Change is slow but necessary among biblical scholars.
How often do you change your position on a biblical doctrine? I imagine the answer is something like this, “Not very often,” or “Never!” But change is something we all go through. We change our underwear, socks, hairstyle, and the cars we drive. Our position on biblical doctrine needs to be carefully considered but there is no doubt that sometimes adjustments are needed.
Did the Jewish scholars of Jesus’ day need to adjust their understanding of the Messiah? Yes. Of course, they did, but they refused to recognize that Jesus precisely fulfilled the predictions of the suffering Messiah. And so because of their refusal to properly discern God’s Word, they missed their Messiah.
What about the early church when they struggled with the influx of Gentile believers? They assumed the new converts should be required to adhere to Jewish laws and customs. They were wrong and it took the Apostle Paul’s strong stand to help correct their errors.
And then after hundreds of years of tradition, the church became entrenched in the sickening traditions of men. When the Lord opened the eyes of Martin Luther, the role of simple faith sprang to life.
With renewed faith and understanding of God’s Word, Martin Luther gained the courage to oppose the traditions of men. He knew the traditions of the Church were wrong. After a deeper dive into the Truth, he realized his own error and began to teach it correctly. The world changed because of his willingness to change his biblical doctrine.
See this related post in the Book of Habakkuk.
Sometimes change is needed, even in doctrine.
This post is in response to an excellent article on this subject written by Charles Cooper. To be honest, I know very little about the writer. But his piece was so interesting that I intend to read more of his writings in the future. Here’s a link to the article which I received. Click here to read.
I received notice of the article from a respected scholar in the field of eschatology. His name is Alan Kurschner, and you can read, listen, and follow his ministry at Eschatos Ministry.
As my habit is, I learn a lot from other teachers, but much more from reading and studying the Bible. The Holy Spirit is my primary teacher. He should be yours also. So I reserve the right as a student of God’s Word to think differently. Alan and I differ in some of our theological stances. And that’s okay.
I will again stress the simple point of this article. No matter what your position in the church is or how long you’ve been a Christian, sometimes you need to make changes to your positions on certain theological issues. The Apostle Paul did when he met Jesus on the road to Damascus. Peter did when Paul confronted him on his two-faced lifestyle in front of the Jewish believers. James, the brother of Jesus adjusted his stance on Gentile believers when he considered the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives.
Change and the dispensational teaching of the rapture
The article linked above addresses problems in the dispensational theory of biblical theology. I consider myself a dispensationalist, but with some reservations. I’m similar to Mr. Cooper in that way. The writer, Mr. Cooper, does believe in dispensational theology. But he sees the need to change some things to make them more closely fit what the Bible actually says. And that’s an important principle we should always stick to. We must try to understand what the Bible says. Instead, we often try to fit verses into tight doctrinal boxes so we can prove to others that we are right.
As I write this, I have one particular doctrine in mind. That’s the rapture. All of my teachers in my early Christian life taught me that the rapture will occur before the tribulation. As a good student, I learned that truth and accepted it as a biblical fact. As time passed, I was led into full-time ministry. I ended up serving as a children’s pastor in a large church. Every pastor of the church was expected to adhere to the doctrinal statements of the church. So, all of us pastors and even lay-leadership were required to believe and teach the pre-tribulation rapture. And I did so. I believed it was a biblical fact.
Until I stepped out of the box and evaluated the scriptures for myself. As a pastor, that should come as a shocking admission. Pastors, don’t like to admit their doctrine is wrong. But it’s true that a lot of pastors believe and teach only what they have learned from others. It shouldn’t be that way but it is.
I didn’t want this article to be very long so I’ll leave you with one of the many passages that I struggled with. The struggle was with the doctrine, not the passages. The meaning of the verses was clear, but they didn’t fit the accepted doctrine of the pre-tribulation rapture.
If you believe in a pre-tribulation rapture read the following verse and evaluate how easy it is to reason away the clear meaning of the passage. In the opening verses, Paul is answering questions regarding the timing of the rapture. How clear could this be? At least two things must happen before the rapture. The second event Paul describes happens right in the middle of the tribulation.
Something doesn’t add up. You decide.
2 Thessalonians 2:3
Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction.
Read some verses that prove that sometimes changes are required in order to grow.
Acts 2:38
Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
As we see in the verse in Acts, humans must repent and undergo significant changes in order to enter into eternal life with God. But what do we see of the Lord? For him, it’s different as we see in the following verse.
James 1:17
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
God is the only perfection we will ever know in the universe. If He were to change, that would infer that either he wasn’t perfect as He was or that, he is now better than perfect. It’s logical to conclude that if the Lord is perfect, and He is, then He doesn’t need to grow into being a better God. But the same isn’t true of us.
Matthew 18:3
And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Malachi 3:6
“I the LORD do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.”
The timing of the rapture is not a salvation issue. But it is a very important topic as we draw closer to the appearance of the lawless one.
God’s Word won’t change, but we often need to change our doctrine to fit what the Lord’s prophets clearly wrote.
The hero can’t stay the same. His friends depend on him.
A six-thousand-year war is now spilling his friend’s blood on his doorstep.
Get the story here.
Let me know what you think.