The Calendar, Part 2

Again, today, during the sermon time, I want to continue our series of Bible studies on the calendar. Last time, in Part 1, I gave an overview of the calendar and various calendar issues. And I mentioned that actually, if you want to get technical and look at the variations of counting to Pentecost and other factors, there are probably at least seven or more actually versions of the Hebrew calendar. And there are at least that many or more versions of any new moon calendar you might want to figure out or calculate or use.

And all these different versions will cause at least one or more of the Holy Days to be observed on a different date. And the Jews and Christians who observe God's annual feasts and Holy Days around the world will never all agree on which version of which calendar is to be used by everybody. Never all agree on that. Which begs the question, and is there such thing as a biblical calendar that everyone can plainly see from the Bible and go by what's in the Bible? Again, I'm not going to cover that today, but that's a very valid question we'll have to cover in a later Bible study so we can understand the answer to that question. But last time, I also began to give the perspective of the New Testament in regards to the calendar and calendar issues.

And I said that we would look at five overall areas in the New Testament that could relate to the calendar. I'll just review those quickly. One was from the perspective of the day on which Christ died, which we know He died on the Passover day. You look at that closely and different factors there. That could not be the calendar which calendar would mean at the time of Christ. Also, you can look at it from the perspective of Acts 2.1, where they all met together on the day of Pentecost. And from the perspective of John 7.37, which will take at least one, maybe two Bible studies to cover that, is very, very interesting, and it does indeed very much relate to the calendar and calendar issues. And then also from the perspective from was the calendar an issue in the New Testament? And actually, I'll cover that real quickly. Clearly, it was not an issue. You can look in the New Testament. You will not see any controversy or any of the calendar coming up as an issue in the New Testament. So the question is, then, why wasn't an issue? Since we know from, going back historically, we know that the various Jews, various different segments of the Jews, sex of the Jews, like the Pharisees, Sadducees, and the Essenes, they all at least counted to Pentecost differently, especially the two major ones, the Pharisees and Sadducees. And the Essenes did also. But anyway, so they observed Pentecost on a different day, because they counted differently. But yet, we know that's a fact, but you don't see that coming up as an issue in the New Testament. So you have to ask, why wasn't it an issue? You think it would have been, but it doesn't seem to be. There's no mention of that in the New Testament. And fifth, what I want to cover today is, the fifth aspect from the New Testament is what is really important in the New Testament, and what is really important from the perspective of the New Testament, which is what we look at today in Part 2 of this series on the calendar, which I think probably won't involve all the different ones on the calendar, but maybe the most important one to look at and understand. So what does the New Testament actually emphasize as being of the utmost of importance? So my title for this Bible study, or sermon if you want to call it that, today is the calendar, Part 2. What is really important in the New Testament? What is really important in the New Testament? And I want to begin by asking this, how important is it to understand all knowledge correctly? Will knowledge save us? What did the Apostle Paul tell us in that regard? Let's begin in 1 Corinthians 13, a very familiar chapter, the love chapter, if you will. 1 Corinthians 13, verse 1, Paul wrote this, in asking the question, will knowledge save us?

Paul said, So it says here, how important is knowledge? Well, knowledge is important, but Paul said, Though I have all knowledge, and I could maybe put it this way in regarding to the calendar, though I could figure out exactly which calendar God wanted me to use, and though I could always observe each and every feast in the Holy Day and the exact day God wanted me to observe it, though I could perfectly figure out and understand every prophecy and every scripture, though I have all knowledge but have not love, Paul says, I'm nothing. It shows what's important from the perspective of the New Testament. And this is, again, agape love, this love of God which can only be given to us by God and come from God.

Then verse 3, And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, that's good, that's great to be altruistic like that and be able to help people out, that's wonderful. But that's not going to do it, necessarily. Though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, because you can do that with the wrong motive, so you may be doing that to get attention for yourself or become somebody yourself, it's not really real, outgoing love, the love of God, it's not the right motive behind it.

And though I give my body to be burned, but have not the love of God, it profits me nothing.

So what will the prophet us to figure out the calendar perfectly if we have not the love of God? Well, Paul says, the prophet will be nothing, he won't be any prophet. So the next question then is this, what did Christ say would be the identifying sign of His true disciples? Again, you all know the answer, but it's an important question to ask. Did Christ say the identifying sign would be those who properly figured out the calendar and who observed God's feasts and holy days on the right days, according to the right calendar?

Well, let's go to John 13. John 13, verse 31. We'll begin there.

So when Christ had gone out, He said, Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in Him. If God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself and glorify Him immediately.

Little children, I shall be with you only a little while longer, and you will seek Me. And as I said to the Jews, when I'm going, you cannot come. So now I want to say this to you, I want to leave you with something very important here. He said, I'm going to leave you with a new commandment. It's an old commandment. Love your neighbors yourself. Love God with all your heart and all your mind. Love your neighbors yourself.

But God, Christ demonstrated in an all-new way. No one had ever demonstrated this kind of love like Jesus Christ had for all of us. A new commandment I give you that you love one another as I loved you. You can demonstrate the same love towards one another that I demonstrated to you. A tremendous sacrificial love. That you also love one another in that way. And by this all will know that you are My disciples. Here's an identifying sign Christ gave you. You want to know who Christ's disciples are?

By this all will know that you are My disciples if you have that kind of love for one another. So was Christ, who was the head of the church, concerned about issues of the calendar? Or was He interested in far more important issues? He didn't say, by this all will know that you are My disciples if you quickly figure out and observe the Holy Days in the right times.

He didn't say that. He said, by this all will know that you are My disciples if you have love for one another. Again, the kind of love which Christ demonstrated toward all of us. That you love one another as I have loved you. Now, I must ask another question here. How will people be divided? No one Christ returns if He's going to divide people.

How will people be divided when Christ returns? Will they be divided by which calendar they're using going by? Let's go to Matthew, chapter 25. Matthew 25, verse 31. When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, He will sit on the throne of His glory, and all nations are all peoples, including all churches of God and all people who are God's people, will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another as the shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.

He will sit the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. And then the King will say to those on His right hand, Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me food. I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink. I was a stranger, and you took Me in. I was naked, and you clothed Me. Or, going around the Internet there, like that officer there, was in New York. There was this homeless man on the street with no socks and no shoes on his feet.

And his feet were blistered, and it was freezing cold. And this policeman actually went and bought him socks and boots. And somebody took a picture of it. You've probably seen that. I was naked, and you clothed Me. I was sick, and you visited Me. I was in prison, and you came to Me.

And then the righteous will answer and say, Well, Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You as a stranger, take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or, when did we see You sick, or in prison and come to You? And the King will answer and say to them, Assuredly I say to You, it is much You did it to one of these, the least of My brethren. You did it to another human being who was You found in the situation who needed help.

You did it to Me. Then He will also say to those on the left hand, Depart from Me, You cursed into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels, For I was hungry, and You gave Me no food, and thirsty You gave Me no drink.

I was a stranger, You didn't take care of Me, and naked, and You didn't clothe Me, and sick, and in prison, You didn't give Me. But then they'll also answer and say, When did we see all these things and not do this for You? And you'll answer, verse 45, If surely I say to You, in as much You did not do it to one of the least of these, You did not do it to Me.

So this shows you what was important to Jesus Christ, wasn't it? There was no warning here, given toward those who may not understand the calendar correctly, or may He not be observing the feasts and holy days on the exact days, according to the calendar that maybe God would recommend, if He had to recommend one. And I don't know if that would be the case or not, but we'll look at that later on. Obviously the reason that that was not emphasized here is because that wasn't one of Christ's main concerns, when you observe the feasts and holy days, or what calendar you use. It's important when you observe them, but what calendar you use, that apparently is not a real issue.

It doesn't come out here. Now, let's look at what is really important. What is it that's really important from the perspective of the New Testament? What should all of us primarily be concerned about? What is God's primary concern for all of His followers? Let's go to 1 John 2. Of course, you know, a lot of you know the setting for 1 John 2, written in the very late 80s, probably the early 90s AD.

I think Domitian was the emperor of Rome at the time, and he was seeking Christians to put them to death. They'd break into homes, and if you confess that you were a Christian, they would haul you off to prison, or worse.

1 John 2, verse 9, to synthesize what's important in the New Testament.

To Jesus Christ and to God the Father.

1 John 2, verse 9, He who says he's in the light but hates his brother is in darkness until now.

He who loves his brother abides in the light and there is no cause for stumbling in him.

But who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

So are not the relationships that we have with one another God's primary concern? It's talking about relationships, isn't it? It shows relationships are what God is really concerned about.

What else does the Apostle John say in that regard?

1 John 4, verse 7, Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God.

And everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.

He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

Dropping down to verses 20 and 21.

If someone says, I love God and hates his brother, he is a liar.

For he who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, how can he love God, whom he has not seen?

And this commandment we have from him, that he who loves God must love his brother also.

All this tells us what?

It tells us that God is far more concerned about the relationships that we have with one another.

Than he is about exactly what calendar we use, or when we observe the Holy Days.

Now, I'll take that a step further.

What it tells me?

It tells me that God is more concerned that we all meet together on his Holy Days, than it is about which calendar we use.

I think he's more concerned that we all meet together than he is about which calendar we use. And I think we'll see that as we develop this series a little bit further down the road.

Now, some days we know we're all going to have to stand before the judgment seat of Christ to give an account.

Let's turn there to Romans chapter 14, where the Apostle Paul talks about that.

I'll begin in Romans 14, verse 1.

He says, Receive one who was weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things.

You know, someone new comes into our midst, and they're eager to hear the truth of God.

They shouldn't walk into a situation where there are all kinds of disputes going on over doubtful things.

Everyone's not going to be able to accept one way or the other, because there's a lot of doubts. They're not clear.

Now, back then, from what Paul writes here, even as today, some liked, apparently, to dispute over doubtful things.

And the calendar is one of those doubtful things that people can endlessly dispute about, and dispute over, without ever coming to an agreement.

It's a complicated issue.

All the Jews and Christians around the world who observe God's feasts in the Holy Days, all the churches of God and Jews, they're never going to agree on all the issues concerning the calendar.

They're always going to be disputing those things.

It's one of those doubtful things. There's a lot of things about the calendar that are doubtful.

But who will our ultimate judge be on whose judgment will we stand or fall?

And on what will we be judged? What is God going to judge us on?

Will we be judged on our relationships that we have with one another, and the love that we have towards one another?

Or are we going to be judged on whether or not we use the so-called correct calendar?

I'm just trying to give you a perspective of the New Testament. If I can take that a step further as well. If we are wrong in some things that we understand, and I'm sure all of us are going to find out that we're wrong in something that we think is right and we understand, things that are really important I think we understand them correctly, but there might be some of those things that are just beautiful things that we're going to find out we may be wrong on.

But if we fall short in any way whatsoever, if our attitude and our love towards one another is right, can our Master, Jesus Christ, can He hold us up and enable us to stand, even though we might be wrong on some things that are doubtful or not real clear?

Let's go to Romans 14, verse 4. It says, Who are you to judge another's servant? Now all of us are servants of whom? Who is our Master?

Always we know our Master is Jesus Christ, and we are all servants of Jesus Christ.

And the point is we should not judge one another when it comes to doubtful things.

That's the point Paul is making. Don't judge one another on doubtful things.

Who are you to judge another's servant? To his own Master he stands or falls.

Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.

In other words, God is able to make us stand even though we may be wrong on some things which are doubtful.

But God can make us stand if our attitude is right.

And our heart is right. Even though we may fall short in some area of understanding, or some things that are doubtful or not real clear.

Verse 5. One person steams one day above another. Another steams every day alike.

Let it each be fully convinced in his own mind.

Now, you have to get the context here of what Paul was dealing with at the time. Or you can maybe not understand what he's saying here, but some like to esteem certain days for fasting back at that time.

And for fasting and prayer, as we'll see in a moment.

Some today like to esteem their understanding of doubtful things over somebody else's understanding of doubtful things, whatever they may be.

Going on in Romans 14, verse 10.

But why do you judge your brother, or why do you show contempt for your brother?

We're all going to have to stand before the judgment seat of Christ some day to give an account.

And what is Christ going to have to give an account of? What's going to be important to Jesus Christ when we stand before his judgment seat?

For it is written, verse 11, as I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.

So then each of us shall give an account of himself to God.

Therefore, verse 13, let us not judge one another any more, but rather resolve this not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother's way.

So, and there comes the calendar and calendar issues, and this is kind of a tough question. And again, I'm thankful we don't really have those kind of issues here, but some congregations do.

Can disputes over issues of the calendar, which is one of those things that are doubtful in many areas, can disputes over issues of the calendar put a stumbling block in our brother's way?

Can disputes over the calendar possibly cause a brother to fall?

And that's a tough question.

Do such disputes promote love and unity, or instead do they promote division and strife?

See, and what is more important to God?

The day we esteem, or the calendar we esteem, I should say maybe, or obtaining love and unity rather than having strife and division.

I think we can barely see from the New Testament what's important to God.

It's much more important to have love and unity than strife and division over doubtful things.

And each of us then has to answer these questions for ourselves.

But we do know we're all going to have to stand before the judgment seat of Christ someday, verse 10.

Now, when we do, when that time comes, when we stand before the judgment seat of Christ, as I'm going to have to do someday, as all of us will, on what are we going to be judged?

What's God going to judge us on?

He's going to judge us on if we figured everything out correctly.

I hope not, because I know there's a lot of things I haven't figured out correctly, and never will.

But is He going to judge us on our understanding of the calendar, or on our attitude, and our love for one another?

I think you all know the answer.

And what's going to justify us and make us right before God when we stand before the judgment seat of Christ?

What is this going to justify us and make us right before God?

Very important question.

And Christ Himself gives us the answer in Luke 18. Let's turn there. Luke 18.

Luke 18, beginning in verse 9.

Now He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves, that they were righteous and despised others.

I'm not saying this because somebody used a different version of the calendar, and they believe that's the one they should follow, that that means that they're trusting in themselves, that they feel they're righteous or they're despising others.

I'm not saying that. I'm just trying to give you a perspective of the New Testament when it comes to some of these issues that are not real clear.

So He goes on and gives a parable here, beginning in verse 10.

He said, Two men went up to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other a tax collector. And everybody looked down on tax collectors. Nobody likes tax collectors. You don't want somebody to come to your house and say, Hey, give me your last bit of income you have there. I'm going to take everything.

The tax collectors were despised. Nobody wanted the tax collector to come around.

Verse 11, The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank you. I'm not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as his tax collector.

And of course, we shouldn't be extortioners or unjust or adulterers, or maybe as a tax collector in some ways.

But then He goes on and says, You know, I fast twice a week.

And I give tithes of all that I possess. I always tithe meticulously on everything.

Now, there's nothing wrong with doing that. That's great. That's honorable.

Now, many Pharisees at the time of Christ, they fasted on Monday and Thursdays, or on the second and fifth days of the week. They esteemed those two days as fast days many times. That's probably what Paul was referring to earlier, as we read.

And of course, they also gave tithes of all that they possessed.

They were very, very meticulous in striving to obey God.

And of course, there's nothing wrong with that. We should all be that way. We shouldn't judge others. Whatever standard we set for ourselves, we shouldn't necessarily set for others.

But the thing is, is that, is pain ties perfectly, is fasting regularly, which nothing wrong with doing that. We should try to do that.

But is that what makes us right before God? Is that what justifies us before God, and we're someday going to stand before the judgment of the seed of Christ? Is He going to judge us on, well, you know, you were in the church for 40 years, and you know what? You only fasted 40 times. And that's because you had to in the Day of Atonement. You're out of here. I hope that's not the case.

Now, I can't say I fast a lot more than that. We try to fast off more than that, but not much.

All of us have a hard time fasting, don't we? I don't think, probably not too many people here fast once a month, even. Alone, twice a week.

But, you know, is that what justifies you before God? I'm not saying we shouldn't try to do that. And we shouldn't try to tithe. Tithing is extremely important. Fasting is important in prayer. But is that what justifies us and makes us right before God?

Verse 13.

The task-collector, standing afar off, would not so much raise his eyes to heaven.

But he beat his breath saying, God, you know, if I look at my life, man, I feel hurt in so many ways.

I had a hard time fasting. I had a hard time having enough faith to tithe perfectly.

You know, I'm just not righteous at all. Please be merciful to me as sinner.

I need your mercy. I want to be in your kingdom, but I need your mercy because I fell so far short.

Which one was justified before God?

Verse 14.

I tell you, this man went down to his household justified rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.

So it shows, you know, God looks at the heart. He looks at the person who has a very humble, repentant attitude, who realizes his nature and how far he falls short, and who begs for God's mercy every day. He says, God, please help me. Help me to be stronger.

So that shows that the attitude in the heart is what God is going to look to, and what justifies is going to be our attitude in our heart and our repentant attitude and our humility. So when we look at what the New Testament emphasizes, we can readily see what is of the utmost importance. It's our attitude and our love for one another and our heart.

Now, what doesn't the New Testament say?

Well, it doesn't say anything in regards to the calendar, calendar issues, or even hint that there were any disputes over the calendar, even though we know at the time of Christ, there were differences. And at least I'm going to come to counting the Pentecost. There are different various Jews who observed Pentecosts in different days. And there were disputes in that area amongst some of the Jews.

Now, why didn't Christ address any of those disputes regarding the calendar when He was on the earth 2,000 years ago?

Well, I'd have to assume that it was either because they were not that important to Him, or another very important reason might have been that there was a system in place that most everyone looked to as being the final authority in regards to the calendar. And that indeed was the case, which we'll see in a future Bible study.

Now, there were issues at the time of Christ that were causing division, such as whether or not circumstances should still have to be applied or not. And that was a tough one, because, you know, it was very clear in the Old Testament, after the time of Abraham, that all males had to be circumcised to be a part of Israel. So the question then became in the New Testament, what about people coming into the church? Do they have to be circumcised? And people looked at the Old Testament and said, yeah, they've got to be circumcised. So that became a very contentious issue that had to be resolved, which is why they then called for a consul at Jerusalem in 49 A.D. Let's turn to Acts, Chapter 15.

Acts, Chapter 15, beginning in verse 1, and certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, unless you're circumcised, according to the custom of Moses in the Old Testament. You cannot be saved. You can't be a part of the church of God.

Therefore, when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem and to the apostles and elders about this particular question or this issue. Now, you think about this. It's 49 A.D. They're going to have a consul. And we've got something here that's under dispute. It's got to be resolved. This would have been a perfect time to discuss issues concerning the calendar. What's the proper way to count to Pentecost? Should we do it by the way the Sadducees do it or the Pharisees? Or the Essenes? I mean, today, I don't know why I've never heard anybody say this, but a person might say, Well, unless you use the right biblical calendar, you're not going to be saved. By the time of Christ and at the time of this conference of 49 A.D., it appears no one was stirring up any trouble over how to count to Pentecost or which calendar to do observe, which version of which calendar to observe, which should determine properly when to observe Pentecost. or the other feasts and Holy Days. That did not come up in this conference. There's no mention of it whatsoever. It wasn't an issue. You have to wonder why. Acts 15, verse 7, And when there had been much dispute over this thing of circumcision, Peter rose up and said to them, Men and brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the Gospel and believe. So God, who knows the word of the gospel, so God, who knows the heart, who knows the heart, and judges what our hearts are, acknowledge them by giving them the Holy Spirit just as He did to us, and make no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. In other words, if you open the Old Testament, you say, Yeah, you've got to be circumcised. But what do they say? Let's look at the fruits.

What do you see? We see people who are not circumcised, men who are not circumcised, but they're believers, and they're coming into the church, and we see God is granting them His Holy Spirit. We see the clear fruits of God's Holy Spirit being given to them. So we know God is not determining whether or not they're going to get His Spirit, but whether or not they're circumcised. So it proves, then, that circumcision shouldn't matter one way or the other anymore. It's a matter of another type of circumcision, circumcision is of the heart, as Paul gets into another place.

Now, why am I reading these Scriptures, and what do they have to do with the calendar? Because really, when you look at it and think about it, they don't prove or substantiate anything one way or the other when it comes to calendar issues. They have nothing to do with the calendar, or do they? Well, they do give us this. They give us a principle regarding what God looks at and to whom God acknowledges. What does God look at? He looks at our heart. He wants to know what's in our heart. Who, then, does God acknowledge? He acknowledges those whose hearts are in the right place, whose hearts are being purified by faith, as Paul put it here.

Let's drop down to verse 22, Acts 15. Then it pleased the apostles and elders with the whole church, with the whole church, interestingly, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, namely Judas, who was also named Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brethren. And they wrote this letter by them, the apostles, the elders, and the brethren.

This was a consensus of all the leadership and even a lot of the members of the church. The apostles, the elders, and the brethren, to the brethren who are of the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia. Greetings! Since we have heard that some who went out from us have troubled you with words unsettling your souls, saying you must be circumcised and keep the law of Moses, that is, the law concerning... of Moses concerning circumcision, to whom we gave no such commandment, and so on.

So here it's talking about keeping the law of circumcision. But it's talking about some troubled them over that. Some who felt you had to be circumcised were troubling others, who were coming to the church who hadn't been circumcised, and they were troubling them over that, saying they had to be circumcised.

See, there are always going to be those who trouble others with words that unsettle people's souls, if you will, as what's happening here, saying, you know, you must do this, you must do that. Regardless of what leaders of the church say, at this time, back in 49 AD, it all had to do over this issue of circumcision. Today, it often had to do with issues of the calendar. Tomorrow, it'll probably be something else. Who knows?

Although we can't tell by what it says here in Acts 15, you know, I dare say that a lot of those who were making an issue out of circumcision, even though they issued this decree and made this decision and you didn't have to be circumcised, I imagine there were some Jews at that time that didn't accept that decision. They probably still thought, you've got to be circumcised, you're going to be saved and be a part of the church. There were probably some that didn't agree. And this probably is the same today, no matter what decision you make or what happens, if some are still going to disagree with that, which is fine. It's okay, as long as you don't make an issue out of it.

But in this case here at this Jerusalem Conference, how did they settle their must dispute concerning circumcision? Well, they settled it by and through a multitude of consulars, by and through the apostles and elders with the whole church and with the brethren. Verse 22. Why? Well, because, as I mentioned last time in the first calendar Bible study, in the multitude of the consulars there is safety, Proverbs 11-14. It's good to have a multitude of the consulars to settle an issue and do it by consensus. Did they debate and hear all sides of the issue before reaching a conclusion? Well, yeah, you read Acts 15 and you say, yes, they did. Now, why is that important? Well, because another Proverbs, I mentioned last time, Proverbs 18-13, which says, if he who answers a matter before he hears it, it's a folly and a shame to him.

So after hearing the matter from a multitude of consulars then, did they all arrive at a conclusion together? Well, yes, they did. Acts 15, verse 28. For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things. This is a conclusion of all matter. They decided circumcision. You didn't have to be circumcised. And also that you abstain from things, offered idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you do well. Verse 4 of chapter 16. As they went through the cities, they delivered to them the decrees to keep, which were determined by the apostles and elders at Jerusalem, by the leadership of the church, with the involvement of the brethren, by consensus.

Why is it dangerous to make up our minds before hearing all aspects of a dispute? I think it's an important question to ask.

Why is it dangerous to act more on our own than by consensus? Well, first, because once we make up our minds, and this is the tendency of human nature. It's the way we are. Once we make up our minds something, and we see something, and we make up our minds on it, our tendency is to defend that position and to not be open to any further discussion on it.

We'll tend to close our minds to try to see a broader view, try to see when we might be wrong. If we've reached a conclusion on our own, and we've determined that we're right, it's very difficult then to admit we're wrong and maybe change our minds, even though somebody might give us a broader perspective.

Because once you make your minds up, it's hard, you don't want to change our minds. That's just the way human nature is. We like to rewrite, and we don't ever like to admit we may have been wrong. So it's not wise to make up your mind until you've heard the whole sides of an issue. And why should we go by consensus rather than by following our own conclusion in regards to matters of dispute? Why is that a safer route to take?

Well, because the New Testament clearly tells us that we should try to be of one mind and striving together rather than going our separate ways. It's all much better to try to work together. And besides Matt, like I said, the Bible says, trust no man, and when I read that, trust no man, I put myself up there first. That means me. I'm a man. Don't trust me. Don't trust yourself. Trust no man. It's better to let God's Spirit work through consensus. Let's go to Philippians 1. Philippians 1. I just read verses 27 and 30 to start with here.

Philippians 1, verse 27, which shows what God is interested in, having unity, working together. Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come to see you or I'm absent, that I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one Spirit. This is what's important to God. These people are all standing fast in one Spirit, with one attitude, one mind. With one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel.

In verse 30, having the same conflict which you saw in me and now here is in me. I want to read this from the Living Bible because it paraphrases these two verses in a very meaningful way. This is how verse 27 of chapter 1 is paraphrased in the Living Bible. Whatever happens to me, remember always to live as Christians should, so that whether I see you again or not, I will keep on hearing good reports that you are standing side by side with one strong purpose.

That's what God wants to see in His people. That's what's important. Verse 30, because, why? He says in verse 30, it's paraphrased in the Living Bible, because we're all in this fight together. We're in a life and death struggle for eternal life with the goal. And we have an enemy who wants to destroy us any way he can, causes a stumble in any way he can. We're all in this fight together, Paul says. You have seen me suffer for him in the past, and I am still in the midst of a great and terrible struggle now, as you know so well.

And then going on to Philippians chapter 2 verses 1-4. Therefore, if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy of being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord and of one mind, let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind, let each esteem others better than himself.

Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. In other words, what he's saying there, you're going to look at it in one way. He says we should look out for what is in the best interest of the group rather than what's in our own best interest. What's in the best interest of the group that we're fellowshiping with, of the church as a whole, of the congregation? Which is what Christ did.

He looked best for others, not for himself, by willingly dying for us. That was the mind of Christ, which mind and attitude should also be in all of us.

Let this mind be in you, which is also in Christ Jesus. When you go by consensus, when you get together as a group of brethren or as a leadership of the church apostles, elders, whatever, when you go by consensus and a decision is reached by consensus, then doing that is also a matter of faith. It is striving together for the faith of the gospel. He says in Philippians 1, verse 27.

And again, for me, I have more faith in God's Spirit working through His leadership with a multitude of costlers and individuals than working through me, contrary to the leadership. I wouldn't have any faith in that at all.

Finally, then, what perspective does the New Testament give us in regards to what is really important?

Well, it shows us that our relationships that we have with one another and that our love that we have for one another and staying together with one another is far more important than disputes over issues that are not clear to everyone. That's very, very clear in the New Testament. The New Testament also shows us that disputes over matters that are not clear should be settled by consensus after hearing all sides of a dispute.

So the conclusion can then be accepted by consensus for the sake of unity for the group as a whole. So we can stand fast in one Spirit with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel, as Paul put it here in Philippians. In conclusion then for today, the counter is a complicated issue. And issues over the counter have been disputed since way before the time of Christ, and they're going to continue to be disputed until Christ returns.

And there will not come a time when everybody who observes God's feasts and holy days are all going to agree on which is the best calendar to use. There's never going to be an agreement on that that's clear to everyone. So basically, it gets down to whatever group we worship with. We'll have to come to a consensus among themselves regarding what version of what counter to go by for that particular group.

And all the major churches of God today have looked into various calendar issues going way back in the time of Mr. Armstrong. They have a lot of articles that Mr. Armstrong put out on the calendar and calendar issues. So it's been something that's been looked at by the major churches of God for well over 50 years.

And up to now, the consensus has been to use a calendar that we are using, with very few exceptions.

So anyway, next time we'll look at something else. All these things are very, very interesting. It gives us a good perspective because, again, these calendar issues are never going to end. They're going to be going on from now until Christ returns or until the day we die.

But next time we'll look at astronomy because that is where it all began. It all began with astronomy, with God's creation of the Earth and the Moon and the Sun and the planets and our solar system.

And they all play an important role when it comes to when to observe God's peace and holy days in their proper seasons, which is important.

So we look into all that. We'll look into next time. That's an exciting part of the story, which we'll continue next time we look at Genesis, astronomy, and seasons.