Articles
Did God Say, Exactly?
Moses got water out of a rock twice in the wilderness for the people of Israel. The first time, God told Moses to STRIKE the rock with his staff:
“Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink." And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel.”
- Exodus 17:6
The second time God told Moses to SPEAK to the rock:
7 and the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
8 "Take the staff, and assemble the congregation, you and Aaron your brother, and TELL the rock before their eyes to yield its water. So you shall bring water out of the rock for them and give drink to the congregation and their cattle."
9 And Moses took the staff from before the LORD, as he commanded him.
10 Then Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them, "Hear now, you rebels: shall we bring water for you out of this rock?"
11 And Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice, and water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their livestock.”
Numbers 20:7-11
Question:
Was the method used for getting water out of the rock a ‘salvation issue’? After all, he had been told by God to strike the rock the first time.... this time God told him to ‘tell the rock...’ Did it really matter after all? Notice the next verse:
12 And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "Because you did not believe in me, to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them."”
- Numbers 20:12
This is only one of possibly hundreds of examples in the Bible where God says to do something and people decided to do something else.
There are other examples of God telling people to do things (sometimes making no sense to the person) and when they simply obeyed they received God’s blessing:
Here’s one of them:
9 So Naaman came with his horses and chariots and stood at the door of Elisha's house.
10 And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, "Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean."
11 But Naaman was angry and went away, saying, "Behold, I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call upon the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper.
12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?" So he turned and went away in a rage.
13 But his servants came near and said to him, "My father, it is a great word the prophet has spoken to you; will you not do it? Has he actually said to you, 'Wash, and be clean'?"
14 So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.”
- 2 Kings 5:9-14
The point is this:
If God says it, that settles it!
If God says it, just do it!
To do ANYTHING else is to disobey God and causes us to “break faith” with God and “not treat Him as holy” (et. Deut. 32:51)
It is not up to any person to determine what is a ‘salvation issue’ and what is not.
God said, “sing”. So we sing, nothing else.
God said, “let women be silent in the church”, so men are to lead.
God said, be baptized for the remission of sin”, so we are baptized.
God said, “love your enemies”, so we forgive and don’t hold grudges.
It’s that simple.
If God says to do something and we choose to do something else, then it is disobedient. It is sin. Therefore it is a salvation issue.
“Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up” (James 4:10; 1 Peter 5:6)
