The New Testament Pattern For Christianity
The New Testament is God's current will for man. The New Testament makes the
internal claim that all things had been given to the first century Christians
that pertain to life and Godliness, (2 Peter 1:3). Paul taught us that studying
the scriptures could make us complete and thoroughly furnish us toward
righteousness, (2 Timothy 3:16-17). From this we can rightly conclude that the
scriptures contain everything required to know God's will for us and live a
pleasing life in His sight. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of
God, (Romans 10:17). There is no other source we can depend on to provide us
with a reliable means of salvation.
Is There a Pattern We Must Follow?
Paul taught the Christians at Thessalonica to "stand fast, and hold the
traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle" (2
Thessalonians 2:15). Traditions in this usage simply means an established form
of religious guidelines used to determine one's actions. In other words, there
is a pattern within the writings and traditions that Paul commanded the
Thessalonian Christians to follow. Since the written word thoroughly furnishes
us, we know that these traditions have been recorded and preserved for us in the
scriptures.
Paul taught Timothy to "Hold fast the form of sound words , which thou hast
heard of me" (2 Timothy 1:13). When we use a form to guide us, we use it like a
mold, thereby making our lives to conform to an established pattern. We need to
associate these three words, "form, mold and pattern" together in our minds.
When writing to the Philippians, Paul said, "Brethren, be followers together of
me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample. (For many walk,
of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the
enemies of the cross of Christ:" Paul taught the Philippians to use himself and
others like him as an example for how to pattern their lives.
Paul taught the Ephesians that we are to, "have no fellowship with the
unfruitful works of darkness, but rather even reprove them" (Ephesians 5:11).
Paul commanded the Christians in Ephesus to recognize and avoid fellowshipping
those who are in religious error. In order to recognize when someone is walking
in darkness, we must be able to compare them to some standard of right in order
to make this judgment for ourselves.
Paul taught that those who do not walk according to their pattern are "enemies
of the cross of Christ." If refusing to follow the example of Paul makes one an
enemy of the cross it is therefore essential that we diligently follow the
patterns of faithful living and teaching as set forth by Paul and the other
inspired writers of scripture.
2 John 9
"whosoever goeth onward and abideth not in the teaching of Christ, hath not God:
he that abideth in the teaching, the same hath both the Father and the Son."
How Do We Determine What Is A Pattern and What Is Not?
When one thinks of a pattern, they associate it with the imagery of a design
consistently applied throughout. For anything to be identified by its design, it
must have a pattern or a form that is universally applied and recognized.
In order for a new testament tradition or practice to be a pattern for us today
it must apply to everybody written about in the first century. If it can be
proven from scripture that something done by any New Testament Christian was not
done by all of them, then we cannot bind it on the church today. For example, in
Acts 2:44-45 we read of some Christians who "had all things common; and sold
their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need."
So we have here an example of Christians selling all their possessions and
giving the money to those in need. We can rightfully conclude from this example
that it is perfectly ok for us today to sell everything we have and give the
money to the needy. But in order for this to be part of the pattern we bind on
the church today, this practice must apply universally to all the Christians of
the first century.
A study of scripture reveals that it was often times the case that the first
century Christians assembled in certain houses belonging to some of the saints.
Aquila and Priscilla owned a house where the church congregated, (Romans 16:3-5,
1 Corinthians 16:19); Nymphus owned a house where the church congregated,
(Colossians 4:15) and Philemon as well, (Philemon 2). Philip the evangelist
owned a house and provided lodging for Paul and company while they were in
Caesarea, (Acts 21:8). So we see that there are examples of numerous faithful
Christians in the first century that owned their houses. If it were a
requirement to sell everything as the Christians in Jerusalem did after
Pentecost, then these other faithful first century Christians would not have
owned their houses. It is very easy to see that the selling of all possessions
was not part of a pattern bound upon all the New Testament Christians of the
first century.
Any first century religious practice that was not universally bound to all the
Christians then, cannot be rightfully bound to all Christians in this century.
Such a thing would be comparable to a preacher teaching that everybody on the
left side of the congregation had to do something that nobody on the right side
had to do.
An example of a pattern that is bound to all accountable Christians in this
century is that they must repent in order to be saved. Jesus said in Luke 13:3
that "except Ye repent, Ye shall all in like manner perish." There is not one
exception to this found in all of scripture, so thereby we know that repentance
from sin is part of the pattern we must follow in order to receive the promise
of eternal life.
The Pattern to Look For
Paul wrote in Romans 6:17-18;
"But thanks be to God, that, whereas Ye were servants of sin, Ye became obedient
from the heart to that form of teaching whereunto Ye were delivered; and being
made free from sin, Ye became servants of righteousness."
So what is this "form of teaching" or pattern we must be obedient to? Scripture
teaches that Jesus became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that
obey him (Hebrews 5:9), and that God's wrath abides forever on the disobedient,
(Ephesians 5:6, Colossians 3:6, 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9). It is therefore vital
that we diligently seek out the pattern of obedience the faithful first century
Christians lived and conform ourselves to it and no other.
This pattern of obedience contains within itself all the things a Christian must
do in order to live an acceptable life before God and receive the promise of
eternal life. Within this pattern we can find the steps the first century
Christians followed to be placed within the "body of Christ". Jesus taught that
we "must be born again" to be in the kingdom of God (John 3:3). So it is
important that we determine how the first century Christians were "born again"
and conform ourselves to the same pattern they followed.
Jesus said to the Samaritan woman at the well, "God is a Spirit: and they that
worship him must worship in spirit and truth" (John 4:24). There are two
commandments here. We must worship God and it must be in spirit and in truth,
meaning from the heart and correctly. The Christians at Corinth deviated from
the pattern and were abusing the Lord's supper. They were sternly rebuked by
Paul for this, (1 Corinthians 11:18-21). We find that Paul rehearsed the
original example for them in order to show them the right pattern, (1
Corinthians 11:24-29). It is therefore important that we seek from scripture the
pattern of worship that the faithful first century Christians engaged in and
follow that pattern ourselves today.
By studying to show ourselves approved (2 Timothy 2:15), and diligently seeking
(Hebrews 11:6), we can determine how the first faithful Christians patterned
their lives after Christ. And by molding ourselves to that pattern and that
pattern only, we can be assured that we are in every way living a pleasing life
in the sight of God. If we want to be faithful Christians we have to follow the
examples we have of faithful Christians in the scripture. If we want to receive
the blessings they received, then we have to live like they lived. If we want
the forgiveness of sin they had, we have to follow the pattern they followed to
obtain it. If we want to avoid the pitfalls they encountered, we have to avoid
the sin they were taught to shun. By studying and learning the pattern the first
faithful Christians lived in Christ, and by diligently following that pattern,
we can be assured that we are just what they were; Christians.
David Hersey