11/01/18 - Heb 13

Nov 1, 2018

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.  Heb 13:8

The Word of Jesus is not cultural, it is eternal--- so follow Him completely.

Isn’t it interesting that humans like to use the culture to interpret Scripture, instead of Scripture to interpret culture. 

I know there are many opinions and controversies about this, but consider how for thousands of years, the Scriptures defined  marriage, men’s and women’s roles in the church, work weeks, appropriate sexual & moral guidelines, legal actions, and much more.  But as cultures challenge those morals, we see the Church adapt the application of Scriptures to match the culture.

That leaves us only a few answers for accepting the change in application:

1.       We are compromising the Word of God.

2.       We were wrong in the application for generations.

3.       God changed His standard for this culture.

While we may have different opinions about options #1 or #2, Hebrews is clear about option #3.  Jesus doesn’t change!  Which means His Word doesn’t change – since Jesus is the Word (John 1:1).

Some hear that and instantly reject the thought, expecting God to change based on the times.  Others shout AMEN to the statement, while they stay stuck in their legalistic arrogance.  But for God to be God, He must be True!  His Word must never change, or everything would collapse completely.  Thankfully, Jesus is the Same forever.

That doesn’t mean the Scriptures are uncultural, since every story of the Bible has culture in it.  We must understand the culture to properly apply the lessons.  We also know that culture changes with the generations, and often recycles from the past.  But Jesus is the standard – He doesn’t change, culture must change to connect with Him. 

We should stand in awe of the Word of God.  It has traversed thousands of years and many generations, yet STILL is amazingly relevant and accurate for our cultural issues.  We should also be incredibly grateful that the Jesus who saved his disciples is the same Jesus that offers us salvation 2000 years later.  But most of all we should kneel in full obedience, trusting God’s Word to be better for us in the long run than any cultural mores men can come up with.

When culture clashes with God’s Word, choose God’s Word.   I realize that may come with ridicule, labeling and even persecution from those around us, but God is eternal and they are temporal.  One thing you can count on – the culture will change but Jesus won’t.