Seek The Old Paths

1 Condition ofthepeopleofJudahinJeremiah'stime was engaged inactivitiesofwhichGodhadnotcommandedthe m. He continually sent prophetsamongthemtocallthembacktohisways ."ButthisthingcommandedI them,saying,Obey my voice,andI willbeyourGod,andye shallbemy people: andwalkye in all the ways that I havecommandedyou,thatit ,norinclinedtheirear,butwalkedinthecouns elsandintheimaginationoftheir evil heart, and wentbackward,and the daythatyourfatherscameforthoutoftheland of Egypt unto this day I haveevensentuntoyouall myservantstheprophets,daily rising up early and sending them: Yetthey hearkened not unto me, nor inclinedtheirear,but hardenedtheirneck:they.

2 Buttheywillnothearkentothee:thoushaltals o call unto them;buttheywillnot ,This is anationthatobeyethnotthevoiceoftheLordth eirGod,norreceivethcorrection:truthisper ished,andiscutofffrom theirmouth"( jeremiah 7:23-28).Falseprophetsandpriestshadfoole dthepeopleintothinkingeverythingwasfine. It wasmorepleasantto listen totheir"goodnews"thanJeremiah's"badnews. "Jeremiah6:14says,"Theyhavehealedalsothe hurt ofthedaughterof mypeopleslightly, saying,Peace,peace;whenthereis nopeace."God'scry ,Standyeintheways,andsee,andaskfortheold Paths ,whereisthegoodway,andwalktherein,a ndyeshallfindrestforyoursouls"(Jeremiah6 :16).

3 Sadly,theresponseofthepeoplewas,((wewill notwalk will nothearken"(6:16,17).Whata ofGodtoobeyhis word!Whenking Saulbroughtback king Agag aliveinsteadof killing him,Samuelsaid,"HathPage2theLord asgreatdelight inburntofferingsand sacrifices, as inobeyingthevoice oftheLord?Behold,toobeyisbetterthansacri fice,andtohearkenthanthefatoframs"(ISamu el15:22).Saul'ssinwasoneofrebellion( ).SoiseveryonewhodoesnotheedGod'swordand obeywhatit says!THERESTORATIONPLEADoesGodnolongerde sireforpeopleto follow hiscommands?Hehasalwaysdesiredit!))

4 Jesustaughtit!"If ye keep mycommandments, yeshallabidein my love;evenas IhavekeptmyFather'scommandments,andabide in hislove"(John15:10).LoveforGod,is love for his way."Ifyeloveme,keepmycommandments"(John 14:15).ThecommandofJeremiah6:16to"seekth eoldpaths"is asrelevanttodayas ,"If any manspeak, let himspeakas the oracles "(IPeter4:11).Tospeakastheoracles of God istherestorationplea, towalk in"theoldpaths" 'stothepresent,therehavebeenmen,bothsmal landgreat,pleadingfor areturntotheancientorderof :"BacktotheBible,""LetusspeakwheretheBib lespeaksandbesilentwheretheBible issilent"and,"Letus callBiblethingsby BiblenamesanddoBiblethings in Bibleways.

5 "Seekingthe"oldpaths"is not a cry toreturntoBethanyorCaneRidge, NashvilleorCincinnati, untilwehaveSeekTheOldPaths-Octoberdonewh atwe can to accomplish " areturntotheancientorderuntilpracticecon forms withtheplea. Thisappliestothereligious world ingeneralbuttotheLord'schurchinmanyplace sspecifically(Romafis2:1-3,21-22;14:22). Theshufflingfeetofanewgenerationmarchesu ponthesceneasanoldergenerationwith muffledvoicespass on todistantpoints. Everygenerationmustbetaughtthefundamenta ls(Judges2:7-10).Evenamongthosewhohavehe ardthefirst principles oftheoraclesofGod (whatsomemayerroneouslythink ofas"wornouttruths"),thereis aneedtoremindthemagainoftheseeternalveri ties(HPeter1:12-15;3:1-2).

6 Thetimeisurgentthatwepleadfor areturntotheBible topreventsome fromdepartingfromthefaith(Hebrews2:1-4). Wemustcontendforthefaith lest many leavetheoldpathsandturntothedoctrinesand commandmentsofmen(Jude3;Matthew15:8-9).T herestoration plea is a plea forunity. It is a call for allmentostandupontheBibleandtheBiblealon e(ICorinthians1:10;John17:20-21)."(Ben ,Jr.,SpeakAsTheOracles,May1989, ) Mar's HillPaulpreachedmen"shouldseekthe Lord"and"feelafterhim and find him, though he be not farfromeveryoneof us"(Acts17:22-28).

7 Thissameattitudeshouldpossesmentodaytore turnto"theoldpaths," "withoutexcuse" ,Corinth,MS38834 SeekTheOldPath*-OctoberPage3 DemandsOfTheOldPathsSidneyWhite"Thussait hthe Lord,Standye intheways,andsee,andaskfor theoldpaths,where is thegoodway,andwalktherein,andyeshallfind rest ,Wewillnotwalktherein"(Jeremiah6:16).Thi softquotedpassage,apleafortheIsraelitest oreturntoGod'sway, is asmeaningfultodayaswhengiven ^changesaretakingplaceamongGod'speople changesthatarecertainlynotaccordingtoGod ' toproperlyapplytheprincipleofthispassage inthechurchtoday, wemustunderstandsomedemandsofGod' ,wemustacceptthefactthatGodhasspokentous today.

8 "God, whoatsundrytimesandindiversmannersspakei ntimepastuntothefathersbytheprophets,Hat h intheselastdaysspokenuntous byhisSon" (Hebrewsl:l-2a)."Thisis mybelovedSon,inwhomIamwellpleased;hearye him"(Matthew17:5)."ButtheComforter, which istheHolyGhost,whomtheFatherwillsendinmy name,heshallteachyou allthings,andbringallthingstoyourremembr ance,whatsoeverIhavesaiduntoyou"(John14: 26).Thus,thewritingsoftheNewTestamentare given ,understandingthatGodhasspokentoustoday, ,do weexaminethemethodsofsomefastgrowingdeno minationalorganizationordoweexaminetheac tivitiesoftheearlyChristiansasrecordedin theBible?

9 "StudytoshewthyselfapproveduntoGod,awork manthatneedethnotto beashamed,rightlydividingthewordoftruth" (IITimothy2:15).Third,theoldpathsdemandt obebelieved."Iknowthatiswhatitsays, "is aphraseheardall ,"Ihavelovedyou,"butIsraelsaid,"Wedon'tb elieveit."" "(Hebrews11:6).Fourth, saythatwestudyandbelievethewordofGod,but dowe?Considersomeofthechangesthataretaki ngplaceinorganization, "withdrawfrom everybrotherthatwalkethdisorderly"( :6)?Howoftendowefindthekindofhospitality andfellowshiptodaythatcharacterizedthech urchinthefirstPage4century?

10 Howmanypulpitstodayarefilledwithpreachin gthatwouldfollowthepatternofIPeter4:11? Toomuch"preaching"givesthehearernothingb utoraclesofmen,nottheoraclesofGod."Notev eryonethatsaithuntome,Lord,Lord,shallent erintothekingdomofheaven;buthethatdoetht hewillofmyFatherwhichisinheaven"(Matthew 7:21).Fifth, "fellowshipeverybody.""Invaintheydoworsh ipme,teachingfordoctrinesthecommandments ofmen"( :9).InSeekTheOldPaths-Octoberspiteofthee ffortsbysometodistortandtwistthemeaningo fthepassage,IIJohn9-10stillreads,"Whosoe vertransgresseth,andabidethnotinthedoctr ineofChrist, , ,andbringnotthisdoctrine,receivehimnotin toyourhouse, "Ifwearegoingtostaywithorreturntotheoldp aths, Box 1761, Tupelo, "ask for theoldpaths"and" ,wewillnotwalktherein"(Jeremiah6:16).