What Is Written 7-Mar-99: Following The Pattern

Our study today is not going to be political, nor will it be a thirty-minute monologue about ethics in politics, even though both might be appropriate in their own special forum. But I do want to begin by asking why would any denominational preacher or pastor be upset with the scandals surrounding President Clinton? I know that he is an impeached president. I know that he had admitted to lying and that evidence shows that he lied under oath, making his lies perjury. I know that he wagged his finger in America’s face and denied committing adultery. I know that he has been involved in many immoral and unscriptural sexual escapades. From Gennifer Flowers to Monica Lewinsky, our President is known for his immorality and for his disregard of the sanctity of marriage. Then along came Paula Jones, who charged Mr. Clinton with sexual harassment. Next the nation was made aware of Kathleen Willy, who claimed that the President sexually assaulted her. Finally we hear from Juanita Broaddrick, who has charged the president with rape.

Now, I don’t know what these denominational pastors say when they are in their own pulpits. But if they ever speak out against these things, then they are hypocrites. I don’t say that to charge anyone with adultery or assault or rape. I say this because of the way these so-called clergymen have handled the word of God in the past. For years we have heard them claim that the Bible cannot be understood. For decades they have informed their flock and anyone else that the Bible is analogous — that is, that it might not mean what it actually seems to be saying. They have watered down the Bible’s teaching of morality so much that they deem anything right in given circumstances. They have ignored what the Bible has revealed about the matter of divorce. They have scoffed at the biblical prohibition of homosexuality. They have jeered those who would oppose abortion upon the grounds of biblical teaching. These so-called clergymen have completely removed the God-ordained distinctions between men and women. Little by little through the years, these preachers and pastors have so conditioned people to pick and choose from the Bible what they wanted that it isn’t any wonder that the majority of Americans do not view the behavior of the President as any big deal. I say to the denominational preachers who might be listening: You have done your job well. You have so removed the Bible from the consciousness of the American people that many church-going citizens can fall in line behind an ethically challenged man such as William Jefferson Clinton and be proud of his accomplishments. So, don’t you now get righteously indignant at his behavior and begin to preach morality and a biblical standard of living. If these so-called clergymen were at all concerned with consistency, they would defend the behavior that Mr. Clinton has either admitted to or been charged with, because they have created the climate that allows such to happen in the highest office of the land. They are the first to scream “Legalist!” or “Pharisee!” whenever someone begins to appeal to the Bible as a standard of authority in religion. They are the first to ridicule those who ask for Bible authority for all that is done for being gnat-strainers. “Why, to thine own self be true,” or “Just follow your own conscience” is the mantra chanted by denominational preachers. So it shouldn’t be a surprise when someone decides to do just that. Perhaps the way Mr. Clinton reads that Bible he carries to church is just the way you taught him to read it. Remember, Mr. Denominational Preacher, it was you who taught the world to reject the Bible as a model for living whether in matters religiously, morally or ethically. Remember, Mr. Denominational Preacher, it was you who said that the Bible is a free-flowing stream not to be taken literally. It was you who said that the Bible does not have to be obeyed in order to be saved and pleasing to God. It was you who taught men and women that the Bible did not constitute a pattern for the church or for the individual. So, I advise these preachers to refrain from criticizing Mr. Clinton until they indict themselves for contributing to this moral bankruptcy. I advise that they stop preaching against his escapades until they renounce their mishandling of the scriptures that has given birth to his lechery.

The Bible is designed to be a pattern for us. Peter said in 2 Pet. 1:3, “As his divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us by glory and virtue.” Note carefully that Peter tells us three very important things in this verse:

If this was what every so-called minister of the gospel would do, then the people would not view such behavior we have discussed this morning as “So what? Can’t we just move on?” The New Testament calls out for us to follow it as a pattern. Whether we discuss Heb. 8:5, which says, “As Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle. For he said, see that you make all things according to the pattern.” The point being made was this: Just as Moses was expected to follow the pattern God gave him, Christians are to follow the pattern given to them. The problem is that most preachers and most churches believe that you can pick and choose from the Bible what you want to follow. If you do not wish to follow a certain teaching or practice then just reject it. For many so-called clergymen, the Bible is not a pattern to be followed. I just have one question for these people. What part of God’s word are we free to ignore? If the Bible is not a pattern for us, then tell us, what part of it can we ignore? Do these men have any ironclad criteria for us to use in determining what parts of the Bible we can ignore and reject? No, they do not! They will reject what they don’t personally like. That’s the only gauge they use. If they are personally in favor of it, then they don’t ignore it. If, on the other hand, they are not personally fond of a teaching or practice, then they reject it. They follow what they want and reject what they don’t want — it’s as simple as that.

They do this despite God’s notice to the contrary. Paul told Timothy in 2 Tim. 1:13, “Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.” Now hear that again. The apostle of Christ wrote, “Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.” Whether those who operate fast and loose with the word of God like it or not, the Bible is a pattern to be followed. To illustrate this, let me remind you that the words according to are found more than 660 times in the Old Testament alone. Gen. 6:22 says, “Thus Noah did; according to all that God commanded him, so he did.” Now, I ask you when God told Noah to build the ark using specific dimensions, which of these dimensions would Noah have been permitted to disregard? Or would the commands to “make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch. And this is how you shall make it: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits,” constitute a pattern? You and I both know that when God told Noah the dimensions to be used, the wood to be used, and the design of the ark, these constituted a pattern to be followed. Also, Noah understood that these equaled a pattern: “Thus Noah did; according to all that God commanded him, so he did.”

Whenever you read about someone doing according to all that God commanded, you can believe he was following a prescribed pattern. After Nadab and Abihu were killed by fire for their disobedience, God told their families and the nation how to mourn. Lev. 10:6-7 says:

Do not uncover your heads nor tear your clothes, lest you die, and wrath come upon all the people. But let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which the LORD has kindled. You shall not go out from the door of the tabernacle of meeting, lest you die, for the anointing oil of the LORD is upon you. And they did according to the word of Moses.

If many of these modern denominational preachers had lived during that period of time, it could not have been said they did according to the word of Moses, because they would have felt at liberty to disregard what did not suit them. They would not have comprehended that when God said what he did he was giving a pattern to be followed. However, these people who lived then and saw firsthand what happens when someone disregards God’s pattern knew that it was imperative to do according to the word of Moses. In Josh. 1:7–8 we read these words of God as he appointed Joshua Successor to Moses:

Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses my servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. This book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it.

God said his words were to be followed to the letter. They were not to swerve to either the right or the left of what God’s word revealed. They were to know the word and meditate upon it so they could do according to all that is written in it. This is a pattern. God told his people over and over that they were to be guided by the words he had spoken.

Whenever the Jewish exiles returned to their homeland after Babylonian captivity, the first order of business was a restoration of the law of God to its rightful place of honor. In Neh. 8:14 we read, “And they found written in the Law, which the LORD had commanded by Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in booths during the feast of the seventh month.” Ezra the scribe had been reading from the law of God that said God expected his people to observe the feast of tabernacles or booths during the seventh month. They would have been reading from Lev. 23. Now, what did the people do? They did not do what many denominational preachers advise. They did not say, “Well, that was then and this is now, that feast had relevance for our ancestors but we don’t have the same needs as they had.” If you want to see how these people responded when they read from the Bible just consider what is said in verses 17–18:

So the whole assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and sat under the booths; for since the days of Joshua the son of Nun until that day the children of Israel had not done so. And there was very great gladness . . . And they kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day there was a sacred assembly, according to the prescribed manner.

Look carefully! These people read from the book of God and discovered how they were serve God and they did so according to the prescribed manner. They would not have considered this something they should have done unless they knew that the word of God was a pattern to be followed.

From the beginning of time when God began to communicate with man, he expected his words to be used a pattern to be obeyed. Men and women have never had the liberty to disregard what God has said. Men have never been permitted to ignore any part of God’s word. As we enter the New Testament, we soon find that God’s expectations have not changed. He continues to demand that men and women follow precisely what is revealed in his word. God still intends for men to respect his word as the pattern it is. Peter said in his second recorded sermon, which he delivered in Acts 3:22-23:

For Moses truly said to the fathers, the LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever he says to you. And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.

Someone would need help in misunderstanding these words. Peter said that Jesus was a prophet of God and that he was to be heard and obeyed in all things. That is, everything Jesus taught either personally or by his chosen ambassadors was to be heard and obeyed. As a matter of fact, Peter told us that whatever he says to you is to be heard and obeyed. How can you not understand what Peter is saying? He reminds us that regardless of what the words of scripture tell us, we are to hear and obey them. This says that the words of Jesus are a pattern to be followed. This tells us that we must do all things according to the pattern of the New Testament.

Early in the life of Jesus, his mother, Mary, said the same thing that Peter would reveal years later. Mary told those who were at the wedding in Cana in Jn. 2:5, “Whatever he says to you, do it.” This is far, far removed from what preachers are telling people today. Today you hear that the Bible doesn’t mean what it says. Today we hear that Jesus really didn’t say what the Bible reveals that he said. Today we are being told that the New Testament might have been a pattern for the church in the first century, but today things are different and therefore the Bible must be looked upon not as a pattern, but as merely a flexible guide. This is why we see not only our country but also churches struggling with right and wrong, with the moral and the immoral. The very idea of a rigid code of ethics is frightening to those who want to be free to engage in any type of behavior. I am not talking about giving someone the power to force compliance. I am simply addressing the fact that God has given us a pattern, which is the Bible. Yet, people — including most preachers — are not willing to follow the pattern. Most people are unwilling to heed the candid words of Mary who said about her son Jesus, “Whatever he says to you, do it.”

Let’s consider just a few statements of Jesus to illustrate what men have done with them. In Matt. 19:9 Jesus says this about the permanency of marriage: “And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.” Nothing is complicated about this statement. Divorce is permitted only for sexual immorality (or fornication in the King James Version). If a divorce is granted for any other reason, sin has occurred, because the divorce is without scriptural authority. This statement of Jesus also tells us that if one disregards the Lord’s prohibition against divorce by getting one and then remarries, that both the divorced one and his or her new spouse are committing adultery. Today the divorce rate is nearing 60 percent. Some divorces are, no doubt, granted because one spouse has committed fornication or sexual immorality, but the far-reaching majority of divorces are granted because of some other reason such as incompatibility, irreconcilable differences, or simply because two people no longer love each other. Now, let me ask you this morning, when is the last time you heard your minister read Matt. 19:9 and speak out against divorce? Be honest! What you hear is something like this. “Divorce is a reality and what the church needs to do is have a ministry so that divorced people do not feel disenfranchised.” Often, men who have divorced and remarried, perhaps several times, fill pulpits. For men like this, the Bible is not a pattern — instead, it is a storybook. A book with some wonderfully inspiring stories but it isn’t to be taken too seriously. Therefore, families are being dissolved because men and women are unwilling to build their homes upon the pattern of scripture.

Then there is the statement of Jesus in Mk. 16:16 pertaining to being saved. Jesus said, “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.” Is this hard to understand? Oh, some preachers do everything they can to confuse you, but they know and understand what the verse says. I’ll prove they understand it in just a moment, but first let’s just analyze the statement. Jesus says:

Now, consider what we have discussed so far. The man or woman who believes the gospel and is baptized in water will be saved. Now, I ask you: Which part Christ’s statement can we ignore? According to the collective so-called wisdom of denominational clergy, we are at liberty to ignore the part emphasizing baptism. We are told that belief in Christ is essential but that baptism in Christ is not. They say this is so because of how the rest of the verse reads. We are told that because Jesus went on to say, “but he who does not believe will be condemned,” that baptism is nonessential. We are told that if Jesus meant to make baptism equal with belief that he would have said, “but he who does not believe and is not baptized will be condemned.” But if Jesus had said what these denominational preachers say he should have said, then in order for someone to be lost he or she would have to meet both essentials. That is, before one could be lost he would have to be both an unbeliever and not baptized. This means that one could be saved as an atheist as long as he was baptized. This reduces the words of Christ to mere tomfoolery. Jesus said precisely what he meant. Before one can be saved, he must both believe and be baptized. Being lost requires merely unbelief. One who is an unbeliever can be baptized three times a day for the rest of his life and he will never be saved until he believes.

Now, I said a moment ago that these preachers who ignore part of what Jesus said actually understand his words. I want to illustrate to you how I know this. In order to do so, let me rephrase the words of Jesus using some things that are physical instead of spiritual. Let us pretend that Jesus said, “He who buys a ticket and enters the theater will see the show; but he who does not buy a ticket will not be admitted.” That statement is as easy to understand as what Jesus said. If someone wishes to see a show he needs to buy a ticket and to enter the theater. It takes both a ticket and entering the theater to see the show. We must comply with both belief and baptism in order to be saved. This is what Jesus said, and his words become a pattern of salvation. If one is to be saved, he must comply with the pattern.

Several years after Jesus spoke these words we can read about a man named Philip who went into Samaria and preached the gospel of Christ. In Acts 8:12 we read, “When they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized.” Were these Samaritans saved? Sure they were! Jesus said belief plus baptism equals salvation. These Samaritans believed and were baptized. Thus, they were saved. Even Simon the sorcerer understood what was required of him. Verse 13 says, “Simon himself also believed; and when he was baptized he continued with Philip, and was amazed, seeing the miracles and signs which were done.” There were some things obviously Simon did not understand, but he did understand his need to believe and be baptized. This was also true of the Corinthians in Acts 18:8. Here we read, “Many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized.” When the apostle Paul went into Corinth he did what Jesus said was to be done: He preached the gospel. The people who heard him believed and were baptized. So the question is, were they saved? The answer is yes! They complied with the pattern and were saved. We do not have the right to ignore anything that is revealed. The New Testament is a pattern that must be obeyed if we hope to be saved and have eternal life. Are we so arrogant as to believe that we must adapt the word of God to make it relevant for modern man? The Bible is as applicable today as the day the words came from the mouth and mind of God.

We close by revisiting a verse we noted earlier from 2 Tim. 1:13: “Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.”