CONCEPT VERSUS PRECEPT

CONCEPT VERSUS PRECEPT

Friday, July 21, 2017

Acts [ESV] 17:10-11 The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.

1Corinthians 2:11-14 For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. [2Cor.10:12]

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Ephesians 2:8-10 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

  I am sorrowful when some preachers and teachers refer to ideas in the Bible. God’s Word does not present notions or suggestions. God is “ I AM THAT I AM” (Ex.3:14) All-Wise Sovereign presenting His unambiguous principles for our refusal or agreement. A prime example is the truth of John 3:14-18.

  Several times I’ve heard that Paul, as a New Testament (NT) writer, presents new ideas about God. He did not do so. Paul expounded the Old Testament (OT) truth for NT believer population.

  An example is the belief that Paul endorses the idea that we are responsible for working our way to heaven, the puny pundits quoting Philippians 2:12. Hearing or reading such false idea requires that we are to work as did the noble Bereans examining and comparing Scripture. As synagogue Jews (This is not to say there were no gentiles in the church at Berea.) they were well schooled in the OT.  Consequently they would know as do we later students of the completed Word that the precept of the redeemed man being responsible for his after-actions is plain truth beginning in the first chapters of Genesis, and a continuing theme throughout the OT.

  God blessed Paul as penman of 13, possibly 14, NT books. Read them all with sight of comparing Scripture to Scripture and we see that it is impossible to work our way to heaven. Read and compare all of God’s Word and we see no difference; heaven is not a reward, it is a gift. Truly, truly, gifts are not earned. Gifts are proffered. They are accepted, or not.

EBB4