Selective Obedience?
Well, well, well, if it isn’t me just looking at Scripture again and trying to figure out what the church says and what is said in the Old Testament and New Testament.
Today was cool. I prayed, and God actually answered the prayer. Was it hindsight or me creating a narrative that God answered my prayer? I don’t know, but here’s where I am today.
I selected three verses from the Old Testament; one of them is quoted a lot at the church I attend. And that’s Malachi 3:10.
10 Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.
Malachi 3:10
I’ve been told that if we tithe to the church, we put God to the test and he will be faithful to bless me and that there will be no need.
Fine, okay, great. That’s an Old Testament verse.
Here’s my point: let’s look at Ezekiel 18:21-22.
21 “But if a wicked person turns away from all his sins that he has committed and keeps all my statutes and does what is just and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die. 22 None of the transgressions that he has committed shall be remembered against him; for the righteousness that he has done he shall live.
Ezekiel 18:21-22
God says if a wicked person turns away from all his sins he has committed and does what is right and just, he will surely live. None of his transgressions will be remembered, and he will live for the righteousness he has done.
Great, perfect. Ezekiel describes repentance and righteousness in terms of turning from wickedness and doing what is just and right. The New Testament frames repentance around faith in Christ. How do these fit together?
Do we now apply that to our lives?
Or, now what about Deuteronomy 26:12:
12 “When you have finished paying all the tithe of your produce in the third year, which is the year of tithing, giving it to the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, so that they may eat within your towns and be filled.”
Deuteronomy 26:12
Here’s what it's saying: after ALL the tithes you have given, then give it to the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, so that they may eat within your towns and be filled.
Do we apply that to our lives now?
It seems easy to emphasize certain passages while giving much less attention to others.
My question isn't whether that's always wrong, but what principle determines which passages we carry forward and which we don't.
It’s easy to say give a tenth because Malachi 3:10 says to test God and see how he will bless you.
The New Testament appears to emphasize generous, voluntary giving rather than prescribing a fixed tenth.
7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
2 Corinthians 9:7
Look, I’m doing my best not to debate people. I’m wrestling outwardly and inwardly with the Biblical text.
I want to live a life that is righteous before God, knowing that one day I will give an account for how I lived.
Some would say, “Well, Barnaby, you cannot live a righteous life, only through Jesus.”
Fine, great. Then another passage often cited is Isaiah 64:6:
We have all become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.
We all fade like a leaf,
and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
Isaiah 64:6
I'm not trying to dismantle Christianity or prove anyone wrong.
I'm trying to understand how Christians determine which parts of Scripture are applied directly today, which are interpreted through Christ, and which are understood differently under the New Covenant.
If the Bible is one story, I want to know how the pieces fit together rather than assuming they do.
I’m doing my best to understand the hermeneutics: How should Scripture be interpreted?
I'm not asking these questions because I reject the Bible. I'm asking them because I take it seriously enough to want to understand it on its own terms rather than simply accepting whatever interpretation I inherited.