If you ever find yourself in front of a court, look very carefully at the American flag. If it has a yellow fringe, that means the court is declaring itself an admiralty court, and they have no jurisdiction over you. (Note: This is NOT legal advice! Don’t do this!). Upon notifying the judge of the court’s apparent lack of jurisdiction, don’t be surprised if there are gasps, shocked looks, and then laughter directed your way. Just because we might claim something is true doesn’t mean it is. Claims of truth based upon whim or false reason don’t become more true through assertion.
In Acts 6:8-15, we read that a synagogue accused Stephen of blasphemy. To substantiate the claim, the accusers lined up false witnesses. The false witnesses lied and told half-truths. The reason the accusation of blasphemy struck is that the Jews did not separate what was in the Law from what was in their traditions. It is as if they knew the American flag represented the country, they thought they knew the gold fringe meant admiralty law, and they drew a false conclusion that the court was invalid. If you think about it carefully enough, it just doesn’t make much sense.
Today, many people say many different things about the Bible. Some despise it. Others embrace it. And others embrace their traditions and culture with one hand while trying to grasp the Bible with the other. This is the error the Jews made. They laid their traditions over the Law and treated those traditions as co-equal to the Law. When the traditions and Law conflicted, the tradition was chosen over the Law. Today, when the social standards conflict with the Bible, which do we choose?May we never be a people who choose customs over the Bible. Do you want to get a clear-eyed view of Scripture unencumbered with philosophy, theology, or politics? Sit down with me over an open Bible. Let’s study what the text says, what the text means, and how the text applies. Let’s consciously try to put aside our preconceived notions about God and the Bible. Let’s arrive at the truth through mental exertion rather than by popular assertion. We would love to see you on Sunday.
Photo by Samuel Branch on Unsplash
