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The Way of Truth |
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The thought in this article is to consider the dangers of not going far enough or going too far, acting too mildly or acting too severely, acting too soon or acting too late, and so on. We should not only act rightly but at the right time and in a right way. Scripture would help us in these things. |
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As to what we do we have the example of Abraham. He was told by God to leave Mesopotamia and go to the land that God would show him. However he went as far as Charran and remained there until his father died. He did not at first go the whole way - he did not go far enough (Acts 7:1-4). When he did eventually go he went too far, going on down into Egypt (Genesis 12:9-20). He then found he had to go back up out of Egypt and make his abode in the promised land (Genesis 13:1-4). In the New Testament we have the case of Peter. He said that he would never let the Lord wash his feet. Then, when Christ made it clear that he must have his feet washed, he went beyond what was necessary and wanted the Lord to wash his hands and his head as well. Christ pointed out that this was not necessary (John 13:3-11). In these cases the simple word of God was not adhered to. Whether it is a question of acting or speaking we should not do less nor more than what God says. Balaam said: "I could not go beyond the commandment of Jehovah to do good or bad out of my heart: what Jehovah shall say, that will I speak" (Numbers 24:13. See also Numbers 22:18). |
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Scripture teaches that we should not turn to the right hand, nor to the left (Proverbs 4:27). We should not add to God's words nor take from them (Proverbs 30:6; Revelation 22:18-19). We should always keep within the limits of what God says, that is, in the straightened way (Matthew 7:13/14). It is like a hedge about us. If we get out of it and go our own way we will certainly find ourselves in trouble: "Whoso breaketh down a hedge, a serpent biteth him" (Ecclesiastes 10:8). While we should see to it that our path is within the limits of God's word we should seek to understand why God is saying to us what he does. We should seek to have the full assurance of understanding (Colossians 2:2). If we know what is to be achieved by what we are doing or saying it is less likely that we shall do or say too much or too little; go too far or not far enough. |
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The divine standard is the truth, as Paul says: "The judgement of God is according to truth" (Romans 2:2). We have : "the form of... truth in the law" (Romans 2:20), but it is exemplified in Jesus: " As [the] truth is in Jesus" (Ephesians 4:21). There is a similar thought in John's Gospel: " For the law was given by Moses: ... truth subsists through Jesus Christ." (John 1:17) Today Man flounders about, going from one extreme to another. For instance, in England adultery is hardly thought of as a sin and no criminal or civil penalty is incurred by committing it, whereas in Arabia adultery carries the death penalty ! In England not only is adultery not regarded as a sin, but sexual acts between two men or two women are acceptable, but if they are between an adult and a boy or girl below the age of sixteen, even if encouraged by the under age person concerned, the adult is regarded as worthy of a severe penalty. In a day to come Christ will judge righteous judgement (Psalm 72:2; John 7:24). There will not be one law for some and another rule for others, though those who should know better will be dealt with more severely (Luke 12:47/48; James 3:1). |
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There is the danger of being too lenient when it comes to dealing with evil. As scripture says: "If favour be shewn to the wicked, he doth not learn righteousness" (Isaiah 26:10). Ahab showed favour to Ben-hadad when he should not have done (1 Kings 20:31-43) and it ultimately resulted in the loss of his own life (1 Kings 22). On the other hand we may be too severe. The nations helped forward the affliction of Jerusalem when they should not have done and incurred the wrath of Jehovah (Zechariah 1:12-17). |
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When we come to the New Testament we find Paul having to take issue with the Corinthian saints because they had not disciplined the incestuous man (1 Corinthians 5). They had not seen the seriousness of what the man had done. However, when we come to the second epistle we find that the Corinthians had got wrong in the other direction (2 Corinthians 2:1-11). They should have taken account of the grief that the man had shown (I assume here that it was the same person as the one dealt with in the first epistle) and restored him to fellowship, but they were slow in doing this. They should have been like God in Zechariah 1:12-17 referred to above. However, we should not only do what is right but do it at the right time. We know that acting too late can have serious consequences. Consider for instance our Lord's parable of the prudent and foolish virgins. The foolish virgins were too late and found themselves locked out (Matthew 25:1-13). Then we have the case of the Israelites. They would not go up against the Amorites when they should have done (Deuteronomy 1:26), but when God told them not to go they did (Deuteronomy 1:43). Other scriptures could be cited. Lot had to be taken almost by force out of Sodom or he would have perished in the iniquity of the city. He lingered when he should have moved fast (Genesis 19:15-16). On the other hand we may |