Bible application

Having had many opportunities to interact with other Christians over the years, I’ve found that some who claim to love the Bible have very clever ways of denying its teachings. I’m not just referring to the more liberal types of Christians either. Many who would call themselves “Bible-believing, conservative Christians” have come up with various reasons why certain parts of God’s word can be ignored. If I were to compile all of those reasons together, one could literally disobey everything God has told us to do.

The following excuses are real, meaning I have heard them expressed by those who profess to love and obey God’s word.

1. That’s the Old Testament!

This one is the most common. If there is anything in the first ¾ of the Bible (the OT) that you don’t like, all you have to do to get out of obeying God is say, “That’s the OT. That was only for ancient Israel. I don’t have to obey that!”

Voila, problem solved!

2. Jesus was speaking to Jews, so I don’t have to obey what Jesus said!

Yes, I’ve heard this one too. In fact, I’ve even heard professors from Reformed seminaries use this excuse. They say that anything Jesus said while on earth can be ignored because when He spoke the words recorded in the Gospels, He was speaking to Jews who were under the old covenant. Therefore, since we aren’t under the old covenant, we don’t have to obey most of what Jesus said in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

3. Paul was speaking to Greeks, and we’re not Greeks!

If a “New-Testament Christian” isn’t obligated to obey the OT or Jesus (since He was speaking to people under the old covenant), then surely we have to obey the writings of Paul and the other apostles, right? I mean, they were writing letters to Gentile believers so we should obey them, shouldn’t we?

Some would say, “Not so fast!” Paul, the theory goes, was writing to first-century churches that were largely influenced by Greek thought and culture. So, Paul was giving instruction to an ancient culture that we are not a part of. Therefore, his instructions really don’t apply to us in the modern world. We don’t have to obey the NT letters either!

If we add all of these excuses together – it looks like we don’t have to obey anything the Bible tells us to do! All that instruction was for other people in past millennia, not us.

But are these excuses valid? I hope anyone can see that added together, these ideas destroy the idea that God’s word must be obeyed. But clearly, He wants us to obey (Deut. 28:1-2, 15; 1 John 5:3; Rev. 22:14; etc).

And while many can see that adding these excuses together will lead to problems, some may still think that one or two of these by themselves are still valid.

That, however, is not the case. Let’s examine these three excuses.

1. That’s the Old Testament!

While it is true that the NT does show us that some OT laws are not to be practiced any more, the NT writers clearly taught that the OT was still to be a guide for Christians. While the NT writers did at times quote Jesus directly (see 1 Cor. 11:23-25; 1 Tim 5:18; etc), they more often quoted the OT when giving instruction to NT believers (Rom. 12:1-20; Jam. 2:8; and many more).

We need to keep in mind that Jesus is God. Therefore, the OT was written by Jesus!

If the NT tells us an OT command is no longer to be practiced, then, yes, of course, we don’t have to obey it. But don’t think that the whole OT has been set aside; Jesus and His apostles certainly didn’t have that view. We should assume OT commands still apply, unless the NT shows us otherwise.

2. Jesus was speaking to Jews, so I don’t have to obey what Jesus said!

Just because Jesus was speaking to Jews under the old covenant doesn’t mean His instructions have no authority over us.

Jesus did sometimes hint to His Jewish audience that the new covenant would change some things (for example, worship; see John 4:21). But Jesus often affirmed the OT, and again, so did His apostles. The apostles never taught that Jesus’ words to the Jews didn’t apply to Gentile believers.

To be a Christian means you follow Jesus’ teachings. How can anyone say that Christians don’t have to obey what Jesus said? And yet, that is what some say.

3. Paul was speaking to Greeks, and we’re not Greeks!

Both the OT and the NT were written to a particular group of people, who lived in particular cultural circumstances. While many use that fact as an excuse to disobey, that’s a mistaken conclusion.

While Paul was writing to deal with specific problems in specific NT churches, the underlying principles of the instructions he gave apply in all cultures.

One example is Paul’s instructions on braided hair (1 Tim. 2:9). The hairstyles he was referring to were very elaborate, showy, and often cost the equivalent of thousands of dollars.

It’s unlikely that the women in your church are wearing these ancient hairstyles Paul was addressing. But the principles of modesty and not drawing attention to one’s self apply in all times, and in all cultures. So yes, Paul’s instruction to the first-century Gentiles applies to us as well.

Many have invented clever ways to ignore the parts of Scripture they don’t like. True believers will not have this attitude. We may not know how each and every command applies in our day, but we should assume they do, unless other places in the Bible tell us otherwise.