God makes the world go round … for He is the total sum and source of all life and provision of natural resources to make this world work. True, we mess up. Russia’s onslaught against the Ukraine is a prime example of the way we abuse our world. Maybe seen as lesser, yet still contributing are things like murder, rape, abuse, anger, selfishness, discrimination, prejudice, drunkenness and a host of other sins that man does causing harm to life and our environment. So this world is God’s … and we tend to mess it up.
The same is true with God’s Kingdom. He raises up people to be a blessing through preaching the Word and reaching the lost … yet often there are those who try to destroy God’s Kingdom to regain losses in the kingdom of this world (the devil’s domain) and advance satan’s sinister cause. Please read the same two passages of yesterday and note:
Ac 15:26 men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Gospel work is always dangerous, even in the calmest areas, because the Gospel is God’s driving force against satan for the release of captured souls.
Ac 15:22 Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas, two men who were leaders among the brothers. 23 With them they sent the following letter: The apostles and elders, your brothers, To the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia: Greetings. 24 We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said. 25 So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul—26 men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing. 28 It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: 29 You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. Farewell.
1) The Brotherhood of all believers. The letter written is from the apostles and elders … who are brothers. They were Jews writing chiefly to Gentiles. As apostles and elders, the former chosen by Jesus and the latter appointed by the congregation, were men of spiritual authority. They were the teaching and ruling elders of the Early Church. They spoke for God and from God. They, especially the apostles were the pillars of the Christian Church. Yet they knew their relationship to God and His people. They were brothers … meaning they were equals in the Kingdom even though they were unequal in a functional way … teaching and ruling. Right here lies an important lesson for the Church in general and specifically for the pastor teachers and their eldership today. There is no such things as a hierarchy such as in Popery, the High Anglican Church and in any other system that positions men (or women) on pedestals indicating superiority within God’s Kingdom. There is no Biblical warrant for such dividing lines between the people of God. Each one is gifted by the Spirit, yet each one is equal within the Kingdom. To miss this will be to negate the Bible’s teaching of the “priesthood of all believers.” Consider the following three quotes from an article written by “thegospelcoalition”.
The Protestant doctrine of the priesthood of all believers holds that there is no longer a priestly class of people within God’s people, but that all believers share in Christ’s priestly status by virtue of their union with Christ.
Every person, therefore, who is united to Christ, shares in his priestly office, but this great blessing does not mean that we should reject the authority, function, and office of minister. We are indeed a holy nation and kingdom of priests. Christ dispenses this holy office to all Christians through the outpouring of the Spirit.
The shepherds and teachers of the church are priests just like the rest of the body of Christ, but the Spirit uniquely gifts them so they can equip the church for their own growth in grace and the proclamation of the gospel. These shepherds and teachers do not belong to a higher order of being, as in the medieval understanding. Rather, they are one part of the body of Christ, not greater than any other part but necessary nonetheless. The shepherd cannot say to the person in the pew, “I have no need of you because the Spirit has gifted me to be a shepherd.” Conversely, the person in the pew cannot say to the shepherd, “I have no need of you because I am a priest in Christ.” God has sovereignly arranged the body of Christ in such a manner that each part, though different in function and gifts, needs every other part.
2) To the Gentiles Churches. The letter was not only to the Church at Antioch, but also to the regions where the Gospel had seen fruits amongst Gentiles on Paul and Barnabas’ missionary journey. This letter is part of the Scriptures. It is inspired, inerrant, infallible and authoritative as is the rest of the Bible. The letter’s message, as all of the Bible is prescriptive for all God’s people. We need to remember that anyone who calls themselves Christian needs to receive and adhere to all of Scripture as God’s Word, directive and instruction to them. Sadly not all who call themselves Christian are Christian. Take the House of Bishops in London. They have approved services for same sex marriages. This is a departure from the very Scriptures that shape Christianity! If they have departed from the Scriptures … surely they have departed from Christianity and are now a sect.
3) Unauthorized representatives. The letter states that some from their body went to Antioch with teachings that were not approved. Their message caused pain and unhappiness. Without saying it directly, but by implication this was firstly an apology to the Church and secondly a rebuke to the Judaizers who usurped authority. To prove their commitment to what the letter said they sent their own delegation to confirm its contents. As Christians we need to be careful about listening to people who name drop. Often this is to authenticate what they want said. The bigger problem to look out for is those who use the name of the Lord Jesus to say … “He told me to tell you”. That is not only un-Biblical … it is wicked to the core. This is why God’s people need to know the Bible to prevent being led astray.
4) True evangelism is dangerous. We read … our dear friends Barnabas and Paul—men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have seen how often Paul and Barnabas were in danger of death … Paul was even stoned and thought to be dead. The true Gospel can draw severe opposition. We need to know this and know that Jesus said it would not be easy as we would be treated even worse than He. This must not cause us to shrink away, but rather amplify our pursuit of getting the Gospel to all nations, even in our life time. Just think of this … “Should we die in the process of serving the Gospel to the lost, we shall be in Glory immediately.” This skin of ours is of little value. The soul controlled and indwelt by the Holy Spirit is of such value to God, that His desire is we be with Him in His paradise forever!
Father of Glory, God of all grace, lay Your blessings upon all Your servants operating in dangerous areas and amongst people opposed to Your Truth. Empower them to serve Your Cause, protect their lives and, should it please You, take them to be with You in Glory. Amen.