I want to talk on the subject that I have on the screen and
it's a question. When is a new testament,
example? Binding, I think that everybody
can say reasonably. So there's a lot of examples
that are found in the New Testament and sometimes people
would say this, that if we want to bind one aspect or one
example that's found in the New Testament to the church today,
then we must bind all other examples even the things that
don't apply. We want to talk about the idea
of an example, being binding and what are the rules for that?
First of all, let's just notice. As we know how we get Bible
Authority, we get Bible Authority by a command.
We get Bible Authority By An approved example, by a positive
statement and also by inference or implication.
And anytime that we are talking about, any aspect of this about
Bible Authority, we are talking on the subject of
interpretation. And or a fancy word that's often
called hermeneutics. This study of interpreting the
word of God. So we understand we cannot just
do anything that we want to do or we don't want to preach
anything that we want to preach or practice anything that we
would like to practice. We must follow how the Bible
commands us gives us example. A positive statement, or
inference or implication. But here's the question.
I think everybody would understand.
That if something is as an example in the New Testament,
and we're talking about the New Testament Church, if the New
Testament Church practice a particular thing or did a
particular thing on any subject, and it is supported by Apostolic
Authority. I think anyone of Faith would
say that that's got to be binding today.
Absolutely, it has Apostolic Authority behind it and so we
would look at the very same idea and we would say that applies
today to us under the same, or similar circumstances.
Another thing I'd like to say what if there are two or more
examples of doing one thing, if we find two or more examples of
doing something, or practicing something in the New Testament,
then we are given the freedom based upon expediency to choose,
which one would be expedient for us to do.
And may, I just say this about being expedient, expedient is
something that is commanded and we have the ability or we have
the freedom to expedite that in a certain way, that's what
expedient means. For example, we have seen Today.
And we had a songbook, the songbook expedites the process
of singing, We're commanded the sing.
Therefore the songbook is an expedient, a Bible expedient.
So if there are two or more examples in the New Testament of
doing one specific thing, then we would be given the freedom to
expedite that in either one of those choices.
All right, what about this though?
What if there's only one example, and one method of doing
something in the New Testament, is that one example, exclusive
of all other methods or all other practices.
Now, note, also, we want to notice some things that are
which examples are binding today in our life.
Well, first of all, there's a difference between an example
that's binding. and examples that were given in the New
Testament that were a general principle or general teaching,
Based upon the example of using a current, which would be
ancient for us custom. Like, for example, what about
that foot washing? You know, sometimes people say
well you know what? If you want to talk about the
Lord's Supper every Lord's day, we better bring back foot
washing more on that. At the end of The Lesson.
By the way, I'm going to talk about some of these but what
about foot-washing is that binding today or was foot
washing? And When Jesus washed the
disciples feet, for example, he used a custom that happened of
old times that applied to them, and he taught a general
principle. That's why that's example,
perhaps that wouldn't apply today specifically.
Let's go further. Or what about a holy kiss in
Romans 16:16. Paul said, salute one another,
with an holy kiss the Churches of Christ salute you does that
mean that we have to kiss everybody on the cheek today or
was that a custom that existed back then and the principal was
something else or the lesson learned was General and
something else. Does that apply today or was
that a custom of old? What about speaking in tongues?
We have examples of people in the New Testament that spoke in
tongues, we have examples of those that had miraculous
spiritual gifts, their examples. Do they apply or were they
exclusive to one particular time?
And finally, what about the Lord's Supper?
What makes the Lord's Supper that we do every Lord's day and
we're going to do today and just a few minutes, what makes the
Lord's Supper different from foot-washing?
Holy kissing? And speaking in tongues, I'll
just tell you this. I've heard people say, well, if
we're going to have the Lord's Supper, we have to have foot
washing to. That's the specific thing that
I'd like to talk about. And by the way, in this lesson
today, we're going to reference to things.
It's very, very, very important. It is, it is the basis of what
we believe. And I'm going to talk about two
things repeatedly and apply different rules to these two
things throughout this lesson. And the two things are going to
be. This one is baptism and the
other is the Lord's supper will reference them several times as
we move through. So here's the question, can the
New Testament bind upon God's people?
A practice, or a method to the exclusion of all others?
Only, by example, All right, and if so how is that exclusiveness
to be determined? I want to submit to you, there
are six rules, there are six rules that we can apply to the
example to find out if it's something that is binding on us
today. Rule number one is the rule of
uniformity. The application of this rule is
I'm going to use conversion, for example, and uniformity, is this
uniformity is when you take all the examples of the same, Finger
the same act, the same fact, all the examples.
Do all of them, are they all inclusive and are they all in
uniformity with each other? Give you an example in every
case of conversion, going all the way back to Acts chapter 2
on the day of Pentecost, every time.
Okay. Acts chapter 2 was the first
time. The gospel was preached with the
opportunity to respond to it and in Acts chapter 2.
Beginning from that time. Every conversion in the New
Testament was by the preaching teaching and learning of the
word of God every time So we say this, if every single time that
that's somebody was converted, the Jesus Christ, it was based
upon preaching teaching and learning of the word of God.
Then we must say by uniformity that if somebody is going to be
saved or converted, it is by the preaching teaching and learning
of the word of God as the law or the rule of uniformity.
What else? Every conversion in the New
Testament. Also, When the word of God was
preached every single time. It produced Faith every time,
you know, the Bible talks about faith I was in a discussion that
long ago was someone and we're talking about things that you
cannot know things. We can't know.
And you've heard me say this before.
I've been saying it a lot lately and you know really the older I
get the more I say I'm going to keep saying it.
I think people of Faith need to be okay with what you can't
explain and I think people of Faith ought to be those that
understand. Maybe I don't have an
explanation for it and I don't really care.
Faith kicks in. It's like one time I sat down
with some young people And they said, how do we know when we
talk to our friends? Because, by the way, people are
smarter today. And when we sit down with our
friends, how can we prove to them?
That God, created everything. I said in the beginning, God
created the heavens and the Earth and he said, but how do
you really know? I said in the beginning, God
created the heavens and the Earth all but she got to give me
something else. You got to give me some proof,
got it in the beginning, God created the heavens and the
Earth. That's where faith kicks in.
So Christians are people of faith. and we believe it, as
fact, And the Bible says, without faith.
It is impossible to please God, for he, that cometh unto God
must believe that he is, and that he is, a rewarder of them
that diligently seek Him. The Bible says this too, so then
faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.
So anyone by the way that is saved will not do so or be.
So because they had some kind of experience somewhere and they
were moved somewhere. And then they knew that there
were saying no every case in the New Testament, what they do.
They heard and were taught the word of God and that produced
Faith but there's more There's more.
When Faith was produced. It prompted a response.
You know, sometimes. We understand things and we do
understand things by faith. But remember this faith is
always for the purpose of prompting, a response.
So, by the rule of uniformity, when the word of God was
produced or preached, It produced faith.
And it led to a response. And in every case they were all
baptized everyone of them without delay.
So, we must say, by way of the rule of uniformity, that if
you're not, baptized, you can't be saved.
By the rule of uniformity. Give you some examples, though.
You know, when Saul of Tarsus was on the Damascus Road, Saul
of Tarsus had a great experience.
It was a light shine round about him and it blinded him.
He understood. That was Jesus.
He said, who are you? He said, I am Jesus whom you
persecute. It's hard for you to kick
against the Pricks. The King James says, or the
goads. In other translations.
It's hard for you to do that. He's blinded.
He goes in Damascus. Oh, he was obviously repentant.
He prays for three days. Can't praise sins away though.
Could not do it. And by the way, if he Couldn't
pray his sins away in 3 days. How do people think today?
They can pray their sins away in one or two sentences.
How you gonna do that? Three days.
Big experience. What happened though?
When ananias walked in? He told him what he must do, he
told him the word, he told him what he must do.
He said, and saw, what are you waiting for arise and be
baptized and wash away? Your sins, calling on the name
of the Lord. What else, when the word of God
was taught to an Ethiopian man, It produced Faith.
He said, I believe that Jesus Jesus Christ is the Son of God
but then he said it says they stopped dentist in their tracks.
They got out of the Chariot. They went down into the water
and he baptized him. What about the Philippian?
Jailer same thing. Same thing, they took him the
same hour of the night and washed their stripes and they
were baptized. He had all his straightway.
So by the rule of uniformity with conversion, it has to begin
with the word of God. Every time it has to produce
faith in an individual, every time you are baptized without
delay for the remission of sins. All cases all examples in the
New Testament. Okay?
So let's talk about the Lord's Supper, for just a minute, The
fact that the Lord's Supper was observed by the early church on
the first day of the week is extremely significant.
That is the day that the Lord's Supper is to be partaken of And
if the Lord's Supper its writ is given to us, by example, on the
first day of the week, then it's also exclusive to the point that
any other day is not required. Any other day, is not allowed,
it can't be observed. And the reason for that we don't
have precept, we don't have example and we don't have
inference as to observe it any other day.
Therefore all things are all other days are excluded.
I will get back to the Lord's Supper in a minute though.
I'm just following the rules of uniformity.
What else? How about church cooperation?
What's that mean? When we talk about church
cooperation, we are talking about the use that a
congregation has in using the money that is in their Treasury
and it's often times referred to in a general sense as Church
cooperation. Now, there were many churches or
when many churches, for example, today would support a preacher
somewhere every single time by the rule of uniformity, the
money was sent. It directly to the need every
time. We have Filipino preachers that
we support. We have an African preacher that
we support. We support a man in Hawaii.
The money is sent directly to them.
It is sent directly to them sometimes in the hands of a
messenger which is scriptural, but it sent directly to them.
Notice what Paul says, do in 2nd Corinthians, chapter 11 verse 8,
he said I robbed other churches taking wages from them to
minister to you now. Rob doesn't mean steal What it
means is he took or received, what he was saying is to
Corinth, I took wages from other congregations so that I could
Minister unto you, that is a Bible passage that supports that
you can be doing the work of an evangelist in one area and have
a congregation in another area. Financially supporting you that
is scriptural. What else notice?
What Paul said in Philippians 4, beginning in verse 15 now you Is
know. Also that in the beginning of
the Gospel I departed from Macedonia no church shared with
me concerning giving and receiving but you only for even
in thessalonica you sent Aid once and again for my
Necessities. Not that I seek the gift but I
seek the fruit that abounds to your account.
Indeed, I have all in abound, I am full having received from
epaphroditus. The thing sent from you a sweet,
smelling, Aroma, an acceptable sacrifice.
Well, pleasing to God. So writing to those at Philippi,
he talks about those where he speaks about the fact that they
sent Aid to him directly from the hands of epaphroditus, a
messenger. All right, I got to say this.
They lived in primitive times. Okay, Village of primitive
times. This is really important because
sometimes people say this, But we live in modern times, so the
pattern cannot be duplicated. What can be duplicated is
congregational money going directly?
That's the source going directly to the destination being the
preacher itself or the need that can be duplicatable.
Now we don't need a man to hand-deliver it across the
country or get on a boat or in the Primitive means of
transportation. They had back then either
walking riding an animal or getting on a boat somewhere.
We could put it in the mail we can wire the money.
We can do other aspects of it. My point is this the Bible
pattern is this. The example is it went from The
Source the congregation directly to the recipient that's the
pattern and that's what we follow.
That's what's scriptural. All right, let's go further.
What about when many churches cooperated with the Jerusalem
Church by contributing to help meet the needs that were in
Jerusalem. They made up their own funds,
they selected their own messenger and they say, Directly
to the need in 1st Corinthians chapter 16 beginning in verse 1.
Now concerning the collection for the Saints as I've given
orders to the churches of galatia.
So you must do also on the first day of the week.
Let each one of you lay something aside storing up as he
may Prosper. That they'll be no collections
when I come and when I come whomever you approved by your
letters, I will send it bare your gift to Jerusalem, but if
It is fitting that I go also they will go with me. when
Antioch made up of contribution for the brethren in Judea,
during the time of famine, they sent it by the hands of their
own Messengers. And that was Paul and Barnabas
and it was sent directly to the Elders of the church.
That was in need acts 11 27 through 30.
And in those days, prophets came from Jerusalem to Antioch.
Then one of them named agabus stood up and showed the spirit
that they were going to be a Great Famine throughout the
world, which also happened in the days of Claudius Caesar.
Then the disciples each, according to his ability,
determined to send relief to the Brethren dwelling in Judea this,
they So did and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas
and Saul. Now, there's a reason for
showing you all of this. There's a reason.
We don't have any Bible Authority.
We don't have any example of multiple congregations sending
their money to a sponsoring church or sponsoring
organization who then decided and determined to pass out the
money as they saw fit, we don't have Bible for that.
And I'll tell you something, what happens to if you think
about it this way. if we, as a congregation set our money to
help needy people in another country, We would send it
directly to the need, we would do that but if we send it for
example to a sponsoring church and that's sponsoring Church
received from, I don't know 30 other churches, all this money
don't you see? We lose our autonomy.
The lines of autonomy are now gone, what's autonomy?
Autonomy means self-governing, that's why we don't have any
kind of home office. The Church of Christ doesn't
have a home office and our leader is Jesus.
Our founder is Jesus So, for congregations to do this, we
have to, we can't cross lines of autonomy.
We decide to do this in this amount.
We do that in that amount directly to the recipient, and
we can use modern forms of getting it there, but we can't
cross the lines of autonomy or we cannot violate the pattern.
So at every case, the rule of uniformity proves that the money
was sent directly to the one that was in.
Need number two, though, Number two, we have the rule of Harmony
or the rule of unity, and this is what that means.
It means that each example in each example, in Scripture, Must
be interpreted in light of everything else that God said on
the same subject or theme. So you got the rule of
uniformity, right? All the examples did it a
certain way? We follow that example, but
there's more. We also put it to the test and
it's the rule of unity or Harmony.
So what we do in the example, if the example does not comply with
everything that God said on that subject, it is not an approved
example. But if it does, it is an
approved example for us today. You know, why?
Because truth is always in harmony with truth, always, the
rule is Illustrated to again, we're going to notice the
community and again the Lord's Supper in Acts 20 and 7 It says,
now, on the first day of the week when the disciples came
together, to break bread, Paul ready to depart the next day,
spoke to them and continued, his message until midnight, notice.
As we've already noticed, it was the first day of the week.
Now, what we want to notice is does acts 20:7 example.
Violate anything else that God said on the same subject in his
word we want to notice that. So we go to First Corinthians,
11, and 24. And when he had given thanks, he
broke it. And said, take eat.
This is my body, which is broken for you.
This do in remembrance of me. So Acts 20 and 7 doesn't violate
First Corinthians 11. so we go further, It doesn't contradict
anything that God had said, the example to break bread and acts.
20:7 is also in harmony with Apostolic instruction.
First Corinthians, 11, and 20 says, therefore, when you come
together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord's supper.
Please don't understand what this is saying.
He's not saying when you come together, you're not supposed to
eat the Lord's Supper, that's not what that means.
What this means is when you come together, Acts 20 and 7, it's
for the purpose of breaking bread, but what you're doing is
wrong when you come together in one place and you assemble
together in one place and you do so on the first day of the week,
you are not partaking of the Lord's Supper properly.
They made a mockery of the Lord's Supper, they turned it
into a common meal and that's what he was saying.
So in Acts, 20 and 7, we have the idea to break bread.
First Corinthians, 11 and 20 is not violated in that example,
therefore, by the rule of Unity and Harmony.
We keep that example. There's another one though. 1st
Corinthians 11 and 26. For as often as you eat this
bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till
he come. You know this proves that The
facts of the Bible are not violated to do it repeatedly
every Lord's Day. Okay, here's the argument.
It doesn't say every Lord's Day. It doesn't say every Lord's day
so if it doesn't say every Lord's Day, can't we just make
it maybe once a month as long as it's on the Lord's Day.
Or what about this? What about maybe every six
months, what about every year? I heard somebody in the
religious World say, you know what, if we would just take the
communion and do it less, it gives it more.
So, it makes us feel better like it's more important special.
Well, I got news for you folks. The communion is not for our
feeling of special. The communion is to commemorate
the death burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
When are we going to start realizing in the religious
world? It's not about us.
When we worship God in spirit and in truth, we feel good but
it's not about us. It never was supposed to be
about us, it's always going to be about God.
That's what God wants what Jesus wants to what the word of God
tells us to do every Lord's day. When he says, first day of the
week we do it every first day of the week just like they
understood under the Old Law. Keep the Sabbath.
Holy not every fourth one. It was every seventh.
One final thing. If I'm working for Terry.
He says, you know what I pay on Friday I'm not going to say,
well, he probably meant once a month, I'll roll in there in
about four weeks on Friday. No, I'm there.
Every Friday, pay, me boss. When it comes to the community,
it's exactly the same thing first day of the week, every
first day of the week. Number three, though, we apply
the rule of universal application.
I love this. Because if this doesn't fit the
church, I don't know what does this is incredible.
What this means is, as we look to an example, we have to look
to the possibility of whether or not, it is possible for us to do
the same thing under similar circumstances.
In fact, it means this everything taught in the gospel
of Christ is within the realm of possibility, in practice.
For all people in all parts of the world.
In every age, the scope of the Gospel is worldwide both in its
Provisions and in its requirements.
Here's one. Let's put baptism to it.
Okay. Do you know why the universal
application? has the possibility of applying
to everybody no matter where you live, no matter when you live
because even if you live in a third world country, you don't,
you have You got water. The universal application is,
everybody has water. You can't live without water.
So they might say, there's no water at all when you're not
living. So you're going to be leaving or
dying, got to have water. And by the way, I don't care.
If it's a third world country, you will have much water too so
that you can go down into the Waters of baptism and be buried
like Jesus was and rise to walk in newness of life.
You can assimilate that Burial at baptism because anywhere you
live where their Action. There will be much water.
I'm going to tell you some, I've seen some rough-looking water in
the Philippines, but it's much water.
It's deep enough. Every place in the world has an
ocean or a lake or stream, or a pond.
Everybody's got something. The law of universal application
applies. So yes, it is possible for us to
do that. If an example in the New
Testament was such that it could not by impossibility, be applied
to everybody in the world. It would not have been an
approved example. Here's another one.
What about this? What about the Lord's Supper?
now, folks, I'm going to tell you one of the greatest things
about being a Christian. and you want to talk about increasing
your faith, Maybe, you are somebody that you've grown up in
the church? and this is all, you know, you
don't know anything else. You weren't converted out of the
world. All, you know, is what you have
done in the Lord's church, and your family has done, and their
grandparents have done in their great-grandparents have done.
And that's all, you know. And you do it because it's
right. You know what?
Absolutely increases your faith when you go across the world to
another country and you see somebody else using the same
Bible doing the exact same thing.
I don't know why the religious world is filled with all the
production, the bands and all the production.
Do you know this? If you Worship in spirit and in
truth like we're going to do today.
Every single thing we have done today is universally applicable
in our life. We can do it.
You can have one loaf of unleavened bread and Lord's
table. You can have one cup, contained
therein the fruit of the Vine. I don't care where you go.
It doesn't matter where you go, you can do that, it's
duplicatable Universal application.
So the examples in the New Testament, absolutely, that's
what we do. I'm not talking about any other
religious affiliation, talking about what we do everything we
do. We can all do and universally,
we have that application now. So the rule of universal
application supports the fact that these are binding examples
today. What about this though?
This is important too. So this is for all the people
that say no, wait a minute, if you're going to buy one example,
you've got to bind every single little tiny example, to that
comes Under The Heading of the law of materiality, the law of
materiality. Now, I'll just say that
determining whether something is relevant.
Material or essential is very important.
Absolutely important. But also remember this, too,
Incidental matters are never relevant, they are never
material and they are never competent in determining, the
will of God. Question is, what in the world
is a incidental matter with? Every example, by the way, there
is an essential aspect and there is an unessential aspect.
So, there's a material aspect and there's an immaterial
aspect. What do we do?
It's go back to our same, the same examples.
We've been using. What about baptism, okay.
We've already established. Its starts with the word of God.
It produces faith, faith, produces obedience, obedience to
what? What obedience to the gospel?
That's to be baptized in much water.
Okay, that's the material part. That is the essential part.
Here's the immaterial. The place that you got baptized.
And Aqueduct River. A baptistery the ocean.
A Jacuzzi, a nice warm jacuzzi in the winter.
A swimming pool. That is the immaterial part.
So when we look to a Bible example, we look under the laws
of materiality. We look to the things that are
essential but we don't bind any other aspect of the immaterial
or unessential. All that matters is baptism in
water. Here's another one.
Preaching, the gospel.
Okay. Now I'm not specifically
referring to worship. I'm preaching the gospel now
trying to, but I'm talking about just preaching the gospel in
general. Okay.
What did Jesus say? Jesus says, go to all the world
and preach the gospel to Every Creature, take the word of God
to the world. As an evangelist, I'm trying to
devote my life to doing just that taking the gospel to the
world. Preaching, the gospel.
What is the essential element? It's the actual preaching of the
Gospel. What is the unessential
elements? One of which is the means of
travel to get there? It doesn't matter.
He just said go. If Jesus would have said, go and
go in this form or fashion, we would have to bind that, but he
didn't. He just said, go, the essential
part is go and preach. The traveling part is up to us,
it doesn't matter what about this?
What also is the immaterial aspect is the place in which I
preached it. I could proceed in this
building. I can preach it under a tree.
I could preach in somebody's house.
I can go to the Philippines, we meet outside somewhere, we can
go anywhere. The place is not relevant to
evangelism of the preaching of the Gospel.
What the essential is is the actual preaching itself.
Here's another one, the place of assembly.
Yeah, we haven't wonderful building here.
It's a very comfortable place to worship.
I have been in congregations that met in a home.
I've been in congregations at met at the community center in
Ventura. Because you know why, it fit our
needs, the only charges 10 bucks, a service to rent the
facility. Great.
Our worship today is not any more special in this building
than some other place or some other person in some other
assembly. What is the essential?
The essential is this assembling together in one place.
That's the essential. This building does not matter at
all. The church is the body of
Christ. That's what matters when we
assemble. We need to assemble as the body
of Christ in one place. And wherever we choose to do
that is find. That's just up to us.
Now what we can't do is this so don't misunderstand me.
What we can't do is have a few have private worship over here
or if you have private worship over there.
Here's the essential, the essential is this because the
place doesn't matter. So long as this is in place, we
come together in one place. The whole church comes together
in one place. And by the way, that's why we
meet in an undivided assembly, that's why it's what the Bible
says. So the essential part is meeting
in one place. The place that we had plans Road
decide we're going to meet doesn't matter.
We can meet in your backyard. Terry's backyard next Sunday we
can say you know what the church is meeting at Terry's house next
Sunday, that's fine because the building doesn't matter.
There's nothing significant about this building.
There's nothing special about this building.
What did Jesus say about it? The place doesn't matter.
The hour is coming and now is when the true worshipers shall
worship the father in spirit and in truth for the father is
seeking In such to worship him. God is a spirit and those that
worship Him must worship Him in spirit, and in truth, spirit is
the attitude behind it. Truth is that which is in
accordance with Divine truth. Can I throw a little side note
in? I got to throw this in.
Let us not think because we're so afraid of the implications of
the charismatic movement of the 1950s and the 1960s that we
become so robotic because we don't want to, we don't want to
have any kind of emotion. You think the Lord wants a bunch
of emotionless robots. Now emotion is not the basis of
what we believe in practice but truth is the basis on what we
practice. But Hey, listen, put everything
you got in it. Put everything you have in it.
That's what the Lord wants. And by the way, that's what he
meant. When he said to love the Lord,
your God with all your heart, that's not the mind if it was
the mind. And why do you say the mind?
A couple words later? Mind, soul body, and strength.
So put your heart into it. Now we make a point about
something that is not in material.
Please get this. The emblems and items on this
table are not immaterial. They're not.
The significance of the emblems on this table are these one loaf
of unleavened bread. One loaf unleavened bread.
We can't add bread with leaven soda crackers, whatever it has
to be a loaf of unleavened bread.
That's how Jesus gave it in his example.
That's what the disciples continued to do and that's what
we do also. And if we change any aspect of
that, we change what it means. Can't do that.
What else do we have, folks? We've got one One cup on this
table. Paul said this cup is the New
Testament in my blood. That's what Jesus said, Paul
quoting. Jesus, the cup is the New
Testament in my blood. You know what that means?
If that's the case, have you ever considered it this way?
That the cup on that table is as important as the New Testament
itself. Jesus said this cup is the New
Testament in my blood contained therein as the fruit of the
vine. Can't change it.
It is not a material, it's very material those things.
Here's what's immaterial again, where we assemble.
That's immaterial as long as all the church comes together in one
place. Here's another one, though.
The law of limited application. We're almost finished.
This is when the example or the question.
Only applies to the circumstances at hand. or when a
general principle was taught by using a current custom of the
day because we understand this, some examples do not apply to
all circumstances or all conditions, some don't now,
Notice. When they sold their
possessions. Okay.
Is this a binding obligation or binding example for us to sell
our all our possessions and have all things common?
No, watch me on this now. When that when those in
Jerusalem had traveled, however, far they traveled and on
Pentecost data was over a million people there in the
gospel was preached for the first time with the ability to
respond to it. Three thousand Souls were saved.
They were baptized for the remission of their sins.
They turn their back on everything, they turn their back
on their way of life. They were poor, they had nothing
and all of a sudden they were there.
What did they do? They took care of each other.
They sold their possessions and had all things in common.
That was Exclusive, those specific acts to what was
actually happening in the conditions and circumstances of
their life then. So what is the general principle
here? Take care of one another.
That's the general principle. The general principle isn't sell
all your possessions and have one big commune.
It's take care of each other. Here's another one bear.
One another's, burdens. Be there for each other.
That's the general principle to that specific example.
Here's another one. I told you he's going to get
back to this foot. Washing, foot washing Let's talk
about foot washing. It was absolutely needed
customarily at that time. Because they had a lot of dirt
roads, they had a lot of dirt, okay?
And when they would travel mostly by foot their feet would
get dirty and they were send those So when their feet got
dirty, they would go to a particular place and the host.
They're showing Hospitality would wash their feet.
This is a general principle using an ancient custom or a
custom specific to the day, okay?
When Jesus washed the disciples feet, he was giving a
demonstration of service servitude and sacrifice for
others. That's the general principle.
The general principle is is serve others.
Take yourself and remove it from the equation and serve others.
That's what that General principle is.
Here's another one. I'm glad we don't have this holy
kissing. I don't want to kiss you.
Especially if you're a man. I have no desire to do that.
Okay. But in Romans 16:16, Paul said
salute one another with a holy kiss the Churches of Christ.
Let you that was a custom. It was a custom of greeting.
Do you remember when the vile traitor Judas betrayed?
Jesus and he makes the deal with the devil as it were.
He said, whomsoever. I kissed.
That's the one. You know, why?
It was a custom, that's what they did.
I have Italian Heritage on my dad's side, you know what, they,
those in the East do they'll kiss you on both cheeks.
And by the way, I never liked it.
When the ants did that never like that at all?
Okay, do I have to Holy kiss? Anybody know.
But I'll tell you what I got to do though.
I got to have a warm greeting for each other.
I got to do that. I have to have a loving warm
greeting. I got to greet my brothers and
sisters in Christ in love. Just one little side Note 2.
If I may one last thing about this not only is this not
required, it can even be a little bit.
I don't know. Inappropriate in certain
settings, maybe somebody might be offended by that because it
is specific and exclusive to the customs of the day.
The principle is greet one another.
Alright, the last one in finally, That's the Law of
exclusion. The law of exclusion.
Is very important. When there's no precept.
No approved example and no necessary inference.
That includes the practice under consideration.
There's no Authority then for such a practice and it has to be
excluded If there's no example, if there's no precept, if
there's no inference, we have to let it go.
That's not a binding example. God's silence rules against such
a practice in our life, 2nd, John verses 9 through 11.
Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of
Christ is not have God. He Who abides in the doctrine of
Christ has both the father and the son.
If anyone comes to you, and does not bring this Doctrine, do not
receive him into your house. Nor greet him for, he who greets
him, shares in his evil Deeds. Okay.
In conclusion, I'll put them all on the screen.
One final time, here they are. What do we know about examples
and when are they binding, what test can we put to see if it's
an approved example? Well, first of all, the rule of
uniformity look to all the examples on the same subject and
make sure they're all the same and everyone did the exact same
thing. If they did in every example in
the New Testament, by the laws of uniformity, it's a binding
example. Also the rule of Harmony or
Unity. How does that example coincide
with the word of God? Does it go?
Inside with everything else that God said on the subject if it
does and it's in harmony with that then that is a binding
example. What about this?
The rule of universal application.
Is it possible to follow that example?
Today, in the aspects, we talked about today, it certainly is if
it is it is a binding example, understand the law of
materiality, things are essential in material, but there
are some things that are unessential or immaterial got to
know the difference. Between that finally also the
law of limited application. Did it just apply to a specific
custom of the day and was the Lord or the apostles or anyone
else. By example, just demonstrating a
general principle that they needed to know.
And finally if we have no Bible Fork, It's excluded
automatically, it's excluded. This is when examples are
binding on us. Today we speak with the Bible
speaks for silent with the Bible is silent.
And I want you to know that everything that we have done to
the very best of our ability and knowledge today from the word of
God will be in accordance with the examples that are binding in
scripture today. It is Beauty and simplicity.
It's wonderful. And you can worship God today in
spirit. And in truth, with every aspect
of our worship, everything that we do because it follows the
rule of Reversal application. It is possible.
We thank you for listening to our podcast, put on by the
Church of Christ at 22:15 plans. Road in Bakersfield, if you
would like any additional information, or you would like
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