Read Acts 13:1-3
Here we see that the church planted at Antioch, the very place where Believers are first called by that honorable name of Christians, is a vibrant church. A church that is blessed with many skilled servants, be they prophets, teachers or both. Some of these are likely the ones who came from Jerusalem (Acts 11:27), and some probably homegrown if you will.
We see in this the fulfillment of that word that Jesus had foretold to the religious leaders of Israel…Read Matthew 23:31-36. These, then, were among the many men whom the Spirit called and raised to spread the Gospel of Christ to the nations…many of whom likely died at the hands of the Jews. But the main point I want to make in regards to verse 1 is what I read in Matthew Henry, who pointed out that the church at Antioch was growing and was raising up or providing a home for many teachers and prophets of the Word.
As an aside, I will point out Simeon who was called Niger…Matthew Henry explains that he was called such because of the color of his hair, for the word niger means black. John Gill, however, believes that it is more in keeping with the culture of the time that he was called as he was because of the color of his skin…which would be a more descriptive phrase than if it applied merely to the color of his hair. Ultimately it does not matter, but if John Gill is correct then it would show how readily the church at Antioch accepted that the gospel message was for ALL people regardless of some meaningless thing as skin color…a message I think the modern church would do well to always remember.
But we now see in verse 2 that these teachers and prophets were about the business of the Lord. And there came a time when the Spirit spoke to 3 of these men and told them what needed to be done…the setting apart of Barnabas and Saul. Now this separation was not to the office of apostleship as some have taught, since Saul was already so commissioned and Barnabas was never an apostle in the sense of the office of an apostle…but the separation was probably to that calling that was voiced during the experience of Saul on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:15)…being set apart to be the special missionaries to the Gentile world. And although in the next few verses we will read of their primary teaching coming in the synagogues of the Jews…their journey takes them closer and closer to the Greek cities…for they will sail from Antioch to Cyprus to the Antioch at Pisidia to Lystra and as we know Paul at least goes on to Ephesus and into Italy…but that is for future studies!
Being obedient to the word of God, these men carry out the command of the Holy Spirit and send these men out with their blessing. Before moving on, however, I want to point us to verse 2 once again and I want us to realize that this is one of those verses that points to the Personhood of the Holy Spirit. Many cults assign to the Spirit some status of a force of God but deny that the Spirit is one of the three Persons of our Triune God. Now, however difficult it may be for us to understand the concept and the doctrine of the Trinity, we cannot deny that here in this verse the Spirit is given an identity as a Person…an entity, and that He places Himself on equal footing with Jesus…for take careful note that the Spirit says “separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” He does not say separate for God…for the work that He has called them. And if you recall in Acts 9:15-16, it was Jesus who said to Ananias that Saul was “a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles.”
So again, the Spirit is equal to Jesus. Not some force of God but God Himself. And as I said previously, however difficult this teaching may be for us…it is a Scriptural teaching and it is not for us to say I don’t understand it so I won’t believe it…No! It is for us to say I may not understand it, but I see it taught in Scripture, therefore I will believe it and take it in faith.
Before moving on, are there any questions or comments?
Read Acts 13:4-12
So we see now that Barnabas and Saul are obedient to the Spirit and go about the task to which they are appointed.
Here in the city of Paphos they are called to witness to the Roman governor of the island who is interested in the truth they are proclaiming. However, we also meet Elymas Bar-Jesus, who is referred to as a sorcerer and a false prophet…an enemy of God.
Notice what happens when he attempts get in the way of their testimony…Saul, from here on out referred to as Paul (his Roman name), is filled with the Holy Spirit, filled in the same sense that Paul probably later refers to in Ephesians 5:18, that of being under complete control. And we see a probable proof of this in what he says and does to the false one, for this is clearly the work of God and not of Paul. We see that he is blinded…and while as a sorcerer and a false prophet he could make others believe in him…Matthew Henry says of this episode, “where now is all his skill in sorcery, upon which he had so much valued himself.”
I’ve said this before and I will say it many times more…but foolish is he who sets himself against an Almighty God!
One other thing I will say here, and I must stress that it is my own personal thinking here. But we Believers too often fail to get angry enough at those who actively strive against our God…we fear being called that terrible word…judgmental! But frankly it should offend us when our Lord is mocked…it should offend us when His name is taken in vain. And here I must share with you something I heard in a sermon from Albert Mohler, the President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He was speaking on the 3rd commandment, of how taking His name in vain is more than just avoiding a list of words you should not say, and added that when we fail to properly give reverence to our God, we take His name in vain, indeed, our worship and our praise, must always be reverent of His glory. So when I say that we need to be angry at those who take stand against Him…I also say sadly that we the church first need to regain a proper sense of awe and reverence for His name!
At any rate, this Sergius Paulus believes. And although both Gill and Henry doubt the story, both men cite the tradition of the Catholic church that says that this man gave up his office and followed Paul…we cannot know today what truth there is in this, but we can know that this man was this day saved from his sin.
End in Prayer
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Friday, September 21, 2007
Acts 11:19-26
Two weeks ago we stopped at the end of Acts 11:18.
Before picking up from here, I want to point us to that last part of verse 18...”Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life.”
You will recall that these words of Peter are uttered in what is called a defense of God’s grace. God had shown Peter through a vision that the Gentiles were to be admitted into the fellowship…and Peter would not stand in the way of God. This brings to mind Romans 9:15, in which Paul reminds us that God Himself says “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.” You see, it was not for Peter to limit God’s grace…no more than it was Jonah’s call to refuse to go to Nineveh. As Peter asks, “who was I that I could withstand God?” The answer to Peter’s rhetorical question is, “nobody.”
Peter was not one to withstand God…
Jonah was not one to withstand God…
and brothers and sister…we are not entitled to withstand God.
Know that there is not one race of man that is excluded from the grace of God, there is not one culture, not one nationality, not one ethnic group that we may exclude from our witnessing efforts. Think about it, how often, if ever, have we met someone that we are reluctant to tell of Jesus…not out of nervousness but because we simply don’t want to…perhaps we think they are not worthy of His grace…but simply put, NOBODY is worthy of His grace!
There is a hymn that I love which sums up how we often are towards God and how we should desire to change.
“Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing”
Come, Thou Fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it,
Mount of Thy redeeming love.
Here I raise my Ebenezer;
Here by Thy great help I’ve come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Bought me with His precious blood.
O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.
This song reminds me that we Believers are indeed prone to wander…and by His mercy and grace alone we are kept until the last day…
Let us, however, move on to today’s text and begin reading:
Read Acts 11:19-26
In the first two verses here we are reminded again that it was the persecution of the Believers that led to the scattering that resulted in the Word of God being preached throughout the land and beyond it…all the way to Antioch in modern day Turkey and Cyprus, the island of the coast of modern day Syria and Turkey. I, for one, cannot help but think how truly awesome God is…and how truly foolish are those who think they will hinder the work of God. I have said it many times and I will say it many a thousand times again…God is never in danger of being defeated, and if we dare to think such a thing, then we need to spend some more time reading His Word, that we might be reminded of the character and nature of God!
We see also in verse 19 that those Jews proclaiming the Word were doing so only to other Jews, but in verse 20 we are told that there were some who preached to the Greeks. Now in some translations this verse says Hellensists, which refers to Greek speaking Jews, but I prefer the translation of Greeks because it better supports the context being used here, which ties in verses 19-23 (discuss if necessary).
Whether these disciples had heard of Peter’s vision or not, it seems that they were led by the Spirit to preach not just to Jews but also to the Gentiles. And the Spirit does a mighty work in this area because the Word tells us that “a great number believed and turned to the Lord.”
Here I must once again take my soapbox and say to you brothers and sisters that if you read carefully the Word of God you will note that the duty of the Believer is always the proclamation of the Word of God…its end result, however, is always the work of God.
John Kennedy, a Scottish preacher in the 1800’s, wrote an amazing denunciation of what he called Hyper-Evangelism. I recently read this powerful work and was astounded that he warned of a time which I can sadly confess has come upon us…a time when the purpose of evangelism becomes focused on methods and number of converts rather than on the glory of God. He warned that a time was coming when the nature of God as Judge and deliverer would be left out of evangelism; when the purpose of evangelism would ignore the aspect of His glory in the salvation of man and focus on the sinner as being the bold conqueror reaching out for his salvation. Indeed, he warned of a time when sinners would be encouraged to profess faith but no effort would be made to expect their obedience to the faith they profess…a time when antinomianism would be rife because the church cared more for numbers than for true repentance to the glory of God!!
Brothers and sisters…tell others about Christ because of your immense love for Him…and because of your desire to see many hearts turned to Him in worship and praise…do not do it because you want to add another notch to your belt. This type of witnessing leads to false conversions and un-discipled babies who do not grow because nobody is there to help them…indeed, the church today seems to think there is no real need to disciple, for why should we spend our time doing that when the glorious work of converting them has already been done? God forbid I ever remain in a church that believes this lie!
Now in verse 25 we see Saul re-enter the story…as Barnabas goes to Tarsus (in Acts 9:30 we are told that is where Saul had gone) and teams up with Saul. Together, they go to Antioch and apparently begin teaching and preaching…and so we see in verse 26 that the followers of Jesus begin to be called Christians. Now, whether they began to call themselves this or whether others called them by this name is an interesting question but an irrelevant one, for it does not impact any doctrine or truth whether it be one way or the other. But let's look at what some have said:
Matthew Henry was of the opinion that the name was one the Believers gave themselves…and of verse 26 he says the following:
“[T]hose who before their conversion had been distinguished by the names of Jews and Gentiles might after their conversion be called by one and the same name, which would help them to forget their former dividing names, and prevent their bringing their former marks of distinction, and with them the seeds of contention, into the church. Let not one say, “I was a Jew;” nor the other, “I was a Gentile;” when both the one and the other must now say, “I am a Christian.” [3.] Thus they studied to do honour to their Master, and showed that they were not ashamed to own their relation to him, but gloried in it; as the scholars of Plato called themselves Platonists, and so the scholars of other great men. They took their denomination not from the name of his person, Jesus, but of his office, Christ - anointed, so putting their creed into their names, that Jesus is the Christ; and they were willing all the world should know that this is the truth they will live and die by."
Similarly, Albert Barnes wrote the following regarding this:
“It is…an honored name - the most honorable appellation that can be conferred on a mortal. It suggests at once to a Christian the name of his great Redeemer; the idea of our intimate relation to him; and the thought that we receive him as our chosen Leader, the source of our blessings, the author of our salvation, the fountain of our joys. It is the distinguishing name of all the redeemed. It is not that we belong to this or that denomination; it is not that our names are connected with high and illustrious ancestors; it is not that they are recorded in the books of heraldry; it is not that they stand high in courts, and among the frivolous, the fashionable, and the rich, that true honor is conferred upon men. These are not the things that give distinction and speciality to the followers of the Redeemer. It is that they are “Christians.” This is their special name; by this they are known; this at once suggests their character, their feelings, their doctrines, their hopes, their joys.
This binds them all together - a name which rises above every other appellation; which unites in one the inhabitants of distant nations and tribes of men; which connects the extremes of society, and places them in most important respects on a common level; and which is a bond to unite in one family all those who love the Lord Jesus, though dwelling in different climes, speaking different languages, engaged in different pursuits of life, and occupying distant graves at death. He who lives according to the import of this name is the most blessed and eminent of mortals. This name shall be had in remembrance when the names of royalty shall be remembered no more, and when the appellations of nobility shall cease to amuse or to dazzle the world.”
There is much truth to his words, and I believe in many ways Henry was paraphrasing Paul who wrote in Galatians 3:28 that “there is neither Jew nor Gentile…for we are all one in Christ Jesus.”
In other words, if we, the followers of Jesus are known as Christians, and there can be no false divisions between us…then truly we are brothers and sisters. Remember this when we are tempted to be like the world and divide ourselves by race or ethnicity…none of those foolish things should mean anything in the church, or to the church! Indeed, nothing saddens me more than to read from professed Believers their opinions regarding nationalities other than their own…to hear from their own mouths negative comments about another race. Too often we as Believers are so caught up in the political situations of the world that we forget that our first allegiance belongs to God…that any other allegiance cannot supercede our obedience to His Word…and He says that we are to preach the Word, in season and out of season…because that is what ultimately matters and what is of eternal significance.
Ask: questions or comments?
End in Prayer
Before picking up from here, I want to point us to that last part of verse 18...”Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life.”
You will recall that these words of Peter are uttered in what is called a defense of God’s grace. God had shown Peter through a vision that the Gentiles were to be admitted into the fellowship…and Peter would not stand in the way of God. This brings to mind Romans 9:15, in which Paul reminds us that God Himself says “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.” You see, it was not for Peter to limit God’s grace…no more than it was Jonah’s call to refuse to go to Nineveh. As Peter asks, “who was I that I could withstand God?” The answer to Peter’s rhetorical question is, “nobody.”
Peter was not one to withstand God…
Jonah was not one to withstand God…
and brothers and sister…we are not entitled to withstand God.
Know that there is not one race of man that is excluded from the grace of God, there is not one culture, not one nationality, not one ethnic group that we may exclude from our witnessing efforts. Think about it, how often, if ever, have we met someone that we are reluctant to tell of Jesus…not out of nervousness but because we simply don’t want to…perhaps we think they are not worthy of His grace…but simply put, NOBODY is worthy of His grace!
There is a hymn that I love which sums up how we often are towards God and how we should desire to change.
“Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing”
Come, Thou Fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it,
Mount of Thy redeeming love.
Here I raise my Ebenezer;
Here by Thy great help I’ve come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Bought me with His precious blood.
O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.
This song reminds me that we Believers are indeed prone to wander…and by His mercy and grace alone we are kept until the last day…
Let us, however, move on to today’s text and begin reading:
Read Acts 11:19-26
In the first two verses here we are reminded again that it was the persecution of the Believers that led to the scattering that resulted in the Word of God being preached throughout the land and beyond it…all the way to Antioch in modern day Turkey and Cyprus, the island of the coast of modern day Syria and Turkey. I, for one, cannot help but think how truly awesome God is…and how truly foolish are those who think they will hinder the work of God. I have said it many times and I will say it many a thousand times again…God is never in danger of being defeated, and if we dare to think such a thing, then we need to spend some more time reading His Word, that we might be reminded of the character and nature of God!
We see also in verse 19 that those Jews proclaiming the Word were doing so only to other Jews, but in verse 20 we are told that there were some who preached to the Greeks. Now in some translations this verse says Hellensists, which refers to Greek speaking Jews, but I prefer the translation of Greeks because it better supports the context being used here, which ties in verses 19-23 (discuss if necessary).
Whether these disciples had heard of Peter’s vision or not, it seems that they were led by the Spirit to preach not just to Jews but also to the Gentiles. And the Spirit does a mighty work in this area because the Word tells us that “a great number believed and turned to the Lord.”
Here I must once again take my soapbox and say to you brothers and sisters that if you read carefully the Word of God you will note that the duty of the Believer is always the proclamation of the Word of God…its end result, however, is always the work of God.
John Kennedy, a Scottish preacher in the 1800’s, wrote an amazing denunciation of what he called Hyper-Evangelism. I recently read this powerful work and was astounded that he warned of a time which I can sadly confess has come upon us…a time when the purpose of evangelism becomes focused on methods and number of converts rather than on the glory of God. He warned that a time was coming when the nature of God as Judge and deliverer would be left out of evangelism; when the purpose of evangelism would ignore the aspect of His glory in the salvation of man and focus on the sinner as being the bold conqueror reaching out for his salvation. Indeed, he warned of a time when sinners would be encouraged to profess faith but no effort would be made to expect their obedience to the faith they profess…a time when antinomianism would be rife because the church cared more for numbers than for true repentance to the glory of God!!
Brothers and sisters…tell others about Christ because of your immense love for Him…and because of your desire to see many hearts turned to Him in worship and praise…do not do it because you want to add another notch to your belt. This type of witnessing leads to false conversions and un-discipled babies who do not grow because nobody is there to help them…indeed, the church today seems to think there is no real need to disciple, for why should we spend our time doing that when the glorious work of converting them has already been done? God forbid I ever remain in a church that believes this lie!
Now in verse 25 we see Saul re-enter the story…as Barnabas goes to Tarsus (in Acts 9:30 we are told that is where Saul had gone) and teams up with Saul. Together, they go to Antioch and apparently begin teaching and preaching…and so we see in verse 26 that the followers of Jesus begin to be called Christians. Now, whether they began to call themselves this or whether others called them by this name is an interesting question but an irrelevant one, for it does not impact any doctrine or truth whether it be one way or the other. But let's look at what some have said:
Matthew Henry was of the opinion that the name was one the Believers gave themselves…and of verse 26 he says the following:
“[T]hose who before their conversion had been distinguished by the names of Jews and Gentiles might after their conversion be called by one and the same name, which would help them to forget their former dividing names, and prevent their bringing their former marks of distinction, and with them the seeds of contention, into the church. Let not one say, “I was a Jew;” nor the other, “I was a Gentile;” when both the one and the other must now say, “I am a Christian.” [3.] Thus they studied to do honour to their Master, and showed that they were not ashamed to own their relation to him, but gloried in it; as the scholars of Plato called themselves Platonists, and so the scholars of other great men. They took their denomination not from the name of his person, Jesus, but of his office, Christ - anointed, so putting their creed into their names, that Jesus is the Christ; and they were willing all the world should know that this is the truth they will live and die by."
Similarly, Albert Barnes wrote the following regarding this:
“It is…an honored name - the most honorable appellation that can be conferred on a mortal. It suggests at once to a Christian the name of his great Redeemer; the idea of our intimate relation to him; and the thought that we receive him as our chosen Leader, the source of our blessings, the author of our salvation, the fountain of our joys. It is the distinguishing name of all the redeemed. It is not that we belong to this or that denomination; it is not that our names are connected with high and illustrious ancestors; it is not that they are recorded in the books of heraldry; it is not that they stand high in courts, and among the frivolous, the fashionable, and the rich, that true honor is conferred upon men. These are not the things that give distinction and speciality to the followers of the Redeemer. It is that they are “Christians.” This is their special name; by this they are known; this at once suggests their character, their feelings, their doctrines, their hopes, their joys.
This binds them all together - a name which rises above every other appellation; which unites in one the inhabitants of distant nations and tribes of men; which connects the extremes of society, and places them in most important respects on a common level; and which is a bond to unite in one family all those who love the Lord Jesus, though dwelling in different climes, speaking different languages, engaged in different pursuits of life, and occupying distant graves at death. He who lives according to the import of this name is the most blessed and eminent of mortals. This name shall be had in remembrance when the names of royalty shall be remembered no more, and when the appellations of nobility shall cease to amuse or to dazzle the world.”
There is much truth to his words, and I believe in many ways Henry was paraphrasing Paul who wrote in Galatians 3:28 that “there is neither Jew nor Gentile…for we are all one in Christ Jesus.”
In other words, if we, the followers of Jesus are known as Christians, and there can be no false divisions between us…then truly we are brothers and sisters. Remember this when we are tempted to be like the world and divide ourselves by race or ethnicity…none of those foolish things should mean anything in the church, or to the church! Indeed, nothing saddens me more than to read from professed Believers their opinions regarding nationalities other than their own…to hear from their own mouths negative comments about another race. Too often we as Believers are so caught up in the political situations of the world that we forget that our first allegiance belongs to God…that any other allegiance cannot supercede our obedience to His Word…and He says that we are to preach the Word, in season and out of season…because that is what ultimately matters and what is of eternal significance.
Ask: questions or comments?
End in Prayer
Acts 9:20-31
Last week:
We looked at the amazing conversion of Saul and learned how true it is that it is “by grace through faith” that we are saved, for here was a man dedicated to the abolition, the destruction, of the followers of Christ, yet God says to Ananias “he is a chosen vessel of Mine.” Likewise, we too are His chosen vessels, made alive by the Spirit, and there are good works for which we have been created. These good works are summed up by Christ in John 14:15 in which he says “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” So then, we have been specially set aside just as Saul was, even if the scope of our service and our suffering is not equal to that of his.
Last week we also discussed how Ananias questions God regarding this Saul whom God commands should be healed. God did not owe him a response, but He gives him one. Upon hearing of the amazing providence of God regarding Saul, we note that Ananias “went his way” and greets this former persecutor as “Brother Saul.”
Finally, we read last week how Saul’s eyes are opened up…the Word says “something like scales fell from his eyes.” Such is the condition of every one who does not believe. They have scales over their eyes…and brethren, these scales cannot be taken off by human actions…they can ONLY be removed by a divine action. Therefore it is not the packaging of the message that is important so much as its faithful presentation…
Let us now read Acts 9:20-23
So Saul is converted to the true faith, he spends some time with the local disciples, and then he does what? He begins to preach in the synagogues! And what message does he bring to the Jews? That Jesus is the Son of God!
Note carefully what Saul did…and remember that he was a learned man, well versed in the holy writings. All Jews would acknowledge that the Christ was the Son of God…for Christ is the Greek term for Anointed One…Messiah. What Saul began to do was to boldly profess that this Christ was Jesus! Saul, apparently, was no timid man, for his words were calculated to arouse the anger of the Jews! This was a vessel that bore fruit from the beginning!! Indeed, the Jews are amazed, one who had persecuted the faith is now its evangelist! One whose sole reason for being in the city was to capture the followers of Christ was now in their midst preaching the message!
Imagine that.
But there is more, for note verse 22 which says that Saul went about “proving that this Jesus is the Christ.” How did Saul do this? We could speculate with authority that Saul used the scriptures to prove his claim for Jesus. His arguments were strong, and his ability to present it was without rival.
I love this passage for many reasons, but my chief reason is that it attests to the necessity for us to know our Word. We dare not remain ignorant of what the entire Bible says about Christ! We dare not be idle in our study of the Word…because it is the Word that God will use to bring about the salvation of His people, and if you want to be used by God for this mighty work then you should be intimately familiar with Jesus in both testaments!
Telling someone that Jesus loves them is no substitute for pointing out from the Scriptures why this matters!! Why should they care that Jesus died on the Cross unless they know that sin is so terrible a rebellion against God that it demands the shedding of blood? Why should Jesus dying for us matter unless we know from Exodus that unless the shed blood of an unblemished lamb is present to protect then the destroyer WILL enter!
Note verse 23.
The religious authorities are mad…and they want Saul dead.
Read Acts 9:24-31
Sometimes it is the will of God that His servants go to be with Him. Such was the destiny of Stephen…to be a mighty witness and perish in his witness. Can you imagine how much Saul, after his conversion, must have thought of Stephen’s final address? Can you imagine what a shining example and model Stephen must have been in the life of Saul/Paul? I love to imagine that Stephen was often on the mind of Saul…and someday I’ll ask him if this was the case.
But it was not the will of God for Saul to receive the martyr’s crown yet. And so it is that the disciples help him to escape…and note that he eventually reaches Jerusalem and arouses fear among the Believers in that city (discuss Galatians 1:18 if necessary, in which he first goes to Arabia for three years).
They had VERY good reason to fear him, did they not?
Imagine that Osama Bin Laden received Christ as Lord and Savior of his life. And imagine that he came to Central Valley Baptist! An exaggerated example, but such was how the Believers viewed Saul…one who sought their deaths!! But Barnabas takes Saul to Peter and James and explains everything to them…telling them about Saul’s conversion and of his zeal for the cause of Jesus. So it is that he is accepted and joins with this body.
A word of caution here: We would do well to emulate this example set before us and be careful of those whom we would otherwise so readily admit into our fellowship. All should be welcome, no doubt about that, but before authority is given to them we should make sure of their walk with God. Not just anyone should be able to come in and teach…not just anyone should be allowed to become a deacon, or an elder...
Too often, churches are filled with people who have left other churches for reasons that are less than acceptable…and then we welcome them into our gathering because they are another number to be counted and to add to our association, but we fail to find out from them WHY they left their previous church…But that’s just my opinion and you can take it or leave it!
We do see that after receiving the witness of a well known brother, Saul is admitted and soon he’s about the business for which he was chosen…he’s boldly preaching Jesus as Lord!
He’s soon targeted for death, and Saul once again escapes with the help of the Believers and goes to his home town of Tarsus.
And note verse 31. The churches have rest and are edified…or built up.
First of all, the persecutions likely lessened because the greatest persecutor was now a Believer, but also, it is at this time in history that the Romans begin to have more of an interest in what is happening in this area of their empire. Albert Barnes mentions that it was at this time that Caligula ordered that his statue be set up in the temple of Jerusalem…so we see that the combination of the loss of their persecutor as well as the actions of Rome serve to take the attention of the Jews away from the followers of Jesus.
And so it is that God continues to grow His church, bringing many into His Truth.
End with prayer
We looked at the amazing conversion of Saul and learned how true it is that it is “by grace through faith” that we are saved, for here was a man dedicated to the abolition, the destruction, of the followers of Christ, yet God says to Ananias “he is a chosen vessel of Mine.” Likewise, we too are His chosen vessels, made alive by the Spirit, and there are good works for which we have been created. These good works are summed up by Christ in John 14:15 in which he says “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” So then, we have been specially set aside just as Saul was, even if the scope of our service and our suffering is not equal to that of his.
Last week we also discussed how Ananias questions God regarding this Saul whom God commands should be healed. God did not owe him a response, but He gives him one. Upon hearing of the amazing providence of God regarding Saul, we note that Ananias “went his way” and greets this former persecutor as “Brother Saul.”
Finally, we read last week how Saul’s eyes are opened up…the Word says “something like scales fell from his eyes.” Such is the condition of every one who does not believe. They have scales over their eyes…and brethren, these scales cannot be taken off by human actions…they can ONLY be removed by a divine action. Therefore it is not the packaging of the message that is important so much as its faithful presentation…
Let us now read Acts 9:20-23
So Saul is converted to the true faith, he spends some time with the local disciples, and then he does what? He begins to preach in the synagogues! And what message does he bring to the Jews? That Jesus is the Son of God!
Note carefully what Saul did…and remember that he was a learned man, well versed in the holy writings. All Jews would acknowledge that the Christ was the Son of God…for Christ is the Greek term for Anointed One…Messiah. What Saul began to do was to boldly profess that this Christ was Jesus! Saul, apparently, was no timid man, for his words were calculated to arouse the anger of the Jews! This was a vessel that bore fruit from the beginning!! Indeed, the Jews are amazed, one who had persecuted the faith is now its evangelist! One whose sole reason for being in the city was to capture the followers of Christ was now in their midst preaching the message!
Imagine that.
But there is more, for note verse 22 which says that Saul went about “proving that this Jesus is the Christ.” How did Saul do this? We could speculate with authority that Saul used the scriptures to prove his claim for Jesus. His arguments were strong, and his ability to present it was without rival.
I love this passage for many reasons, but my chief reason is that it attests to the necessity for us to know our Word. We dare not remain ignorant of what the entire Bible says about Christ! We dare not be idle in our study of the Word…because it is the Word that God will use to bring about the salvation of His people, and if you want to be used by God for this mighty work then you should be intimately familiar with Jesus in both testaments!
Telling someone that Jesus loves them is no substitute for pointing out from the Scriptures why this matters!! Why should they care that Jesus died on the Cross unless they know that sin is so terrible a rebellion against God that it demands the shedding of blood? Why should Jesus dying for us matter unless we know from Exodus that unless the shed blood of an unblemished lamb is present to protect then the destroyer WILL enter!
Note verse 23.
The religious authorities are mad…and they want Saul dead.
Read Acts 9:24-31
Sometimes it is the will of God that His servants go to be with Him. Such was the destiny of Stephen…to be a mighty witness and perish in his witness. Can you imagine how much Saul, after his conversion, must have thought of Stephen’s final address? Can you imagine what a shining example and model Stephen must have been in the life of Saul/Paul? I love to imagine that Stephen was often on the mind of Saul…and someday I’ll ask him if this was the case.
But it was not the will of God for Saul to receive the martyr’s crown yet. And so it is that the disciples help him to escape…and note that he eventually reaches Jerusalem and arouses fear among the Believers in that city (discuss Galatians 1:18 if necessary, in which he first goes to Arabia for three years).
They had VERY good reason to fear him, did they not?
Imagine that Osama Bin Laden received Christ as Lord and Savior of his life. And imagine that he came to Central Valley Baptist! An exaggerated example, but such was how the Believers viewed Saul…one who sought their deaths!! But Barnabas takes Saul to Peter and James and explains everything to them…telling them about Saul’s conversion and of his zeal for the cause of Jesus. So it is that he is accepted and joins with this body.
A word of caution here: We would do well to emulate this example set before us and be careful of those whom we would otherwise so readily admit into our fellowship. All should be welcome, no doubt about that, but before authority is given to them we should make sure of their walk with God. Not just anyone should be able to come in and teach…not just anyone should be allowed to become a deacon, or an elder...
Too often, churches are filled with people who have left other churches for reasons that are less than acceptable…and then we welcome them into our gathering because they are another number to be counted and to add to our association, but we fail to find out from them WHY they left their previous church…But that’s just my opinion and you can take it or leave it!
We do see that after receiving the witness of a well known brother, Saul is admitted and soon he’s about the business for which he was chosen…he’s boldly preaching Jesus as Lord!
He’s soon targeted for death, and Saul once again escapes with the help of the Believers and goes to his home town of Tarsus.
And note verse 31. The churches have rest and are edified…or built up.
First of all, the persecutions likely lessened because the greatest persecutor was now a Believer, but also, it is at this time in history that the Romans begin to have more of an interest in what is happening in this area of their empire. Albert Barnes mentions that it was at this time that Caligula ordered that his statue be set up in the temple of Jerusalem…so we see that the combination of the loss of their persecutor as well as the actions of Rome serve to take the attention of the Jews away from the followers of Jesus.
And so it is that God continues to grow His church, bringing many into His Truth.
End with prayer
Acts 7:59-8:25
Last week we studied a portion of Scripture in which we have the record of the first of the many persecutions that the followers of Jesus Christ have endured throughout the centuries…and which many of our brothers and sisters in other parts of the world endure even today. We have discussed, last week and at other times, that even we sometimes endure persecution for our faith…but I do want to make it quite clear and distinguish without a doubt that the persecution that the early church faced and that the church in China and the Middle East endures today is not to be put on the same level as that discomfort which we sometimes endure today and in this country…at least in the Treasure Valley of Idaho.
This first martyrdom we have read about in Acts 7:54-60 is the cataclysm, it is the spark, for the dispersion of the church, for the growth of the very church being hunted down. In it, we see the hand of God. For as a brother last week put it very well…the death of a Believer is a tragedy to those who remain behind…but it is a homecoming celebration for the one who dies…and so very often that death plays the role of midwife to the birth of new Believers!
Acts 7:59-8:4
I have had us read the last two verses of chapter 7 in order to bind together these first few verses of chapter 8. For you see, Stephen is stoned…Stephen dies, and the Word tells us that this Saul consents to that death…in other words, this Saul considered the death of Stephen as a good thing, he agreed wholeheartedly with the sentence being carried out. This Saul, to whom we are introduced in Acts 7:58, is content at the death of Stephen.
Brothers and sisters, allow me to digress and share a thought with you. We all know whom Saul becomes. We all know that in future chapters we shall see his heart of stone made alive…he who now happily approves the death of a follower of Jesus Christ will himself die in the service of that greatest Name of all…he whom we see here as Saul will as Paul write that “to live is Christ, and to die is gain…[f]or I am hard pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better” Philippians 1:21,23
Do you think that after studying his Scriptures, Saul realized what he was doing was wrong…that he was convinced through his observation that to persecute the church was a sin? That having come to this conclusion he decided he’d change his name to Paul and then begin serving this Christ he’d heard about? Obviously no! What happened in the life of Saul was a supernatural and miraculous intervention by the Sovereign God of creation! A miracle that happens every time someone comes to Christ and is saved!
What I am saying is that as we note this man Saul and his eagerness to see Christians die…realize that the power of Christ is truly amazing when it can take this man and turn him into Paul…change his heart to such a degree that instead of attacking the church he becomes its most fervent missionary! This is the incredible power of the God whom we serve…
Look now, however, at the rest of this first verse in chapter 8.
“a great persecution arose”
And again, this persecution led to the dispersion of the faithful from Jerusalem…and accompanying the faithful was that which they were faithful to…the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ as verse 4 tells us.
But look now at verse 3. Saul “[makes] havoc of the church.”
How petty are the ways of men who would make God their enemy. Saul in his zealousness thinks he is vanquishing this sect of Jesus…but he has no clue that this Jesus is the one through Whom the Father created the heavens and the earth!
Read Psalm 2:1-6
Again, how petty are the ways of men who would make God their enemy. Brothers and sisters…when you are in danger of despairing over the wickedness of man…when you are worried that Christians may be losing the battle…think of this portion of Scripture and remember that our God is a Mighty God…that the Father put “all things under [the] feet [of Jesus]” as we are told in Ephesians 1:22 Above all, remember that NEVER is there a danger of the war being lost. God is triumphant already, and His Word tells us that Satan the enemy will be cast into the lake of fire and “will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” Revelation 20:10
Fellow Believers…this is not a mere possibility…this is a certainty.
Amen?
Read Acts 8:5-13
We see in verse 5 that Philip, one of those who had been chosen to serve as a deacon, wanders north to Samaria, quite likely as one of those escaping the persecutions but also likely that he just went out as an evangelist to proclaim the Truth.
In either case, he arrives in the land of Samaria and the preaching of the gospel is accompanied by many signs and wonders…not only to establish the authority of the Truth being proclaimed, but as a means by which to bring about the conversion of those who witnessed the miracles…note that the nature of the miracles included not only healings but also the casting out of demons.
Now we come across the man named Simon, whom the word tells us was one who practiced magic arts. Verse 11 tells us that Simon had been practicing his wicked acts for some time…and convincing them all that he was someone to be reckoned with, in fact, the commentators I read all mentioned that he gave himself out to be sent from God. Even so, the people of the region believed him to be such a servant. But when Philip came, they quickly recognized the true man of God and, as we learn in verse 12, they “believed Philip” and came to faith and were baptized.
Now look at verse 13, in which we read that even the false one, the practitioner of magic…even he believed. The Scripture says he was baptized…and was continually amazed at the things which he saw Philip do in the name of God…amazed perhaps because he say the genuine power of God in practice, as opposed to the false arts which he had previously practiced.
Before we say any more about Simon, let us read the next section and discuss that curious event.
Read Acts 8:14-25
We note first that the church at Jerusalem hears the wondrous news that Samaria has been reached for Christ, and they send the big guns in to help and/or continue the work that has there begun.
The curious thing we learn now is what the apostles do when they arrive. They pray for the people there to receive the Holy Spirit! In fact, verses 16 tells us they did this because the Holy Spirit had not yet fallen on them. “They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.” And so the Scripture tells us that the apostles lay hands on those who had professed faith and then, “they received the Holy Spirit.”
Yet verse 12 tells us that these people had become Believers, with the possible exception of Simon, of whose peculiar circumstance we’ll learn more later.
There are two possibilities here…at least two that I read about. Brother Dave may offer up another one.
1)
This passage refers not necessarily to the actual pouring out of the Holy Spirit, but to the gifts of the Holy Spirit. John Gill and Matthew Henry both propose this, referring to verse 16 which says “as yet He had fallen upon none of them” and interpreting this to mean that His enabling power was not yet theirs until the laying on of hands was done. According to this, then, the gifts were the particular powers of which we later see Simon being envious.
2)
Barnhouse is of the opinion that the apostles came and actually were the conduit if you will, of the Holy Spirit. He maintains that at this point in the life of the church, as close as it was to Pentecost, the Spirit was not actually present upon the moment of conversion as it later on would be and the laying of hands was needed to accomplish this presence.
Regardless, however…the most important thing for us to know is that whatever the case was in this early church, today the Holy Spirit is present upon conversion. Paul says that “having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance…” Ephesians 1:13-14
But let us turn now to the case of Simon.
In verses18-19, we see that Simon offers money to the apostles…and in exchange he wants this ability of theirs!! Hypocrisy is indeed revealed. All commentators agree that Simon is here revealed to be one who falsely professed Christ as Lord and Savior. He believed in his head that which he could not believe in his heart. He was impressed by what he was seeing, but not to the point of submission.
As we see in verse 21...his heart was not right with God.
Note the following as it relates to Simon:
He was called upon to repent and he was described as bound by iniquity.
Note also the response of Simon. Is it one of repentance?
Not necessarily. He does not do as Peter suggests…he does not pray for forgiveness…instead he asks the apostles to pray for him, and he does not ask for a prayer of forgiveness but a prayer of avoidance of punishment! John Gill maintains that the early church fathers taught that this Simon was never converted and in the tradition of the church was one set against the work of God. At any rate, this distasteful episode having been completed…the apostles return to Jerusalem, further preaching the word of God as they made their way home.
Questions or comments?
As a final thought:
What can we learn from this episode?
1. That no persecution can thwart the will of God. Quite the contrary, those who fight against the work of God will discover all too soon that what they meant for evil God will use for good.
2. That we must be mindful of wolves in sheep’s clothing. While it is distasteful to think of it…there are those within the church who seek to destroy the church. We must be ready at all times to stand strong for the Truth’s taught in Scripture. Whether you like to think so or not…doctrine is VERY important. The purity of the teachings of the church must be maintained and fought for, even when those around us want only to have their ears tickled.
End in Prayer
This first martyrdom we have read about in Acts 7:54-60 is the cataclysm, it is the spark, for the dispersion of the church, for the growth of the very church being hunted down. In it, we see the hand of God. For as a brother last week put it very well…the death of a Believer is a tragedy to those who remain behind…but it is a homecoming celebration for the one who dies…and so very often that death plays the role of midwife to the birth of new Believers!
Acts 7:59-8:4
I have had us read the last two verses of chapter 7 in order to bind together these first few verses of chapter 8. For you see, Stephen is stoned…Stephen dies, and the Word tells us that this Saul consents to that death…in other words, this Saul considered the death of Stephen as a good thing, he agreed wholeheartedly with the sentence being carried out. This Saul, to whom we are introduced in Acts 7:58, is content at the death of Stephen.
Brothers and sisters, allow me to digress and share a thought with you. We all know whom Saul becomes. We all know that in future chapters we shall see his heart of stone made alive…he who now happily approves the death of a follower of Jesus Christ will himself die in the service of that greatest Name of all…he whom we see here as Saul will as Paul write that “to live is Christ, and to die is gain…[f]or I am hard pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better” Philippians 1:21,23
Do you think that after studying his Scriptures, Saul realized what he was doing was wrong…that he was convinced through his observation that to persecute the church was a sin? That having come to this conclusion he decided he’d change his name to Paul and then begin serving this Christ he’d heard about? Obviously no! What happened in the life of Saul was a supernatural and miraculous intervention by the Sovereign God of creation! A miracle that happens every time someone comes to Christ and is saved!
What I am saying is that as we note this man Saul and his eagerness to see Christians die…realize that the power of Christ is truly amazing when it can take this man and turn him into Paul…change his heart to such a degree that instead of attacking the church he becomes its most fervent missionary! This is the incredible power of the God whom we serve…
Look now, however, at the rest of this first verse in chapter 8.
“a great persecution arose”
And again, this persecution led to the dispersion of the faithful from Jerusalem…and accompanying the faithful was that which they were faithful to…the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ as verse 4 tells us.
But look now at verse 3. Saul “[makes] havoc of the church.”
How petty are the ways of men who would make God their enemy. Saul in his zealousness thinks he is vanquishing this sect of Jesus…but he has no clue that this Jesus is the one through Whom the Father created the heavens and the earth!
Read Psalm 2:1-6
Again, how petty are the ways of men who would make God their enemy. Brothers and sisters…when you are in danger of despairing over the wickedness of man…when you are worried that Christians may be losing the battle…think of this portion of Scripture and remember that our God is a Mighty God…that the Father put “all things under [the] feet [of Jesus]” as we are told in Ephesians 1:22 Above all, remember that NEVER is there a danger of the war being lost. God is triumphant already, and His Word tells us that Satan the enemy will be cast into the lake of fire and “will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” Revelation 20:10
Fellow Believers…this is not a mere possibility…this is a certainty.
Amen?
Read Acts 8:5-13
We see in verse 5 that Philip, one of those who had been chosen to serve as a deacon, wanders north to Samaria, quite likely as one of those escaping the persecutions but also likely that he just went out as an evangelist to proclaim the Truth.
In either case, he arrives in the land of Samaria and the preaching of the gospel is accompanied by many signs and wonders…not only to establish the authority of the Truth being proclaimed, but as a means by which to bring about the conversion of those who witnessed the miracles…note that the nature of the miracles included not only healings but also the casting out of demons.
Now we come across the man named Simon, whom the word tells us was one who practiced magic arts. Verse 11 tells us that Simon had been practicing his wicked acts for some time…and convincing them all that he was someone to be reckoned with, in fact, the commentators I read all mentioned that he gave himself out to be sent from God. Even so, the people of the region believed him to be such a servant. But when Philip came, they quickly recognized the true man of God and, as we learn in verse 12, they “believed Philip” and came to faith and were baptized.
Now look at verse 13, in which we read that even the false one, the practitioner of magic…even he believed. The Scripture says he was baptized…and was continually amazed at the things which he saw Philip do in the name of God…amazed perhaps because he say the genuine power of God in practice, as opposed to the false arts which he had previously practiced.
Before we say any more about Simon, let us read the next section and discuss that curious event.
Read Acts 8:14-25
We note first that the church at Jerusalem hears the wondrous news that Samaria has been reached for Christ, and they send the big guns in to help and/or continue the work that has there begun.
The curious thing we learn now is what the apostles do when they arrive. They pray for the people there to receive the Holy Spirit! In fact, verses 16 tells us they did this because the Holy Spirit had not yet fallen on them. “They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.” And so the Scripture tells us that the apostles lay hands on those who had professed faith and then, “they received the Holy Spirit.”
Yet verse 12 tells us that these people had become Believers, with the possible exception of Simon, of whose peculiar circumstance we’ll learn more later.
There are two possibilities here…at least two that I read about. Brother Dave may offer up another one.
1)
This passage refers not necessarily to the actual pouring out of the Holy Spirit, but to the gifts of the Holy Spirit. John Gill and Matthew Henry both propose this, referring to verse 16 which says “as yet He had fallen upon none of them” and interpreting this to mean that His enabling power was not yet theirs until the laying on of hands was done. According to this, then, the gifts were the particular powers of which we later see Simon being envious.
2)
Barnhouse is of the opinion that the apostles came and actually were the conduit if you will, of the Holy Spirit. He maintains that at this point in the life of the church, as close as it was to Pentecost, the Spirit was not actually present upon the moment of conversion as it later on would be and the laying of hands was needed to accomplish this presence.
Regardless, however…the most important thing for us to know is that whatever the case was in this early church, today the Holy Spirit is present upon conversion. Paul says that “having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance…” Ephesians 1:13-14
But let us turn now to the case of Simon.
In verses18-19, we see that Simon offers money to the apostles…and in exchange he wants this ability of theirs!! Hypocrisy is indeed revealed. All commentators agree that Simon is here revealed to be one who falsely professed Christ as Lord and Savior. He believed in his head that which he could not believe in his heart. He was impressed by what he was seeing, but not to the point of submission.
As we see in verse 21...his heart was not right with God.
Note the following as it relates to Simon:
He was called upon to repent and he was described as bound by iniquity.
Note also the response of Simon. Is it one of repentance?
Not necessarily. He does not do as Peter suggests…he does not pray for forgiveness…instead he asks the apostles to pray for him, and he does not ask for a prayer of forgiveness but a prayer of avoidance of punishment! John Gill maintains that the early church fathers taught that this Simon was never converted and in the tradition of the church was one set against the work of God. At any rate, this distasteful episode having been completed…the apostles return to Jerusalem, further preaching the word of God as they made their way home.
Questions or comments?
As a final thought:
What can we learn from this episode?
1. That no persecution can thwart the will of God. Quite the contrary, those who fight against the work of God will discover all too soon that what they meant for evil God will use for good.
2. That we must be mindful of wolves in sheep’s clothing. While it is distasteful to think of it…there are those within the church who seek to destroy the church. We must be ready at all times to stand strong for the Truth’s taught in Scripture. Whether you like to think so or not…doctrine is VERY important. The purity of the teachings of the church must be maintained and fought for, even when those around us want only to have their ears tickled.
End in Prayer
Acts 5:33-6:7
This morning we begin our study in Acts 5:33
Remember that last week we read about the trial of the apostles. In Acts 4 we saw how Peter and John had been arrested…now as the church continues to grow in number the religious authorities of that day arrest a certain number of the apostles again…but if u recall, God frees them from their imprisonment.
As we discussed last week…the apostles do not run away and hide, rejoicing in their supernatural liberation…far from it. Instead, they respond in obedience and begin to teach yet again. And so it is that these worthy men are brought before the authorities again and we read how these authorities scold them for teaching the doctrines of Christ.
Here, then, is where we hear that classical response which we all do well to emulate, “We ought to obey God rather than men.” (Acts 5:29)
And so it is that we come to the text for today.
Read Acts 5:33-42
The phrase in verse 33, of course, refers back to verses 30-32, in which Peter boldly puts Jesus forth as the Prince and Savior of Israel…the One whom they murdered. It is this declaration to which the men respond as they do in verse 33...they get so mad they decide these men must die.
Understand, my brothers and sisters, that this is one of the responses that the Truth brings out in people. We’ve heard over and over how Jesus and His message is offensive to people. Romans 9:33, in fact, describes our Lord as “a stumbling stone and a rock of offense.” The message of Jesus, no matter how much we may wish it were otherwise, will turn many away. Those who turn away from the message of Christ recognize what way too many who profess Christ do not: Being a Christian means living a life of obedience…it means more than merely giving lip service to an idea…It means altering our lives!
Note now the words of Gamaliel (who according to Acts 22:3 was the teacher of Paul), especially his summation in verse 39.
“…if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it-lest you even be found to fight against God.”
In one way, this statement is very true, for in the end…those things which are of God will stand while everything else falls apart. In another way, however, this is not necessarily a rule. If we judge things to be of God merely because we perceive them to be successful, then we would conclude that the religion of Mormonism, of Islam, and of Watchtower are of God for they appear to be amazingly successful. In fact, I personally believe that this is one reason why so many churches base success upon numbers…why they fall over themselves wanting to become the next mega church...why they become program driven rather than Word honoring.
But, dear brethren, God does not measure success by numbers. God will not overlook the sins of a pastor because his congregation was huge. He will overlook all sins only if the blood of Christ has atoned for them! Therefore, a successful minister, a successful church, a successful Christian, is that one which lives obediently…the one that takes seriously the command of God to be holy as He is holy!
Look now at verse 40 (read):
At this point the religious authority has no good reason for holding and condemning the apostles, so they let them go…after they have beaten them and forbid them from preaching the gospel of our God.
And note verses 41-42:
First, let us note that they continued to be obedient to God rather than to man. Their love of God, their desire to live victorious lives of obedience, far outweighed any fear of punishment they may have had! Likewise, brothers and sisters, in order for us to truly show the world what it means to believe in Christ we must love God so much that we live obediently even in the face of danger…because we fear besmirching the name of God far more than we fear any retribution that a mere human authority could ever wield against us.
But look carefully again at verse 41 (read):
You can rest assured that the beating the apostles received was severe. You can be confident that their blood was shed, that some may have had bones broken. They were beaten. Their flesh was chastised…and yet…they rejoiced!
To what does the Word attribute their rejoicing?
They rejoiced because of the honor they felt at having suffered for His name’s sake!
They rejoiced because to suffer for His name was assurance that they lived obediently! They were worthy of suffering! Their Master Himself had warned them that they would “be hated by all for…” His name’s sake (Matthew 10:22) The Master, in fact, had told them that this hatred would prove they were His!! “If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” (John 15:19)
It is for this reason, then, that the apostles considered an affirmation of worthiness to suffer the beating they did…it is for this reason that they rejoiced in their suffering!
Brothers and sisters…how do we compare?
Does the world hate us? If not…how worthy are we? When we experience the tiniest bit of suffering for His sake, do we rejoice or blame Him? When we suffer great tribulations for our faith…do we ask God to remove us from the situation, or do we beg Him for the strength to endure and to count it all blessings?
Please do not get me wrong…I am not suggesting that in the midst of persecution we should be smiling and laughing and so on. What I say is that we should ask God NOW, for the ability, the grace, and the strength to respond as Job did in the midst of his suffering. (Paraphrase Job’s suffering)
Remember I have shared with you the story of how "It Is Well With My Soul" came to be written; remember that story as I read to you that wonderful hymn:
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
Refrain
My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
Refrain
And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.
Refrain
Are there are questions or comments?
Read Acts 6:1-7
We see in verse 1 that not all is well in the church. Because people make up the church there will always be problems in any church. So it was in the early church. Those Hellenised Jews complained about not getting equal share of the distribution going on. Widows were being neglected, etc....
Now note verse 2.
Something needed to be done…and it appears that any and all problems were brought to the attention of the apostles who were present. Yet they respond by saying that they could not nor that they should do all of the work. The apostles were the teachers of the church…the preachers, if you will. Their job was to study the Scriptures and to teach the Scriptures. I would remind us here, brethren, that we also need to take care of how much of a burden we place on our leaders. I would not dare to equate our local pastors with any of the apostles…except in that every church has a main teaching pastor whom we must take care of.
The church today expects a pastor to be everywhere and do everything…but that is not right. The Pastor needs time to prepare a sermon…he needs to meet with and counsel people…we should not expect him to also be the one setting up chairs and cooking breakfast for the men’s meetings, as so many churches seem to expect.
But returning to our text we see that the apostles come up with a plan. They are to elect servants in the church. Not spiritual overseers here but servant leaders.
Note in verse 3 that these men are to be godly men…men of good reputation. These, then, are the deacons of the church. In 1 Timothy 3:8-13 we see listed out again the qualifications of these men…who are now named as deacons. We see not only their qualifications, but we see that this position is also clearly marked off from that of elder or bishop/overseer as the Scriptures refers to them. While a deacon might be a proselyte (Acts 6:5) an elder cannot be such a one (1 Timothy 3:6).
What we are seeing here and in 1 Timothy, then, is the setting up of church government.
We have as well, incidentally, our introduction to Stephen, of whom we’ll read more later in this chapter.
Having been freed to focus on study of the Word and prayer, the apostles are used by God to continue to add to the flock…for we are told that the word spread and the disciples multiplied, and even Jewish priests were won over to Christ!
The stage is now set, then, for the story of Stephen…a story which we’ll study next week!
End in prayer.
Remember that last week we read about the trial of the apostles. In Acts 4 we saw how Peter and John had been arrested…now as the church continues to grow in number the religious authorities of that day arrest a certain number of the apostles again…but if u recall, God frees them from their imprisonment.
As we discussed last week…the apostles do not run away and hide, rejoicing in their supernatural liberation…far from it. Instead, they respond in obedience and begin to teach yet again. And so it is that these worthy men are brought before the authorities again and we read how these authorities scold them for teaching the doctrines of Christ.
Here, then, is where we hear that classical response which we all do well to emulate, “We ought to obey God rather than men.” (Acts 5:29)
And so it is that we come to the text for today.
Read Acts 5:33-42
The phrase in verse 33, of course, refers back to verses 30-32, in which Peter boldly puts Jesus forth as the Prince and Savior of Israel…the One whom they murdered. It is this declaration to which the men respond as they do in verse 33...they get so mad they decide these men must die.
Understand, my brothers and sisters, that this is one of the responses that the Truth brings out in people. We’ve heard over and over how Jesus and His message is offensive to people. Romans 9:33, in fact, describes our Lord as “a stumbling stone and a rock of offense.” The message of Jesus, no matter how much we may wish it were otherwise, will turn many away. Those who turn away from the message of Christ recognize what way too many who profess Christ do not: Being a Christian means living a life of obedience…it means more than merely giving lip service to an idea…It means altering our lives!
Note now the words of Gamaliel (who according to Acts 22:3 was the teacher of Paul), especially his summation in verse 39.
“…if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it-lest you even be found to fight against God.”
In one way, this statement is very true, for in the end…those things which are of God will stand while everything else falls apart. In another way, however, this is not necessarily a rule. If we judge things to be of God merely because we perceive them to be successful, then we would conclude that the religion of Mormonism, of Islam, and of Watchtower are of God for they appear to be amazingly successful. In fact, I personally believe that this is one reason why so many churches base success upon numbers…why they fall over themselves wanting to become the next mega church...why they become program driven rather than Word honoring.
But, dear brethren, God does not measure success by numbers. God will not overlook the sins of a pastor because his congregation was huge. He will overlook all sins only if the blood of Christ has atoned for them! Therefore, a successful minister, a successful church, a successful Christian, is that one which lives obediently…the one that takes seriously the command of God to be holy as He is holy!
Look now at verse 40 (read):
At this point the religious authority has no good reason for holding and condemning the apostles, so they let them go…after they have beaten them and forbid them from preaching the gospel of our God.
And note verses 41-42:
First, let us note that they continued to be obedient to God rather than to man. Their love of God, their desire to live victorious lives of obedience, far outweighed any fear of punishment they may have had! Likewise, brothers and sisters, in order for us to truly show the world what it means to believe in Christ we must love God so much that we live obediently even in the face of danger…because we fear besmirching the name of God far more than we fear any retribution that a mere human authority could ever wield against us.
But look carefully again at verse 41 (read):
You can rest assured that the beating the apostles received was severe. You can be confident that their blood was shed, that some may have had bones broken. They were beaten. Their flesh was chastised…and yet…they rejoiced!
To what does the Word attribute their rejoicing?
They rejoiced because of the honor they felt at having suffered for His name’s sake!
They rejoiced because to suffer for His name was assurance that they lived obediently! They were worthy of suffering! Their Master Himself had warned them that they would “be hated by all for…” His name’s sake (Matthew 10:22) The Master, in fact, had told them that this hatred would prove they were His!! “If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” (John 15:19)
It is for this reason, then, that the apostles considered an affirmation of worthiness to suffer the beating they did…it is for this reason that they rejoiced in their suffering!
Brothers and sisters…how do we compare?
Does the world hate us? If not…how worthy are we? When we experience the tiniest bit of suffering for His sake, do we rejoice or blame Him? When we suffer great tribulations for our faith…do we ask God to remove us from the situation, or do we beg Him for the strength to endure and to count it all blessings?
Please do not get me wrong…I am not suggesting that in the midst of persecution we should be smiling and laughing and so on. What I say is that we should ask God NOW, for the ability, the grace, and the strength to respond as Job did in the midst of his suffering. (Paraphrase Job’s suffering)
Remember I have shared with you the story of how "It Is Well With My Soul" came to be written; remember that story as I read to you that wonderful hymn:
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
Refrain
My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
Refrain
And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.
Refrain
Are there are questions or comments?
Read Acts 6:1-7
We see in verse 1 that not all is well in the church. Because people make up the church there will always be problems in any church. So it was in the early church. Those Hellenised Jews complained about not getting equal share of the distribution going on. Widows were being neglected, etc....
Now note verse 2.
Something needed to be done…and it appears that any and all problems were brought to the attention of the apostles who were present. Yet they respond by saying that they could not nor that they should do all of the work. The apostles were the teachers of the church…the preachers, if you will. Their job was to study the Scriptures and to teach the Scriptures. I would remind us here, brethren, that we also need to take care of how much of a burden we place on our leaders. I would not dare to equate our local pastors with any of the apostles…except in that every church has a main teaching pastor whom we must take care of.
The church today expects a pastor to be everywhere and do everything…but that is not right. The Pastor needs time to prepare a sermon…he needs to meet with and counsel people…we should not expect him to also be the one setting up chairs and cooking breakfast for the men’s meetings, as so many churches seem to expect.
But returning to our text we see that the apostles come up with a plan. They are to elect servants in the church. Not spiritual overseers here but servant leaders.
Note in verse 3 that these men are to be godly men…men of good reputation. These, then, are the deacons of the church. In 1 Timothy 3:8-13 we see listed out again the qualifications of these men…who are now named as deacons. We see not only their qualifications, but we see that this position is also clearly marked off from that of elder or bishop/overseer as the Scriptures refers to them. While a deacon might be a proselyte (Acts 6:5) an elder cannot be such a one (1 Timothy 3:6).
What we are seeing here and in 1 Timothy, then, is the setting up of church government.
We have as well, incidentally, our introduction to Stephen, of whom we’ll read more later in this chapter.
Having been freed to focus on study of the Word and prayer, the apostles are used by God to continue to add to the flock…for we are told that the word spread and the disciples multiplied, and even Jewish priests were won over to Christ!
The stage is now set, then, for the story of Stephen…a story which we’ll study next week!
End in prayer.
That's My King!
I met today with the pastor of Sovereign Grace Fellowship here in Nampa and he mentioned this video to me, so of course as soon as I returned to work I looked it up! Wow...it's pretty good. Take a moment, if you will, to watch and listen, I think you will be impacted...and above all I hope (as I'm sure Mr. SM Lockridge intended) it leads you straight to the Word of God where you can learn every day more and more about our awesome and amazing God. Mr. Lockdridge, of whom I don't yet know much, is the man speaking in this little presentation.
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
Acts 4:32-5:11
Today we will begin in Acts 4:32
First, however, I want us to just recall a couple of things about what you probably learned last week. And really, it is not so much what you may have learned as, I sincerely hope, what the Word has reinforced.
The early church grew and increased in numbers through the proclamation of the Gospel, and the Gospel consisted in the truth of the Person of Jesus Christ. In Acts 4:12 Peter informs the Sanhedrin that salvation lies in the name of Jesus alone! Brothers and sistes, a church that foregoes this one truth is no church at all. Remember always that salvation does not lie in the name of Mohammed, nor does it lie in the supposed infallibility of the Bishop of Rome; and certainly it does not lie in any work that we might accomplish. No, and in this I know that I preach to the choir, salvation lies only in the name of Jesus Christ. This is a supernatural thing and not a natural thing. By this I mean that I can teach and proclaim the name of Christ until I lose my voice and my abilities will in no way convince anyone to repent. On the other hand, the power inherent in Christ is able to soften the hardest of hearts and convince the most doubtful of men and women.
The other thing of importance is that teaching found in Acts 4:19-20; which is so similar to Acts 5:29. Remember that the Apostles have been ordered to preach no more in the name of Jesus. They refuse and make the comment that God’s commands are far more important than those of mere men, no matter how powerful those men think they are. Likewise, brothers and sisters, this Word that we hold, for which our brethren in other parts of the world die, should be worthy of our defense. Think about it; and think about it in repentance if this applies to you…how many of us have our Bibles gathering dust? How many books or magazines do we read in one week as opposed to the Bible? And yet this is the book written FOR US by men who were inspired to do so by the Holy Spirit!! And why was it written? That we may know the commands of our Master and do them. Brothers and sisters, we cannot know how to obey God if we do not have His Word before us…therefore if we also are to obey God rather than man…then we’d better know what our God commands!!
So then I pray that these are thoughts and musings that you interact with every day…that daily battle in which we die to self…
Read Acts 4:32-37
Note and stand in awe of this early church. I have in the past and even now longed for a time when the church of our day was a mirror of this church recorded for us in this book. I have often wondered why it is not so.
The answer, I believe, to why the church today so little resembles this one we read about is that we are not “of one heart and one soul.” We live in a time when the individual is sacred and the desire for what satisfies ME is paramount. We don’t think communally. And even this is due to the fact that while we strive to be obedient to our God we fail to do it in full confidence. In other words, we KNOW what the Bible says, too often because we’ve been told and not because we’ve read it…but even when we’ve read it…obedience comes slowly because we have fear of man in our hearts rather than fear of God.
We fail to live the victorious life because rather than desire and hunger to live righteously for God we care too much what our neighbors, our friends, and our families think of us! And I believe that a major cause of this has been the idea popular in too many churches that the Lordship of Christ is something separate from salvation in Christ! Pray a prayer, mouth some words and you’ve purchased your ticket…now you can live like a heathen because salvation is assured! But brothers and sisters, assurance of salvation, eternal security, whatever you want to call it…it is for the Believer…and the Believer does not take lightly the Lordship of Christ. For us to be Christians means He is our Lord and we are His servants…
But as you well know, I can go on and on with this theme…
I was reading J Vernon McGee’s commentary on this passage and he said the following:
“This kind of living [would lead to] utter chaos. Why? Because there must first be the same high spiritual level, and we don’t have that today. Let us be honest and face up to it. We need to come into a closer relationship to the person of Jesus Christ.”
What this late brother was saying is that the church today lacks the fervor and zeal for the name of Christ that the early church had…and this is not to say that some do not have it today nor that all had it then, as we’ll see in just a bit. What it means is that as a whole, the church back then sought to be obedient far more than, as a whole, the church does today.
Note now verses 36-37.
Barnabas is here introduced and it is in relation to what his zeal for the Lord has led him to do. This not only tells us what kind of man Barnabas was but also sets the stage for the events of chapter 5.
Read Acts 5:1-11
We have seen that the early church was full of zeal…and yet even here we see an example of sin in the church.
All of you are fully aware, of course, that this couple did not die because they did not give all of their money, but for lying about it. They could have given what they did and simply said that was how much they had given.
In fact, as Peter says to Ananias, the money was his to do with as he pleased. But what this couple wanted was to receive the adulation of their brethren! Similar to the Pharisees who loudly proclaimed how much they were giving…the piety expressed by Ananias and Sapphira was self serving and not genuine.
Realize this: Whatever we do in service of God, we must do it regardless of whether anyone other than God will notice us doing it!
Another thing on this issue I’d like to touch on is the fact that nobody was under obligation to give all or part of what they made. I realize that I stand in the minority…but I do not believe that a tithe is a requirement for those of us under grace. Does this mean we should not give? Far from it!
Remember that nobody in the church was required to give anything…that people gave was a testimony to their desire to give to the work of the Lord and is a testimony of their love for God.
I say that each should give according to how the Lord leads you to do so. And be perfectly honest…the Lord often leads us to give far more than a mere 10% of their income. The testimony of the early church declares the truth that many gave everything they had!!!
J Vernon McGee writes the following:
“I don’t like to have people sing the song that talks about putting “my all” on the altar. Unfortunately, that makes liars out of the people who are singing. We need to be very careful about the songs we sing. A vow to the Lord should never be made lightly.”
In other words, brothers and sisters, give as you are led to give and as you vow to give. But really, being under grace so very often leads people to give far more than they would otherwise give. Take as an example the story of the widow and her two mites (found in Luke 21 and Mark 12:41-44) Do you remember it? [discuss and talk about the banner “Equal sacrifice-unequal giving”]
Note the importance of verses 3-4)
“But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit…” To whom does Peter say Ananias lied? The Holy Spirit.
Verse 4)
“…You have not lied to men but to God”
The only reason I bring this up is because here lies a clear refutation of the idea that the Holy Spirit is NOT God. The Jehovah’s Witnesses claim that the Spirit is merely a force…the aura of God if you will…but the Word tells us that the Holy Spirit is a Person…that He is the third member of the Triune God…that He is God. So understand this: The Father is God…The Son is God…and the Holy Spirit is God.
Let me ask you a question.
Who killed Ananias and Sapphira?
God did.
Do we then, attribute unto God the charge of murder?
God Forbid!!
The Lord did no wrong in striking down this couple…no more than He would be guilty of a crime were He to strike anyone in this room right now.
This is a hard thing for some of us to take in…that God would strike people dead…yet as with all other things, God is the Sovereign of lives. The Lord gives…and the Lord takes away…and our ONLY response to this should be “blessed be the name of the Lord.” I will not say it is an easy thing to do…nor will I say I am confident of such a response on my part were the Lord to call Joy or my children home…nevertheless, it is how we MUST respond.
[share the story of how the hymn “It is well with my soul” came to be]
Since I have been referring to J Vernon McGee so much…I will end today’s lesson with some more thoughts from him.
He refers to this incident and stands amazed that such was the high calling of the early church that such lies could not be permitted. God killed two who professed Him as Lord for lying to Him…for doing that which they should have known they could not do.
In our church today…hypocrites and liars fill our congregations. And I do not refer here to all of us who struggle with particular sins…but to those who pretend to be what they are not and yet hold positions of leadership in our churches…who often teach in our churches…McGee says the following:
“Today the worst kinds of hypocrites can get into our Bible churches. They are not good at coming to Bible studies…but they can hold offices and even run the church. If those who lied to God in our churches were to drop down dead, we would have a lot of funerals.”
Convicting words, are they not? Brothers and sisters…I stand before you to tell you today that I am as guilty of this as anyone else. I too desire to be liked…but I make you a promise that I know Brother David would also make. I will always teach from the Word of God...always. The day I am told that I may not use this beautiful book is the day I stop teaching within the church that tells me to stop. I will never shy away from what the Lord has taught me…I cannot tell you how often I have been nervous about lessons I was to bring before you…knowing that someone would be upset with me because I taught on doctrine they disagreed with…but I pray that God never permits me to back down for fear of offending ANYONE.
Why do I tell you this? Because I want to be plain and honest before you. I don’t want to be a hypocrite. I ask and beg that if you ever have reason to rebuke me that you do so. But do so in a loving way and not behind my back!! And in what manner must you rebuke me in order for me not to dismiss you out of hand?
With the Word of God and the relevant passages in your hand…Amen?
End with prayer.
First, however, I want us to just recall a couple of things about what you probably learned last week. And really, it is not so much what you may have learned as, I sincerely hope, what the Word has reinforced.
The early church grew and increased in numbers through the proclamation of the Gospel, and the Gospel consisted in the truth of the Person of Jesus Christ. In Acts 4:12 Peter informs the Sanhedrin that salvation lies in the name of Jesus alone! Brothers and sistes, a church that foregoes this one truth is no church at all. Remember always that salvation does not lie in the name of Mohammed, nor does it lie in the supposed infallibility of the Bishop of Rome; and certainly it does not lie in any work that we might accomplish. No, and in this I know that I preach to the choir, salvation lies only in the name of Jesus Christ. This is a supernatural thing and not a natural thing. By this I mean that I can teach and proclaim the name of Christ until I lose my voice and my abilities will in no way convince anyone to repent. On the other hand, the power inherent in Christ is able to soften the hardest of hearts and convince the most doubtful of men and women.
The other thing of importance is that teaching found in Acts 4:19-20; which is so similar to Acts 5:29. Remember that the Apostles have been ordered to preach no more in the name of Jesus. They refuse and make the comment that God’s commands are far more important than those of mere men, no matter how powerful those men think they are. Likewise, brothers and sisters, this Word that we hold, for which our brethren in other parts of the world die, should be worthy of our defense. Think about it; and think about it in repentance if this applies to you…how many of us have our Bibles gathering dust? How many books or magazines do we read in one week as opposed to the Bible? And yet this is the book written FOR US by men who were inspired to do so by the Holy Spirit!! And why was it written? That we may know the commands of our Master and do them. Brothers and sisters, we cannot know how to obey God if we do not have His Word before us…therefore if we also are to obey God rather than man…then we’d better know what our God commands!!
So then I pray that these are thoughts and musings that you interact with every day…that daily battle in which we die to self…
Read Acts 4:32-37
Note and stand in awe of this early church. I have in the past and even now longed for a time when the church of our day was a mirror of this church recorded for us in this book. I have often wondered why it is not so.
The answer, I believe, to why the church today so little resembles this one we read about is that we are not “of one heart and one soul.” We live in a time when the individual is sacred and the desire for what satisfies ME is paramount. We don’t think communally. And even this is due to the fact that while we strive to be obedient to our God we fail to do it in full confidence. In other words, we KNOW what the Bible says, too often because we’ve been told and not because we’ve read it…but even when we’ve read it…obedience comes slowly because we have fear of man in our hearts rather than fear of God.
We fail to live the victorious life because rather than desire and hunger to live righteously for God we care too much what our neighbors, our friends, and our families think of us! And I believe that a major cause of this has been the idea popular in too many churches that the Lordship of Christ is something separate from salvation in Christ! Pray a prayer, mouth some words and you’ve purchased your ticket…now you can live like a heathen because salvation is assured! But brothers and sisters, assurance of salvation, eternal security, whatever you want to call it…it is for the Believer…and the Believer does not take lightly the Lordship of Christ. For us to be Christians means He is our Lord and we are His servants…
But as you well know, I can go on and on with this theme…
I was reading J Vernon McGee’s commentary on this passage and he said the following:
“This kind of living [would lead to] utter chaos. Why? Because there must first be the same high spiritual level, and we don’t have that today. Let us be honest and face up to it. We need to come into a closer relationship to the person of Jesus Christ.”
What this late brother was saying is that the church today lacks the fervor and zeal for the name of Christ that the early church had…and this is not to say that some do not have it today nor that all had it then, as we’ll see in just a bit. What it means is that as a whole, the church back then sought to be obedient far more than, as a whole, the church does today.
Note now verses 36-37.
Barnabas is here introduced and it is in relation to what his zeal for the Lord has led him to do. This not only tells us what kind of man Barnabas was but also sets the stage for the events of chapter 5.
Read Acts 5:1-11
We have seen that the early church was full of zeal…and yet even here we see an example of sin in the church.
All of you are fully aware, of course, that this couple did not die because they did not give all of their money, but for lying about it. They could have given what they did and simply said that was how much they had given.
In fact, as Peter says to Ananias, the money was his to do with as he pleased. But what this couple wanted was to receive the adulation of their brethren! Similar to the Pharisees who loudly proclaimed how much they were giving…the piety expressed by Ananias and Sapphira was self serving and not genuine.
Realize this: Whatever we do in service of God, we must do it regardless of whether anyone other than God will notice us doing it!
Another thing on this issue I’d like to touch on is the fact that nobody was under obligation to give all or part of what they made. I realize that I stand in the minority…but I do not believe that a tithe is a requirement for those of us under grace. Does this mean we should not give? Far from it!
Remember that nobody in the church was required to give anything…that people gave was a testimony to their desire to give to the work of the Lord and is a testimony of their love for God.
I say that each should give according to how the Lord leads you to do so. And be perfectly honest…the Lord often leads us to give far more than a mere 10% of their income. The testimony of the early church declares the truth that many gave everything they had!!!
J Vernon McGee writes the following:
“I don’t like to have people sing the song that talks about putting “my all” on the altar. Unfortunately, that makes liars out of the people who are singing. We need to be very careful about the songs we sing. A vow to the Lord should never be made lightly.”
In other words, brothers and sisters, give as you are led to give and as you vow to give. But really, being under grace so very often leads people to give far more than they would otherwise give. Take as an example the story of the widow and her two mites (found in Luke 21 and Mark 12:41-44) Do you remember it? [discuss and talk about the banner “Equal sacrifice-unequal giving”]
Note the importance of verses 3-4)
“But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit…” To whom does Peter say Ananias lied? The Holy Spirit.
Verse 4)
“…You have not lied to men but to God”
The only reason I bring this up is because here lies a clear refutation of the idea that the Holy Spirit is NOT God. The Jehovah’s Witnesses claim that the Spirit is merely a force…the aura of God if you will…but the Word tells us that the Holy Spirit is a Person…that He is the third member of the Triune God…that He is God. So understand this: The Father is God…The Son is God…and the Holy Spirit is God.
Let me ask you a question.
Who killed Ananias and Sapphira?
God did.
Do we then, attribute unto God the charge of murder?
God Forbid!!
The Lord did no wrong in striking down this couple…no more than He would be guilty of a crime were He to strike anyone in this room right now.
This is a hard thing for some of us to take in…that God would strike people dead…yet as with all other things, God is the Sovereign of lives. The Lord gives…and the Lord takes away…and our ONLY response to this should be “blessed be the name of the Lord.” I will not say it is an easy thing to do…nor will I say I am confident of such a response on my part were the Lord to call Joy or my children home…nevertheless, it is how we MUST respond.
[share the story of how the hymn “It is well with my soul” came to be]
Since I have been referring to J Vernon McGee so much…I will end today’s lesson with some more thoughts from him.
He refers to this incident and stands amazed that such was the high calling of the early church that such lies could not be permitted. God killed two who professed Him as Lord for lying to Him…for doing that which they should have known they could not do.
In our church today…hypocrites and liars fill our congregations. And I do not refer here to all of us who struggle with particular sins…but to those who pretend to be what they are not and yet hold positions of leadership in our churches…who often teach in our churches…McGee says the following:
“Today the worst kinds of hypocrites can get into our Bible churches. They are not good at coming to Bible studies…but they can hold offices and even run the church. If those who lied to God in our churches were to drop down dead, we would have a lot of funerals.”
Convicting words, are they not? Brothers and sisters…I stand before you to tell you today that I am as guilty of this as anyone else. I too desire to be liked…but I make you a promise that I know Brother David would also make. I will always teach from the Word of God...always. The day I am told that I may not use this beautiful book is the day I stop teaching within the church that tells me to stop. I will never shy away from what the Lord has taught me…I cannot tell you how often I have been nervous about lessons I was to bring before you…knowing that someone would be upset with me because I taught on doctrine they disagreed with…but I pray that God never permits me to back down for fear of offending ANYONE.
Why do I tell you this? Because I want to be plain and honest before you. I don’t want to be a hypocrite. I ask and beg that if you ever have reason to rebuke me that you do so. But do so in a loving way and not behind my back!! And in what manner must you rebuke me in order for me not to dismiss you out of hand?
With the Word of God and the relevant passages in your hand…Amen?
End with prayer.
Monday, September 17, 2007
President Mohler attacked!
As some of you may know, President Mohler has been attacked on the SBCOutpost blog publicly by Boyd Luter, and anonymously by a professor at either Southern or Southwestern. In his blog, Luter praised SBC President Page for his moderation and his self-controlled manner, and then unleashed an unprovoked attack upon Mohler and his associates, saying that Mohler's seminary report to the SBC messengers was "angry populist rhetoric."
He also outrightly accuses Mohler and other leaders in the Conservative Resurgence as being in sin, saying:
"But, you say, how do I know what they did in San Antonio [where the 2007 annual meeting was held back in June] was sin? Very simply: Mohler and the other entity heads in question were already heating up (anger-wise) on Tuesday night even before the vote, got even much more heated after the vote and were fully incensed on Wednesday morning, when the outcome of the vote was made public. Very specifically, in the way Paul expresses things in Ephesians 4:26-27, that is “letting the sun go down on your anger,” which is sin.
And, although this applies just as much to any of us, considering the expected candidacy of Al Mohler for President of the Convention in 2008 in Indianapolis, it is worth asking: Why should the SBC elect someone who allowed himself to be angrily controlled by the flesh in making his seminary report in San Antonio? Why would we elect someone to the highest office in the Southern Baptist Convention who gave the Devil a foothold in his life through his anger (Ephesians 4:27)?
Honestly, why should we respect a man who does not display the spiritual sensitivity and wisdom to responsibly own his sin and humbly apologize to the Convention? I know that I would very much respect such humble contrition, but not the macho stonewalling on this subject now over two months in duration."
Having publicly maligned Mohler and others, Luter adds "Who does Mohler–and his fellow entity heads–think they’re fooling spiritually? Apparently themselves, because they’re not fooling God and the only part of the SBC they’re fooling is the CR rank-and-file, with whom they can do no wrong."
Did you get that? Only we ignorant followers of Mohler could possibly believe him and his fellows! Only those of us who consider ourselves conservatives would support such a man because, of course, the doctrines of grace have so led us astray that we are unable to do anything but blindly follow our leaders! Please! The true motive for this attack is made clear when you reread a portion of what Luter says above, " considering the expected candidacy of Al Mohler for President of the Convention in 2008 in Indianapolis."
Ahh....so is this what the problem is? Are the enemies of conservative, Scriptural theology within the Southern Baptist Convention already gearing up to ambush and destroy the candidacy of Mohler for SBC President? It would seem like it dont you think? Think about it...the Founder's group is led by a professor at Southern Seminary who is also a good friend to Dr. Mohler; and Mohler himself has unequivocally stated his belief in the doctrines of grace. Is this the real problem? Keep in mind that within the SBC there are many pastors vigorously opposed to these doctrines...the pastor of the church I just came out of once told me that if the Founders ever gained control of the SBC he would need to make a hard choice because of how strongly he opposed them (this same pastor presented me with "a hard choice" of whether to remain in his church...preferring this tidy option to the messy one of actually confronting sin and borderline heresy within the church). So we see how truly scary it must seem for the enemies of Mohler to visualize him as President in 2008!
Well, enough of my rant. Yes, I am an admirer of Dr. Mohler; I make no apologies for admiring this stalwart man of God. And yes, I identify with the goals of the Founders. But if you think there is any basis or foundation for the rabid attacks upon Mohler, check out the posted link to the actual speech of Dr. Mohler in which he is supposedly sinning by his anger! See for yourself a supposedly angry Mohler delivering his seminary report. Then tell me Luter has noble intentions. All I see is the passion that makes Mohler the man of God I've always thought him to be...all I hear is the same zealousness for Him that I've heard countless times in his sermons before his seminary students.
I was already suspicious and wary of Luter for his editorship of the NLT version of The Life Recover Bible (keep in mind the NLT is gender neutral), but now I am completely disillusioned with him.
Anyhow, link to Mohler's delivery below. I have watched the video presentation a number of times, and all I see is a man of conviction who loves the Lord. But hey, I'm just one of those "CR rank-and-file" peasants.
http://viewers.316networks.com/viewer/viewerframes_parent.asp?b=&p=&WMP=1&WMPv=7&RPIE=1&sp=&networkID=3001187&gid=0&MsoID=3000005&CategoryID=1001259&rnd=705&odcid=6013184
He also outrightly accuses Mohler and other leaders in the Conservative Resurgence as being in sin, saying:
"But, you say, how do I know what they did in San Antonio [where the 2007 annual meeting was held back in June] was sin? Very simply: Mohler and the other entity heads in question were already heating up (anger-wise) on Tuesday night even before the vote, got even much more heated after the vote and were fully incensed on Wednesday morning, when the outcome of the vote was made public. Very specifically, in the way Paul expresses things in Ephesians 4:26-27, that is “letting the sun go down on your anger,” which is sin.
And, although this applies just as much to any of us, considering the expected candidacy of Al Mohler for President of the Convention in 2008 in Indianapolis, it is worth asking: Why should the SBC elect someone who allowed himself to be angrily controlled by the flesh in making his seminary report in San Antonio? Why would we elect someone to the highest office in the Southern Baptist Convention who gave the Devil a foothold in his life through his anger (Ephesians 4:27)?
Honestly, why should we respect a man who does not display the spiritual sensitivity and wisdom to responsibly own his sin and humbly apologize to the Convention? I know that I would very much respect such humble contrition, but not the macho stonewalling on this subject now over two months in duration."
Having publicly maligned Mohler and others, Luter adds "Who does Mohler–and his fellow entity heads–think they’re fooling spiritually? Apparently themselves, because they’re not fooling God and the only part of the SBC they’re fooling is the CR rank-and-file, with whom they can do no wrong."
Did you get that? Only we ignorant followers of Mohler could possibly believe him and his fellows! Only those of us who consider ourselves conservatives would support such a man because, of course, the doctrines of grace have so led us astray that we are unable to do anything but blindly follow our leaders! Please! The true motive for this attack is made clear when you reread a portion of what Luter says above, " considering the expected candidacy of Al Mohler for President of the Convention in 2008 in Indianapolis."
Ahh....so is this what the problem is? Are the enemies of conservative, Scriptural theology within the Southern Baptist Convention already gearing up to ambush and destroy the candidacy of Mohler for SBC President? It would seem like it dont you think? Think about it...the Founder's group is led by a professor at Southern Seminary who is also a good friend to Dr. Mohler; and Mohler himself has unequivocally stated his belief in the doctrines of grace. Is this the real problem? Keep in mind that within the SBC there are many pastors vigorously opposed to these doctrines...the pastor of the church I just came out of once told me that if the Founders ever gained control of the SBC he would need to make a hard choice because of how strongly he opposed them (this same pastor presented me with "a hard choice" of whether to remain in his church...preferring this tidy option to the messy one of actually confronting sin and borderline heresy within the church). So we see how truly scary it must seem for the enemies of Mohler to visualize him as President in 2008!
Well, enough of my rant. Yes, I am an admirer of Dr. Mohler; I make no apologies for admiring this stalwart man of God. And yes, I identify with the goals of the Founders. But if you think there is any basis or foundation for the rabid attacks upon Mohler, check out the posted link to the actual speech of Dr. Mohler in which he is supposedly sinning by his anger! See for yourself a supposedly angry Mohler delivering his seminary report. Then tell me Luter has noble intentions. All I see is the passion that makes Mohler the man of God I've always thought him to be...all I hear is the same zealousness for Him that I've heard countless times in his sermons before his seminary students.
I was already suspicious and wary of Luter for his editorship of the NLT version of The Life Recover Bible (keep in mind the NLT is gender neutral), but now I am completely disillusioned with him.
Anyhow, link to Mohler's delivery below. I have watched the video presentation a number of times, and all I see is a man of conviction who loves the Lord. But hey, I'm just one of those "CR rank-and-file" peasants.
http://viewers.316networks.com/viewer/viewerframes_parent.asp?b=&p=&WMP=1&WMPv=7&RPIE=1&sp=&networkID=3001187&gid=0&MsoID=3000005&CategoryID=1001259&rnd=705&odcid=6013184
Sermons on the Apostles' Creed
This is not a post in which I will rant away or anthing like that, I promise! :) No, this is an FYI to whomever is reading this that President Al Mohler of Southern Seminary started a series of sermons on the Apostles' Creed. He began with an introduction on August 21, 2007 and on the 13th of this month (September) he preached on the section "Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord"
I know that too many people nowadays have drifted away from creeds, especially, as Mohler himself states, those in the Baptist tradition (with which I will firmly identify all my life). Unfortunately as we have done away with creeds and confessions we have done away with valuable tools that permitted us to express and affirm that which the Scriptures teach. Confessions and creeds NEVER took the place of Scripture, nor did they have any authority aside from that given by Scripture, except in the case of the Roman Catholic Church. Interestingly enough, we may, after the 2007 Southern Baptist Conference, as well refer to the Baptist Faith and Message as the Southern Baptist creed! If you don't know what I mean look up the latest discussion and vote in regards to it! And by the way, I don't by any means disagree with the SBC in what they did...in fact I think it's a step in the right direction, a direction in which they will affirm what it means to be a Southern Baptist so that all those who identify themselves as such and yet reject the very thing that makes someone a Southern Baptist can finally be identified as what they are!
In any case, the Apostles' Creed, for those unfamiliar with it, goes as follows:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
the Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:
Who was conceived of the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended into hell.
The third day He arose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven
and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty,
whence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church [meaning the universal church and not Roman Catholicism],
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting.
Amen.
This is what Al Mohler's new series is on, and I urge all of you to go to following website to listen to him preach on it...download the sermons, burn them, and listen to them in your car or give them away to your friends! :)
http://www.sbts.edu/resources/Audio_Resources/Chapel_Messages/Fall_2007.aspx
One thing you may have noted is that I italicized and put in bold the phrase "He descended into hell." That is because I am interested in hearing what Mohler has to say on it, in light of the fact that I don't agree with most interpretations of what was meant by this, and also on the fact that as originally written, the Creed did not include this part.
Well, make sure you listen to the sermons, especially all of you Southern Baptist out there! :)
I know that too many people nowadays have drifted away from creeds, especially, as Mohler himself states, those in the Baptist tradition (with which I will firmly identify all my life). Unfortunately as we have done away with creeds and confessions we have done away with valuable tools that permitted us to express and affirm that which the Scriptures teach. Confessions and creeds NEVER took the place of Scripture, nor did they have any authority aside from that given by Scripture, except in the case of the Roman Catholic Church. Interestingly enough, we may, after the 2007 Southern Baptist Conference, as well refer to the Baptist Faith and Message as the Southern Baptist creed! If you don't know what I mean look up the latest discussion and vote in regards to it! And by the way, I don't by any means disagree with the SBC in what they did...in fact I think it's a step in the right direction, a direction in which they will affirm what it means to be a Southern Baptist so that all those who identify themselves as such and yet reject the very thing that makes someone a Southern Baptist can finally be identified as what they are!
In any case, the Apostles' Creed, for those unfamiliar with it, goes as follows:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
the Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:
Who was conceived of the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended into hell.
The third day He arose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven
and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty,
whence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church [meaning the universal church and not Roman Catholicism],
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting.
Amen.
This is what Al Mohler's new series is on, and I urge all of you to go to following website to listen to him preach on it...download the sermons, burn them, and listen to them in your car or give them away to your friends! :)
http://www.sbts.edu/resources/Audio_Resources/Chapel_Messages/Fall_2007.aspx
One thing you may have noted is that I italicized and put in bold the phrase "He descended into hell." That is because I am interested in hearing what Mohler has to say on it, in light of the fact that I don't agree with most interpretations of what was meant by this, and also on the fact that as originally written, the Creed did not include this part.
Well, make sure you listen to the sermons, especially all of you Southern Baptist out there! :)
Saturday, September 15, 2007
MICAH 6:8
Well today is the day the Boffer group meets...so the following is the lesson that I have prepared for them:
Begin with prayer
Sing the Micah 6:8 song (?)
Today I will be sharing with you from the NASB instead of my usual NKJV. Unfortunately, I forgot my NKJV at work!
Read Micah 6:8
Before we look at these particular verses, I want you to know that the book of Micah is one of chastisement and of prophecy. In it, Micah chastises Israel and Judah for their sins, and yet he also gives much encouragement as God uses him to tell of the coming Messiah, whom we know, of course, as our Lord Jesus Christ. In the midst of all of this, we have this section in which God Himself tells the people what He has expected from them…and here is where I want us to spend the next few minutes.
Let us read again Micah 6:8
Now then, we have spoken a bit of what this book is about. For the sake of making an application to our own lives, we will not necessarily look at the context of the book for the nation of Israel, but for how we as a people might apply the words and learn from them and be impacted by them.
“He has told you, O man, what is good;”
Just as Israel (referring to the people of both Judah and Israel) knew what God wanted and expected from them, we in this day and age know also. For Israel and Judah, they had the writings of Moses and of the Patriarchs. In addition to this, the nation was sent prophets by God who delivered His words to them as well, whether it be Micah, Jeremiah, Isaiah, or Ezekiel!
In or own day, we do not have prophets that foretell the future, though we do have prophets who proclaim the Word to us; I think here of giants like John MacArthur, Albert Mohler, and even in our local churches, though unfortunately these are a mere handful. Far more important than anything else, however, we have one thing that tells us about God, and that serves to inform us of how God would have us live.
What is it? The Bible!!
And so, we especially in our day and age, have NO excuse for not knowing what God has said. There is not one person here who does not have access to a Bible, therefore when we fail to read it and learn from it we are totally without any excuse whatsoever. So then we understand that when Scripture says that “He has told you, O man, what is good,’ that the prophet refers to the Word of God.
“And what does the Lord require of you”
The question here is being asked rhetorically, for the prophet will supply the answer himself. Does everyone understand what the word “rhetorical” means? (discuss if necessary).
From this verse we can learn one very important thing, and that is that God does indeed have requirements for us. Too many people would have you believe that a simple prayer, whether sincere or not, has the magical ability to transform you into a Christian. Sincerity, however, is a given. And sincerity means that such a prayer will result in a changed life.
You young people are at an age when you are starting to mature into young men…will you grow to continue serving the Lord with all of your strength, soul, and mind? I pray that this is so…but above all I pray that you will examine yourself constantly, and test whether you are truly His. If you profess Jesus as Lord and Savior of your lives yet do not bear testimony to this fact through a changed way of thinking, a changed way of living, then the danger becomes that someday Jesus might say to you, “Depart from Me…I never knew you” God forbid anyone here be destined for such a thing!
What do I mean when I say your lives should bear testimony through changed thinking and living? (discuss)
So we see that God requires things from you. And it is not only here that we are told this, for Jesus says in John 14:15, “If you love Me, keep My commandments”
What does Jesus mean?
Those who love Him WILL keep His commandments! Not perfectly, not all the time, for unfortunately we are still inhabitants of this fallen flesh…but we want to obey Him, and when we sin, we do not make excuses for it but acknowledge it and repent of it!
“But to do justice”
What does it mean "to do justice”? The NKJV translates it as “to do justly” but it means the same thing.
To do justice or to do justly is to love His commandments, ultimately. For His ways are good. Therefore when we think of our Lord Jesus and His sermon on the mount, or when we think of the Ten Commandments as given to Moses, we must treasure the words and seek to live by them. NOT because it will gain us salvation, but because we LOVE the Lord so much (remember John 14:15)!
Challenge: Can anyone recite all of the Ten Commandments? Can anyone name at least one point from the Sermon on the Mount?
“to love kindness” NKJV “and to love mercy”
This is a true judgment against any type of works based idea of salvation. Yes we are to help those in distress…we are to be kind to people, to be merciful to the orphans and widows. But unless we do so because we LOVE it, then we are blaspheming by attempting to gain that which we are freely given!
Little brothers, I would add that the greatest example of loving mercy or kindness is to share your faith with others. Are you a lover of kindness and of mercy? If so, then the kindest and most merciful thing you can do is tell someone about Jesus. Share the gospel with them…and this means telling them what you were saved from and why you deserved it!
What were you saved from? Hell!
Why did you deserve it? Because we are all sinners and enemies of God!
“And to walk humbly with your God?”
Little brothers, when we walk with our God, we are to do so humbly…why do you think this is?
Because we do not deserve to walk with Him! Yet He permits us to do so…what is more, He made it possible for us to do so! When we were yet His enemies, is what the Bible tells us; read Ephesians 2:1-9
THEREFORE, when we are tempted to be puffed up with pride over our good works, or when we are satisfied where we are at spiritually and think we have reached the greatest level of spiritual maturity…think about Who it was that enabled you to do the good works…and think about how much more we can learn by continuing to study our Bibles daily, realizing that we will NEVER learn everything there is to know!!
Walk humbly with your God my brothers.
Let us pray
Begin with prayer
Sing the Micah 6:8 song (?)
Today I will be sharing with you from the NASB instead of my usual NKJV. Unfortunately, I forgot my NKJV at work!
Read Micah 6:8
Before we look at these particular verses, I want you to know that the book of Micah is one of chastisement and of prophecy. In it, Micah chastises Israel and Judah for their sins, and yet he also gives much encouragement as God uses him to tell of the coming Messiah, whom we know, of course, as our Lord Jesus Christ. In the midst of all of this, we have this section in which God Himself tells the people what He has expected from them…and here is where I want us to spend the next few minutes.
Let us read again Micah 6:8
Now then, we have spoken a bit of what this book is about. For the sake of making an application to our own lives, we will not necessarily look at the context of the book for the nation of Israel, but for how we as a people might apply the words and learn from them and be impacted by them.
“He has told you, O man, what is good;”
Just as Israel (referring to the people of both Judah and Israel) knew what God wanted and expected from them, we in this day and age know also. For Israel and Judah, they had the writings of Moses and of the Patriarchs. In addition to this, the nation was sent prophets by God who delivered His words to them as well, whether it be Micah, Jeremiah, Isaiah, or Ezekiel!
In or own day, we do not have prophets that foretell the future, though we do have prophets who proclaim the Word to us; I think here of giants like John MacArthur, Albert Mohler, and even in our local churches, though unfortunately these are a mere handful. Far more important than anything else, however, we have one thing that tells us about God, and that serves to inform us of how God would have us live.
What is it? The Bible!!
And so, we especially in our day and age, have NO excuse for not knowing what God has said. There is not one person here who does not have access to a Bible, therefore when we fail to read it and learn from it we are totally without any excuse whatsoever. So then we understand that when Scripture says that “He has told you, O man, what is good,’ that the prophet refers to the Word of God.
“And what does the Lord require of you”
The question here is being asked rhetorically, for the prophet will supply the answer himself. Does everyone understand what the word “rhetorical” means? (discuss if necessary).
From this verse we can learn one very important thing, and that is that God does indeed have requirements for us. Too many people would have you believe that a simple prayer, whether sincere or not, has the magical ability to transform you into a Christian. Sincerity, however, is a given. And sincerity means that such a prayer will result in a changed life.
You young people are at an age when you are starting to mature into young men…will you grow to continue serving the Lord with all of your strength, soul, and mind? I pray that this is so…but above all I pray that you will examine yourself constantly, and test whether you are truly His. If you profess Jesus as Lord and Savior of your lives yet do not bear testimony to this fact through a changed way of thinking, a changed way of living, then the danger becomes that someday Jesus might say to you, “Depart from Me…I never knew you” God forbid anyone here be destined for such a thing!
What do I mean when I say your lives should bear testimony through changed thinking and living? (discuss)
So we see that God requires things from you. And it is not only here that we are told this, for Jesus says in John 14:15, “If you love Me, keep My commandments”
What does Jesus mean?
Those who love Him WILL keep His commandments! Not perfectly, not all the time, for unfortunately we are still inhabitants of this fallen flesh…but we want to obey Him, and when we sin, we do not make excuses for it but acknowledge it and repent of it!
“But to do justice”
What does it mean "to do justice”? The NKJV translates it as “to do justly” but it means the same thing.
To do justice or to do justly is to love His commandments, ultimately. For His ways are good. Therefore when we think of our Lord Jesus and His sermon on the mount, or when we think of the Ten Commandments as given to Moses, we must treasure the words and seek to live by them. NOT because it will gain us salvation, but because we LOVE the Lord so much (remember John 14:15)!
Challenge: Can anyone recite all of the Ten Commandments? Can anyone name at least one point from the Sermon on the Mount?
“to love kindness” NKJV “and to love mercy”
This is a true judgment against any type of works based idea of salvation. Yes we are to help those in distress…we are to be kind to people, to be merciful to the orphans and widows. But unless we do so because we LOVE it, then we are blaspheming by attempting to gain that which we are freely given!
Little brothers, I would add that the greatest example of loving mercy or kindness is to share your faith with others. Are you a lover of kindness and of mercy? If so, then the kindest and most merciful thing you can do is tell someone about Jesus. Share the gospel with them…and this means telling them what you were saved from and why you deserved it!
What were you saved from? Hell!
Why did you deserve it? Because we are all sinners and enemies of God!
“And to walk humbly with your God?”
Little brothers, when we walk with our God, we are to do so humbly…why do you think this is?
Because we do not deserve to walk with Him! Yet He permits us to do so…what is more, He made it possible for us to do so! When we were yet His enemies, is what the Bible tells us; read Ephesians 2:1-9
THEREFORE, when we are tempted to be puffed up with pride over our good works, or when we are satisfied where we are at spiritually and think we have reached the greatest level of spiritual maturity…think about Who it was that enabled you to do the good works…and think about how much more we can learn by continuing to study our Bibles daily, realizing that we will NEVER learn everything there is to know!!
Walk humbly with your God my brothers.
Let us pray
Friday, September 14, 2007
How's your Reading?
Okay, everyone and anyone who knows me is well aware that Dr. Albert Mohler, President of the Southern Seminary, is one of my theological heroes. Well from his last blog post I see that I have chosen very well in regards to my hero! Read his article and note that his "unorthodox" time for devotions is at night! I too have my Bible study and devotions late at night when everyone else is asleep! I have been told over and over and over (ad nauseum)that one SHOULD do his/her devotions bright and early in the morning, but I am incapable of doing this! I have tried and tried but I cannot, so I finally accepted the fact that I am not an early morning person and have made peace with myself! :) I do read my Scripture in the morning, but I don't spend any time studying until nightime...and now I feel vindicated because Dr. Mohler is the same way!!! Anyone want to call him a man lacking in faith? :)
Well, please read the post, it is about books and reading habits. I hope you enjoy it!!
http://almohler.com/blog_read.php?id=1005
Well, please read the post, it is about books and reading habits. I hope you enjoy it!!
http://almohler.com/blog_read.php?id=1005
Thursday, September 13, 2007
The future of the "Seeker Friendly" and "Market Driven" church
Wow...this post is funny and sad at the same time because it is all too accurate in its rendering of what the church is doing today! Laugh but remember to cry also!
"This Little Church Went to Market" by Gary Gilley
ISBN #0852345968
I have just finished reading the short book mentioned in the title above and I had to write a small review about it. First of all, I recommend the book to anyone and everyone, but especially to those who are concerned about the lack of true biblical teaching and preaching in our churches today. I also challenge another group to read it: those who have bought into the idea that the Word is not sufficient but must be marketed to a lost world.
Gary Gilley does a good job of using Scripture to show why the focus of much of the modern church is off base. What I especially like about Gilley's approach is that he points out the bad and the good, and yes he is certainly opposed to the mentality that we do whatever it takes to get people into the church, but he takes the time to point out what is good about such a view...even if the view overall is damaging. For example, he takes pains to express his admiration of the heart these people have for those who are lost, admitting that it is a noble thing and a biblical attitude.
Ultimately, however, he is quick to bring up the biblical prescription for those who are lost. He stresses the need to stay true to the biblical model in order to truly lead people to Christ and not bring in people who merely think they are saved when in reality they are not. A simplistic approach to evangelism leads to false professions of faith, as exemplified by those who say they are saved but have no problem admitting they have not turned away from their sin (can we say antinomianism here?).
Gilley spends some time discussing the biblical model for the church, using Acts 2:41-42, which says, speakin of Peter's sermon in Jerusalem, "And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, "Be saved from this perverse generation." Then those who gladly received his word were baptised; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers." Of this passage, Gilley says, "we note that when the early church came together, rather than spend the bulk of its time evangelizing, it focused on the apostles' teaching, or New Testament theology. They did this that Believers might be able to grow in their Christian experience." Furthermore, Gilley states that "the early Church also worshipped, prayed, partook of the Lord's Supper, and fellowshipped. These were the things that were important in the first church, and these are the things that should be important to us now." Amen?
Interestingly enough, Gilley points out that all these activities were done within the church, except for one: evangelism. Evangelism was done outside the church. The church is for the Believer, not for the unbeliever. How often, however, do we see churches doing everthing they can to draw in the unbeliever? Does the unsaved hate talk of sin? Let's not mention it. Does the unbeliever like loud secular music? Hey, let's play loud music that resembles the world and fails to teach doctrine. See the problem? The attempt to imitate the world leads to a lack of reverence for God, a loss of His place as our number one priority, and ultimately, a severing of our relationship because church becomes a place to exalt the worshipper rather than the Creator! Note that in 1 Corinthians Paul says "Therefore tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers; but prophesying is NOT for unbelievers but for those who believe. Therefore, if the whole church comes together in one pleace, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those who are uninformed or unbelievers, will they not say that you are out of your mind? But if all prophecy, and an unbeliever or an uninformed person comes in, he is convinced by all, he is convicted by all." (1 Corinthians 14:22-24
Now then whatever you think tongues to be, it is clear that Paul teaches it is for the unbeliever...but when the church meets, the focus is prophecy, and not in the sense of foretelling the future but of truth speaking. Note that IF an unbeliever comes in, he will be impacted by this...IF he comes in. In other words, we draw in the Believer to be taught, and while we surely welcome the unbeliever, this person will either be offended by the Rock of offense or will be drawn by what he witnesses...but again, the service and the gathering is for the Believer, NOT the unbeliver. You want unbelievers in your church? Don't draw them in by watering down the Truth, do so by reaching out to your neighbors, co-workers, friends and family. Evengelize in the world, but gather to fellowship and learn, and to observe the ordinances!
One more thing before I end this post. I have been very disappointed to find after leaving my last church that what I thought were frienships were in reality merely acquaintances. With only a handful of exceptions, there is no desire on the part of my former church to fellowship with me. What is sad about this is that in visiting other churches I have met one pastor whom I felt really drawn to. He is the pastor of Sovereign Grace in Nampa. What is interesting is that while I have decided not to make Sovereign Church my home, he told me he understood that I needed to find the church where God was leading me and that he is praying I will find the right place...and wants to stay in touch with me as a brother in the Lord! He has kept in touch through email, and has asked that we get together for coffee or lunch. Why do I mention this? Because the purpose of church is to fellowship with our fellow Believers. This does not mean reaching out to someone only so long as they are in your building, it means making relationships with your brothers and sisters in the Lord and maintaining them! It means having true fellowship. I must sadly conclude that at Central Vally I had no true fellowhship with the vast majority of people there, and certainly not with the pastor and other leaders. Is some of this my fault? Without a doubt. But not all of it. True fellowship is about loving those who love the Lord...of being a true family, and that only happens when we together affirm the truths of Scripture and focus on HIm rather than on drawing in the unbeliever.
Gilley writes the following: "If pastors have lost confidencein the power, authority, and sufficiency of the Scriptures, it is no wonder thast they have abandoned in droves the systematic, expository preaching of the Word...story-sermons, pop-psychology, lectures, "dear abby" style counsel, drama, musical productions, and interpretative dance are replacing true preaching." Hmmmm...anyone reading this recognize their own church in this description? If so, what are you going to do about it?
The following is from John MacArthur, as quoted in Gilley's book: "A poignant story may be touching or stirring, but unless the message it conveys is set in the context of biblical truth, any emotions it may stir are of no use in prompting genuine worship. Aroused passions are not necessarily evidence that true worship takes place."
Again...any of these types of "preaching" sound familiar? How sad isn't it?
Pick up a copy of Gilley's book and read it, I think it will challenge your thinking and make you look think twice about what preaching and worship are. Either that or it will make you really angry! :)
Finally though...as much as I love to read and as much as I want everyone to read this book...if reading it will make you forego the reading and study of Scripture...then don't read it and instead go read the Bible. I certainly will not pull a "Rick Warren" on behalf of Gilley and tell you to read his book every day for a set number of days...no...if one must be read, then read His Word.
I have just finished reading the short book mentioned in the title above and I had to write a small review about it. First of all, I recommend the book to anyone and everyone, but especially to those who are concerned about the lack of true biblical teaching and preaching in our churches today. I also challenge another group to read it: those who have bought into the idea that the Word is not sufficient but must be marketed to a lost world.
Gary Gilley does a good job of using Scripture to show why the focus of much of the modern church is off base. What I especially like about Gilley's approach is that he points out the bad and the good, and yes he is certainly opposed to the mentality that we do whatever it takes to get people into the church, but he takes the time to point out what is good about such a view...even if the view overall is damaging. For example, he takes pains to express his admiration of the heart these people have for those who are lost, admitting that it is a noble thing and a biblical attitude.
Ultimately, however, he is quick to bring up the biblical prescription for those who are lost. He stresses the need to stay true to the biblical model in order to truly lead people to Christ and not bring in people who merely think they are saved when in reality they are not. A simplistic approach to evangelism leads to false professions of faith, as exemplified by those who say they are saved but have no problem admitting they have not turned away from their sin (can we say antinomianism here?).
Gilley spends some time discussing the biblical model for the church, using Acts 2:41-42, which says, speakin of Peter's sermon in Jerusalem, "And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, "Be saved from this perverse generation." Then those who gladly received his word were baptised; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers." Of this passage, Gilley says, "we note that when the early church came together, rather than spend the bulk of its time evangelizing, it focused on the apostles' teaching, or New Testament theology. They did this that Believers might be able to grow in their Christian experience." Furthermore, Gilley states that "the early Church also worshipped, prayed, partook of the Lord's Supper, and fellowshipped. These were the things that were important in the first church, and these are the things that should be important to us now." Amen?
Interestingly enough, Gilley points out that all these activities were done within the church, except for one: evangelism. Evangelism was done outside the church. The church is for the Believer, not for the unbeliever. How often, however, do we see churches doing everthing they can to draw in the unbeliever? Does the unsaved hate talk of sin? Let's not mention it. Does the unbeliever like loud secular music? Hey, let's play loud music that resembles the world and fails to teach doctrine. See the problem? The attempt to imitate the world leads to a lack of reverence for God, a loss of His place as our number one priority, and ultimately, a severing of our relationship because church becomes a place to exalt the worshipper rather than the Creator! Note that in 1 Corinthians Paul says "Therefore tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers; but prophesying is NOT for unbelievers but for those who believe. Therefore, if the whole church comes together in one pleace, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those who are uninformed or unbelievers, will they not say that you are out of your mind? But if all prophecy, and an unbeliever or an uninformed person comes in, he is convinced by all, he is convicted by all." (1 Corinthians 14:22-24
Now then whatever you think tongues to be, it is clear that Paul teaches it is for the unbeliever...but when the church meets, the focus is prophecy, and not in the sense of foretelling the future but of truth speaking. Note that IF an unbeliever comes in, he will be impacted by this...IF he comes in. In other words, we draw in the Believer to be taught, and while we surely welcome the unbeliever, this person will either be offended by the Rock of offense or will be drawn by what he witnesses...but again, the service and the gathering is for the Believer, NOT the unbeliver. You want unbelievers in your church? Don't draw them in by watering down the Truth, do so by reaching out to your neighbors, co-workers, friends and family. Evengelize in the world, but gather to fellowship and learn, and to observe the ordinances!
One more thing before I end this post. I have been very disappointed to find after leaving my last church that what I thought were frienships were in reality merely acquaintances. With only a handful of exceptions, there is no desire on the part of my former church to fellowship with me. What is sad about this is that in visiting other churches I have met one pastor whom I felt really drawn to. He is the pastor of Sovereign Grace in Nampa. What is interesting is that while I have decided not to make Sovereign Church my home, he told me he understood that I needed to find the church where God was leading me and that he is praying I will find the right place...and wants to stay in touch with me as a brother in the Lord! He has kept in touch through email, and has asked that we get together for coffee or lunch. Why do I mention this? Because the purpose of church is to fellowship with our fellow Believers. This does not mean reaching out to someone only so long as they are in your building, it means making relationships with your brothers and sisters in the Lord and maintaining them! It means having true fellowship. I must sadly conclude that at Central Vally I had no true fellowhship with the vast majority of people there, and certainly not with the pastor and other leaders. Is some of this my fault? Without a doubt. But not all of it. True fellowship is about loving those who love the Lord...of being a true family, and that only happens when we together affirm the truths of Scripture and focus on HIm rather than on drawing in the unbeliever.
Gilley writes the following: "If pastors have lost confidencein the power, authority, and sufficiency of the Scriptures, it is no wonder thast they have abandoned in droves the systematic, expository preaching of the Word...story-sermons, pop-psychology, lectures, "dear abby" style counsel, drama, musical productions, and interpretative dance are replacing true preaching." Hmmmm...anyone reading this recognize their own church in this description? If so, what are you going to do about it?
The following is from John MacArthur, as quoted in Gilley's book: "A poignant story may be touching or stirring, but unless the message it conveys is set in the context of biblical truth, any emotions it may stir are of no use in prompting genuine worship. Aroused passions are not necessarily evidence that true worship takes place."
Again...any of these types of "preaching" sound familiar? How sad isn't it?
Pick up a copy of Gilley's book and read it, I think it will challenge your thinking and make you look think twice about what preaching and worship are. Either that or it will make you really angry! :)
Finally though...as much as I love to read and as much as I want everyone to read this book...if reading it will make you forego the reading and study of Scripture...then don't read it and instead go read the Bible. I certainly will not pull a "Rick Warren" on behalf of Gilley and tell you to read his book every day for a set number of days...no...if one must be read, then read His Word.
Saturday, September 8, 2007
THIS is a pastor?
Watch this clip and then tell me with a straight face that his church has grown because of his faithful proclamation of the Word of God! Watch it and tell me that this pastor is not one large q-tip scratching away at itching ears!
I've known too many people, too many pastors I once considered conservative that I now have strong doubts about...too many of them who would hold this man up as an example of a "christian" pastor...and why? One reason...because he has a mega church!
God forgive me for the times I have failed to honor You...Lord pour your mercy upon me and not your justice! Brothers and sisters, STAND FIRM in the faith and do not waver on the message we MUST proclaim to a fallen world, to a humanity that hates God! If anyone is reading this, know that at this moment my heart aches...it aches because I cannot say that cowards like this man are rare in the pulpits of America, it aches because anti-christs and deceivers like him seem so full of truth when instead they are full of deceit!
I don't think I have the heart to type any more on this post...turn to your Word brothers and sisters...read it, memorize it, love it and practice it for His glory and His honor!
Forgive us Lord for allowing men like this to spew out trash in Your name...
I've known too many people, too many pastors I once considered conservative that I now have strong doubts about...too many of them who would hold this man up as an example of a "christian" pastor...and why? One reason...because he has a mega church!
God forgive me for the times I have failed to honor You...Lord pour your mercy upon me and not your justice! Brothers and sisters, STAND FIRM in the faith and do not waver on the message we MUST proclaim to a fallen world, to a humanity that hates God! If anyone is reading this, know that at this moment my heart aches...it aches because I cannot say that cowards like this man are rare in the pulpits of America, it aches because anti-christs and deceivers like him seem so full of truth when instead they are full of deceit!
I don't think I have the heart to type any more on this post...turn to your Word brothers and sisters...read it, memorize it, love it and practice it for His glory and His honor!
Forgive us Lord for allowing men like this to spew out trash in Your name...
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