1 Thessalonians 5:21 ...test everything; hold fast to what is good...
He really challenged me, because he preached these sermons loaded with so much scripture. I had never heard a sermon so jam packed with the Word of God, and it was the scripture itself that pierced my heart and drove me to find out if this guy was full of it or not.
The more I searched my Bible, the more confident I felt that Staley was right, until I came to certain verses in Galatians and Hebrews. I was so relieved he was wrong! Phew! I didn't have to do things that made me uncomfortable!—But then I studied all the scriptures that seemed to say that the law was good — all the places Paul shows high esteem for the law and follows it himself, and again I knew something was wrong. I found that either Paul had multiple personality disorder, or I was missing something.
In the end I concluded that the law is most definitely good, and after letting go and allowing myself to really look at Torah, and do what it says, I have fallen more in love with Jesus, and been so blessed in obeying what I read in the Old and New Testaments.
Since that time, I have been slowly setting out to reconcile what I believe about the scriptures to the verses that don't seem to fit. Many were easily reconciled, others have left me scratching my head. But I keep revisiting these hard verses—I am not afraid to challenge my own beliefs! All that matters to me, is standing on the Word of God and walking in truth. If the Lord proves me wrong I am open to correction — I've been allowing the scripture to prove me wrong a lot the past few years. This is an exercise in obedience and trust. WE MUST SEARCH OUT THE THINGS THAT WE DO NOT FULLY UNDERSTAND! God conceals things from us, because He wants us to seek!
Proverbs 25:2 | Hebrews 11:6 |
OKAY... Enough backstory.
Galatians 3:15 Brothers and sisters, let me take an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or add to a human covenant that has been duly established, so it is in this case.
Immediately, the words “set aside” jumped out at me. I remembered there is a verse in Hebrews said that the Mosaic Covenant was “set aside”. I had to find it. It seemed that maybe these verses were in conflict to each other and I had to figure it out. So I searched through Hebrews looking for it. I had it underlined with question marks drawn around it, because this was one of those verses that seemed to go against what I found in the rest of scripture, but I hadn't been able to explain it to myself.
Hebrews 7:18-19 The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God.
CONFLICT...
I have read this chapter so many times trying to figure it out. THEN IT JUMPS OFF THE PAGE AT ME! Hebrews 7:18's “regulation” is not referring to the Mosaic covenant! It is referring to a specific regulation of the priesthood. “DUH, LAEL! The whole book of Hebrews is about Christ being our High Priest!”
Hebrews 7:15-16 And what we have said is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek appears, one who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life.
Hebrews 7:28 For the law appoints as high priests men in all their weakness; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever.
Hebrews 7:23-26 Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. Such a high priest truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens.
Hebrews 7:27 Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He (Jesus) sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself.