C0 - CONCERNS RE OBEDIENCE
The question of obedience is one that constantly arises during the Christian walk. The Christian is continuously barraged with various often-conflicting authorities each of which presents itself as being infallibly correct and deserving of obedience. How do Christians determine which is correct and which is fantasy? How do Christians filter through all the thoughts and concepts in order to comprehend the Infallible Word of Almighty God?
It is
quite obvious that a Christian must be obedient to God, as He has revealed
Himself to us in Jesus as interpreted through the Holy Spirit. Yet there are
many strains of Christianity claiming to be guided by the Holy Spirit but
offering often diametrically opposing concepts. Each will refer to pieces of
Holy Scripture or the claim of a new or revised revelation and claim the Divine
Guidance of God through the Holy Spirit in producing that group’s tenets of
faith.
But God
is not open to a multiplicity of interpretations. Rather God presents the One
True Way to Him through the One who is The Way, The Truth, and the Life –
Jesus, His One and Only Begotten Son. In this Jesus we find the reality of life
via the Salvation that comes through His Cross and Resurrection. And this Jesus
treated the Holy Scriptures as being the True Word of God. He often quoted and
stated the authority of what we know as the Old Testament and restated or
corrected the understandings of humankind concerning God’s Word. Further, while
He abrogated some of the non-moral law, He always upheld the moral law as it is
written. Jesus stated He had come not to destroy, or even modify, but to
fulfill the Law and the Prophets (St. Matthew 5:17ff).
Hence, as
St. Peter clearly tells us in 2 St. Peter 1:20f, each prophet spoke under the
Divine Guidance of the Holy Spirit to present God’s Truth in its unique
singularity to specific people’s at specific times and in specific
circumstances. The principles so presented then become universally applicable
across the ages because “our God is an unchanging God” (Malachi 3:6). God’s
purposes and design plan for creation are constant and unique. They are not
open to any form of redefinition or modification to suit the desires of
humanity in any age of existence.
God has given
humankind many wonderful gifts to be used in accomplishing His purposes for
each individual. Two of these gifts are freewill and the ability to think about
and comprehend His Divine Will.
Since God
created humankind to live together as friends of God and having the desire to
see God (the Desire for the Beatific Vision), God had to give man the ability
to either live in communion with Him or to reject Him. Friends cannot be
compelled but need to be able to make a free decision concerning such friendship.
It is in this freewill that the loving acceptance of God in Christ by a human
being becomes valid. Humans are not robots but people whose free acceptance of
God is a true emotional and intellectual acceptance of His incomprehensible and
unrequited Love. But such an acceptance is only real in the light of the
ability to reject the same.
But, if
humankind is to be able to make the comprehensible choice for or against
Almighty God and His Divine Will in their lives, God also had to provide the
ability to think and understand His purposes for them in their lives. This
comes in the ability to think, understand, feel, and make choices – that is,
the soul (mind intellect, emotions, freewill). This does not demand an
intellect that achieves great levels of academic accomplishment. Rather, it
requires a responsible use of the gift of God to fellowship with God in the
manner for which He created man.
A human
being who makes this informed decision for God in the Name of Jesus receives
that wonderful Gift of the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit who enlivens
the human spirit that is that part of the human being that can live, when so
empowered by God, in full and perfect communication with God.
Thus,
God’s two most wonderful gifts to humankind can be the roads whereby one lives
the totally fulfilled life in Jesus the Christ or walks the road to eternal
destruction. The freewill and the human qualities of the soul combine to accept
the magnificent offer of the Free Gift of Eternal Life in Jesus Christ through
the efficacies of the Cross and Resurrection of Jesus or to perform the
ultimate act of idolatry and reject Him and His Abundant Life via the idolizing
of Freewill and Soulish abilities in living life by one’s own will as opposed
to the Divine Will. The former decision leads to full and perfect fellowship
with God through the Holy Spirit while the latter ultimately leads to total
condemnation and separation from God.
Thus, the
question of obedience becomes a key question for the human being. How do we
determine who is right and who is wrong? How do we make certain we are walking
in the truth of Jesus Christ?
The
answer is in evaluating all presentations of Truth in the light of God’s Holy
and Infallible Word. The Gift of Freewill must be used in accordance with the
Gift of mind, intellect, and emotions (the soul) to decide for God’s Will as He
has clearly established it in His Divine Word. Since God is an unchanging God
His Divine Will does not change. The moral law is the constant in Creation.
Thus, any teaching that violates or contravenes God’s teachings in His Holy
Scriptures is to be seen as in error and not to be followed. Our Saviour and
Lord Jesus Christ so acted and leads us to act.
Many will
denigrate such a stance and call it arrogant, superstitious, unlearned,
simplistic, and fundamentalist. Of course, these people will suggest that, in
today’s highly intellectual world, to stand by the simple tenets of Holy
Scripture is to put aside the findings of human intelligence and study over the
years. Further, it will be said that such blind faith in the Holy Scriptures is
putting irrational and superstitious faith in the writings of mere man
concerning their perceived interactions with God. These people see such
writings as being primitive and hardly applicable to human life in today’s
world. Further, these individuals and groups will suggest that it is incumbent
upon “modern man” to perceive, through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, what
God really wants to say to this world today.
However,
such criticism is, in itself, not only arrogant but also idolatrous to the
highest extreme.
The
arrogance of the position rejecting God’s Word as the final authority is in the
saying or implying that God is incapable of providing a clear and simple
statement of His Will in a manner that would be comprehensible to all mankind.
Our Loving God provides His unrequited saving love through His Divine
Intervention into the human condition in the person of Jesus who, in Himself,
is The Way, The Truth, and The Life. Jesus, in the Gift of the Holy Spirit,
gives all that is necessary in understanding the Will of God through His Divine
Word – Living and Written. To say that more is necessary, or that the
interpretation of unclear and obscure thought is necessary through the intelligentsia,
is in itself the ultimate act of human arrogance.
When
humankind presents its own forms of thought, reinterpretation, modification,
divining of God’s revised positions, and rethinking of God’s Holy Word as being
that which is applicable to today’s world regardless of what God’s simple
self-revelation provides is an ultimate act of idolatry is taking place. In
this stance, mankind is not only holding the previously discussed position of
arrogance but also committing the ultimate act of idolatry. To state that only
man’s intelligence can be applicable to today’s world is to place the human
mind above the presentation of God. Such a stance leads human beings to reject
the simple tenets of Scripture in favour of its own philosophical or
sociological thought. It is the unrepentant worshipping of the human mind in
place of the mind of God.
Does this
mean that any one group has all the right answers? Of course not! But it does
bring the discussion to a point where, realising that there is only one truth
in each passage of Holy Scripture, differences of understanding are explained
by the three possibilities where:
1.
You’re
right and I’m wrong
2.
I’m
right and you’re wrong
3.
We’re
both wrong
In
understanding this in the light of the many variations that exist in the
understanding of God’s Word and Will it is easy to see that Christians have to
be ready to enter into discussions concerning those areas where disagreement
exists. But it also means that dialogue must continue with the goal of finding
the reality of truth. Such disagreements may exist in the understandings of
God’s Word concerning Baptism, the Real Presence in the Eucharist, etc. But it
does not allow for restating or changing God’s Word.
In
considering the matter of obedience, Christians need to be first and foremost
obedient to God, as He has revealed Himself through His Holy Word – Living and
Written. There can be no authority that supersedes such obedience. Some may
point to the admonitions of Scripture concerning Jesus and Ecclesiastical and
Civil authority. But, one must also look to the actions of Jesus Himself, the
Apostles, and the Early Church where they were acquiescent where possible until
matters would require a denial of faith. At this point, the tenet of faith
superseded the will of man and Christians had to, in many cases, put their
lives on the line for their faith. Christian obedience is first and foremost to
God and His Will. In the life of a Christian no authority can be permitted to
supersede or replace God’s Divine Word – Living or Written!
Think
Theologically
Thinking
theologically is as process that one could automatically assume occurs in the
Church – the People of God! To think theologically is to think in terms of
expressing the Will of God – literally “to speak in the knowledge or word of
God” or “to speak in terms of God and His relationship to His Creation – the
Universe.”
Christians
have to struggle against the modern fallacious concept that “democratic”
decision is correct decision. On the other hand, theology has nothing to do
with democracy. God’s expressed Will is determined and communicated by God with
no thought of any form of “democratic” validation.
In
today’s world, special interest groups push and push until a vote is finally
given in their favour. Then they proceed to attempt to block all further
consideration of the matter on the basis that a democratic decision has been
reached.
Such has
been made evident in the world where pro-abortion begged to be heard, pushed
for a law allowing abortion in extreme circumstances, interpreted that law in
the most liberal of fashions, made the murder of unborn children a norm of
society rather than an exceptional condition, and now proceed to shout down
anyone who is bold enough to speak against such atrocity. Whereas they once begged
to be heard these people now refuse to hear those who don’t agree with them.
Similarly
the homosexual lobby has pushed and pushed for more and more “rights.” They
pleaded for recognition as a group despite their amoral, at best, lifestyle,
and made as much noise as possible to force through their minority position
with misinformation and political lobbying. And, now that they have a certain
status in our corrupt society, they make attempts to silence those who would
speak against homosexuality. The Bill C-415 that is currently before parliament
under the submission of a private member’s bill by Sven Robinson (NDP from
Saskatchewan) would make Orthodox Christians guilty of hate crime if they
publicly state that homosexuality is not acceptable to God. It would also make
the Bible hate literature.
Another
example would be the push for Sunday sports. The argument was a correct one
when it was debated that the Christian stance should not force non-Christians
not to participate in sport during the Christian Sabbath. But, when such
allowance was gained Christians were told that, if they did not participate in
sport during that same Sabbath, they would not be able to participate in the
sport on non-Sabbath days. And, today, to speak against sport during the Sabbath
is anathema to many – sadly even within the Christian Church.
In the
Church, it was not so long ago that the liberal position was one that was
generally rejected. Yet, the purveyors of liberal theology kept pushing to have
an equal right to be heard. But, now that the leadership in most mainline
denominations tends toward the liberal theological positions, every effort is
made to silence those who follow the orthodox position by portraying them as
simple minded, superstitious, unintelligent, non-academic fundamentalist
clowns, or, if that doesn’t work, using their position of liberal leadership in
making decisions without giving the conservative theologians an opportunity to
be heard, or they literally shouting down the conservative position when they
try to speak. But, when a situation is encountered where the conservative arm
of the Church (in actuality, the majority of Christians in the world) is in
control these same liberally minded persons squeal and scream about unfairness
and ridiculousness of the position being “forced” upon them.
Another
problem exists when people moved by emotion and political positions are called
upon to vote “democratically” on a matter of theological position. In such it
is impossible to find the true intent of the Will of God. And to state that
God’s Will will be done despite all such impurities is, in itself, to undertake
an act of superstition and anti-intellectualism.
Yet, the
concept of such democracy in matters of faith is extremely illusive in God’s
Word. God presented all of the Covenants between God and humanity in completed
form and humanity was merely left to accept or reject God. Moses did not take a
vote on the Ten Commandments. The Prophets did not say, here is what God says
so lets take a vote to see if we agree with it.” Jesus did not ask for a vote
on whether He is “The Way, The Truth, and The Life” or “He and the Father are
one.” God states and mankind is left to accept God in that statement or reject
Him. So it is with God’s Word – Living and Written – it is presented and
mankind accepts or rejects the clear literal statement of God it in its
entirety.
Nitpicking
and rationalizing based upon sitz im leben, theories of redaction, source
analysis or the possible alternative or hidden meanings of words in order to
modify the intentions of the words of Scripture are implied rejection of God’s
Word. Magnifying differences of understanding and playing them against one
another is, at best, bad theology. Rather, such should be recognised and placed
on the agenda for discussion and prayer until agreement can be reached – no
matter how many lifetimes are involved. In the meantime, God’s Word is to be
accepted as is as a point of authority. Rejecting the clear moral teachings of
Holy Scripture is to be seen as a rejection of God’s Infallible Word.
While, as
Christians, we are called to obedience to Ecclesiastical Authority and Civil
Authority such only holds true and compelling as long as such authority does
not violate God’s clear and simple Word (this is in apposition to the view of
governments and the world who accept religion as long as it doesn’t get in the
way of their objectives). Christians are called to use their intellect in a
manner that strives to see the teachings of God in His Divine Word – Living and
Written – in the illumination of the Holy Spirit who leads us to see all in the
light of Jesus Christ (Colossians 2:8). As we see the truth of God, we are
compelled to ask the violating authorities the question St. Peter and St. John
were moved to ask the Sanhedrin, “Whom are we to obey – you or God?” (Acts
4:19f)
As the
direction of government, society in general, and legal judgement are seen, in
today’s world, to be moving more and more toward the tenets of man’s mind as
presented politically and/or sociologically, Christians are going to be called
upon more and more to stand firm in the teachings of the Scriptures (to
thinking theologically) and to reject the direction of society both in their
own lives and in speaking out against such directions. Further, as the
political aspects of Ecclesiastical Authority are moving more and more toward
the deifying of political and sociological determination as opposed to
theological thought based upon God’s Holy Word, Christians are going to have to
speak out more and more against their own corrupt leadership that would replace
the Word of God with the idol of human thought.
Whom
Should We Obey
The sin
of Eve – that of desiring to become like, and equal to, God – is being seen all
over the world today. And that includes its pervasion of the Ecclesiastical
Hierarchies. Thus, Christians will be compelled to determine to obey God rather
than man no matter what the cost may be.
Such
determination will not be comfortable! The Civil and Ecclesiastical Hierarchies
will do all in their power to put down those who hold to the basic tenets of
God as presented by Him to His Faithful people through the Divine Word – Living
and Written. Such was the action of the Hebrew leadership at the time of Jesus
and, before Him, the prophets. Where those holding the newly developed
unorthodox positions should really be the ones leaving the Christian Church
structure and made to form their own clubs, they are going to be the ones
challenging the Christians to toe-the-line (the revisionist line) or get out of
what they call the Church. They use the concept of assets as a means of
blackmail against the congregations who oppose them. They make it clear that
the facilities belong to the organisation and that they are the organisation.
Thus leaving means relinquishing the facilities that the members of the
congregation have paid for over the years. And, unfortunately, there are those
in congregations who will be turned by such statement not to agree with
authority but to tolerate their ranting in order to maintain the temporal
physical facilities.
But
Christians have to remember that God is in control. The Church is made up of
His faithful followers. The Church is the congregation of the Children of God
and not the organisation. Thus, it does not matter what pressure the
Ecclesiastical Authority applies.
Civil
Authority is very good at reminding the Church of its tax-exempt status and
using that as a weapon to keep the Church in-line. However, what the civil
authority does not realise is that the true Church will always be supported
whether or not the tax-exempt status is in place. What will suffer is Christian
contribution to secular charity by true
Christians if such Ecclesiastical exemption were ever to be removed. When it
comes to civil sanctions for speaking God’s Word in society Christians would be
forced into a position of placing obedience to Christ first. The Great
Commission of Jesus compels Christians to speak God’s Word and lead people to
commitment to Jesus in Baptism throughout the entire world. And history has
shown that where Civil Authority tried to inhibit God’s Word the same Word was
prolifically spread throughout society. Again, as in the case of corrupt
Ecclesiastical Authority, Christians would be called upon to obey God before man.
In either
of these cases, Christians have to be very careful how they go about standing
firm. It is very easy to be confrontational for the sake of confrontation. In
Romans 12:18 St. Paul reminds Christians that, insofar as it depends upon them,
they are to live peaceably with all. We should not be “itching for a battle.”
Rather Christians must do everything possible to stand peacefully while not
relinquishing any tenet of faith. The only time Christians should come to such
a confrontational position is if there is an attempt to force them against
God’s will. Remember the Early Christians in the Roman Empire did not face up
to the government until it was pressed upon them to “burn incense” to Caesar
thereby acknowledging him as being a god. It was at this point that they
“dug-in their heels.” So today’s Christians must be loving, caring, and
compliant and becoming uncooperative and confrontational only where the
teachings of God’s Word are being abrogated.
In the
light of these matters this work will concentrate upon:
1.
The
place of Holy Scripture in the Life of the Christian
2.
The
Concerns of Human Sexuality
3.
The
Position of Clergy in the Church Hierarchy
4.
Christian
Evangelism in Today’s Society