TC

Reposting this because it's just as relevant today, if not more so.  Let's put aside all the labels we give ourselves and others (Calvinists, Pentecostals, Dispensationalists, Reformed, etc...) and just see what Scripture says — taking into consideration progression revelation, of course!




“PC, or political correctness, is now being escorted by TC, or theological correctness. Just as one can be politically incorrect, so too now one can be theologically incorrect.

In evangelical Christian circles, a new form of censorship is breaking out. Now we have theological correctness. There are certain theological subjects which we are just expected not to discuss.

Our churches are awash in theological correctness. Of course not too long ago we identified this rot by other names, such as theological liberalism or false teaching or heterodoxy or even heresy. But in today’s wishy washy theological climate, Christians can say and believe almost anything and not fear being corrected or challenged.

Thus we have best-selling authors going on about how hell is not a biblical doctrine, or how in the end everyone will be saved anyway. We have all kinds of basic biblical doctrines now openly being challenged and millions of Christians are soaking it up.

They either lack all biblical discernment, or they just no longer care about the very things the Bible says we should care about. Indeed, we are warned repeatedly in Scripture that what we believe and what we do matters a great deal. If we believe false things or do wrong things, that is a mega-no-no in the minds of the biblical writers. But we simply think it is being intolerant, unloving and narrow-minded.

The hundreds of passages which speak to the need of believing right doctrine and living holy lives seem to be completely ignored by so many believers today.” (B. Muehlenberg)


I rather agree.  Certainly it can't be right to remain silent about everything except the very basics, just so we can avoid offending people, can it (Heb 5:13)?

So what were they preaching?

Luke 9:6 simply says that the twelve disciples went around "preaching the gospel." Verse 2 of this same chapter explains how the Lord had sent them "to proclaim the kingdom of God" (Lk 9:2). They couldn't have been preaching "the word of the cross," as Paul later did (1 Cor 1:17-18), because it wasn't until at least two years later that the Lord began to tell them how He must suffer and die (Matt 16:21) and Peter "began to rebuke Him" (Matt 16:22) and none of the twelve even knew what He was talking about (Lk 18:31-34).  So what were they preaching?

Does God Send Us Suffering?

"Have you considered that maybe this suffering is from God?"  

This was suggested to me when a decision to change a program in church greatly affected me.  Preference was given to those under 50 years of age, and those over 50 were basically marginalized.  "Oh, but it's for a good reason," we were told.  "We need to attract younger people to this program."  When I expressed discouragement over this, it was suggested to me that perhaps my suffering is from God.

For now, I would like to look past the fact that since both young and old are part of the church, preference should not be given to one over the other.  Instead, for my own edification and to soothe my own soul, I would like to look into whether or not God sends suffering to us today. 

So does God send us suffering?  Obviously the person who suggested this to me believes He does.  But on what is he basing his belief? Specifically, what Scriptures could he be referring to?  

Let's look at some well-known passages on this subject.

Leviticus 26:14-26 tells us that one may be chastened with adversity because of disobedience to God.  First Samuel 13:8-14 also informs us that Saul lost his kingdom when he disobeyed God and that David lost his son because of disobedience (2 Sam 11:1-12;14). While these examples prove that physical disciplining is Biblical, we must take progressive revelation into account.  These passages were to and about people who were under the law.  Under the law, God promised to physically bless His people if they obeyed and punish them if they disobeyed (Deut 11:25-28).

Personally, I believe that physical chastening is inconsistent with this government of grace. Many believers would agree that God is not blessing us physically when we do good since we are already blessed with all spiritual blessings (Eph 1:3).  But if God is not physically blessing us when we are good, then we must also conclude that He is not punishing us when we are bad if we are to be consistent.  Therefore, if we fall into sin today, we need not be afraid that God will give us a disease tomorrow.  

Some may say, "Well, what about 1 Corinthians 11:29-30?  People weren't under the law then."

For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.

But this reference is from one of Paul's early epistles, written before many other transitional things had been withdrawn (see also Acts 5:1-11), such as the spiritual gifts mentioned in the very next chapters (1 Cor 12-14).  If it is significant that there is no mention of these gifts in Paul's later epistles — and I believe it is significant — then it must also be significant that there is no mention of physical disciplining in Paul's later epistles.

Also, any physical disciplining God might engage in today would be completely ineffectual for the following reasons.  When Saul sinned, the prophet Samuel was there to make the connection between his sin and the loss of his kingdom.  When David sinned, the prophet Nathan was there to connect his sin to the loss of his child.  Without a prophet to make this connection, David may well have concluded that his child died of natural causes. Even the Corinthians had the Apostle Paul to tell them that there was a reason they were weak and sickly.  However, today there are no inspired prophets of God who can link the hardships in our lives, and we will drive ourselves crazy speculating on such things.

Okay, one more:  What about Hebrews 12:3-8?

Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.  And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?

"My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives."

It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 

First thing to notice about this passage is that it is in the book of Hebrews, the name of which tells us whom it was written directly to and about.  Not that we can't take application from it — in fact we should! — but we can't take direct application from it.

So, "what son is there whom his father does not discipline"?  There is an answer to this question, too.  Fathers do not physically discipline adult sons.  If someone is still spanking their adult son, there is something seriously wrong with their relationship. Adult sons are not disciplined with the rod of correction, they are chastened with words of correction.  We who have received "the adoption of sons" (Gal 4:4-5) are considered full-grown sons in God's sight.  The "children of Israel" were often disciplined physically (Deut 11:25-28), but today "all Scripture is given...for correction" for adult sons such as us (2 Tim 3:16; Eph 1:5*). 

What about testing, then?  Does God send that?  For example, what about 1 Peter 4:11-14?

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.

Notice the context here — "If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed..."  Was I insulted for the name of Christ when the program was changed at church?  Of course not. These verses tell us that it is not shameful to be a Christian, and that we will rejoice when Christ's glory is revealed because we have shared in His sufferings.  Nowhere does it say that these sufferings (fiery trials that test us) come from God.  Quite the contrary, it is unbelievers who insult us because we follow Christ, just as they insulted Christ Himself when He walked this earth.

But God does test our hearts for righteousness (1 Chron 29:17; 2 Chron 32:31; Ps 66:10; Prov 17:3; 1 Thes 2:3-5), and those whose works are done in faith will receive a reward in heaven (Matt 5:11-13; 6:2-5; 1 Cor 3:11-14, etc.).  

The motivation to righteousness and blessings received under the law were different than they are today, however (Rom 6:14; 7:4-6; 10:4).  Since under the law God physically blessed Israel when they obeyed Him and physically punished them when they did not, God challenged Israel again and again to obey so that He might bless them (Mal 3:10-12).  But today under grace, God has already opened the windows of heaven and blessed us "with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ" (Eph 1:3), so that we, in response to this great gift, might be moved to live for Him (2 Cor 8:1-5).  Do you see the difference?  God told Israel to test Him with their obedience to see if He wouldn't bless them in response.  But today God tests us by blessing us up front, and then asks us to walk in Him in response.

So no, I don't believe that God sends us suffering today.  He does not cause us to go through difficult situations — such as losing a job, acquiring a disease, or being marginalized for being over 50 — in order to discipline or test us.  Rather, these sufferings come from this broken world around us.

Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us (Rom 5:2-5).

And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose (Rom 8:27-28).



*adoption as sons (Eph 1:5) = to place an adult son —"The apostle here used as an illustration the Roman practice of legally adopting a child, and thus not only bequeathing to him the material possessions of the one adopting, but also giving him his civil status. Thus God takes a believing sinner, regenerates him, and by means of this makes him His child (teknon, a born one). Then He takes this child and places him in a legal position as an adult son (huios). We thus become joint-heirs with Christ, having been raised to a civil status as adult sons, in which we become heirs of God, inheriting jointly with Christ all that He possesses as an heir of God the Father by virtue of His Sonship and work on the Cross. This is one object of God’s predestination. The other is that the believer is to be conformed to the image of God’s Son (Romans 8:29)." — Wuest, pages 36-37.

Paul's distinctive apostleship

Paul's Spirit-inspired claims for the distinctive character of his apostleship leave no room for doubt. Consider a sampling of these.


Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry (Rom 11:13).

For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man's gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ (Gal 1:11-12).

On the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised (for he who worked through Peter for his apostolic ministry to the circumcised worked also through me for mine to the Gentiles), and when James and Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised (Gal 2:7-9).

For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles— assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace that was given to me for you, how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly (Eph 3:1-3).

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations BUT NOW revealed to his saints (Col 1:24-26)

For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth (1 Tim 2:5-7).

Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior (Titus 1:1-3).

Interesting tidbit - 24

Q:  In the Book of Acts, Paul goes to the Jews first in every city he visits. Why did he do that if he was the apostle to the Gentiles (1 Tim 2:5-7)?


A:  From the beginning of Christ's earthly ministry until God grants Cornelius repentance unto life in Acts 10 (about 7 or 8 years after Pentecost in Acts 2), God's order is "to the Jews only." Beginning with Paul's ministry out of Antioch in Acts 11 until Acts 28:25-28, God's order is "to the Jews first, also to the Gentiles." After Paul's statement in Act 28:28, "this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles," God's order is "to the Gentiles, also to the Jews" (Eph 2:17).

The Book of Acts records this transitional period of the setting aside of Israel. Throughout the entire book, God's order is either "to the Jews only" (Acts 1-9) or "to the Jews first, also to the Gentiles" (Acts 10-28).  When Paul comes on the scene, God's order changes from "to the Jew only" to "to the Jews first, also to the Gentile."  Paul also became as one under the law to those who were under the law in order to win unbelieving Jews for Christ (Acts 16:3; Acts 18:18; Acts 20:16; Acts 21:18-28; Acts 23:5-6).

To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some (1 Cor 9:20-22).  

As an aside: According to 1 Corinthians 1:22, "Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom." So throughout the Book of Acts (when Paul writes 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, and Romans) the sign-gifts continued (1 Cor 12:8-11).  After Acts 28:25-28 — when God's order is no longer "to the Jews first" — credential signs, signs-gifts, and tongues ceased (1 Cor 13:8; cf., Phil 2:27; 1 Tim 5:23; 2 Tim 4:20).

Paul's distinctive apostleship and message

The most important issue in all of the Word of God for members of the Body of Christ is knowing the distinctiveness of the message and apostleship of the Apostle Paul.

Many believe that the Bible words printed in red are the most important because they were spoken by Christ. Of course they are important, as is all God’s Word. And we are to study them. But they were especially important to the Jewish people — who were still under the law — and to whom these words were written regarding the coming kingdom.

And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying,"Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon." But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, "Send her away, for she is crying out after us." He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."(Matt 15:22-24).

Likewise, all that His apostles said and wrote were especially important to the Jewish people because they spoke and wrote directly to and about them.

These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, "Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And proclaim as you go, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand'" (Matt 10:5-7).

The Apostle Paul, on the other hand, spoke and wrote directly to the Gentiles.

For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth (1 Tim 2:5-7; cf.Gal 1:11-12; Gal 2:7-9; Eph 3:1-3; Col 1:24-26; Titus 1:1-3).

Therefore, when we study the New Testament books, we must interpret them in light of the epistles written by Paul because they are Christ's final marching orders for the Church today and have the correct interpretation for the day in which we live. This does not mean we should read Paul back into what Jesus Christ and His apostles said. Rather Jesus Christ and His apostles should be interpreted in accordance with progressive revelation, taking into account the circumstances (Christ hadn't died and risen again yet, and people were still under the law) and to whom they were talking directly to and about (the Jews). For more on this go here.

There is probably no place where Paul sets his apostleship forth in stronger terms than in the first chapter of his epistle to the Galatians, especially in the very first verse. You can almost hear the thunder in the apostle's voice as he declares in his salutation, "Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead—" (Gal 1:1).

Paul didn't always open his epistles by asserting his apostleship (cf. Rom 1:1; Phil 1:1; etc.), but the Galatians suffered from the same spiritual problem that plagues many Christians today — they doubted Paul's apostolic authority! So Paul comes out swinging in this epistle by declaring his authority as an apostle of God, and states, "I was not at all inferior to these super-apostles" (2 Cor 12:11). Who were these super-apostles? The Lord's chief apostles were Peter, James, and John, men who are mentioned ten times in Scripture apart from the twelve. Of those three chiefs, Peter was the chiefest of them all, but Paul was "not at all inferior" to him either (2 Cor 11:5).

But if Paul's apostleship was equal to Peter's, and no higher, why should we follow Paul? Surely it's because Peter was the apostle to the circumcision, and Paul was the apostle to the uncircumcision (Gal 2:7-9).

It's important for a believer to know who his apostle is! The governors of all fifty states are equal in authority, but you follow the governor of your state, and I follow the governor of mine. Peter and Paul were of equal authority in Scripture, but we follow Paul because he is the Apostle to the Gentiles. Just as we can't function as citizens unless we know who our governor is, we can't function as Christians unless we know who our apostle is.

Unfortunately, most believers today don't know that Paul is our apostle. And since most of them believe that Paul's apostleship is of no more consequence to us than the apostleship of Peter, James, and John, they are forced to conclude that Paul's message must be the same as these chief apostles.

The problem with this is that they know Paul taught if you are saved, the Lord has already forgiven you "all our trespasses" (Col 2:13). But they also know the Apostle John teaches that the Lord is "faithful and just to forgive us our sins" if we confess them (1 John 1:9). So to homogenize these two opposite and contradictory messages they conclude that believers are forgiven when they get saved, but need just a little more forgiveness when they sin. This despite the fact that forgiveness of sins is something that every believer receives the moment he is saved, along with salvation, justification, and redemption. Most Christians wouldn't think of asking for more salvation, justification, or redemption when they sin, but asking for more forgiveness is the only way to get Paul and John to say the same thing.

Most believers also know that Paul says that salvation is by grace through faith without works (Rom 4:5), but they also know that James is just as adamant that "faith without works is dead" (James 2:20; cf James 1:1). So to homogenize these two opposite and contradictory messages they conclude that Paul is talking about justification before God while James is addressing the issue of justification before men, even though the Lord never asked anyone to be justified before men — in fact, He condemned it (Luke 16:15).

And on and on it goes, as futile attempts are made to try to blend Paul's unique message with the teachings of the Lord's chiefest apostles, the other writers of the New Testament. How much easier it would be to just acknowledge the distinctive apostleship and message of the Apostle Paul — and how much more Scriptural.

Accurately handling the Word of truth - 2 Tim 2:15

It's not enough to use the Bible as a book of wonderful sayings from which we may choose what we wish for our inspiration. "The Word of truth" must be "accurately handled"; for while it is all given for our spiritual profit, it is not all written directly to us or about us. Therefore, if we truly want to understand and obey God's Word, we must first determine what Scriptures are particularly related to us and study all the rest in the light of these.

Sadly, however, many fail to give the Word of God the respect and reverence it deserves. They take passages out of context, spiritualize them, and give them private interpretations. Finding "precious passages" anywhere at all, no matter to whom addressed or when or why, they put their own spin on them and claim them as promises of God to them. To take isolated statements from the writings of men and use them in such a way would be considered dishonest, but Bible teachers do this all the time with the Word of God!

The Word, accurately handled, is of supreme importance to the Church as a whole as well as to the individual believer.  And it's because this fact has not yet been sufficiently recognized that we have in the Church today so many "children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes" (Eph 4:14).

For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil (Heb 5:12-14).

Interesting tidbit - 23 (2 Cor 7:9-10)

Q: What exactly do the verses in 2 Corinthians 7:9-10 (cf 1 Cor 5) mean?  They seem to be saying that as believers we need to ask for forgiveness when we sin to be saved.  Does this mean we lose our salvation each time we sin and have to ask for forgiveness in order to be saved again?

As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us. For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.


A:  There are different kinds of salvation in Scripture. Paul spoke about the salvation of our souls in Ephesians 2:8-9, but he also spoke about his physical salvation from prison in Philippians 1:19 (cf. Ex 14:13):

for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance (The KJV uses the word "salvation" instead of "deliverance"; both words are derived from the Greek word sōtērian).

Paul also told Timothy that if he continued in sound doctrine, he would "save" both himself and his hearers from the misery that always comes from not continuing in sound doctrine (1 Tim. 4:16). There is also the salvation from despair that the hope of the Rapture gives (Rom 8:23-24). And the Rapture itself is called a salvation in Romans 13:11.

The salvation in the verses you ask about is yet another kind. Paul says he made the Corinthians sorry "with a letter" (2 Cor 7:8), i.e., his first epistle to them, in which he scolded them for not disciplining a man for his sexual immorality (1 Cor 5). They then "were grieved into repenting" about this (2 Cor 7:9).  And remember, the word repent means to have a change of mind, not to ask for forgiveness.  So the Corinthians changed their minds about allowing this man to stay in their assembly. This "saved" them from the dangerous leavening effect that his presence would otherwise have among them, and so their godly grief produced a repentance that leads to salvation, a salvation they would not regret or repent of (change their minds about) later.

This also worked another kind of salvation among them, one similar to the salvation Paul refers to in 1 Corinthians 5:5, where he speaks about the sexually immoral man and tells them:

"to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord."

In context we know that delivering this man to Satan meant putting him out of the assembly (1 Cor 2-5:2-13). Letting him wallow in sin might destroy his flesh, but it would bring him back to the Lord, and "save" him from a loss of rewards at the Judgment Seat (1 Cor 3:15). The Corinthian assembly would also be saved from such loss by their obedience to Paul's instructions. Their godly grief worked this kind of repentance to salvation as well, another salvation they would not regret because no one at the Judgment Seat will ever repent of (change their mind about) having done the right thing.

The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so (Acts 17:10-11).

Repentance and Grace

When unbelievers, convicted by the Holy Spirit of the seriousness of sin and of judgment to come, cry out to the Lord to save them, they have, of course, repented, or changed their minds, as the Greek word signifies. Many pastors and speakers today, however, thinking only of the fact that unbelievers need this change of mind, conclude that the best way to produce results in their ministry is to stress repentance.

It should be remembered, however, that Israel's response to the calls to repentance under the Law was undeniably meager: John the Baptist called Israel to repent but was beheaded as a result (Matt 3:1-12; 14:3-10). The Lord Jesus took up the cry where John had left off (Matt 4:17), but was crucified for it. After the resurrection, He sent His disciples to preach "repentance and forgiveness of sins...in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem" (Luke 24:47). But Jerusalem refused to repent, and it was not long before blood flowed again as Stephen was stoned to death and a great persecution followed (Acts 8:3).

Israel's hardness of heart increased too as the call to repentance was intensified.  Notice the progression:  While John's murder was permitted by the people, Christ's was demanded by them, and Stephen's was actually committed by them. So the so-called "Great Commission" was bogged down from the start, because if Jerusalem and the covenant people refused to repent, what hope was there that the "nations" (Luke 24:47) would?

"...but where sin increased, GRACE abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, GRACE also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Rom 5:20-21).

After calls to repentance failed, the ascended Lord reached down to save Saul, who was far from being in a repentant mood, on the road to Damascus. Our Lord didn't speak to him in judgment but rather in the tenderest of tones showed him the glory of His grace.  Paul, this "trophy of grace", was then sent out to proclaim "the gospel of the grace of God" (Acts 20:24).

Repentance was the theme of God's message from John the Baptist until Paul, while grace, proclaimed through the cross and received by faith alone, gradually displaced it as the theme of God's message for today (Acts 20:24).

Along this same line, most believers know that Paul taught that if you are saved, the Lord has already forgiven you "all our trespasses" (Col 2:13).  But they also know that the apostle John taught that the Lord is "is faithful and just to forgive us our sins" if we confess them (1 John 1:9). So to reconcile these two opposite and contradictory messages, they conclude that believers are forgiven when they are saved, but need just a little more forgiveness when they sin. This despite the fact that forgiveness of sins is something believers receive the moment they are saved, along with salvation, justification, and redemption. Most believers wouldn’t dream of asking for more salvation, justification, or redemption when they sin, but asking for more forgiveness is the only way to get Paul and John to say the same thing.

Yet more reasons why it is so important to observe the progression of Scripture!

Motivations for Obedience (a comparison - under law and under grace)

Under the Law:
(obedience in response to a warning or command) - THEN

For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses (Matt 6:14-15).

"See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God..." (Deut 11:26-28a; cf. 1 Pet 3:8-11)

You shall therefore love the Lord your God and keep his charge, his statutes, his rules, and his commandments always (Deut 11:1; cf. Matt 22:36-40).

"We have to obey...or else..."


Under Grace:

(obedience in response to all He's done for us) - NOW (Gal 5:18)

Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him (Col 3:12-17).

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.  In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.  In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory (Eph 1:3-14).

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace...Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned Christ!— assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. (Eph 4:1-3; 17-32)

"We are so grateful for all He's done for us that we want to (or should want to!) walk worthy of Him."

Bearing Good Fruit

When John the Baptist and the Lord Jesus Christ appeared on earth, God's people had been under the law of Moses for fifteen hundred years. No wonder John and Jesus Christ looked for fruit among them.

When the hypocritical religious leaders came to join John's growing audience and asked to be baptized, John called them a "brood of vipers" and told them to "bear fruit in keeping with repentance" (Matt 3:7-8). True repentance, with fruit to prove it, was the basic requirement of the earthly kingdom John proclaimed. This is evident from his declaration:

Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire (Matt 3:10).

Our Lord appeared, proclaiming the same message as John, and also looked for fruit among His people (Matt 7: 16-20; 21:33-43). We know, however, that John the Baptist was beheaded and Christ crucified. The fruit produced under the Law was puny indeed. Even after the resurrection of Christ, the majority of His people refused to repent and failed to produce the required fruit.

But what the Law requires, grace provides. It was at this time that God raised up the Apostle Paul, whose preaching of "the word of the cross" (1 Cor 1:18) showed that Christ had not died an untimely death, but in infinite love had come into the world to die for sinners so that they might be saved by grace, through faith alone (Eph. 2:8-9). Paul's message was called "the gospel [good news] of the grace of God" (Acts 20:24), and where the Law had failed to produce fruit, grace produced it in spades.

When Paul wrote to the Colossians that his good news was going out into all the world, he added: "it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth" (Col 1:5-6 cf. Rom 6: 21-22).

In fact, grace trains us to produce good fruit. 

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works (Titus 2:11-14).

Why was the law given?

There are three misconceptions entertained about the law of God and its Ten Commandments:

1. Most people have a vague notion that the law was always in existence and that it must have been given to the first man, Adam, or soon after. Actually, God gave the law to Moses for Israel about 1500 B.C., after about 2500 years of human history had elapsed (John 1:17). So mankind lived on earth for about 2500 years without the law or the Ten Commandment.
2. Most people suppose that the law and the Ten Commandments were given to mankind in general, when in fact, it was given to Israel alone (Deuteronomy 5:2,3).
3. Most people suppose that the law and the Ten Commandments were given to help us be good. Even some pastors teach this, although the Bible clearly tells us they were given to show us we are guilty sinners.

It's true that the law, while given to Israel, also shows us that we are sinners. This is why Romans 3:19 says:

Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God.

But most important of all, few people realize that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins to deliver us from the just condemnation of the law...

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us… (Gal 3:13).

For our sake he made him [Christ] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Cor 5:21).

...so that believers are not under the law.

For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace (Rom 6:14).

Interesting tidbit - 22 (Acts 8:14-17)

Q:  Why didn't the Samaritans in Acts 8 immediately receive the Holy Spirit upon believing and being baptized in accordance with Mark 16:16-17 and Acts 2:38?  Why didn't this happen until Peter and John laid their hands on them?

Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:14-17). 


A:  The answer can be found in the relationship between the Jews and the Samaritans. The schism between Jerusalem and Samaria must be healed before Christ can reign.  Israel and Judah, the ten tribes and the two, must be reunited (Ezek 37:15-19) because Christ is to reign over all twelve tribes. The apostles recognized this. After all, hadn't our Lord promised them twelve throne in the kingdom (Matt 19:28)?  But it wasn't enough that the two factions be brought together. It was the ten tribes which had apostatized and had made Samaria their capital city and had set up their own temple at Mt. Gerizim. They must now renounce all this and recognize Jerusalem as the seat of authority, because there Christ and the twelve will reign. This fact was impressed upon the Samaritan believers, for although they had believed and been baptized, they did not receive the Holy Spirit until two apostles had come from Jerusalem and prayed for them and laid their hands upon them. Two apostles were enough for this, for it is written: Only on the evidence of TWO witnesses or of THREE witnesses shall a charge be established (Deut 17:6; 19:15; 2 Cor 13:1) and Peter and John, with Philip, made THREE witnesses. Indeed our Lord had specified that any two of the apostles could act officially for Him in His absence: 'Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you, if TWO of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where TWO or THREE are gathered in my name, there am I among them.' (Matt 18:18-20). The believers at Samaria recognized the authority of the twelve at Jerusalem and, had the kingdom been accepted, would have become one nation with the Jews. As it is, the restoration of the United Kingdom of Israel under Messiah awaits a future day.

Interesting tidbit - 21 (Mark 2:22)

Q:  Is the new wine in Mark 2:22 the dispensation of grace?

And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins—and the wine is destroyed, and so are the skins. But new wine is for fresh wineskins Mark 2:22).

A:  No, the dispensation of grace was a mystery that was not revealed until Paul (Eph 3:1-3). That means it cannot be found hidden in the Lord’s parables, for it was still "not made known" at that time (Eph 3:1-9).

Wine is a type of the Holy Spirit, for both are associated with joy (Zech 10:7; 1 Thes 1:6), and new wine is a type of the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost. You’ll remember that when the apostles were "filled with the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:4), men thought that they were “filled with new wine" (Acts 2:13). 

With the parable of the wineskins, the Lord was saying that the new wine of the Holy Spirit could not be put into the "old wineskins" of Israel's religious leaders; it must rather be put in the "fresh wineskins" of His "little flock" (Luke 12:32). 

New wine is first mentioned in the Bible when Israel was gathered back into her land after her captivity (Neh 10:39; 13:5,12), a type of Israel's future gathering back into her land for the kingdom, and so it is associated with the kingdom that was taken from Israel's apostate leaders and given to the little flock (Matt 21:43). New wine was withheld from Israel when she rebelled against God (Isa 24:7; Hos. 9:2; Joel 1:5,10; Hag 1:11) and was given when she was obedient (Prov 3:5-10), and so it will be given in the kingdom (Joel 3:18; Zech. 9:17; Matt 26:29) when God's Spirit will "cause" them to walk in His ways (Ezek 36:27).

The Lord's Prayer - Matthew 6:9-13

Why do so many sincere believers repeat over and over again prayers that have been prepared for them to recite?

Undoubtedly the greatest number of all make it a practice to recite The Lord’s Prayer. I think they must have overlooked that He said, "Pray then like this." (Matt 6:9), not "recite this prayer."

The reason for this seems obvious; there is no one prayer that fits every occasion.

Not only that, The Lord’s Prayer fit perfectly into the circumstances then, but imperfectly fits ours today. One example of this is at the close of His earthly ministry our Lord gave His disciples further instruction about prayer.

Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full. I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father. In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf" (Jn 16:24-26).

After the Lord’s ascension into heaven the disciples were to make their requests to the Father in Christ's name. This in itself would have excluded their (and our) reciting The Lord's Prayer. 

Another example of how circumstances have changed from the time of the Lord's Prayer to now can be clearly seen in verses 12, 14 and 15 of Matthew 6:

and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors (Matt 6:12).

For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses (Matt 6:14-15).

But look at what Paul says about forgiveness AFTER Christ's death and resurrection:

Bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive (Col 3:13).

Why the difference?  Because when Jesus Christ walked the earth, people were still under the Law.  In fact, our Lord ramped up the Law, as my Pastor so well explains.  While the Law said "You shall not murder" Jesus said "You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire" (Matt 5:21-22).   

Of course we now know that the Law was given to show us our need for a Savior:  

Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin (Rom 3:18-20).

We also know that we are not under the Law today:  

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith (Rom 3:21-25; cf Rom 7:4-6; Eph 2:14-16).

For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace (Rom 6:14).

So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian (Gal 3:24-25).

Yet both Protestants and Catholics still make much of repeating The Lord's Prayer, saying it in unison in sickness and death, in drought and storm, in peace and war, etc... with almost no regard to its contents.

What a difference there is between praying and "saying prayers."

Matthew 28:16-20 - The Great Commission

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold,I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

So many believers assume this passage is written directly to us and about us.  It would be hard for them not to come to this conclusion when so many pulpits teach this very thing.  There are, of course, general principles in this passage that can be applied to us, but we must remember to check everything we hear (no matter who is saying it!) against what Scripture actually says, taking into consideration progressive revelation and to whom the passage IS directly written.

The "they saw him" in verse 17 may include the 500 of 1 Corinthians 15:6, as it is unlikely the apostles would be doubting at this point.

As Williams well says about this passage:

"These were the 'poor of the flock' (Zechariah 11) to whom in distant Galilee and far from Jerusalem the Great Shepherd connected Himself, and whom He commissioned to proclaim His rights as King and the laws of His Kingdom throughout the whole earth. He assured them of the donation of all power given to Him both in heaven and in earth, and promised to be with them until the consummation of the age. That consummation would have then come if Israel had repented; but the two tribes in Jerusalem sent Stephen (Acts 7) to say 'We will not have this Man to reign over us,' and the ten tribes in Rome, the capital of the Dispersion, committed a similar message to Paul (Acts 28). Hence this commission is now in abeyance, but will be resumed, and obeyed, when Divine relations are once more resumed with Israel. There is no Ascension in this Gospel, for all in it relates to the King and to the Kingdom which He proposed to set up upon the earth; and so He promises to be with them until the predicted hour came of the establishment of the kingdom. The interpretation of this commission belongs, therefore, to the Hebrew church, represented by the apostles and the five hundred brethren. The Church of God — the 'secret' revealed in Ephesians — does not here appear, for its home is heavenly, and its commission is to take out from both Hebrews and Gentiles an election to heavenly glory." 

That this "commission" cannot be intended for the Body of Christ, the Church of the age of grace, can be seen by its contrast with 1 Corinthians 1:17, where Paul writes: For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

Rather, the "commission" intended for us today is the ministry of reconciliation:

Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience. We are not commending ourselves to you again but giving you cause to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance and not about what is in the heart. For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Cor 5:11-21).

Supernatural Activity

"It's a God-thing."  You hear it everywhere.  Anytime something works out particularly well for us, it's "a God thing." Why must everything be about us and our comfort?  And what if things aren't going particularly well for us, does this mean God has abandoned us?

Recently I came across this passage by Harriet A Harris, Lecturer in Theological Studied, University of Exeter, in her book, Fundamentalism and Evangelicals.  She presents a rather interesting perspective on God's supernatural activity:

"Charismatics challenge traditional fundamentalist thinking about God’s supernatural activity. Traditionally fundamentalists confine miracles to the Bible and regard them as violent divine interventions (Barr 1984: 86). In John Wimber's words: 'Christians unconsciously consign the supernatural to an impenetrable upper tier (except for the resurrection, early church miracles, and transcendent moral standards), excluding God’s power from their theology and practice' (1985: 88). However, increasingly in fundamentalist circles God is regarded as ever-present and active, providing such mundane services as finding parking spaces in the centre of town on a Saturday morning. As Nancy Ammerman (1987: 48-9) found, having spent a year studying a fundamentalist church in New England,

"'Almost anything good or bad can be explained as God's doing. God keeps the dishes from breaking, locates things that are lost. He supplies friends and offspring. He makes sure cars get fixed at affordable prices. He arranges convenient overtime work schedules and makes hiring and firing more pleasant. He provides clothes and food when they are needed, as well as less essential items like tickets for a rodeo or a pet dog for the children.'"

Does God really work like this today? Some may say yes. But when we look in the Bible, we see that when miracles were performed, they were proclaimed (Matt 4:24; Mark 3:9, 10; 6:56) — they were not performed by stealth. There was no guessing or wondering if they were miracles or not (e.g., did God really provide that parking space, etc... or was it just a coincidence?).  They were always straight-forward. And regarding the healing miracles, there were no doctors, drugs and gradually being healed. Miracles were instantaneous — the dead immediately got up and walked, blind men from birth suddenly could see, the sick were instantly healed, etc...

In an article for Christianity Today, Dr. Paul Brand, a well recognized authority on orthopedic surgery for leprosy patients and a well respected Christian, said:

"From my own experience as a physician I must truthfully admit that, among the thousands of patients I have treated, I have never observed an unequivocal instance of intervention in the physical realm. Many were prayed for, many found healing, but not in ways that counteracted the laws governing anatomy. No case have I treated personally would meet the rigorous criteria for a supernatural miracle."

Yet many Christians today point to John 14:11-14 and claim if enough people pray in faith, God will give them what they request. But can every word addressed to the apostles be intended to apply to all believers at all times? For instance, go to John 14:12. Is every believer to be endowed with miraculous powers equal to or greater than those performed by Jesus Christ Himself? Most are quick to say, “Of course not.” So should we then suppose that the verses that immediately follow are for universal application?

“Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it (John 14:11-14)."

Also, when looking at progressive revelation, who can fail to notice the difference between the earlier and later chapters of the book of Acts? In the beginning of Acts, we see the apostles performing extraordinary miracles in His name, and no one who is preaching Christ dies. But as Israel's opposition increases, Stephen is killed (Acts 7:54-59), and a little later James dies by the sword of Herod (Acts 12:1-2).  Notice, too, that in Acts 5 all of the sick who were brought from various cities to Jerusalem were healed by the apostles. But twenty-five years later we find Paul himself denied healing (2 Cor 12:7-9).  And near the end, we see him advising Timothy to take a little wine for his frequent ailments (1 Tim 5:23).  Still later we learn that Paul has left another worker sick at Miletum (2 Tim 4:20). So although in the early chapters of Acts Jerusalem, the seat of Israel's government, is filled with miracles, after the stoning of Stephen there is never again any record of a public miracle in that city called the city of the great King (Matt 5:34-35).

Moreover, "to the Jew first" is stamped on every page of the book of Acts. The twelve apostles went to the Jews. And when Paul comes on the scene half way through the book, it was by divine appointment that he too went first to "the chief of the Jews" in every place he visited. It is because of this that I believe the purpose of miracles in the NT was to accredit the Messiah to Israel (or the messenger bringing a message), and not, as generally supposed, to accredit Christianity to the world (Luke 19:36-38; Jn. 2:11; 10:25, 32, 38; 14:11; 15:24; 2 Cor. 12:12). That people were relieved of their infirmities was a loving byproduct, not the main purpose, of these miracles.

For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God (1 Cor 1:22-24).

Though no one may dare limit what God will do for the believer, I believe we need to realize that during this age of grace, we live by faith, not by sight; and that ours is a higher privilege as those "who have not seen and yet have believed (John 20:29)." If "signs and wonders" were given to us, as in times past, faith would sink to a lower level, and the whole standard and character of the Christian walk would be altered. Paul's sufferings toward the end of his life show a higher faith than the miracles of his earlier ministry.

In fact, Paul's letters contain many accounts of unanswered prayers. Three times he pleaded with the Lord to fix his "thorn in the flesh" (2 Cor. 12:7-8). But did the Lord say to him, "Whatever you ask you’ll receive, if you have faith?" Not at all. The Lord told him that His grace would be enough for him (His grace meaning His power working in Paul's life). And, "…My strength is made perfect in weakness..." (2 Cor. 12:9) We always want the Lord to fix our problems, but He wants to show us the sufficiency of His grace and power working in our lives.

It appears that Paul’s whole attitude about suffering changed as a result of this prayer experience because He says that he learned to "take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong (2 Cor. 9:10)."

And in Philippians 4:11-13 he says, "Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me."

Here is a glimpse of the life Paul led:

"Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep. I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren; I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure (2 Cor. 11:24-27)."

And what was his response? Instead of grumbling at his infirmities, he boasted in them. Not vainly or morbidly, but "for Christ’s sake he had suffered the loss of all things." In fact, he described them as "light affliction which is for the moment, working for us more and more exceedingly an eternal weight of glory," and continues, "while we look, not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal (2 Cor. 4:17, 18)." And, "…I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us (Rom. 8:18)."

So then, should we expect miracles when we pray today?

Sir Robert Anderson in "The Silence of God" puts it this way:

"…it is plain matter of fact that before this, the great characteristic truth of Christianity, was revealed there was immediate Divine intervention upon earth: in a word, there were miracles; whereas, after this truth was revealed, they ceased. The era of the reign of grace is precisely the era of the silence of God. To grace, therefore, we look to explain the silence. Christianity is the supreme and final revelation of the Divine 'kindness and love-toward-man.' Therefore when God again declares Himself it can only be in wrath, and wrath must await 'the day of wrath (Rom 2:5).'"

"…From the throne of the Divine Majesty there has gone forth the proclamation of pardon and peace, and this without condition or reserve. And now a silent Heaven gives continuing proof that this great amnesty is still in force, and that the guiltiest of men may turn to God and find forgiveness of sins and eternal life."

God has said all He needs to say (the canon is now complete) and done everything that needs to be done — through His Son’s death on the cross on our behalf. In Christ, we are complete and have been blessed with all spiritual blessings. What greater gifts could He possibly give? Now He is lovingly drawing all who will come to Him in faith, patiently waiting with outstretched arms.

"And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself (Jn. 12:32)."

“Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God (2 Cor. 5:18-20)."

“For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven (Col. 1:19-20)."

May we, like Paul, look past the events and circumstances of this life, see our home beyond, and rejoice in the glory to which He calls us.

Making sense of the Book of Acts - Conclusion

The Book of Acts ends rather abruptly, doesn't it?  From its close alone, it's evident that the Book of Acts is not primarily a history of "the birth and growth of the Church," nor even a complete record of "the acts of the apostles."* Wouldn't we like to know what happened to the twelve apostles after the raising up of Paul?  And wouldn't we like to know how Paul fared during the "two whole years at his own expense" (Acts 28:30) and after? What reading an inspired record of his last days and his trial and execution would have made! But God didn't cause Luke to write the Book of Acts in order to satisfy our curiosity. Rather, the book is intended to be the story of Israel's fall and of how salvation was sent to the Gentiles. This having been accomplished, and Israel having rejected Christ at Rome as she had done at Jerusalem and all the way between, the book ends.

*Interestingly, the title "Acts of the Apostles" (Greek Πράξεις ἀποστόλων Praxeis Apostolon) was not part of the original text. It was first used by Irenaeus at the end of the 2nd century.

Making sense of the Book of Acts - 9

Beginning with the preaching of John the Baptist (whose message was for Israel - Lk 1:16; 80; Acts 13:24), and during the several years of Christ's earthly ministry with His twelve apostles (which was for Israel - Matt 10:5-7; 15:24; Rom 15:8), and for seven or eight years after Pentecost, the gospel was not sent to Gentiles.

Jesus of Nazareth was a man attested by God with mighty works and wonders and signs in the midst of Israel (Acts 2:22). Jesus responded to the appeals of two Gentiles of "great faith" only, by healing their loved ones (Matt 8:1-12; 15:20-28; Lk 7:1-10; Mk 7:27-37).

In the Book of Acts the Lord is carrying out His program declared in Mark 7:27 and Matthew 8:12. Notice that to the Greek woman our Savior said: "Let the children be fed first..." (Mk 7:27). To the Roman man He said, "...the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness" (Matt 8:12). During Acts, "the children" were being "fed first." In Acts 3:26 Peter said to Israel, "to you first." In Acts 13:46 Paul said to Israel "it was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you." In fulfillment of our Lord's words in Matthew 8:12, the judgment of "the outer darkness" is announced by Paul in Acts 28:25-28 (about 62 A.D.) and Romans 11:6-25, and came about with the destruction of Jerusalem (about 70 A.D.).

Why was it necessary that the word should be sent to Israel first?  The answer is, the Israelites were His people, and salvation was to go to all the world through them (Lk 23:3-4; Jn 4:22; Acts 1:8; 3:16-18).  (Remember, people had to become Jews — proselytes — in order to approach God at that time.)  BUT NOW, because of their unbelief, salvation is temporarily going to all the world apart from them (Isa 49; Zech 8:13,22,23; Rom 11:25-28).