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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 |