Indeed, the foundations of all the New Testament are found in the Old. All the definitions of words and terms are found there. Want to know what God's definitions of fornication are? Look at all the things God says were sexual sin in the O.T.. Look at His responses when people did violate His laws... And the lack thereof when they didn't, even if our modern definitions of words and terms do not line up with what was taught, lived and enforced.
Indeed the very foundations of truth are laid there. Build on a different foundation and you will end up believing in a vastly different Jesus, if you end up believing in Him at all.
2Pe 3:16 as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.
This is why we cannot neglect the foundations of our faith lest we, like the lost religious leaders of Jesus day, end up nullifying what God did command, while teaching as doctrines the precepts of men. Distort the meaning and everything good becomes bad, and everything bad ends up being good. Indeed, all of us can believe anything we want to believe "as" truth, if we do what belief groups do to hold fast to their beliefs.
Indeed, everyone from every belief group n the world knows they love truth and have the truth from the Atheists to the Jews, Moslems, Buddhists, Roman Catholics, Jehovah's Witnesses, Baptists ... Yes, every belief group knows they have the truth believe the truth and live the truth to the best of their capability. Why? They do what it takes to hold fast to their beliefs as truth and to prove all opposing beliefs false, comparing themselves with themselves and by themselves. think about it. Which person in any belief group does not:
1.) Gather whatever they can “use” to prove what they “want to believe” to be truth.
2.) Accumulate all evidence they feel might prove all opposing views incorrect.
3.) Assume their beliefs are unquestionable truth, interpret everything in such a way as to make it all support, or at least not negate, their beliefs. Indeed, all “valid” data, must support … or at least not negate, their infallible beliefs.
4.) Reinterpret, ignore, discredit, invalidate … anything that doesn’t seem to fit with their views, Why? their beliefs are “Fact”. All "Valid" data, interpreted correctly, can’t contradict the facts.
5.) They also gather all the other experiences, feelings, data … to solidify their beliefs such as signs, wonders, spiritual gifts or facts about their belief group. Things like: we have a burning in the bosom, we speak in tongues, we perform signs or wonders, a statue of Mary came to life and told us our belief groups views are correct, we have prayed to God for the truth and received “feelings” or even signs from heaven. Or, on a more concrete level: Our belief group is the oldest, largest, fastest growing, wealthiest, has the most experts with doctorates… Include anything that adds assurance that your views and belief group have the most truth.
Indeed, if we do these things, all we can do is harden ourselves into whatever it is we want to believe "as" truth. Do more of any of these and it will result in closing your eyes and ears to even considering that any other position might be valid.
How come the Methodology above is so effective for every belief group on the planet? God designed it this way.
2Th 2:10 and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. 11 For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, 12 in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness. 13 But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.
Contrast this with what we do if we really do want truth:
1.) We Avoid “Methodology One”(Mentioned prior): Proving your beliefs true and holding fast to them, is not the same as, “Proving all things over and over again as a habit and way of life, and holding fast to what is good/true.” Look at that 2Th. 2:10-13 passage. Paul said that the lost in the end times failed, and Paul used the same standard and judged that those he was writing to were held to the same standard but passed the test and received a love of the truth and were true Christians making this a timeless truth.
2.) Open-mindedness: We remain open-minded to altering any, or all of our beliefs in the light of the fullness of the word of God rightly divided. All belief groups believe in being open minded … “until” you accept their beliefs. Then they believe in being as closed as possible. If you love truth, you will continually remain open-minded to altering any or all of your beliefs in the light of the fullness of the truth, when everything that “might” pertain to the topic at hand is rightly divided. How many passages are there about closing your eyes and ears lest you see or hear. Look at Methodology One again. What is it designed to do?
3.) Habitual ongoing Labor/ Getting Every Piece of Data that Might Pertain: If you Love Truth, you, personally, must become a manual laborer and keep on gathering every fact anyone thinks might pertain to every topic at hand. Then gather all the data that “might pertain” no belief group gathers because they can’t use that information to prove their beliefs true or opposing beliefs false. Yes, that’s every piece of data that proves all your current beliefs false that the opponents to your beliefs have gathered, and every fact that might prove beliefs you believe to be wrong to be truth on that topic as well. We are commanded to be habitual, ongoing, never stopping laborers who are approved by God and won’t stand ashamed before Him. How do we determine what that outcome will be? We habitually “Cut-straight” every single piece of the word of God that “might” apply to the topic at hand. This is way different than looking for passages of scripture to prove true what we want to teach on a topic.
CONSISTENCY IN INTERPRETATION: If God, God’s word, and God’s people are not consistent in what they say and do and DON’T SAY AND DON’T DO, then looking for truth in the bible is a waste of time. Holding to consistency includes:
4.) Consistency with Background Context: Pick a meaning that fully aligns with the historical, legal, architectural, agricultural … context.
5.) Consistency of Meaning of words/root words/figures of speech: Hold to a meaning for all words, root words, and figures of speech consistent with their usage throughout the Old and New Testament. We have a Greek Old and New Testament and a Hebrew Old Testament, pick a meaning fully fitting everywhere the same word, root word, and figure of speech is used.
6.) Consistency with the Surrounding Discussion: Hold to a meaning consistent with the entire discussion surrounding the verse or passage being considered, hold to the flow of thought, flow of arguments, meaning of points made …
7.) Consistency with conscience: Example: If your interpretation would be a sin if a man did likewise and your interpretation results in believing God does what would be sin for us, your interpretation is wrong. i.e., there are no illustrations in the Bible where God says He commits adultery. If your chosen meaning for the word adultery would make God an adulterer, and by His own admission, you picked the wrong meaning for the word.
8.) God, God’s People and God’s Word are 100% consistent: Pick an interpretation for all the data that makes God, God’s people and God’s word 100% consistent in “all” they say and do and “all” they don’t say and don’t do. Any inconsistencies, are proof of incorrect beliefs/definitions.
9.) Always apply logic, reason, and rational thinking: Pick an interpretation fully fitting with all logic, reason, and rational thinking. (i.e., if the writer spent a whole chapter saying all gifts are equal and necessary, that none are greater than any others, … do not choose an interpretation for the very next verse that would command us to desire what God spent the previous 30 verses saying doesn’t exist, and that you can’t get, period, regardless of your desire. “Earnestly desire the greater gifts”, contradicts everything prior. Look for the “other” possible meaning. Note: There is one.
10.) Start with the Easiest/Clearest … data on the topic: Interpret the clearest, easiest understood, most straightforward data/passages first—then the more complex or difficult passages. The complex, convoluted, and difficult passages are easy to distort to fit beliefs.
11.) It ALL fits together: Pick a meaning for the parts that fully fit with the whole of the data that might pertain without adding meaning, subtracting meaning, or distorting anything to force it to comply with your beliefs. If everything gathered (#3 above) does not fully fit with everything in #4-10 above, you have the wrong meaning, and you are forcing the scriptures to fit what you want to believe “as” truth.
12.) Keep on continuously proving all things over and over again as a habit and way of life and never stop … and hold fast to what is good/true. Getting to truth is an ongoing process that never ends. One single verse, one fact you missed, one slight change in interpretation … can force a complete reevaluation and even a complete a change of beliefs. That is, if you love truth, and obey what God commands all His people to be continuously doing for and by themselves. If not …
13.) It’s all on You! Trusting others to get to truth “for” you, is like trusting others to have a relationship with your wife / husband / kids “for” you. It cannot be done. Your failure to keep on habitually doing as God commands all His people to keep on habitually doing, proves you have gathered enough using Methodology One to hold fast to what you want to believe and fall short of 2Th. 2:10-12
I always tell everyone: Understand, “Agreement with me might only make us both wrong.” Why? Because it's true. It only takes one verse I missed, in context, cut straight, to change my beliefs.
This verse is in the present tense meaning ongoing continuous action:
“Keep on continuously proving all things over and over again as a habit and way of life and always hold fast to what is good/true.” If you love truth, and not a specific belief, you will constantly look for and reevaluate everything you can find, and yes, you will be willing to alter any and all of your beliefs to fit what the fullness of the word of God really says and means with nothing left out, and nothing distorted to try and prove “what you want to believe” true.
Starting from beliefs, and then going to those who have the same ones to get all the passages they use to prove their beliefs to be fact, opposing beliefs false, and to understand how they interpret everything to hold fast to those beliefs always results in the affirmation of those beliefs. If your goal is to do something like that, pick the beliefs you want to have first. If you want to be Mormon gather their data and use their interpretations. If you want to be a Calvinist use their passages, Roman Catholic ... you get the idea.
Everyone gets what they really want. That which we love least is always forced to conform to that which we love most. Everyone either loves the truth or their beliefs. But the "Many on the Broad path of destruction in Mat. 7 is the same many that believe Jesus is their Lord God and Savior at the end of the chapter to whom Jesus said, "Depart from Me ye who work iniquity for I never knew you."
Everyone using Methodology One, while they will get an unshakeable, unquestionable belief that they have the truth, are really seeing God at work hardening them into what they want to believe because they just love what they want to believe. Everyone picks one, and the Methodology you use proves what camp you are in.
And, indeed the foundations of all that is true are laid in the O.T. want God’s definition of adultery, find every passage that discusses it. How many wives did David have “before” he committed adultery? How many more did he take afterwards? How many times does it say Solomon committed adultery? God says His wives committed adultery against Him. Twice.
If Jesus changed it during His discussion on divorce, did God the Father not get the memo? If only the first marriage was approved of by God and is valid, is Jesus approving divorce for all wives past the first born in His commentary on divorce? Do you even have to divorce them? Can you just kick them to the curb?
What’s only the first wife being God’s will do to inheritance, rights to rule as king? Is Jesus disqualified? Look at the answers and the replies. If Jesus was changing all of the foundations for valid marriage in the eyes of God, or stating that only the first wife you had sex with was approved, what does this do to everything in the O.T.? Should God the Father never have taken His second wife?
But if all it means is, you have sex with them you are considered married. PERIOD! And no divorce is ever approved of “except” in the case of adultery (And that because of your own hard heart.) then the response makes sense …It is better never to get married in the first place if that is the way it is.
But it goes deeper than that. “If any man looketh at a woman to lust after her, he has committed adultery with her in his heart.” Yes, the only word translated for married woman, or all women in general, is used. But again, when did David commit adultery? On wife 8? The next 10-20 wives God said nothing, but the consequence for adultery was the death of David and Bathsheba’s son. If all the other cases were adultery as well, God is either unjust or downright evil for killing the child of just one of the children of his many adulteries.
If God’ God’s people and God’s word are not consistent in all they say and do, and all they don’t say and don’t do, then there is no truth to find. We can make it up and be just as righteous as everyone else who makes up doctrines and teaches them as the commandments and precepts of God.
