The Truth in Print Vol. 26 Issue 10, Nov. 2020
A Publication of the Valley church of Christ,
2375 W. 8th Street, Yuma, AZ 85364 (928-782-5058)
Rule of Law Points
The “name” of Jesus Christ implies His
authority
Christ Has All Authority (Matt. 28:18-20).
Repentance and remission of sins is preached in His “name” (Lk. 24:46-47). “Name” [G3686 onoma]
CWSD definition: (II) Implying authority, e.g., to come or to do something in
or by the name of someone, meaning using his name; as his messenger, envoy, representative; by his authority, with his sanction.
·
Salvation is only in His “name” (Acts 4:12).
· All have
sinned (Rom. 3:23).
· Baptism for
the remission of sins is in His “name” (Acts 2:38; Mk. 16:15-16).
· Obeying in
baptism puts one “into Christ” and His church (Gal. 3:26-27; I Cor. 12:13).
·
Eternal Life is in Christ Jesus (Rom. 6:23).
The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation
for all who believe
·
Rom 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of
Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for
the Jew first and also for the Greek.
· Rom
1:17 For in it the righteousness of God
is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY
FAITH."
·
Rom 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and
hearing by the word of God.
Note:
Concerning the Gospel of Christ. The just
live by faith and that faith comes by hearing the Word, the Gospel i.e. all the
instructions given in the New Testament as the will of Christ for all men.
Jesus sent the Holy Spirit who would speak by the authority of Christ, not the
Spirit’s own authority, to guide the Apostles into all truth (Jo. 16:13-14).
The revelation of Christ’s New Testament was finished in the first century
(Jude 3).
Many fail to understand that to preach “the
gospel” (Rom. 1:15, 16-17) and to “Preach the Word!” which is “sound doctrine”
(2 Tim. 4:1-4) are synonymous for the all of the instructions in the New
Testament that are given by “one Lord” Jesus Christ (Eph. 4:5). Likewise the
“one faith” listed with “one Lord” in Eph. 4:5 is objective — it refers to the
New Testament revealed given by the inspired apostles and prophets in the first
century (I Cor. 3:11; Eph. 2:20).
Major neglect results in thinking that all
that is necessary is what some state as being just the basic belief that Jesus
is Christ the Son of God. He is! But you are expected to read the New Testament
and study to know what Christ’s law says and demands (2 Tim. 2:15). Consider
now in this brief lesson some points regarding the rule of law.
Jesus’ authority to judge by His law
·
Jesus said: Joh 12:48 He who rejects Me, and does
not receive My words, has that which judges him— the word that I have spoken
will judge him in the last day.
· Jesus has
been given authority by the Father to execute judgment at the Resurrection. He
said all who have ever lived will be there! (Jo. 5:28-29).
· God
commands all men to repent “...because He has appointed a day on which He will
judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given
assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead" (Acts 17:30-31).
·
We must all appear before the judgment seat of
Christ: 2Co 5:10 For we must all appear
before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done
in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
Sin is a violation of Christ’s law
1Jn
3:4 (KJV) Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of
the law.
His law convicts of sin
Jas
2:8 If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love
thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:
Jas
2:9 But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of
the law as transgressors.
Jas
2:10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has
become guilty of all.
Jas
2:12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty.
a. “Convinced” [G1651 elegchō, vb.] Strong’s definition: - to confute,
admonish: - convict, convince, tell a fault, rebuke, reprove.
b. “Judged by” [G2919 krinō] Thayer’s definition: 5. a. to pronounce an
opinion concerning right and wrong; B. of the judgement of God or of Jesus the
Messiah, deciding between the righteousness and the unrighteousness of men: Jo.
5:30; … Ja. 2:12.
When man is guilty of judging Christ’s law
You “judge the law” by transgression when
you think it is fitting to go against the law.
Jas
4:11 Do not speak against one another, brethren. He who speaks against a
brother or judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law; but
if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of it.
All men today will answer to Christ’s law and
He always knows one’s intent
Heb 4:12 For the word of God is living
and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the
division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of
the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Heb 4:13 And there is no creature
hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to
whom we must give account.
Consider
these:
To “Ignore” (Am.
Heritage Dict.): “To refuse to pay attention to; disregard.” This doesn’t imply
sincerity but the opposite. Synonyms: neglect, blink (at or away), discount,
disregard, fail, forget, omit, overlook, overpass, slight – rel. avoid, evade.
To be “Careless” (Am.
Heritage Dict.): 1. Not taking sufficient care; negligent. 2. Marked by or
resulting from a lack of forethought or thoroughness: a careless mistake.
David’s neglect when moving the Ark (2 Sam. 6)
David, with some 30,000 men of Israel, when
the Ark of the Covenant was moved from the house of Abinadab
in Gibeah is an example of neglect and carelessness. The
mistake was made of putting the ark on a new cart (2 Sam. 6:1f.). All were
celebrating before the Lord, but God wasn’t pleased — but they thought they
were pleasing Him. Uzzah a son of Abinadab
was killed by God for irreverence when the ox stumbled and he touched the ark
seeking to stay it. Just because man is pleased that does mean God is — Uzzah dies for irreverence.
The ark had been in Abinadab’s
house for 20 years (I Sam. 7:2). The regulations God gave for moving the ark
were written in the Law — those here either never bothered to learn what the
Law said about moving the ark or they were hasty and careless and thought their
way would be accepted by God — good intentions did not work for this was
neglect of God’s law. God is in the picture and angry for they left what He
said out of the picture. David is angry and afraid and he left the ark at the
house of Obed-Edom for 3 months. This was all corrected and in I Ch. 15 in
preparations to move the ark we see a full account of David’s caution — the sons
of the Levites carried the ark of God on their shoulders with the poles thereon
(2 Sam. 7:9), as Moses had commanded according to the word of the LORD the
statutes in the Law: Ex. 25:14; Nu. 4:15.
The Rule of Law “Attacked” By
·
Ignorance
·
Intent * When
relying vainly on false use of “intent” / “good intentions” / “sincerity”
Sincerity alone is not enough and overlooks
obedience as well as the scriptural definition of sin. It is the truth that
saves (Jo. 8:31-32). What does sincerity have to do with whether or not a thing
is true according to God’s law? Back to the definition of sin— “...for sin is
the transgression of the law” (Cf. Acts 22:4, 7-8, 16; 23:1; 26:9).
Pro 14:12 says “There is a way that seems
right to a man, But its end is the way of death.” Error that stems from
ignorance, though one is sincere, leads to death. This verse is useful to point
to false standards of authority in religion such as feelings and emotions, “let
your conscience be your guide” (Cf. Acts 23:1, 26:9), man’s human tradition
taught as God’s law and one’s family’s beliefs that contradict the New
Testament law.
·
Carelessness / Ignoring
·
Impulse / Inconsistency
“Impulse” (Am.
Heritage Dict.) n. 1. a sudden strong and unreflective urge or desire to act.
Atty. General Barr recently in interview
said, concerning civil law, that acting on impulse lacks intellectual
consistency as part of the rule of law. He said in rule of law any you apply to
one you apply to the next and the next. In other words what should be applied
to one in a particular judgment should be applied to another and the next in
the same context.
He and others have emphasized the lack of
consistency in application of law during covid19. First amendment rights are
for all. Governors especially have allowed others “get-togethers” but put
strong restrictions on churches and their right to assemble. The glaring
inconsistency of hundreds out protesting (even some governors among them)
contrasted with whimsical restrictions upon others. Sadly Atty. General Barr
said this “impulsiveness” is seen in our courts too.
·
Showing Partiality
·
Outright Defiance
Romans chapter one describes those who
“suppress the truth in unrighteousness” (1:18). The word suppress means to
hinder, to hold back. These prefer the lies of idolatry (1:25), are given to
vile passions— here lesbians and homosexuals are mentioned (1:26-27), the list
of immoralities is long (1:28-31). Paul says, Rom 1:32 “who, knowing the
righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of
death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.” Yes
they know they are deserving of spiritual death!
·
Distorting One’s Words
False teachers distorted Paul’s words: Rom
3:8 “And why not say, "Let us do evil that good may come"?—as we are
slanderously reported and as some affirm that we say. Their condemnation is
just.” The altar called Witness is a lesson on making hasty decisions based
upon what one hears (Cf. Josh. 22:11-12, 16).
·
Partial Narratives of the Word (to neglect to teach the whole counsel of
God, Acts 20:27, 32)
Concerning those who do not know God, and who
do not obey the Gospel
2Th
1:6 since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who
trouble you,
2Th
1:7 and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is
revealed from heaven with His mighty angels,
2Th
1:8 in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those
who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2Th
1:9 These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of
the Lord and from the glory of His power,
“You turn things upside down” (Isa. 29:16)
Isa 29:16 “Surely your turning of
things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter's clay: for shall the work
say of him that made it, He made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him
that framed it, He had no understanding?”
Isaiah prophesied concerning God’s coming
judgments upon Jerusalem & Judah. Because they invert the position and
order of things putting man before God: Isa 2:22 “Stop regarding man, whose
breath of life is in his nostrils; For why should he be esteemed?” There
was no respect for God’s law! Being filled with pagan influences they were stoothsayers like the Philistines. They sought the material
wealth of the idolatrous nations and practiced their idolatries, trusting in
man but not God’s law. God was to have His day of reckoning.
Jerusalem that once was full of justice was
now a harlot:
Isa
1:21 How the faithful city has become a harlot! It was full of justice;
Righteousness lodged in it, But now murderers.
Isa
1:22 Your silver has become dross, Your wine mixed with water.
Isa
1:23 Your princes are rebellious, And companions of thieves; Everyone loves
bribes, And follows after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, Nor does
the cause of the widow come before them.
Isa
1:24 Therefore the Lord says, The LORD of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel,
"Ah, I will rid Myself of My adversaries, And take vengeance on My
enemies.
·
Regarding and esteeming man not God (Isa. 1:23;
2:22).
· Mere lads
would be their princes and capricious children will rule over them (Isa. 3:4).
Decisions would made without reason on a whim.
· There would
be oppressions in general – each one by another, each by his neighbor, the
youth against the elder, the inferior against the honorable (Isa. 3:5).
· Such chaos
and physical distress would come that no one wants the authority as ruler (Isa.
3:6-7).
·
Their oppressors are children and ungodly women rule
over them confusing the right direction to take (Isa. 3:12).
Their speech and actions are against God’s
law (Isa. 3:8, 5:24):
Isa
3:8 For Jerusalem stumbled, And Judah is fallen, Because their tongue and their
doings Are against the LORD, To provoke the eyes of His glory.
Isa
3:9 The look on their countenance witnesses against them, And they declare
their sin as Sodom; They do not hide it. Woe to their soul! For they have
brought evil upon themselves.
Isa
3:10 “Say to the righteous that it shall be well with them, For they shall eat
the fruit of their doings.
Isa
3:11 Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him, For the reward of his hands
shall be given him.
God is no respecter of persons
God is no respecter of person — each man is
judged based upon his own works.
1Pe.
1:17 And if you call on the Father, who
without partiality judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves
throughout the time of your stay here in fear;
Gal
6:7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he
will also reap.
Gal
6:8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who
sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.
To show respect of persons is sin (Ja. 2:1, 9)
Jas
2:1 My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of
glory, with partiality.
Jas
2:2 For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine
apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes,
Jas
2:3 and you pay attention to the one
wearing the fine clothes and say to him, "You sit here in a good
place," and say to the poor man, "You stand there," or,
"Sit here at my footstool,"
Jas
2:4 have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil
thoughts?
Jas
2:9 but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as
transgressors.
The kind of judging that condemns oneself
Rom
2:1 Therefore you are inexcusable, O
man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn
yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.
Rom
2:2 But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those
who practice such things.
Rom
2:3 And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things,
and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God?
He who boasts in God’s law, but dishonors God
through breaking the law
Rom
2:21 You, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who
preach that a man should not steal, do you steal?
Rom
2:22 You who say, "Do not commit adultery," do you commit adultery?
You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?
Rom
2:23 You who make your boast in the law, do you dishonor God through breaking
the law? Rom 2:24 For "THE NAME OF GOD IS BLASPHEMED AMONG THE GENTILES
BECAUSE OF YOU," as it is written.
Valley Church of Christ
2375 W. 8th Street, Yuma, AZ 85364
(928) 782-5058 ~
http://yumavalleychurchofchrist.com
Sunday Services – Classes ~10:00;
Assembly 10:50 am; Evening: 6:00 pm.
Wednesday evening – 7:00 pm
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