Month: April 2016

“The assembly must certainly meet…”
Acts 21:22

Our verse today involves an interesting set of circumstances. Completing his third missionary journey, the apostle Paul had made his way to Jerusalem on his quest to eventually reach Rome. His heart was longing to see the brethren in this Jewish community, but upon entering town, he heard of the many reservations that some of the Jewish brethren had with him. The impression of some was that Paul had rejected his Jewish heritage in favor of Gentile life and was on a mission to destroy the law and anything connected with it. (v. 21) In an effort to foster unity, James, the leading elder in the Jerusalem church, urged Paul to enter into a vow along with a handful of other Jewish Christians.

Now, it is the particulars of this vow which make an appraisal of this situation difficult. We know Jesus didn’t come to destroy the law but rather to fulfill it. (Mat 5:17) However, in fulfilling it, the ceremony of the law which pointed to Christ is no longer necessary. In particular, animal sacrifice has been abandoned because it was merely a picture of the true Sacrifice that has now been given. The author of Hebrews labors in this point in Heb 10:1-14, concluding that “by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified”. (v. 14) The vow in which Paul participated appears to be the vow of the Nazarite, a vow which ended with sacrifice being made on behalf of those completing it. (Compare Act 21:23-26 with Num 6:1-21) So the question which perplexes me is, should the apostle have participated in this vow? After all, this man is the same one who warned the Galatians against those who would rob them of their liberty and entrap them in the law, stating, “You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.” (Gal 5:4)

If you compare commentators on this incident, you’ll find a variety of opinions. Some condemn Paul while others excuse him. Some don’t even touch the matter! I believe Paul’s intentions were pure, though his course of action may not have been the best way to prove his allegiance to the God of the Old Testament. Based on Act 21:4, I can’t help but wonder if Paul should have never gone through Jerusalem at this time. The Christian disciples in Tyre “told Paul through the Spirit not to go up to Jerusalem.” Maybe he should have waited to visit another time. Either way, I think Paul was trying to live what he wrote to the Galatians: “to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law…I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.” (1Co 9:20, 22) His goal in participating in this vow was to remove any unnecessary hindrances to the Gospel so that he might win souls to Christ.

Did it work in Jerusalem? Well, not at this time. The response to Paul’s actions infuriated the Jews in that region who assumed he had carried Gentiles into the temple contrary to the law of Moses. Rather than refuting the accusations against him, Paul’s actions actually generated more! He was ultimately taken into captivity by Roman soldiers when the Jews tried to kill him. Was it all for nought then? A couple of chapters earlier in Act 19:21, we read, “Paul purposed in the Spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, ‘After I have been there, I must also see Rome.’ ” Paul got his wish! He made it to Rome as planned, but due to the events in Jerusalem, he was taken there as a prisoner of the state. The Spirit had laid it on Paul’s heart to preach the Gospel in Rome, so whether taking the vow was the right decision or not, there is a glorious truth revealed in our text. God is big enough to accomplish His will in our lives in spite of us and those around us! I tend to think Paul struggled with the right course of action in Jerusalem. Sometimes the path isn’t too clear, but if we examine our hearts to make sure our motives are pure, God is able to steer us in the right direction through His providence. Keep planting and watering the seeds of the Gospel with a sincere heart, and it will be clear that we are not the ones who make it prosper but rather it is “God who gives the increase.” (1Co 3:7)

Jamie

I have coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel. Yes, you yourselves know that these hands have provided for my necessities, and for those who were with me. I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’
Acts 20:33-35

In Paul’s final words to the Ephesian elders, we see our third area of emphasis in the role of a pastor. We have previously considered their responsibility to faithfully declare the fullness of the word of God, and then last time we saw the need of pastors to protect the flock from attack both from outside and inside the assembly. We finish this week with a call to pastors to serve the church above themselves. In short, shepherds feed sheep, protect sheep, and lay down their lives for the sheep. Paul’s constant practice was to put others ahead of himself, being driven by love for their souls and a desire to acknowledge in his actions the words of our Lord: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

One of the ways Paul’s giving heart was revealed was that he continued to work to provide for his natural needs while also ministering to the Ephesians. His ministry there was no small task because, by his own confession, “for three years [he] did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears”. (Act 18:31) Being a tentmaker by trade (18:3), Paul presumably continued in that profession while also laboring in constant care for their souls. His reason for such labor was so that he might not put any unnecessary weight upon them even as his example was to the Thessalonians in 2Th 3:8: “nor did we eat anyone’s bread free of charge, but worked with labor and toil night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you…”

The point here is not that pastors should always have a second job or that churches have no need to care for their pastors. Paul states very clearly in 1Co 9:6-14 that the church has a responsibility for those who minister the word of God to them because “the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel.” (v. 14) It is a great blessing if a church is able to free a man so that he is able to focus on prayer and study of the word without the burden of other employment. (Act 6:2) If a man is truly called of God to preach the gospel, then such freedom will only benefit the church because they will have fuller access to the gift God has provided through that individual; however, because of his servant’s heart, Paul’s practice over and over again was to work on the side as he preached the gospel (Act 18:3, 20:34, 1Co 9:12, 14-18, 1Th 2:9, 2Th 3:8). As he says in 1Co 9:19, “I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more”.  And so, he and his companions were committed to “endure all things lest we hinder the gospel of Christ”. (v. 12)

The sincerity of this love and service for the flock of God can be seen in the language the apostle uses as he compares himself to a parent caring for his children. As he wrote in 2Co 12:14-15: “…I will not be burdensome to you; for I do not seek yours, but you. For the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children. And I will very gladly spend and be spent for your souls; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I am loved…” That final statement should be familiar to loving parents because we see that our children often don’t understand the sacrifices we make for them. Speaking from experience, it’s usually not until we leave home that we realize just how much our parents did for us. Paul ministered with this type of tireless, parental love and encouraged other pastors to do the same. He uses similar language in 1Th 2:7, 11 to convey that the gentleness of a mother and the instruction of a father were evident in his ministry: “But we were gentle among you, just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children…as you know how we exhorted, and comforted, and charged every one of you, as a father does his own children…”

Such loving care for the flock will not go unnoticed by those unto whom we minister. The Ephesians knew the words Paul spoke concerning his love for them were true because their hearts were moved as he finished his discourse. When they heard they would not see him again, we read, “Then they all wept freely, and fell on Paul’s neck and kissed him…” (Act 20:37) He had served them with tears (v. 19, 31), and so they were brought to tears at his departure. May we endeavor to serve the souls around us in like manner. Men’s hearts will be affected by the witness of those who truly show, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

Jamie

9 Now Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, “Because I bore him in pain.” 10 And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, “Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!” So God granted him what he requested.
1Ch 4:9-10

The point God impressed on me with this text is that you don’t have to live up to your name!  Jabez, the name his mother gave him, means “sorrowful”. His prayer to God was in essence, “Lord, don’t let that label define me.  Give me a new name!”  The glorious truth is that God is the only One Who can truly redefine you.  Some people feel trapped by their decisions, as if they can never escape their choices. Man has given them a name, branded them with an identity that seems to be for life.  Some struggle with certain sins. They’ve always had a temper, always struggled with lust or discontent. Whatever it is, they just accept that state as the norm, never expecting to be free. But Jabez cried out to the God of Whom it is said there is nothing too hard for Him!  He can take a people who are “children of wrath” and make them children of His eternal love!!

Eph 2:1-5​
1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

I love the “But God” phrase in v. 4. As bad as our previous state was, God is greater!  Where sin did abound, grace did much more abound! (Rom 5:20) Maybe you’re like that woman at the well…she’s already had five husbands and now is living with a man, thinking she can never be anything more.  She’ll never know true, enduring love.  But the Lord can make you a new creation!  He can show you love you’ve never known. He will be your Husband, unite Himself eternally with you, and you’ll never lack love again!  Just listen to how He would rename Jerusalem after she had been branded “forsaken” and “desolate”:

Isa 62:4-5
4 You shall no longer be termed Forsaken, nor shall your land any more be termed Desolate; but you shall be called Hephzibah [or “my delight is in her”], and your land Beulah [or “married”]; for the Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married.
5 For as a young man marries a virgin, so shall your sons marry you; and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.

The reality is that your name isn’t really the issue. You’re looking at the wrong name.  Look to the Lord Jesus Who has been given a “name which is above every name”! (Php 2:9) He is able to handle any and every chain that binds you. Christ can set you free!  Just consider what He did in these lives:

• Rahab the harlot became Rahab the ancestor of Christ! (Mat 1:5)
• Ruth the Moabitess (Moabites were forbidden from the congregation of Israel per Deu 23:3) also is listed in Christ’s ancestry! (Mat 1:5)
• Matthew the publican became Matthew the disciple of Christ!
• The demoniac filled with a legion of demons became the preacher who told all ten of the cities of Decapolis what great things God had done for him! (Luk 8:26-39)
• The woman recognized as she who sinned much was instead described by Christ as she who loved much! (Luk 7:37, 39, 47-50)
• Blind Bartimaeus cried out to God incessantly and became seeing Bartimaeus! (Mar 10:46-52)
• Lazarus who died became Lazarus who is alive!

We could go on and on.  As the Scripture tells us, “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new”. (2Co 5:17) I pray this truth will encourage your hearts today.  Our God is able!

Jamie