Matthew 22:31 - "But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God?"
In Matthew chapter 22 the Lord Jesus is being tested by the
Sadducees concerning the resurrection. The religious leaders of His day
were always trying to trip Jesus up in one way or another using the
Scriptures and Scriptural ideas. And Jesus, of course, always gave a
marvelous answer, correcting their distortion of His Word and setting
them straight. And while all such accounts are profitable, I don't want
to focus on the topic that is being discussed in this passage, but I
just want to focus on the last part of this question with which Jesus responds - "Have you not read what was spoken to you by God?"
God has spoken to us. I know this is an elementary idea, but I tend to
lose sight of how awesome this fact really is. The fact that the Creator
God who is completely Holy and exalted above the heavens would stoop
down to our level in order to speak to us should blow our minds. All
throughout human history God has been speaking to mankind. Hebrews 1:1-2
says - "God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world."
Throughout the Old Testament we read statements like "The Lord spoke to
Abraham saying..." or "The Lord spoke to Moses saying..." or "Then the
word of the Lord came to Isaiah the prophet saying..." And so on. When
we get to the New Testament we read in John 1:14 - "And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth." The Lord Jesus is the Word become flesh. And in these last days God has spoken to us in His Son.
God spoke through the fathers, the prophets, and through His own
Son. And everything that God has desired to communicate to us is
recorded in the Bible, the Word of God. 2 Timothy 3:16 states - "All Scripture is inspired by God." Literally all Scripture is God breathed.
To say that the Bible is simply a piece of religious literature, or a
book of good morals is to lower it well below what it truly is. The Word of God is always connected to the person of God. The
spoken word is always inseparably tied to the God who breathed it out. The Bible carries so much weight because it has the weight of Gods
eternal character behind it. It is breathed out by God and therefore it
carries with it the DNA of deity. The Word of God has so much authority
because of the One who breathed it out. We don't read it, we hear Him.
And because He breathed out the entire thing we don't get to pick and
choose what we like and what we don't. It's all equally inspired. The
way we apply different portions varies, but that doesn't change the fact
that the entirety of the Word of God was breathed out by God.
James says in James 2:11 - "For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not commit murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a transgressor of the law."
Here James is talking about how all Scripture is tied together, and if
we break one command we are guilty of breaking the entire law. Here's
the point, we can't pick and choose what suits us when it comes to the
Word of God. Either it has complete authority in our lives or it has
none. I can't say that I'm gonna obey these parts of Scripture, but just
disregard those sections because I don't really like them. No, you
can't do that. We must submit ourselves entirely to the Word of God.
Why? Because of who He is. This is the God who said “Light shall shine out of darkness.” This is the God who spoke the universe into existence. The One who made it all, and He sets the standard. The fact of who He is is enough reason to obey. He sets the
standard and that is why it must be kept. Once you separate "good
morals" from the God who breathed them out you no longer have any good reason to
keep them. You must have an ultimate standard. God determines right from
wrong. Once you take God out of the equation and start to say "Do not
murder" or "Do not steal" the natural response is "Why?" So you say,
"because it's wrong." Well, who determines right from wrong? If
we're nothing but a bunch of random chance coming together millions of
years ago and evolving from one animal to another, coming from nothing
and ultimately ending in nothing with no purpose but to make ourselves
happy for the few meager years of our existence, who's to tell me that I
should or should not do something? The natural response is, if it feels
good do it. The standard of truth becomes relative.
Gods Word is relevant for all time. There are those who seek
to dismiss the Bible or change the Bible saying that it's outdated. It's
not practical in the advanced culture in which we live today. But the fact is
that Gods standard never changes because He never changes. Psalm 119:89 says - "Forever, O Lord, Thy word is settled in heaven." And Psalm 102:27 says that the heavens and earth will pass away - "But Thou art the same, and Thy years will not come to an end." God testifies of Himself in Malachi 3:6 - "For I, the Lord, do not change." And Hebrews 13:8 says - "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." God doesn't change, therefore His Word doesn't change. Are there gray areas in life? Yes. There are topics and situations that
the Bible doesn't specifically speak to. But to the areas that God does
speak we need to stand firm and unwavering on what He has said,
because He is the one who said it. Gods Word doesn't change. Gods
standards don't change because God doesn't change. In a culture that is
constantly changing and constantly adopting new standards and new morals
we need to stand without compromise on the things that God has said. Gods Word is not politically correct, that means when you hold to it as the ultimate standard the world will hate you.
Why
do I believe that a mother does not the choice to kill her unborn
child? Because that's what God says. Why do I believe that homosexuality
is an abomination? Because God says so. Why do I believe that lying and
stealing are wrong? Because these are the words that God has breathed
out. Why do I believe in a literal six day creation? Because the Creator God has told us that this is how He did it. Why do I believe in a worldwide flood? Because that's what the Word of God teaches. Why do I believe that Jesus Christ is the one and only way of
salvation? Because that's what God has said. The moment that you
disconnect God from His Word you no longer have any solid basis for your
beliefs. The moment you take God out of the equation the distinction
between right and wrong becomes a matter of opinion, and what's true for
me might not necessarily be true for you. That's why we must never try
to separate God from His Word. With all the pressure in our culture to
"coexist" we must remember what God has spoken and stand upon it firmly
and without apology. "Have you not read what was spoken to you by God?"
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