By Making Proper

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c o n t i n u e d
Lesson 14 By Making Proper Necessary
Distinctions
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A Key Verse Key Responsibility in Understanding
the Bible

• 2 Timothy 215
• Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a
  workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly
  dividing the word of truth. (KJV)
• Be diligent to present yourself approved to God,
  a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly
  dividing the word of truth. (NKJV)
• Give diligence to present thyself approved unto
  God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed,
  handling aright the word of truth. (ASV)
• Be diligent to present yourself approved to God
  as a workman who does not need to be ashamed,
  accurately handling the word of truth. (NASB)
• Do your best to present yourself to God as one
  approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed,
  rightly handling the word of truth. (ESV)

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Must Make Proper Necessary Distinctions Between

• The Temporary the Permanent
• The early church had
• Apostles, possessing a miraculous measure of the
  Holy Spirit to perform miracles (Mark 1620 Heb.
  23-4 Ac. 24)
• Apostles, endowed with the power and ability to
  impart miraculous gifts to others (Acts 814-20
  191-6 2 Cor. 1212)
• Spiritual/Miraculous gifts, possessed by
  Christians upon whom an apostle had laid his
  hands (1 Cor. 92 2 Tim. 16)
• Necessary, yet temporary elements in infant
  church
• Living apostles (John 2118-19 Acts 121-4 2
  Tim. 46-8)
• Miracles (cease when purpose fulfilled, John
  2030-31)
• Spiritual gifts (1 Cor. 138-13 Eph. 411-13)
• Never intended to be a part of permanent
  Christianity

4
Must Make Proper Necessary Distinctions Between

• The Temporary the Permanent
• The early church had
• Desperate need for divine guidance instruction
  (but did not have the complete, written word of
  God)
• Prophets, placed in the church by God, through
  whom He directly revealed His message (1 Cor.
  1210 1429-31)
• Necessary, yet temporary elements in infant
  church
• Prophets (1 Cor. 138)
• Direct revelation (1 Cor. 138-13 Eph. 411-15
  Jude 3)
• Never intended to be a part of permanent
  Christianity

5
Must Make Proper Necessary Distinctions Between

• The Temporary the Permanent
• The 10 Commandments, incl. Sabbath temporary
• Sabbath NOT a religious day of observance from
  creation
• It was hallowed as a day of worship through the
  Law
• You came down also on Mount Sinai, And spoke
  with them from heaven, And gave them just
  ordinances and true laws, Good statutes and
  commandments. You made known to them Your holy
  Sabbath, And commanded them precepts, statutes
  and laws, By the hand of Moses Your servant
  (Neh. 913-14).
• It was not until this time at Mt. Sinai that
  Gods people knew anything about hallowing or
  observing the Seventh day. It did not start at
  creation and exist from the beginning of time, as
  some so assert.

6
Must Make Proper Necessary Distinctions Between

• The Temporary the Permanent
• The 10 Commandments, incl. Sabbath temporary
• God promised a new covenant, different from the
  first
• Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when
  I will make a new covenant with the house of
  Israel and with the house of Judahnot according
  to the covenant that I made with their fathers in
  the day that I took them by the hand to lead them
  out of the land of EgyptBut this is the covenant
  that I will make (Jer. 3131-34).
• And there I have made a place for the ark, in
  which is the covenant of the LORD which He made
  with our fathers, when He brought them out of the
  land of Egypt (1 Kings 821).
• Nothing was in the ark except the two tablets of
  stone which Moses put there at Horeb, when the
  LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel,
  when they came out of the land of Egypt (1 Kings
  89).
• The two-tablet-covenant, including the Sabbath,
  was temporary!

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Must Make Proper Necessary Distinctions Between

• The Temporary the Permanent
• The 10 Commandments, incl. Sabbath temporary
• Christ released us from the old law, incl. 10
  Commandments
• Or do you not know, brethren (for I speak to
  those who know the law), that the law has
  dominion over a man as long as he lives? For the
  woman who has a husband is bound by the law to
  her husband as long as he lives. But if the
  husband dies, she is released from the law of her
  husband. So then if, while her husband lives,
  she marries another man, she will be called an
  adulteress but if her husband dies, she is free
  from that law, so that she is no adulteress,
  though she has married another man. Therefore,
  my brethren, you also have become dead to the law
  through the body of Christ, that you may be
  married to anotherto Him who was raised from the
  dead, that we should bear fruit to God. For when
  we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which
  were aroused by the law were at work in our
  members to bear fruit to death. But now we have
  been delivered from the law, having died to what
  we were held by, so that we should serve in the
  newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of
  the letter. What shall we say then? Is the law
  sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would
  not have known sin except through the law. For I
  would not have known covetousness unless the law
  had said, You shall not covet (Rom. 7).

8
Must Make Proper Necessary Distinctions Between

• The Temporary the Permanent
• The 10 Commandments, incl. Sabbath temporary
• The handwritten commandments, incl. Sabbath, were
  wiped out
• having wiped out the handwriting of
  requirements that was against us, which was
  contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the
  way, having nailed it to the cross. Having
  disarmed principalities and powers, He made a
  public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in
  it. So let no one judge you in food or in drink,
  or regarding a festival or a new moon or
  sabbaths (Col. 214-16).

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Must Make Proper Necessary Distinctions Between

• The Temporary the Permanent
• The 10 Commandments, incl. Sabbath temporary
• The law written on stones, incl. Sabbath, done
  away
• Who also made us sufficient as ministers of the
  new covenant, not of the letter but of the
  Spirit for the letter kills, but the Spirit
  gives life. But if the ministry of death,
  written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so
  that the children of Israel could not look
  steadily at the face of Moses because of the
  glory of his countenance, which glory was passing
  awayFor if what is passing away was glorious,
  what remains is much more glorious (2 Cor.
  36-7, 11).
• So He declared to you His covenant which He
  commanded you to perform, the Ten Commandments
  and He wrote them on two tablets of stone (Deut.
  413).

10
Must Make Proper Necessary Distinctions Between

• Faith Opinion
• It is dangerous to treat the faith as an opinion,
  likewise it is dangerous to treat an opinion as
  the faith.
• It is dangerous to treat the revealed as if
  unrevealed, and likewise the unrevealed as if
  revealed.
• There is and must be a distinct difference
  between

FAITH
OPINION
Gods Revealed Will
Mans Thoughts
Must NOT Determine Fellowship
Must Judge (2 Thess. 314)
Must NOT Judge (Rom. 1413)
Must Preach (Gal. 123 1 Pet. 411)
Must NOT Preach (Rom. 1422)
Must Contend For (Jude 3)
Must NOT Contend For (Rom. 1422)
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Must Make Proper Necessary Distinctions Between

• Faith Opinion
• Failing to distinguish between faith (Gods say
  so) and opinion (mans think so) is the source of
  religious division
• Must never arrogantly treat our opinions as
  divine revelation or lower Gods Word to the
  level of human thoughts (cf. Isa. 558-9).

MATTER OF FAITH
MATTER OF OPINION
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Must Make Proper Necessary Distinctions Between

• Faith Opinion
• Example of differences of opinion
• Paul Barnabas regarding John Mark on 2nd
  Missionary Journey
• They did not disagree over a matter of faith
  (they were united)
• They disagreed over a matter of opinion (parted
  company)
• Still brothers Paul later wrote 1 Cor. 96 2
  Tim. 411
• Summary
• In matters of faith
• In matters of opinion
• In all things

UNITY LIBERTY LOVE
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Must Make Proper Necessary Distinctions Between

• Faith Opinion
• It is dangerous to treat the faith as an opinion,
  likewise it is dangerous to treat an opinion as
  the faith.
• It is dangerous to treat the revealed as if
  unrevealed, and likewise the unrevealed as if
  revealed.
• There is and must be a distinct difference
  between

14
Must Make Proper Necessary Distinctions Between

• Faith Opinion
• Failing to distinguish between faith (Gods say
  so) and opinion (mans think so) is the source of
  religious division
• Must never arrogantly treat our opinions as
  divine revelation or lower Gods Word to the
  level of human thoughts (cf. Isa. 558-9).