Fractional Obedience

Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat (mosquito) but swallow a camel (Matthew 23: 24)

I want us to look at the times we choose the side of command we want to keep as opposed to the whole counsel of God. I will highlight three things though there are myriad other ways we behave in a similar manner.

The first is the tithe doctrine. And I will take the most quoted verse.

Bring all the tithe in the storehouse … and test me in this.

We avoid one key portion of that verse. And that is why we are not only outside the context but also guilty of misquoting such a clear verse.

Why are we to bring the tithe? What should happen when we bring that tithe?

That is what we avoid when we go the direction most spiritual brokers go.

The tithe is to help in the provision of services (food) for the believing community. It is therefore important to realize that if your tithe does not meet the felt needs of the church you are outside that command. Our obedience is therefore disobedience in the eyes of God’s law.

Is that what the tithe you give does? And I am not even talking of it being an Old Testament doctrine as I have stated elsewhere.

The next is the Sabbath. We choose to fight over the day and even forget to fight for the real day. The Sabbath is not on a Sunday. That is fine. But the Sabbath is also not on a Saturday also. Both are Roman days.

But we also forget the Sabbath year and Sabbath of Sabbath years which are what determines what the Sabbath is.

How do we use a Roman week to determine a Biblical Sabbath? How do we use a worldly system to push for spiritual doctrines?

Do you realize that part of the reason for the captivity was keeping the day Sabbath and neglecting the other Sabbaths?

The last one I will address is dietary.

We fight against some meats as we advocate for others. Yet do we realize that the fridge itself makes the healthiest of our meats unclean according to the dietary restrictions of the scriptures? Do we realize that going that way may make it impossible for us to eat anything as most of the agricultural practices go counter to some provisions of the Bible?

What am I aiming at?

Let us read the Bible without applying shades to help us understand. Let us pray that God will open our spiritual eyes to His whole counsel.

And lastly, Let us allow grace to do its part in our lives so that we will walk consistent with the leading of the Holy Spirit each moment of our life.