).
Why would anyone ever go back to the first situation? Instead, they would be full of gratitude each day for the new freedom and choose to live in such a way as to show their thanks to the donor. An inadequate example but you get the picture. The ‘New’ has made the ‘Old’ obsolete because of the grace of God – praise him indeed for grace will never become obsolete or insufficient for your need, for that would mean that Jesus has become obsolescent. You can take God’s word for it, that is never ever going to happen.
As you look at the two videos featuring Justin Bieber, do you come down on the side of Legalism or Grace in your reaction? Justin doesn’t claim to have got it all right but it seems a genuine cry from the heart … doesn’t it? After all, how good do we have to be?
Justin Beiber’s story:
A – His song
B – His testimony
Don’t try using an old phone box!
For more reading: https://connect4life.org.uk/c4l-boosters/make-music/