Respecting Patterns In Scripture

 Logically, exceptions to a pattern do not invalidate an entire pattern. Exceptions (in the sense of cases which don’t follow norms) are merely exceptions. We understand how this works in secular life. According to our national Constitution (article two, section two), the President has the power to grant pardons for crimes committed “against the United States.” If a newly-arrived immigrant picks up a newspaper and reads about how the President completely absolved a group of people for their offenses, is he correct to assume that our entire criminal justice system works in this way? Is every criminal pardoned by our president? It’s obvious that presidential pardons are rare exceptions to the pattern of our national criminal justice system, not the pattern itself.

Let’s begin to apply this logic to Scriptural ideas. If you read 2 Kings 2, you’ll find an account of a man who goes straight to heaven without experiencing death. In that text, the prophet Elijah crosses the Jordan River in the company of Elisha (his protege and successor), has a brief conversation, and then is carried off by chariots of fire and enters heaven in a whirlwind. By looking at this one passage, can I assume that the Bible teaches that mankind does not die before reaching God? Obviously not! The broader context of Scripture clearly teaches us a pattern that our own life experience corroborates: our bodies age, lose their strength, and die. Elijah is indeed an exception to this pattern of death, but the pattern remains nonetheless.

With this foundation laid, hopefully we can see more controversial Bible subjects more clearly, like water baptism for the forgiveness of sins. In recent discussions I’ve had with other Bible students, the following argument was made to me: “What about the man who hears the gospel but does not have access to water? Is he saved?” First of all, water covers approximately 71% of our planet’s surface, it is piped and channeled into countless other locations, and its regular consumption is necessary to sustain human life. Therefore, a man who cannot find enough water to immerse his body is truly in an “exceptional” situation! Fortunately, how Jesus will judge such a man is not my decision to make. Since Jesus promises that those who seek Him will find Him (Matthew 7.7-8), I’m confident that God will help those who want to obey His call to be saved. But even if such a hypothetical exception exists, it in no way negates the overarching Scriptural pattern of salvation through water or the specific teachings of King Jesus’ apostles.

We must respect patterns of thought in the Scriptures. The future of our eternal lives depends on honestly interpreting the words which God has written down “for our instruction” (Romans 15.4). Will we make the Bible fit into our own historical and cultural notions of what is right, or will we allow God the liberty to speak truth to our hearts? The choice is ours.

Nathan