The Apostle Paul has always been a controversial figure. The first time we encounter him in the book of Acts he is holding the cloaks of those who are stoning Steven. (Acts 7:58) Soon after we read that he is actively persecuting the Church. (Acts 8:3) But, after his conversion he becomes the most prolific of the New Testament writers. As a result, some question his apostleship.
Category: Church
Luke 6:13 records, “[Jesus] called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles….” Where are these apostles today? Depends on who you ask. These original twelve apostles called by Jesus have been gone for centuries, but the religious world is certainly not without people calling themselves “apostles” today.
I recently read a billboard advertising a local church. Of all the things they might have mentioned this is what the sign said: “Where will you find a church that… 1) Welcomes homosexual couples, 2) Invites questions, 3) Acknowledges many paths to God, and 4) Seeks social justice…” The name and address of a local congregation offering these “opportunities” was provided at the bottom of the billboard. For some, like myself, this kind of activity in a “Christian”congregation is unsettling; for others, it’s a sign of progress and a breath of fresh air. I like a congregation that invites questions, but a church that legitimizes homosexuality and accepts many paths to God I’m afraid is wandering away from the Word of God.
One of the very first commands God gave man was to give. Cain and Abel were asked to give a sacrifice to God, appropriate to His will. God, explaining to Cain why his offering was not acceptable, states in Genesis 4:7,
If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.
Giving an offering to God was not just a matter of convenience or the “thing to do,” giving was a serious action with serious consequences. If the giving was unacceptable, God explains, “sin lies at the door.”
In Matthew 12, Jesus incites the anger of his adversaries by healing a demon-possessed man in the presence of a Jewish multitude. These impressionable Jews began to wonder if he might be the King and Savior for which they’d been waiting. The Pharisees, a leading political sect of the Jews, were not so enchanted. They couldn’t deny what they’d just seen with their own eyes, but nor could they concede that this man might actually be the Messiah. Since they couldn’t believe that this wonder was accomplished by the power of God, they quickly concluded he must have done it by the power of Beelzebub – Satan himself. In his rebuttal, Jesus made this instructive statement: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.”
The Apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 4:1-5: “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, 2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love,3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.”
In Matthew 16:13 Jesus asks his disciples, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” After providing various responses, Jesus goes a little deeper, “but who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15). Peter answers, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus response to this has been the focus of much confusion over the past couple thousand years, and continues to bring confusion to us.
From a study of 1 Corinthians 14:26-40, the following truths emerge:
1. Corinth was experiencing confusion in the Lord’s Day assembly, hence Paul’s instructions, and his concluding admonition: “Let all things be done decently and in order” (1 Corinthians 14:40).
2. Many members customarily played a public part in Corinth’s Lord’s Day assembly: “How is it then, brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation” (1 Corinthians 14:26).
3. Paul had no intention of depriving them of this mutual ministry–he intended only to order it: “For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be encouraged” (1 Corinthians 14:31).
I came from a religious system where there was a sharp difference between those who handled the services of the assembly and those who came to worship. It was difficult to disengage from a such system inasmuch as I was raised to respect it. And some of those who taught me so, were respectable as well. However, through the scriptures I came to see there is a “royal priesthood” made up of those who were called “out of darkness into His marvelous light.” I also came to understand that the distinction between clergy and laity is not a scriptural concept.
“I have faith, I just don’t believe in organized religion…” Wasn’t sure what to think when I heard this for the first time. A close friend of mine made this statement after listening to a long and lively classroom discussion on religion. This wouldn’t be the last time I would hear something like this. Another friend later said, “I go to church, but I’m not a member anywhere… Christianity is about a personal relationship with Jesus, not an affiliation with a specific church…” Each person had a very different approach to their faith, but they were equally disillusioned toward organized religion by past religious experiences.