The Battle Cry

I’m hearing a lot these days about how God is doing a NEW things in our time. Now, I am not saying that God CANNOT do new things, for I would be trampling on His sovereignty if I did. I’ve been told by well meaning folk that God doesn’t need to do new things, but that he just IS doing a new thing in our time. While I totally agree with the former, I am skeptical about the latter. When I look as some of the touted NEW things taking place these days I see more of man’s imagination at work along with a little help from the ‘dark side’ (in some cases), than God being manifested in His true glory, majesty and sovereignty.

These NEW things range everywhere from ’softening’ terms we use (’Christ follower’ instead of ‘disciple’), how we ‘do’ church (I hate that term but it’s everywhere) to the completely unbiblical and sometimes even heretical. I have also discovered that most, of not all of the NEW things dancing around on the stages of many ‘churches’, are just based on old lies that surfaced early on in the history of the church that the Apostle Paul even warned against.

When I have thoroughly investigated some of the NEW things popular in our time, I find that scriptural ‘evidence’ for them is either slim and taken out of context, or non-existent. I have offered scripture after scripture, with contextual explanations, and been told what is plainly read is just my opinion man’s doctrine.

I offer here the twin notions that God has not changed and neither has man. Scripture still means what it says to us and what it says about itself. (See this post.) The only things that have changed since men first appeared on planet Earth are the ‘toys’ we play with. Could it be that perhaps WE are the ones fascinated with NEW things and not God? Just a thought. . .

Jesus expressed his exclusivity as the only way to God in John 14:6:

Jesus said to him (Thomas), “I am ^athe way, and ^bthe truth, and ^cthe life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.¹ (Emphasis mine.)

^a John 10:9; Rom 5:2; Eph 2:18; Heb 10:20

^b John 1:14

^c John 1:4; 11:25; 1 John 5:20

¹New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995, S. Jn 14:6

Here is the entry that addresses the question at the Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry (www.carm.org).

The OT saints were saved the same way the New Testament saints were/are saved, by faith.

For what does the Scripture say? “And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.” ⁴Now to the one who works, his wage is not reckoned as a favor, but as what is due. ⁵But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness, ⁶just as David also speaks of the blessing upon the man to whom God reckons righteousness apart from works: ⁷“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven, and whose sins have been covered. ⁸“Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account” (Rom. 4:3-8).

     As you can see, the Bible tells us that Abraham was justified by faith (see Rom. 5:1 and Eph. 2:8-9).  That is, his faith is reckoned as righteousness, v. 4 above.  They were saved by faith in the Messiah in whom they were trusting.  Only, for them it was a trust in the future Messiah.  They knew He was coming as had been prophesied .
     Also, the Holy Spirit was there in the OT times the same as the NT times.  Consider Psalm 51:11, “Do not cast me away from Thy presence, And do not take Thy Holy Spirit from me.”
     God did not change how He saved people in the New Testament.  It has always been by faith.  In the case of the OT people, they looked ahead in time to the Messiah.  We look back to Him and see the cross.