Following Christ Alone – The Answer – Chapter 17

Chapter 17 of the book:

The Failure of the Great Amish and Conservative Mennonite Dress Experiment

Why Christian Conservatism Isn’t the Answer and What to Do

We have talked about a lot of negative things in this book, and we have looked at the things that the conservative church has done wrong and the horrible consequences. But what is the real solution to the problem? We say that it is necessary to follow Christ alone rather than the commands of men or a church, but what does that really mean? So many people have wildly differing opinions about what following Jesus really is.

The heart desire and prayer of Jesus that He expressed shortly before His crucifixion was that all Christians be unified in one thought and belief and that there be no divisions and conflicting beliefs. Jesus knew that division would come to His church. This so burdened Him that twice in the same prayer He asked God to give us unity. Jesus prayed:

“And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.” (John 17:11) and a little later in the same prayer Jesus prayed:  “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; (21) That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.” (John 17:20-21)

Are you looking for something more than just the same old concepts, interpretations, explanations, and perspectives you have heard regurgitated over and over again? This website will give you some new insights and things to think about. You may not agree with everything you read, but Biblical Research Reports will stimulate your thinking. Our goal is to help you to formulate in your own mind what is Jesus’ truth as you look at the research we share on the various subjects facing the Church.

In the Great Commission, Jesus Christ instructed us in what to do to have unity in His Church, and to follow Him alone. There are two parts to the Great Commission – evangelism and teaching Christ’s commands:

“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe ALL things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” (Matthew 28:19-20)

We have been taught by church leaders to focus on the first part of the Great Commission, which is evangelism. That has enabled them to build bigger churches for themselves, while they redefine the second half of the Great Commission to mean something different than what Jesus commanded. Jesus commanded us also to teach others to observe every command that He commanded us. Church leaders have taught us to observe some of Jesus’ commands and ignore others. They have also redefined Jesus’ commands and instructed us how to follow the commands. The result is that most churches are following instructions of men rather than Christ alone.

The instant response that many professing Christians have to the concept of following ALL of Christ’s commands is to throw up a red flag and cry “legalism!” That is a predictable response. “Legalism” is not a Biblical term nor is it a Biblically defined sin. Nowhere does Jesus command us not to be “legalistic”. It is a man-defined “sin” and has a wide variety of meanings depending on one’s theology and how a church leader or lay person chooses to define the “sin” of legalism for his or her purposes. Both liberals and conservatives use the term legalism.

It is Christ’s commands alone that define sin. Jesus tells us that on Judgment Day, He will be the Supreme Judge of all the world. He will judge each of us based on whether we kept His commands or whether we have disobeyed Him. He will not judge us based on whether we have kept the manmade standards, doctrines, commands and teachings that our pastor or denomination has given and defined. Jesus will not judge one Christian from one rule book and judge another Christian with a different rule book because their Church had different, more, or fewer rules from the other Christian’s church.

We keep Christ’s commands, not because we have to, not to earn our salvation, not to make ourselves Godly, not as steps of action, but because we love Jesus and want to show our love for Him

Following Christ Alone by Keeping His Commands

The concept of following all of Christ’s commands may seem radical and contradictory to what you have been taught is true. But it is an important key to following Christ alone. The following Scriptures show what Jesus has said about the necessity of keeping His commands and that He will use His commands to judge us on Judgment Day:

(The passages are listed in chronological order in the New Testament, not in an order of importance.)

Matthew 7:21-27 “Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not; for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.”

Matthew 28:19-20 “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”

Luke 8:21 “And he answered and said unto them, My mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God, and do it.”

Luke 11:27-28 “And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked. 28 But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.”

John 14:21-24 “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me.”

The use of horses and mules, as the Amish use today, is not something that Jesus commanded or encouraged in the Bible. It is not a part of following Christ alone. Instead of horses, oxen were the preferred draft animal in Bible times, and God commanded kings in the Old Covenant Law not to multiply horses. (Deuteronomy 17:16)

John 15:10-14 “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. This is my commandment, that ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.”

Romans 6:16-17 “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.”

Ephesians 2:8-10 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”

1 Corinthians 7:18-19 “Is any man called being circumcised? let him not become uncircumcised. Is any called in uncircumcision? let him not be circumcised. Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God.”

Hebrews 5:9 “And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him.”

James 1:22 “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”

2 Peter 2:20-21 “For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. 21 For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.”

1 John 2:4 “He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.”

1 John 3:19-24 “And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him. For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.”

1 John 5:1-3 “Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.”

Revelation 12:17 “And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.”

Revelation 20:12-15 “And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”

Revelation 22:14 “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.”

The Old Testament Law – Does It Still Apply? Is it Part of Following Christ Alone?

One of the things that is confusing to many Christians is the role of the Old Testament Law for us as Christians today. After all it is part of the Bible and it has commands that God gave. Does the Old Testament Law still apply to us as Christians? Does the command in Deuteronomy 22:5 still apply, as Amish and conservative Mennonites teach, that states that “The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man”?

It is important that we clearly understand what is right and what is sin. We want to know what laws and commands Jesus expects us to follow in His Kingdom so that we can do what is pleasing to Him. Do some of the Old Testament Laws still apply for Christians? Are we to follow both the Old Testament Law and the commands that God gives us in the New Testament? Or are we only to follow the commands God gives us in the New Testament?

Few Christians follow all the Ten Commandments. The command “Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy” is not observed by most Christians. Instead, most Christians keep the first day of the week holy instead of Saturday as is commanded in the Ten Commandments.

An major error that often occurs in conservative preaching and teachings is to select one or more commands in the Old Testament and state that people are to follow that command as Christians. In the Dress Experiment, it was using a command in the OT to require women to wear dresses. Conservative church preachers have also used other commands in the OT and implied or required that people follow them.

There are also many professing Christians who actively or subconsciously hold the belief that Christians do not really have to follow any law or commands, especially if they are ones they don’t like or that don’t fit with popular opinion. They believe that once a person becomes a Christian they are saved and that they will not go to hell regardless of what Biblical commands that they break. They take verses such as Galatians 5:1, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage”, and apply them to almost all the commands in the Bible, including many of the commands in the New Testament. Is it possible for a person to truly follow Christ alone if there are no commands that Jesus has given us that we need to follow?

The following is a study on what Jesus teaches us in the New Testament about the role of the Old Testament Law for Christians. It is important that we understand the role of the Old Testament and the Old Testament Law if we are going to follow Christ alone.

The Law of Moses

This is a term that God uses in the New Testament to refer to the Old Testament Law. In the New Testament, the Old Testament Law is not called the Law of God. That is significant. The Law of Moses is a good term for us to use rather than just “the law”. This will help prevent confusion about what law or laws we are referring to. It is important to make the distinction between the different sets of commands so that we do not confuse ourselves or others.

John 1:16-17 “And of his fullness have all we received, and grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.”

John 7:23 “If a man on the sabbath day receive circumcision, that the law of Moses should not be broken; are ye angry at me, because I have made a man every whit whole on the sabbath day?”

Acts 13:39 “And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.”

These are just a few of the verses which refer to the Law in the Old Covenant as the Law of Moses rather than referring to it as the Law of God.

Christians are NOT under the Law of Moses

Jesus in Matthew 5:17-20 states clearly that He did not come to destroy the Law or the Prophets. That is true. The Law of Moses is still in effect and is a schoolmaster to bring people to Christ. It is the definition of right and wrong for non-Christians. However, once a person becomes a Christian, the following passages of Scripture state clearly that they are no longer under the Old Covenant Law. It is only Christians who are not under the Law of Moses.

Acts 15:5-20 “But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses. And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter. And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe. And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.

Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they. Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them. And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me: Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up: That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things. Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world. Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God: But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.

Acts 15:24-29 Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment: It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, Men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who shall also tell you the same things by mouth. For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well, Fare ye well.”

• The early church, from the very beginning had to wrestle with whether the Law of Moses applied to Christians or not. The early Christians came to the conclusion that the Law of Moses did not apply to the Gentiles when they became Christians. The only things that they asked that the Gentiles follow was to abstain from meats offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled and from fornication. Notice that Deuteronomy 22:5, “The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man”, was not included in the list like many conservative groups imply by the way they enforce it.

Acts 21:20-25 “And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord, and said unto him, Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe; and they are all zealous of the law: And they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs. What is it therefore? the multitude must needs come together: for they will hear that thou art come. Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men which have a vow on them; Them take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads: and all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law. As touching the Gentiles which believe, we have written and concluded that they observe no such thing, save only that they keep themselves from things offered to idols, and from blood, and from strangled, and from fornication.”

• It appears that Paul, being a Jew, still kept the Law of Moses. At the same time, it states clearly again that the Gentiles were not to keep the Law of Moses. It also seems that Paul may have been “going along to get along”—“to those under the Law, I became as under the Law”
• Are Jews still required to keep the Law of Moses? We will see in a number of other passages that Jews who become Christians are not to keep the Law of Moses. At this point in the early Christian church, they were still trying to figure out what God expected of Christians and what was no longer required.

Romans 6:13-17 “Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.”

• We are no longer under the Law of Moses.

Romans 7:4-7 “Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God. For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter. What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. 

Romans 8:1-5 “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.”

Romans 10:4-5 “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth. For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them.”

• God tells us here that Jesus is the end of the Law of Moses for everyone that believes in Jesus. For both Jews and Gentiles, the Law of Moses no longer applies. Messianic Jews are no longer under the Law of Moses.

Ephesians 2:14-16 “For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:”

• Jesus, in dying on the cross, did away with the Law of Moses so that we could become a new person in Christ. Under the Law of Moses, a person could not become a new person. They were bound by the Law. But through Jesus, the Law of Moses is done away with and we become a new person where there is neither Jew nor Greek – we are now Christians.
• It was through Jesus abolishing the Law of Moses that we can have peace. The OT Law did not take away sin, nor the guilt that went with it. But in Jesus, our sins are removed as far as the east is from the west and we have peace in our hearts.

For further study: Galatians 2:11-21, Galatians 3:1-29, Colossians 2:14, Hebrews 7:11-28, Hebrews 8:13, Hebrews 10:8-9

Jesus did not destroy the Law or the Prophets

There appears to be a contradiction between the passages of Scripture listed above and what Jesus said in Matthew that He did not come to destroy the Law or the Prophets:

Matthew 5:17-20 “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.”

• This was at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry before His death and resurrection. At that point, the law and prophets had not yet been fulfilled through Jesus’ death and resurrection. The Old Testament Law was still in effect. The Law of Moses still applied in its entirety to them. When Jesus died on the cross and rose again he fulfilled the Law of Moses.  We as Christians are no longer under the Old Testament Law.
• For those who are not Christians, the Old Testament Law is a schoolmaster which teaches what sin is and brings them to Christ. It is in this regard, that the Old Testament Law is not destroyed.

Matthew 22:36-40 “Master, which is the great commandment in the law?  Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

• Here Jesus told us what the spirit of the OT Law was by giving us the Law of Moses boiled down into two commands. It is not a statement that Christians are to follow the Law of Moses.

Hopefully, one day Amish girls such as these will be freed from the bondage of the Great Amish Dress Experiment and will be free to follow Christ alone.

As Christians, we are no longer under the Old Testament Law. If we are going to follow Christ alone, we cannot pick commands out of the Old Testament Law to follow. That is not following Christ alone. It is following Christ plus something else.

In fulfilling the Old Testament Law, Jesus did not make us free to commit whatever sin we want to. Jesus has given us the commands in the New Testament to follow. This is stated clearly in the Great Commission – “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:20b). Many of the commands Jesus gave restate Old Testament commands and expand on them such as the commands He gave in the Sermon on the Mount when He said “You have heard it has been said” … “but I say unto you”. However, in restating Old Testament commands, Jesus is not putting us under the Law of Moses. We now follow the command because Jesus gave it, not because Moses gave it. This is a very important distinction.

The Answer to Preventing the Failures of Christian Conservatism is to Follow Christ Alone

The solution to preventing the failures of Christian conservaitsm and the consequences of the Great Amish and Conservative Mennonite Dress Experiment is to follow Christ alone and to keep the commands He has given us in the New Testament. Following the conservative rules and regulations of a church and/or following selected commands from the Old Testament will only result in failures and consequences.

It all boils down to the all sufficiency of Christ. We must follow Christ alone and not parts of the Old Testament Law or manmade rules, too. It is only as Christians follow Christ alone that we can have the unity in the Church that Jesus prayed for.