In the realm of math and science, an elegant solution is one that is surprisingly simple and highly effective. An algorithm, for example, is elegant if it uses a small amount of intuitive code. In engineering, an elegant solution often solves a number of problems at the same time even though they weren't thought to be inter-related. And the proof of a mathematical theorem is elegant if it simplifies something complex.
Bottom line: an elegant solution is a simple solution to a very complex problem.
The Bible is full of elegant solutions.
Jesus took 613 laws and simplified them into one elegant solution: Love God with all of your heart and soul and mind and strength. We call it the Great Commandment. John 3:16 is another elegant solution: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." One of my favorite solutions is II Corinthians 5:21: "God made Him who knew no sin to become sin for us." What an elegant solution to our sin problem!
Bottom line: an elegant solution is a simple solution to a very complex problem.
The Bible is full of elegant solutions.
Jesus took 613 laws and simplified them into one elegant solution: Love God with all of your heart and soul and mind and strength. We call it the Great Commandment. John 3:16 is another elegant solution: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." One of my favorite solutions is II Corinthians 5:21: "God made Him who knew no sin to become sin for us." What an elegant solution to our sin problem!
12 Comments:
While I agree that II Corinthians 5:21 is a solution, I have to respectfully disagree with the Mark 12 passage.
First of all, give us the whole passage "Love God with all of your heart and soul and mind and strength." AND "Love your neighbor as yourself."
How can this be a solution? Do you do this? I sure don't. On this side of the resurrection, I'm a sinner as well as a saint. I sin daily in thought word and deed! Unless you are perfect, how can Mark 12:30-31 be a solution? Doesn't it sounds more like the problem? Actually it is the problem that II Corinthians 5:21 and John 3:16 solve.
Randy,
My next book, Primal, is on the Great commandment. I think it'll help make sense of this post. If ever there was an elegant solution to the problem of the law it's love :)
I know you're not trying to be argumentative, but I notice that every comment you make finds a problem :) You gotta remember this is a blog not a commentary :) Hopefully it's food for thought.
Blessings,
Mark
I would be very interested in hearing more about your take on the Great Commandment and perhaps I will read your next book when it comes out.
I thought a blog was for an author to post ideas and others to comment, question and react to ideas. One of the most useless things I have found in a blog is when all of the comments are from fanboys. I respect and appreciate your willingness to let me question and for you to respond.
I have always tried to question with the utmost kindness and respect, so I'm a little confused. If I have offended or made you feel uncomfortable, that is not my intention. I just think that as Christians, if we say something in the name of God we should always be prepared to compare it to the Word of God. None of us should be above this.
Randy,
I love dialogue. Just pointing out that it's a blog not an exhaustive commentary. I think you need to read it with that in mind.
If you have genuine questions or concerns, let it rip. I don't always have time to answer each comment, but I try :)
My one observation is that it seems like most of the problems you have seem to stem from an either/or mindset.
Just wanted to give some honest feedback. Hope the posts are stretching.
Blessings,
Mark
May I take a stab at addressing Randy's original comment, by providing how I interpret Mark's proposition that Mark 12:30-31 qualifies as an "elegant solution":
First, I think it is an elegant solution in that it summarizes the 600+ laws (I can't even remember how many, how could I ever remember what they were?) into a fairly easy to remember commandment.
Second, I believe that it does make it marginally easier for us to obey, by removing the requirement to strictly adhere to the letter of the body of laws, and instead allowing us to focus on observing and adhering to the intent.
Anywhere close?
How can this be a solution? Do you do this? I sure don't. On this side of the resurrection, I'm a sinner as well as a saint. I sin daily in thought word and deed!
I wonder, would Jesus command us to go and sin no more if it were impossible? I happen to subscribe to the theology that while we were born sinners, it's fully possible to live a life this side of heaven that is victorious over sin.
Great post, Mark.
Greg,
"marginally easier for us to obey" Do you really think that makes it easier to obey? How?
Justin,
If you can live without sin then what's Jesus doing on the cross? Are you greater than the Apostle Paul? How do you explain Romans 7?
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives. (1 John 1: 8-10)
Randy,
Fantastic statements, though presumptive, all three, I'll take them one at a time -
If you can live without sin then what's Jesus doing on the cross?
Jesus isn't doing anything on the cross, not right now. He's at the right hand of God, interceding for us, among other things. That's important and significant. As believers, if we leave Jesus on the cross in our spiritual lives, then we completely miss the resurrected, ascended life, so to speak, that we are called to live.
Are you greater than the Apostle Paul?
I wouldn't particularly care to put that on a bumper sticker or anything. That being said, is he greater than you? Did/Does he have access to a different Jesus and Holy Spirit than I do? Does God show partiality to men? From that perspective, the question of greatness among men is silly. From Jesus' perspective, at least when addressing his disciples, comparison is dangerous.
How do you explain Romans 7?
In context. Again, too many believers use this passage as permission to live a defeated life, claiming "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do."...in the full context of the Roman epistle, Paul was essentially writing a succinct treatise on salvation and the life of the believer, the triumph of love over law. In that context, Romans 7 is descriptive of where Paul came from, not prescriptive of the believer's life and inheritance.
Hope that all makes sense. Looking forward to the new book and continued spirited discussion. Iron sharpens iron :)
Mark,
You have confused me a bit. Jesus said that all of the law can be summed up as love God with your whole heart, soul, and mind, and love your neighbor as yourself. You make it sound as if love is different from the law. However, Jesus claims that perfect love IS the law.
Over and over, the Pharisees approached Jesus with the claim that they were keeping the law. He always responded by turning up the law to show that perfectly keepin the law was not possible. Salvation is not by our own means. Salvation is imputed to us only by grace through faith in Christ's sacrifice in our place.
Yes, Christ is no longer on the cross, but we must not trivialize the cross. The resurrection is meaningless without the suffering and death.
Love God and love others is not the solution. God's love for us -- that He sent his Son to suffer and die in our place -- is the solution.
Randy:
"'marginally easier for us to obey' Do you really think that makes it easier to obey? How?"
I believe it makes it easier to obey--marginally was a qualifier, because I think it varies with each of us--to me it's significantly easier. I can't imagine trying to live in accordance with the totality of the law as it was prescribed in the Old Testament. I'm thankful that I'm a Gentile!!!
Nonetheless, we're all accountable to be obedient to God. That obedience is much easier to fulfill (or to put it another way, I've got a better chance of getting it done with less error) if I don't have to worry about each of the 613 laws, and can instead focus on the intent of the law, which is summed up in a pretty succinct, easy-to-remember phrase, that I can use to check myself throughout the day. I would assuredly fail if I had to run through the 613-item catalog when checking my daily behavior.
Am I perfect? No. But I'm not going to wallow around in the misery of "a sinner, saved by grace". Paul, in addition to wrestling with his flesh in Romans 7, said to the Corinthians (just a few verses preceding the one Mark cited in his OP) that we are "a new creation; the old is gone, the new has come!" (2 Cor 5:17). I choose, instead, to focus on the victory that's been won for me. I don't think John meant for us to state that we're the CNN of sin--all sin, all the time. Every once in a while, I pull it off for a day or so! All the glory goes to God, but occasionally, on a quiet day, I can get through a 24 hour period without sinning. You probably have too! Stop beating yourself up--give yourself a little grace. There's enough occasion when I really mess up, that I don't need to castigate myself all the time just in case I neglected a sin.
Benjamin: I don't see Mark suggesting in his OP that keeping of the law, either under the Old Covenant, or more completely under the New Covenant, as presented by Christ in the "elegant solution" Mark is presenting, as a means to salvation, or as THE solution to sin. I believe Mark's presentation of the Great Commandment as an "elegant solution" was showing how it make something complex (knowing the law and doing our best to obey it) and simplifying it so that we focus on the intent--to help us know how to live and love.
Greg,
I'm having a difficult time understanding your response to me. I've read through it a few times and think I understand what you're saying, but I don't want to make any false assumptions. However, I will pose a question for you:
In Mark's post, what is the problem that needs a "simple solution"?
Regarding your response to Randy:
It is beneficial to have a proper understanding of the use of law and Gospel. The law condemns us and shows us that we are sinners in need of a Savior. In contrast, the Gospel comforts us with salvation and forgiveness.
Since the Gospel is frequently misdefined, I will provide Paul's clear definition of the Gospel in scripture:
"Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me." - 1 Corinthians 15:1-8
As Christians, we have a dual nature in that we are both sinners and saints. I do not want to sin, yet I sin anyway. I try not to sin, but I still sin daily in thought, word, and deed. Not only do I sin in what I do, but I also sin in what I fail to do. Do I perfectly tell everyone that I meet that they are sinners in need of a savior? No. Do I love God perfectly? No. (Christ said that if we loved him we would keep His commandments. One sin nullifies perfect love for God.) Do I perfectly love everyone? No. Even though I may not kill, lie, or steal, I might have pride in my own abilities, lustful thoughts, hate, envy, etc. If it were possible for me to stop sinning, then Christ's death on the cross was meaningless.
"If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us." 1 John 1:8-10
If we confess our sins, God graciously forgives us through Christ's atoning sacrifice.
To confess that I am sinner in need of a savior is not wallowing in misery. Rather, it is humbly embracing God's free gift of grace.
Yes, we should rejoice in Christ's resurrection, but we must not trivialize His suffering and death. Christ's suffering and death is where the penalty for our sins was paid. The resurrection is meaningless without the cross.
For clarity, this is a different Randy. Didn't realize there were that many of us out there! I'll go with Randy D here-
Elegant solutions are one of the primary reasons that I'm a big CS Lewis fan. The man was a master of simplistic genius (or elegant solutions- a better term for sure). I love the way he sidesteps the sometimes pretentious intellectual acrobatics and hair splitting. A favorite of mine comes from Mere Christianity and says something to the effect of, "trying to decide which is more important, faith or works, is a bit like trying to decide which blade of a pair of scissors does more cutting."
Love it.
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