HOW THE CLEAR
PASSAGES OF SCRIPTURE
RESOLVE THEOLOGICAL QUESTIONS
A call to Understanding by
Gary Ray Branscome
If any man speaks, let him speak according to
God’s
Word (1Peter
In applying God’s Word to everyday life we
often
encounter situations not specifically addressed in Scripture. Those
situations may
have to do with minor issues that can be easily resolved. However,
sometimes we
have to deal with matters that are highly controversial and charged
with
emotion. Furthermore, because those matters are highly controversial
Satan uses
them to create strife and divide churches. He does that by leading
people to 1)- make up answers to questions
not specifically addressed
by Scripture, 2)- to elevate those man-made answers to the status of
God’s Word
by teaching them as doctrine, and 3)- then to contend with anyone who
disagrees.
As various churches come up with different answers to those questions
Satan
then divides them into camps, getting them to argue with each other
while
explaining away any statements of Scripture that might contradict their
man-made
opinions.
The world’s solution to such controversy is
to say,
“Let’s just agree to disagree”. However, if one or more of the made up
answers
contradicts God’s Word, then agreeing to disagree is agreeing to allow
people
to contradict God’s Word. And, that is just what Satan wants! The
purpose of
this essay is to offer another solution; one that involves taking every
statement
of Scripture seriously, while rejecting all man-made answers to
theological questions.
Teaching For Doctrine the Traditions of Men
At the time of Christ, a clear
distinction was made between the words of Scripture, and the traditions
of the
elders. Those traditions included commentary on Scripture, as well as
answers
to questions not answered in Scripture. Moreover, even though some of
those
traditions contradicted Scripture, the tradition of the elders was
often regarded
more highly than the words of Scripture. Today we like to think that
things
have changed. Evangelical Christians often take pride in the fact that
they do
not go by tradition. However, nothing has really changed. The man-made
traditions are still there. We just do not call them traditions.
Instead we
call them doctrines, or philosophies, or explanations of Scripture.
Nevertheless,
whenever those traditions contradict the words of Scripture, Jesus
would
condemn them as strongly as He did two thousand years ago (Matthew
15:3, 6 Mark
7:9, 13). And, they often do contradict God’s Word. Look for example at
the
question of infant salvation.
The Death of Infants
Throughout history infants have had a
high rate of mortality. Both of my parents came from a large family in
which
one child was born dead. And, throughout history parents, especially
mothers,
have cried out for some assurance that their deceased child was not in
hell. In
response, pastors have come up with a number of ideas aimed at
comforting such
distress. However, because those ideas are man’s word, not God’s Word,
they
need to be examined in the light of God’s Word. And, whenever they
contradict what
the Bible says, man’s word must yield to God’s Word (2Corinthians
10:5).
Some churches deny that infants are
sinners. Others say that infants are not accountable for their sins.
And, still
others claim that infants are somehow covered by God’s grace apart from
faith. You
may hold one of those views. If you do, instead of trying to explain
away the
Bible passages that I am going to quote, open your mind to the Word of
God as
we look for an answer to the question of infant salvation that agrees
with
everything the Bible says.
The words, “All have sinned,” tell us
that everyone, infants included have sinned (Romans
Those who say that infants can be
saved because they have no sin, or because they are not accountable for
their
sin, are saying that they can be saved in some way other than through
Christ’s
death on the cross, and that is clearly contrary to God’s Word. The
words, “If
there had been a law given that could have given life, righteousness
truly
would have been by the law,” tell us that if anyone could have been
saved apart
from Christ’s death on the cross God would not have sent Christ to the
cross
(Galatians 3:21).
The words, “I was formed in iniquity; and
sinful when
my mother conceived me,” tell us that infants are sinners (Psalm 51:5).
The
words, “we all… were by nature the children of wrath,” tell us that
“all,”
infants included, are “by nature” destined for wrath apart from Christ
(Ephesians
2:3). And, the words, “The wicked are estranged from the womb,” (Psalm
58:3).
Tell us that infants are accountable for their sins.
Those who try to explain away the words of
Scripture
because those words contradict their man-made traditions are rebelling
against
God. Therefore, what I want you to do now is to put all man-made ideas
aside as
we look at what the Bible says. Here are some passages of Scripture
that relate
to the question of infant salvation.
First of all, the words, “without faith it is
impossible to please God,” tell us that no one, infants included, can
be saved
apart from faith in Christ (Hebrews 11:6). However, the words, “Behold,
the
LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save,” tell us that He can
save
anyone, infants included.
The words, “You are saved by grace through
faith; and
that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God,” tell us that faith is a
gift of
God (Ephesians 2:8). And, the words, “As soon as the sound of your
greeting
reached my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy,” tell us that God
can give
His gift of faith to an infant (Luke 1:44).
Therefore: in order to have a truly Biblical
answer to
the question of infant salvation, we must begin by humbly admitting
that the
Bible nowhere specifically answers that question. Then, instead of
professing
ourselves to be wise, we need to trust God to do what is just and
right. And,
instead of making up some story about infants being saved apart from
faith in
Christ, we need to credit God with the ability to bring infants to
faith. The
same Holy Spirit that dwells in believers, imparting to them God’s gift
of
faith, can give their unborn children an inner assurance of God’s
mercy, which
is the essence of faith (Psalm 13:5).
Because the Bible plainly tells us that the
wicked
are, “estranged from the womb,” the words, “That servant, who knew his
lord’s
will… and did not do what his master wanted, will be beaten with many
lashes. But
the one who did not know… will be beaten with few lashes,” may apply
(Luke
Suicide
Another highly charged issue has to do with
suicide. Because
the word “suicide’ means (in Latin) self-murder, it should be obvious
that it is
contrary to God’s Word. For that reason, even though we may be called
upon to
comfort those who have had a family member commit suicide, we never
want to
encourage others to commit suicide by telling them that once they have
prayed
the “sinner’s prayer” they can never be lost. The Bible says no such
thing! We
are saved through faith in Christ, not by praying a prayer (John
While the few examples of suicide that we
have in
Scripture are of people who were lost (Matthew 27:5, 1Samuel 31:4,
2Samuel
16:21 and 17:23); there have been Christian women who have committed
suicide
rather than allow themselves to be forced into prostitution. Therefore,
while the
person who is considering suicide needs to know that they will be just
as
conscious after suicide as before, but with one more sin to account
for, there
is no simple answer. Although we want to comfort the family of someone
who has
committed suicide, we never want to encourage it. So, in the end, the
only
Scriptural answer to the question of suicide is for us to admit our
ignorance
and leave it in God’s hand.
Conclusion
While the Bible tells us everything we
need to know to be saved, there are many things that it does not tell
us. That
leaves us with many questions. And, because people make up unbiblical
answers to
those questions, answers that contradict what the Bible clearly says,
we are
sometimes forced to come up with answers to those questions that do not
contradict anything the Bible says. All such answers should be regarded
as
traditions, not doctrine. And, those who exalt such traditions above
the Word
of God by explaining away any statements of Scripture that contradict
them,
should be rebuked in the same way that Christ rebuked them (Matthew
15:3, 6
Mark 7:9, 13).