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Even
as the Israelites were being delivered from Egyptian bondage,
they found reason to doubt. Having just seen the power of God
demonstrated so thoroughly by the plagues which decimated
Egypt, they should have known that God had the power and will
to deliver, yet when they stood at the edge of the Red Sea and
looked back to see Pharaoh's approaching army, some complained
to Moses, "Is it because there are no graves in Egypt
that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What
have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? Is not this
what we said to you in Egypt, 'Leave us alone that we may
serve the Egyptians'? For it would have been better for us to
serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness" (Exod.
14:11, 12). Despite the recent evidence to the contrary, some
of the Israelites doubted the power of God would deliver them
and complained that they were going to die in the wilderness.
Just
three days after God delivered them from that seemingly
hopeless situation, they complained about water at Marah (Exod.
15:22-24); about six weeks later, they were complaining again
while in the Wilderness of Sin (16:1-3); and they complained
again at Rephidim (17:1-3). This was all before they even
reached Sinai! When they traveled up to Kadesh-Barnea, they
sent spies into the land of promise and 10 of the 12 came back
with a bad report, saying, "We are not able to go up
against the people, for they are stronger than we are"
(Num. 13:31), and the people complained again, ready to
appoint new leaders and head back to Egypt (14:1-4). It seems
that for all God had done and for all they had seen, they
still found reason to doubt and, by doing so, impugned the
character of God by implying that He was not able to do these
things.
But
the doubt was unfounded. It wasn't as if the people had reason
to doubt, for God had amply supplied enough evidence to cause
them to believe in Him and trust that He would provide. In
effect, they have made God a liar because they did not believe
His 'testimony' or His evidence.
The
apostle John wrote by inspiration that those who deny the
testimony of God regarding His Son make Him to be a liar (1
John 5:10); but what about those today who are preaching doubt
regarding other portions of God's testimony _ on subjects such
as salvation, our worship, marriage and divorce, and even our
fellowship with others who profess faith in Christ, but who
are not of Christ? Do we think that there will not be
consequences for this? Do we not realize that when we say that
'one cannot know God's will' on a particular subject or when
one says 'we cannot know the truth' on any particular subject
that God has addressed, then we are once again impugning the
character of God and calling Him a liar?
It
is very troubling to me - more often as of late - that when I
am discussing certain subjects that are clearly taught within
God's written word, someone feels compelled to say, 'We cannot
be so dogmatic on this!' Or, when someone points out the
erroneous teaching of a brother on a subject such as marriage
and divorce, someone will say, 'There are many differences
among brethren and we don't need to divide over this one.'
Pardon me? Are we saying that we cannot know God's teaching
[the truth] on marriage, divorce, and remarriage? Are we
saying, now, that we cannot know God's teaching [the truth] on
salvation? If I didn't know better, I would think we were
standing at the edge of the Promised Land, hearing some of my
brethren saying, 'We are not able!' Where are the Joshuas and
Calebs for today?
But
why this doubt? Why are some of my brethren all of a sudden
doubting our ability to know God's will on some topics -
topics that have been clearly understood for centuries? Why
are some brethren now impugning the character of God by
preaching doubt, rather than instilling trust and faith by
talking about the surety and clarity of God's word? Why are
some brethren now arguing that since we cannot say we know the
truth on everything God has revealed, then we should not
preach absolute truth on anything? Is it possible that God has
failed to sufficiently provide for us, as those Israelites
believed so long ago? Is it really that God's word is not so
clear on these subjects? Or is it something else?
I
cannot answer why some brethren are preaching doubt today
[though some brethren are making it clear why they do this],
but I can answer the question about the ability to understand
God's word and the surety that God has provided all we need to
know, and in such a way that it can be known. All we have to
do is look into God's word [and that is where some are
failing]. With that in mind let us consider the following
three passages, which speak about understanding the will of
God.
First,
consider Paul's inspired revelation that God "desires all
people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the
truth" (1 Tim. 2:4). NOTE: God desires that we know the
truth; did He desire something of man which is beyond his
ability? If we are going to be consistent, then if we argue
that man cannot know the truth, it must follow that man cannot
be saved, either; God provided salvation and the means to
obtain it, just as surely as He provided the truth and the
means to understand it. If man cannot know the truth, then it
must logically follow that he cannot obtain salvation, either,
since God desires and provides both. If not, why not?
Next,
consider Paul's inspired admonition to the Ephesian brethren
to "understand what the will of the Lord is" (Eph.
5:17). Not only is it God's desire that men know the truth, He
has also commanded that we know it [God's will = truth]. Now,
has God commanded something which is beyond our ability? If
so, what kind of God must He be? Surely, we are not going to
start preaching that God wants and commands something of
mankind that he is unable to do, are we?
And,
finally, consider Paul's inspired words to the Ephesian
brethren when he wrote about the gospel plan of salvation
[something particularly relevant to this discussion]. Here,
Paul reminded them that, regarding that "mystery" of
God's plan for salvation, he had "written already, by
which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the
mystery of Christ" (Eph. 3:3, 4). Did you catch that?
Paul said they could understand God's once-hidden plan for
man's salvation; they could understand the truth! Now, we -
who are supposedly much more educated and intellectually
astute - are now arguing that we cannot understand this, or
other controversial subjects? Really?
The
reality is, God's word is not so unclear and difficult to
understand or apply. The difficulty for so many - including
many of our brethren now - is in simply accepting what it
teaches. Within my lifetime, I have seen brethren, who once
boldly preached the truth on some subjects, now tuck tail and
become inexplicably timid when addressing the same topic
today. Has God's word suddenly become more difficult for them
to understand? Or is it something else?
Steven
Harper
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