Even
as the Israelites were being delivered from Egyptian bondage, they found
reason to doubt. Having just seen the power of God demonstrated so
thoroughly by the plagues which decimated Egypt, they should have known
that God had the power and will to deliver, yet when they stood at the
edge of the Red Sea and looked back to see Pharaoh's approaching army,
some complained to Moses, "Is it because there are no graves in Egypt
that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done
to us in bringing us out of Egypt? Is not this what we said to you in
Egypt, 'Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians'? For it would
have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the
wilderness" (Exod.
14:11, 12). Despite the recent evidence to the contrary, some of
the Israelites doubted the power of God would deliver them and
complained that they were going to die in the wilderness.
Just
three days after God delivered them from that seemingly hopeless
situation, they complained about water at Marah
(Exod. 15:22-24);
about six weeks later, they were complaining again while in the
Wilderness of Sin
(16:1-3); and they complained again at Rephidim
(17:1-3).
This was all before they even reached Sinai! When they traveled up to
Kadesh-Barnea, they sent spies into the land of promise and 10 of the 12
came back with a bad report, saying, "We are not able to go up against
the people, for they are stronger than we are"
(Num. 13:31),
and the people complained again, ready to appoint new leaders and head
back to Egypt
(14:1-4). It seems that for all God had done and for all they had
seen, they still found reason to doubt and, by doing so, impugned the
character of God by implying that He was not able to do these things.
But the
doubt was unfounded. It wasn't as if the people had reason to doubt, for
God had amply supplied enough evidence to cause them to believe in Him
and trust that He would provide. In effect, they have made God a liar
because they did not believe His 'testimony' or His evidence.
The
apostle John wrote by inspiration that those who deny the testimony of
God regarding His Son make Him to be a liar
(1 John 5:10);
but what about those today who are preaching doubt regarding other
portions of God's testimony _ on subjects such as salvation, our
worship, marriage and divorce, and even our fellowship with others who
profess faith in Christ, but who are not of Christ? Do we think that
there will not be consequences for this? Do we not realize that when we
say that 'one cannot know God's will' on a particular subject or when
one says 'we cannot know the truth' on any particular subject that God
has addressed, then we are once again impugning the character of God and
calling Him a liar?
It is
very troubling to me - more often as of late - that when I am discussing
certain subjects that are clearly taught within God's written word,
someone feels compelled to say, 'We cannot be so dogmatic on this!' Or,
when someone points out the erroneous teaching of a brother on a subject
such as marriage and divorce, someone will say, 'There are many
differences among brethren and we don't need to divide over this one.'
Pardon me? Are we saying that we cannot know God's teaching [the truth]
on marriage, divorce, and remarriage? Are we saying, now, that we cannot
know God's teaching [the truth] on salvation? If I didn't know better, I
would think we were standing at the edge of the Promised Land, hearing
some of my brethren saying, 'We are not able!' Where are the Joshuas and
Calebs for today?
But why
this doubt? Why are some of my brethren all of a sudden doubting our
ability to know God's will on some topics - topics that have been
clearly understood for centuries? Why are some brethren now impugning
the character of God by preaching doubt, rather than instilling trust
and faith by talking about the surety and clarity of God's word? Why are
some brethren now arguing that since we cannot say we know the truth on
everything God has revealed, then we should not preach absolute truth on
anything? Is it possible that God has failed to sufficiently provide for
us, as those Israelites believed so long ago? Is it really that God's
word is not so clear on these subjects? Or is it something else?
I
cannot answer why some brethren are preaching doubt today [though some
brethren are making it clear why they do this], but I can answer the
question about the ability to understand God's word and the surety that
God has provided all we need to know, and in such a way that it can be
known. All we have to do is look into God's word [and that is where some
are failing]. With that in mind let us consider the following three
passages, which speak about understanding the will of God.
First,
consider Paul's inspired revelation that God "desires all people to be
saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth"
(1 Tim. 2:4).
NOTE: God desires that we know the truth; did He desire something of man
which is beyond his ability? If we are going to be consistent, then if
we argue that man cannot know the truth, it must follow that man cannot
be saved, either; God provided salvation and the means to obtain it,
just as surely as He provided the truth and the means to understand it.
If man cannot know the truth, then it must logically follow that he
cannot obtain salvation, either, since God desires and provides both. If
not, why not?
Next,
consider Paul's inspired admonition to the Ephesian brethren to
"understand what the will of the Lord is"
(Eph. 5:17).
Not only is it God's desire that men know the truth, He has also
commanded that we know it [God's will = truth]. Now, has God commanded
something which is beyond our ability? If so, what kind of God must He
be? Surely, we are not going to start preaching that God wants and
commands something of mankind that he is unable to do, are we?
And,
finally, consider Paul's inspired words to the Ephesian brethren when he
wrote about the gospel plan of salvation [something particularly
relevant to this discussion]. Here, Paul reminded them that, regarding
that "mystery" of God's plan for salvation, he had "written already, by
which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of
Christ" (Eph. 3:3,
4). Did you catch that? Paul said they could understand God's
once-hidden plan for man's salvation; they could understand the truth!
Now, we - who are supposedly much more educated and intellectually
astute - are now arguing that we cannot understand this, or other
controversial subjects? Really?
The
reality is, God's word is not so unclear and difficult to understand or
apply. The difficulty for so many - including many of our brethren now -
is in simply accepting what it teaches. Within my lifetime, I have seen
brethren, who once boldly preached the truth on some subjects, now tuck
tail and become inexplicably timid when addressing the same topic today.
Has God's word suddenly become more difficult for them to understand? Or
is it something else?
Other Articles by Steven Harper
God Expects Us to Think