If you reject the Gospel records of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John (including
Acts 1) being any part of the Lord’s New Testament, then you have to accept
the conclusion that nothing the Lord said or taught while on earth is valid
for the church today. That makes everything the Lord and Savior said, null
and void.
We received a letter that took issue with the Lord’s words regarding
divorce and remarriage which was discussed in the April 2015 issue of
Seek The Old Paths. In part it reads:
“Just to keep it simple I ask, do you believe we are under the old law? I
know you will say No. Matthew through Acts 1 is old law given before the
church was established on Pentecost. We are not bound by these teachings
—thus your article of Divorce, Baptism, Eunuch is not valid.”
In reply, please consider the following.
Jesus the Christ lived and died during the Old Testament era.
Therefore, He was amenable to the Law of Moses. However, the Scriptures
teach that the New Testament replaced the Old Testament. Who among the
Lord’s people would deny it? Is there anyone out there who would disagree?
His life and teaching was to “take away the first that he may establish
the second” (Heb. 10:9).
WHERE did the second (new) Testament law come from? It came
from God and was delivered by Jesus, the apostles and other
inspired writers such as Mark, Luke, James, and Jude. Those
who delivered and recorded the new covenant (testament, law) were infallibly
guided by the Holy Spirit (2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21).
Will you deny that Jesus delivered any part of New Testament
doctrine? If you reject the Gospel records of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John
(including Acts 1) being any part of the Lord’s New Testament, then you have
to accept the conclusion that nothing the Lord said or taught while on earth
is valid for the church today. That makes everything the Lord and Savior
said, null and void. That leaves the entirety of the Christian Age without
any words that Jesus spake (while living on this earth) that are relevant to
the world today. Therefore, nothing the Lord said or taught has anything to
do with how we live! Who can imagine such a devilish and disastrous
doctrine?
Are we to understand the apostle Paul (even though guided by
the Holy Spirit) did not know the Lord’s words did not pertain to New
Testament doctrine? That cannot be so because he certainly knew they applied
to the church. He told the elders of the church at Ephesus that we are
“...to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed
to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). He was an inspired apostle, I
choose to believe brother Paul who had no problem recognizing the words of
Jesus, though spoken before the church began, had application to the church
and the world.
Moses prophesied that when Jesus came into the world, we were
to hear his words. “For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet
shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me;
him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it
shall come to pass, [that] every soul, which will not hear that prophet,
shall be destroyed from among the people” (Acts 3:22-23; cf. Deut.
18:15,18-19). If people today do not hear the words of Jesus, they will be
destroyed.
When Philip went down to Samaria, Acts 8:5 says he “preached
Christ unto them.” Are we to believe that Philip “preached Christ” but
refused to teach anything the Lord taught? Shall we believe in Jesus but not
believe that anything he said applies to the church? The point is this, you
can’t preach Christ without preaching Christ’s Words.
Luke 16:16 is very clear. It records Jesus saying, “The
law and the prophets [were] until John: since that time the kingdom of
God is preached...” (Luke 16:16; cf. Matt. 11:13). From the
beginning of John’s preaching and continuing through the teaching of Jesus,
the words of the New Testament were in the process of being delivered.
John began preparing the way for Jesus and the New Testament era (Matt. 3:3;
11:10; Isa. 40:3-4). The WORD’S of the kingdom (regarding the New Testament
church) did not start or begin to be given (delivered) in Acts two. They
started with John, but did not become effective (made law, ratified,
probated) until Acts two and then continued with the inspired apostles and
writers through the delivery of the rest of the New Testament. It’s also
worthy of note that even though the events recorded in the books of Matthew,
Mark, Luke and John occurred before Acts two, they were not actually written
until after Acts two.
Jesus went about preaching “the gospel of the kingdom”
(Matt. 4:23; 9:35; 24:13; Mark 1:14). What does that mean? What is “the
gospel of the kingdom?” Jesus said he would build his church and give
unto the apostles the keys of the kingdom (Matt. 16:18-19). The
church and the kingdom are one and the same. Since the kingdom is the church
and the church is the kingdom, Jesus was preaching the Gospel of the church.
According to Acts 1:3, He was preaching things “pertaining to the kingdom
of God” —the church of Christ. The Lord’s preaching (teaching) was
concerning things that would be a part of the teaching of the New Testament.
Does Luke 16:16 mean nothing? Are they just words taking up space?
If nothing recorded in Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and Acts 1 is a
part of the New Testament, then we don’t have to listen to anything Jesus
said. Isn’t it interesting that God anticipated such foolishness and
recorded the account of Jesus on the mount of transfiguration when he
met with Moses and Elijah (Matt. 17:1-5)? Moses represented the Old Law and
Elijah represented the prophets — in other words, the entirety of the Old
Testament. What did God tell Peter, James and John and, by extension, the
whole world to do regarding Moses, Elijah, and Jesus? “...This is my
beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him” (Matt.
17:5). What does God tell us to do concerning the Lord and his words? HEAR
HIM. But, if nothing He said is the doctrine of the New Testament (church),
then we have a major dilemma between what man would have us believe and what
God tells us to do. Will we believe the teaching of MEN or will we believe
the teaching of JESUS? In keeping with what Joshua said in the long ago
(Josh. 24:15), “for me and my house,” we will accept the teaching of Jesus.
Hebrews 1:1-2 is very clear concerning the words of the Lord
—the words he spoke while walking the earth. “God, who at sundry times
and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
Hath in these last days spoken unto us by [his] Son, whom he hath
appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds.” We will
have to take these verses out of the Bible if Matthew, Mark, Luke and John
are not a part of the New Testament.
These two verses tell us plainly that God has spoken to the whole
world, this Christian Dispensation, by his only begotten Son, Jesus the
Christ.
John 12:48 is certain. If the New Testament does not start
until Acts two, then why did Jesus say, “He that rejecteth me, and
receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have
spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day” (John 12:48).
Which is it? Either his words mean nothing, being spoken while living under
the Old Testament and cannot be a part of the New Testament, OR they are a
part of the New Testament because all men in the Christian Age will be
judged by his words. I think I’ll believe and teach Jesus’ words. What about
you?
No less than seven parables spoken by Jesus in Matthew 13
are specifically pertaining to the kingdom, the church. By these parables
the apostles were to know the mysteries of the church (v.11) and the word of
the church (v.19). The kingdom/church would last until the end of the world
(v.40). This is not true of the Old Testament, but it is true of the church
of Christ. These parables were the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies
concerning the kingdom/church: such as Matthew 13:13 from Jeremiah 5:21;
verse 14 from Isaiah 6:9; and verse 35 from Psalm 78:2. They teach of the
great value, treasure and importance of the Lord’s church. We are to forfeit
all that we have in this world in order to be a faithful member of the
church (vs.44- 50; cf. Matt. 6:33). These parables apply to the Christian
Age, not the Mosaic Age.
WHEN did the words of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John
(historically part of the New Testament) become effective? It was on the day
of Pentecost when the church began (Acts 2). The Lord’s last will and
testament was in the process of being given (delivered) in Matthew, Mark,
Luke and John while he was on earth, but would not become effective until
preached on Pentecost in Acts 2.
Hebrews 9:15-17 tells us when the Lord’s words in
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John — those things pertaining to the kingdom (Acts
1:3) —became effective. “And for this cause he is the mediator of the new
testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions
[that were] under the first testament, they which are called might receive
the promise of eternal inheritance. 16For where a testament [is], there must
also of necessity be the death of the testator. 17For a testament [is] of
force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while
the testator liveth.”
While we live we have the opportunity to write our own “last will
and testament.” As long as we live we can change and modify it —add to and
take from. While we are living, the stipulations of our will are null and
void. It is only after our death that our will can be probated in a court of
law. At that time, the executor(s) of our will has the power to administer
the estate. This is exactly what we read in Hebrews 9. While the Lord was
alive, he was speaking/teaching his will. That’s what we read in Luke 16:16.
After his death, his will was preached. That’s what was done in Acts 2 and
the rest of the New Testament. What’s so hard to understand about that? Men
need help to misunderstand it and there is plenty of this kind of help
around!
DESPERATION
Those who believe and teach the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and
John are a part of the Old Testament and not a part of the New Testament,
often do so in order to avoid (dismiss) what Jesus said in Matthew 5:32
and 19:9. In these two passages, Jesus gives only one reason for a
divorce and remarriage that meets God’s approval. Jesus said, “Whosoever
shall put away his wife, except [it be] for fornication, and shall
marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away
doth commit adultery” (19:9). Why did Jesus talk about eunuchs in verse
12? What was the point? The point is, those who have an unscriptural divorce
cannot marry again. They must live as a eunuch —not married. Going to heaven
is far more important than marriage. Those who are divorced, but did not
divorce their spouse because of their spouse’s fornication, have to make a
choice: marriage or heaven, they can’t have both.
To remove the passages of Matthew 5:32 and 19:9 from the New
Testament does not help their case whatsoever. Instead, if they’re looking
to be able to divorce and remarry, it makes their situation even worse. If
you take away these two verses, there is NO passage from Acts 2 throughout
the rest of the New Testament that authorizes a divorce and remarriage.
Consequently, there is NO authority whatsoever for one to divorce their
spouse and enter another marriage. If one does so, they’re “living in
adultery” and cannot be saved unless they repent and get out of the
adulterous marriage in which they are living.
I’ve heard some say you can’t “live” in adultery; that committing
adultery is simply a “one time” event. You just repent of your divorce and
then you’re free to enter another marriage. However, they conveniently
ignore the words of Matthew 5:32 and 19:9 where Jesus made clear that
whoever enters another marriage “committeth adultery.” The verb tense is
continuous action —you “keep on committing adultery” as long as you continue
in that marriage. In Colossians 3:5-7, the Holy Spirit actually makes
application of Matthew 5:32 and 19:9 by reminding some of the members of the
church at Colosse that before they became Christians, they had “lived in”
fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and
covetousness. You can’t just wish or ignore these passages away!
An attempt to so desperately do away with Matthew 5:32 and 19:9 has
left such individuals in dire straits with no Bible authority for divorcing
and remarrying whatsoever. By the way, is what Jesus said in these verses so
despised they must be dismissed, discredited and disposed of? If so, then
you’re left with absolutely NO passage that authorizes a divorce and
remarriage!
CONCLUSION
Romans 7:2-3 provides authority for another marriage, not
because of divorce, but because of the death of your spouse. “For the
woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to [her] husband so long as
he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of [her]
husband. So then if, while [her] husband liveth, she be married to another
man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is
free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to
another man.”
“Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath
not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father
and the Son. 10 If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine,
receive him not into [your] house, neither bid him God speed: 11For he that
biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds”
(2 John 9-11).
If all Jesus said belongs to the Old Testament era, then we need to inform
the apostle John he missed it in these verses!
The way of the transgressor is hard! (Prov. 13:15)
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