Andy Stanley, the Mega-Church pastor, located in the suburbs of Atlanta is now claiming that the Ten Commandments are no longer applicable months after previously stating that Christians need to unhitch themselves from the Old Testament.
According to the Pastor, Jesus rendered the Ten Commandments null and void, because He issues a one new law “as a replacement for everything.”
“You’ve heard the story before: A group of Christians puts up a monument of the Ten Commandments in a public space or on government property,” begins Stanley in his article titled, “Why do Christians want to post the Ten Commandments and not the Sermon on the Mount?” “Someone says it violates the separation of church and state. The Christians say taking it down would violate their freedom of speech. There’s some back and forth in court and both sides say some not-so-great things about the other. Rinse and repeat. But how many times have you seen Christians trying to post the text of the sermon on the mount in a public place? Or the all-encompassing commandment Jesus gave us? ‘A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another — John 13:34 The one commandment! Doesn’t have the same ring to it, does it? But if we’re going to create a monument to stand as a testament to our faith, shouldn’t it at least be a monument of something that actually applies to us?”
Stanley then continues that the Ten Commandments are from the ‘Old Covenant,’ which he says; “played a significant role in God’s creation of the nation of Israel. It gave them moral guidelines and helped separate this new nation from their neighbors. This was part of the formal agreement (or covenant) God created with his people, but Jesus’ death and resurrection signaled the end of that covenant and all the rules and regulations associated with it. Jesus didn’t issue his new command as an additional commandment to the existing list of commands. He didn’t say, ‘Here’s the 614th law.’ Jesus issued his new commandment as a replacement for everything in the existing list. Including the big ten. Just as his new covenant replaced the old covenant, Jesus’ new commandment replaced all the old commandments.”
Stanley’s comments directly contradict what Scripture says; In Matthew 5:17-19, Jesus says: “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”
Stanley is teaching his 34,000 member congregation replacement theology. Also, Stanley is teaching his congregation to discard three-quarters of the Bible and only to interpret what’s left.
Furthermore, after Stanley’s stunning commentary he then concludes; “While Jesus was foreshadowed in the old covenant, he did not come to extend it. He came to fulfill it, put a bow on it, and establish something entirely new. The “new” Jesus unleashed made the faith of first-century believers formidable. Their apologetic was irrefutable. Their courage, unquestionable. And the results were remarkable. Dear Christian reader: Why? Why? Why would we even be tempted to reach back beyond the cross to borrow from a covenant that was temporary and inferior to the covenant established for us at Calvary?”
Stanley’s new book, which is available on Amazon, called ‘Irresistible,’ is currently ranked at Amazon as one of the most popular books in the “Church Leadership” category.
The theology presented by the Mega-Church Pastor is precisely what Jesus warned believers about in Matthew 24:5 “For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.”
