Which part of the truth can you reject?
Sometime ago, I was asked the question that if a person who claims to believe in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, but does not quite believe in other parts of the Scripture, such as verses about the Creation or the Rapture, can that person be a born again believer?
Before I gave him the scriptures, I asked him: "Tell me, which part of the truth can you reject?" Then I went on:
1 Samuel 15:23 "For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king."
King Saul rejected the words of the LORD, and the LORD hath also rejected him from being king. The word "king" in the context of this verse is not just a king of the land, but it is also "kings and priests" in Revelation 1:6. Every born again believer is a king and a priest.
2 Samuel 7:15 "But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee."
The context of this verse is about Solomon whom God promised to David that his mercy shall not depart from. Saul was also mentioned in the same verse, but God said it plainly that his mercy he "took it from Saul". Solomon was a born again believer but Saul was not.
So, what words exactly has king Saul rejected that God rejected him from being king? These are the words of the LORD unto Saul through Samuel the prophet:
1 Samuel 15:3 "Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass."
Prophet Samuel is a picture of the word of God. The word of God in the form that we received today is the 66 books of the Holy Bible. We also know from the rest of the chapter that Saul did not perform exactly that which was commanded of him. Not only that, but Saul lied about it:
1 Samuel 15:13 "And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the LORD: I have performed the commandment of the LORD."
And he repeatedly insisted that he did not lie:
1 Samuel 15:20 "And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites."
And he justified his own sin:
1 Samuel 15:21 "But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal."
King Saul did not perform everything according as God had commanded him through Samuel the prophet. He did not believe in every word of God, and he not only lied about it, but he also justified his own sin. He sought to wrest the words of the LORD in order to suit his own lusts.
Proverbs 13:13 "Whoso despiseth the word shall be destroyed: but he that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded."
Apply this to a Christian who says he believes in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, but stubbornly and wilfully reject the plain words of the LORD, such as those verses regarding the Creation or even the Rapture.
Which part of the word of God can a Christian reject? The answer is "None". Some may argue that only the gospel is required for salvation, and as long as we don't reject the birth, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we are saved.
So, are they saying that only the verses that teaches us the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ are necessary for salvation, and other verses are less important, or in the words of Peter Ruckman (dispensationalist) "non-doctrinal"? Well, did the Bible say that? If so, which verses? There is none, my friends.
Matthew 4:4 "But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God."
Luke 4:4 "And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God."
The Bible teaches that man shall live by every word of God. It is every word of God, my friends. What happened to king Saul who did not follow every word of God, but chose to re-interpret God's word based on his own fleshly lusts? God destroyed him, isn't it?
John 17:17 "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth."
John 14:6 "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."
The 66 books of the Holy Bible is the whole truth. Which part of the truth do you believe, and which part of the truth do you reject? In fact, to reject any part the word of God is to reject Jesus Christ. Can you receive Jesus's head but not his feet? "Is Christ divided?" (1 Corinthians 1:13) If one say: "I only believe the Holy Bible the way I wish to believe it", has he just made himself a judge over the word of God?
Amos 3:3 "Can two walk together, except they be agreed?"
Are the words he received in his heart in agreement with the words of the LORD in the 66 books of the Holy Bible? Is the spirit he received in him in agreement with the Spirit of the LORD in the 66 books of the Holy Bible?
2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 "Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God."
This passage is about the man of sin who "opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God". If any man made himself a judge over the 66 books of the Holy Bible, he is an antichrist who exalteth himself above all that is called God. He is as the man of sin who sitteth in the temple of God (his own body) shewing himself that he is God.