As a teenager I came to the faith of Jesus Christ. In regards to Biblical matters, or what might be called theology my mind and heart could basically have been referred to as a clean slate. At the time there certainly was plenty of worldliness and unbelief in me, yet I had not been indoctrinated with various forms of religious doctrines. When I was 16 years old, at the impulse of the grace of God I was drawn to the Scripture. Before this time I had attempted to read the scripture, but the “light” had not yet been turned on, and the words of the Scripture amounted to little more then “ink on paper”.
But by the mercy of God His grace reached into me and “flipped” the switch and my heart was turned on to the Scripture. I believed the Scripture to be God's word, and my heart became incredibly desirous to know it and put it on in my life. I read both the Old Testament and the New Testament. I read the law, I read the prophets, I read the Psalms and the Proverbs, the Gospels and the Epistles. I read it all and began to (by God's grace) put it on, to put on Christ.
However, as the years have passed it has been revealed to me that I put on far more than just the word of God. I also put on the traditions and manner of thought that the Church taught me both by the common practice of the Church and it's doctrines. This is what should be expected. A believer aught to put on the ways of the Church, but the Church aught to conform it practices and doctrines to the ways and doctrines of the Scripture. Even as a child will certainly learn the ways of both it's parents, so the Believer will adopt both the ways of God who is the “father of all spirits made perfect”, (1 Corinthians 1:3) and the ways of the Church. Who spiritually speaking is the Believer's mother. Sadly however, the ways of the eternal Father and the Church are not always the same. That is what this article is about. To express some ways in which Believers in both doctrine and practice live as if God's law, or elements thereof were at sometime in the past made void.
One particular point of understanding that has played a very empowering part in helping me to understand that God's laws are not void for the New Testament Believer is the understanding that the commandments of God are an expression of God Himself and His purposes, and that in His genius they were given so that the believing obedient person's life will perfectly mirror heavenly realities as they perform God's word. God's laws were designed to reflect eternal heavenly realities. Men must understand that the first reason for God's law is not for the good of the Believer, but to maintain and protect God's own glory, so that in the obedience to God's laws a proper testimony is expressed. Secondly, they are given for the good of the person, community, church or nation who will by faith obey them.
Although this article is not at all meant to bad mouth the Church, it is completely a true testament to say that from the Church I learned numerous confusions, even though in God's mind the Church is the “pillar and ground of truth” (1 Tim 3:15). I do not mean that I was taught to sin (confusion always leads to the disobedience of God's ways) in the sense of outright rebellion, but in the sense of practicing confusions which resulted in the disobeying of God's laws. Here are some examples of how this man was taught by the Church to sin, in that I was taught confusion which resulted in the disobedience to God's laws, chiefly through confusion.
The neglect or rebellion toward the keeping of the Sabbath: I was taught that the commandment of God pertaining to the keeping of the Sabbath was void. I was taught that “Christ became the fulfillment of the Sabbath in that He is the rest of the Believer”, therefore making the practicing of the Sabbath void. 38 years later, and after much dealing of the Holy Spirit I have come to learn that certainly Christ is our spiritual rest, but that does not at all make void the commandment of God to celebrate the Sabbath weekly. (there is much that can be said to make plain the doctrine of the keeping of the Sabbath, but that is not expressly the intention of this article. I speak of this issue in other writings.
The Practice of birth control: I was not taught by direct doctrine, but by the actions and suggestions of both Church ministers and Church people that the commandment of God to be fruitful and multiply was no longer valid in this “modern age” That by “necessity” the number of children brought into a family should be limited to two or three. But revelation has taught me that the persons of the man and the woman were created to reflect heavenly realities, and thus the seed of the man is reflective of the seed of God (His Word), and the body of the woman is reflective of the heart of a person. Therefore, should the seed of man be purposely destroyed so that it can not be allowed to be used by God to conceive life? Or should the woman's womb be chemically or mechanically closed so that there is no opportunity for conception to occur? Is not conception the very picture of the born again experience where God's word (His seed) enters the heart of a man and is accepted, and new life begins? Is not contraception completely contrary-destructive to the illustrated truth of what our sexuality is purposed by God to bring forth? I believe it to be. In fact I believe it comprises the very spirit of abortion. For abortion kills the unborn child. Contraceptives kill the potential for children. Both add up to the denial of God's commandment to be “fruitful and multiply”. And beyond this reasoning the very practice of what is called birth control is no where supported by either a command or a promise of God, therefore the Mighty One would never grant faith to the heart of a person to perform such a behavior, but rather the motivation of the practice of what is called birth control stems from the unbelief of the hearts of men. And we would do well to remember that whatever is not of faith is of sin. (Romans 14:23)
Failure to teach tithing as a commandment of God: In regards to the doctrine and practice of tithing my experience in Church life was that it was encouraged. However, I do not ever remember in all my years any minister ever taking the Scripture and laying out a Biblical foundation for the practice of tithing, and I believe this is because that the doctrine of tithing is a doctrine based in the law, and there has been a neglect in modern times of the preaching of the law. Which did much in times of testing to weaken my faith, because the traditions of men do not create faith, it is God's word that creates faith. In my opinion the law of God pertaining to tithing is summed up like this: God commanded the people of Israel (who were in their time the people of faith and thus served as an example in their own time of the household of faith that exists today, IE, the Church) to tithe 10% of all their increase. Which I have been taught of God to believe means everything that came into, and passed though their hands. They were to give it to the Lord by means of surrendering it to the Levites, the poor, the stranger, the widowed ,and the orphaned. The Levites in their time stood as a picture of those today who are called of God to be devoted to full time ministry, such as: Apostles, Prophets, Teachers, Pastors, and Evangelists today, as well as numerous other forms of help and ministry.
Failure to teach that a woman should not be touch during her menstrual period: In my 38 years as a Christian (in which time I have been apart of numerous local churches) I have only ever heard two men of God encourage obedience to the laws of God pertaining to a woman's menstrual period. Which in it's most basic sense teaches that a woman must not be intimately touched during her time of menstruation, and for a one week period afterward, for it is during this time that she is considered unclean. Yet according to the law the disobedience of this is grounds for a man and woman to be “cut off from their people”. (Leviticus 20:18) The prophet Ezekiel reproved intimacy with a woman during her time of uncleanness. (Ezekiel 18:8 and 22:10) Do not the exhortations of the apostles forbid the Christian from dealing with that which is “unclean”? ( Eph. 5:3, Col. 3:5, 1 Thes. 2:3)
Failure to make adultery punishable by death: By God's law men (civil law) are commanded to make adultery punishable by death. Now I do not believe that it is the Church's job to execute civil judgments, but rather to fulfill the ministry of reconciliation and to preach righteousness. But neither is it the Church's place to stand between people and the fulfillment of civil judgment that needs to be conformed to God's law. I ask you Christian minister, I ask you Christian Believer, should civil law allow for capital punishment for adultery? If you say yes you agree with God's law. If you say no you stand in disagreement with God's law, in which case the Bible testifies that you operate with a carnal mind. For the Scripture teaches that the carnal mind is not subject to God's law, neither can be. (Romans 8:7) I will say this: There are two ways in which sin is held back, the one is by the preaching of the gospel which brings the power of God into a life, thus bringing it into alignment with God and His laws. The other is by the use of exterior, or corporal punishment. It is the rod, or the lash that serves as a deterant from sin for those that do not have a heart to do what is right. This wisdom as been from of old, and will remain.
Failure to make homosexuality and bestiality punishable by death: By God's law all forms of homosexuality and bestiality are to be punished by death. I ask you, where do you stand? Should civil law be allowed to execute God's judgment upon the guilty? If you say yes you stand with God's law. If you say no then the Bible says you side with carnal man, which is the man who will not be subject to God's law, and which is in fact, at enmity to God. (Roman's 8 7) And I might add, it is this soul that will be destroyed and vanquished from God's presence in the end. For Yahweh will not invite darkness into His paradise.
Failure to make murder punishable by capital punishment: By God's law murderers are to be put to death. Why is it that so many stand against this judgment? What spirit is it that influences men to stand against capital punishment for murders? Is it the Holy Spirit? Would He stand against His own law? I think not.
Failure to recognize and call modern forms of cross dressing for the evil they are: By God's law all forms of cross dressing are an abomination to God. The most common form of this in western societies is that of the woman dressing like the man. And there is reason for this, the which is not the purpose of this article to address. But the question at hand my friend is this, do you understand that God's law forbids the man and woman from dressing the same, and do you understand that it is an abominable act before God, and are you willing to stand up and call this very common practice for the sin that it is? In the shortest terms I know the reasoning for the commandment and why the disobedient soul is considered an abomination is that the man and the woman where created by Yahweh to offer by their living two completely different expressions of heavenly realities. The man represents God Himself and the woman was created to represent the Church (or individual Believer). Therefore when you mix the dress of them you are giving an expression that the sexes are the same, (equal) and therefore giving the expression that the Lord our creator and the human person are the same. (equal) This is a slanderous expression and must never be said, and therefore is hated by God. For it is the very sin in which Lucifer practiced. He strove, and is still striving to be equal to God. (Is. 14:13-14)
Failure to see the evil that tattoos and body piercings are: Although these are becoming more and more common among Christians, I was held back by the conviction of the Holy Spirit from participating in either of these a long time before I ever discovered the direct admonition in the the law forbidding the practice of either. Leviticus 19:28 says, “Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the Lord.” (KJV) Now in references to body piercings I fully realize that most do not pierce themselves as an act related in any sense to a dead person, but none the less I am convinced that the body belongs to the Lord, even as the apostle Paul taught in 1 Corinthians 6:20. The body of all human persons are sacred in that nothing in all of creation was created with the purpose of the expression of Yahweh as was the human person. This includes spirit, soul and body. All three aspects of the human person are to be kept free from any defilement. For the human person is the capitol, or premiere illustration of God in the world.
The acceptance of divorce: Jesus and the Apostles added to this equation, teaching us that under certain conditions divorce can be granted, but these are very few in number compared to the great multitudes of divorces that fill our modern societies and Churches. It would appear that we feel God's law has been made void in reference to divorce, for it is very apparent that church judgment in regards to this sin is rare.
Comments in regards to marriage: I am only aware of one condition that demands marriage in the whole of the Scripture. It is commanded that if a man sleeps with (has sex with) an unmarried woman he is to then to become responsible for her, in other words, to marry her. However, Yahweh has granted us a number of laws in regards to marriage for those that choose to marry. (which very obviously is most)
Marriage is only to be between a man and a woman. Never between any two persons of the same sex. This is an abomination before God.
Although contrary to modern western traditions of both Church and society at large, the Jew's of antiquity understood the law of God to allow for, and in fact promote the practice of what is called in modern terms polygamy, meaning one husband and more then one wife. In my judgment the tradition of monogamy has existed in the Christian Church primarily because of an error in the translation of the New Testament Scripture (1 Timothy 3:2 & 3:12) where the Apostle Paul teaches that a Church elder must be the husband of “one” wife.
But honest research will reveal that the Greek word from which the English word “one” is translated from is in numerous other places translated “first”. Therefore the placement of the word first in to the statement that the apostle made changes the entire meaning of it to the husband of the first wife. Thus supporting the apostle's, and the Law's command against divorce, not against polygamous marriage.
By God's law a woman belongs to her husband, thus within the parameters of all the set of God's law she is to be in absolute submission to him. This means that he never has a right to command her to do anything contrary to God's law, but within the confines of God's ways she is to obey him in all things. (Ephesian 5:23-24) This very obviously is not the practice in this generation of a great portion of all who profess Christianity, or our society at large. This understanding teaches us that a woman can not sue a husband for his property in the case of a divorce. It would mean in most cases that she can not sue him for the custody of his children in the case of divorce. It would mean in all cases that a husband would have a the complete right to make void any binding agreement that a wife might have entered into upon first hearing of it. In that the laws regarding submission also include in a general sense the submission of women in general to men in general, it would further mean that a civil vote be denied women. It would further mean that a man's estate must not be left to a widowed woman if she has a grown son who is line to be his heir, for the inheritance in such a case would belong to the son, or sons of the deceased man.
A Little Theology Behind these Statements
God's law can not be void in that God Himself is law. Just like the Scripture communicates that God is love, in the same manner God is law. No doubt there are more then one way to establish this by the Scripture, but let's use this simple avenue. Is not Jesus referred to as Truth. For He said of Himself, “I am the way, the truth and the life...” The Psalmist in 119:42 says, “....and thy law is the truth”. So we see by the Scripture, and by the exercise of basic reasoning that Jesus, who is God incarnate, is law. Therefore since God is law how could it even be thought possible for His law to be made void? Can one make God void? Can the Almighty One be annulled? I think not.
There is found in this generation what in my estimation is a great confusion in regards to what is meant by the statement of the Apostle Paul when he said, “we are not under the law but under grace.” (Romans 6:14) This statement is taken by many to mean that the law has been annulled. This very obviously is not true in that that same apostle pointedly said in another place that the faith of the Christian did not make God's law void. (Romans 3:31) Christ did not do away with the law, but rather stands between the Believer and the commands of God. So we deal with the law (the commands of God) through Christ, and by the aide of the Holy Spirit. We do not deal with the law directly. That is why the apostle said we are not under the law, but under grace. But this statement should in no wise be used to say that the commandments of God were made void.
The purpose of the gospel is not to, nor has it ever been to displace the law, but that through the operation of the grace of God a way could be made for man to be regenerated and thus enabled to fulfill the commandments of God. Which before Christ comes into a person's heart it is impossible for him to flesh out the commands of God. For the law to a unregenerated man, or a person who is not filled with the Spirit-who has not learned to live in the Spirit- is a burden. It is a weight and a condemning force. But for the one who lives after the Spirit it becomes a liberty, and delight, and in fact is referred to as the, “perfect law of liberty,” by James. (James 1:25 & 2:12)
Quite the opposite of being made void and disappearing God's law is forecasted to continue to increase, for the prophet Isaiah speaking of the person and ministry of Jesus had this to say. Behold my servant whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth. He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law. (Isaiah 42:1-4 KJV) Jesus Himself said those that both do, and teach His laws will be considered greatest in God's kingdom. (Mathew 5:17-19). The Apostle John seeing the future by the Holy Spirit spoke of those being saved and said, “....which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” (Revelations 12:17) and in Revelations 14:12 John says, “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.”
In Conclusion:
I exhort you to be found faithful to conform your life to the commandments of our God by means of the empowerment of the Holy Spirit which is given to the believer through our Lord Jesus Christ. This is pleasing to God, and works His purpose in the world. Amen
A Watchman,
Gregory DeHart
By: Gregory A. DeHart
Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com
Gregory DeHart is a Bible teacher who sometimes writes under the pen name of Watchman. Gregory is the sponsor of AnAmericanWatchman.blogspot.com, a site dedicated to examining social issues and the preaching of righteousness, also of MarriageRevelations.blogspot.com, a site dedicated to the practical unfolding of the mystery revealed from the Bible of how marriage is a picture of Christ and the Church. For a Bible based perspective please feel welcome to visit our sites
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