WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.800 I want to thank you for being back with us this 00:00:01.800 --> 00:00:05.120 afternoon as we continue our series of studies 00:00:05.120 --> 00:00:07.719 concerning restoring New Testament Christianity 00:00:07.719 --> 00:00:12.980 and the desperate need and our desire to simply 00:00:12.980 --> 00:00:15.960 go back to the Bible to find our faith, find 00:00:15.960 --> 00:00:19.120 our doctrine, and find our practice in the church 00:00:19.120 --> 00:00:22.859 today. This morning we introduced this topic 00:00:22.859 --> 00:00:26.420 by talking about maintaining a mission mindset 00:00:26.420 --> 00:00:29.219 that mindset being the the idea the principle 00:00:29.219 --> 00:00:32.719 of restoring the New Testament Church and we're 00:00:32.719 --> 00:00:34.659 going to turn our attention that this afternoon 00:00:34.659 --> 00:00:38.000 to an essential ingredient in that effort and 00:00:38.000 --> 00:00:40.539 that is trusting the authority of the scriptures 00:00:40.539 --> 00:00:43.479 trusting the Bible the scriptures as our soul 00:00:43.479 --> 00:00:46.060 and singular source of authority in religion 00:00:46.060 --> 00:00:48.560 today you know I made a comment a statement this 00:00:48.560 --> 00:00:51.979 morning that establishing scriptural authority 00:00:51.979 --> 00:00:55.679 is so very important We cannot hope to be the 00:00:55.679 --> 00:00:58.619 church that Jesus built if we don't test everything 00:00:58.619 --> 00:01:01.920 in our faith, in our worship, in our practice. 00:01:02.140 --> 00:01:04.540 We have to test everything by the Word of God 00:01:04.540 --> 00:01:07.040 to make sure it's true, to make sure it's genuine, 00:01:07.120 --> 00:01:09.239 to make sure it's a part of that initial plan 00:01:09.239 --> 00:01:11.879 and pattern that the Lord delivered us in the 00:01:11.879 --> 00:01:14.280 New Testament when He set up His church. And 00:01:14.280 --> 00:01:17.040 so I want to spend some time focusing more in 00:01:17.040 --> 00:01:20.120 depth in regard to that idea this afternoon. 00:01:20.620 --> 00:01:23.900 We have to understand that the scriptures are 00:01:23.900 --> 00:01:26.379 our only authority. We have to understand the 00:01:26.379 --> 00:01:29.079 proper way to approach those scriptures and how 00:01:29.079 --> 00:01:32.140 to properly interpret them to arrive at the truth 00:01:32.140 --> 00:01:35.620 God wants us to know. Now, in a perfect world, 00:01:36.819 --> 00:01:38.760 and spoiler alert, we don't live in a perfect 00:01:38.760 --> 00:01:43.219 world, but in a perfect world, I would grab my 00:01:43.219 --> 00:01:46.469 Bible just like you would. And we would open 00:01:46.469 --> 00:01:48.349 it, and we would read it, and we would study 00:01:48.349 --> 00:01:51.750 and meditate on it, and we would all arrive at 00:01:51.750 --> 00:01:56.049 a singular faith, a unified doctrine, and a common 00:01:56.049 --> 00:02:01.909 practice. In a perfect world, that's how we would 00:02:01.909 --> 00:02:04.810 come to faith and how we would teach doctrine 00:02:04.810 --> 00:02:07.430 and how we would live out our practice for the 00:02:07.430 --> 00:02:11.930 Lord. However today we look around us and we 00:02:11.930 --> 00:02:14.430 realize that you know many many people call themselves 00:02:14.430 --> 00:02:17.030 Christians and many people go to the same Bible 00:02:17.030 --> 00:02:20.240 that I read that you read but In the end, we 00:02:20.240 --> 00:02:23.039 don't arrive at the same place, do we? In our 00:02:23.039 --> 00:02:25.740 faith, in our doctrine, in our practice. We see 00:02:25.740 --> 00:02:28.419 many different faiths around us. We hear many 00:02:28.419 --> 00:02:30.840 different doctrines. We see many different practices. 00:02:32.000 --> 00:02:35.060 And this is evidenced by the many different churches 00:02:35.060 --> 00:02:37.680 that we see around us. Now, we all call ourselves 00:02:37.680 --> 00:02:40.139 Christians, and we all say we love God, and we 00:02:40.139 --> 00:02:43.060 all say we're following the Bible. But at the 00:02:43.060 --> 00:02:45.800 end of the day, we don't get to the same place, 00:02:45.800 --> 00:02:49.740 do we? And that's a problem. This is not the 00:02:49.740 --> 00:02:52.580 will of God. Because we know the will of God. 00:02:52.620 --> 00:02:55.159 It's revealed to us in Ephesians chapter 4. When 00:02:55.159 --> 00:02:58.319 Paul wrote to the Ephesians, he clearly explained 00:02:58.319 --> 00:03:01.060 and spoke to them about a unified singular faith, 00:03:01.979 --> 00:03:05.580 not a divided faith. In Ephesians 4 .4, Paul 00:03:05.580 --> 00:03:08.759 said there is one body, just one. Not 12, not 00:03:08.759 --> 00:03:11.860 20, not 200. There is one body and one spirit. 00:03:12.189 --> 00:03:14.610 Even as you're called in one hope of your calling 00:03:14.610 --> 00:03:16.949 there's one hope there's one Lord one faith one 00:03:16.949 --> 00:03:19.129 baptism Just like there's one God and father 00:03:19.129 --> 00:03:22.110 of all who is above all and through all and in 00:03:22.110 --> 00:03:27.270 you all and so The Bible speaks of a simple singular 00:03:27.270 --> 00:03:30.789 faith that we should all be striving for Earlier 00:03:30.789 --> 00:03:33.289 in the in this chapter. He encouraged us to strive 00:03:33.289 --> 00:03:36.169 to maintain and keep the unity of that faith 00:03:36.169 --> 00:03:39.870 But we live in a world that is divided in religion 00:03:40.360 --> 00:03:43.039 We live in a world where there are many different 00:03:43.039 --> 00:03:44.960 faiths, many different doctrines, many different 00:03:44.960 --> 00:03:47.240 practices. Why is that? That's something we're 00:03:47.240 --> 00:03:49.680 going to talk about and try to understand better 00:03:49.680 --> 00:03:55.180 this afternoon. So long as we maintain an honest 00:03:55.180 --> 00:03:59.020 and unbiased approach to the scriptures and as 00:03:59.020 --> 00:04:03.180 long as we employ a proper method of Bible interpretation 00:04:04.060 --> 00:04:06.740 I believe with those two essential steps we can 00:04:06.740 --> 00:04:09.699 arrive at the truth, the truth God wants us to 00:04:09.699 --> 00:04:12.620 understand about that singular faith, doctrine, 00:04:12.719 --> 00:04:15.419 and practice that we all need. And so we're going 00:04:15.419 --> 00:04:19.439 to give careful attention and analysis to our 00:04:19.439 --> 00:04:21.439 approach to Scripture, how we should approach 00:04:21.439 --> 00:04:24.060 the Scripture, preparing our hearts and preparing 00:04:24.060 --> 00:04:26.839 our minds before we even crack the cover of the 00:04:26.839 --> 00:04:29.699 Bible. And then we're going to talk about, once 00:04:29.699 --> 00:04:31.639 we open the Bible, we're going to talk about 00:04:31.639 --> 00:04:36.629 some basic principles of proper Bible interpretation, 00:04:36.930 --> 00:04:39.750 because both of those ingredients are necessary 00:04:39.750 --> 00:04:42.750 for us to arrive at the truth God has given us. 00:04:43.310 --> 00:04:45.430 Let's talk first about approaching the Word of 00:04:45.430 --> 00:04:48.389 God with honesty. Before we even open the Bible 00:04:48.389 --> 00:04:51.949 and begin reading and studying, we have to prepare 00:04:51.949 --> 00:04:54.250 our hearts and minds to approach the Word of 00:04:54.250 --> 00:04:58.029 God with honesty. Some of the ideas that we're 00:04:58.029 --> 00:05:03.069 going to have to buy into wholeheartedly and 00:05:03.069 --> 00:05:05.970 not hold anything back. Because we got to buy 00:05:05.970 --> 00:05:08.610 into the idea of trusting that God is always 00:05:08.610 --> 00:05:13.389 right. That's what trust is, isn't it? Trust 00:05:13.389 --> 00:05:18.389 is something that teaches us, it reminds us that 00:05:18.389 --> 00:05:21.129 I have my own way of thinking, I have my own 00:05:21.129 --> 00:05:23.329 way of feeling, I've got my own think so's, I've 00:05:23.329 --> 00:05:25.689 got my own opinions, I've got my own preferences. 00:05:26.430 --> 00:05:29.970 But trusting God and the authority of the Scriptures 00:05:29.970 --> 00:05:34.629 means that My think -so is my opinions my feelings 00:05:34.629 --> 00:05:38.550 my ideas have to go by the wayside If they aren't 00:05:38.550 --> 00:05:41.350 in agreement with what God reveals in his word 00:05:41.350 --> 00:05:44.569 and faith is trusting that God is always right 00:05:44.569 --> 00:05:47.069 We're not we're not always right. I have been 00:05:47.069 --> 00:05:49.550 wrong. Have you ever been wrong? I have been 00:05:49.550 --> 00:05:54.699 wrong Because I'm human and That's part of the 00:05:54.699 --> 00:05:56.680 human experience, the fact that we can and we 00:05:56.680 --> 00:05:59.040 sometimes are wrong. But we need to trust that 00:05:59.040 --> 00:06:01.420 there is one who is always right and that that 00:06:01.420 --> 00:06:04.600 one is God. You know, in Romans 3 -4, Paul speaks 00:06:04.600 --> 00:06:06.939 to this. He makes a passing statement here in 00:06:06.939 --> 00:06:10.139 this verse. He says, let God be true and every 00:06:10.139 --> 00:06:13.759 man a liar. Even if every person on the face 00:06:13.759 --> 00:06:16.139 of the planet disagrees with God, guess what? 00:06:16.139 --> 00:06:19.740 He's still right. He's still right. His word 00:06:19.740 --> 00:06:22.980 is still true. Even if everyone rejects it, does 00:06:22.980 --> 00:06:26.300 that change it? The Word of God remains the same. 00:06:26.879 --> 00:06:30.600 God remains true and everyone on the face of 00:06:30.600 --> 00:06:33.160 the planet is wrong, including ourselves if what 00:06:33.160 --> 00:06:35.680 we believe is not in line with Scripture. We've 00:06:35.680 --> 00:06:37.180 got to trust this. We've got to believe this 00:06:37.180 --> 00:06:40.279 wholeheartedly that God is always right. And 00:06:40.279 --> 00:06:41.939 as I just mentioned a moment ago, we've got to 00:06:41.939 --> 00:06:44.779 be open to the idea and the possibility that 00:06:44.779 --> 00:06:50.519 we might be wrong. I've been wrong before. You 00:06:50.519 --> 00:06:54.600 know, I've been in a process of learning and 00:06:54.600 --> 00:06:56.860 growing and gaining understanding since the day 00:06:56.860 --> 00:06:58.639 I was born. Do you know how much you knew the 00:06:58.639 --> 00:07:03.639 day you were born? You knew nothing the day you 00:07:03.639 --> 00:07:07.240 were born. Since the day of your birth to today, 00:07:07.279 --> 00:07:09.839 you've been in a process of learning, growing, 00:07:10.000 --> 00:07:12.399 and gaining an understanding. And you know, along 00:07:12.399 --> 00:07:15.560 the way, sometimes we find out that what we thought 00:07:15.560 --> 00:07:19.959 was right really wasn't right. What we thought 00:07:19.959 --> 00:07:23.199 we were certain was true really wasn't true. 00:07:23.259 --> 00:07:25.980 Have you ever been there? I've been there. I've 00:07:25.980 --> 00:07:29.060 been there. And here's the funny thing about 00:07:29.060 --> 00:07:32.240 it. The funny thing about it is that I didn't 00:07:32.240 --> 00:07:35.300 know I was wrong. I thought I was right all along. 00:07:36.920 --> 00:07:39.060 I thought I was right. And that's I think that's 00:07:39.060 --> 00:07:41.540 what the Proverbs are speaking to about mankind 00:07:41.540 --> 00:07:44.899 in Proverbs 21 to where it says the way of of 00:07:44.899 --> 00:07:47.720 a man is right in his own eyes. We always think 00:07:47.720 --> 00:07:51.579 our way is right, but we also have to be open 00:07:51.579 --> 00:07:55.459 to the possibility that we might be wrong. We 00:07:55.459 --> 00:08:00.560 might be wrong. The Bible says in Proverbs 16 00:08:00.560 --> 00:08:03.540 25 this is something we need to take notice of. 00:08:04.000 --> 00:08:07.240 Proverbs 16 25 it says there is a way that seemeth 00:08:07.240 --> 00:08:11.019 right unto a man. There are many religious ways 00:08:11.019 --> 00:08:14.970 that seem just seem right to man. But what does 00:08:14.970 --> 00:08:17.829 the Bible tell us? It tells us the end thereof 00:08:17.829 --> 00:08:20.949 are the ways of death. We have many Bible examples 00:08:20.949 --> 00:08:23.730 of that. It just seemed right for Nadab and Abihu 00:08:23.730 --> 00:08:26.889 to offer strange fire before the Lord. And you 00:08:26.889 --> 00:08:29.069 know they died in Leviticus chapter 10 verse 00:08:29.069 --> 00:08:32.049 1 to 2. They died doing something that seemed 00:08:32.049 --> 00:08:35.090 right to them, offering strange fire. Just seemed 00:08:35.090 --> 00:08:38.830 right to King David and his servant Uzzah to 00:08:38.830 --> 00:08:41.649 move the Ark of the Covenant in an ox cart. Just 00:08:41.649 --> 00:08:44.970 seemed right to them. and Uzzah died doing something 00:08:44.970 --> 00:08:47.669 that just seemed right, moving the ark of God 00:08:47.669 --> 00:08:51.370 in an improper way, an unscriptural way. So you 00:08:51.370 --> 00:08:53.370 see there are many ways in religion that just 00:08:53.370 --> 00:08:55.750 seem right and sometimes our ways might seem 00:08:55.750 --> 00:08:57.549 right and feel right and we might think we're 00:08:57.549 --> 00:08:59.870 right but we always have to be open to the possibility 00:08:59.870 --> 00:09:02.009 that we could be wrong. We have to be humble 00:09:02.009 --> 00:09:04.929 enough to admit that. Here's something else we 00:09:04.929 --> 00:09:06.789 got to do as we approach the Word of God. We 00:09:06.789 --> 00:09:09.350 got to go to the Word of God to be true truth 00:09:09.350 --> 00:09:12.509 -seekers, sincere in that effort. We've got to 00:09:12.509 --> 00:09:14.909 be seeking truth. You know what we can do if 00:09:14.909 --> 00:09:17.509 we're not careful? We can go to the scriptures 00:09:17.509 --> 00:09:20.210 just to seek validation of what we already believe. 00:09:20.590 --> 00:09:24.110 You ever done that? I'm going to tell you something. 00:09:24.149 --> 00:09:25.370 I'm going to confess something to you. I've done 00:09:25.370 --> 00:09:28.990 that before. I've done that before. Made up my 00:09:28.990 --> 00:09:30.409 mind what was right and I've got to go to the 00:09:30.409 --> 00:09:34.389 Bible to find a verse to back it up. Right? It's 00:09:34.389 --> 00:09:37.870 easy to do if we're not careful. I've done that 00:09:37.870 --> 00:09:39.990 before. It wasn't right. It was wrong. I'm going 00:09:39.990 --> 00:09:42.919 to try not to do that again. I'm going to try 00:09:42.919 --> 00:09:45.259 to be more of a truth seeker than a person who 00:09:45.259 --> 00:09:47.539 just goes to the Word of God to seek validation 00:09:47.539 --> 00:09:49.759 for what I've already determined is right. No, 00:09:49.779 --> 00:09:51.840 I go to the Word of God saying, Lord, show me 00:09:51.840 --> 00:09:55.399 what's right, even if I'm wrong. Please open 00:09:55.399 --> 00:10:00.000 my eyes to that which I cannot see. Please help 00:10:00.000 --> 00:10:02.799 me to find your truth. If we go to the Word of 00:10:02.799 --> 00:10:05.039 God not looking for truth, just looking for validation, 00:10:05.639 --> 00:10:07.720 that's what we'll find. We'll find validation 00:10:07.720 --> 00:10:10.519 for what we want to believe. But we could miss 00:10:10.519 --> 00:10:13.990 out on the truth. I think this was a problem 00:10:13.990 --> 00:10:16.570 with the children of Israel in the days of Isaiah. 00:10:16.750 --> 00:10:19.809 Isaiah chapter 30 verse 9, God told his people 00:10:19.809 --> 00:10:22.110 through Isaiah, he says that this is a rebellious 00:10:22.110 --> 00:10:24.870 people, lying children, children that will not 00:10:24.870 --> 00:10:28.009 hear the law of the Lord. They didn't want to 00:10:28.009 --> 00:10:30.649 hear the law of the Lord. Which say to the seers, 00:10:30.809 --> 00:10:34.889 see not, and to the prophets, prophesy not unto 00:10:34.889 --> 00:10:39.250 us right things, speak unto us smooth things, 00:10:39.710 --> 00:10:43.230 prophesy deceits. They wanted to hear prophecy. 00:10:43.330 --> 00:10:45.629 They wanted to hear teaching, right? But they 00:10:45.629 --> 00:10:47.009 didn't want to hear the law of the Lord. They 00:10:47.009 --> 00:10:49.470 wanted to hear what they thought was right and 00:10:49.470 --> 00:10:51.549 what they believed was right. And they told the 00:10:51.549 --> 00:10:54.070 prophets, even if you have to tell us lies, just 00:10:54.070 --> 00:10:58.990 tell us lies. Prophesied deceits. And we don't 00:10:58.990 --> 00:11:00.470 want to be guilty of that. We don't want to be 00:11:00.470 --> 00:11:02.370 like the people in Isaiah's day. We want to be 00:11:02.370 --> 00:11:06.269 more honest in our search for truth. We want 00:11:06.269 --> 00:11:08.409 to approach the Word of God with honesty and 00:11:08.409 --> 00:11:10.809 sincerity in our heart. Here's something else 00:11:10.809 --> 00:11:13.490 we got to do. We got to be willing to buy into 00:11:13.490 --> 00:11:16.769 this principle wholeheartedly as well. When we 00:11:16.769 --> 00:11:19.009 seek the truth, I believe the Lord will help 00:11:19.009 --> 00:11:20.830 us find the truth. And when we find the truth, 00:11:20.870 --> 00:11:23.129 we need to accept the truth no matter the cost. 00:11:23.990 --> 00:11:27.129 Sometimes it's not convenient. Sometimes it's 00:11:27.129 --> 00:11:31.519 not to our advantage to accept the truth. change 00:11:31.519 --> 00:11:34.039 where we've seen that we're in error and make 00:11:34.039 --> 00:11:35.919 a change sometimes that's not easy sometimes 00:11:35.919 --> 00:11:38.000 it's hard sometimes it's difficult sometimes 00:11:38.000 --> 00:11:40.940 it comes with the consequences that are difficult 00:11:40.940 --> 00:11:45.399 to deal with but you know God would have us to 00:11:45.399 --> 00:11:47.440 seek the truth learn the truth and accept the 00:11:47.440 --> 00:11:50.639 truth no matter the cost Bible tells us in Proverbs 00:11:50.639 --> 00:11:54.919 23 23 by the truth and sell it not also wisdom 00:11:54.919 --> 00:11:57.860 and instruction and understanding when you find 00:11:57.860 --> 00:12:01.799 the truth you buy it you invest in it and you 00:12:01.799 --> 00:12:04.720 don't sell it out for anything. No matter the 00:12:04.720 --> 00:12:06.940 cost, we need to be seeking truth and following 00:12:06.940 --> 00:12:09.960 after truth because that honors God. God is a 00:12:09.960 --> 00:12:13.980 God of truth. He's not a God of lies. You know, 00:12:14.159 --> 00:12:16.139 Satan's the one out here spreading religious 00:12:16.139 --> 00:12:19.399 lies and if we're just buying into lies and believing 00:12:19.399 --> 00:12:21.899 lies and following religious error, we're not 00:12:21.899 --> 00:12:24.120 honoring God. We're actually giving honor to 00:12:24.120 --> 00:12:27.799 the enemy of God, to Satan. So we have to approach 00:12:27.799 --> 00:12:30.470 the Word of God honestly. Here's something else. 00:12:30.470 --> 00:12:32.970 We have to be aware of before we even crack the 00:12:32.970 --> 00:12:35.769 cover of the Bible to read it We got to be aware 00:12:35.769 --> 00:12:39.549 of the problem of bias You know we are all subject 00:12:39.549 --> 00:12:42.669 to different biases aren't we I? Want to share 00:12:42.669 --> 00:12:45.870 some things with you that? Some ingredients that 00:12:45.870 --> 00:12:49.450 form a dangerous recipe for bias that we all 00:12:49.450 --> 00:12:51.870 need to be aware of the first one is family traditions 00:12:52.620 --> 00:12:54.860 We've all got our own family traditions. We've 00:12:54.860 --> 00:12:57.220 got things that we were taught from our parents 00:12:57.220 --> 00:12:59.259 and our grandparents and our great -grandparents 00:12:59.259 --> 00:13:01.799 and things our families have done for many, many 00:13:01.799 --> 00:13:04.419 years, many, many generations. And, you know, 00:13:04.419 --> 00:13:06.720 we have a tendency to want to follow in the pathway 00:13:06.720 --> 00:13:10.039 of our family and follow family traditions. But 00:13:10.039 --> 00:13:13.220 we have to be careful of that because just because 00:13:13.220 --> 00:13:16.259 our family has done something for 100, 200 years 00:13:16.259 --> 00:13:20.059 doesn't make it right. That's not the true test 00:13:20.059 --> 00:13:22.220 of whether or not something is scriptural or 00:13:22.220 --> 00:13:25.120 not or true or not Just because our family has 00:13:25.120 --> 00:13:27.899 done it for so long the scriptures are the true 00:13:27.899 --> 00:13:30.080 test of what is what is right in the sight of 00:13:30.080 --> 00:13:33.120 God And you know Jesus says we got to love him 00:13:33.120 --> 00:13:36.480 and his truth more than we love our family That's 00:13:36.480 --> 00:13:38.600 not always easy to do sometimes that puts us 00:13:38.600 --> 00:13:41.360 in difficult situations But Jesus said this in 00:13:41.360 --> 00:13:44.179 Matthew 10 37 he that loveth father or mother 00:13:44.179 --> 00:13:46.820 more than me is not worthy of me He that love 00:13:46.820 --> 00:13:49.360 a son or daughter more than me is not worthy 00:13:49.360 --> 00:13:52.740 of me. We got to love God's Word more than we 00:13:52.740 --> 00:13:56.259 love our sacredly kept family traditions. Here's 00:13:56.259 --> 00:13:59.500 something else we've got that is a part of a 00:13:59.500 --> 00:14:03.120 dangerous recipe for bias. We have different 00:14:03.120 --> 00:14:07.399 influences in our culture that might skew our 00:14:07.399 --> 00:14:11.919 thinking more than you might imagine. One of 00:14:11.919 --> 00:14:15.980 the probably easiest ways to discover this Pull 00:14:15.980 --> 00:14:18.600 that culture has on us. We like to say oh, no, 00:14:18.600 --> 00:14:20.659 I would never let my culture influence me. Okay, 00:14:20.659 --> 00:14:24.460 that sounds good But if you go visit another 00:14:24.460 --> 00:14:27.779 country a different culture Your eyes are open 00:14:27.779 --> 00:14:31.419 very quickly to things that are different not 00:14:31.419 --> 00:14:33.659 wrong, but different in the way people walk talk 00:14:33.659 --> 00:14:39.649 live and Sometimes it helps us to see that in 00:14:39.649 --> 00:14:42.629 our culture, our 21st century modern American 00:14:42.629 --> 00:14:45.570 culture has more of an influence on us than we 00:14:45.570 --> 00:14:49.970 might like to recognize or admit. In Acts chapter 00:14:49.970 --> 00:14:52.669 10 verse 28, this is Peter and you know Peter 00:14:52.669 --> 00:14:56.470 felt the pressures of his culture. When he went 00:14:56.470 --> 00:14:58.909 to Caesarea into the house of Cornelius, remember 00:14:58.909 --> 00:15:02.269 Peter was a Jew and Cornelius was a Gentile and 00:15:02.269 --> 00:15:05.490 for Jews of that time the culture was Jews didn't 00:15:05.490 --> 00:15:09.139 go into and have company with Gentiles. That 00:15:09.139 --> 00:15:11.659 was the cultural expectation. That was the norm 00:15:11.659 --> 00:15:15.100 at his time for his people. And we see the tension 00:15:15.100 --> 00:15:18.159 of that in Acts chapter 1028. He, that's Peter 00:15:18.159 --> 00:15:20.600 said unto them, he says to Cornelius in the Gentiles, 00:15:20.740 --> 00:15:23.419 you know how it is an unlawful thing for a man 00:15:23.419 --> 00:15:26.399 that is a Jew to keep company or to come unto 00:15:26.399 --> 00:15:29.580 one of another nation, but God has shown me that 00:15:29.580 --> 00:15:32.059 I should not call any man common or unclean. 00:15:32.240 --> 00:15:34.620 Peter goes into the house of Cornelius and says, 00:15:34.840 --> 00:15:37.519 you know, everything in... in my being is telling 00:15:37.519 --> 00:15:40.000 me I shouldn't be here because that's what my 00:15:40.000 --> 00:15:42.440 culture has taught me. I shouldn't be in the 00:15:42.440 --> 00:15:44.659 house of a Gentile. He says on the other hand 00:15:44.659 --> 00:15:48.360 God is teaching me and he has shown me that I 00:15:48.360 --> 00:15:50.559 shouldn't discriminate against Gentiles. I shouldn't 00:15:50.559 --> 00:15:54.200 call any man common or unclean. So Peter was 00:15:54.200 --> 00:15:56.379 even subject to these cultural influences and 00:15:56.379 --> 00:15:57.919 we're not immune from them either. We need to 00:15:57.919 --> 00:16:00.740 be aware that they form a certain degree of bias 00:16:00.740 --> 00:16:03.860 within us. Here's something else that causes 00:16:03.860 --> 00:16:06.340 us to have bias and that's our past experiences 00:16:06.340 --> 00:16:10.960 You know as we go through life a lot of our past 00:16:10.960 --> 00:16:13.860 experiences Shape and form the way we think the 00:16:13.860 --> 00:16:16.000 way we feel and the way we view the world even 00:16:16.000 --> 00:16:19.379 the way maybe we view our faith But we got to 00:16:19.379 --> 00:16:22.080 remember past experience is not a test for whether 00:16:22.080 --> 00:16:23.980 or not something is right or scriptural that 00:16:23.980 --> 00:16:27.539 that test Falls squarely on the Word of God and 00:16:27.539 --> 00:16:30.759 the Word of God only here's an example of that 00:16:30.700 --> 00:16:33.679 From John chapter 1, this is Jesus calling his 00:16:33.679 --> 00:16:36.779 disciples. And the Bible says that Jesus called 00:16:36.779 --> 00:16:39.980 Philip. Philip was one of the first disciples 00:16:39.980 --> 00:16:43.440 of Jesus' cause. And Philip went and found Nathanael. 00:16:44.460 --> 00:16:46.700 Jesus called Philip and Philip goes and finds 00:16:46.700 --> 00:16:49.460 Nathanael and he says unto them, We have found 00:16:49.460 --> 00:16:51.779 him of whom Moses in the law and the prophets 00:16:51.779 --> 00:16:55.659 did write. Jesus of Nazareth. That's John 1 .45. 00:16:56.389 --> 00:16:58.850 Philip meets Jesus. He knows he's the Messiah. 00:16:59.149 --> 00:17:01.250 He goes and finds Nathaniel. He says, hey Nathaniel, 00:17:01.470 --> 00:17:04.309 we found the Messiah. It's Jesus of Nazareth. 00:17:04.410 --> 00:17:06.690 You remember Nathaniel's response in verse 46? 00:17:07.650 --> 00:17:11.230 Nathaniel said unto him, can there be any good 00:17:11.230 --> 00:17:14.569 thing come out of Nazareth? Nathaniel no doubt 00:17:14.569 --> 00:17:17.789 had had some past experiences with people from 00:17:17.789 --> 00:17:19.950 Nazareth. And maybe it was part of their culture 00:17:19.950 --> 00:17:23.289 too. Maybe the cultural... influence on them 00:17:23.289 --> 00:17:25.369 was the idea that you know there ain't nothing 00:17:25.369 --> 00:17:28.990 that can good that can come out of Nazareth and 00:17:28.990 --> 00:17:31.250 Philip says that this Jesus the Messiah is from 00:17:31.250 --> 00:17:33.670 Nazareth and Nathaniel can't hardly believe it. 00:17:34.130 --> 00:17:38.910 Nazareth? Did you say Nazareth? Really? Nazareth? 00:17:40.309 --> 00:17:43.990 Can any good thing come out of Nazareth? That 00:17:43.990 --> 00:17:47.750 gives us a glimpse doesn't it into the bias that 00:17:47.750 --> 00:17:51.349 Nathaniel had. Maybe partly due from his culture 00:17:51.349 --> 00:17:53.609 and maybe partly due from his past experience 00:17:53.609 --> 00:17:57.789 and we're not immune to those same influences. 00:18:00.569 --> 00:18:03.630 In addition, we also have our own individual 00:18:03.630 --> 00:18:06.650 ideologies, our individual and unique ways of 00:18:06.650 --> 00:18:09.890 thinking about things. There's nothing wrong 00:18:09.890 --> 00:18:13.250 with having individual ideologies. But you know 00:18:13.250 --> 00:18:15.890 the Bible tells us it's dangerous to lean too 00:18:15.890 --> 00:18:20.079 hard on our own understandings, isn't it? Proverbs 00:18:20.079 --> 00:18:23.640 3 verses 5 to 7. Trust in the Lord with all thine 00:18:23.640 --> 00:18:26.200 heart. Lean not into thine own understanding. 00:18:26.319 --> 00:18:29.099 In all thy ways acknowledge him and what he shall 00:18:29.099 --> 00:18:32.059 direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes. 00:18:32.240 --> 00:18:34.940 Sometimes we are maybe too wise in our own eyes. 00:18:36.019 --> 00:18:38.019 And instead of leaning on our own individual 00:18:38.019 --> 00:18:40.680 think -sows and ideologies we need to lean more 00:18:40.680 --> 00:18:43.880 on the Lord and let he be the one that directs 00:18:43.880 --> 00:18:47.519 our paths through his word. And then last but 00:18:47.519 --> 00:18:49.950 not least. We've all got personal preferences. 00:18:51.490 --> 00:18:53.349 And my preference might be different than yours. 00:18:53.349 --> 00:18:55.349 And that's OK. There's nothing wrong with that. 00:18:56.670 --> 00:18:59.809 But our personal preferences have to always yield 00:18:59.809 --> 00:19:04.170 to the will and the ways of God. We had to be 00:19:04.170 --> 00:19:06.529 willing to put aside our personal preferences 00:19:06.529 --> 00:19:10.490 to obey God and to follow His word. And, you 00:19:10.490 --> 00:19:13.769 know, we see the illustration, the example of 00:19:13.769 --> 00:19:16.869 Naaman. Remember, Naaman was a Syrian who had 00:19:16.869 --> 00:19:21.359 leprosy. He went down into Israel. He saw the 00:19:21.359 --> 00:19:24.140 prophet Elisha. Elisha told him if he would just 00:19:24.140 --> 00:19:28.160 go dip himself seven times in the Jordan River, 00:19:28.160 --> 00:19:30.480 he would be cleansed and cleaned of his leprosy. 00:19:30.799 --> 00:19:35.200 And you remember Naaman's response to that? He 00:19:35.200 --> 00:19:39.059 says, you want me to go dip in the Jordan River, 00:19:39.160 --> 00:19:42.480 the stinky muddy river of Israel, the Jordan 00:19:42.480 --> 00:19:47.619 River? Naaman said, are not Abana and Farpar 00:19:47.619 --> 00:19:50.480 rivers of Damascus, rivers back in his hometown, 00:19:51.200 --> 00:19:54.220 are they not better than all the waters of Israel? 00:19:54.319 --> 00:19:56.640 May I not wash in them and be clean? So he turned 00:19:56.640 --> 00:19:59.119 and went away in a rage. He was angry that the 00:19:59.119 --> 00:20:01.759 Lord told him to go dip himself down in the Jordan 00:20:01.759 --> 00:20:04.660 River. He said, I got a lot better rivers back 00:20:04.660 --> 00:20:07.299 home. I'm going back to Syria. I'm going to go 00:20:07.299 --> 00:20:11.180 dip in Abana or Farpar. As his personal preference, 00:20:11.319 --> 00:20:13.259 wasn't it? He preferred the rivers of his home 00:20:13.259 --> 00:20:16.809 country. You think if he'd went home to dip in 00:20:16.809 --> 00:20:18.849 a banner and far far he'd got the cleansing of 00:20:18.849 --> 00:20:21.230 his leprosy I don't think he would have because 00:20:21.230 --> 00:20:24.609 you know God wasn't gonna bless his disobedience 00:20:24.609 --> 00:20:27.109 God bless his obedience, and he told him go dip 00:20:27.109 --> 00:20:29.849 in the Jordan River Luckily one of his servants 00:20:29.849 --> 00:20:31.769 talked some sense into him and convinced him 00:20:31.769 --> 00:20:33.789 to go to the Jordan River he dipped down seven 00:20:33.789 --> 00:20:37.150 times and He was cleansed his preference had 00:20:37.150 --> 00:20:41.269 to yield to the will of God And so we got to 00:20:41.269 --> 00:20:46.259 be aware of bias All of these things, in some 00:20:46.259 --> 00:20:48.660 form or fashion, to one degree or another, can 00:20:48.660 --> 00:20:52.720 form a dangerous recipe of bias. And if we have 00:20:52.720 --> 00:20:55.640 bias in our heart, in our mind, before we even 00:20:55.640 --> 00:20:58.680 go to the Word of God, what chance do we have 00:20:58.680 --> 00:21:01.019 of arriving at the truth it wants to teach us? 00:21:02.299 --> 00:21:05.539 You know, earlier in the lesson we had this... 00:21:05.470 --> 00:21:08.450 illustration on the screen and we had a straight 00:21:08.450 --> 00:21:10.890 arrow from me, the stick figure, to the Word 00:21:10.890 --> 00:21:13.130 of God and then a straight arrow from the Word 00:21:13.130 --> 00:21:15.930 of God to the faith doctrine and practice that 00:21:15.930 --> 00:21:19.650 it teaches us. And in a perfect world, that's 00:21:19.650 --> 00:21:21.549 the way it would work for all of us. But if we 00:21:21.549 --> 00:21:23.829 approach the Word of God with dishonesty and 00:21:23.829 --> 00:21:26.670 bias in our hearts, you see how it's hard for 00:21:26.670 --> 00:21:30.549 us to arrive at the truth? If I go looking for 00:21:30.549 --> 00:21:33.549 it to teach one way that I believe, I'm going 00:21:33.549 --> 00:21:36.069 to end off way down here. Where if I go to the 00:21:36.069 --> 00:21:38.950 Word of God with a bias, it's going to skew my 00:21:38.950 --> 00:21:40.789 understanding of the Word of God. I may hit the 00:21:40.789 --> 00:21:42.549 Word of God at a glancing blow, but I'm going 00:21:42.549 --> 00:21:44.789 to end up way over here, away from the truth. 00:21:45.390 --> 00:21:47.910 And this is why so many people end up so scattered 00:21:47.910 --> 00:21:50.029 in the religious world because they approach 00:21:50.029 --> 00:21:52.650 the Word of God with all kinds of dishonesty 00:21:52.650 --> 00:21:55.710 and bias in their hearts. And that's why we have 00:21:55.710 --> 00:21:59.049 such a divided religious world today in which 00:21:59.049 --> 00:22:04.410 we live. So let's move on and talk about the 00:22:04.410 --> 00:22:08.640 second key ingredient as far as trusting the 00:22:08.640 --> 00:22:13.920 scriptures as our sole authority. We have to 00:22:13.920 --> 00:22:19.200 use principles of proper, sound Bible interpretation. 00:22:20.000 --> 00:22:22.900 Once we do prepare our heart and mind to go to 00:22:22.900 --> 00:22:25.640 the Word of God with the right heart, once we 00:22:25.640 --> 00:22:27.720 open the Word of God and start reading it, this 00:22:27.720 --> 00:22:30.319 is where the work of properly interpreting the 00:22:30.319 --> 00:22:34.390 scriptures comes in. And I'm going to share Several, 00:22:34.529 --> 00:22:36.049 I'm going to have to move fast. We can talk about 00:22:36.049 --> 00:22:37.910 just this the rest of the week. We can give a 00:22:37.910 --> 00:22:39.910 whole gospel meeting just to this. I'm going 00:22:39.910 --> 00:22:41.670 to have to move a lot quicker than that and just 00:22:41.670 --> 00:22:45.109 quickly summarize some of the most basic principles 00:22:45.109 --> 00:22:47.869 of Bible interpretation that will help us make 00:22:47.869 --> 00:22:50.509 sure we arrive at the truth of God's Word. The 00:22:50.509 --> 00:22:53.430 first one is this. We have to admit and believe 00:22:53.430 --> 00:22:56.390 that the Bible contains all that we need. The 00:22:56.390 --> 00:22:59.059 Scriptures are profitable. They will thoroughly 00:22:59.059 --> 00:23:01.980 furnish us, completely equip us with all that 00:23:01.980 --> 00:23:04.799 we need. That's what Paul told Timothy. All scripture 00:23:04.799 --> 00:23:07.319 is given by inspiration of God and is profitable 00:23:07.319 --> 00:23:09.500 for doctrine, for reproof, for correction and 00:23:09.500 --> 00:23:11.960 righteousness. That the man of God may be perfect, 00:23:12.000 --> 00:23:14.119 thoroughly furnished. It means completely equipped 00:23:14.119 --> 00:23:17.319 unto all good works. That's 2nd Timothy 3, 16 00:23:17.319 --> 00:23:20.579 to 17. Notice here the scriptures tell us that 00:23:20.579 --> 00:23:23.500 they are profitable for four things. The scriptures 00:23:23.500 --> 00:23:26.299 are profitable for doctrine. Doctrine is that 00:23:26.299 --> 00:23:30.789 part of God's Word. which teaches us and reveals 00:23:30.789 --> 00:23:33.869 the will of God to us and we need doctrine. Scriptures 00:23:33.869 --> 00:23:36.970 are also profitable for reproof. Reproof is that 00:23:36.970 --> 00:23:39.329 part of God's Word which exposes and condemns 00:23:39.329 --> 00:23:41.730 us of our error when we go astray from the will 00:23:41.730 --> 00:23:45.109 of God. Scriptures are profitable for that. The 00:23:45.109 --> 00:23:47.710 Scriptures also provide correction and that correction 00:23:47.710 --> 00:23:50.369 is profitable because correction is that part 00:23:50.369 --> 00:23:53.289 of God's Word that convicts us to restore what 00:23:53.289 --> 00:23:56.130 is right in the sight of God and return to Him 00:23:56.130 --> 00:23:59.269 and walk in paths of truth. Scripture provides 00:23:59.269 --> 00:24:01.670 that correction that we need and then it also 00:24:01.670 --> 00:24:04.589 provides that instruction in righteousness. Instruction 00:24:04.589 --> 00:24:06.769 in righteousness is that part of God's Word that 00:24:06.769 --> 00:24:09.839 shows us how. specifically how and practically 00:24:09.839 --> 00:24:13.779 how we can return back if we've went astray into 00:24:13.779 --> 00:24:17.039 past that please God. And the scriptures provide 00:24:17.039 --> 00:24:19.559 all the doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction 00:24:19.559 --> 00:24:22.900 in righteousness that we need. It contains it 00:24:22.900 --> 00:24:24.819 all. We don't need other books. We don't need 00:24:24.819 --> 00:24:26.680 other writings of men. We don't need modern -day 00:24:26.680 --> 00:24:28.720 prophets. We don't need modern -day revelations. 00:24:28.839 --> 00:24:31.720 We have all we need when we open our Bible. And 00:24:31.720 --> 00:24:34.019 I want to point out something in passing while 00:24:34.019 --> 00:24:36.559 we're talking about the scriptures being profitable. 00:24:36.960 --> 00:24:39.359 You know, I told you this morning we're going 00:24:39.359 --> 00:24:43.180 to use a simple four -step approach in analyzing 00:24:43.180 --> 00:24:46.759 certain doctrines and certain practices in Christianity 00:24:46.759 --> 00:24:50.359 today. We're going to do that later in the gospel 00:24:50.359 --> 00:24:53.539 meeting. But I mentioned today our first step 00:24:53.539 --> 00:24:56.079 in that four -step process was going to the original 00:24:56.079 --> 00:24:59.220 pattern and seeing what is revealed therein. 00:25:00.900 --> 00:25:03.200 Doctrine is found there in God's Word to help 00:25:03.200 --> 00:25:05.720 us understand that original pattern. So we're 00:25:05.720 --> 00:25:07.859 going to use the Scriptures doctrine to understand 00:25:07.859 --> 00:25:10.680 the pattern God gives us in the New Testament. 00:25:11.039 --> 00:25:13.819 The second step is studying some church history 00:25:13.819 --> 00:25:17.059 to understand how error slowly evolved and how 00:25:17.059 --> 00:25:20.500 men strayed away from the Word of God. Well, 00:25:20.559 --> 00:25:23.059 the Scriptures provide some reproof in that regard. 00:25:23.380 --> 00:25:26.309 The Scriptures will reprove us and show us. how 00:25:26.309 --> 00:25:28.309 we've aired and how we've went away from the 00:25:28.309 --> 00:25:31.170 truth. Scriptures also provide us with that correction 00:25:31.170 --> 00:25:33.650 and we're going to look at our modern -day practices. 00:25:34.390 --> 00:25:36.150 And if we find that they're not in line with 00:25:36.150 --> 00:25:38.170 the Word of God, the Word of God will give correction 00:25:38.170 --> 00:25:42.049 to us and help us see our need to change and 00:25:42.049 --> 00:25:44.869 to restore and get back to serving God according 00:25:44.869 --> 00:25:47.630 to the Scriptures. The Bible provides that correction 00:25:47.630 --> 00:25:50.369 that we'll need at that third step in our process. 00:25:50.750 --> 00:25:52.549 And in the fourth step in the process, we're 00:25:52.549 --> 00:25:55.470 going to talk about steps that we can take to 00:25:55.470 --> 00:25:58.809 restore the original pattern, to get back to 00:25:58.809 --> 00:26:01.950 serving God and worshiping God and teaching the 00:26:01.950 --> 00:26:04.869 things that were a part of Christ's church from 00:26:04.869 --> 00:26:07.349 the beginning. And the Scripture will give us 00:26:07.349 --> 00:26:10.309 instruction in righteousness to help us see what 00:26:10.309 --> 00:26:13.210 we need to restore the pattern that God has given 00:26:13.210 --> 00:26:16.549 us. So the idea that the Scriptures are profitable 00:26:16.549 --> 00:26:18.730 for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction 00:26:18.730 --> 00:26:21.230 in righteousness will be intertwined in this 00:26:21.230 --> 00:26:23.980 four -step process. And the Scriptures will provide 00:26:23.980 --> 00:26:27.200 us with what we need to use this four -step process 00:26:27.200 --> 00:26:32.339 as we go to later lessons in this series. Here's 00:26:32.339 --> 00:26:34.700 a second principle of Bible interpretation. It's 00:26:34.700 --> 00:26:37.059 very simple. Scripture can't contradict Scripture. 00:26:37.859 --> 00:26:40.460 God will never contradict Himself. We know one 00:26:40.460 --> 00:26:42.779 verse of Scripture will never contradict another. 00:26:42.940 --> 00:26:45.319 Here's an example. This is just one example. 00:26:46.059 --> 00:26:48.700 Some people today in religion point to Acts 21, 00:26:48.819 --> 00:26:51.579 8 to 9 as... Proof, Bible proof and authority 00:26:51.579 --> 00:26:54.619 for women preachers in the church. And you remember 00:26:54.619 --> 00:26:58.519 this is the point where Luke goes into the house 00:26:58.519 --> 00:27:01.160 of Philip the evangelist, which was one of the 00:27:01.160 --> 00:27:04.160 seven, and Luke abode with Philip for a time. 00:27:04.259 --> 00:27:07.440 And the Bible says in verse 9, Acts 21 -9, that 00:27:07.440 --> 00:27:09.940 the same man Philip had four daughters, virgins, 00:27:10.259 --> 00:27:12.579 which did prophesy. Now some people point to 00:27:12.579 --> 00:27:15.700 that verse and they say, here it is. Here's proof 00:27:15.700 --> 00:27:19.069 positive. Philip had these four daughters, they 00:27:19.069 --> 00:27:21.970 prophesied, and that's authority for women preachers 00:27:21.970 --> 00:27:25.650 in the church. However, we go to other passages 00:27:25.650 --> 00:27:28.750 of Scripture which seem to teach the exact opposite 00:27:28.750 --> 00:27:32.430 of that, like 1 Corinthians 14, 34 to 35, where 00:27:32.430 --> 00:27:34.369 the Bible says, let your women keep silence in 00:27:34.369 --> 00:27:36.289 the churches, for it's not permitted unto them 00:27:36.289 --> 00:27:39.069 to speak. They're commanded to be under obedience, 00:27:39.190 --> 00:27:41.529 as also saith the law. And if they will learn 00:27:41.529 --> 00:27:43.930 anything, let them ask their husbands at home. 00:27:44.220 --> 00:27:46.660 for it's a shame for women to speak in the church. 00:27:46.940 --> 00:27:48.839 Now what do we have here? Do we have two different 00:27:48.839 --> 00:27:51.700 verses that contradict each other? Does one authorize 00:27:51.700 --> 00:27:54.619 women preachers and the other condemn it? No. 00:27:55.319 --> 00:27:58.559 There's a way to properly interpret both of these 00:27:58.559 --> 00:28:00.720 scriptures in such a way that they don't contradict 00:28:00.720 --> 00:28:03.160 one another. They fit perfectly well together 00:28:03.160 --> 00:28:05.759 in harmony and agreement. We'll talk more about 00:28:05.759 --> 00:28:08.019 that Lord willing Saturday night. We're going 00:28:08.019 --> 00:28:09.940 to talk more about the role of women in the church 00:28:09.940 --> 00:28:13.019 as part of that lesson. But we have to we have 00:28:13.019 --> 00:28:15.299 to be good students of the Bible We have to analyze 00:28:15.299 --> 00:28:17.880 it very carefully and do it in such a way that 00:28:17.880 --> 00:28:20.019 we're never putting scripture against scripture 00:28:20.019 --> 00:28:22.559 Because God will never disagree with himself 00:28:22.559 --> 00:28:25.859 and scripture will never contradict itself We 00:28:25.859 --> 00:28:27.740 need to understand some basic things about the 00:28:27.740 --> 00:28:31.160 differences between The different covenants God 00:28:31.160 --> 00:28:33.900 has had with mankind Specifically the difference 00:28:33.900 --> 00:28:36.480 between the old covenant the law of Moses and 00:28:36.480 --> 00:28:39.460 the new covenant the gospel of Christ Got an 00:28:39.460 --> 00:28:41.160 illustration here. We'll move through it quickly. 00:28:41.359 --> 00:28:44.640 It's on the back of your handout that you have 00:28:44.640 --> 00:28:47.960 for this evening. This is the cross. Before Jesus 00:28:47.960 --> 00:28:50.799 died on the cross, God's people, the Jews, lived 00:28:50.799 --> 00:28:53.259 under the Old Covenant. It was a covenant that 00:28:53.259 --> 00:28:55.180 was given to them when they received the law 00:28:55.180 --> 00:28:57.660 of Moses at Mount Sinai. They lived under it 00:28:57.660 --> 00:29:00.859 for about 1 ,500 years until Jesus died. When 00:29:00.859 --> 00:29:03.259 Jesus died, that Old Covenant law was taken out 00:29:03.259 --> 00:29:07.430 of the way and a new covenant came to replace 00:29:07.430 --> 00:29:12.190 it consisting of the gospel of Jesus that began 00:29:12.190 --> 00:29:14.269 to be preached after he died on the cross at 00:29:14.269 --> 00:29:18.829 Calvary. The Old Covenant was for a specific 00:29:18.829 --> 00:29:21.809 nation of people, the Israelites, the descendants 00:29:21.809 --> 00:29:26.029 of Abraham, the sons of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, 00:29:26.130 --> 00:29:28.549 the children of Israel. They were a party to 00:29:28.549 --> 00:29:32.089 that Old Covenant. Gentiles were not a party 00:29:32.089 --> 00:29:34.369 to the old covenant law. However, under the new 00:29:34.369 --> 00:29:37.089 covenant that we live under today, the new covenant 00:29:37.089 --> 00:29:39.569 pertains to God's people, all Christians from 00:29:39.569 --> 00:29:43.269 all nations all over the earth. When the children 00:29:43.269 --> 00:29:46.089 of Israel received the law at Mount Sinai, Moses 00:29:46.089 --> 00:29:48.789 brought that law down from the mountain and found 00:29:48.789 --> 00:29:52.170 the children of Israel disobeying that law, worshipping 00:29:52.170 --> 00:29:54.829 idols, and as a result of that, 3 ,000 people 00:29:54.829 --> 00:29:57.410 died because of their idol worship and their 00:29:57.410 --> 00:30:00.309 rebellion and disobedience. But you know when 00:30:00.309 --> 00:30:02.529 the gospel was first preached in Acts chapter 00:30:02.529 --> 00:30:05.170 2 on Pentecost Day like we studied this morning, 00:30:05.730 --> 00:30:08.809 instead of 3 ,000 people dying, Bible tells us 00:30:08.809 --> 00:30:11.549 in Acts 2 .41 that 3 ,000 people were saved from 00:30:11.549 --> 00:30:14.589 their sins through the preaching of the gospel. 00:30:15.750 --> 00:30:19.089 Hebrews 10 .1 tells us the law was a shadow of 00:30:19.089 --> 00:30:22.049 better things to come in Christ. Colossians 2 00:30:22.049 --> 00:30:27.190 .16 -17 says that The law was a shadow of good 00:30:27.190 --> 00:30:29.329 things to come but the body or the substance 00:30:29.329 --> 00:30:32.549 is of Jesus and we are enjoying that present 00:30:32.549 --> 00:30:35.970 -day substance or body that was foreshadowed 00:30:35.970 --> 00:30:38.650 under the law of Moses. The Old Covenant law 00:30:38.650 --> 00:30:41.069 is no longer binding today. We don't live, worship, 00:30:41.930 --> 00:30:44.630 or live according to or worship according to 00:30:44.630 --> 00:30:47.470 the old covenant law of Moses because when Jesus 00:30:47.470 --> 00:30:50.470 died in Colossians 2 14 he was blotting out the 00:30:50.470 --> 00:30:52.630 handwriting of ordinances that was against us 00:30:52.630 --> 00:30:55.230 which was contrary to us Jesus took it out of 00:30:55.230 --> 00:30:58.329 the way nailing it to his cross today the new 00:30:58.329 --> 00:31:00.569 covenant is binding upon Christians we're not 00:31:00.569 --> 00:31:03.859 bound by that old covenant law Also in Galatians 00:31:03.859 --> 00:31:06.799 3 24 Paul said the law was our schoolmaster our 00:31:06.799 --> 00:31:09.779 instructor to bring us to Christ that we might 00:31:09.779 --> 00:31:12.720 be justified by faith, but after that faith has 00:31:12.720 --> 00:31:15.579 come After Christ has come and died for our sins. 00:31:15.579 --> 00:31:19.079 We know are no longer under The law that the 00:31:19.079 --> 00:31:23.000 schoolmaster was Galatians 3 24 to 25 and we 00:31:23.000 --> 00:31:25.180 could say a whole lot more about this But but 00:31:25.180 --> 00:31:27.259 we need to have a basic understanding that they're 00:31:27.259 --> 00:31:30.220 two different covenants and you know a lot of 00:31:30.220 --> 00:31:33.319 people get mixed up in a lot of religious confusion 00:31:33.319 --> 00:31:37.059 today because they fail to see a difference between 00:31:37.059 --> 00:31:39.200 these two covenants and understand which covenant 00:31:39.200 --> 00:31:42.599 we live under today. Here's something else that's 00:31:42.599 --> 00:31:44.779 so very important if we're trying to establish 00:31:44.779 --> 00:31:46.839 scriptural authority for our faith doctrine and 00:31:46.839 --> 00:31:50.259 practice. We got to understand exactly, technically 00:31:50.259 --> 00:31:53.940 how we go about establishing scriptural authority 00:31:53.940 --> 00:31:56.680 for something. And I believe scriptural authority 00:31:56.680 --> 00:31:59.380 is established in one of three ways, either through 00:31:59.380 --> 00:32:04.359 a command through an example or through a scripture 00:32:04.359 --> 00:32:07.680 which infers or implies that God wants us to 00:32:07.680 --> 00:32:10.160 do something. Now, let me give you an example 00:32:10.160 --> 00:32:12.279 of what we're talking about. We need to be looking 00:32:12.279 --> 00:32:15.119 in scripture for commands, examples, and scriptures 00:32:15.119 --> 00:32:18.859 that infer or imply. We're gonna take our practice 00:32:18.859 --> 00:32:23.339 of the Lord's Supper, okay? We observed the Lord's 00:32:23.339 --> 00:32:26.599 Supper this morning, and rightfully so, because 00:32:26.599 --> 00:32:30.930 Jesus Himself commanded us to remember Him by 00:32:30.930 --> 00:32:33.410 taking the Lord's Supper. The Lord's Supper is 00:32:33.410 --> 00:32:36.190 authorized by a command, a command from Christ. 00:32:36.589 --> 00:32:38.809 That command was given from Christ to Paul, and 00:32:38.809 --> 00:32:41.450 then Paul wrote it to the Corinthians. 1 Corinthians 00:32:41.450 --> 00:32:45.309 11, 24. Jesus told Paul, Paul told Corinthians, 00:32:45.430 --> 00:32:47.750 take, eat, this is my body which is broken for 00:32:47.750 --> 00:32:49.890 you. Jesus said, this do in remembrance of me. 00:32:49.910 --> 00:32:53.440 That's a command. Verse 25 Jesus said this cup 00:32:53.440 --> 00:32:56.299 is the New Testament in my blood this do ye as 00:32:56.299 --> 00:32:58.420 oft as you drink it in remembrance of me that 00:32:58.420 --> 00:33:01.140 is a command from Jesus when Jesus commands us 00:33:01.140 --> 00:33:03.920 to do something We better be doing it and we 00:33:03.920 --> 00:33:07.319 certainly have scriptural authority for it now 00:33:07.319 --> 00:33:09.799 There's also certain elements concerning the 00:33:09.799 --> 00:33:13.000 Lord's Supper that are established not by command 00:33:13.000 --> 00:33:16.910 per se but rather by example Okay, we take the 00:33:16.910 --> 00:33:19.690 Lord's Supper on the first day of the week I 00:33:19.690 --> 00:33:22.910 don't believe there's a command where Jesus said 00:33:22.910 --> 00:33:25.309 or the Apostle said thou shalt take the Lord's 00:33:25.309 --> 00:33:27.109 Supper on the first day of the week there is 00:33:27.109 --> 00:33:29.670 a scripture which teaches that in the form of 00:33:29.670 --> 00:33:33.829 an example an Example we have the example of 00:33:33.829 --> 00:33:36.049 a first century church congregation at Troas 00:33:36.359 --> 00:33:39.339 Luke writes about it in Acts 20 verse 7 where 00:33:39.339 --> 00:33:42.079 Luke says, Upon the first day of the week when 00:33:42.079 --> 00:33:44.960 the disciples came together to break bread, Paul 00:33:44.960 --> 00:33:46.960 preached unto them ready to depart on the morrow. 00:33:47.019 --> 00:33:49.079 And he continued his speech until midnight. So 00:33:49.079 --> 00:33:51.799 here's an example of a first century church that 00:33:51.799 --> 00:33:53.839 Paul visited coming together on the first day 00:33:53.839 --> 00:33:56.579 of the week and breaking bread, which is a reference 00:33:56.579 --> 00:34:00.480 to the Lord's Supper. So by example, by a proved 00:34:00.480 --> 00:34:03.420 apostolic example, we see here that the church 00:34:03.420 --> 00:34:06.140 Jesus built came together on the first day of 00:34:06.140 --> 00:34:08.619 the week to observe the Lord's Supper. The day 00:34:08.619 --> 00:34:12.059 that we do it on is authorized by example. And 00:34:12.059 --> 00:34:14.599 then last but not least, the frequency, how often 00:34:14.599 --> 00:34:18.239 we take the Lord's Supper. That is not authorized 00:34:18.239 --> 00:34:20.480 by command. I don't believe it's authorized by 00:34:20.480 --> 00:34:24.360 example. I believe it's authorized by an inference, 00:34:24.579 --> 00:34:28.739 a scripture that infers or implies it. And it's 00:34:28.739 --> 00:34:31.519 the same scripture. Acts chapter 20 verse 7 says 00:34:31.519 --> 00:34:33.719 the disciples came together on the first day 00:34:33.719 --> 00:34:36.719 of the week. You know, every week has a first 00:34:36.719 --> 00:34:42.139 day. Every week has a first day. And, you know, 00:34:42.139 --> 00:34:45.119 when God told the Jews to remember the Sabbath, 00:34:45.139 --> 00:34:48.320 to keep it holy, what did the Jews understand 00:34:48.320 --> 00:34:53.659 from Exodus chapter 20 verses 8 to 10? Did you 00:34:53.659 --> 00:34:55.679 know there's no scripture that says take the 00:34:55.679 --> 00:34:59.280 Lord's Supper every first day of the week? There's 00:34:59.280 --> 00:35:01.559 no scripture that says every first day of the 00:35:01.559 --> 00:35:04.199 week. I haven't seen it yet. But there's also 00:35:04.199 --> 00:35:06.360 there also in any scripture where God told the 00:35:06.360 --> 00:35:10.000 Jews to remember every Sabbath He didn't say 00:35:10.000 --> 00:35:12.119 remember every Sabbath. Look at what God told 00:35:12.119 --> 00:35:14.340 the Jews about the Sabbath He said remember the 00:35:14.340 --> 00:35:17.719 Sabbath day and keep it holy six days shout that 00:35:17.719 --> 00:35:20.340 labor and do all thy work But the seventh day 00:35:20.340 --> 00:35:23.340 is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God The Lord told 00:35:23.340 --> 00:35:25.760 Israel remember the Sabbath now every week has 00:35:25.760 --> 00:35:28.860 a Sabbath. It's the seventh day And he didn't 00:35:28.860 --> 00:35:31.199 tell him to observe every Sabbath is the word 00:35:31.199 --> 00:35:35.530 every in that verse. Let's look Word every isn't 00:35:35.530 --> 00:35:39.849 in that verse But you know what the Jews understood 00:35:39.849 --> 00:35:42.289 from that verse they understood that every week 00:35:42.289 --> 00:35:44.630 has a Sabbath and if it's the Sabbath We need 00:35:44.630 --> 00:35:46.969 to remember it and keep it holy So guess what 00:35:46.969 --> 00:35:50.110 every Sabbath the Sabbath was a weekly observance 00:35:50.110 --> 00:35:53.989 among the Jews They understood that without God 00:35:53.989 --> 00:35:56.949 saying every Sabbath in the same manner when 00:35:56.949 --> 00:35:59.690 the Bible says that the example of the first 00:35:59.690 --> 00:36:01.909 century church was to come together on the first 00:36:01.909 --> 00:36:03.949 day of the week to break bread. We can understand 00:36:03.949 --> 00:36:08.849 every week has a first day and we can understand 00:36:08.849 --> 00:36:10.550 that it's the Lord's will for us to come together 00:36:10.550 --> 00:36:13.329 every first day of the week and every first day 00:36:13.329 --> 00:36:15.510 of the week we come around the Lord's table. 00:36:15.829 --> 00:36:19.170 Again, there's no command for that. There's no 00:36:19.170 --> 00:36:21.630 example of that but it's inferred or implied. 00:36:23.289 --> 00:36:26.170 Through a careful study of the Scriptures we 00:36:26.170 --> 00:36:28.679 can easily make that connection. that the Lord 00:36:28.679 --> 00:36:30.679 wants us to take the Lord's Supper every first 00:36:30.679 --> 00:36:35.219 day of the week. So, listen, we got to get in 00:36:35.219 --> 00:36:37.920 the habit of looking for commands, examples, 00:36:38.320 --> 00:36:41.519 inferences. We need to be able to find commands, 00:36:41.679 --> 00:36:43.800 examples, or inferences for everything we do. 00:36:44.230 --> 00:36:46.690 in our faith, in our doctrine, and in our practice. 00:36:47.210 --> 00:36:49.090 Here's something else we have to recognize that 00:36:49.090 --> 00:36:51.329 there is such a thing as the exclusion principle, 00:36:51.409 --> 00:36:53.889 and the exclusion principle needs to be honored 00:36:53.889 --> 00:36:56.989 and respected. How does the exclusion principle 00:36:56.989 --> 00:36:59.989 work? It's very simple. God told Noah in Genesis 00:36:59.989 --> 00:37:03.530 chapter 6 -14 to build an ark, and he told him 00:37:03.530 --> 00:37:06.369 a specific type of wood to use to build that 00:37:06.369 --> 00:37:09.170 ark. Genesis 6 -14, God told Noah, make thee 00:37:09.170 --> 00:37:14.260 an ark of gopher wood. Gopher wood. I have no 00:37:14.260 --> 00:37:18.519 idea what gopher wood is. I know oak wood. I 00:37:18.519 --> 00:37:22.360 know yellow pine. I have no idea what gopher 00:37:22.360 --> 00:37:26.440 wood is. When God told Noah to build an ark of 00:37:26.440 --> 00:37:28.980 gopher wood, guess which type of wood it needed 00:37:28.980 --> 00:37:32.219 to be? It had to be gopher wood. Now, God didn't 00:37:32.219 --> 00:37:34.880 find it necessary to say, Noah, I want you to 00:37:34.880 --> 00:37:37.780 make this ark out of gopher wood. Not oak wood, 00:37:37.860 --> 00:37:40.300 Noah. Noah don't even think about pine wood. 00:37:40.619 --> 00:37:42.579 Noah don't think about cherry or birch wood. 00:37:42.619 --> 00:37:45.179 That's not allowed. Noah don't even go looking 00:37:45.179 --> 00:37:48.980 for any cedar wood. God didn't have to tell Noah 00:37:48.980 --> 00:37:54.099 all the woods not to use, did he? All those woods 00:37:54.099 --> 00:37:57.440 were automatically excluded when God said what? 00:37:57.500 --> 00:38:00.559 When God said go for wood, that was the wood 00:38:00.559 --> 00:38:03.880 it needed to be and all other woods were automatically 00:38:03.880 --> 00:38:07.610 excluded. They were not... They were not permissible. 00:38:08.489 --> 00:38:10.829 That's how the exclusion principle works. When 00:38:10.829 --> 00:38:14.750 God specifies something, it automatically excludes 00:38:14.750 --> 00:38:18.789 every other alternative of that same thing, things 00:38:18.789 --> 00:38:23.170 in the same category. Here's another example 00:38:23.170 --> 00:38:25.329 of the exclusion principle. In Numbers chapter 00:38:25.329 --> 00:38:29.889 20, God told Moses there in the wilderness, Take 00:38:29.889 --> 00:38:32.329 your rod gather the assembly together thou and 00:38:32.329 --> 00:38:34.630 Aaron thy brother speak to the rock before their 00:38:34.630 --> 00:38:37.730 eyes and it'll give forth water They were in 00:38:37.730 --> 00:38:39.570 the desert. They needed water. They were thirsty 00:38:39.570 --> 00:38:42.750 God told Moses speak to the rock and there you'll 00:38:42.750 --> 00:38:46.630 have water Moses went to the rock But he didn't 00:38:46.630 --> 00:38:48.130 speak to it. Remember what he did. He struck 00:38:48.130 --> 00:38:52.329 it with his rod twice It brought forth water 00:38:52.329 --> 00:38:57.949 But God was not pleased Later God spoke to Moses 00:38:57.949 --> 00:39:01.309 and said you didn't honor me Before the children 00:39:01.309 --> 00:39:03.429 of Israel and it was actually because of that 00:39:03.429 --> 00:39:05.590 rebellion and that sin and that disobedience 00:39:05.590 --> 00:39:08.210 God told him you won't go into the promised land 00:39:08.210 --> 00:39:11.250 Because you didn't follow my instructions I said 00:39:11.250 --> 00:39:12.969 speak to the rock and you know when God said 00:39:12.969 --> 00:39:15.489 speak to the rock that Excluded striking the 00:39:15.489 --> 00:39:17.469 rock that excluded getting up and dancing on 00:39:17.469 --> 00:39:21.289 the rock that excluded everything else And Moses 00:39:21.289 --> 00:39:23.769 didn't obey he didn't honor the exclusion principle. 00:39:23.769 --> 00:39:27.860 He should have been more careful Because speaking 00:39:27.860 --> 00:39:31.380 to the rock excluded everything else We got it. 00:39:31.440 --> 00:39:33.739 We got to be thinking about the exclusion principle 00:39:33.739 --> 00:39:37.059 Okay, and here's the next logical step to the 00:39:37.059 --> 00:39:40.119 exclusion principle this last principle of interpretation 00:39:40.119 --> 00:39:44.440 I'll share with you this afternoon As part of 00:39:44.440 --> 00:39:46.860 being good students of the scripture and trusting 00:39:46.860 --> 00:39:50.460 it is our only source of authority We have to 00:39:50.460 --> 00:39:53.719 develop a good ability to discern between matters 00:39:53.719 --> 00:39:57.769 of faith matters of opinion. There are some things 00:39:57.769 --> 00:39:59.869 that are truly matters of faith, things that 00:39:59.869 --> 00:40:03.289 God has specifically spoken to us about and given 00:40:03.289 --> 00:40:08.570 us guidance and scripture to guide us. But then 00:40:08.570 --> 00:40:10.289 on the other hand there are a lot of things God 00:40:10.289 --> 00:40:13.989 hadn't told us how to do or when to do or what 00:40:13.989 --> 00:40:18.409 to do and there are areas of judgment or opinion 00:40:18.409 --> 00:40:20.670 and we need to be able to draw a line clearly 00:40:20.670 --> 00:40:23.920 between what are matters of faith and what are 00:40:23.920 --> 00:40:26.139 matters of opinion. Now I've got a table here 00:40:26.139 --> 00:40:28.340 to try to illustrate this, to help you understand 00:40:28.340 --> 00:40:30.659 it. It's very, very important. It's also on the 00:40:30.659 --> 00:40:33.679 back of your notes. I'll give you three examples 00:40:33.679 --> 00:40:37.719 concerning three different aspects of our faith 00:40:37.719 --> 00:40:41.199 and practice. First thing will be our church 00:40:41.199 --> 00:40:44.159 assemblies. We are authorized by Scripture to 00:40:44.159 --> 00:40:46.820 come together for edification. Hebrews 10 25 00:40:46.820 --> 00:40:49.139 tells us not to forsake the assembling of ourselves 00:40:49.139 --> 00:40:51.460 together. And that's why we've come together 00:40:51.460 --> 00:40:54.239 today, to assemble to be edified. So our assembly 00:40:54.239 --> 00:40:58.500 is authorized by Hebrews 10 .25. And I want to 00:40:58.500 --> 00:41:00.840 tell you something. It is a matter of faith that 00:41:00.840 --> 00:41:02.800 we come together on the first day of the week. 00:41:03.320 --> 00:41:05.860 We have the example of the church at Troas. We 00:41:05.860 --> 00:41:08.500 read that earlier from Acts 27. They came together 00:41:08.500 --> 00:41:11.280 on the first day of the week. So we need to assemble, 00:41:11.480 --> 00:41:13.360 yes, and we need to come together at the very 00:41:13.360 --> 00:41:16.539 least on the first day of the week. Okay, that's 00:41:16.539 --> 00:41:19.599 a matter of faith. What if I came in here and 00:41:19.599 --> 00:41:21.500 I said and I told the church at North Warren 00:41:21.500 --> 00:41:23.800 I said, okay, here's what y 'all need to do you 00:41:23.800 --> 00:41:27.219 need to stop meeting on Sundays and The day you 00:41:27.219 --> 00:41:29.719 need to assemble on his Tuesdays just Tuesday 00:41:29.719 --> 00:41:32.159 Cancel your Sunday service and y 'all are gonna 00:41:32.159 --> 00:41:35.260 have services every Tuesday If I came in here 00:41:35.260 --> 00:41:36.920 and taught that and you know these brethren would 00:41:36.920 --> 00:41:39.199 tell me number one. That's not right That's a 00:41:39.199 --> 00:41:41.400 sinful violation of a matter of faith. We are 00:41:41.400 --> 00:41:44.519 to assemble on the first day of the week So to 00:41:44.519 --> 00:41:46.619 come together only on Tuesdays, that's that's 00:41:46.619 --> 00:41:51.079 not permissible That's not allowed. However, 00:41:51.159 --> 00:41:53.639 you know what? There is a matter of opinion or 00:41:53.639 --> 00:41:55.760 judgment when it comes to our assemblies. And 00:41:55.760 --> 00:41:57.659 it's not the day that we assemble, but it's the 00:41:57.659 --> 00:41:59.559 time we assemble. What time are we going to come 00:41:59.559 --> 00:42:02.139 together on Sunday? Is there a book, chapter, 00:42:02.159 --> 00:42:03.780 and verse that says, Thou shalt come together 00:42:03.780 --> 00:42:06.719 at 10 .30? I like 10 .30. That's what I was raised 00:42:06.719 --> 00:42:08.940 to. I was raised, you know, back home. We worship 00:42:08.940 --> 00:42:12.539 10 .30. I love it. But is there a verse that 00:42:12.539 --> 00:42:14.980 says, Thou shalt assemble at 10 .30 on Sunday 00:42:14.980 --> 00:42:19.199 morning? No, is there any verse any command example 00:42:19.199 --> 00:42:21.239 of scripture that infers or implies God wants 00:42:21.239 --> 00:42:25.019 a certain time of day or certain hour? No, you 00:42:25.019 --> 00:42:26.360 know what that is that's going to be a matter 00:42:26.360 --> 00:42:29.500 of opinion or judgment Congregation could make 00:42:29.500 --> 00:42:31.260 a judgment to come together at 8 in the morning 00:42:31.260 --> 00:42:34.219 10 30 in the morning 5 in the evening And that's 00:42:34.219 --> 00:42:36.400 not something we're gonna get upset about and 00:42:36.400 --> 00:42:38.400 divide about and fuss and fight about the time 00:42:38.400 --> 00:42:40.780 that we meet Because it's not a matter of faith. 00:42:40.780 --> 00:42:44.099 That's a matter of opinion Here's a second example 00:42:44.099 --> 00:42:46.179 our practice of the Lord's Supper. It's authorized 00:42:46.179 --> 00:42:49.659 by Christ in first Corinthians 1126 Concerning 00:42:49.659 --> 00:42:51.360 Lord's Supper. Here's a matter of faith It's 00:42:51.360 --> 00:42:53.079 a matter of faith that we take unleavened bread 00:42:53.079 --> 00:42:54.940 and the fruit of the vine those are the elements 00:42:54.940 --> 00:42:58.619 the Lord chose and by choosing the Unleavened 00:42:58.619 --> 00:43:00.440 bread and the fruit of the vine. He automatically 00:43:00.440 --> 00:43:03.179 excluded all other elements What if I came to 00:43:03.179 --> 00:43:05.019 North Warren and said y 'all need to change your 00:43:05.019 --> 00:43:06.960 the Lord's Supper instead of bread You need to 00:43:06.960 --> 00:43:09.000 have fried chicken and instead of fruit of the 00:43:09.000 --> 00:43:12.239 vine. You need to have soda pop What if I taught 00:43:12.239 --> 00:43:15.280 that? These brethren run me out of the building. 00:43:16.699 --> 00:43:19.380 That's a sinful violation of a matter of faith. 00:43:19.519 --> 00:43:24.059 Jesus said bread and fruit of the vine. We can't 00:43:24.059 --> 00:43:26.900 change that. That's a matter of faith. But you 00:43:26.900 --> 00:43:29.420 know there are some elements concerning the Lord's 00:43:29.420 --> 00:43:31.340 Supper that are a matter of judgment or opinion. 00:43:31.380 --> 00:43:33.619 For example, how many containers are we going 00:43:33.619 --> 00:43:35.539 to drink the fruit of the vine out of? We're 00:43:35.539 --> 00:43:36.900 going to drink it out of one cup, drink it out 00:43:36.900 --> 00:43:40.719 of two cups, ten cups, any number of cups. I 00:43:40.719 --> 00:43:42.460 don't believe the Scriptures provide us with 00:43:42.460 --> 00:43:45.619 enough information to determine how many cups 00:43:45.619 --> 00:43:48.719 Jesus and His apostles used when He initiated, 00:43:49.039 --> 00:43:51.420 when He instituted the Lord's Supper. And if 00:43:51.420 --> 00:43:53.320 there's not enough information in the Scriptures 00:43:53.320 --> 00:43:56.360 to discern or decipher how many containers they 00:43:56.360 --> 00:43:59.000 used, we can't make a law saying it has to be 00:43:59.000 --> 00:44:01.300 one container or two containers or any number 00:44:01.300 --> 00:44:03.199 of containers. That's going to be a matter of 00:44:03.199 --> 00:44:05.460 opinion and judgment. Every congregation is going 00:44:05.460 --> 00:44:07.480 to decide and not make a law about it and not 00:44:07.480 --> 00:44:11.090 be divisive about that. See the difference between 00:44:11.090 --> 00:44:13.789 matters of faith? Needs to be bread and the fruit 00:44:13.789 --> 00:44:16.690 of the vine. And matters of opinion, how many 00:44:16.690 --> 00:44:18.650 containers we use. That's a matter of judgment. 00:44:19.409 --> 00:44:21.650 Third and final example, our practice of water 00:44:21.650 --> 00:44:24.070 baptism. We're authorized to baptize people. 00:44:24.369 --> 00:44:26.949 People need baptism for the remission of their 00:44:26.949 --> 00:44:30.090 sins. Matthew 28, 19, Jesus commanded his apostles 00:44:30.090 --> 00:44:33.130 to go out, teach the gospel, and baptize people. 00:44:33.690 --> 00:44:35.610 Concerning baptism, it's a matter of faith that 00:44:35.610 --> 00:44:38.139 we immerse people. That's the example we have 00:44:38.139 --> 00:44:40.579 of the Ethiopian eunuch. Philip took him down 00:44:40.579 --> 00:44:42.619 into the water, baptized him, and they came up 00:44:42.619 --> 00:44:46.380 out of the water in Acts 8, 38 -39. If I came 00:44:46.380 --> 00:44:48.199 in here and taught that you could sprinkle people 00:44:48.199 --> 00:44:50.820 for baptism, that would be a sinful violation 00:44:50.820 --> 00:44:52.699 of a matter of faith. That's not the right mode 00:44:52.699 --> 00:44:54.820 of baptism. The scriptural mode is immersion 00:44:54.820 --> 00:44:57.679 in water. So I would never want to teach this, 00:44:57.679 --> 00:45:00.920 that we can sprinkle for baptism. However, there 00:45:00.920 --> 00:45:03.139 is a matter of opinion when it comes to the body 00:45:03.139 --> 00:45:07.280 of water that we use for baptism. We can baptize 00:45:07.280 --> 00:45:10.039 people in a river. We can baptize people in a 00:45:10.039 --> 00:45:12.820 stockpond. I baptize people in the Caribbean 00:45:12.820 --> 00:45:15.199 Sea, in the ocean. We can baptize people in a 00:45:15.199 --> 00:45:18.699 baptistry. The scriptures don't specify. It doesn't 00:45:18.699 --> 00:45:21.179 say thou shalt baptize people in a river or thou 00:45:21.179 --> 00:45:24.800 shalt baptize them in a baptistry. If God doesn't 00:45:24.800 --> 00:45:27.820 tell us exactly where to baptize them, we shouldn't 00:45:27.820 --> 00:45:29.480 make that a matter of faith. That's a matter 00:45:29.480 --> 00:45:31.280 of opinion. As long as we got enough water to 00:45:31.280 --> 00:45:35.380 immerse people, that's all that matters. You 00:45:35.380 --> 00:45:37.960 know, there's been a lot of division in religion 00:45:37.960 --> 00:45:39.960 and even in churches of Christ through the years 00:45:39.960 --> 00:45:42.639 because people at different times and at different 00:45:42.639 --> 00:45:46.019 places fail to see a clear line between faith 00:45:46.019 --> 00:45:47.860 and opinion. We've got people that take matters 00:45:47.860 --> 00:45:50.460 of faith and say, oh, those things don't matter. 00:45:50.480 --> 00:45:53.519 That's just opinion. That's liberalism. That's 00:45:53.519 --> 00:45:56.199 lawlessness. That's taking laws that God has 00:45:56.199 --> 00:45:58.139 given us and throwing them out the window. And 00:45:58.139 --> 00:46:00.260 we don't want to be guilty of that. On the other 00:46:00.260 --> 00:46:02.539 hand, we've got people who take matters of opinion 00:46:03.519 --> 00:46:06.099 and move them over in the realm of faith and 00:46:06.099 --> 00:46:09.320 they make laws out of opinions. That's legalism. 00:46:09.340 --> 00:46:11.940 We don't want to be guilty of that either. We 00:46:11.940 --> 00:46:13.980 need to be careful to draw a clear line between 00:46:13.980 --> 00:46:19.679 what is faith and what is opinion. We can go 00:46:19.679 --> 00:46:21.980 to the Word of God with all the honesty and sincerity 00:46:21.980 --> 00:46:24.400 in our hearts and we can do our very, very best 00:46:24.400 --> 00:46:27.760 to eliminate all bias before we approach the 00:46:27.760 --> 00:46:29.920 Word of God. But if we go to the Word of God 00:46:29.920 --> 00:46:32.900 with that honest heart, And if we employ an improper 00:46:32.900 --> 00:46:35.679 method of interpretation, what's going to happen? 00:46:36.619 --> 00:46:38.099 We're going to have a hard time getting to the 00:46:38.099 --> 00:46:40.099 true faith doctrine and practice Jesus wants 00:46:40.099 --> 00:46:43.079 us to have. And this is why a lot of people end 00:46:43.079 --> 00:46:44.860 up scattered in a hundred different directions 00:46:44.860 --> 00:46:48.599 in religion today because the methods of interpretation 00:46:48.599 --> 00:46:52.019 they use are not sound, are not logical, they 00:46:52.019 --> 00:46:56.280 don't apply them consistently. All these different... 00:46:56.380 --> 00:46:58.900 Improper methods of interpretation send people 00:46:58.900 --> 00:47:01.380 off a thousand different directions and prevent 00:47:01.380 --> 00:47:03.960 a lot of people from ever coming to know the 00:47:03.960 --> 00:47:07.019 truth that God would have us to understand. As 00:47:07.019 --> 00:47:10.260 I close this evening, I want to close by asking 00:47:10.260 --> 00:47:12.360 a question, a question I want us all to consider. 00:47:12.719 --> 00:47:14.340 Where are we going to get our faith? Where are 00:47:14.340 --> 00:47:15.760 we going to get our doctrine? Where are we going 00:47:15.760 --> 00:47:21.539 to get our practice? Matthew 21 verse 23. When 00:47:21.539 --> 00:47:24.699 he that's Jesus came into the temple, Chief priests 00:47:24.699 --> 00:47:26.840 and elders of the people came to him as he was 00:47:26.840 --> 00:47:29.539 teaching and they had a question for him They 00:47:29.539 --> 00:47:32.860 told Jesus by what authority? Doest thou these 00:47:32.860 --> 00:47:34.940 things and who gave thee this authority they 00:47:34.940 --> 00:47:37.000 wanted Jesus's authority for his teaching for 00:47:37.000 --> 00:47:39.460 his doctrine They want to know where that authority 00:47:39.460 --> 00:47:43.880 came from Verse 24 Jesus answered and said of 00:47:43.880 --> 00:47:46.699 them I will ask you one thing Which if you tell 00:47:46.699 --> 00:47:49.280 me I and likewise will tell you by what authority 00:47:49.280 --> 00:47:52.219 I do these things Jesus said the baptism of John 00:47:52.219 --> 00:47:57.119 whence was it? from heaven or of men and they 00:47:57.119 --> 00:47:59.599 reasoned with themselves saying if we shall say 00:47:59.599 --> 00:48:03.900 from heaven He will say unto us Why did you not 00:48:03.900 --> 00:48:07.199 then believe him? If we tell Jesus that John's 00:48:07.199 --> 00:48:09.079 baptism was from heaven we're in trouble because 00:48:09.079 --> 00:48:15.480 we rejected John's baptism So he's got us 26 00:48:15.480 --> 00:48:18.880 but if we shall say of men if they were to say 00:48:18.880 --> 00:48:21.360 John's baptism was of men we fear the people 00:48:21.420 --> 00:48:24.099 for all hold John as a prophet." So they were 00:48:24.099 --> 00:48:26.039 going to have a hard time answering this question. 00:48:27.260 --> 00:48:29.780 So they didn't. They answered Jesus and said, 00:48:29.940 --> 00:48:31.820 we cannot tell. And, you know, Jesus said to 00:48:31.820 --> 00:48:35.139 them, neither tell I you by what authority I 00:48:35.139 --> 00:48:37.679 do these things. We learned some important things 00:48:37.679 --> 00:48:39.519 about authority here in this passage. There are 00:48:39.519 --> 00:48:41.780 only two sources of authority in religion today. 00:48:42.400 --> 00:48:44.360 Either our faith doctrine and practice is from 00:48:44.360 --> 00:48:46.880 God in heaven or it's from men on the earth. 00:48:48.519 --> 00:48:52.159 It's from heaven or it's of men. If our doctrine, 00:48:52.320 --> 00:48:54.360 our faith, our practice is from heaven, we're 00:48:54.360 --> 00:48:57.360 going to find that it's clearly established and 00:48:57.360 --> 00:49:01.139 authorized in the Scriptures. But if we go to 00:49:01.139 --> 00:49:03.800 the Word of God and we can't find clear teaching 00:49:03.800 --> 00:49:05.860 or authority for our faith, our doctrine, our 00:49:05.860 --> 00:49:08.619 practice in the Bible, there's a really good 00:49:08.619 --> 00:49:11.840 chance that that part of our religion is not 00:49:11.840 --> 00:49:15.420 from God in heaven, it's from men. It's man -made 00:49:15.420 --> 00:49:19.519 religion. I'm here to tell you there is no salvation 00:49:19.519 --> 00:49:24.099 in man -made religion. There is no salvation 00:49:24.099 --> 00:49:26.940 in religious error and false doctrine. There 00:49:26.940 --> 00:49:30.079 is salvation in Christ. There is salvation in 00:49:30.079 --> 00:49:32.179 His truth and His teaching and His doctrine. 00:49:32.920 --> 00:49:34.940 And we need to be good and careful students of 00:49:34.940 --> 00:49:36.780 the Scriptures. We need to trust the Scriptures 00:49:36.780 --> 00:49:39.639 that they will lead us in a pathway that's pleasing 00:49:39.639 --> 00:49:42.179 to God. And if we'll continue to look to them 00:49:42.179 --> 00:49:44.980 as our only source of authority, we know that 00:49:44.980 --> 00:49:48.199 we can be pleasing in the sight of God today 00:49:48.199 --> 00:49:50.400 as we try to restore the New Testament Church. 00:49:51.299 --> 00:49:53.239 As we mentioned this morning, to do that, to 00:49:53.239 --> 00:49:54.840 restore the New Testament church, we've got to 00:49:54.840 --> 00:49:58.139 go back to the Bible. We've got to go to it honestly. 00:49:58.139 --> 00:50:01.000 We've got to interpret it correctly to find our 00:50:01.000 --> 00:50:02.820 faith, to find our doctrine, and to find our 00:50:02.820 --> 00:50:05.860 practice. This is the model, right? This is what 00:50:05.860 --> 00:50:08.440 we want to be. We don't want to end up over here 00:50:08.440 --> 00:50:12.960 to the right or over here to the left. We want 00:50:12.960 --> 00:50:14.980 to go to the Word of God and let it lead us to 00:50:14.980 --> 00:50:16.800 the truth that God would have us to understand. 00:50:16.860 --> 00:50:20.539 That's my lesson for you this afternoon. I hope... 00:50:20.780 --> 00:50:23.440 that these things have been good for us to know 00:50:23.440 --> 00:50:27.199 and to be reminded of as we sort of build a foundation 00:50:27.199 --> 00:50:29.480 today and maybe tomorrow night for going into 00:50:29.480 --> 00:50:33.760 more detailed doctrinal studies of specific topics 00:50:33.760 --> 00:50:36.019 later in the series. So thank you for being here 00:50:36.019 --> 00:50:38.280 to help us lay that foundation today.