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Introduction:
One of the great debates of our day is regards standards.
We live in a pluralistic society in which everyone wants to do
what is right in his own eyes. No one is allowed to say whether or
not they are wrong. The oft repeated question is, “Who are we to
determine what is right or wrong for someone else?” This mindset
has found its way into modern churches. In fact, the simple
presence of so many churches teaching contradictory doctrines
demonstrates the problem. Each denomination and each church wants
to do what it wants to do and consistently asks of those who would
question them, “Who are you to determine what is right or wrong
for us?” Yet, in the midst of this hullabaloo I remember
Paul’s words in Philippians
3:15. We are to walk by the same rule. Therefore, despite the
philosophy with which modern society, modern churches and even
some modern Christians bombard us, we must discover the standard.
However, we must recognize that, the question is not about what
is the standard? Rather, our question is Who
is the standard? Discussion: I.
God is our standard. A.
When God provided the Law for the Israelite people, His
most repeated reason for why the people ought to obey Him was,
“I am the Lord your God” (Leviticus
18:1; et al). His overriding standard was, “You shall be holy, for I
the Lord your God am holy” (Leviticus
19:1; et al). In the
New Covenant, Peter repeats this for in I
Peter 1:15-16. God is the standard for every aspect of our
lives, whether personally or congregationally. Note three reasons
why God is the standard. 1.
He
is the creator of all things.
Genesis 1:1 begins with the most powerful statement of God’s right
to be our standard. “In the beginning God created the heavens
and the earth.” Hebrews
3:4 taught that God built all things. He is master over this
“house,” the universe. He is also master over His house, the
church (I Timothy 3:15). 2.
He
is the giver of all things.
James 2:17 said that every good and perfect gift comes from God. In Ecclesiastes
12:7, the Preacher claimed that when we die our spirit will go
back to God. Why? Because He gave it to us. When it has left our
bodies we go back to Him—He is our judge. Regarding the church,
He is the giver of the sacrifice which has bought us and put us
into His church (John 3:16;
I Peter 1:18-19). 3.
He
is the owner of all things.
Why do you think Jesus used stewards as examples (e.g.
Matthew 25:14-30; Luke 12:42-48)? God has given us charge over
all these gifts of His. But He is still the owner. Even in Ecclesiastes
12:7, the Preacher demonstrated this point when he said that
our spirit goes back to God who gave it. It has been completely
under our control. But our spirit is still God’s and in the end
must give account to Him for how we have used His gifts. Regarding
the church, remember whose house it is—His (I
Timothy 3:15). B.
God has the right to be the standard. He has the right to
tell us what to do and make demands of us. Our understandings, our
desires, our thoughts are insignificant in comparison to God (Isaiah
55:8-9). No wonder James told us we should be quick to hear,
slow to speak and slow to anger (James
1:19-25). God is the standard and when we speak against Him or
get angry with Him, we will not be righteous—no matter what our
pluralistic world says. II.
How has God communicated His will to us? A.
God is our standard. But where does that leave us? We
cannot see God. We do not know how to get to God’s visible
presence. How are we supposed to know His standard? Paul explains
this in I Corinthians
2:6-12. Just as we cannot know in one another’s minds unless
we tell each other, we cannot know God’s mind unless He tells
us. Paul explained that is what He did. B.
In Hebrews 1:1-4,
the Hebrew writer explained that God has revealed Himself to us
through His Son, who is the express image of the Father. We can
know the Father by knowing Jesus. Thus Jesus answered His
disciples, in John 14:5-11,
that we can only get to the Father through Him and if we have seen
Him we have seen the Father. However, we, unlike the apostles,
have never actually seen or spoken face to face with Jesus. We are
those of whom Jesus said to Thomas in John
20:29 are blessed who do not see but believe. But, how can we,
who have not seen, believe? Jesus explained that in His prayer in John
17:20-21. We must believe through the apostle’s word. While
not everyone would see Jesus, He was leaving behind witnesses that
would testify of Him (Acts 1:7-8). C.
However, these men were fallible. How would they know and
remember all that Jesus wanted them to testify. The Holy Spirit
would work with and through them (John
14:25-26; Acts 1:7-8). That began in Acts
2:1-3. D.
But that was the apostles, what about us? God never
promised to grant the power of the Holy Spirit to all Christians
as He did to the apostles. In fact, there has never been a time
when all Christians learned by miraculous revelation. We read
earlier from I Corinthians
2:6-12 about the Spirit revealing the mind of God.
Interestingly, when he told the Corinthians how to live in I
Corinthians 4:6, he told them not to think beyond what was
written. In I Corinthians
14:37, he explained that those who were spiritual would
recognize what he wrote as the command of God. In Ephesians
3:3-5, Paul said that God revealed the truth miraculously to
apostles and prophets. They then wrote God’s will down. All
others could read and understand. In fact, Paul commanded us to
understand (Ephesians 5:17). E.
How can we in the 21st century see the Father?
How can we know Him and His standard? By knowing, believing and
following the testimony of the witnesses Jesus left behind endowed
with power of the Holy Spirit. Paul described it succinctly to
Timothy in II Timothy
3:16-17. The scriptures provide us with all we need to know
God, our standard. III.
Do not fall prey to false standards. A.
False
Standard #1: Personal Feelings—Whether
you wish to refer to this as conscience, preconceived notions or
simply emotions, our personal feelings are not the proper
standard. Proverbs 14:12
said that the way that seems right to man ends in death. B.
False
Standard #2: Personal Experiences—Matthew
7:21-23 described people with strong experiences. They would
not even allow Jesus to argue with their experiences. But Jesus
told them to depart because He had never known them. These were not once faithful children who had
performed great works but had fallen. Jesus said that He never
knew them. His reasoning had nothing to do with experiences. The
problem was they did not obey His standard. C.
False
Standard #3: Parents—We
are certainly to obey and honor our parents. However, God does not
want us to follow our parents to hell. Too many people blindly
follow after their parents’ faith without ever testing it with
the proper standard of God’s word. Your parents may well be or
have been on the straight and narrow path of life. But you can
only know that by going to the proper standard. Peter explained
that if what we are following is simply a family tradition, it is
not the proper standard, it is aimless conduct (I
Peter 1:18-19, 22-25). D.
False
Standard #4: The Majority—The
crowd is so easy to follow. If everyone is doing it, it must be
alright. But, in fact, Jesus explained that we will be walking on
a pretty deserted road. The majority will take the broad easy
path, while we must take the narrow and difficult path (Matthew
7:13-14). The standard is not the crowd. It is God’s word. E.
False
Standard #5: Religious Leaders—Whether
we think of preachers, priests, elders, teachers, bishops, popes
or conventions, men are men and are fallible. They are not our
proper standard. Consider Simon the Sorcerer who seemed to
demonstrate great miraculous powers such that many in Samaria
followed him as the “great power of God” (Acts
8:9-11). But he was a trickster who also needed the truth of
God. Consider Apollos who was an eloquent speaker, mighty in the
word, knew the way of the Lord but knew only the baptism of John (Acts
18:24-26). Consider the men who came from Judea teaching that
Gentiles had to be circumcised in order to be saved (Acts
15:1). These men came from the oldest most established church
in Jerusalem (cf.
Acts 15:24). Yet they taught error. Men can be wrong. The
issue is not about whether they are honest or dishonest. The issue
is whether or not they teach God’s word accurately. God’s word
is the standard, not religious leaders. Conclusion: Our modern society cries out against having a standard. But God said, “Be holy as I am holy.” God is our standard. We can know God’s mind and will for He has told us through His Son, and we have seen and can read His Son’s message through the word He left for us through His Spirit and His witnesses. The Bible is our proper standard. Are you using it?
Glory
to God in the church by Christ Jesus
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