II Timothy 2:15  Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

There is a law that God has given us to show us how to rightly divide the Word of Truth. It is important that we study God’s Word according to His design. It is also important to be saved and led by the Holy Spirit in the study of God’s Word. Years ago we had a pastor who warned us of those who get so educated and know how to tear a verse apart, but they do not know how to put it back together again.
It is important to remember that the Bible is not a disjointed book. It has One Author throughout Its entirety. That Author is God. He laid the foundation in Genesis 1&2. There He told us about Himself. He is the Only Authority there is upon this earth. He also tells us that He is a plurality of God, the Spirit, and the Word. That fact is further developed to help us to understand that there is God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
We are told that God is omniscient. He knows all things. He has a perfect memory and a perfect and orderly mind. We are told:

I Corinthians 14:33  For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.

God never contradicts Himself. It is important to study to show ourselves approved unto God, not man. If our study of God’s Word leads to confusion of facts, obviously we did not allow God to lead us in our study.
The Bible makes it clear that when God declares something, He will also see to it that what He says will come to pass.

Isaiah 46:11  Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.

We need to be sure we are hearing what God has declared. He will make sure that what He has declared will come to pass. We can have that assurance with regard to salvation and all other doctrines as well.
The law that we spoke of earlier is the law of first mention. We know that God is the Creator of all things because Genesis 1 tells us that. Thus there is no need to accept any form of evolutionary activity in the development of anything on this earth. Things that man makes might evolve, but not what God made.
We can look at the development of the automobile and see how things have changed over the years. Cars still have four wheels and they still need some form of an engine to propel them along. Cars are much fancier now than those that men like Henry Ford invented. With the modernization of the automobile, they have not become more affordable. In fact, they are getting to the place where less people will afford to own a vehicle.
Going back to our law, we know that God created man, male and female. There is no in-between gender. We also know that animals and humans produce after their kind. A cow will not give birth to a horse or a goat. Man can do cross breeding and develop a new breed of cow or horse, but they cannot cause a horse to give birth to a pig. They might try to do such things in defiance of God’s law, but God’s law stands.
We have already looked at God’s law on marriage and noted that marriage is always between a man and a woman. Our society suggests that two men can marry or two women can marry or a person can marry a cat or dog, or even themselves. However, God has established what a marriage is.
Recently the question came up again regarding the eating of blood. There are cultures that make blood sausage. There are cultures that eat raw meat.
When God created man, he did not eat meat. That does not give support to the vegan diet. It simply means that prior to the fall of man there was no death, and thus no animals would be killed for food. There was no sickness so no animal or human died for any reason. After the fall things changed. Cain murdered his brother Abel because he was angry with him. Lamech killed two men and boasted about it. He tempted God to judge him more harshly than Cain was judged. Lamech was a fool and he knows better now, but it is too late for him.
After the flood, God told man he could eat meat. He gave very clear instructions to man and told him not to eat the blood.

Genesis 9:3  Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.
4  But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.

The life is in the blood and the blood of the animal was a picture of the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ that would one day be shed for the sins of mankind. We see here again, that God established the foundation for eating meat. He would give the Jews further instructions on what kind of meat they could eat, but the basic instruction to all of mankind is not to eat the blood. An animal needs to be killed properly and bled out.
God repeated this same law in the book of Acts with regard to fundamental things that born again Christians must abstain from:

Acts 15:20  But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.

These are all facts that cannot be denied. Jesus stated:

Matthew 15:11  Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.

There are ungodly cultures that have eaten blood for years. They have faced disease due to that. More importantly they have defied God in doing that. There are supposed godly pastors who serve among people of those cultures and rather than teach them the truth, they ignore God’s law of studying His Word to meet His approval. They go to what Jesus said and pull it out of its context and suggest that it is acceptable to eat the blood.
The context of what Jesus was referring to is covered just a few verses further on in that passage. The Pharisees had corrupted the Word of God and they had many rituals that they insisted were the way of “salvation”. They picked on Jesus’ disciples for not washing their hands prior to eating. Of course we know that under normal circumstances it is always good to wash our hands before we eat. There are occasions where that is not possible, nor is it necessary.
In that context, Jesus said that what goes into the mouth is not what defiles the man, but what comes out of the mouth. That statement does not cancel out God’s clear instruction to man in Genesis 9:4. Jesus declared:

Matthew 5:17  Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
18  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.

It is important that we not ignore the clear teaching of God’s Word and try to appease pagan cultures rather than show them the holiness of God. We need to be careful that we keep God’s law in order, and begin where He gives a doctrine and then study carefully how He handles that doctrine throughout His Word. There will be no confusion when we do that.
None of this has to do with law keeping for salvation. It has to do with the demonstration of the fruit of the Spirit for those who are truly born again.
We are constantly reminded of the importance of a true, local, Bible believing church. Today is another opportunity to attend a good church. Be sure to take advantage of the opportunity God has given you to know Him and serve Him. You will meet Him personally one day. Meet Him in His house today and receive a blessing from Him.
Pastor Bartel