There's a lot of unnecessary heartbreak in churches today due to a misinterpretation of how to apply the Gospel accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John to the lives of Believers living in the Church Age.
Well, under closer examination, that's just not the way you should apply the gospel accounts to our lives today.
When Jesus came to the earth, he was a Jew living under the Jewish law. He obeyed the law perfectly, without sin.
When Jesus addressed crowds, there were no Christians present, only Jews under the law. Christians, or better described as Church Age Believers, only came about after Jesus' death.
Therefore, what was recorded in the Gospels are His instructions and interactions with Jews under the law.
If we took that verse and applied it to Believers in the Church Age, we'd have a problem. Doesn't Jesus live in my heart—even when I'm alone in the woods? Do I need to find another Believer to "gather" or be near me to ensure He is in my heart? Of course not.
Another obvious example is in Matthew 24.
Should believers be concerned about getting pregnant in the last days? Of course not.
Should we poke our eyes out to stop ourselves from sinning?
Is our salvation dependent on us forgiving others? Not a chance! In the Church Age, we're already totally forgiven of past, present and future sin.
These verses make it obviously impossible to follow Jesus' every command. Understanding the difference between the dispensation of Israel and the dispensation of the Church Age, sheds a whole new light on the Gospels and clears up why Jesus said what He did.
So when you study the Bible, be sure to "rightly divide the Word," and you'll be amazed how the rest of the Bible comes together!
We've been posting a series of video presentations entitled "Satan's Top Ten Lies," which are free to download in the FREE COMPASS DOWNLOADS folder in the compass.org digital store.
We just posted Lie # 5 — "Do everything Jesus says to do." It shows the above verses in context and another 20 or so verses that make it IMPOSSIBLE to follow Jesus' every command. It sheds a whole new light on the Gospels and clears up why Jesus said what He did.
It's an interesting study and once you understand how to "rightly divide the Word," you'll be amazed how the rest of the Bible comes together!