PART 4 THE SPIRITUALITY PUZZLE
IF SOMEONE HAS LITTLE OR NO FELLOWSHIP DOES THIS INDICATE LOSS OF RELATIONSHIP WITH YAHWEH OR CHRIST?
If there’s little or no evidence of fellowship, could this result in
the loss of an Old Testament believer’s relationship with Yahweh or
Christ, which initially came about by believing in Him or in what He’d
said?
What we’ll do in our attempt to comment on this is try to answer the following two questions.
Is there an example of a believer in the Old Testament who exhibited
no fellowship at all and yet was addressed as being righteous (just)?
Is there an example of a believer who was clearly identified as
having a relationship with God but with little or no evidence of
fellowship with Him, and yet was signified as someone who, after
physical death, went to a place where only the Old Testament saints
would reside, which would support the conjecture that his/her
relationship with Yahweh or Christ was not affected?
If there are examples that their relationship with God was still
intact, then this would provide clear evidence that, in all likelihood,
the same effect would probably hold true for a New Testament believer
unless Scriptures from the Church Age indicated that there was a drastic
change in protocol in this regard.
So, the first person we’ll take a look at lived during the Age of the
Gentiles. I’ll give you a hint as to who he is. He was given the first
choice by his uncle to pick the best land for his flocks. Another clue
is his wife turned back and looked at the destruction of a particular
city and became a pillar of salt. I think you know who he is now.
Lot
2 Peter 2:7
And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked:
The first thing that stands out to me is that Lot was called just.
This word means righteous. Could we conclude that this word means that
he had a relationship (accepted as righteous) with God, or does this
mean that he was in fellowship (righteous in conduct) with God? Well,
here’s your test. What do you think the answer is? Does the word just
refer to relationship or fellowship?
How can we best go about determining the answer? What might help us
is, if we were to look at his life and find out that he didn’t exhibit
any righteous behavior, then maybe we could conclude that this word
means that he had only a relationship with God. With this in mind, let’s
take a look at his life.
Genesis 13:11-12 Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot
journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other.
Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of
the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.
When Abram, Lot’s uncle, was called by God to leave the Ur of the
Chaldees to go to a particular geographical place, He promised him and
his ancestors a land inheritance. As we know, his nephew Lot, along with
others, accompanied him on the journey. Over time, the population of
both of their families and livestock grew to the point where they had to
consider splitting up as the land could not support all of them.
So, Abram allowed Lot to choose first whatever place he wanted to go.
He chose for his family to dwell in the plain of Jordan that contained
five cities. The one in which he decided to eventually settle down was
called Sodom. Abram, on the other hand, chose for his family to dwell in
the land of Canaan. So, here’s the question to consider. Have you ever
asked yourself, I wonder what kind of a place did just (righteous) Lot
actually choose to reside in? Let’s find out.
Genesis 18:20-21 And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and
Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; I will go
down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry
of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.
These verses tell us that the Lord became aware that the cry (the
outrage; the conduct or behavior [that’s] extremely violent and bad38)
of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah was great (was multiplied; was
everywhere). And their sin was very grievous (heinous - totally
reprehensible39). We can’t blame Lot for moving there as how would he
have known the state of wickedness among its inhabitants. The good news
was that while he resided there, he had time to preach the gospel of
Yahweh to his children and to the inhabitants. Right? Are there any
examples of this? I’m sure we’ll find some.
Genesis 18:22-23 And the men turned their faces from thence, and went
toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the Lord. And Abraham drew
near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?
Unbeknownst to Lot, the Lord appeared (refers to a theophany – a
manifestation or appearance of God or a god to a person40) to his uncle,
Abraham (at this time his name was no longer Abram), about the idea of
destroying all of the five cities of the plain with Sodom being one of
them. Conversely, two angels were sent to Lot to warn him of the
upcoming judgment.
Abraham tried to avert this disaster by interceding on their behalf.
He asked the Lord, “Will You still destroy these cities if there reside
in them so many righteous?” And God would answer no. Abraham would ask
the same question over and over again and again, with the number of
righteous being found less than the number mentioned before. He stopped
after asking, “What if there are ten righteous?” Why? Maybe he thought
that if there were a total of less than ten righteous in all of the five
cities of the plain that they were too far gone in their wickedness to
respond to the gospel of Yahweh.
Genesis 19:1-2 And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot
sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and
he bowed himself with his face toward the ground; And he said, Behold
now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant's house, and tarry
all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on
your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all
night.
The two angels arrived at the gates of Sodom and found just Lot being
a gracious host bowing himself with his face toward the ground.
Following that, he invited them to lodge at his house. Surely these
actions are evidence of fellowship with Yahweh. Right?
According to the customs of the time, the gate of a city was an
arched entrance where the inhabitants assembled either for social
intercourse or to transact public business.41 The bowing was a sign to
show respect to superiors and to demonstrate peaceful intentions.42 And
what else is interesting is that strangers frequently decline the first
offer of an invitation in the same way as the angels did, until
hospitality is pressed upon them.43 What we could conclude was that
these responses were cultural and weren’t necessarily evidence of Lot
operating by faith. Are there any other examples of his behavior that
might evidence fellowship?
Genesis 19:5 And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are
the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that
we may know them.
As the story goes, the two angels of the Lord came into Lot’s house
and were ready to settle in for the night, but all of a sudden, the men
of the city surrounded the house and called unto Lot to send these men
(angels) outside so that they may know them (have homosexual relations
with them). I’m sure Lot responded to their request with godly
integrity.
Genesis 19:8 Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known
man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as
is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came
they under the shadow of my roof.
He basically said to them that instead of taking these men, take his
two daughters and do whatever they wanted to them. Lot didn’t pray to
Yahweh for guidance or rely on a godly perspective but decided to use
human reason to address the situation. It’s pretty obvious that he was
not operating in fellowship. Are there any other examples of his
behavior that we can look at that would convince us that he had
fellowship with God?
Lot was told by the two angels to tell any friends, relatives, sons,
and daughters of the upcoming judgment so that they might join him in
the escape. Scriptures seem to indicate that he had at least four
daughters, two of whom were living at home, while the remaining two were
married and living elsewhere. Unfortunately, when the time came to
leave Sodom, only Lot, his wife, and the two daughters that were living
at home were ready to go. As they were leaving, all of them were
instructed not to look back on the city during their departure. However,
his wife didn’t heed the instruction. She looked back and was
subsequently turned into a pillar of salt. Thus, the cities of the plain
and all the inhabitants were destroyed as foretold.
Genesis 19:30-36 And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the
mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in
Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters. And the
firstborn said unto the younger, Our father is old, and there is not a
man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth:
Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that
we may preserve seed of our father. And they made their father drink
wine that night: and the firstborn went in, and lay with her father; and
he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. And it came to
pass on the morrow, that the firstborn said unto the younger, Behold, I
lay yesternight with my father: let us make him drink wine this night
also; and go thou in, and lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our
father. And they made their father drink wine that night also: and the
younger arose, and lay with him; and he perceived not when she lay down,
nor when she arose. Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by
their father.
Eventually, Lot and his two daughters found safety in a mountain. Lot
had an opportunity to resume what hopefully was going on with him and
his family while they lived in Sodom, which was to teach his two
daughters the ways of Yahweh. Is this what really transpired? His two
daughters connived to get their father drunk so that unaware to him, he
would have sexual relations with each, thus resulting in their
pregnancy.
I’m sure that Lot wouldn’t allow this drinking binge to take place
but rather would drink in moderation always keeping in mind how
important it was to preserve his testimony before Yahweh and before
them. Well, I say, what testimony? They got him drunk on two separate
consecutive occasions with the result that he had sexual relations with
each of them, resulting in their pregnancy. So much for just Lot!
2 Peter 2:7 And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked:
This verse that we started with tells us a lot more about him in that
he was vexed (continually tormented) with the shameless manner of life
of the wicked (those who are morally corrupt). His actions revealed his
heart. He didn’t follow Yahweh but followed his own desires. Did the
fact that there was no evidence of fellowship annul his relationship
with Yahweh? No. He was still called just. His relationship with Yahweh
was kept intact, even though there was no evidence of fellowship with
Him.
The next person we’ll look at is one of the kings of Israel who
presided over all twelve tribes at the same time. There were only three
kings who presided over all of them: King Saul, King David, and King
Solomon. All three transgressed the Mosaic Law. However, only one of
them, for the most part, evidenced little or no fellowship with God
throughout his life. Do you know which one I’m talking about?
King Saul
Before the Jews were ruled by kings, they were under the rule of
judges. These were men or women whom God raised up when they cried unto
Him for deliverance or protection from their enemies. The Jews no longer
wanted to remain under the rule of judges, as those who were appointed
to be their future rulers were found to be corrupt. So, they desired a
king to rule over them as was done in other nations. God reluctantly
granted them their request when He anointed a man named Saul to be their
first king.
Before this took place, Saul had been sent by his father along with
one of the servants to find some donkeys that had strayed. After looking
for a while and not finding them, he was ready to return home. However,
having reached the land of Zuph on his travels, his servant told him of
a prophet of God, who if asked, might provide the answer as to where
the animals had gone.
When they arrived in the city, the prophet Samuel was told by God the
name of the man who would be Israel’s next king. As they met at the
gate of the city, Samuel said to him these words, “And on whom is all
the desire of Israel?” (1 Samuel 9:20). It appears that after hearing
this, he realized he was chosen to be the next leader of Israel. After
dining with Samuel and thirty others, Saul was instructed by him in the
Word of God on the following morning. Following this, Samuel anointed
him to be king. Thus, it turns out at this time that Saul entered into a
relationship with Yahweh.
1 Samuel 10:5-7 After that thou shalt come to the hill of God, where
is the garrison of the Philistines: and it shall come to pass, when thou
art come thither to the city, that thou shalt meet a company of
prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a tabret,
and a pipe, and a harp, before them; and they shall prophesy: And the
Spirit of the Lord will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with
them, and shalt be turned into another man. And let it be, when these
signs are come unto thee, that thou do as occasion serve thee; for God
is with thee.
Saul was then instructed by Samuel to go to a certain city and meet
up with a company of prophets, at which time the Spirit of the Lord
would come upon him (on-resting Spirit), and he would be turned into
another man. Subsequently, Samuel called the twelve tribes of Israel to
gather together, and Saul was brought before them as their new king.
Israel had its king, albeit one who had the Spirit of God. All appeared
good. What could go wrong?
1 Samuel 11:5-6 And, behold, Saul came after the herd out of the
field; and Saul said, What aileth the people that they weep? And they
told him the tidings of the men of Jabesh. And the Spirit of God came
upon Saul when he heard those tidings, and his anger was kindled
greatly.
Initially, Saul gave evidence of fellowship with Yahweh soon after
his proclamation as king. The Ammonites were threatening to destroy a
Jewish city called Jabesh-Gilead. When Saul heard about it, the Spirit
of God came upon him, and he sent word throughout all the land for help.
Over three hundred thousand Jews responded. And when the day of the
battle took place, the Ammonites were soundly defeated. All began well,
but it would soon to crumble.
Two years later, another battle was about to take place. This time it
was to be between Israel and the Philistines. The prophet Samuel told
Saul not to act but to wait for seven days for him to arrive. Upon his
arrival, he would sacrifice to the Lord. On the seventh day, with still
no sign of Samuel and feeling the pressure of the Philistine forces that
could attack at any moment, Saul took it upon himself to offer
sacrifice. Soon after that, Samuel arrived and scolded him for what he'd
done. He told Saul that because of this transgression, God had His
sight set on someone else to become the next king. This appears to be
the beginning of Saul’s downward spiral.
What I’d like to do next is illustrate from this point on, how he no
longer communed with the Lord. Let’s take a look at the many examples of
his carnal behavior.
Saul didn’t utterly destroy the Amalekites, their king, and livestock per command of the prophet Samuel. 1 Samuel 14:3, 9
The on-resting Spirit departed from him, and he was given from the Lord an evil spirit. 1 Samuel 16:14
Saul didn’t seek the Lord nor respond to the challenge made by the
champion of the Philistines named Goliath to send someone out from the
army to fight him mano a mano before the battle. 1 Samuel 17:10-11
Saul became jealous of a young man named David who volunteered to
fight and kill Goliath and, because of such, received more accolades
than he did in respect to his military conquests.
1 Samuel 17:7-9
Saul attempted to kill David with a spear in the palace while David
was providing comfort for him by playing the harp. 1 Samuel 18:10-11
Saul set David as commander over a thousand of his army and promised
his daughter Merab in marriage. However, the true intention of this
arrangement was that David might be killed in battle. When the time came
for the marriage to be consummated, Saul gave his daughter in marriage
to someone else. 1 Samuel 18:13, 17-19
Saul, being made aware that one of his other daughters, named Michal,
loved David, offered her to him in marriage on the condition that he
would go out and slay one hundred Philistines. He hoped that during this
engagement that David would be slain. 1 Samuel 18:20-27
Saul put a bounty on David and asked his son Jonathon and his servants to kill him. 1 Samuel 19:1
Saul’s son Jonathon seems to have made peace between his father and
David. However, when David returned to the palace and played the harp,
Saul attempted to kill him again. 1 Samuel 19:7, 9-10
Saul devised to kill David while he was at home with his wife,
Michal. She somehow found out about this plot and told him to flee
a.s.a.p. 1 Samuel 19:11-12
Saul set out on a campaign with his army to find out wherever it was
that David had decided to reside and hunt him down and kill him. 1
Samuel 19:18-20
I could continue on and on, but it’s pretty evident that Saul was no
longer in fellowship with the Lord. His behavior was so ungodly that one
could assume that if anyone lost their relationship with Yahweh, it
would be him. Is there any indication that he lost his relationship with
Yahweh?
Before I attempt to answer this, we need to know where the Old
Testament saints went after death. Did they go to heaven? To answer
this, I believe it’s best served for us to look at a parable. What is a
parable? A parable is "an earthly story with a heavenly meaning."44 It
may ordinarily signify an imaginary story, yet one that in its details
could have actually transpired. The purpose of the story is to
illustrate and inculcate some higher spiritual truth, the argumentative
or doctrinal value of parables is found in this, that they may, in
accordance with the analogy of Scripture, illustrate truth already
clearly expressed elsewhere.45
Let’s go to the book of Luke 16:19-31. You might have read about this
parable before. This is about a rich man and a beggar named Lazarus.
The main thing that I wanted us to focus on was the place where each one
of them went following physical death.
22-23 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by
the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;
And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham
afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
We’re clearly told that the spirits of both of these men went to
hell, albeit in two different compartments. The rich man went to a place
that I’ll call Torments. The beggar went to a different place called
Abraham’s bosom. The rich man, suffering from intense heat, asked
Abraham if he could send Lazarus to him with some water so that his
tongue might be cooled. Abraham said this was impossible, for there was
no way to get from one place to the other as there was a great gulf
between the two places.
Then the rich man asked if Lazarus could be sent back to the land of
the living and warn his five brothers of this God-forsaken place.
Abraham responded that they had Moses and the prophets, so let them hear
them. In other words, the gospel of Yahweh would be presented to them,
and his brothers, like himself, would have an opportunity to respond to
it and thus avoid going to the place of Torments in which he was
residing.
You might ask, why were the spirits of the deceased Old Testament
saints sent there? They were sent there because heaven wasn’t open to
receiving them. Why not? Because the penalty for sin and its
cancellation hadn’t been achieved by Christ’s death on the cross and
resurrection.
And by the way, we’re also told that when Jesus died on the cross,
his spirit went to hell, where he not only preached to the spirits
(fallen angels) that were residing in prison being referred to as hell
(Tartaroosas) or Tartarus in 2 Peter 2:4 but also raised with him the
spirits of the righteous dead when he ascended into heaven.
1 Peter 3:18-19 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just
for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in
the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and
preached unto the spirits in prison;
2 Peter 2:4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast
them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be
reserved unto judgment;
Ephesians 4:8-10 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he
led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (Now that he ascended,
what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the
earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all
heavens, that he might fill all things.)
With that said, how does this parable relate to King Saul? Let’s go
to 1 Samuel, chapter 28. Saul and his army were set to meet the
Philistines in battle, and while he was observant of their much larger
force, he was very concerned that this could result not only in defeat
but also in his own death.
1 Samuel 28:6 And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord answered him not, neither by dreams nor by Urim, nor by prophets.
Saul realized that he needed divine counsel that would provide for
him an answer as to how the outcome of the battle would go. He couldn’t
go to the prophet Samuel because he’d since died. So, he tried to obtain
divine counsel through three different means:
Dreams – by praying to God that He would answer him in this manner.
Urim – by going to the high priest, asking him counsel, and seeking
an answer from the response by one of the two stones that were placed
over the garment he was wearing, called an Ephod.
Prophets – by asking one of them to consult the Lord on behalf of the disclosed situation.
However, no answer was forthcoming from any of these avenues. So, he
decided to seek counsel from a forbidden source, a witch. How the mighty
have fallen! Saul’s servants were sent to seek a woman who could
provide counsel. Eventually, they finally found one at a place called
Endor. Saul asked her to get in touch with someone whom he believed
would provide for him the counsel he needed, this person being the
deceased prophet Samuel.
1 Samuel 28:15-17 And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted
me, to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the
Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and
answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I
have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do.
Then said Samuel, Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the Lord is
departed from thee, and is become thine enemy? And the Lord hath done
to him, as he spake by me: for the Lord hath rent the kingdom out of
thine hand, and given it to thy neighbour, even to David:
The witch did her thing, and to her amazement, the prophet Samuel
appeared, and Saul proceeded to ask him about the outcome of the battle
with the Philistines. Samuel told him that not only would Israel lose
the battle, but both he and his sons would perish. And then Samuel made
this astounding statement to the king, whom God had rejected.
1 Samuel 28:19 Moreover the Lord will also deliver Israel with thee
into the hand of the Philistines: and tomorrow shalt thou and thy sons
be with me: the Lord also shall deliver the host of Israel into the hand
of the Philistines.
He conveyed to him that following their demise, both he and his sons
would be with him where he was residing. And where is it that Samuel and
the Old Testament saints went when they died? To Abraham’s bosom. This
is clear evidence that both Saul and each of his sons had a relationship
with Yahweh and that irrespective of Saul’s daily decisions to not be
in fellowship with the Lord, his relationship with Him was not
forfeited.
Before we go on and look at the next dispensation, called the Church
Age, let’s summarize what we’ve learned concerning the answers to the
following questions in each dispensation.
The Age of the Gentiles
What caused an unbeliever to have a relationship with Yahweh?
An unbeliever entered into a relationship with Yahweh by believing in
His blessings or what He’d promised would come to pass, and because of
such, he/she would be righteous (declared righteous; would have
righteousness credited to his/her account; admitted to God’s favor and
friendship; be regarded as a righteous person; be accepted as righteous;
be given a seal of righteousness). Romans 4:3
What caused a believer to have fellowship with Yahweh?
A believer had fellowship (became righteous in conduct; experiential
righteousness) with Yahweh by faith (his will acted on what God told
him46). Hebrews 11:7
The Age of Israel
What caused an unbeliever to have a relationship with Yahweh?
An unbeliever had a relationship with Yahweh by believing in Him or
in what He’d said, and as such, He would impute righteousness to him/her
(credited righteousness to him/her; treated him/her as a righteous
man/woman; admitted him/her to his favor). Romans 4:6
What caused a believer to have fellowship with Yahweh?
A believer evidenced fellowship (being righteous in conduct) with
Yahweh by being faithful (of doing reliably the tasks associated with an
office or title47). Hebrews 3:5
The Incarnation of Christ
What caused someone to have a relationship with Jesus during His incarnation?
An unbeliever had a relationship with Jesus if he/she believed in Him as the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the living God.
What caused someone to have fellowship with Jesus during his incarnation?
They had fellowship with Him if they were obedient to His commands
(i.e., preach the Kingdom of Heaven, heal the sick, cast out demons,
etc.).
Did little or no evidence of fellowship in any of these dispensations
cause a believer to lose their relationship with Yahweh or Jesus?
No. As evidenced by Lot and King Saul, a believer’s spiritual
standing in time and their eternal destiny was not affected by little or
no fellowship.
We have one more dispensation to look at which is called the Church
Age. This is the age in which we, Christians, currently live. The same
questions we’ve been attempting to answer in each dispensation
concerning relationship, fellowship, and salvation, we’ll now attempt to
answer in this dispensation.
However, what we’ll find out is there are at least four different
views or avenues concerning what constitutes salvation, i.e., someone
finding God or becoming a child of God and going to a better place at
death. Will each of these avenues, or only one of them, have the answer?
Let’s find out.
Endnotes
38UBS Old Testament.
39Dictionary.com.
40Dictionary.
41Keil and Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament Pc Study Bible version 5, 2005, 30 November 2018
˂http://www.biblesoft.com>.
42IVP Bible Background Commentary Pc Study Bible version 5, 2005, 30 November 2018
˂http://www.biblesoft.com>.
43Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown.
44Easton.
45International Standard Bible Dictionary Pc Study Bible version 5, 2005, 30 November 2018
˂http://www.biblesoft.com>.
46The Bible Exposition Commentary.
47UBS New Testament.
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2ITJ1wj
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