History vs. Contemporary

There are quite a few churches and ‘Christians’ who seem to find the Bible out of date, old-fashioned and unfashionable. Some of the most common protests are that the Old Testament (OT) and New Testament (NT) are vastly different and because they were written about the times in those periods, they aren’t relevant for our times. For instance there are verses in the OT about stoning adulterous women, but no one would think of doing that in modern times.

And, when Paul spoke about marriage, homosexuality and other pitfalls of physical attractions and relationships, it’s said that Paul wasn’t married and couldn’t possibly know what he was talking about.

Besides, if the Bible is written by men, through dictation from God, how can we trust that those men didn’t bend his words a bit, change it to fit them?

Yesterday I read a passage in Romans regarding OT scriptures and their usage in then-modern day times. Romans 15:4 says “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.” I have a NKJV version of the MacArthur Study Bible, which has notes and explanatory writings as well as cross-references to other verses in the footnote section throughout the Bible. The footnote for Romans 15:4 explains this passage: “The divinely revealed OT (written by man but the words are God’s), written for our learning. Although Christians live under the New Covenant and are not under the authority of the Old Covenant, God’s moral law has not changed and all Scripture is of spiritual benefit (1 Cor. 10:6, 10,11; 2 Pet. 1:20, 21).

What caught me here is that it doesn’t matter WHEN the words were written, or under which set of laws we follow from the Bible. What matters is that GOD’S MORAL LAW HAS NOT CHANGED.

To me, that means the 10 commandments are just as morally correct today as they were the day Moses brought them down from the mountain. Although I’ll admit I think stoning an adulterer is a bit much, I do think that most legalities discussed in both NT and OT are morally valid for ANY society; no matter the calendar year.

God’s moral law has not changed and will not change to keep from offending a society, no matter whom or how they read the words.