Hello All! I hope this blog post finds you safe and well.
This misused verse was also brought to my attention by Mr. Rosebrough at Pirate Christian Radio. This misused verse can be very dangerous in the hands of the right (perhaps wrong would be better) pastor. The verse in question is Deuteronomy 15:10, which reads like this: "You shall give to him freely, and your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him, because for this the LORD your God shall bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake." First, you should notice that this is in the OLD Testament, and is part of the law, so therefore it does not directly apply to us, because we are no longer under the law, but in Christ. Second, you should notice that this is in verse 10, and therefore something was more than likely left off the front of this verse (context!). So, in order to get a good understanding of this verse, we need to back up to the start of the paragraph, to verse 7: "If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the LORD your God has given you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, 8 but you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be. 9 Take care lest there be an unworthy thought in you heart and you say, 'the seventh year, the year of release is near,' and your heart look grudgingly on your poor brother, and you give him nothing, and he cry to the LORD against you and you be guilty of sin" (breaking the law by omission). This verse, in and of its self, is pretty harmless. But in the hands of a skilled Bible twister (wolf in sheep's clothing), it can be used to drastic effect. When I heard this verse, the pastor speaking said something along the lines of this: "If you want to sell your house and give the money, do it. If you want to cash in your 401(k) and give the money, do it. If you want to sell your car and give the money, do it." If your pastor is doing something along those lines with this verse or any other giving verse, one piece of advice: Run! Just run! If you want to try and point this problem out to your pastor, sure, maybe he'll repent, but correcting this heresy could result in a loss of income for the church, so I doubt he (or she [different topic for a different time]) will fix it.
Most verses that are ripped out of context like this and used this way can be fixed simply by putting it back in context, and that is very good for those of you faced with problems like this, but the effects of not standing up and pointing out these mistakes can be devastating. Pray for the people who are stuck in churches like these, who convince their followers to give everything they have to the church in times as troubling as this. I trust that the LORD is powerful and can help those who are tricked into giving everything to these empty churches, but I believe the best way is for the pastor to repent of his wrong doings, or for the people to find a church where the word of God is rightly handled and preached.
Sincerely,
Joe Anderson
"For a time is coming where people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to truth and wander off into myths." 2 Timothy 4:3-4
My friends, that time is here, and has been here since the beginning of the church, but recently, it has been getting worse. The solution? Drive a stake through its vampric heart.
2 Timothy 4:3-4 are some very good verses!
ReplyDeleteI've heard that the OT is "just history" and "not relevant" to us modern day Christians, but I don't believe it. Perhaps I will compile reasons/references to why this is the case in the future, but it would seem that God treats all of His sheep exactly the same, and all of the goats exactly the same. That is, he loves His sheep and Hates the goats. Because that differentiation is by no means a product of our merit but of His grace, all His sheep are no more or no less than one another. And being the unchanging God that He is, there is just nothing that indicates to me that there is a dated portion of His Living Word.
I've slowly been doing a similar thing on Facebook using Notes, so if you want to treat it like my blog I'd love to hear your comments Joe. If I remember to, I'll definitely make an attempt at making a Note of this issue =]
Well, that's where the people of those opinions are wrong. It is not just history, and it is relevant, but one must be careful how one uses it and when and where. Yes, it is history, in that it shows us the state of mankind through all time, how we were dead in our trespasses and sins the moment Adam and Eve ate the fruit, and how it got worse, like a festering wound left untended. However, it also shows us what God expects of us and how we are impotent to act and save ourselves (dead men are dead, end of story). It shows us that we need a savior and teaches us how he will come and what he will do when he comes.
ReplyDeleteAfter that rant, the Law rightly applied is a tool towards salvation. While the Law cannot save, it defines and condemns sin, and it can make even the best sinner realize he is in danger. It is extremely potent when combined with the Gospel, because a pastor who can rightly distinguish between the two can preach first the Law, to point out the sins of the unsaved, and then the Gospel. Kind of like saying "Here is what you have to do to enter the kingdom of heaven. These ten rules, if you keep them perfectly, will get you in on your own righteousness. You have to keep each one in thought, word, and deed, and if you break just one, you are guilty of breaking them all (cf. James 2:10). You can break them by commission (acting) or omission (not acting). Feeling hopeless? Don't worry, Christ Jesus did it all for you. He fulfilled the law (cf. Matthew 5:17), and if you believe in his name, that he came and died in your place, and that he was the only begotten son of God, then his righteousness will be credited to you."
After that rant (uff-da, just gave away everything I was going to talk about on the Law in a future post), if you still reading, I will definitely read you notes! I'm always happy to see somebody else interested in the Word! I look forward to it.
Your brother in Christ,
Joe