Scripture Reading  MT. 12:1-8 “Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath..”

Attempts To Discredit Jesus  Jesus was hated (v. 10, 14, 24)  Disciples Attacked To Discredit Him  Accused of Unlawful act - v. 2 (cf: Mt. 15:1-9)  Response - “Have ye not read..”  Example of David /priests proved hypocrisy  One Greater Than Temple Was Present  Passage Is Favorite of “Situation Ethics”

Humanism & Situation Ethics  “We find insufficient evidence for belief in the existence of a supernatural; it is either meaningless or irrelevant to the question of the survival and fulfillment of the human race. As non- theists, we begin with humans and not God, nature not deity.” (Humanist Manifesto II, Isaac Asimov, Anthony Flew, Lester Mondale, Joseph Fletcher, Betty Frieden, et al)

Humanism Is Atheistic  “Humanism is the denial of God and the total affirmation of man. Humanism is really nothing but Marxism” (Karl Marx)  “Man is the measure of all things” (Protagoras)

Humanism Is Atheistic  Humanism is a religion that has been accepted in the public schools that substitute “freedom from religion” for “freedom of religion.”  America has changed its morality: abortion, adultery, lying, corruption (Oval Office)

Humanism is Evangelistic  “I am convinced that the battle for humankind’s future must be waged and won in the public school classroom by the teachers who correctly perceive their role as the proselytizers of a new faith…These teachers must embody the same selfless dedication as the most rabid fundamentalist preacher, for they will be ministers of another sort, utilizing a classroom instead of a pulpit to convey humanist values...

Humanism is Evangelistic  “…in whatever subject they teach, regardless of the education level - preschool day care or large state university. The classroom will become an arena of conflict between the old and the new - the rotting corpse of Christianity, together with all its adjacent evils and misery, and the new found humanism, resplendent in its promise of a world in which the never-realized Christian ideal of ‘love thy neighbor’ will finally be achieved” (Humanist Magazine, Jan/Feb, 1983)

Applications Of Humanism  “Is It Sometimes Right To Do Wrong?”  “Does Necessity Outweigh Precept?”  “Does Law Contradict Law?”  “Are There Levels of Law That Compete For Obedience?”  “Is There Absolute Truth?”  Calculated To Teach Situation Ethics

Mt. 12 Has Been Used For SituationEthics  “Premise: A higher law, when it conflicts with a lower law, suspends or limits the lower law at the point of contact… i.e. The higher laws of mercy suspends the lower laws of the shewbread in order to feed the hungry, thus David is justified in eating what normally would be forbidden …. ceremonial observances must give way to moral duties, especially the necessities of nature.”

What Is The Purpose Of Such Teaching?  “Conclusion:….With this adjustment on our ‘spiritual sights’ we can now enter the ‘perilous arena’ of MARRIAGE, DIVORCE AND REMARRIAGE” (N. B. Lyons, class outline, Buffalo, NY, p. 2)  “If” David sinned and was “justified,” Then We may sin today.  Situations Change Morality!

Higher/Lower Law Assumptions  Conflicts Within God’s Laws  Levels of Importance Within Laws  One Level Suspends Another Level  Man’s Ability To Determine Which is Higher Law  David was “justified” in Breaking Law  Man is “justified” in Breaking God’s Law  Conclusion: Man Can Do Forbidden Things (Mt. 5, 19 - Unlawful Divorces, Unlawful Marriages)

“Necessity Outweighs Precept”  “Buff Scott, Jr…does believe there are occasions when necessity outweighs precept, as Jesus himself indicated in Mt. 12:1-5. He reminded the Pharisees who objected to him and his disciples picking heads of grain and eating them on the Jewish Sabbath that when David and his men were hungry, they entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which was not lawful….

“Necessity Outweighs Precept”  “Unlawful, yes, as Wayne pointed out, but necessity outweighed precept, so the action was permissible…Now note: There is no indication that God was displeased with David’s conduct. Wayne (Jackson) failed to deal with this phase of the matter. If God was not displeased, the principle of necessity outweighs precept is established…” (The Reformer, Vol. 11, No. 6, p. 2).

More Fatal Assumptions  A Conflict Between Necessity and Precept  Some Necessities unforeseen by God  Human Conditions More Important Than Law  Obedience is Situational, Judgmental  God Approved of David’s disobedience  God Approves of Disobedience In Gospel Age (Acts 17:30; Mt. 19:8)  Disallows For Progressive Revelation (Starlight, Moonlight, Sonlight)

Does Mt. 12 Justify Lying?  “Mark Nitz here with a few thoughts on ‘truthful lies’ (I don’t think I like that title). Interesting that the very act of deception commited by Rahab in saving the spies, Jas. 2:25, says she was ‘considered righteous’ ….Then you have Mt. 12:1-8. Jesus said David did something ‘which was not lawful’ (I.e. without authority, law-breaking, sinful). Yet he obvious did so with Jesus’ blessing…” (cont’d)

Does Mt. 12 Justify Lying?  “…Seems to me this poses a real problem for those who hold all laws and all truth to be equally important; and that the consequences of missing it on any point, however minute, is damnation. Of course lying is a sin. That’s the whole point and the reason this incident gives brethren problems. Let’s be honest with this passage. The whole incident of hiding the spies and lying to save them involved deception… (cont’d)

Does Mt. 12 Justify Lying?  “…Granted, that deception was prompted by her faith which is what saved her. Was there a higher good that outweighed the deception? I don’t know - the scriptures do not tell us. We do know that through this entire deceptive action her faith was demonstrated and she was saved. Concerning David’s lie (1 Sam. 20:3f), this is just another case…where godly men tell lies and the scriptures do not specifically endorse or condemn …”

Which Error Do We Answer First?  Rahab Justified By Faith, Not Lying - Heb. 11:31  Was Her Harlotry Also Recommended?  Jesus Blessed David Doing “what was not lawful (i.e., law-breaking, sinful)?  All God’s Laws Not Equally Important? (Ja. 2:10)  Higher Good Outweighs Deception?  Godly Men Tell Lies and Scriptures Don’t condemn? (Rev. 21:8)

We Need To Understand:  Abraham & others lied. These and other sins impress the need for forgiveness.  David sinned by eating the shewbread, as well as adultery with Bathsheba. Neither is approved!  OT introduces sin in Patriarchal Age and begins to introduce solution in Gen. 3:15; 22:18, etc.  Mt. 12 doesn’t teach situation ethics!