\n\t\t\t\t\t\tDownload Audio\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\tText: John 12:44-50<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I. I continue to be amazed at the lengths people will go to justify a belief.<\/p>\n A. Perhaps you have heard the story of Martin Luther’s decision that James 2 did not\nbelong in the sacred text because of one small phrase in James 2:24.\n 1. It contradicted everything that Martin Luther had come to believe about\nGod’s word.\n
2. Instead of re-examining his beliefs, he decided to discount the passage.<\/p>\n B. So many people do this to God’s word. They approach the Bible with the goal of\nproving what they already believe instead allowing the Word to teach them what\nthey ought to believe.\n 1. When passages are shown to conflict with their beliefs, they seek some\nway to remove the passage or alter them to match their belief.\n 2. An example of the latter is the Jehovah Witnesses who developed their\nown translation so as to justify their false teachings.\n C. Unfortunately, these same attitudes of making the Scriptures match what they\nbelieve occurs among the brethren.\n 1. I once received a statement from a brother who said: “We have scripturally\ndecided that Jesus’ words, which were restricted to Old Testament Israel,\nwill not judge New Testament Christians on the last day.”\n a. Now I strongly disagree that they had scripturally proven anything,\nbut these are his words, not mine.\n
b. His message contained no evidence.<\/p>\n 2. I then had to ask him how he could call himself a Christian, which means\n“follower of Christ,” if he did not feel he had to obey Christ.\n a. He was very irrate in his response, but the key point he made was\nthat he did follow Jesus’ teachings, but only those statements he\nmade after his resurrection and before his ascension.\n b. Unfortunately for this man, Jesus said something different – John\n12:46-50\n c. Of course, this man doesn’t believe this because Jesus said it\nbefore he died on the cross.\n
3. How could a person come to such a strange belief? <\/p>\n a. It started with the fact that people like this brother hold a belief that\nis easily disproved by the teachings of Jesus.\n b. Rather than change their belief, they decided remove themselves\nfrom being accountable to Jesus’s teachings in the gospels.\n c. To remain objective in this lesson, I won’t even mention what\nbelief they are trying to justify.\n D. Let us examine the reasonableness of the claim that the teachings of Jesus before\nhis death on the cross were only for the Jews and were not meant to be followed\nby Christians.\n
II. Let us first apply common sense<\/p>\n A. It is a fact, undisputed, that the four gospel accounts were written after Jesus’\ndeath and resurrection. The accounts themselves contain events which happened\nafter Jesus’ resurrection, so they had to have been written after that time.\n
B. We also know that the Old Testament ended with the death of Jesus on the cross.<\/p>\n
1. Colossians 2:13-14 – The law was nailed to the cross.<\/p>\n 2. Hebrews 10:9-10 – He took away the first to establish a second, sanctified\nthrough the body of Jesus\n C. If the life and words of Jesus were only for those under the Old Law, then what\nare the purposes of the four gospels?\n 1. Why would Christians write books after the end of the Old Law about\nthings that only apply to those who lived under that law?\n 2. According to this man, it would not benefit any Christian, other than as\nhistory.\n
3. It would not, and has not been, accepted by the Jews as part of their Law.<\/p>\n
D. Yet, these Gospels do state their purpose<\/p>\n
1. Mark 1:1 – The good new (gospel) of Jesus Christ<\/p>\n 2. Luke 1:1-4 – So you will know the exact truth of the things you were\ntaught.\n
a. Notice Theophilus was taught the things contained in Luke<\/p>\n 3. John 20:31 – So that Christians might believe and through that belief have\nlife in Jesus’ name.\n
III. Were there teachings by Jesus in the gospels that the apostles bound on Christians?<\/p>\n
A. The plan of salvation is fully taught in the Gospels, but not prior to them<\/p>\n
1. John 6:45 – Must hear and learn<\/p>\n
2. John 3:16 – Must believe to have eternal life<\/p>\n
3. Luke 13:3 – Repent or perish<\/p>\n
4. Matthew 10:32-33 – Confess Christ<\/p>\n
5. John 3:5 – Must be born of water and Spirit<\/p>\n
B. The Lord’s supper was instituted prior to Jesus’ death on the cross<\/p>\n
1. Luke 22:19-20<\/p>\n 2. Paul quotes Luke’s account (it is the only one to mention the new\ncovenant) and says “I received from the Lord” – I Corinthians 11:23-25\n
C. Jesus’ new commandment<\/p>\n 1. John 13:34-35 – A new commandment to love one another so all may\nknow they are Jesus’ disciples.\n 2. I John 2:7-10 – A new commandment, which is really an old one they had\nheard from the beginning.\n
a. Notice that Jesus’ teaching then is the beginning.<\/p>\n
3. I John 3:11 – The message from the beginning that you love one another.<\/p>\n
4. II John 5-6<\/p>\n
a. The new command from the beginning to love one another<\/p>\n b. And another command from the beginning, that love is keeping his\ncommandments (John 14:15)\n
D. Were there teachings by Jesus that dealt with the Old Law?<\/p>\n 1. Yes, but it is a fallacy to conclude that all of Jesus’ teaching dealt solely\nwith the Old Covenant\n
2. Jesus’ teachings about the coming church or kingdom<\/p>\n a. Matthew 16:18 – 19 – Jesus would build his church. Peter would\nhave the keys to this kingdom\n
b. Matthew 18:15-17 – Disciple within the church<\/p>\n c. Matthew 13:10-11 – The disciples were granted to know the\nmysteries of the kingdom of heaven\n d. Matthew 13:16-17 – The prophets longed to know what the\ndisciples were learning\n
(1) Sounds just like I Peter 1:10-12<\/p>\n
3. Jesus contrasted His teachings with the Jews<\/p>\n a. Matthew 23:1-13 – Jesus instructs the crowd not to be like their\nleaders and tells the Jews that they were not entering the kingdom\nand keeping others out.\n
4. These are just brief samples<\/p>\n
IV. When did the Apostles teach that New Testament doctrine begin?<\/p>\n A. We already noted that John puts the beginning with Jesus’ teaching of the\ndisciples (I John 2:7-10, I John 3:11, II John 5-6)\n 1. Look further at I John 1:1-4 – The things from the beginning which the\nApostles witnessed.\n
B. Hebrews 2:3 – Salvation was first spoken through the Lord<\/p>\n
C. Acts 10:36-37 – Jesus preached peace starting in Galilee after his baptism by John<\/p>\n
D. Mark 1:1 – The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ<\/p>\n E. Consider: When is a Last Will and Testament written? Before or after the person\ndies?\n
1. Obviously afterwards<\/p>\n 2. The New Covenant, Jesus’ Will, was introduced before it was put in force\n– Hebrews 9:15-17\n 3. Jesus spoke of his New Covenant before his death, so that it would come\ninto effect at his death.\n
V. Truly, God has spoken to us through His Son – Hebrews 1:1-2<\/p>\n
A. Christ is the firstborn. He is the beginning – Colossians 1:18<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Download Audio Text: John 12:44-50 I. I continue to be amazed at the lengths people will go to justify a belief. A. Perhaps you have heard the story of Martin Luther’s decision that James 2 did not belong in the sacred text because of one small phrase in James 2:24. 1. It contradicted…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[119,32],"tags":[78,100,606,799,268],"class_list":["post-63801","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-audio","category-sermon","tag-authority","tag-gospel","tag-gospels","tag-new-testament","tag-old-testament"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":29411,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/drinking-in-the-bible\/","url_meta":{"origin":63801,"position":0},"title":"Drinking in the Bible","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 4, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Old Testament Sermon with Audio: Drinking in the Old Testament Article: Old Testament Beverages New Testament Sermon with audio: Drinking in the New Testament Article: New Testament Beverages","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/scan0013_tif-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4297,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/christians-and-the-old-testament\/","url_meta":{"origin":63801,"position":1},"title":"Christians and the Old Testament","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 5, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"by Alan Feaster","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":49165,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-value-of-old-testament-study\/","url_meta":{"origin":63801,"position":2},"title":"The Value of Old Testament Study","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 2, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"by Joe Works Studying Leviticus","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":94813,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-canon-of-the-bible\/","url_meta":{"origin":63801,"position":3},"title":"The Canon of the Bible","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 28, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Inspired Books The Canon of the Old Testament - Part 1 The Canon of the Old Testament - Part 2 The New Testament Canon False Books The Book of Enoch The Book of Jasher The Apocrypha New Testament Apocrypha - Infancy Gospels","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":64260,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/not-like-the-old\/","url_meta":{"origin":63801,"position":4},"title":"Not Like the Old","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 17, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"by Pat Kelly","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":56485,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/god-forbid\/","url_meta":{"origin":63801,"position":5},"title":"God Forbid!","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 1, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"by Benjamin M. Shropshire via Lifeline, 7\/15\/00 My use of the New King James Version in my preaching and teaching was criticized a few years ago on the basis that the phrase \"Certainly not!\" is used in place of \"God Forbid!\" in the old King James Version (see Romans 3:4,6,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63801","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63801"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63801\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63801"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63801"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63801"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}