WHAT IS WRITTEN IN THE LAW?
Have you noticed in your study of the life of Christ that
not one time did he ever criticize any teaching of the Old Testament? He never
said to his disciples or to others: "I am aware that the Old Testament
mentions the Israelites' exodus from Egypt, the crossing of the Rea Sea, the
great miracles in the wilderness and the command for Joshua and the Israelite
army to destroy the tribes in Canaan, but these are merely stories the writers
invented to encourage men to trust in God. They never actually happened."
Incidentally, that is precisely how some modern theologians interpret the Old
Testament. They argue that all the miracle stories are fables or myths.
If you have not kept up with what is occurring in liberal
seminaries, you may be tempted to think I am exaggerating. But let me give you
one example. When I was in graduate school, one of the students asked the
professor: "Do you believe Adam and Eve were real people?" The
teacher seemed not to understand the question. He asked: "What do you mean
by 'real people?'" The student replied: "I mean people like you and
me." The professor said he did not believe they were necessarily people
like us. The student pressed on with this question. "Do you believe the
exodus actually occurred?" Even though the professor constantly talked
about the exodus, he said he was not sure of its historicity. He said it is
recorded for the benefit we receive from the story. The student then asked a
third question. "Do you believe the resurrection of Christ was a
historical event?" The professor responded: "Now that is a different
question." The student said, "No, that is not a different question.
They all claim to be historical. Either they are or they are not."
The New Testament records a number of times when Jesus
specifically and emphatically endorsed the teaching of the Old Testament. On
one occasion, "a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him (Christ),
saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He (Jesus) said unto
him, What is written in the law? How do you read it?" Jesus explained to
the lawyer: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and
with all you soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your
neighbor as your self' (Lk. 10:25-27). Was Jesus telling the lawyer that
answers to all questions pertaining to life and godliness could be found in the
scriptures? There is not the slightest doubt of Christ's meaning. Our brief
study today will be based on the question Jesus asked the lawyer: "What Is
Written in the Law?"
Liberal theologians either question or specifically deny
many of the places, people and incidents recorded in the Old Testament. For
example, theologians like John Shelby Spong deny the Genesis account of
creation. He specifically endorses the theory of evolution. Since Jesus Christ
is the Creator (Col. 1:16), he ought to know exactly what happened. When the
Pharisees asked Jesus Christ if it were lawful for a man to put away his wife
for every cause, Jesus responded to their question with a question: "Have
you not read, that he who made them from the beginning made them male and
female" (Mt. 19:3-4)? Mark's account differs slightly from Matthew's.
"But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and
female" (Mk. 10:6). In Mark's account of Christ's Sermon on the Mount of
Olives, Jesus told his audience about the tragedies of the destruction of
Jerusalem: "And in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from
the beginning of the creation, which God created unto this time, neither shall
be" (Mk. 13: 19). How can anyone who claims to be a Christian doubt or
deny what Jesus taught about the creation or about any other topic?
Before God destroyed Sodom, Gomorrah and the other cities
of plains, he sent an angel to warn Lot and his family. "And when the
morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take your wife, and
your two daughters who are here; lest you be consumed in the iniquity of the
city." Tragically, Lot's "wife looked back from behind him, and she
became a pillar of salt" (Gen. 19: 15, 26). According to liberal biblical
critics, it is not possible for a human being to turn to a pillar of salt. The
Bible does not leave the impression that this was a natural phenomenon. It
occurred by the power of almighty God. Jesus endorsed that event. "But the
same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven,
and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is
revealed. In that day, he who shall be on the housetop, and his stuff in the
house, let him not come down to take it away: and he who is in the field, let
him likewise not return back." Now please listen to the very words of the
Son of God. "Remember Lot's wife" (Lk. 17:29-32). If Jesus Christ did
not accept the Old Testament story about Lot's wife, why does he encourage his
disciples to "remember Lot's wife?"
Daniel is one of the most controversial figures in the Old
Testament. I believe I understand why liberal theologians question the very
existence of a man named Daniel and whether he wrote the book by his name. If
theologians were to accept the teaching of the book of Daniel, they would have
to concede that great miracles occurred in ancient Babylon. They are unwilling
to accept miracles; so they deny the existence of the man and truthfulness of
the book of Daniel. But Jesus knew about Daniel and did not hesitate to speak
of him. The Apostle Matthew quotes Jesus as saying in his Sermon on the Mount
of Olives: "When therefore you see the abomination of desolation, spoken
of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso reads, let him
understand)" (Mt. 24:15). Do modernistic theologians think they know more
about the word of God than the Word of God himself?
Most modern geologists and liberal theologians deny the
Genesis account of the flood. But, oddly enough, virtually every tribe, nation
and culture in the world has a flood story. American Indians believe in a
universal flood. They believe the ark rested on the mountains of North America.
How did our Lord understand the Genesis story of the flood? In his Sermon on
the Mount of Olives, Jesus told his disciples: "But of that day and hour
no man knows, no, not the angels in heaven, but my Father only. But as the days
of Noah were, so shall the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that
were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in
marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark. And knew not until the
flood came, and took them all away; so shall the coming of the Son of man
be" (Mt. 24:36-39). How can anyone believe that Jesus is "the way,
the truth and the life" (John 14:6) and not accept what he says about the
creation, about Lot's wife, about the flood and about every other topic?
Mark 12 records Christ's meeting with some Pharisees and
some Sadducees.
The Sadducees did not believe in angels or in the
resurrection. In other words, they were very much like modern liberal
theologians. The Sadducees knew Jesus had been teaching his disciples about the
resurrection. They tried to trap Jesus with a contrived plot. "Master,
Moses wrote unto us, If a man's brother die, and leave his wife behind, and
leave no children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed
unto his brother. Now there were seven brothers: and the first took a wife, and
dying left no seed. And the second took her, and died, neither did he leave any
seed: and the third likewise. And the seven had her, and left no seed: last of
all the woman died also. In the resurrection, whose wife shall she be of them?
For the seven had her to wife" (Mk. 12:18-23).
The Sadducees just knew they had Jesus between a rock and a
hard place. But they did not know the heavenly wisdom Christ possessed. Jesus
asked the Sadducees: "Do you not therefore err, because you do not know
the scriptures, neither the power of God? For when they rise from the dead,
they neither marry nor are given in marriage; but are as the angels in heaven.
And as touching the dead, that they rise: have you not read in the book of Moses,
how in the bush God spoke unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the
God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? He is not the God of the dead, but the God
of the living: you therefore do greatly err" (Mk. 12:24-27).
There are a number of great lessons we can learn from our
Lord's discussion with the Sadducees. He criticized them for not knowing the
scriptures. He wanted them to know that the answers to their questions could be
found in the very law they were supposed to honor and to teach. The Sadducees
appealed to the Law of Moses about levirate marriage, but they were ignorant of
the teaching of the Old Testament. The Sadducees were supposed to be experts in
the law. Even though there were not as many Sadducees as there were Pharisees,
the Sadducees were the most powerful sect within Judaism. If they were going to
challenge Jesus about any idea, they should have been better informed.
Jesus asked the Sadducees: "And as touching the dead, that they rise: have you not read in the book of Moses" (Mk. 12:26)? The incident Christ had in mind is recorded in the book of Exodus. Did Jesus mean that Moses wrote that book? Besides, Jesus considered Exodus and every other book in the Old Testament to be authoritative. Luke quotes Jesus as saying to some of his disciples: "These are the words which I spoke unto you, while I was yet with you, that all the things must be fulfilled, which were written in the Law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the Psalms concerning me" (Lk. 24:44). In his Commentary on the Gospel by Luke (Nashville: Gospel Advocate Company, 1940), H. Leo Boles makes these pertinent observations on the three terms, "the Law of Moses," "the prophets," and "the Psalms": "This includes all of the Old Testament, for here is mentioned the three divisions into which the Hebrews divided the Old Testament. 'The Law of Moses" included the first five books, or Pentateuch; 'the prophets' included the books of Joshua, Judges, First and Second Samuel, First and Second Kings, three of the major prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel) and the twelve minor prophets'; 'the Psalms included the poetical and all the other Old Testament books sometimes called 'the scriptures'" (pp. 475-476).
Did you also notice that Jesus quoted God as saying to
Moses: "I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of
Jacob? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living" (Mk. 12:26-27).
Jesus Christ made his argument for the resurrection on the tense of the verb
"to be." He told the Sadducees: "I am the God of Abraham"-not
"I was the Abraham." He is stressing the fact that Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob are still alive somewhere. They died physically, but they are living in
the place God has reserved for the righteous dead until the final judgment.
Christ's words to the Sadducees ought to be very comforting
to all Christians. Not only are we going to be raised from the dead to die no
more; but so will our loved ones who have lived for God. Although Mark does not
say it, Paul tells us that the resurrection of Christ guarantees the
resurrection of all men. Please listen to Paul's inspired teaching on the
resurrection. "Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how
say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there be
no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen: and if Christ be not
risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. Yea, and we are
found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised
up Christ: whom he raised not, if so be that the dead rise not. If the dead
rise not, then is not Christ raised: and if Christ be not raised, your faith is
vain; you are yet in your sins. Then they who have fallen asleep in Christ have
perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most
miserable" (1 Cor. 15:12-19).
While Jesus Christ was teaching in the temple, he asked the
Jews: "How say the scribes that Christ is the Son of David? For David
himself said by the Holy Spirit, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit on my right
hand, till I make your enemies your footstool. David therefore himself calls
him Lord; and whence then is he his son" (Mk. 12:35-37)? I want to make
one point based on this passage, and that is, Jesus said that David by the Holy
Spirit was able to call Jesus both his Lord and his son. Without the guidance
of the Holy Spirit, there was no way David or any other man could have known
that truth.
The Apostle Paul told the Corinthians that he was speaking
wisdom "which God ordained before the foundation of the world unto our
glory." He further explained: "Which none of the princes of this
world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of
glory. But as it is written, Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither have
entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for them who
love him. But God has revealed it unto them by his Spirit: for the Spirit
searches all things, yea the deep things of God. For what man knows the things
of a man, save the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the things of God
no man knows, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of
the world, but the Spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that
are freely given to us of God. Which things we speak, not in the words which
man's wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Spirit teaches; comparing spirit
things with spiritual" (l Cor. 2:7-13).
How did Bible writers know the very mind of God? The Holy
Spirit searched the mind of God and revealed to them what God wanted men to
know. The words of scriptures are the very words the Holy Spirit guided them in
providing for us. Paul affirms that the words of scripture are God-breathed (2
Tim. 3:16). Does that mean the teaching of the Bible cannot be wrong on any
topic? Do you remember what Jesus told some of his critics? "Scripture
cannot be broken" (John 10:35). That was the reason Jesus asked the
lawyer: "What is written in the law? How do you read it" (Lk. 10:26)?
If men want to know the will of God, there is one and only one way to know it:
by studying the word of God.
Since the Bible is the inspired and inerrant word of God,
you can completely depend on its teachings on every topic. If you want to know
how to be saved, you can learn by searching the pages of scripture. The Apostle
Peter convinced the Jews on the day of Pentecost that they had crucified their
own Messiah. "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that
God has made this same Jesus, whom you have crucified, both Lord and Christ.
And when they (the Jews) heard this, they were pricked in their hearts, and
said to Peter and to the rest of the apostles: "Men and brethren, what
shall we do?" Since the Jews already believed on the Lord Jesus Christ,
was there really anything further they had to do? The Holy Spirit provides the
answer. Peter commanded them: "Repent, and be baptized, every one of you
in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive
the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:36-38). All three thousand who
repented and were baptized were forgiven of their sins and added to the Lord's
church.
You do not have to guess if that is God's plan for saving
man. The Holy Spirit spells it out too plainly for anyone to miss. Besides, the
same happened in Samaria. "And when they (the Samaritans) believed Philip
preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Christ,
they were baptized, both men and women" (Acts 8:12). That is also what
occurred at Philippi, at Ephesus and at Corinth. Ananias to Saul of Tarsus:
"Arise, and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of
the Lord" (Acts 22:16).
When a person has believed on the Lord, repented of his
sins and been baptized into Christ for the remission of sins, is there anything
more he must do to be saved? If there were nothing more, why do we have the New
Testament epistles? I shall give you just one example of a Christian's duties.
The Apostle Peter commanded his readers to add to their faith virtue, knowledge
temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love. What if
Christians neglect to add those Christian graces? Would it affect their eternal
salvation? "For if these things be in you and abound, they make you that
you shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus
Christ. But he who lacks these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and
has forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. Wherefore the rather,
brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if you do
these things, you shall never fall: for so an entrance shall be ministered unto
you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ" (2 Pet 1: 5-11).
God has graciously given us his inspired word. It provides
us with all things pertaining to life and godliness (2 Pet. 1: 3). We must
study it and obey it in order to have the promise of eternal life.
Winford Claiborne
The International Gospel Hour