WHEN EXAMPLES BECOME LAW: A Reflection on True Biblical Authority
There is a quiet temptation in the human heart to turn every detail of Scripture into a rule. We crave certainty. We fear freedom. We sometimes prefer a system over a Savior. This leads some believers to treat every New Testament example as if it were a binding command, as though whatever the early church did in one moment must be repeated in every moment.
Yet the Scriptures never teach this. The New Testament calls us to obey Christ’s clear commands and to walk by faith, hope, and love, but it never tells us to convert every historical action into a law. When we do that, we place a burden on the conscience that the Lord Himself never laid upon His people.
The inspired examples of the New Testament are precious and instructive, but inspiration does not automatically create legislation. The apostles themselves acted differently in different contexts, not because they lacked conviction, but because the gospel allows flexibility where it is not compromised and where the Lord has not spoken directly. Paul circumcised Timothy in one place (Acts 16:3), yet refused to circumcise Titus in another (Galatians 2:3–5). He ate whatever was set before him among Gentiles (1 Corinthians 10:27), yet urged sensitivity around weaker consciences among Jews (1 Corinthians 9:20–22). He traveled by varying means, taught in synagogues, houses, schools, and open spaces, and adapted to the needs before him. If every apostolic action were binding, then every variation would become a contradiction. The New Testament itself shows that examples are descriptive (they tell us what happened) rather than prescriptive (commanding or prescibing a rule) unless the Lord explicitly makes them a command.
The apostles—and the Spirit who inspired them—give us careful warnings about elevating human deductions to divine authority. Jesus rebuked those who taught as doctrines the commandments of men (Matthew 15:9), and Paul cautioned believers not to be held captive by human tradition or man-made rules (Colossians 2:8; Colossians 2:20–23). He taught that the kingdom of God is not a matter of food and drink but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17). He declared that where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (2 Corinthians 3:17).
A necessary inference, no matter how reasonable it may appear, is still a human inference; it is not a divine command. Logic is helpful, but logic is not lord. Christ alone is Lord. To elevate our deductions to the level of His commandments is to create a new law that the apostles never taught and the Spirit never inspired.
True obedience is not found in binding every example; it is found in obeying what the Lord actually commands. The New Testament clearly instructs us to repent and believe the gospel (Mark 1:15), to be baptized into Christ (Acts 2:38), to love one another (John 13:34), to proclaim the Word (2 Timothy 4:2), to partake of the Lord’s Supper in remembrance of Him (1 Corinthians 11:24–26), and to walk by the Spirit (Galatians 5:16). These stand across every age because they are given as explicit commands, not merely shown in isolated circumstances.
Meanwhile, the gatherings of the churches differed from place to place; the frequency of meetings varied; the methods of teaching shifted; the locations changed as needed; and the Spirit guided the church through wisdom, charity, and adaptability. Scripture presents this variety not as disorder but as the natural movement of a living body under the direction of a living Lord.
Christ’s yoke is easy and His burden is light (Matthew 11:28–30). The Lord has not placed His people in a maze of deductions but on a clear path of faith. When we refuse to bind examples as laws, we honor both the Scriptures and the Savior. We embrace the liberty of the Spirit. We hold fast to the doctrines that are truly apostolic. And we walk with confidence, knowing that our obedience rests not on human inference but on the voice of Christ who calls His sheep by name and leads them gently in the way everlasting.
BDD
