Posted on 01/22/2015 5:10:49 AM PST by Gamecock
NewSpring Church pastor Perry Noble is in hot water with the South Carolina Baptist Convention over a sermon he preached at the Upstate-based megachurch in which he interpreted the Ten Commandments as 10 “sayings” or “promises” rather than commandments.
The Rev. Tommy Kelly, president of the convention, issued a statement calling on members of the state’s largest denominational group to “remove ourselves from these positions and problematic statements and call for NewSpring to correct these positions if it chooses to say that it affiliates with South Carolina Baptist churches.”
In his Christmas Eve sermon, which Noble said he believed God had instructed him to preach instead of showing a video that had been planned, Noble told church members that there is no word for “commandment” in the Hebrew language, of which most of the Old Testament was written.
After a backlash on social media and among bloggers critical of him, Noble wrote in his own blog that he had misunderstood what he had been told by a teacher in Israel and that there is a Hebrew word for “commandment” and apologized for his error.
After acknowledging Noble’s apology, Kelly put out a statement published in the Baptist Courier, the denomination’s statewide newspaper, saying Noble’s “Christmas Eve message and his theological position in that message are evidence of continued problematic positions and statements that are inconsistent with the beliefs of South Carolina Baptists.”
Neither Kelly, who is also pastor of Varnville Baptist Church in Hampton County, nor Noble could be reached for comment.
NewSpring Church, which makes little public display of its affiliation with the Southern Baptist denomination, has average attendance of more than 32,000 a week at 11 campuses across the state.
Based in Anderson, the church features live, professional-quality contemporary Christian music and Noble’s sermons on lifelike big-screen video at remote locations.
Noble, a native of Easley who preaches in a conversational guy-next-door style, uses humor and high-tech visual aids and elaborate stage settings as backdrops for his sermons.
In his controversial Christmas Eve sermon, he told his far-flung congregation that he believed his topic was given by God for a specific person or people whose struggles over their inability to keep the Ten Commandments was preventing them from “saying yes” to Jesus. He said he believed God intended the list of “thou shalts” and “thou shalt nots” as not commandments but promises.
“Instead of Ten Commandments that you have to keep if you’re going to be a follower of Jesus, they’re actually 10 promises that you can receive when you say yes to Jesus,” Noble said.
He proceeded to rephrase each of the commandments as a promise. For example, the first commandment, “You shall have no other gods before me,” became, “You do not have to live in constant disappointment any more.”
After drawing criticism for his sermon, Noble said in his blog that he did “way more research than I have ever done,” and realized that his statement that there’s no Hebrew word for “command” was incorrect.
“In no way was I deliberately trying to mislead or deceive anyone. I simply recalled a conversation I had (which I now see I did not fully understand), looked back at my notes and taught the message,” he wrote. “I now realize I should have put way more time into doing research before making that statement.”
But he said he found that he was correct that the Hebrew word for “command” isn’t used in the text regarding the Ten Commandments, but rather a word that means “sayings,” which another passage says can be interpreted as “promises.”
“However, regardless of what Bible scholars and Hebrew-speaking Christians in Israel believe, the list of God’s 10 points in Exodus should be called (I have heard conflicting positions), the points themselves are clearly written as imperatives — ‘You shall…you shall not….’ I did not, and would never deny that!,” Noble wrote.
“My desire in sharing this message was to point people to Christ,” he said.
Noble also apologized for tweeting and posting on Facebook, “If those who are angry at what I said about ‘The 10 Commandments’ were actually following all 10 the world would be such a better place!”
“The pressure of this situation has been intense,” he wrote in his apology. “I have had to endure people making assessments about my life and ministry based upon one message I preached. The pressure had built up and I put that statement out on social media because I was frustrated and wanted to take a swipe back and those who were coming after me.
“It was wrong.”
Kelly, the Convention president, in his statement to South Carolina Baptists called on all ministers “to be courageous, faithful servants of our Lord by renewing themselves to more sound exegetical study and expository preaching and teaching of God’s word.
“All church leaders must take seriously their responsibilities to present well-thought and biblically based sermons and teaching that come from God’s infallible, inerrant Word and lead the lost to Christ,” Kelly wrote.
He also urged pastors “to treat their individual ministry settings as a sacred trust, void of coarse, profane language as well as choosing music that is sacred in content.”
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I agree that only Jesus can transforms our heart so that we can keep all of Gods commandments. As for the word say. Jesus used it often to refer to Jewish law. I.e. what does x say?
this is unfortunate. because the “positive” piece of his message is quite good. the commandments, while commandments, like all of the law are in fact promises of abundance for those who follow them, and those who follow them through Christ will be richly blessed. And it is true that the law is not an end in itself, but points us to Christ...this is just Pauline theology, and we should be hearing that message. But we can’t sin in order that grace may abound....
After a backlash on social media and among bloggers critical of him, Noble wrote in his own blog that he had misunderstood what he had been told by a teacher in Israel and that there is a Hebrew word for “commandment” and apologized for his error.
I wonder if his bud in Israel wasn't just made up out of whole cloth.
But, yeah, that's me. Cynical.
The question becomes “Why would anyone want to remove the word Commandments?”
My pastor pulled this same stunt.
“There is nothing in the 10 Commandments about abortion. There is nothing in the 10 Commandments about homosexuality”
He got read the riot act after the service.
I’m surprised he didn’t trot out the “mixed fabric” and “shellfish” canned talking points of the sodomite Left.
Just as a mental exercise and not a repudiation of your point, I would tend to argue your pastor’s position since the Commandment says to Honor thy Father and thy Mother. How can you honor them if you were aborted or if it was Adam and Steve.
Only those who have been born from the completed union between a Father and Mother can obey that commandment. Seems to argue against both abortion and homosexuality rather effectively.
Actually, it is unqualified. If you have two mothers(one birth and one by adoption), you honor them both.
Doesn’t the Sermon on the Mount clarify all of that?
Perhaps the fella was trying to say that when one is in Christ, he does fullfill the law perfectly, but only because he is in Christ.
The born-again Christian has no life apart from Jesus Christ; there is no half-n-half keeping the Law in our dead flesh and walking alive sometimes in the Spirit that seals us in Christ and into everything He is.
Lord Jesus Christ is our Savior, and not partially we ourselves a little bit also. Thus, the born-of-the-Spirit Christians can count on experiencing all the promises of God that pertain to His Son.
Perhaps this was what the preacher was trying to say?
Perhaps. If that is the case it was very sloppy. He wrote this “sermon” in 10 minutes. I guess it shows.
The scriptures refer to them as “tablets of the covenant”.
You might think about hunting for a new church. Perhaps one where the preacher has read and understands the Bible.
He’s not following Scripture whether he’s evil or just dumb.
Matthew 5:18 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
18 For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.
Luke 16:17 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
17 But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter of the Law to fail.
Romans 13:10 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
Galatians 5:14 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
14 For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
What’s the point in sending missionaries to heathen lands if we won’t even try to reach people with the Gospel in our own churches?
They’ll have to throw me out.
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