If you haven’t been accused of picking and choosing the parts of the Bible you choose to believe then you have probably been wise enough to avoid any online debates concerning our faith. However, if like me, you have a hard time keeping your big mouth shut then you have probably been hit with the “picking and choosing” argument a few times.
If you are not familiar with it, this is how it usually goes:
“Everyone picks and chooses which parts of the Bible to believe, or you wouldn’t be wearing the poly blend shirt.”
“No one really believes all the Bible, or you wouldn’t be eating bacon.”
“All you Christians are a bunch of hypocrites because you only believe the parts of the Bible you like and ignore the rest.”
The basis of the argument is that since Christians do not follow the entirety of the Levitical law we have negated the right acknowledge the authority of any of it. Therefore, eating pork, shaving your beard, or gathering eggs improperly automatically means that you cannot be against sexual sins or offer Biblical correction for Christians who commit them. For many Christians this argument is the equivalent of hitting a brick wall.
Most of us know that we are no longer under the whole of the Levitical law, but apart from a few Biblical scholars, few us know why we still adhere to some of the law while disregarding the rest. Allow me to save you the cost of seminary education, and help you understand why we can indulge in a great lobster dinner while still maintaining that sexual standards laid out in Leviticus stand without being hypocritical in our faith.
Fortunately, you don’t have to accept my word for it as the answers were written down by Luke in the Book of Acts and then reaffirmed by Paul. As always, grab your Bible to double check me as I will just be hitting the highlights.
We arrive at Acts just in time to see the ascension of Christ and hear his last words to those gathered around him that day. From there the Church is formed, the message is preached, and the message is resisted sometimes violently by those who find it too radical to be true, but this does not stop the Apostles and those who joined them. Instead of continuing to preach among the Jews, they take the message into the realm of the Gentiles. The response is staggering, and God confirms his inclusion of these outsiders in the New Covenant through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon those receiving the message of Christ, (Acts 10:44-48).
This amazed the Jews (or the circumcised) and for good reason. The Gentiles, while believing in Jesus, had not fulfilled the requirements of the Jewish Law, and yet here was irrefutable proof that God accepted them despite this. For a people whose whole life and relationship to God was manifest in the keeping the law, it almost seemed too easy. Besides that, Christianity was not seen as separate and distinct religion from Judaism, but rather it was viewed as a movement with this ancient religion.
So now you had problem: If Christianity was a part of Judaism then it would follow that all converts to Christianity should be required to uphold Jewish law. If, however, it was not then what were the requirements of law for these new believers?
The issues were hashed out at what would become known as Jerusalem Council recorded in Acts 15. I will not take the time to rewrite the meeting notes here, but after some debate and the presentation of evidence by Peter, Paul, and Barnabas, James the brother of Jesus declares;
“Therefore my judgement is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God.”
His words became the basis for the letter that Paul and Barnabas would carry back to the Gentile Believers in Antioch. It stated:
“For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourself from these things, you will do well. Farewell.” Acts 15:28,29
The first three are simple to understand and define, as these things were all part of the rituals of pagan worship. What trips us up is that phrase “sexual immorality”, after all, if we look at the practices of various cultures we find that sexual morality can be seen as relative. So are we to understand these words?
I think first we have to look at the men who spoke them. They were Jewish with Jewish educations ranging from the most basic knowledge of Torah taught to all Jewish boys of believing families to Paul whose education was of the highest order as he studied that feet of one of the greatest Rabbis of his day, Gamaliel, (Act 22:3). Given this information, we can only conclude that their definition of sexual immorality must be based on their understanding of the Levitical law. The fact that this was not even a point of debate at the counsel confirms that a basic understanding of what these entailed was held by all present. Further discussion was not needed as they all derived their definition from a common source, and if we are to know the definition today then we must return to that source for understanding and application.
Furthermore, we find in Paul’s letter to Timothy a commendation for Timothy’s education in the sacred writings he has studied since childhood as they are “able to make you wise for salvation in Christ Jesus.” Paul concluded this section with these words:
“All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for the training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16,17
We must remember that at this time there was no New Testament. Therefore, Paul must have been referring to another set of sacred writings and the only known Scripture of his day, the Old Testament, and he is confirming their importance in our lives as Christians. Notice what he is not saying, he is not saying that we are obligate to follow the ritual law, nor are we disregard what these passages have to teach us in the light of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection. Both revelations must be held in sacred esteem and tension serving to illuminate our understanding of each.
If we dive further into Paul’s teachings, we find that he demonstrates this sacred tension in his writings. He rejects salvation through the keeping of the law and celebrates salvation through faith that inspires us to righteousness as revealed in the love of Christ and frees us from the yoke of slavery. He explains how the Spirit guides in life opposed to the flesh and in a life that exceeds the demand of the law by inspiring us to love one another. However, this love is informed by the dictates of the law so that we can know if we are following the Spirit or our own hearts as the definitions of holy and unholy things can only be found in the pages of the law. (Galatians, really just read the whole book. It’s only six chapters you can do it.)
It is a thin line, I know, but a necessary one if we are to walk in righteousness as God has called us to while avoiding the pride that comes with performance and personal achievement. The law should never be the basis for pride, but a revelation of our own inability to please God in our own strength or in the obedience to our base impulses. It should ignite and fuel our love for a Savior who gave us this precious gift of his life and love so that we could walk in unity with our God. We would never know how desperately we needed that love if were not for the revelation of our own inability to faithfully fulfill the demands of the law.
So back to our original quandary: Do Christians pick and choose which parts of the Bible they believe?
Yes and no, we believe that the debate over which parts of the Hebrew Scriptures we should follow has been settled. We believe that the picking and choosing was done for us at the Jerusalem Council and if we are to be faithful to this new revelation in Christ that we must abide by the principles laid out for us in Acts 15. In doing so, we neither reject the right of the Levitical laws to inform our faith, but neither are we dependent upon the Levitical law for our salvation or the joy of knowing the love of our God.
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