Sunday Night Bible Study - Obeying All the Commands

Now I want you to pay attention. It wasn't anything in Israel wasn't their military size. Welcome to Sunday night Bible study with Pastor Josiah Shipley at Wynton Baptist Church. I am very very excited to start this new series with you.

The Question of Obeying All the Commands in the Bible

And this series is simply this. Are we to obey all the commands in the Bible? Why does it appear That some Christians or that Christians in general pick and choose which commands they obey we to obey all the Levitical law even the ceremonial civil judicial Moral law, what are we supposed to obey?

What's the purpose of it was that just for the people of Israel so on and so forth? How applicable is Exodus to our lives today? This series is going to take a while and some of you may be Frustrated that it takes so long because you just want me to come out answer the question right now but I'm not going to do that because it takes time.

God spent 1 ,500 years and 66 books with 40-something writers to write his word. So we're gonna take some time studying it but I Truly believe that if you stick with this series and take some notes That hopefully not because of me but because of what the word says you can come away with some solid apologetic answers here at Winton.

Why Christians Must Be Ready to Defend Their Faith

As pastors, we don't want to produce sheep that can't defend what they believe. Remember like first Peter 3 15 says You're not defending God or the Bible. He doesn't need your help. You're defending the hope that is in you.

Honor Messiah as Lord of your hearts always be ready to give a reason defense. So anyone ask for a reason for the hope that is in you. That is what we're trying to do. And this is a common Objection of oh Well, are you wearing clothes with two different types of garments or you eat catfish and pork and so on and so forth?

And do you believe in capital punishment for adultery or stuff like that? So we're not going to shun any of those questions bring it to all but we've got some groundwork to do before we get there so Let's start with a definition of hermeneutics.

Hermeneutics, Context, and the Kinds of Literature in Scripture

Hermeneutics are the rules for interpretation. They are the rules that we use to interpret the Bible. Remember, we've gone over some of this before. There's seven or eight rules for interpretation context historical context grammar.

Syntax words that mean things right? Literary genres. God used 40-something writers to write his word and he was a variety of literary genres. He used biographies autobiographies historical accounts law Prophecy epistles which are just letters.

Musical stuff wisdom literature poetry. So we always have to read that genre as if it's that John a Proverb in any culture is a general truth. The difference between that in the book of Proverbs is Proverbs is a holy scripture inspired general truth, right?

The Command to Obey God

So Let's start with the premise of do we have to obey God? Now this may seem like an obvious question some of you but it's amazing how many Christians don't understand or don't care to obey God and If we have somebody that says something this well, I love Jesus.

I just don't really care about obeying the Bible. It's okay to question and I just mean question. How much do they really love Jesus? For example, John 14 15 Jesus said if you love me keep my commandments.

So if someone is not keeping his commandments, are they really showing Jesus love? This theme is throughout the Bible. Ecclesiastes 12 13 this verse is a groundbreaking verse for me. Ecclesiastes 12 13 remember Solomon wrote this as he did a song of songs.

Songs Solomon most of Proverbs a couple of the Psalms. Proverbs 12 13 says this the end of the matter all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments for this is the whole duty of man. Fear God and keep his commandments.

This is the whole duty of man. Yeah, Josiah. Well, that's just Solomon. Okay, let's continue first Samuel 15 22. First Samuel 15 22. I hope you're writing these down. Go back and find the references. What the scripture has to say is more important than anything.

I'll ever say first Samuel 1522 let me give you the background for this. God told King Saul the first king of Israel. Well The one they chose for themselves because he was a head taller than everyone else.

He looked the part on the outside go and destroy the Ammonites leave nothing alive and take no spoils. Well, Saul went and destroyed them but he could took the king as a trophy King Agag and Allowed his troops to take some of the cattle and sheep.

The Prophet Samuel Realizes that Saul did not obey God fully. Now notice Saul obeyed God mostly. But partial obedience is total rebellion. God said leave nothing alive. Saul let Agag live and God said take nothing.

It's all out of the soldiers to take cattle and spoil and sheep and all that stuff. God sees that as total rebellion men notice even though the soldiers also send God spoke to the king first the one in charge the federal head if you.

When Samuel asked Saul, why did you disobey God? This is Saul's response. Verse 20 Saul said to Samuel. I have obeyed the voice of the Lord. I went on the mission which the Lord sent me. I brought back Agag the king of Amalek.

I said the Amalekites on the Ammonites. I'm sorry and I've devoted the Amalekites to destruction but the people took the spoil the sheep the ox and the best of things devoted to destruction to Sacrifice to Yahweh your God at Gilgal.

Now I want you to hear their excuse for Sam. It's far better than anyone you and I will ever have. They saw says yes, the soldiers took the cattle and sheep, but they did it to offer sacrifices to you God, this is Samuel's response.

Verse 22 has Yahweh has graded the light and burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of Yahweh behold to obey is better than sacrifice and To listen the fat of rams. In other words Obedience is what God desires most.

From the outward in the end. So please ask these the whole duty of man fear God and keep his commandments first Samuel 15 22 to obey is better to even offering sacrifices to me. Jesus said if you love me, you'll keep my commandments.

Love for God Shown Through Obedience

So we're going through the whole Bible. Have you noticed first John 5? First John 5 so we have wisdom literature. We have historical account in first Samuel. We have one of the Gospels and John and then we have an epistle a general pistol.

First John 5 2 through 4. First John 5 2 through 4 by this we know that we love the children of God when we love God and Obey his commandments for this is the love of God that we keep his commandments.

Let me read that one again. This is the love of God that we keep his commandments and his commandments are not burdensome. For everyone has been born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that's overcome the world our faith.

Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? This is the love of God that we obey his commandments and they're not burdensome. Because in your sanctification process the more and more you conform to the image of Christ.

You know those ups and downs the more you begin to hate sin and love the things that please God. So I think that is a resounding yes. Answer to the question are we to obey God not only are we to it's the most important thing thing to God.

More than raising your hands during worship. More than singing the loudest. More than having a gold star on your Sunday school report. The most important thing to God is to keep his commandments. So now the question becomes what is he commanded me to do when talking about hermeneutics.

Three Common Mistakes in Bible Interpretation

Three mistakes Christians often make when interpreting the Bible are a failure to look at the context the use of anachronisms and the chapter and verse divisions. Let me give you some examples of these and you can see what I mean Jonah 1 2 now I want everyone to read Jonah 1 2 and don't read verse 1 or verse 3 just read Jonah 1 2.

See if I can remember where the book of Jonah is Jonah 1 2. Jonah 1 2 says this. Arise go to Nineveh the great city and call out against it for their evil has come up before me. All right Christians, why is everyone not getting up and going to the city of Nineveh.

First two doesn't the Bible say go to Nineveh. Let me read it again arise go to Nineveh. Christians, why are you all not getting on a plane to Nineveh right now? Sire, there is no none of it. You're missing the point.

If the Bible tells you to do it, why aren't you doing it? Well context the Bible's not talking to you. Who's the Bible talking to you? Jonah. Bible's talking to Jonah. Now, is there a moral truth there that we can glean from sure God wants us to go to all the world and preach repentance, but the point is.

That's a contextual mistake there but also the chapter and verse divisions guys. We've been over this a hundred times. Remember the chapter and verse divisions were not originally there in the Bible. They came centuries millennia later.

No, it's a good thing there. It helps us find certain verses in the Bible like we just did. But don't read your Bible in a chapter and verse format or you'll always be confused. You know, it's funny. I've shared this before.

Some of you were like, oh my gosh, he's gonna do it again. Remember a Few years ago. I saw someone on Facebook make a post quoting the Bible out of Luke and of Matthew. And said bow down and worship me and I'll give you all that you see.

And the comment section was filled with amen. Hallelujah. Praise God. Problem is who said that in the scriptures? Satan if you just read that chapter and verse and you don't look at who's talking who they're talking to.

Just like here in Jonah. You're gonna start going to Nineveh when God never told you to he told Jonah to that was Satan that said that to Jesus to tempt him. That's how important context is. Satan did not misquote scripture when he was trying to tempt Jesus.

He pulled it out of context like when the Psalms say he will give his angels charge over you. Satan use that to say. Oh, well, that means if you jump off this temple the angels save you. But that's not what Psalms is talking about.

Okay, he pulled it out of context. He didn't misquote it. He pulled it out of context. Same with Jonah 1 2. Luke 9 21 is another example. Luke 9 21. You just read verse 21 don't look at the context don't look at who's talking who they're talking to.

You don't look at any of that and you just read it without any context. Here's what it says. He strictly charged and commanded them to tell no one About the message of God, so we're not supposed to evangelize.

We shouldn't tell people about the gospel. No Jesus was speaking to his followers in that instance only he later commands them to go tell the whole world. But right there in that moment, he didn't want them to go tell people about him being the Christ because it wasn't time yet.

Look at the context forget the chapter verses and life will make a lot more sense. Okay, when you read the Bible that way all scriptures inspired by God is profitable for teaching rebuke and correcting and training and righteousness.

But it must be done in the context that these are a collection of historical books that really happen that God gave real commands to real people those commands sometimes are not Directly applicable to you today in the sense that you were to follow them in the way they were given.

Otherwise you would have to go to Nineveh or not preach the gospel. We need to recognize them in the sense that God it's kind of when people read 2nd Chronicles 7 14 and say if my people Who are called by my name shall humble themselves in church.

Oh, well, that's a prophecy about the United States of America. Do not be so myopic God was speaking of the nation Israel now. Is it true that of God's people all over the world? Humble themselves and pray and seek and faith and you will hear their voice and heal them.

Is that true? Yes, is that a prophecy about United States America? No. But the moral truth from it is applicable. Context you know Guys. You don't have to be embarrassed about what's in the book of Exodus read it for what it is.

Don't candy-cone it accept what God said and trust that his morals are higher than yours. The next one we're talking about is the use of anachronisms now anachronisms are Putting present context on past history.

Avoiding Anachronisms When Reading the Bible

For example. Is George Washington a bad general because he didn't have his soldiers at Valley Forge? Wash their hands before they ate and some of them got sick. Now. I know a lot of them died for other reasons cold.

Whatever see bad general. Well, of course not because he didn't know About germs in the same way that we do today. That's anachronistic. You're putting a modern context back on him. Sometimes an accidental anachronism is you'll see in a movie someone from the 1800s has an Apple watch on because the actor didn't take it Off.

That's an accidental anachronisms. But you know an anachronism is putting that modern context so for example an Unbeliever an atheist may say because this has happened to me Josiah. Were there slaves in the Old Testament?

Did some of the people of God own slaves? My answer is unhesitantly. Yes. And everyone starts freaking out because you probably when you hear the word slave Are going to put a modern context of your view of the evils of the North American slave trade for example back on the book of Exodus.

Exodus 21 verse 6 excuse me verse 16 says exodus 21 16. Whoever steals or kidnaps a man and sells him. If anyone's found in possession of him Shall be put to death in other words. It was a capital offense to steal somebody and sell them.

You are not allowed to kidnap people and sell. There it is right there in the book of Exodus anybody from any nation well that destroys the idea of the horrors and the sinfulness of the North American slave trade in other words.

When you read the Bible for what it says don't read it modern context. You'll see and trust that God is all good benevolent and moral. You just have to read in the context. It was the slavery spoken of in the Old Testament is Nothing related is nothing related to our modern idea of it.

In fact it was mostly used as a way to sell yourself for a certain number of years say seven for example in the instance Of some to pay off the debt that you could never pay it was a way to work your way out of debt.

Now yes, there were also prisoners of war that happened war happened and That was also a prisoner of war system, but in the law are Guard rails against the abuse of those people. God's law made provision for that in a world where no one else did.

The Ultimate Commandment: Believing in Christ and Loving One Another

Okay. So yeah, you got to read the Bible in its context you got to Not use anachronisms, and you can't trust the chapter verse divisions as if they are original. So we've already come to the fact that you can't just read a sample sentence out of the Bible and say oh I got to go to Nineveh now you got to read it in context of who he's talking to and Our ultimate command is 1st. John 5 23 our ultimate command is 1st. John 5 23.

It says this. Yeah, I wrote down the wrong one. I can't be right. I'll tell you what it's. 1st. John 3 23. Let me fix that my notes. 1st. John 3 23. I don't even think there is a 1st. John 5 23. 1st. John 3 23 says this and this is the commandment.

That we believe on the name of the Son Jesus Christ and love one another just as he commanded us. Notice it says this is the commandment one and then it says two things love Jesus and love each other.

Because those are really the same thing Jesus said if you've given them food. If you've given them a cup of water you've done it to me loving each other Christian is how you show love to Jesus. Great love has no man than this that man would lay down his life for his friend.

Okay, so we have set the stage that obedience is the most important thing to God and That when finding out what we are to obey we need to read the Bible as it was originally written not in a modern Context so next week we're gonna go over the purpose of the law.

View Reformer geeks, you know the three purposes of the law. We're gonna do four. So we can one up the Reformers, right? Take that Zwingli and Calvin and Luther. We're gonna do the four purposes of the law.

Talk about a little bit about what it is. All right. I hope this was beneficial to you in some way. Go rewatch it. Re-listen to it search the scriptures that we talked about and hopefully you'll receive some type of Benefit from it as you study.

Love you guys very much continue tuning in next week. I hope you've been liking the shooting from the hip series with Matt Atkins and brother Bill. We'll continue to do that some in the future. But for now, we're gonna stick with this series.

Love you guys very much, and I will see y 'all next week.