Delightful Light

Judge for yourselves what is right, to obey God or man's rules, Acts 4:19 . Making rules of etiquette and justifying those rules with good intentions does not prevent wrong doing of any kind. Instead, it merely displaces where the wrong is done. Rules of etiquette or today's traditions of the elders added to the scriptures actually nullify God's words the same way they did in the past. But rules of etiquette also set up the scenario for people in authority to lord those rules over others, Matthew 20:25 , Mark 10:42 , Luke 22:25 .  God's words are violated no matter the justification for rules of etiquette. Thus, rules of etiquette actually bind burdens upon people's shoulders and do nothing to help those people be set free from the chains that enslave them to burdens, Matthew 23:2-5 . In other words, people behave the way they do because of their chains. Adding rules of etiquette to those chains does nothing to remove the chains and set them free....

The Curse   Jesus used human body parts to represent individual members within the Body of Christ as a whole as He spoke in parables. The "Beatitudes" within the gospels will yield ample examples of this. The apostle Paul gave us further understanding of body part analogy here: For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of the body, being many, are one body; so also is Christ. For in one Spirit were we all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether bond or free; and were all made to drink of one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; it is not therefore not of the body. And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; it is not therefore not of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling? Bu...

The Subtraction Ideally, in the perfect garden of Eden, there were no quarrels between any combination of men and women. There would not have been any quarrels even if Eve had raised children prior to the fall. Had it existed, this would have been a perfect example of unified authority that does not exalt itself over a brother as demonstrated by the apostles in 1 Thessalonians 2:6 . There would have been no exercise of authority over any human as they would have been one and equally authoritative over the rest of the earth while spread apart as commanded. Regardless of this originally intended equality, the fall happened and Jesus commanded even men to do what the religious leaders said: Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, saying: "The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them. ...

God's Original Design Now, look at 1 Timothy 2:12  again more carefully. If God allows women to teach men, there will be examples of such in the Holy Bible. We know that God's original design for women was to rule equally with men over the earth. We also know God allows women to teach men. Here are a few examples sanctioned by God of women teaching men. Genesis 38  - a woman teaches one of the 12 patriarchs about righteousness Joshua 2-6  - a woman teaches all of Israel about great faith Judges 4-5  - a woman judges men Esther - a woman teaches a king about the character of his trusted friend Luke 2:36  - a woman prophesies her lessons over men for 60 c. years Luke 7:36-50  - a female sinner is used to rebuke religious leaders Even the book of Proverbs is an example of a woman teaching men. Within Proverbs, wisdom is portrayed female. Could it be that in the same way Eve was the female portion of A...

So far we have explored various ways through time God's words have been nullified by additions to and subtractions from God's words via rules of etiquette or the traditions of men. Now let's test the Apostle Paul's words to see if the cause of sin as defined by Moses is indeed a snare to even an Apostle. It is important to remember here that the idea of adding and subtracting to God’s words did not come from Moses. Rather, nullifying God's words was witnessed by, then understood by, then communicated by Moses. The evil of nullifying God's words existed at the very fall in Genesis 3 . It did not start like the laws of marriage at the beginning of creation. With this in mind, t he apostle Paul justifies his command in Timothy 2:12-15 by two things: But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet. For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve. And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being dece...

No Loud Worship Finally, how do rules against loud worship and prayer that distract others from seeking God violate God's words? This may seam like a trick question because we are to consider others before ourselves and not cause weaker members to stumble. However, we are to consider God before we consider others. And He said to him, " 'YOU SHALL LOVE THE Lord YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.' "This is the great and foremost commandment . Matthew 22:37-38 Any rule for any reason that gives any precedence to any created thing rather than to God will automatically nullify the great and foremost commandment through idolatry. Loud worship is commanded in the Bible in many places. Just look up the word "shout" in any concordance and this command becomes apparent very quickly. David's tabernacle was filled with 4000 musicians praising the Lord, 1 Chronicles 23:5 . 4000 divided by 168 ...

No Laptops in the 1st Four rows You may ask, "How does the rule 'no laptops in the first four rows' nullify Gods commands? Since, three valid justifications for this rule can be presented, the answer will present three potential means by which God's words would be nullified by rules of etiquette.    A. Prevent inappropriate material broadcasted inadvertently: If inappropriate material is inadvertently broadcast, why is Matthew 18:15-19  not applied against the individual viewing such material on his laptop in the first place? Why is the fact that person is using their laptop to view such material not brought before the entire body to cut that person off in accordance with Jesus' command? Did Jesus not define love as keeping his commands, John 14:15 , 21  even when His commands seem to us to be harsh? Is the fear of man a snare to the leadership, Proverbs 29:25 ? Or is it that "kindness" or "gentleness" are used to justify...

Three Current Examples Now that we know the two problems with teaching rules of etiquette, let's look at FDC's rules of etiquette to see if these rules nullify God's words and whether or not this position leaves the undiscerning vulnerable to every wind of doctrine. Keep Your Shoes On You may ask, "How does the rule to 'keep your shoes on' cause someone to disobey or nullify the words of God?" It is written that members of the body must do what the leaders who sit in Moses' seat say, Matthew 23:3 . If God with His still small quiet voice commanded the apostle Peter to remove his shoes every time he came before God in prayer at FDC, Peter would be required to obey both  Matthew 23:3  and God’s stilll small quiet voice to remove his shoes. But, in order to obey both the apostle Peter would have to forever remain outside of FDC to pray. Thus, the leaders of FDC have succeeded in preventing true worshipers from entering into God's ...

I've been told by a Pastor working on a doctorate in divinity that they are instructed by their teachers that congregations are unable to understand the word of God unless Pastors teach them. It would appear that the Holy Bible would agree with this claim. After all, people who remain in the flesh are unable to chew the meat of more difficult matters within the Holy Bible. But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear. Isaiah 59:2 Son of man, you live in the midst of the rebellious house, who have eyes to see but do not see, ears to hear but do not hear; for they are a rebellious house. Ezekiel 12:2 Jesus and the following disciples say the same thing: Jesus You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. Matthew 7:5 Paul And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritu...

Today's Application Let's make up a pretend religious establishment and call it Fully Dedicated Church (FDC). Let's say the founders of FDC require the following three rules of etiquette as demonstrations of love towards other FDC members: Keep your shoes on at all times because feet stink and its not pleasant No laptops in the first four rows to prevent:   Inappropriate material broadcasted on tv, Appropriate non-sanctioned material inadvertently broadcasted with implied approval,   Appropriate sanctioned material is not shown favoritism. No loud worship or prayer in certain areas because it distracts others from their pursuit. On the surface, these rules seem justifiable as loving etiquette in order to consider others before ourselves. Let's take a closer look at these rules by comparing them to what is written in the Holy Bible. Doing so, will bring us face to face with two problems. The First Problem Those who write the ru...

Moses set the example of adding to the commands of God. The Pharisees continued his example in this manner: For God said, 'HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER,' and, 'HE WHO SPEAKS EVIL OF FATHER OR MOTHER IS TO BE PUT TO DEATH.' "But you say, 'Whoever says to his father or mother, "Whatever I have that would help you has been given to God, " he is not to honor his father or his mother.' And by this you invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition. Matthew 15:4-6 The motivation for the Pharisees' behavior may have been to go above and beyond in sacrifice to God in an attempt to please God, a seemingly noble gesture, yet the result was to nullify God's standards of sacrifice. So, Jesus says these words: THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME. 'BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN .'" Matthew 15:8-9 The justification f...