Consistency
…IN
GOD:
David Himes
I have heard it said that in the Old Testament that God was a "vengeful"
God, but that today we have a "loving" God. I suppose that this is said
because in the Old Testament, God was always punishing the Israelites for
doing wrong and so many people were killed. The writers in the New Testament
describe God as a "loving" God who gave up his Son to die on the cross
so that we might live. Does this inconsistent description of God bother
you like it bothers me?
Has God changed? Has God come up with a new plan for us? Of course
not. We have a consistent God, a God that has had a redemption plan for
us since Adam and Eve. He has not deviated from that plan.
Our God is a loving God, but cannot tolerate sin of any nature. As
it is stated in the Bible, the Old Testament was written for our learning.
What is it that we can learn? First of all we can learn that God is all-powerful.
Also, God will punish those that sin. We can learn the God will take care
of his chosen people. We can learn that God has a plan, through Jesus Christ,
to return us to a sinless state where we can live as Adam and Eve in the
Garden of Eden (Heaven).
God has shown us his vengeful nature, by showing his intolerance
toward sin. He is capable of destroying the world, our possessions, everything
that we hold precious. He is capable of destroying not only us, but also
our soul. He has no reservations in removing the evil from this world.
God will have His way.
In the creation of the Tabernacle, God told the Israelites how to
worship Him. In the giving of the law (of Moses) and the Ten Commandments,
God told the people how to live. It is interesting to realize that none
of the principles given the Ten Commandments have changed today. And even
if we do not keep the Sabbath day holy, we do set aside a day (the first
day of the week) to worship Him. Jesus did not come to change the law.
He did not come to establish new commandments. Jesus did come to correct
the laws that man had perverted. The rules are consistent.
Although God established priesthood, and a method of removing sins
through sacrifices that differ from what is required today, the concepts
are still valid. Jesus is our priest today; He is our mediator to God.
He is also our sacrifice for our sins. We can only understand and appreciate
these concepts because of the actions of the Israelites in the Old Testament.
We can learn that the consistency of God includes the caring and
love that God has shown toward the faithful. As God protected the remnant
during the Babylonian captivity, and the Christians during the persecution
of the early Church, God will protect the faithful today.
…IN THE CHURCH:
I heard once a fellow worker describe the Church
of Christ as part of the "Restoration" movement. Not knowing of his background,
I asked him what he meant by that. He stated that Church was ‘formed’ by
Christ, ‘modified’ by man, ‘re-formed’ by intellectuals, and ‘re-stored’
by bible scholars. Thinking back on this as I prepared this lesson, I understood
how the inconsistency in the Church could be brought about.
In restoring the church of the New Testament, we
would not seek to be like the church at Corinth, Jerusalem, or Laodicea.
Every congregation then as now was made up of human materials. While the
design and blueprint of Christianity was conceived in heaven, the disciples
that constitute a congregation are always human, and prone to sin (Rom
3:23). As a consequence, every congregation reflects that human weakness
in imperfection. Some are good but others are average or poor. But the
ideal is set forth in the divine plan and every Christian in every age
should strive to measure up to it. If we dedicate ourselves to following
the Bible in all matters of faith and practice, then we will be the same
kind of Christians as were the apostles.
Surely, as God is consistent, the Church must be
consistent. After all, the Church is the Bride of Christ and Christ is
God. To have an inconsistent Church is to have an inconsistent God.
In Ezekiel Chapter 8, Ezekiel describes the detestable
things that man had done to the temple. In Chapter 10, Ezekiel describes
a scene where God departs from the temple because of the idolatry taking
place in His Holy Place. A place of God is to be Holy.
In Mark 11, Jesus clears the Temple of the moneychangers.
He quotes Isaiah 56-7; "My House will be called a house of prayer."
Do I expect that man will change? No. I believe that
man will continue to sin. He will curse God. He will continue to displease
God until one day, as describe in the book of Revelation, God will say
that is enough! God will then cleanse the world and bring the righteous
to Heaven and send the unrighteous to Hell.
We must protect against the Church becoming corrupt.
We must remain Godly in our beliefs and in our actions. We need to be confident
in who and what is taught here. We must fight against being influenced
by the world and religious organizations that believe that they can alter
God’s commandments and teach "modern" concepts. We must remain consistent
with God’s will.
I have heard is said many times that the first century
Christians wrote to a different culture of people. It has been said that
we live in a different society today - a society where women have a major
role in the world. Women are accepted as a man’s equal. The rules that
applied in the first century do not apply now. After all the plan of redemption
has not changed, even if women could preach and lead songs during worship.
These are strong arguments for change. But I am convinced
that God knew what he had started 8000 years ago. God established in the
Garden of Eden the original structure for men and women to follow. It was
maintained through Moses, the judges, and the prophets. When Jesus came,
he did not change the relationship between God and man or between man and
woman. If today’s society is different, who changed it? – Man did! Who
is to say that it is better? Can it be better if it is different from God’s
will? – No! Where is the consistency?
I do not plan to stand before you and criticize any
religious organization, but I would like to point out a couple of examples
that should show how the "re-formed" Church can be.
I don’t know how many of you remember Paul ‘Bear’
Bryant. It is enough to say that he was an Alabama football coach that
was extremely successful in the 60’s. He was so successful that stories
of him arose that put him in the same category as Jesus Christ. In fact,
there were pictures of him circulating that showed him walking on water.
About 2 weeks after coach Bryant invested a considerable amount of money
in a meat packing company, the Catholic Church announced that it was OK
to eat meat on Fridays. While most of Alabamians were discussing the influence
of the "Bear" on the Pope (which he didn’t), I was fascinated by the concept
that the Catholic Church could just change their rules. I wondered about
all the sinners who were going to Hell because they ate meat on Fridays.
Was there going to be an announcement in Hell to the effect:
ALL PERSONS WHO ARE HERE BECAUSE THEY ATE MEAT ON
FRIDAYS ARE HEREBY RELEASED AND MAY PROCEED ON TO HEAVEN. SORRY FOR ANY
HARDSHIPS THAT YOU MAY HAVE ENDURED!
I think also of some denominations that allow Gay
persons to be ministers. The Bible clear states that homosexuality is sinful.
Members of the early Church were warned not to even associate with such
people. How can one honestly say that such person can lead you to salvation?
To lead others to Christ, we need to be an example of Christ.
1 Cor 11:1 Follow my example, as I follow the
example of Christ. (NIV)
1 Tim 4:12 Don't let anyone look down on you
because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech,
in life, in love, in faith and in purity. (NIV)
Can we be this Christian example if we cannot control
our sexual urges?
It is not within the power of the church to make
laws or by-laws, to amend or change, to add to, or subtract from the revealed
will of God. The church of our Lord is an absolute monarchy with Christ
as King of kings, and Lord of lords. All power is vested in Christ the
head of the church, and all authority is his both in heaven and on earth
(Matt. 28:18-19).
Remember, it was our Lord who said, "In vain
they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men"
(Matt. 15:9).
God through His inspired writers has told us what
to do today. They have captured the teachings of Moses and the Prophets
as well as Jesus and the Apostles. By studying both the Old and the New
Testaments, we can see the plan for redemption. It is all neatly woven
together. By studying the Bible and how it unfolds, we can see the beginning,
the middle, and the end.
…IN THE CHRISTIAN:
I am reminded of a Biblical story of King Saul.
1 Sam 15:1-25
Samuel said to Saul, "I am the one the LORD sent to anoint you
king over his people Israel; so listen now to the message from the LORD.
This is what the LORD Almighty says: `I will punish the Amalekites for
what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt.
Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy everything that belongs
to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants,
cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.'"
So Saul summoned the men and mustered them at Telaim-- two hundred
thousand foot-soldiers and ten thousand men from Judah. Saul went to the
city of Amalek and set an ambush in the ravine. Then he said to the Kenites,
"Go away, leave the Amalekites so that I do not destroy you along with
them; for you showed kindness to all the Israelites when they came up out
of Egypt." So the Kenites moved away from the Amalekites.
Then Saul attacked the Amalekites all the way from Havilah to
Shur, to the east of Egypt. He took Agag king of the Amalekites alive,
and all his people he totally destroyed with the sword. But Saul and the
army spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and
lambs-- everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy
completely, but everything that was despised and weak they totally destroyed.
Then the word of the LORD came to Samuel: "I am grieved that I
have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried
out my instructions." Samuel was troubled, and he cried out to the LORD
all that night.
Early in the morning Samuel got up and went to meet Saul, but
he was told, "Saul has gone to Carmel. Here he has set up a monument in
his own honor and has turned and gone on down to Gilgal." When Samuel reached
him, Saul said, "The LORD bless you! I have carried out the LORD's instructions."
But Samuel said, "What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears?
What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?"
Saul answered, "The soldiers brought them from the Amalekites;
they spared the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the LORD your
God, but we totally destroyed the rest."
"Stop!" Samuel said to Saul. "Let me tell you what the LORD said
to me last night."
"Tell me," Saul replied.
Samuel said, Although you were once small in your own eyes, did
you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The LORD anointed you
king over Israel. And he sent you on a mission, saying, `Go and completely
destroy those wicked people, the Amalekites; make war on them until you
have wiped them out.'
Why did you not obey the LORD? Why did you pounce on the plunder
and do evil in the eyes of the LORD?"
"But I did obey the LORD," Saul said. "I went on the mission the
LORD assigned me. I completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought back
Agag their king. The soldiers took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the
best of what was devoted to God, in order to sacrifice them to the LORD
your God at Gilgal."
But Samuel replied: "Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings
and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is
better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. For
rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of
idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has rejected
you as king."
Then Saul said to Samuel, "I have sinned. I violated the LORD's
command and your instructions. I was afraid of the people and so I gave
in to them. Now I beg you, forgive my sin and come back with me, so that
I may worship the LORD."
God demanded obedience from Saul. Does He expect
anything else from us? We can explain away our sinful actions. We can blame
others, but God knows the truth even if we don’t accept it. Saul had every
reason for not doing what was right, but he was wrong. We can explain why
the things we do are all right, but they are not. The commandments of God
are consistent. How I wish we were.
We can see in the Bible how man walked with God,
was tempted and sinned. How man was removed from association with God and
see how man was punished. We see the struggle of man to return to a close
relationship with God. We see how man turned back to God only to fall again.
We see this time and again. We see how Jesus came to stir up man, to return
not to the God’s law as men perverted it, but to the way God intended the
law to be obeyed. We see how man accepts Jesus, and how man murdered Him.
We see the rise of the infant Church. Then as consistent as man can be,
we see how man begins to change the teaching of the Church and how discipline
had to be established in the Church. We see how overseers (Elders) were
established to promote a consistent pattern of worship and organization.
The God of Adam and of Abraham and of Paul is the
God of today. He was our father’s God, He is our God, and He will be the
God of our children. God was intolerant of sin. God is intolerant
of sin and God will be intolerant of sin. Jesus was in the beginning,
He is today, and He will be forever.
Do you know what is expected of you? Is God consistent
in what He expects of us? Do you think God expects more (or less) from
you than any character in the Old or New Testaments? Does God expect more
(or less) from you than Moses or the prophets? Does God expect more (or
less) from you than Peter, Paul, Timothy, or John? God has always wanted
His people to live a life without sin, and a life that is respectful of
others. God has always wanted us to realize that He is in control, not
only in this world, but also in the under-world of demons and evil. God
expected the early Christians to love one another. He expects the same
of you and me. He expects us to share the Good News with others, as did
the apostles. He expects us to respect our elders. He expects us to take
care of our widows and our neighbors. God is consistent in what He expects
of us.
It is in man’s nature to sin. God despises sin. Does
this mean that God despises and rejects us? Not at all! Jesus has paid
the price of our salvation. All we must do is accept it. We accept it by
being baptized into Christ. We must allow the Holy Spirit to enter into
us. We must allow the Holy Spirit to work within us in combating evil in
our lives. We must acknowledge that God is what important in our lives.
We must confess our sins and strive to do better. But we cannot do this
by ourselves; we must ask God for help in overcoming sin.
As a part of the Church, we stand ready to help you
in anyway possible. If you are ready to make that decision to accept Christ
as our savior, we are ready to assist you. If you need our prayers on your
behalf, we are ready to do so. If you are willing to learn more about God,
Jesus, and the Church, we are ready to study with you. Please come as we
sing the song of invitation.
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