All praise to God for the man in the pulpit who exhorts his people to study the Scriptures for themselves, “otherwise you’re going to struggle in these last days.” They are rare men. Many of God’s people need to be exhorted otherwise they don’t do it. They read the Scriptures but don’t study them. Sadly too some fail to study because their man in the pulpit impresses upon them that his preaching and teaching is the final word on the matter and to question that is to be insubordinate. It is not only the Roman Catholics, Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Mormons who teach that lie from Satan, the so-called Protestant church has like-spirited people teaching the same.
Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty 2 Corinthians 3:17. Scripture study and living according to it, equals liberty! Liberty from the slavery and guilt of sin, but liberty too from slavery and guilt trips put upon you from certain men in pulpits. An example: The man who demands you to call him Pastor – or Father or Reverend; that’s a man in slavery; perhaps a man unsure of who he is and reluctant to get close to the Lord to find out. Take one of his favorite words, ‘obey’. He’s big on that and quick to call to account all who don’t obey – at least not in the sense he wants them to. Knowingly or unknowingly, his concept of obey is that of Christians to Jesus Christ, children to parents, servants to masters.
‘Obey’ in the above sense means: ‘hear under as a subordinate’ ‘listen attentively’ ‘heed or conform to a command or authority’ and ‘be obedient to’. That’s our obligation to Jesus, children’s obligation to parents or guardians and employees to employers, but that’s not what ‘obey’ means when it comes to obeying leaders in the church. ‘Obey’ in that sense means: ‘to be convinced’ ‘assent to evidence’ ‘to rely by inward certainty’ ‘agree’ ‘ to be assured’ ‘believe’ ‘have confidence’ ‘be content’ ‘to be persuaded’ ‘to trust’ ‘to yield’. It is so important Christians have clear and sound understandings on biblical obedience. With regards to the civil authorities, ‘obey’ means: ‘be persuaded by a ruler’ ‘submit to authority’ ‘conform to advice’ ‘hearken’.
When Christians are unaware of the Bible’s meanings of ‘obey’ and apply the wrong meaning to an obligation, it is simply not possible to experience full measures of the Holy Spirit’s liberty, whereby unbeknownst to us we grieve Him. And as far as the Western church is concerned, I am convinced this is a reason why liberty is not fully expressed in Christian people. Too many Christians are subordinate to their pastors but most insubordinate to their bosses and civil authorities; they short change the former with their time and the latter with their taxes. Not only that, they will laugh about it. Some of the loudest, “happy-chappies” in the church behave like that. They’ll talk of liberty but they don’t have any.
All Bible Christians know Jesus said, Do not call anyone on earth your father, which we’re quick to criticize Roman Catholics for doing. We also know He said, And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ Matthew 23:9-11. So why do we do that with those demanding to be called Pastor and Reverend? What’s the difference? “Out of respect,” so says the demanding pastor. But respect for what? Certainly not for Jesus’ command Besides, respect is earned, not demanded. The pastor who applies the wrong meaning of ‘obey’ has not earned respect and neither does he have respect for the people he’s supposed to be serving. In fact he’s not serving, he’s lording it over. Yet it shall not be so among you….. Matthew 20:26.
At this juncture someone may be asking if I’m writing this post, “with attitude.” No, but I am writing it from years of experience of sitting under such “lords” and my desire is to share the ‘obey’ distinctions and truths with you. Liberty is not truly a living reality in a Christian’s life until he or she becomes quickened by the Holy Spirit to understand not even our Lord Jesus Christ “lords it over us.” And if the One who has every right to do so doesn’t do so, then we must give no man in the church that right either. The pastor or Reverend who accepts that truth and lives according it, will not demand to be called such. Whatever his name, John, Peter, Bill, Harry, Jim – he’ll settle for his name any time because he knows who he is in Christ and he knows what he’s been called to.
Even though as disciples of Christ we are called to ‘obey’ Him as in, ‘hear under as a subordinate’ ‘listen attentively’ ‘heed or conform to a command or authority’ and ‘be obedient to’, it is His grace and power He uses to give us the will ‘to be convinced’ ‘assent to evidence’ ‘to rely by inward certainty’ ‘agree’ ‘ to be assured’ ‘believe’ ‘have confidence’ ‘be content’ ‘to be persuaded’ ‘to trust’ ‘to yield’. Demanding pastors and Reverends don’t seem to grasp that truth. There are no strong-arm tactics from the Lord Jesus, no manipulation, no intimidation, no domination’ only the same grace and power that caused us to come to Him in humility and repentance to get saved in the first place Ephesians 2:8. No wonder liberty is dear to God’s heart for His people.
Even in the Old Testament, when God Himself says, “Obey My voice,” one primary meaning of ‘obey’ is: ‘to hear intelligently’. That means, when demanding men in pulpits apply the wrong meaning of ‘obey’ to their people, they hinder them from hearing God intelligently. Could this explain why multitudes of Christians secretly view God as a hard task-master? Only Holy Spirit-led personal studies of the Scriptures can break them free from that devil-inspired concept. Hard task-masters can be merciless, God is merciful – in other words, full of mercy! The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in mercy Psalm 103:8. God’s mercy must be our experience daily otherwise His liberty will not be our experience daily.
Another reason why liberty is not fully expressed in Christian people: their spiritual gifts are not recognized by leaders. “Whenever you come together, each of you has a task – tea making, toilet cleaning, floor sweeping and lawn mowing.” That’s the common implication, not, Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation……… Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge………. For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be encouraged 1 Corinthians 14:26-31. When was the last time your pastor encouraged you to judge his message for biblical accuracy? When was the last time you stood up to prophesy in the gathering that all may learn?
How often have we heard, Do not quench the Spirit 1 Thessalonians 5:19 from a pastor or Reverend in the pulpit? And rightly so when it comes to us speaking and living in unrighteous manners, but quenching the Spirit is what they do too when ignoring the spiritual gifts God has placed within His people for the edification of the church. The church is the body of Christ after all and like all bodies, it consists of more than a mouth and ears! A deformed body that would be, in the natural; a deformed body that is, in the church! For as we have many members in one body, but all members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing………., let us use them………… Romans 12:4-6.
To study the Scriptures for ourselves and live according to them as best we can is to know the truth, and the truth shall make you free John 8:31-32. Another word for free here is ‘liberate’. That’s another reason why liberty is not fully expressed in Christian people. Too many lack love for the whole truth and nothing but the truth! But we can’t afford to pick and choose. The measure of our love for truth is the measure of our liberty; no more, no less. Important note for new Christians: it is not how much truth you know, it is how much you love and live according to what you know. When you first met Jesus, the way the truth and the life John 14:6, you experienced liberty. Scripture study and living is your means to growing in it.
Three reasons why liberty is not fully expressed in Christians: Applying the wrong meaning of ‘obey’ to church leaders; your spiritual gifts not recognized by them; a lack of love for the whole truth. Christians not fully expressing liberty charge those who do with being flippant towards God, “lacking reverence.” Not true, but God has given us safeguards against that in any case. And I will walk at liberty, for I seek Your precepts (statutes, commandments, ordinances) Psalm 119:45. That’s just one example from the glorious 176 verses of that great Psalm. The writer applied the right meaning of ‘obey’ to his situation, he honored God with his spiritual gifts and he deeply loved the truth. Liberty, in its fullness, was God’s payback! Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled……. Galatians 5:1.