Month: December 2014

“From this man’s seed, according to the promise, God raised up for Israel a Savior—Jesus”
Acts 13:23

We read today a portion of Paul’s message as he preached in the synagogue in Antioch of Pisidia. Up to this point, he seemed to merely give a history lesson of God’s dealings with the Jews, but here in v. 23 we realize his motive behind all he’s said before. His desire was to get these souls to Jesus. That’s Who the scriptures are all about! That’s Who we are called to be witnesses of! The point is to get men to Christ.

Jesus made a powerful statement to men well-versed in the word of God in Joh 5:39: “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.” You could memorize the entire Bible, but it does you no good if you don’t see Jesus Christ! He is the living Word (Joh 1:14) which the written word declares. When Philip encountered the Ethiopian eunuch reading the book of Isaiah, we read in Act 8:35, “Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him.” Old and New Testament alike–God’s truth in His word points us to Christ, the Truth!

We have a description of the Apostle Paul’s ministry at the very outset of it which reveals his focus for the rest of his life. In Act 9:20, his ministry is summed up as follows: “Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God.” Is our calling as Christians any different? In Act 1:8, Christ explains the result of the Spirit of God being given to the church. “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Those who are caught up in ministries that seem to focus mostly on the Spirit and His gifts too often fail to understand what the work of the Spirit really is in the believer: “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.” (Joh 15:26) The Spirit points men to Christ and so will all who are full of the Holy Ghost.

We are surrounded by much error today, but we must not lose sight of our purpose as we stand against that error. We can’t let issues replace our Savior. Don’t forget your purpose, church! Don’t miss the Point of your labor and message! If anything takes Christ’s place in our lives, that thing becomes our idol. Our goal must always be to point men to Jesus. May we live for His glory alone. “And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.” (Col 1:18)

Jamie

But Elymas the sorcerer (for so his name is translated) withstood them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. Then Saul, who also is called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him and said, “O full of all deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord?
Acts 13:8-10

We find pretty strong language used by the Apostle Paul in our text above as he encountered a Jew named Bar-Jesus, also known as Elymas. This sorcerer had long enjoyed great influence over the ruling official in the city of Salamis on the island of Cyprus, but when Paul and Barnabas’ message began to win the heart of this proconsul, Elymus realized quickly the threat the gospel message posed to his respected status. He immediately sought to turn the governor from the truth but instead ended up being rebuked by the apostle and made blind for a season. In spite of Satan seeking to hinder the work of God’s ministers, the end result was that the proconsul believed! (v. 12) Indeed, if God is for us, who can stand against us?!! (Rom 8:31)

This text highlights the fact that we are called at times to resist certain individuals strongly. Certainly the Lord has called us to peace. “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.” (Rom 12:18) But, as seen in this encounter, sometimes peace is just not possible. Even the peacemakers, those blessed ones of Mat 5:9, must at times give strong rebuke and deal sharply with people. So, when are we instructed to act in such a way? We are to do so when individuals would purposely seek to pervert the gospel and deceive souls in order to benefit themselves. It was always the religious teachers who twisted God’s word for selfish means that Christ dealt with most harshly (see Mat 23:13-33). We see this same teaching in Paul’s letter to Titus concerning the Cretans among whom he was ministering. In Tit 1:10-13, he writes:

For there are many insubordinate, both idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not, for the sake of dishonest gain. One of them, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith…

Notice why Titus needed to deal with such individuals so harshly: “that they may be sound in the faith”. The goal is the recovery of these souls! We don’t deal with them in this fashion because we despise them. Rather out of love, we show the severity of their sin by resisting them severely. Consider the book of Galatians. The Apostle Paul was tough on that church! He spoke roughly to them. You’ll find no pleasantries at the beginning of that letter like you find in his writings to the other churches. His first direct statement to them in Gal 1:6 is, “I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel…” But, he asks them later in 4:16, “Have I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth?” He wasn’t dealing with them as an enemy–he was being their best friend because he was telling them the truth!

Paul’s words to Elymas weren’t out of line. They were needful both for the sake of the governor he was influencing, and they were needful for Elymas’ own soul’s sake. We see the same example set forth by our Lord in Joh 8:44-45 as He spoke to the Jews who were rejecting Him and encouraging others to do the same. Jesus’ words weren’t tender and mild here! “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me.” He was their best friend–He told them the truth! We shouldn’t feel guilty when holy zeal prompts a harsh rebuke. Remember, “Open rebuke is better than love carefully concealed. Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.” (Pro 27:5-6)

Jamie