Topical Studies
What the Bible says about
Revolutionary
(From Forerunner Commentary)
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Proverbs 24:21
This proverb could cover even those given to political change: revolutionaries. It contains a warning because the desire to change things, to make something more convenient, efficient, or better—to suit ourselves!—is always within us. However, its source is Satan and his desires for change. It comes from the world, and we bring it into the church. It does not point the finger at anybody in particular because this desire is in everyone. Thus, we must possess a measure of restraint to stick to what we have been given until or unless we find a good reason to make a change. A few examples will expose a little bit of the mind of God about this desire to change. Answer this: "What kind of variety did the children of Israel in the wilderness receive from God in the way of food?" Very little. God cares little that we have a variety of things to eat. Why? Because stability is more important to Him than variety. Manna, of course, represents something far greater. Jesus compared it to eating the Word of God. He said, "I am the true manna that came from heaven" (see John 6:32-35, 48-51, 58). What, then, are we supposed to eat intellectually? What does God want us to feed our minds? Many of us like a tremendous amount of variety: novels, television shows, movies, endless entertainments, sports, social media, etc. That variety is influencing us constantly, filling our minds with what is little more than a lot of junk food that fails to build spiritual health. Do we grasp the principle? The same principle is at work in other areas as well. For instance, the only thing that keeps American capitalism working is constant change. Companies must continuously produce new things to spur the public to buy, to spend money. So, they keep changing the shape of automobiles, clothing fashions, food pairings, color preferences, and just about everything else. The typical person is convinced that because Detroit put a piece of chrome here and another there, the new year's model is tremendously better than last year's. Hair styles change. Facial hair is acceptible one year but not the next. Neckties go wide then thin. Pants have pleats in them, then they have flat fronts, and similar changes occur on cuffs and collars. Hats are in then hats are out. You name it—everything just keeps changing. Every change produces a little bit of instability, a little bit of doubt, a little bit of insecurity, and because this principle is working in us, we feel the need to follow the changes to feel accepted in society. We have become ignorant victims of this devilish system. God's pattern, however, is consistent: "I am the LORD, I do not change" (Malachi 3:6). "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever" (Hebrews 13:8). The most stable Being in all of the universe does not change. Conversely, we change daily, it seems, and we have a long, long way to go to become consistent. This sort of restlessness and instability led to the changes we experienced doctrinally within the church a few decades ago. Change always produces instability, which is why Solomon gives his warning: "Don't associate with those who are given to change."
John W. Ritenbaugh
Unity (Part 5): Ephesians 4 (B)
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Matthew 5:21-22
It is essential to understand that Jesus did not do away with laws, but brought to completion the laws that already existed. Likewise, He did not do away with the Old Testament death penalty principles, which act as guides to civil governments. Jesus was a pioneer, not a revolutionary. A revolutionary seeks to destroy the existing order and places himself above conventional standards. A pioneer accepts the restraints laid upon him and moves forward. Men's governments deal with the end of the act, Christ deals with the beginning. Jesus changed the law's restraint from the act to the motive. For the Christian, merely abstaining from the act is not sufficient. Jesus imposes the positive obligation of the spirit of the law on him. He seeks to prevent crimes of violence by rooting out the attitudes and drives in a person's character that make him kill. The New Covenant law searches the heart without doing away with the Old Covenant letter. People can sometimes get infantile, sentimental feelings about Christ and fail to understand the practical realities of what He taught. A cursory reading of Matthew 5:21-22 shows that He is speaking not so much about murder but of the steps that lead to it. He traces the roots of murder and war to three major sources: 1) anger, 2) hatred, and 3) the spirit of competition and aggression—in short, the self-centeredness of passionate carnality. "Angry without a cause" indicates someone vainly or uselessly incensed. It describes a person so proud, sensitive, or insecure that he gets angry about trifling things. He wears his feelings on his sleeve and is easily offended. He then broods on the offense and nurses it into a grudge. What may make Jesus' comments even more startling is that many commentators feel that the best Greek manuscripts do not include "without a cause." If this is so, Jesus is saying that even getting angry—with or without a "justifiable" cause—puts one in danger of breaking this commandment! The Bible permits anger against sin (righteous indignation) but not anger against another person. Raca literally means "vain fellow," someone who is deemed shallow, empty-headed, brainless, stupid. People said raca in a tone of voice that conveyed scorn, contempt, or bitterness born of pride, snobbery, and prejudice. "You fool" implies a moral fool. One using it was casting aspersions upon another's character to destroy his reputation. It is an expression of condemnation, of character assassination. We should not take the increasing severity of punishment in the examples Jesus gave literally. He is teaching about the sin of murder, and the punishment is the same in each example—death. He gives the gradations to teach the degree of wickedness and viciousness of each sin. William Barclay, in his commentary on these verses, writes: What Jesus is saying here is this: "In the old days men condemned murder; and truly murder is forever wrong. But I tell you that not only are a man's outward actions under judgment; his inmost thoughts are also under the scrutiny and the judgment of God. Long-lasting anger is bad; contemptuous speaking is worse, and the careless or malicious talk which destroys a man's good name is worst of all." The man who is the slave of anger, the man who speaks in the accent of contempt, the man who destroys another's good name, may never have committed a murder in action, but he is a murderer at heart. Brooding anger, contempt, and character assassination are all the spirit of murder. Christ here traces murder to several of its major sources. To continue in any of these states breaks the sixth commandment. Death is the penalty. Christians have to keep the spirit of the law.
John W. Ritenbaugh
The Sixth Commandment (Part One) (1997)
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Luke 13:1-5
The problem of human suffering and sin raises serious questions, and in His reply to such a question, Jesus' speaks of repentance and judgment (Luke 13:1-5). He continues with the Parable of the Barren Fig Tree (verses 6-9), which refers to tragedy among the Galileans (verse 1). History fails to record the exact incident, but the revolutionary activities of that time made anything possible. Galileans, says Josephus, were especially susceptible to revolt. In His discussion, Jesus does not attribute tragedy or accident directly to any person's sin as the Jews did—instead, He affirms the sinfulness of everyone. A person who flagrantly sins can expect judgment to come eventually, though it may be long delayed (Ecclesiastes 8:11-13). Victims of calamity die physically, but anyone who does not repent faces spiritual death.
Martin G. Collins
Parable of the Barren Fig Tree
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