Q&A
Question:
Brother Meador, recently I attended a meeting of preaching brethren
in Kentucky where it was advocated that passages relating to "ancient
landmarks" in the Old Testament (Pro. 22:28) could not be
used to condemn modern innovations in the church. Please give
your thoughts on this matter.
Answer:
The Hebrew word for landmark signifies a property boundary which
may have been a stone or a simple furrow. The sin of removing
a neighbor's property line is mentioned in Deuteronomy 19:14;
27:17; Proverbs 22:28, 23:10; end Job 24:2. Moving the landmark
even slightly was equivalent to theft-taking the property of another.
When the prophet Hosea decried the spiritual guilt of those who
had moved beyond the boundary of God's Word he challenged the
leadership of Israel by stating: "The princes of Judah are
like them that remove the landmark: I will pour out my wrath upon
them like water" (Hosea 5:10).
His meaning is clear. There is not a hint of confusion in his
statement. Those in a position of tribal leadership over the southern
kingdom who had either promoted or tolerated digression from God's
revealed Word were to be held accountable as spiritual thieves.
Such who compromised the truth, either presumptuously or by rationalism,
were looked upon as one who had removed a landmark.
But what is the significance of such a comparison today?
From the New Testament we learn that Jesus Christ has all spiritual
authority; that his authority is contained in his Word; and that
his Word is our infallible and absolute guide to life and heaven
(Matt. 7:28-29; Eph. 1:22-23; Col. 1:18; Heb. 1:1-2; 2:14) Therefore,
all teachings which oppose the Word of God as our objective and
divine standard must be rejected. We must not remove the landmark
of the authority of Christ's Word.
Some say we are led by both God's Word and human sectarian traditions.
While many appeal to the authority of religious leaders, the church,
parents, friends, and loved ones, Jesus forever settled the question
of the futility of following human traditions when he taught the
lesson of Mark 7:6-16.
Those who would move a landmark of God's Word to accommodate denominational
and sectarian traditions, or personal opinions, are in violation
of God's boundary line for truth.
A so-called new theory of Bible interpretation will cause many
among us to miss the sweet home-going to heaven. The "new
hermeneutic" is a theory which, like evolution, is humanistic
and devilish to the core, because it is based upon human philosophy.
The "new" hermeneutic is in reality a rotted theological
left-over from the Protestant dining table of 1900-1960. Yet,
some of our teaching brethren at the "fast-food" buffet
table of academic freedom have fasted and starved themselves from
the gospel for so long that they will now swallow almost anything!
To such brethren, the orthodox truths of verbal, word-for-word,
plenary inspiration, and the inerrancy and infallibility of Scripture
are meaningless!
Those who in any way advocate this teaching are in a very real
sense guilty of moving the ancient landmarks of the teaching of
Christ. They have either knowingly or unwittingly set themselves
against his Kingdom-the church of Christ. Such ones should be
sought after and lovingly urged to repent. If they refuse they
should be exposed and then marked in accordance with God's will
(Rom. 16:17-18: 2 John 9-11).
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