Introduction:
Sometimes people
wonder whether all people are universally accountable to obey the teachings of
the gospel, the New Testament, or is it only for members of the church? Are
people free from the laws of God simply because they have never chosen to
submit to those laws, or will God still hold them accountable in the Judgment
for the fact they did not obey the Bible?
A. Jesus Is Lord over All Men, Not Just Those in the Church.
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Jesus is not just
Head of the church or King of His kingdom. There are other positions He holds
that show that all men are obligated to obey Him. He is:
Jesus is God
(Deity)
****************
John 1:1,14;
20:28,29; Phil. 2:6-8; Col. 2:9. If He possesses Deity, all people must obey
His rules.
Jesus is King of
kings and Lord of lords
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Rev. 17:14; 1:5;
19:16. Hence, He possesses authority over all people on earth, even the highest
of human authorities.
Jesus is Creator
of all
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John 1:1-3; Col.
1:16. If He created all things, then all must obey Him (cf. Acts 17:24,30,31).
Jesus is Lord and
Ruler of all
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Matt. 28:18; John
3:31; Acts 10:36; Rom. 9:5; l0:12; Phil. 3:20,21; Eph. 1:21; John 17:2; Phil.
2:9-11. As Lord, He is Master or Ruler. His authority extends to all people,
regardless of whether or not they are disciples.
Jesus is Judge of
all
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Acts 17:30,31
(spoken to unbelieving Gentiles); John 5:22-29; 2 Cor. 5:10; Matt. 25:31-46.
Men will be judged according to the teachings of Jesus, even if they reject Him
- John 12:48. If they do not obey the gospel, they will be destroyed - 2 Thess.
1:8,9.
Furthermore, the
law of Jesus and the law of God are the same. What Jesus taught is what was
revealed to Him from the Father (John 12:49f; 17:8,20,21,10; 16:15; Luke
10:16). Hence, people are obligated to obey Jesus' law because it is the law of
God, and God's rule is universal.
It follows that
all men are obligated to obey Jesus' laws. To deny the duty of all men to obey
Christ's commands is to belittle the authority and exalted position of Christ,
and also to deny the responsibility of all men to obey God the Father!
B. Jesus' Law Is
a Whole, Complete Unit.
=========================
Those who are
subject to Jesus' authority (that includes everyone), must be subject to the
whole law.
James 2:8-12 -
Like the Old Testament, the perfect law of liberty is a "whole." We
must keep it all or stand condemned as transgressors (cf. Gal. 5:3).
Acts 3:22,23 - We
must give heed to Jesus in all things whatever He says or we will be destroyed.
This was spoken to people who were not His disciples.
(Compare Matt.
28:18-20; 4:4.)
People outside
the church are clearly subject to some of Christ's commands. Since the gospel
is a whole system, they must be subject to it all.
Alien sinners are
obligated to obey the gospel commands to believe, repent, and be baptized (Mark
16:15,16; Matt. 28:18-20; Acts 17:30; 2:38; 22:16; 10:48; 2 Thess. 1:8). If
people are not subject to Jesus' law, then how can they be held accountable for
refusing to believe, repent, and be baptized (Rom. 4:15)? But clearly all
people are accountable to obey Jesus' commands to be forgiven (Mark 16:15,16;
Luke 24:47; Titus 2:11; 1 Timothy 2:4,6; 2 Peter 3:9; Hebrews 2:9; John 3:16;
Acts 10:34,35; Matthew 11:28; Luke 2:10). But these commands are just part of
His law which must be taken as a whole. Hence, those outside the church are
accountable to the whole system.
If Christ's laws
are not binding on people who are outside the church, then how could these
people be guilty of sin? 1 John 3:4 - Sin is transgression of God's law (not
civil law). If people outside the church are not subject to Jesus' law, and
Jesus' law is God's law, then how did these people become sinners (Rom. 4:15)?
The church
consists of people who have been saved from sin (Acts 2:47; Eph. 5:23,25). When
a person hears the gospel, believes, repents of sin, confesses, and is baptized
for remission of sin, then Jesus' blood forgives his sins (Eph. 1:7; Rev. 1:5;
Matt. 26:28; Rom. 5:6-9) and the Lord adds him to the church (Acts 2:47). But
why would a person even need to do this if Jesus' law does not apply to him?
If people are not
subject to Jesus' law, what sin can they be guilty of, how can they be held
accountable for becoming a Christian, and why should they even enter the church?
The fact they are obligated to obey some commands, proves they are accountable
to the whole law.
Note: It is true
that certain specific laws regulate only people in certain circumstances, such
as laws for women, men, elders, parents, children, etc. (In this sense the
Lord's supper is only for those in the circumstance of having been cleansed by
Jesus' blood.) If we are not in the circumstance described, then we cannot obey
that law, but this is because we are not in the circumstance rather than because
we are not subject to the law as a whole.
The instructions
of God's New Testament apply to all people on earth since the day of Pentecost
in Acts 2.
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(C) Copyright 2002, David E. Pratte
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