One comment that stood out regarding my preaching was a nice compliment of how I preach both the New Testament and the Old Testament. As I considered this I began to ask myself if all preachers preach the Old Testament and the New Testament... and more specifically, why would a preacher not preach the Old Testament - which was the focus of the compliment.
I have started to wonder why someone would not preach the Old Testament with the same fervor and passion as the New Testament... and then this morning I believe I discovered one of many possible answers: Dispensationalism.
To be clear, I am not attempting to explain the concept of dispensationalism in this posting; however, when I read a posting from a church looking for a Pastor that believed in dispensation a light bulb went on in my heart that shed some light as to why the compliment may have needed to be said. I believe that the commenter has experienced ministry from churches that hold to dispensational theology and their experience exemplifies the incorrectness of that position.
In my theology, and in my worldview, God is unchanging. His Word is eternal and He Himself is not influence, changed, or coerced in any way by anything. God is as He has always been: Perfect, Holy, Just, Loving, Patient, Full of Mercy, Quick to Forgive, etc. I further believe that God's expectations for His people have not changed either. God still expects for His people to act, behave, think, and live as He does. The God of the Old Testament is the same God of the New Testament.
This morning as part of my bible study I read Exodus 22-23. There are a lot of laws and rules in these chapters outlining what justice looks like, but verses 4-6 really hit home for me:
If you come across your enemy's ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to take it back to him. If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help him with it. Do not deny justice to your poor people in their lawsuits.
What really struck me is that God has always been full of compassion and mercy. God is not simply laying down examples and rules of justice in these chapters, God is giving examples of how His people should behave, think, and act in life. Does God want you to be kind to only those who are kind to you? Does God only want you to exert effort to help those that you like and who agree with you? Does God assume that poor people are poor because they are lazy and deserve it? Read the above verses again, and then read what Jesus says in Luke 6:
But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.
If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' lend to 'sinners,' expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Same God, Same expectation.... Theology Matters.
