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Search The Scriptures: August 11, 2001
DOES GOD MEAN WHAT HE SAYS?
INTRODUCTION:
A. Good morning ladies and gentlemen, I am J.R. Bronger and on behalf of the Danville
church of Christ I’m delighted to have you join us for today’s broadcast of the bible study
program Search the Scriptures. I know many of you are aware of this, but for those who may
not be, let me briefly explain to you the purpose of Search the Scriptures. This program is one
of several ways the Danville church of Christ is seeking to make known the saving gospel of
Christ in this community. As with all that the Danville church of Christ is doing, the Search
the Scriptures broadcast is dedicated to upholding the truth and honor of the saving gospel of
Christ. Additionally, when you study the bible with us on this program, you will find a
refreshing change from many religious broadcasts. Frankly, we are endeavoring to restore
original Christianity in the hearts and minds of honest men and women. We are simply preaching
the word of God without frills or gimmicks. When you listen to this program, you will find that
we support what we teach with the bible. This is because we take seriously the admonition of 1
Pet. 4:11 that says, if anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God.
B. Also, my good friends, if you hear a sermon or a topic discussed on Search the Scriptures
that you would like to have, either on cassette tape or CD, let us know because we will be
happy to give it to you absolutely free of charge. There will not even be any postage for you to
pay. Just write to us or call us and let us know which sermon you would like. The only thing we
ask is that you place your order by the date the program aired. And I make you this promise, if
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you request a tape or CD, we will not use the occasion to send you any unsolicited material nor
will anyone call on you without your specific invitation. Also, if you have any questions or
comments, or if you would just like to browse our web site, you can do so at
www.danvillechurchofchrist.org.
C. Now, let’s turn our attention to our selected study for today. Last week we discussed the need
to preach the word of God. We pointed out what preaching of the scriptures accomplished.
Among the objectives covered was this one. It is only through the preaching of the gospel that
men and women are converted to Christ. However, my friends, I believe we need to broaden our
discussion as it pertains to the scriptures. And that is, since the bible is exact, [that is inerrant]
and since the bible comes to us by means of men who were under the direct influence of the
Holy Spirit - from the very mind of God, does it then follow that God always means exactly what
he says? I know this might sound a bit strange, but think about it for a moment. Does God mean
exactly what he says? Now, some people could respond to this question this way. “Sure God
says something, but that fact alone doesn’t demand we conclude that God means exactly what he
says.” I admit that this is not something you actually hear people verbalizing, but their total
disregard for the bible certainly indicates that they genuinely believe God does not mean what he
says. Ladies and gentlemen, you and I both know that liberal - or modernist preachers have
coined a buzzword that reveals their total disdain for what God has said in the bible. And that
word is legalism! Whenever it’s pointed out that God has said something specific, and that he
expects for people to obey accurately what he said, liberal clergymen will scream that we are,
legalists. Their general attitude seems to be, “God may have said it - but he doesn’t mean it.”
That is, sure he has revealed a command or a directive in the bible but he doesn’t expect you to
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live by it. Sure God has told us what we are to believe, but there may be extenuating
circumstances allowing for us NOT to believe it. Instead of unmitigated faith and absolute
obedience, we are now told that God just wants us to live by the spirit of the law and not the
letter of that law. To people like this, living by the letter of the law, or doing specifically what
God has said amounts to legalism. And endeavoring to do what God has said makes one a
twenty-first-century Pharisee. These people are like the woman who - when told of the Lord’s
teaching on marriage-divorce-and remarriage said that the statement of Jesus, 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 was not in her bible. Her
response was, “This verse is not in MY bible.” And, sure enough, upon close examination of her
bible, the verse was not there. She had carefully cut the verse out with a razorblade. Now, ladies
and gentlemen, this woman was doing nothing other than what she had seen and heard
denominational preachers do for years. And that is, if God has said something with which we
differ, don’t sweat it, just ignore it - because God does not mean what he said anyway. Let me
show you how this works. Take for example, that God has said in a clear and easily
understandable way that water baptism is essential for salvation. The apostle Peter writing in 1
Pet. 3:21, said baptism doth also now save us. Words could not be plainer. Peter said that
baptism saves the sinner, and yet your preacher probably has told you that while the bible says
this, that God doesn’t really mean it. Now what is the difference in what these denominational
preachers are doing with 1 Pet. 3:21 and what the woman we mentioned earlier did with Matt.
19:9? I submit to you there is no difference. If God does not mean what he says about baptism
saving, then how can we conclude that he means what he says about marriage? Also, there are
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some denominational clergy who will say to you that even though Jesus said in Matt. 23:9, do
not call anyone on earth your father; for one is your Father, he who is in heaven. That he
didn’t seriously mean what he said. Ignoring what the bible says, they want you to call them
“Father.” They will tell you that for all practical purposes you can tear this verse out of your
bible and call them father such and such - or father so and so. These men do not believe God
meant what he said. And, then what about the Holiness or Pentecostal Church preachers who
will ignore the rhetorical question Paul asked in 1 Cor. 12:30, do all speak with tongues? My
friends, a rhetorical question like this is asked NOT to solicit information. Instead it is asked to
emphasize a negative. The context shows that Paul means for the answer to be NO. That is, in
the first century when the gift of tongues was in operation, not all believers had the gift. Yet,
these Pentecostal Preachers today completely ignore this verse and tell their followers that ALL
believers are to speak in tongues as evidence of their salvation. This is not even considering the
passage that tells us that the gift of tongues was to cease. 1 Cor. 13:10 says, but whether there
are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is
knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that
which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. And, despite this, these
so-called Full Gospel churches completely ignore the bible. They say one thing and then do
another. They say that God revealed his word but that he doesn’t mean what he says.
I. But this is nothing new, my friends. Men and denominations have been rejecting the bible for
centuries. Oh sure, they gladly attempt to give token lip service to the bible, but they thoroughly
reject its teaching. Jesus even confronted this problem during his lifetime upon earth. He said of
a group of first century clergymen in Matt. 15:8-9, these people draw near to me with their
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mouth, and honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. And in vain they worship
me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. These people had a total disregard for the
teaching of God, and this absolute neglect for God’s word continued long after Jesus ascended
into heaven. Paul wrote in 2 Tim. 4:3-4, for the time will come when they will not endure
sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will
heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be
turned aside to fables. And, my friends, since that time all down through history men have
rejected the bible. For example, the bible teaches us that baptism is a burial [or submersion] in
water. Col. 2:12 says that we are buried with him in baptism. Does God mean this? Not
according to some, because in 1311 A.D. men decided that God must not have meant it. At the
Council of Ravena a group of so-called clergymen decided that sprinkling could become a
suitable substitute for immersion. God said baptism was a burial, and man said that it could be
sprinkling. And since that time men have substituted sprinkling for what God said in his word.
My friends, this is tantamount to saying to God, “God, you didn’t mean what you said.” Also, to
further illustrate this let me remind you of the verse we noted a moment ago. It was the teaching
of Jesus pertaining to marriage and divorce in Matt. 19:9. Jesus had been asked about whether it
was lawful for a man to divorce his wife for every cause. To which Jesus answered that divorce
for any cause except fornication was sinful. His exact words were, 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. For centuries after Jesus said this, the
consensus was that for a divorce to be scriptural it had to be for the cause of fornication (or
adultery). But then in 1939 a conference held by the Methodist Church voted to tolerate divorce
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on grounds other than fornication. Needless to say, this opened a floodgate that now cannot be
closed. But it did more than that, it said to the world, that God did not mean it when he said in
Mal. 2:16, for the Lord God of Israel says that he hates divorce, for it covers one's garment
with violence. And, ladies and gentlemen, what was conceived within these conferences of men
has given birth to rejecting all the bible. Churches today are conferring to discuss what to do
about accepting impenitent and practicing homosexuals as faithful Christians. My friend, where
is the controversy? The bible - long ago - closed this discussion. Paul wrote in 1 Cor. 6:9 asking,
do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be
deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites?
According to God the practicing homosexual is unrighteous and will not inherit the kingdom of
God. God said long ago that such a one is not a faithful Christian - and no man has the right to
tell God he didn’t mean what he said. Also, churches have been debating the role of women in
the pulpit for years. And it is as common to find a woman preacher in many churches as it is to
find a woman in today’s military. This, in spite of what Paul said in 1 Cor. 14:34, let your
women keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak; but they are to be
submissive, as the law also says. Now, I am well aware that many who have been tainted with
modernist thinking have sought to decrease the strength of this passage by asserting that the
apostle Paul is addressing either the wives of the inspired prophets or he was simply regulating
spiritual gifts. Their conclusion goes something like this. “This prohibition is not intended for
women who are Christians today.” The only problem with this affirmation is - IT’S UNTRUE.
My friends, let’s spend a second learning a fundamental fact of bible study and that is coming to
understand the context. Paul begins this verse with a simple “Let your,” as in let your women
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keep silent in the churches. This is the same way he begins this entire section. Verse 26 says,
how is it then, brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a
teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for
edification. Now who is addressed in this verse? That is, who is told to let all things be done for
edification? Also in verse 29 says, Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge.
Who is to let the prophets speak? Then, back in verse 27 we read, if anyone speaks in a tongue,
let there be two or at the most three, each in turn, and let one interpret. I ask again who is to let
the tongue speaker speak? Who is to let one interpret? My good friends, whoever is to let all
things be done for edification - whoever is to let the prophet speak - and whoever is to let the
tongue speaker speak - and whoever is to let the interpreter interpret is to let the women keep
silence. And it does not take much effort to determine who is being addressed here. Consider the
question being asked in verse 26, how is it then, brethren? It is the brethren, it is the church who
is to let these things happen, and it is the church who is to control these matters, because they
violate God’s divine order. These regulations are given because, God is not the author of
confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints, according to verse 33. Those who
seek to curtail the force of this passage are falling into the trap of discounting what God has said.
It is to suggest that God does not mean what he says, when he says it, but he does!
II. My friends, it is a serious matter to disregard the teaching of God even in topics that seem to
be minor. For example, when Adam and Eve accepted the view of changing God’s decree by one
word - disaster followed. Consider what God actually said, and notice what Adam and Eve did.
God said to them in Gen. 2:17, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not
eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die. God said if they ate of the tree of the
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knowledge of good and evil they would die. He said, you shall surely die. The devil came along
and added only one little word to what God said. The devil changed, you shall surely die to you
will not surely die. Frankly, ladies and gentlemen, it boils down to a matter of integrity - did God
mean what he said, or was the devil right when he said God did not mean what he said? My
friends, please hear me out on this. The bible makes it abundantly clear that Adam and Eve did
in fact die when they ate of the fruit of this forbidden tree. They died in two ways. They were
immediately banished from the garden and alienated from God. And they were separated from
the tree of life and thus became subject to physical death. God said they would die and they did.
Paul would later remind us in Rom. 5:12, therefore, just as through one man sin entered the
world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned. When God
says for something to be done, he expects and he demands obedience. God does not tolerate any
departure from his word in order to satisfy the capricious whims of the rebellious. Have we
forgotten that Moses could not enter into the promised land because he did not obey what God
told him to do? Moses was told to speak to the rock so that water could be drawn to supply the
people. Speak to the rock is what God told Moses, but Moses - angered - struck the rock twice,
according to Num. 20:11. Now, I don’t know if Moses felt that God did not mean it when he
told Moses to speak to the rock. Perhaps, Moses believed that this was a small thing, and after all
God did not tell him NOT to strike the rock. And since God did not say “Do not strike the rock”
that it would be okay to hit the rock with his rod. If Moses did momentarily feel this way, then
the day he was permitted to view the promised land without entering it, and the day he died - he
came to realize that God does mean exactly what he says. As if this were not enough to
convince us that God means what he says, then we should pause to consider the episode with the
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sons of Aaron - Nadab and Abihu in Lev. 10:1. To set this up, let me remind you that God had
ordered that anytime one offered a burnt offering - that fire for the offering was to come from the
altar of burnt offering (that is, the brazen altar). Lev. 16:12 says, then he shall take a censer full
of burning coals of fire from the altar before the Lord, with his hands full of sweet incense
beaten fine, and bring it inside the veil. However, in Lev. 10:1 we read then Nadab and Abihu,
the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered
profane fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them. Now, this does not seem to
be such a “big deal,” but how did God view it? My friends, the heart of this matter is, “Does
God mean what he says?” God said that fire was to come from the brazen altar, but maybe he
didn’t really mean what he said. However, it becomes clear God means exactly what he says!
Let’s return to Lev. 10 and see clearly that God meant what he said. Verse 2 says, so fire went
out from the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord. Ladies and gentlemen, it
doesn’t take a bible scholar to understand that God does mean what he says. Now, if some liberal
- modernist preacher living today was somehow transported back in time to the days of Nadab
and Abihu. He might have counseled them this way. He might have told them that he believes
that getting fire from another source would be permitted, because God had not said that they
could NOT use fire from other sources. A modern preacher may have said, “Sure, God said to
use the fire from the brazen altar, but if Nadab and Abihu were sincere in their worship, and if
they were obeying the spirit of the law, then God would overlook their small breach.” I reach
this conclusion because this is the loose attitude many have today when it comes to believing and
obeying what God has said. Perhaps one reads what God has revealed and it doesn’t set too well
with what he’s wanting to do, so he concludes that since God did not tell him specifically NOT
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to do a certain thing, then he is at liberty to add whatever it is he wishes to do or believe. Could
Nadab and Abihu have reminded God that he had not told them that they COULDN’T use a
strange fire? Now, we know that whenever God told his people to use fire from Altar of Burnt
Offering that he didn’t need to say don’t use a strange fire. My friends, God did not have to run
down a list of fire sources that were not to be used, because when he told them what to use - that
settled it forever. I believe that it would be safe to conclude that most denominational preachers
and priests would know that this argument would not have been a justifiable excuse for Nadab
and Abihu. But yet this is their favorite explanation today. Illustrate to them, from the bible that
God has told us how to worship him and they are likely to remind you of all the things that God
has not said. For example, gently inform them that believers are told simply to engage in
speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody
in your heart to the Lord. Now, my friends, I have just read to you word-for-word Eph. 5:19.
And, you can look in this verse until you grow old and you will never find where God said that
we are to add instruments of music to our singing. As a matter of fact, you can search the entire
New Testament and you will never discover one verse authorizing us to praise God with an
instrument of music. But, do you think this stops those who want to use instruments? No! They
seem delighted to be able to tell you that “God did not say we could not use them.” My friends,
if this kind of cockeyed reasoning would not have worked with Nadab and Abihu, then what on
earth or in heaven makes us think that it would work for us today? The question - pure and
simple - is this. “Does God mean what he says?” Now, if we conclude that God did not mean
what he said as it pertains to our singing - what makes us think that God meant what he said
about anything? If God did not mean what he said about singing, then perhaps he did not mean
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what he said about heaven. Maybe he is just tantalizing us with this hope of heaven, but he
actually has in mind casting us all into hell. Also, my friends, we need to ask, did Jesus mean
what he said in Mk. 16:16 when he told us, he who believes and is baptized will be saved; but
he who does not believe will be condemned. Now, I’ll tell you ladies and gentlemen, there is not
a denominational [faith-only] preacher in Indiana who believes that Jesus meant what he said
here. These preachers will tell you that baptism has nothing to do with saving anyone, even
though Jesus said that it takes both belief and baptism to bring about salvation. Now, if Jesus did
not mean what he said about baptism, can we trust anything that he said? Let me illustrate this by
this example. If Jesus told us that baptism, as well as belief, is necessary for salvation - but then
he did not really mean it. Then how can we believe him when he said in Jn. 14:1-3, let not your
heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many
mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go
and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself; that where I am,
there you may be also. If Jesus didn’t mean it in Mk. 16:16, then how do we know he meant it
in Jn. 14:1-3? My friends, it’s a matter of integrity - either God is trustworthy or he isn’t. Either
God meant what he said in all places or he engages in duplicity and he is NOT to be trusted in
anything he says. However, it is obvious from the testimony of scripture that God has never
blessed man without man obeying what God said. Whether we are discussing Adam and Eve in
the garden of Eden, or Moses entering the promised land - God demanded strict obedience to his
will, and he settled for nothing less. Nadab and Abihu were destroyed by divine wrath because
they set aside God’s order to use fire from the brazen altar. King Saul lost his kingdom because
he did not believe that God meant what he said. Saul was told to completely destroy the wicked
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Amalekites in 1 Sam. 15. Also, he was told not to take any bounty, but instead he was to destroy
all the spoils of war. Not only did King Saul NOT destroy all the Amalekites, including their
king, but Saul brought home many spoils of war. After he disobeyed God by sparing some of the
Amalekites and hauling back plenty of bounty, he was firmly and completely condemned by the
prophet of God. Samuel told him in 1 Sam. 15:22-23, has the Lord as great delight in burnt
offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than
sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and
stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he
also has rejected you from being king. And, we can add to this vivid illustration - the wife of
Lot in Gen. 19. In order to escape the destruction of the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah
she was told to flee the city and not look behind her. Verse 17 says she and her family were
escape for your life! Do not look behind you. Did God mean it when he told her not to look
behind her? You can be sure that he did, because verse 26 tells us she disobeyed God and looked
behind her. She immediately was turned into a pillar of salt. And my friends she stands forever
as a monument of rebellion - reminding us that God does mean what he says.
CONCLUSION:
A. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the bible is the word of God, and yes, God means exactly what he
has revealed in that word. We are told in Heb. 5:8-9, though he was a Son, yet he learned
obedience by the things which he suffered. And having been perfected, he became the author
of eternal salvation to all who obey him. Even the Lord was expected to obey the will of the
Father as he lived upon this earth. Therefore, I ask you “Can any less be expected of us?” Not if
we hope to be saved. You see, my friends, Christ is the author of eternal salvation only to those
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who obey his will.
B. This will have to be our final word for this morning. Thanks for inviting us in, and as we close
be sure to stay tuned for some important closing announcements. Also, please join us next
Sunday morning at 7:00 as we once again Search the Scriptures. Until then, for the Danville
church of Christ, this is J.R. Bronger saying goodbye for now.