(context – text = con)
A former pastor of ours told us that when you take the text out of context you are left with a con (context – text = con)! This is so true and the more we read scripture within the proper context the more God’s word started to come to life. It also showed us how much of the Bible teaching within churches today are focused on single verses without looking at that verse within the proper context .
The last Sunday church we went to was a Baptist church and while we attended that church we also did a very interesting Bible study named “Firm Foundations: Creation to Christ”. This study, plus the understanding that scripture has to be read within context to get a good understanding, changed our lives!
Starting from Creation, one of the stories you get quickly to is that of Cain and Able. What is interesting about Cain is that he knew how God wanted to be worshipped but he did it his way, and God rejected the way he worshipped Him. From this, we see not only that God insists on us worshipping Him His way but also that His commandments were in place from the beginning, not in writing but they knew it in their hearts.
Cain broke God’s commandments by not worshipping Him the way he was instructed and God let him know that he did not accept his way of worship.
We saw this also happen with Israel when they were led out of Egypt and when Moses took too long to come back from the mountain to receive God’s commandments.
The children of Israel assumed that he died and ask Aaron to make for them el-o-heem’ translated in most Bible’s as gods but it is used a lot in the Bible to reference God, a far better translation in this case than what is currently being used. For example:
Gen 1:1-2 In the beginning God (el-o-heem’) created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was [1] formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
They did not want Aaron to make many gods and start worshipping idols, no they wanted Aaron to make them an image of God that lead them out of Egypt because they believed that Moses was dead and he was their only link to God. So the people of Israel tried to take things into their own hands and worship God in their way!
We see over and over that people try to worship God in their way while God has given us very clear instructions in the Bible on how He wants us to worship Him!
It turns out that we were not much different from Israel, we also served God our way, how about you are you serving God His way or your way?
What do we believe
As stated before we believe that we have to worship God the way He instructs us in the Bible and not in our way.
We believe that the whole Bible, both Old, and New Testament, applies to Christians today this includes the Law of Moses, Dietary Laws found in Leviticus 11, and the Feast, which we find in Leviticus 23, and is God’s guideline for us on how He wants to be worshipped.
2 Ti 3:16-17 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.
On the moment you mention the Law of Moses people start to assume that you believe in works-based salvation, so to make it very clear:
We believe we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus alone and that nobody can be saved through works or through keeping the laws! Keeping the Law in obedience to God is not the same as relying on keeping the Law for salvation!
God’s Word is the Seed, our Faith is the Root and our Obedience is the Fruit!
We believe that God is the same today as he was yesterday and will be forever, in other words, God does not change.
Mal 3:6-7 “I the LORD do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the LORD Almighty.
Heb 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
If God does not change then His definition of Sin does not change, if His definition of Sin does not change then that what defines Sin, His Laws, do not change! Which we saw God referring to in Mal 3:6-7
We believe that Paul’s teachings are taken out of context and as such we are taught against the Old Testaments Laws, something Peter warned us about in his last words to us:
2 Pe 3:14-18 So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.
Noticed the warning Peter is giving to us in his last words:
Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position.
Lawless Men = Men that don’t believe the Law applies to them!