Authority
(Used with
permission from www.oldwireroadchurch.com)
1.I can't believe God is a picky as you make Him out
to be. If we love Him and are sincere it doesn't matter
if we do everything exactly the way the Bible says.
2. I realize that God was strict in the Old Testament
and even struck people dead, but now through Christ, God
is far more lenient.
3. Do not talk to me about "commandments" and "law."
We are no longer under law, but under grace (Romans
6:14), and therefore we now have freedom in Christ
(Galatians 5:1).
4. You speak of having to obey God on the basis of
"commands, examples, and necessary inferences." Where
did you come up with that idea?
5. I may not being doing what the Bible says, but you
are not suppose to judge me. I know the Bible condemns
that!
| 1. I can't
believe God is a picky as you make Him out to
be. If we love Him and are sincere it doesn't
matter if we do everything exactly the way the
Bible says. |
| In John 14:15
Jesus said, "If you love me, keep my
commandments." Again in I
John 2:3-4 John said,
"Now by this we know that we know Him, if we
keep His commandments. He who says, 'I know
Him,' and does not keep His commandments, is a
liar, and the truth is not in him." And
in Hebrews 5:9 we are
told that Jesus is "the
author of eternal salvation to all who obey
Him." The bottom line is that God has
never counted His people as "sincere" if they
willfully refuse to obey Him. In
Leviticus 10:1-3
Nadab and Abihu were killed by fire from God
because they offered a different kind of fire
than God had commanded. How picky is that? In
II Samuel 6:1-7 Uzzah was killed when he
took hold of the ark of the covenant as he was
trying to keep it from falling when the oxen
pulling the cart stumbled. Uzzah's sincerity and
good intentions did not save him from being
killed when he touched the ark.
Consider also that Jesus warned the apostles
in John 16:2,
"...the time is coming that
whoever kills you will think that he offers God
service." Sincerity certainly did not
excuse a person who was murdering one of the
apostles. Paul stated in
Acts 23:1 "I have
lived in all good conscience before God until
this day." Though Paul had lived in all
good conscience, he still counted himself as
"the chief of sinners"
(I Timothy 1:15) and
a "blasphemer, a persecutor,
and an insolent man" (I
Timothy 1:13). Sincerity and love for God
simply does not excuse a person's disobedience.
By the way, when Jesus condemned the Jews in
Matthew 23:23 for
tithing mint, anise and cummin, but neglecting
the weightier matters of the law, He stated at
the end of this verse,
"These you ought to have done, without leaving
the others undone." Jesus, therefore, did
not tell them to stop tithing these small herbs.
In fact, He told them to continue with the
tithe, while not neglecting the weightier
matters of the law. Therefore, Jesus was not
condemning strict adherence to the law, but
warning that we not neglect the true meaning and
spirit behind the Lord's commands. |
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| 2. I
realize that God was strict in the Old Testament
and even struck people dead, but now through
Christ, God is far more lenient. |
| This statement suggests that God's character
actually changed once Christ came offering grace
through His blood. But
Hebrews 13:8 states that Jesus Christ is
"the same yesterday, today,
and forever." God's character has not
changed and neither has His offer of mercy to
those who obey Him. Even under the Law, at the
giving of the ten commandments God offered mercy
to those who kept His commandments (Exodus
20:5-6). How was Abraham saved? According
to Romans 4, he was saved by grace. How was
David saved? According to Romans 4, though under
the Law he was saved by grace. Of course, the
grace that God offered in Old Testament times
was dependent upon the offering of Christ even
as His offer of grace in the New Testament. In
Romans 11:22, after
Paul cited the example of God cutting off Israel
because of their disobedience, he said,
"Therefore consider the
goodness and severity of God..." Both the
goodness of God in the Old Testament times as
well as the severity of God in the Old Testament
times, needs to be considered in New Testament
times. Further, Hebrews
2:1-3 as well as
Hebrews 10:26-31 and
Hebrews 12:25-29, all tell us that the
greater privileges and greater salvation of the
New Testament, means that we also have a greater
responsibility to righteousness and obedience.
The principle is, if they did not escape who had
God's word given through angels and Moses, we
certainly will not escape who have the Word
given through the Son of God. |
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| 3. Do not
talk to me about "commandments" and "law." We
are no longer under law, but under grace (Romans
6:14), and therefore we now have freedom in
Christ (Galatians 5:1). |
| The person who makes this statement is
taking Romans 6:14
completely out of its context. Chapter six of
Romans is actually teaching that grace demands
that we cease sin! (Romans
6:1-2). Since grace has freed us from
sin, we must no longer live in it.
Romans 6:17-18 states
that since we are no longer slaves to sin, we
have now become slaves to righteousness. In
Paul's discussion of law and grace in
Romans 3, he states
in verse 31,
"Do we then make void the
law through faith? Certainly not! On the
contrary, we establish the law." It is
foolish to say that once we are under grace we
are no longer under any law. If we were no
longer under a law we would not need grace,
because where there is no law there is no sin (Romans
4:15). When Paul in
Romans 6:14 states that we are not under
law, he is referring to a system of law as
opposed to a system of grace or faith. Under a
system of law one would have to live perfectly
in order to be saved (Romans
3:20; 4:1-4). Under such a system sin
would have dominion over us because we would
have no means of escaping it once we sinned. But
sin does not have dominion over us under a
system of faith/grace because our salvation is
based on forgiveness not perfection. When we
sin, we can turn to God in confession and faith
and thus always be able to escape sin's power.
However, such "good news"
in no way gives us a license to sin. In fact, it
is that very doctrine that Jude condemned in
Jude 4 when he said
that ungodly men "turn the
grace of our God into licentiousness."
Grace demands us to cease from sin. |
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| 4. You
speak of having to obey God on the basis of
"commands, examples, and necessary inferences."
Where did you come up with that idea?
|
Acts 15:6-21
shows clearly the means by which the apostles
and early church sought authority for their
teaching and practice when sufficient revelation
had already been made. In this passage a dispute
had arisen over whether the Gentiles were to be
circumcised and to follow the law of Moses in
order to be saved. It is interesting that the
apostles do not turn to the Holy Spirit for
direct revelation, instead relying on the
revelation that had already been provided. So
how did they go about determining the truth?
Peter 15:6-11 argued
the point on the basis of necessary inference.
Peter first presented the pertinent facts:
- He was sent by God to preach to the
Gentiles,
- God acknowledged them by giving them the
Holy Spirit even as He did to us (the
apostles),
- He made no distinction between us (Jews)
and them (Gentiles), purifying their hearts
by faith.
With these three facts before the audience,
Peter then drew the necessary conclusion:
"Therefore, why do you test God by putting a
yoke on the neck of the disciples...But we
believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus
Christ we (Jews) shall be saved in the same
manner as they (Gentiles)."(verse
10-11). Though God had not specifically
said that the Gentiles did not have to be
circumcised or keep the law of Moses, Peter was
able to necessarily infer that they were not
under such a requirement because of the facts of
how God went about saving Cornelius and his
household. Of course, we might add that Peter
also uses an approved example as the basis for
his necessary inference.
Paul and Barnabas (15:12)
take up the argument on the basis of approved
examples. They refer to their preaching tour
among the Gentiles and how that God performed
miracles and wonders through their hands as they
preached the gospel without requiring
circumcision or the law of Moses. The miracles
and wonders God gave them as they preached
placed God's approval on this method of saving
Gentile people.
Finally, James 15:13-21
refers to a direct precept in scripture where
God plainly approved the acceptance of the
Gentiles when the tabernacle of David was
rebuilt. That day had come, therefore the
Gentiles were to be accepted.
Jesus used the method of approved example to
teach in Matthew 12:1-5.
He also used necessary inference in
Matthew 22:41-45 when
He tried to teach the people that He was both
the Son of God as well as the Son of Man. |
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| 5. I may
not being doing what the Bible says, but you are
not suppose to judge me. I know the Bible
condemns that! |
| Any time we get a response such as this, we
need to first examine our own motives and make
sure we have not come across in our teaching
with a self-righteous attitude.
II Timothy 2:24-25
warns us to be gentle and patient when we teach,
"in humility correcting those who are in
opposition." However, there are also occasions
when a person offers this response to a
legitimate scriptural warning of disobedience
before God. The Lord warned against judging one
another when it is a measuring of someone by our
own standards (Matthew 7:1-2).
Further, we are warned against prejudicial
judgment, judgment made when we do not have all
the facts (John 7:24).
But in this same text we are also told to
"judge righteous judgment."
In Philippians 1:9-10
we are told increase in "knowledge and all
discernment, that you may approve the things
that are excellent." Again, in
I John 4:1 we are
told to "test the spirits,
whether they are of God; because many false
prophets have gone out into the world."
John continues in verse 6 telling us the
standard by which we are to test:
"He who knows God hears us
(the apostles); he
who is not of God does not hear us. By this we
know the spirit of truth and the spirit of
error."
We are not violating the Lord's prohibition
against judging when we are simply teaching what
God has said about what is right and wrong,
moral and immoral, and discerning between a
false teacher and one who speaks the truth. |
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