Bible Thoughts February 15, 1998
"And see that thou make them after their pattern, which hath been showed thee in the mount"(Exodus 25:40).
This instruction was given to Moses, the mighty leader of Israel, in regard to the items contained in the sanctuary. The Lord had commanded that the tabernacle and all of those items to be in the tabernacle meet his requirements. It was necessary for Moses and the Israelites to follow God's instructions in order to be pleasing to God. Failure to follow the pattern would have displeased Jehovah.
The Bible itself is a pattern that reveals the dealings of God with mankind. God did not give the same pattern to every person in every age. Instructions differed in the past, according to the age, i.e., patriarchal, Mosaical, and the age of Christ. However, the instructions in any age reflected the idea of order(or pattern).
When Jehovah created the heavens and the earth, a pattern was apparent. Soil, light, vegetation, animals, man, etc. were created in a divine order(pattern). The very manner in which this creation took place shows the wisdom and power of God. So has all dealings of God with mankind since that beginning.
There are some who would attack the idea that such patterns are in the word of God for today, and, in fact, ridicule those who would contend for patterns at present as being "patternists." I plead guilty to believing that God has order/patterns in what He did, whether creating, sustaining, commanding, or promising. If that makes one a patternist, then Jehovah is also a patternist.
The attack on the idea of patterns for salvation, living the life of a Christian, the work and organization of the church, and other revelations of God is a ploy used by those who do not want to abide within the authority of the New Testament. Consider the following statement:
What these people(that is us-jy) almost always mean by 'pattern' is that the New Testament is an exhaustive set of instructions for the church on what to do to be saved, how to worship, how to live each day and, in particular, on what the church can and can not do. The New Testament acts as a code book, a rule book, or as a set of detailed exhaustive instructions for all moral and religious matters. It is blatantly obvious to anyone who has given the New Testament even a cursory reading for only a few chapters that it does not read like such a document.(A Primer on Hermeneutics by Joel Stephen Williams)
It is "blatantly obvious"(too conspicuous) that the preceding attitude will undermine and destroy any respect one has for the word of God. It is "blatantly obvious" that some do not believe what Paul told Titus. "In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, sound speech, that cannot be condemned"(2:7). Perhaps the above author was unaware this passage was in the New Testament.(NOTE: Joel Stephen Williams has objected to this statement and made some accusations against me in regard to this sentence. There is no doubt he has read the passage(said the words), but he has not read the passage with comprehension. He is unaware of the passage from the standpoint of accepting what it says. If he was aware of its contents, he would not be taking the positions he puts forth in his material.)
When one rejects the patterns of the New Testament in the plan of salvation, the worship and the work of the church, etc., all of these matters fall into the hands of uninspired men determing what is right. It is "blatantly obvious" that such creeping modernism is determined to make the church for which Christ died little more than a denomination among denominations. It is time to wake up,brethren. Those who pushed for church support of human institutions in the 40s, 50s, and 60s are now reaping what was sown. The erosion of Bible authority(that is, needing book, chapter, and verse for teachings and practices) has laid the ground work for many churches of Christ to become little more than sectarian groups that cannot be distinguished from the institutions founded by men.-jy
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The paper from which I took the previous quote is entitled "A Primer on Hermeneutics." Hermeneutics is defined as the science and methodology of interpreting scripture. It is often a favorite word for those who are trying to undermine Bible authority in order to promote their own false teaching. The correct way to interpret scripture is to read, study, learn what is right and obey it. It does not take a highly educated person to discover and obey God's truth. In fact, Paul said, "For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called; But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty"(I Corinthians 1:26-27). It has been my privilege to know many brethren over the years who never set foot in a college(I am not against it--I hold three college degrees) and yet--these "uneducated" brethren knew their Bible, knew what God said, lived and taught it. And they never heard the word "hermeneutics." `Nuff said. -jy
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Bible Thoughts has been the title of numerous bulletins I have published over the years. I am resurrecting that title for this bulletin and those to follow. I hope to use this means over the next few years to present Bible thoughts on many different subjects.