Posted on 05/14/2018 1:24:16 PM PDT by jeannineinsd
North Point Community Church Senior Pastor Andy Stanley has stated that Christians need to "unhitch" the Old Testament from their faith.
In the final part of a recent sermon series, Stanley explained that while he believes that the Old Testament is "divinely inspired," it should not be "the go-to source regarding any behavior in the church."
To justify this, Stanley preached last month about Acts 15, which described how the early church decided that Gentile converts did not need to strictly observe Jewish law to become Christians.
"[First century] Church leaders unhitched the church from the worldview, value system, and regulations of the Jewish scriptures," said Stanley.
"Peter, James, Paul elected to unhitch the Christian faith from their Jewish scriptures, and my friends, we must as well."
Stanley argued that it had to be done for the same reason the church in Acts 15 did so, which was so that "we must not make it difficult for those Gentiles who are turning to God." For Stanley, the difficulty lay with the Old Testament and his concern that many Christians are turning away from the faith because of certain passages in the Hebrew Bible.
Stanley argued that the early church showed that there was a need to move past the Old Testament for the sake of gentile believers and that the resurrection of Jesus was enough.
"Jesus' new covenant, His covenant with the nations, His covenant with you, His covenant with us, can stand on its own two nail-scarred resurrection feet. It does not need propping up by the Jewish scriptures," noted Stanley.
"The Bible did not create Christianity. The resurrection of Jesus created and launched Christianity. Your whole house of Old Testament cards can come tumbling down. The question is did Jesus rise from the dead? And the eyewitnesses said he did."
Stanley acknowledged that his comments may be considered "a little disturbing" to some, but then added that for many it is "liberating."
"It's liberating for men and women who are drawn to the simple message that God loves you so much He sent His Son to pave the way to a relationship with you," Stanley said. "It's liberating for people who need and understand grace, who need and understand forgiveness. And it's liberating for people who find it virtually impossible to embrace the dynamic, the worldview, and the values system depicted in the story of Ancient Israel."
While noting that he believed the church needed to unhitch itself from the Old Testament, Stanley still regarded the Jewish scriptures as having importance, saying they were "a means to an extraordinary end."
"The Jewish scriptures are the backstory for the main story," Stanley explained. "They're an important backstory. They're divinely inspired. They are God on the move through ancient, ancient times."
"It's the fabulous story of God the Founder playing by the rules of the kingdoms of this world, to establish a kingdom not of this world. To send a king who would be like no other king. A king who lay down His life for His subjects. A king who would introduce the entire world to God the Father."
Stanley's sermon was the third part of a series titled "Aftermath," in which the pastor was trying to appeal to individuals who left Christianity over what they were taught the Bible said about certain things.
"If you were raised on a version of Christianity that relied on the Bible as the foundation of faith, a version that was eventually dismantled by academia or the realities of life, maybe it's time for you to change your mind about Jesus," stated North Point Community Church.
"Maybe it's time for you to consider the version of Christianity that relies on the event of the resurrection of Jesus as its foundation. If you gave up your faith because of something about or in the Bible, maybe you gave up unnecessarily."
Days before giving the third Aftermath sermon, Stanley preached at the Orange Conference held in Atlanta, Georgia, using Acts 15, as well as John 17, to argue that church unity was more important than "theological correctness."
"[Jesus] prayed for our oneness, that we'd be on the same page," said Stanley at the conference last month. "This is mission critical. If they are not one, we will not win ... unity is mission critical and disunity disrupts the mission."
"Will we prioritize our oneness over our politics? Will we continue to allow the kingdom of the world to divide the Kingdom of God that is in this world because of politics?"
I have had questions about a number of Messianic Jewish preachers, and even some Gentiles, who preach that ALL Believers, Jew or Gentile, should observe the old Jewish Feast Days. Passover, Tabernacles, Yom Kippur. I have wondered, if keeping those Jewish Feast Days is really so important, why didn’t Paul, Peter, John, James stress it in ANY of their teachings? Why didn’t Christ at least give a clue about their importance before His Ascension? When the Apostles gave guidance for Gentile Believers, why weren’t the Feast Days included in their instructions?
Bringing back the Marcionism heresy.
Andy Stanley...... pastor of the church of the mega mall
His father is such a great preacher. Too bad the boy fell so far from his he tree
Anyone have any thoughts on what those “certain things” that drive some people from the faith are? {wink, wink}
From North Point’s website (giving FAQs):
Q: Do you have envelopes available for me to mail in my tithe?
A: Yes! If you would like for us to mail you a supply of envelopes for your tithe contributions, please send your name, address, and church name to envelopes@northpoint.org. A supply of envelopes is also available at the Information Center at each campus. If you typically place your tithe check in an offering bucket during worship services, you do not need to use an envelope.
I can see young people in college learning about “comparative” religions and stuff and get a bad impression of the Old Testament when the profs pick and choose. “So you're telling me that you want to worship a God that commands that all of the unbelievers - children and women - be killed!?”
And of course many of the stories seem unbelievable such as the Creation story, Jonah, etc. Personally, I believe that those DID happen in some form - but I also don't think that one needs to believe in those stories as a condition of being a Christian. That can come later I think. In fact, I would surmise that knowing the outcome of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection would make it easier to read and understand much of the Old Testament - which is pointing to Jesus from the very beginning! I didn't watch the video, I guess I should. The the term “unhitched” seems a bit harsh and too much. But I would agree that to a new believer, or one that has wandered off - the New Testament should be the focus. The “Ten Commandments” are in there “Love the Lord with all your heart, and the other is like it - Love your neighbor..”
Heck - Jesus himself was always going against the stumbling blocks that the Pharisees had set up, based on the Old Testament rules.
Just as becoming circumcised in order to become a Christian was changed to remove a “stumbling block”, many of the other Old Testament rules are also were removed. Interesting that when they first hold their meeting on circumcision they agree that circumcision is no longer required, but eating of sacrificed meat and immoral sex is still wrong. But then only a few chapters later, Paul says that one CAN eat meat sacrificed to pagan gods!
My son got degrees in theology and educational ministry. He was distressed early on at the stuff they were teaching at the Christian University. Our pastor counseled him, and said the University is trying to break down your existing faith structure so that you will end up with your OWN faith, rather than your parent's faith. And to make it stronger. The flip side of course that so many kids just get their faith broken. Our pastor reassured him that his existing faith was already on the right track, and that he would persevere. (he did!).
Thank you. I knew it.
Tithing is strictly an Old Testament law. It is not carried over in the New Testament. Christians are encourage to give out of love (not Law), yet it never seems to fail that pastors like Stanly here want to glom onto the Old Law when it comes to money, money, money.
The Bible tells of two time periods, but only one God.
The theme of the Bible is the coming of The Msssiah the Lord Jesus, and His Kingdom of Righteousness and Peace. The purpose of the Bible, all of it, is to show God's Plan of Salvation and Reconciliation with His Created humans.
Nothing more. Nothing less. Nothing else.
Andy must not have been paying attention in Sunday School. His poor father Charles has to listen to this guy’s drivel.
http://www.jesusplusnothing.com/jesus66books.htm
He is insane. Jesus said “Do you think I have come to destroy the law of Moses? I have come to follow the law”. (The Greek and hebrew translation.). Jesus was a rabbi.
Your move, Andy Stanley.
Well there’s 10.......................
Yes but he still has a problem because Saint Paul said that the kingdom of heaven is not for homosexuals. ...Unless of course you want to edit out the letters of Saint Paul.
This whole "un-hitching" idea goes back to a guy named Marcian in the second century AD if I'm not mistaken. Nothing new here.
Good eye! I was wondering if someone would catch that.
Me as well. The Old and New Testaments are linked. Chuck Missler used to say, "The New Testament is in the Old Testament concealed; the Old Testament is in the New Testament revealed."
“Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose.
Matthew 5:17
Andy Stanley, a proud member of the Heresies R Us movement.
It used to be that we specialized in them here in California but clowns like Stanley are cutting into our franchise.
They all do. Te OT is full of history and prophesy esp. prophesies pointing to the coming of Yeshua.
[[His father is such a great preacher. Too bad the boy fell so far from his he tree]]
Absolutely- it’s shocking how far from the tree he has fallen
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