QC and SG accountability (12/10/18)
Eugene shared about a recent gathering where 2 OT passages (Jer 29:11-14 and 2 Ki 13:14-19) were used (?abused) and asked ourselves whether it was fair to apply the promises and principles in these passages to ourselves. After all, the first passage is for the Israelites in exile in Babylon, and the second is a somewhat bizzare action we are unlikely to perform (hit arrows on the ground). We said that, yes - If the passage has to do with the character of God, or the way in which God deals with His people , then the passages can be applied to us as the new Israel, the people of God. God does not change (Heb 13:8). The OT also looks forward to the NT and is quoted in the NT in ways which support this principle. For example, the blessings of the new covenant are alluded to in Jer 32:39--40. Rom 8:28 restates the same idea explicitly. On the other hand, we cannot fully apply passages where God speaks to his people as a nation-state.So promises of material prosperity, for instance in De