Gods Word is Truth 2
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God’s Word is Truth!
Psalms 119:1-8
Online Sermon: http://www.mckeesfamily.com/?page_id=3567
Blessed are those who believe so strongly in God’s word being true that they are not only
willing to meditate day and night on His statues but are also willing to become living sacrifices
by walking in accordance with its precepts! Last week we put the Bible through rigorous tests
and learned that due to its multiple sources, textual agreement, eye witness testimony and
predictive accuracy; one can safely conclude that God’s love letter is “absolutely” true. And yet
living an age when people no longer put up with sound doctrine (2 Timothy 4:3-4), pastors and
teachers of God’s word are finding that more and more Christians are “ignoring” or “tearing out”
sections of Scripture! It seems like any verse that either points to the way a person lives as being
sinful or “counter-cultural” has become too vile for some Christian’s spiritual diets! The first
part of this sermon is going to answer the question: are Christians to obey every single
command that God has given them?, and the second part of the sermon is going to discuss the
dangers of allowing the culture to influence our interpretation of God’s word.
Obeying Every Single Command?
Illustration. For this sermon I asked for an adult to volunteer for a skit (thankfully many
in congregation love to participate in illustrations). I brought to the church a mattress, quilts and
a pillow. The volunteer was given a night gown to wear, a hat and were instructed to crawl into
bed. I was dressed up with a wig, beard and a
cane to signify an “older,” “wise” father (I am
not really that wise but am working on it!).
The person in the bed was instructed that while
they were an adult, taking the lowly position of
a child was a great honor (Matthew 18:3-5) for
in their “no holds back” questioning of God’s
word they will find the truth! I also took
several helium balloons. I instructed my wilful
volunteer that to sound like a child he/she must
inhale some helium before asking advice from
me, the older, “wise” father! I added this part
to the sermon to keep the attention of the children present whom were under the age of 11. The
goal of this skit is to ask questions from the perspective of an innocent child that most adults are
thinking about but are to afraid to ask! While the children might not understand all the answers
given, I hope the adults will be convicted enough to continue this crucial conversation at home!
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Question 1: Does God want me to obey every single command in the Bible?
Son, that is a good but difficult question to answer. Let me first start by saying that there
are many commands in the Bible, especially the Old Testament, that you are not asked to obey.
We as born-again believers are no longer
under the Older Mosaic Covenant and as
such are not bound to obey the “letter” of its
laws. In his letter to the church of Rome
Paul wrote that since no one could follow
the law in its entirety, the law only points
out a person’s sin whose wages is death.
(Romans 6:23). Christ bore the punishment
for our sins upon the cross (Isaiah 53) so
that we might be forgiven and need not to
offer any more sacrifices (Hebrews 10:18).
Christ fulfilled the Old Testament law and
ushered in a new stage in God’s plan of
salvation1 which was based not on works
but on faith in a risen Savior! Those choose
to put themselves back under the Mosaic Law are “foolish” for to do so would mean that
Christ’s death meant nothing (Galatians 3:1)!2
Question 2: Does this mean that I don’t have to obey any of the Old Testament laws?
My child, at the council of Jerusalem, it was decided that the only things Christians
should obey from the Old Testament is to “abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual
immorality, from the meat of strangled
animals and from blood” (Acts 15:20).
The moment Peter was commanded in his
vision to get up kill and eat four-footed
animals, as well as birds and reptiles that
were according to the Old Testament
“unclean,” (Acts 10:15) meant that the
dietary laws were no longer to be obeyed.3
This means that eating rabbits, pigs, bears,
boars or catfish, shark, swordfish, crab,
lobster, and shrimp is no longer forbidden
by the Bible.4 Also at this council it was
1
L. Ann Jervis, Galatians, Understanding the Bible Commentary Series (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book, 2011), 79.
James Montgomery Boice, “Galatians,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Romans through Galatians, ed.
Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 10 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1976), 453.
3
David J. Williams, Acts, Understanding the Bible Commentary Series (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2011),
188.
4
Taken from the following website: http://www.uncleanfoodsdietarylaws.com/clean_unclean_food_list.html
2
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decided that while physical circumcision was no longer required (1 Corinthians 7:19-20),
Christians were to have their hearts circumcised by the Spirit (Galatians 2:29) and as such would
no longer see the commands as burdensome but instruction on holy living (1 John 5:2).
Question 3: Does this mean that out of the roughly 613 commands of the Old Testament
there are only four that a Christian must follow?
Son, while Christians are not required to follow the ceremonial and civil laws this does
not mean that that Old Testament laws have been abolished. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus
said that He did not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets but to fulfill them (Matthew 5:1720). While this might appear to be a
contradiction to the prior answer it is the
“letter” of the law and not the “intent” that
is has been fulfilled and changed. Jesus
came to actualize the Scripture and take us
to a deeper understanding of why the
commands were given.5 Jesus gave us
some examples of this deeper meaning
during the Sermon on the Mount. For
instance, the deeper meaning or intent of
the commandment “do not murder” was to
teach humanity it was wrong to be angry,
hate or hold grudges against one other
(5:21-26). The deeper meaning or intent of
the commandment “do not commit
adultery” was to keep the marriage bed pure by forbidding lustfully looking upon others (5:2730). While Christians are no longer required to follow the ceremonial and civil laws, they are
still required to follow the intent of these laws: to be set apart as distinct (Matthew 5:16) and
separate from the world (1 John 2:15) for God. When it comes to the moral laws of the Old
Testament, they are to be obeyed in their entirety.
Question 4: Are we to obey every single command of the New Testament?
Very good question my son and for the most part the answer is yes! There are some
verses in the New Testament that scholars suggest no longer need to be obeyed because the
culture they addressed no longer exists. For example, when Paul said, “women should remain
silent in the churches” (1 Corinthians 14:24) many scholars believe that he only said this due to
the lack of education of the women of his time period and so that the Corinthians would not be
discredited in the eyes of the Greek culture whom felt that a virtuous woman should remain
5
Michael J. Wilkins, Matthew, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing
House, 2004), 229.
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silent in public.6 Paul promoted the rights
of women during his time period as
demonstrated in his selection of various
women to aid him in his ministry.7
Another example of NT cultural laws are
those relating to slavery. Paul’s
commandment for slaves to obey their
masters (whom in turn were to submit to
the authority of Christ) is no longer in
effect due to the abolishment of slavery in
this part of the world. Paul’s suggestion to
Philemon to grant freedom to his slave was
not only counter cultural but clearly
demonstrated his disapproval of this societal norm. There are very few commands in the New
Testament that could be deemed culturally specific and when in doubt ask the Spirit and He will
point them out to you (John 16:13).
Cultural Influences
Question 5: Do most Christians accept and obey the Bible?
While most Christians say they believe the Bible is 100% true and therefore should be
obeyed in its entirety, there are many topics in the Bible that have become at best “debatable”
and for some outright rejected. For
example, since approximately 80 % of
unmarried evangelical young adults have
had sex;8 sex before marriage is now a
controversial topic within our churches.
Since more and more countries have
legalized and are promoting same-sex
marriage, it is now “taboo” to share what
the Bible says on this topic. Since almost
one in two Christians will get divorced in
their lifetime most pastors dare not even
mention what the Bible says about this
6
Leon Morris, 1 Corinthians: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 7, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries
(Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1985), 193.
7
Taken from the following website: http://enrichmentjournal.ag.org/200102/082_paul.cfm
8
Taken from the following website: https://www.christianpost.com/news/are-most-single-christians-in-americahaving-sex.html
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topic lest they be ushered the door.9 Since one in four women will get an abortion in their
lifetime, preaching the sanctity of life is now a controversial topic for a lot of Christians.10 Due
to the influence of this “ME” generation that believes in no restrictions, some Christians now
reject any notion that spiritual gifting assigns divine roles within the church while others outright
reject the necessity to ask for forgiveness of sins once one becomes a believer!
Question 6: Does the culture we live in affect our interpretation of God’s word?
The answer to this question is the main reason why we are having this discussion. The
culture in which we live has a dramatic affect on how we interpret Scripture. The more society
moves away from and outright rejects
God’s word as being true, the more
Christians will “tear out” pages of
Scripture to make it more palatable to
their culture. The more Christians
participate in the sins of their culture
the less likely God’s word will have an
authoritative position in their lives!
How hard would it have been to be
Noah (Genesis 7), Lot (Genesis 19) or
Moses (Exodus 32) to remain faithful
and obedient to God while everyone
else was feasting on their sinful desires
or their hearts (James 1:14-15)?
Instead of accepting the “foolishness”
of this world (1 Corinthians 3:19) we as Christians should bow our knees and unquestionably
accept the authority of God’s word to teach us how to live holy lives (2 Timothy 3:16)! To do
this we must reject any temptation to interpret God’s word through “worldly eyes” but instead
through the eyes of the Holy Spirit whose timeless truths never change (John 16:13).
9
Taken from the following website: https://www.focusonthefamily.com/about/focus-findings/marriage/divorcerate-in-the-church-as-high-as-the-world
10
Taken from the following website: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2017/10/19/us-abortion-rate-fell-25-percent-from-2008-to-2014-one-in-four-women-have-anabortion/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.5e174320c537
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Question 7: What can one do to keep one’s ways pure?
To finish off today’s discussion I want to give you one final piece of advice: “watch and
pray so that you will not fall into temptation for the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak”
(Matthew 26:41). Hide the word of God
in your heart so that you might not sin
against Him (Psalms 119:9-16) and
through prayer and thanksgiving draw
nearer to Him and He will draw nearer to
you (James 4:8). In the end one must
choose what will be the compass for
living one’s life. If you allow your
culture to dictate your beliefs, then while
that broad path will be pleasurable it will
not lead you closer to God. If you accept
and allow His word to be the authority in
your life, then you will be blessed and
will one day hear the words “good and
faithful servant.” The choice is yours to make: to whom do you want to be your master?
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