Obeying men rather than God

Act 5:27-29 NRSV  "When they had brought them, they had them stand before the council. The high priest questioned them,  (28)  saying, "We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and you are determined to bring this man's blood on us."  (29)  But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than any human authority."

I know, I have the title of this post backwards. It is backwards on purpose. Over the years as a theology educator, working with pastors I have had several tell me that they do not want to miss the move of God. All the while they are deeply involved with following men and women. Yes, I know that the proverb states that there is safety in a multitude of counselors. However, if you look at redemptive history, you will find that major progress has been achieved by those who listen to God in spite of the input of others.

The examples begin with all of the Old Testament Prophets and then you have Jesus himself, Paul the apostle, Martin Luther, John Calvin and so forth. All of these mentioned received revelation or illumination from God to press forward with understanding. There is a need for this once again. It is so easy for the safety that comes from a multitude of counselors to devolve to a dogma that is as much if not more for control and maintaining the status quo, than it is for truly seeking what God is doing in the earth and what his ultimate plan for humanity is.

I know, one should not contradict what is already written and established clearly in scripture, but is that the reality? Is it really clearly written and established in scripture?  I don't think it is quite frankly. There are so many erroneous presuppositions that go into current evangelical dogma. Especially when it comes to how the scripture is viewed. Let's look at the definition of dogma; a principle or set of principles laid down by an authority as incontrovertibly true. In controvertible means undeniable. Identifying erroneous presuppositions and revisiting the dogma base on that is very important.

Back to the pastors I have known that expressed the idea that they were not always comfortable with the status quo, and did not want to miss a movement of God on the earth. Unfortunately, most are connected with groups of pastors that are so steeped in evangelical dogma that it is very difficult to break with tradition. While many break with tradition with respect to cultural norms such as dress and liturgy, they are reluctant to embrace ideas that seem to contradict the beloved and quite often sacred dogma.

One of the biggest stumbling blocks to advancing in hearing God's redemptive plan unfold is the presuppositions about the scripture itself. Viewing the entire bible as God's Word and treating it as a legal constitutional document between God and humanity stifles the ability to hear from God. In reality, for New Covenant saints both Jews and Gentiles, The scripture is the redemptive narrative and the "Word of God" is the gospel, or Jesus the living gospel. This has been addressed and proven with a preponderance of evidence in many posts in this blog. Simply type in Word of God or redemptive narrative in the blog search bar and you will find them.

Another presupposition that is stifling is that the New Testament writings are all New Covenant. This is simply untrue. The gospels are written before the cross and therefore are actually old covenant in nature. Jesus entire message and ministry was to Jews that were expecting a Messiah. Only passage that refer to events after the resurrection are truly New Covenant. This presupposition does not allow for the transition that is obvious in the New Testament writings. The transition is as follows: John the Baptist, last Old Testament Prophet > Jesus, Jewish Messiah, prophet, priest and king > Pentecost, the installation of the New Covenant Jewish Church > The inclusion of the Gentiles at Cornelius house > Paul, the apostle to the "new creation" made up of believing Jews and Gentiles.

It should be pointed out that the apostles in the above passage were being brought before the Jewish council as heretics.  Let this marinate along with the title of this post.