Here are just 8 biblical commandments that most Evangelicals treat as optional:
(1) Changing dress codes prompted modern Christian women to discontinue the practice of wearing a hat in church. They justify this change on the grounds that the NT commandment on this issue is merely a reflection of ancient culture. But Paul offers a theological grounds for a woman's need to cover her head with a veil during corporate worship: “For this reason a woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels (1 Cor. 11:10).” Paul assumes the presence of angels during public worship and grounds the need for female head covering on respect for angels, prompting the conjecture that he has in mind Old Testament female seduction of angelic beings. But whatever the reason, why do angels no longer need women to cover their heads during worship? How can discontinuance of head covering be dismissed on “cultural” grounds when Paul gives theological grounds for this commandment and insists that it is needed out of respect for angels? Is Paul wrong?
(2) 5 times Peter and Paul command Christians to “greet one another with a holy kiss (1 Peter 5:14; 1 Thess. 5:26; 1 Cor. 16:20; 2 Cor. 13;12; Rom.16:16).” Evangelicals consider this command too intimate for modern sensibilities and therefore disobey it.
(3) The OT repeatedly commands believers to lift up their hands in prayer (Lam. 2:19) and in the sanctuary (Psalm 134. 2; cp. 28:3; 63:5). Paul applies this commandment to Christian prayer: “I desire that in every place men should pray, lifting up holy hands...(1 Tim. 2:8; cp. Heb 12:12).” Lifting up hands in worship and prayer helps create an attitude of uninhibited surrender and thus is a valued aspect of modern Charismatic worship. But it makes most Evangelicals feel too self-conscious, showy, and emotional; so they feel free to defy this biblical commandment and treat it as optional. Why is this neglect justifiable?
(4) In 1 Corinthians Paul commands us to “earnestly strive for the greater gifts (12:31)” and to “earnestly strive for the spiritual gifts, and especially that you may prophesy (14:1).” And what are the “greater gifts?” The greatest is prophecy, but Paul makes its clear that speaking in tongues is just as great if an interpreter is present (14:4). 12:29-30 has often been misinterpreted to mean that not all Christians are meant to speak in tongues and prophesy. On the contrary, Paul teaches, “you can all prophesy one by one (14:31)” and wants every believer to both speak in tongues and prophesy (14:5). He then reinforces this expectation: “I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you (14:18).” Yet most evangelicals defy this commandment to strive for spiritual gifts, considering it optional or obsolete. They therefore blaspheme the Holy Spirit by treating His gifts as junk!
(5) Jesus and the New Testament establish several necessary conditions for effective petitionary prayer. Most Evangelicals pay little heed to these conditions and their implicit commandments. Instead, they imagine that simply making needs known to God should suffice. Are people dead who should be alive because of this Christian neglect of essential biblical prayer principles?
(6) Catholics obey Jesus' command to the apostles and by extension to later church leaders to forgive or retain sins (John 20:22-23). The human authority to mediate divine forgiveness is ultimately based on Peter's power of “the keys of the kingdom of heaven” and its accompanying authority to “bind and loose” sins (Matthew 16:19). Possession of the keys of the kingdom entails the authority to govern who can and cannot rightly enter the kingdom. But Evangelicals cite Jesus' unique role as mediator (1 Tim. 2:5) as an excuse to disregard Jesus' commandment.
(7) Catholics take seriously James' command to confess Christian sins to each other (James 5:16) to obtain spiritual and physical healing. Evangelicals defy this commandment and confess their sins directly to God. What they don't get is that confession must be real, the result of much soul searching, and that the humbling inconvenient act of confession to a priest or another church leader inspires deep reflection on one's inner life and behavior.
(8) Baptist believers in eternal security (OSAS) often treat repentance as optional, apparently because Jesus died for all their sins and because their born again status exempts them from ever forfeiting their salvation. So they don't take Paul's command seriously, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling (Phil. 2:13).” This heresy cheapens and debases God's grace and eliminates the necessity to obey the commandment in God's Word to confess sins to each other and to regularly subject themselves to priestly or other human mediation of divine forgiveness in obedience to Jesus' commandment.
(1) Changing dress codes prompted modern Christian women to discontinue the practice of wearing a hat in church. They justify this change on the grounds that the NT commandment on this issue is merely a reflection of ancient culture. But Paul offers a theological grounds for a woman's need to cover her head with a veil during corporate worship: “For this reason a woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels (1 Cor. 11:10).” Paul assumes the presence of angels during public worship and grounds the need for female head covering on respect for angels, prompting the conjecture that he has in mind Old Testament female seduction of angelic beings. But whatever the reason, why do angels no longer need women to cover their heads during worship? How can discontinuance of head covering be dismissed on “cultural” grounds when Paul gives theological grounds for this commandment and insists that it is needed out of respect for angels? Is Paul wrong?
(2) 5 times Peter and Paul command Christians to “greet one another with a holy kiss (1 Peter 5:14; 1 Thess. 5:26; 1 Cor. 16:20; 2 Cor. 13;12; Rom.16:16).” Evangelicals consider this command too intimate for modern sensibilities and therefore disobey it.
(3) The OT repeatedly commands believers to lift up their hands in prayer (Lam. 2:19) and in the sanctuary (Psalm 134. 2; cp. 28:3; 63:5). Paul applies this commandment to Christian prayer: “I desire that in every place men should pray, lifting up holy hands...(1 Tim. 2:8; cp. Heb 12:12).” Lifting up hands in worship and prayer helps create an attitude of uninhibited surrender and thus is a valued aspect of modern Charismatic worship. But it makes most Evangelicals feel too self-conscious, showy, and emotional; so they feel free to defy this biblical commandment and treat it as optional. Why is this neglect justifiable?
(4) In 1 Corinthians Paul commands us to “earnestly strive for the greater gifts (12:31)” and to “earnestly strive for the spiritual gifts, and especially that you may prophesy (14:1).” And what are the “greater gifts?” The greatest is prophecy, but Paul makes its clear that speaking in tongues is just as great if an interpreter is present (14:4). 12:29-30 has often been misinterpreted to mean that not all Christians are meant to speak in tongues and prophesy. On the contrary, Paul teaches, “you can all prophesy one by one (14:31)” and wants every believer to both speak in tongues and prophesy (14:5). He then reinforces this expectation: “I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you (14:18).” Yet most evangelicals defy this commandment to strive for spiritual gifts, considering it optional or obsolete. They therefore blaspheme the Holy Spirit by treating His gifts as junk!
(5) Jesus and the New Testament establish several necessary conditions for effective petitionary prayer. Most Evangelicals pay little heed to these conditions and their implicit commandments. Instead, they imagine that simply making needs known to God should suffice. Are people dead who should be alive because of this Christian neglect of essential biblical prayer principles?
(6) Catholics obey Jesus' command to the apostles and by extension to later church leaders to forgive or retain sins (John 20:22-23). The human authority to mediate divine forgiveness is ultimately based on Peter's power of “the keys of the kingdom of heaven” and its accompanying authority to “bind and loose” sins (Matthew 16:19). Possession of the keys of the kingdom entails the authority to govern who can and cannot rightly enter the kingdom. But Evangelicals cite Jesus' unique role as mediator (1 Tim. 2:5) as an excuse to disregard Jesus' commandment.
(7) Catholics take seriously James' command to confess Christian sins to each other (James 5:16) to obtain spiritual and physical healing. Evangelicals defy this commandment and confess their sins directly to God. What they don't get is that confession must be real, the result of much soul searching, and that the humbling inconvenient act of confession to a priest or another church leader inspires deep reflection on one's inner life and behavior.
(8) Baptist believers in eternal security (OSAS) often treat repentance as optional, apparently because Jesus died for all their sins and because their born again status exempts them from ever forfeiting their salvation. So they don't take Paul's command seriously, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling (Phil. 2:13).” This heresy cheapens and debases God's grace and eliminates the necessity to obey the commandment in God's Word to confess sins to each other and to regularly subject themselves to priestly or other human mediation of divine forgiveness in obedience to Jesus' commandment.