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     Good morning and welcome to the Berean Break.  My name is George A. Sinkie and it is such an honor to have you with me this morning.  If this is your first time to tune in, I hope that you will enjoy our time together.  This program is designed to help you check out what the Bible says and to evaluate the many religious ideas that taught in this world today.  Before we go into today’s lesson let’s have a word of prayer:

Great God in heaven, we thank You for this day in our lives, and we pray that each one of us, will use this day to draw closer to You.  Thank You for Your word, by which we can know Your will, for our lives.  Be with us this morning, as we study Your will, that we will open our hearts.  In Jesus’ name,  AMEN!!

     Here is the story, to illustrate today’s study:
     Start with a cage containing five apes.  In the cage, hang a bunch of bananas on a rope and put stairs under it.  Before long, the apes will learn that they can go up the stairs and get a banana.  After about three days, when an ape goes to the stairs and starts to climb towards the bananas.  As soon as he touches the stairs, spray all of the apes with cold water.
     After a while, another ape makes an attempt with the same result — all the apes are sprayed with cold water.  Turn off the cold water.  If, later, another ape tries to climb the stairs, the other apes will try to prevent it even though no water sprays them.
     Now, remove one ape from the cage and replace it with a new one.  The new ape sees the banana and wants to climb the stairs.  To his horror, all of the other apes attack him.  After another attempt and attack, he knows that if he tries to climb the stairs, he will be assaulted.
     Next, remove another of the original five apes and replace it with another new one.  The newcomer goes to the stairs and is attacked.  The previous newcomer takes part in the punishment with enthusiasm.
     Again, replace a third original ape with a new one.  The new one makes it to the stairs and is attacked as well.  Two of the four apes that beat him have no idea why they were not permitted to climb the stairs, or why they are participating in the beating of the newest ape.
     After replacing the fourth and fifth original apes, all the apes which have been sprayed with cold water have been replaced.  Nevertheless, no ape ever again approaches the stairs.  Why not?
     “Because that’s the way it’s always been around here.”

     Too many people today that is the reason they practice what they do religiously — “that’s the way it’s always been around here.”  Let’s look into the Bible and see an example of this way of thinking.  And then we are going to look at some situations in the Bible and see how they would have been different if this view was held.  And then finally we will make some applications to religious doctrines taught today.
     The next few minutes are going to be really busy and I encourage you to pick up your Bible and check out what is said to make sure that it is truth.  I also encourage you to take notes so that you can study these topics further as you have the time.

     First of all, let’s see an example of this “that’s the way it’s always been” attitude in the Bible.  Turn with me over to 2 Peter 3:3-7, “Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come
with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming?  For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.”  For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water, through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water.  But the present heavens and earth by His word are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.”
     The mockers that Peter is warning about would come and to put it into different words, would say, “that’s the way it’s always been.”  But Peter by inspiration of God shows that this concept is not true.  It hadn’t always been that way.  In this section Peter is talking about those who were going to mock or make fun of God, because they thought He was not doing what He said He would do.
     Think about it, Peter wrote this about 30 years after Jesus was crucified and rose from the dead and returned back to heaven.  Before ascending, Jesus had promised to return, and these people are tired of waiting.  They think that God has forgotten and that everything is the same as it has always been.
     Peter points out two events that prove their thinking is not correct.  First the creation, When they think that everything has always been the same, they forget that at one time the world didn’t exist and God created it out of nothing.  The second thing, that shows things have not always been the same, is the flood.  These mockers are just like those that made fun of Noah while he built the ark.  But just as surely as those mockers were one day proven wrong, so it is with those who mock God concerning His coming.
     Now let’s look at a couple of Bible situations and think about how different they would have been if the people would have had this attitude that it has “always been this way and we are not going to change.”

     First turn with me over to Acts 2.  Here we have the first proclaiming of the gospel message.  As Peter presents the point that they have crucified the Christ and the people want to know what to do, Let’s read what happens.  Acts 2:36-38, ‘“Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.”  Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?”  And Peter said to them, “Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”’
     Now suppose these people had said, “that’s not the way we’ve always done it.”  Perhaps that is what some were thinking but I know that 3000 of them did not think that way because Luke goes on to write in Acts 2:41, “So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and there were added that day about three thousand souls.”
     Those who were stuck in the way things had always been done, would not obey the will of God.  But those who wanted the salvation the Lord was offering obeyed.

     Another good example of this is found in Acts 10.  In Acts 10 we read of a Roman soldier named Cornelius.  He was a good, moral, sincere man, but he was lost and needed the salvation offered by God.  The other main figure in this chapter is Peter, a Jew who was now a Christian.
     Peter had been brought up within the Jewish faith and had not eaten unclean foods.  Another thing that he had not done was to associate with Gentile.  But God gives him a vision in Acts 10:10-16, ‘And he became hungry, and was desiring to eat; but while they were making preparations, he fell into a trance; and he beheld the sky opened up, and a certain object like a great sheet coming down, lowered by four corners to the ground, and there were in it all kinds of four-footed animals and crawling creatures of the earth and birds of the air.  And a voice came to him, “Arise, Peter, kill and eat!”  But Peter said, “By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything unholy and unclean.”  And again a voice came to him a second time, “What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.”  And this happened three times; and immediately the object was taken up into the sky.’
     This vision perplexed Peter, because this was not the way it had always been.  And yet we see later that he does learn that things had changed now.  When Peter gets to Cornelius’ house, remember Cornelius is a Gentile, listen to what Peter says in Acts 10:34-35, ‘And opening his mouth, Peter said: “I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right, is welcome to Him.”’
     What if Peter had not been willing to change?  What if he had said and stuck by the idea that, that’s not how we have always done it?  It would have been quite different, but Peter was willing to change because he submitted to the will of God.

     I wish we had more time to give modern examples, but we will consider just one to show how this thinking is still around today.
     This example relates to the lesson we saw Peter learning with relation to Cornelius.  That lesson was that the Old Law was removed and a New Law has been given.  Part of that Old Law was the Ten Commandments and they along with the rest of that Covenant has been changed.  But many today would say the Ten Commandments have always been taught.
     In a sense this is true, ever since God delivered His New Covenant there have been those who have tried to change God’s will and combine it with parts of the Old Law.  They have tried to bind circumcision, they have tried to bind a separate priesthood.  They have tried to bind the restrictions of eating certain foods, and the need to keep the Ten Commandments.  But all of these bindings have one thing in common, they are trying to bind things that are not part of God’s will under the New Covenant.
     There are many religious things in this world that have been around all our lives, so we may think that’s the way it has always been.  Things like instrumental music in singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.  Or denominations.  But if we study the Bible, we will see that these things are not the way God wants thing and that they are NOT the way it has always been.  Don’t be like those apes in the cage.  Search the Scriptures to see how things ought to be, because God shows us His way in the Scriptures and that’s the way it ought to be.

     Quickly let’s look at the idea of denominationalism.  Many believe that’s the way it has always been.  And yet if we look into the pages of the New Testament, we will see this is not true.
     Jesus prayed for unity in John 17:21, speaking of those who would believe in Him, “that they may all be one; even as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be in Us; that the world may believe that Thou didst send Me.”
     Then Jesus condemned division of His followers in 1 Corinthians 1:10, where Paul writes, “Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree, and there be no divisions among you, but you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment.”
     Paul also spoke of the oneness God wants in Ephesians 4:4-6, “There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.”

     Let’s get back to what God wants.

     This Berean Break is brought to you, in love, by the pre-denominational and non-denominational church of Christ that meets at 1600 East First Avenue in Mitchell SD.  You are welcome to meet with us at 10:00 Sunday mornings for our assembly followed by a time of Bible Study, also on Wednesday evenings at 6:30 for an additional time to study God’s Word.  If you have a comment or a sincere Bible question, please call or text me at 605-770-5555.  We want to remind you of the non-denominational TV program, “KNOW YOUR BIBLE” on KDLT-TV at 9:00 on Sunday mornings.  This is George A. Sinkie for the Lord’s church, here in Mitchell, good-bye for now.  Remember that we care about you and may God bless you as you do His will.

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