HANDLING ARIGHT THE WORD OF TRUTH

     A pleasant good morning to each listener. It is good to have
you in our audience this morning. It is my prayer that each one will
examine what is said from week to week. Please, please, if you have
a problem with anything that you hear, would you let me know. It is
my desire to "speak where God's Word speaks, and to remain silent
where God has not spoken." Would to God that everyone had this same
attitude. Do you, my friend, believe that everything that we teach
and practice must be based upon God's Revealed Word? Or, do you feel
that it makes no difference what we believe and practice?
     I introduce our subject this morning by using an illustration.
I ran across this story some years ago. There was an elderly
mountaineer who wanted to buy some postage stamps, a cook-stove, a
sack of flour, and a bonnet for his wife. He also wanted to have his
horse shod. Someone told him that a town about ten miles away was
the proper place to buy all these items. So, the man rode into town
and stopped at the first house he saw. When the lady came to the
door he told her he wanted to get his horse shod. "Well," she said,
"does this look like a blacksmith shop? This is a dwelling," and she
shut the door in his face. The poor fellow did not know that it made
any difference where he stopped. He had been told that in this town
all his wants could be supplied, and yet he was refused at the very
first effort. Cast down, but not discouraged, he tried again. This
time he found the blacksmith shop and inquired for postage stamps.
He met with ridicule and he retreated to the millinery shop, where
he asked the price of cook-stoves. The proprietor had none to sell,
and he again took his departure. But he was determined to get his
wife a bonnet, and he made a last desperate effort by going to the
hardware store and asked to see their bonnets. He failed again. He
even failed to get a sack of flour at the carpenter shop, and so he
left town disgusted, declaring that he had been misinformed when he
had been told that all these things could be found in town. He
should have known that it was not only necessary to come to town,
but to the proper place in town, to satisfy his various needs.
     In this illustration the incident is somewhat over exaggerated,
but it serves to illustrate the manner in which many handle the
Bible, the word of God. They have been told that the Bible is the
place to go for the blessings they need, but they do not know where
in the Bible to find them.
     In teaching Timothy how to study God's will Paul said, "Give
diligence to present thyself approved unto God, a workman that
needeth not to be ashamed, handling aright the word of truth" (2
Timothy 2:15). The Bible is a book we must handle properly if we are
to be blessed by the reading of it.
     If you have a mathematics textbook, and you want to study
fractions, you turn to that part of the text which deals with this
subject. If you want to know how to figure interest, you study the
chapter on interest. Do you know that the Bible should be used just
as sensibly? If you want to study the plan of salvation for people
today, you would not turn back to the Old Testament, for that
subject is not covered there.
     The first thing we must do to handle the Bible aright is to
rightly divide it. Some versions of 2 Timothy 2:15 translate the
text as "rightly dividing the word of truth." We must be sure to
rightly divide the Bible if we are to handle it aright.
     When we open the Bible, we see that it is divided into the Old
and the New Testament. A testament is a covenant and the Old
Testament was God's covenant with the children of Israel. It was
never intended for a single person who was not born into Abraham's
lineage or bought with his money. The Old Testament was given to
Israel, and the Gentile nations were never included in it. Listen to
Moses as he speaks in Deut. 5:1-3, "Here, O Israel....The Lord God
made a covenant with us in Horeb. The Lord made not this covenant
with our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive
this day." In looking back at the law of Moses, the apostle Paul
said, "what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are
under the law" (Romans 3:19). So the Old Testament was given to
Israel and it was Israel that Jehovah expected obedience to it. Even
if the law was still binding upon mankind today, you would not be
under it, unless you are a direct descendent from Abraham, through
Isaac, through Jacob (whose name was changed to Israel).
     It is interesting to notice why the old covenant was given.
Also, how long was it to last? Paul answers these questions for
us. Reading from Galatians 3:19, "Wherefore then serveth the law? It
was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to
whom the promise was made."  The apostle said the law was given to
control sin, and that it was given TIL THE SEED SHOULD COME. If we
can identify the seed, we can learn when the Old Law ceased to be
binding upon anyone. The same apostle states, "Now to Abraham and
his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of
many, but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ" (Galatians
3:16). So, the law of Moses, which is the Old Testament, was added
because of transgressions till the seed should come and the seed was
Christ Jesus. Therefore, the Old Testament remained in force until
Christ came. Listen to Christ speak, "Think not that I am come to
destroy the law, or the prophets, I am not come to destroy, but to
fulfill. For verily I say unto you. Till heaven and earth pass, one
jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be
fulfilled" (Matthew 5:17, 18).  Jesus lived under the Law of Moses.
At His death, while on the cross, He stated, "It is finished." What
is finished? His mission on earth; His work; but, also, the Law.
     Paul declared that, "Christ blotted out the handwriting of
ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took
it out of the way, nailing it to the cross" (Col. 2:14). Language
could not be any plainer than this. He nailed it to the cross.
Christ said he had not come to destroy the law, but to fulfill it.
On the cross, he said "It is finished." He had fulfilled it. He had
lived up to its requirements and he had fulfilled every prophecy of
the Old Testament. He did not come to destroy the Law. And, yet it
is no longer binding upon mankind. Jesus came to fulfill it; and
when it was fulfilled, it is no longer a valid law for man.
     Paul further explained the law by saying, "Wherefore the law
was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be
justified by faith, but after that faith is come, we are no longer
under a schoolmaster" (Galatians 3:24,25).  The apostle said the law
led men to Christ, but that after Christ came they were no longer
under the law.
     When we insist that the old law was nailed to the cross, some
ask: "What part of the law?" Do you know that the Bible does not
talk about parts of the law? When you hear such terms as "the
judicial part," "the moral part," "the ceremonial part," just
remember that that is not in the Book of God. Christ fulfilled in
all, and nailed it all to the cross. The judicial part, the moral
part, the ceremonial part. The Bible talks of no such distinctions.
But, if it did, Christ nailed it all to the cross.
     There are those today who go to the Old Testament to justify
their various religious beliefs. Some go to the Old Testament to
justify polygamy; some go to justify the burning of incense in
worship; some go to justify the keeping of the sabbath; some go to
justify the use of mechanical instruments of music in worship; some
go to elevate a priesthood over others; and on an on we might go. If
you cannot find it in the New Testament, the new covenant of Jesus
Christ, then go back to the Old Law and justify it.
     My friends, have you ever stopped to think that if the Old
Testament is binding upon us today, that we must obey all of it?
James said, "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend
in one point, he is guilty of all" (James 2:10). What must we do if
the Old Testament is binding today? We read that all men must go up
to Jerusalem three times each year. Are you ready to make your three
trips to Jerusalem?? You must, you know, if the law is still to be
appealed to. Do you have your animal to offer as a sacrifice?  What
we are saying is simply this: If you attempt to appeal to the Law of
Moses for one thing, my friend, you are obligated to keep all of the
commandments of the Law. Listen to Paul again, "For I testify again
to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the
whole law" (Galatians 5:3).  He simply tells us once again, If you
would keep part of the Law, then you must keep all of it.
     Sometimes I feel that people look at the Law of Moses with a
"Cafeteria attitude." You see, one goes to the cafeteria and goes
down the line, choosing what he or she wants, and rejecting what
they do not want. People go to the Old Testament and they choose
what they want and reject what they do not want. But, it just does
not work that way. Either you take it all or you refuse it all. If
you take one part of it, Paul says you must take all of it.
     Let me hasten to point out. I believe that the Old Testament is
the inspired word of God; that every word of it came from Heaven,
from the mind of Jehovah God. I believe that every word of the Old
Testament is true; that there are no errors therein. But, at the
same time I do not believe that it a law that is binding upon
Christians today. We are now under the law of the Spirit of life in
Christ Jesus, so says Paul in Romans 8:2. I do not look upon the Old
Testament as useless today, simply because we are no longer under
it. We should all study the Old Testament; glean lessons from it.
Paul states, "whatsoever things were written aforetime were written
for our learning" (Romans 15:4). We can learn about faith; about
obedience; and many other lessons from the Old Testament. What we
are saying is that we cannot go back to the Old Testament for our
authority in what we practice in worship and service to Christ
Jesus today. We now live under the new covenant, the new law given
by Christ. And that if found in the New Testament; not the Old.
     If you would seek information about how to be saved from sins
today, where would you go in God's Book? You would go to that part
that deals with the subject of salvation. The book of Acts in the
New Testament tells us about thousands of people who expressed their
faith in Christ and what they were told to do in order to be saved
from their sins. In Acts 2:38, they were told, "Repent and be
baptized everyone of you for the remission of your sins." Saul of
Tarsus was told, "Now why tarriest thou, arise and be baptized, and
wash away thy sins, calling upon the name of the Lord" (Act 22:16).
Thus, if you wish to learn what to do to become a child of God, you
need to read the book of Acts. There are many examples of those who
accepted heaven's instruction on how to become a child of God.
     The letters from Romans through Revelation tells us how the
child of God should live and conduct himself or herself in order to
please our God. These letters prepare us to meet our Lord in that
great day of judgement, when the secrets of all men will be unveiled
before the tribunal bar of heaven. You shall be there, I shall be
there. And we will give an accounting of the life we have lived here
in the flesh. Are you ready? You shall be there.

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