Let me explain. Take the story of Abraham before Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham is asking endless questions like an infant who has just learned to talk does. Or the Israelites as they wander the desert, they were very much acting like a bunch of whiny toddlers then. When we get to the book of Judges, they are acting like rebellious teenagers. My point being that our relationship with, and how we discipline our children changes as they mature. As children, the rules are very rigid, because they lack the comprehension to understand why. As they get older, we expect them to start to understand the why behind the what. It is no different with God and his children. Only mankind's spiritual maturation has taken place over centuries. This is where Pentecost comes in, in many ways that served as humanity's spiritual bar-mitzvah if you will. Where we officially became fully adult heirs of the kingdom of God, via this New Covenant. (Galatians 3:23-4:7)
Let me put the significance of Pentecost into a broader perspective for you, if you have no idea what it is. There was the original Passover (Exodus 12:1-30) then fifty days later Moses received the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20) the foundation for Mosaic law. Centuries later there was the Passover that Christ celebrated with his disciples at what we call the last supper. (Luke 22:7-38) Then fifty days later on the Feast of Weeks, a holy day to honor the receiving of Mosaic Law, the normal festivities were overshadowed by the Holy Spirit descending upon the church. (Acts 2) An event that broke the divide between mankind and God. This is the ultimate fulfillment of the law, that Jesus mentions in Matthew 5:17-20 since the spirit is the law that is written on our hearts, as opposed to stone. (2nd Corinthians 3:3) The parallelism proves that. This day is also what is now known as Pentecost Sunday, sometimes called the birthday of the church. A day the Protestant church should treat more seriously than it does. It really deserves as much if not more recognition than Christmas or Easter. I liken the downplay of Pentecost to building a foundation, raising concrete block walls, then only throwing a tarp over the church to serve as a roof. We are leaving the job incomplete just so we can enjoy the privilege of the cross, but not have to take on the responsibility of the transformed life.
If Jesus hadn't offered himself as the ultimate Passover lamb on Good Friday, we would still have to make atonement for our sin via the sacrificial system. So Christ's actions have indeed changed our relationship with God. Now, we are asked to confess our sin. (James 5:16, 1st John 1:9) However, the original Greek word for confessing has a literal definition of, to say the same thing as. So a true new covenant confession is also an agreement with God. We are not just acknowledging that we have broken God's law, but we are recognizing that sin is harmful to our souls. So there is that implied understanding of the truth behind the commands. An understanding that only comes with maturity, that's naturally expected of fully adult heirs.
If we don't recognize this, we may feel compelled to apply a toddler-level doctrine that only recognizes one dimension of holiness. This consists only of forced submission of surface behavior, not sincerity, or understanding. This often leads to the traumatic experiences critics of the church experience.
As you can see, our misunderstanding of three-dimensional holiness can trickle down into other areas. None of its effects are positive either. It has led us exactly where we are, with that proverbial church without a proper roof. A church of fully adult heirs living as immature children, a spiritless church without the full scope of God’s power at their disposal. An incomplete church that cannot lead people to wholeness, because they have not followed that path fully themselves.
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