Archives For Preaching

What Jesus Wants Repeatedly Emphasized to His People in His Churches

April 21, 2015

Imagine that you go to church on a Sunday or Wednesday and hear that Jesus is going to come to your church and preach a week of meetings at your church. If that were to happen, what do you think Jesus would repeatedly emphasize in His week of meetings?

Of course, Jesus is not Himself going to come preach at any church, but we can know something about what Jesus wants emphasized in messages in His churches by noting what He repeatedly talks about in the seven letters to the seven churches in Revelation 2-3. In messages to three of the seven churches, Jesus spoke six times about a key figure that is active in Christian churches:

Rev 2:9 I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.

10 Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.

Rev 2:13 I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.

Rev 2:24 But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden.

Rev 3:9 Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.

Based on this biblical data, we can be confident that Jesus wants preachers and teachers in His churches continually to make His people mindful of the nefarious activities of Satan! Let us learn from these passages that we must keep this emphasis before God’s people continually.

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In Exhortation, Preaching, Theology
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A Widespread, False Assertion about Corinthian Prostitutes and Paul’s Teaching about Head Coverings

April 18, 2015

Have you ever heard that Paul taught the Corinthians that it was shameful for women to cut their hair short or shave their heads because that was what the prostitutes in Corinth did? Pastor Minnick recently pointed out that Gordon Fee, who is a highly devoted egalitarian, wrote in his standard commentary on First Corinthians that there is zero historical evidence for that idea!

Here is what Fee has written about this very widespread false explanation for why Paul wrote what he did:

“It was commonly suggested that short hair or a shaved head was the mark of Corinthian prostitutes . . . But there is no contemporary evidence to support this view (it seems to be a case of one scholar’s guess becoming a second scholar’s footnote and a third scholar’s assumption).”1

The apostle Paul did not teach what he did in 1 Corinthians 11:5-6 because Corinthian prostitutes cut their hair short or shaved their heads. For a superb treatment of why Paul did teach what he did about head coverings and much more, I encourage you to listen closely to this recent message by Pastor Minnick: Harmonizing 1 Timothy 2 and 1 Corinthians 14.2

1 Gordon D. Fee, The First Epistle to the Corinthians in NICNT, 511

2 For clear biblical evidence that shows that Paul is speaking about an external head covering, see my post Haman, Head Coverings, and First Corinthians 11:1-16.

See also Why Christian Women Should Have Long Hair

What Is Hair as the Hair of Women?

Does God Care about the Length of Hair a Christian Man Has?

The Teaching of “Nature” (1 Cor. 11:14-15)

 

 

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In Interpretation, Mount Calvary Baptist Pulpit, Quotes
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Learning From Peter as a Witness of Christ

February 27, 2015

Jesus chose Peter to be the leader of the apostolic company and entrusted him with the keys of the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 16:16-19). After giving them instructions about how He wanted them all to be witnesses of Him to the whole world (Acts 1:8), we first see in the book of Acts that Peter led the believers in choosing the necessary replacement for Judas (Acts 1:15-26).

In Acts 2, we read of Peter’s preaching the first apostolic message in obedience to Jesus’ directive for them to be His witnesses. This premier gospel message has many instructive features that we need to learn from so that we will be the witnesses of Christ that we should be.

Peter as a Witness in Jerusalem

Peter preached to men who were devout Jews (Acts 2:5) from every nation, but before he did so, they all heard supernaturally produced testimony to the wonderful works of God (Acts 2:11). Because the Spirit has chosen not to give us any more information about what that testimony included, we cannot be certain of what specific content they received through this precursor to his message.

Following this initial supernatural testimony, Peter explained to his hearers what they had just witnessed signified (Acts 2:14-21). This means that his hearers received a lengthy two-part precursor to his actual message.

When we look at Peter’s message (Acts 2:22-36), we see that it was preeminently a God-and-Jesus message that highlighted that God raised Jesus from the dead and exalted Him (Acts 2: 22; 32, 36). When the people responded by asking him and the rest of the apostles what they should do in light of what he had preached to them (Acts 2:37), Peter instructed them to repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of their sins (Acts 2:38-39), just as Jesus had commanded the apostles to proclaim to the world (Matt. 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16; Lk. 24:44-49).

Peter then extensively warned them after his message and urged them to be saved (Acts 2:40). Because the Spirit has chosen only to give us a brief summary of this lengthy exhortation after Peter’s message, we again note that God has not given us an exhaustive record of the witness that these people received on this occasion.

Three thousand people from among his hearers joyfully received his message and were baptized (Acts 2:41). This vast multitude of people was genuinely saved not by hearing just “a simple gospel message” that only told them that Jesus is God and that He died for their sins—they actually received a very lengthy witness that climaxed with an emphatic proclamation of Jesus as the God-resurrected and God-exalted Christ (Acts 2:36)!

What Being a Witness of Christ Does Not Mean

Although we do learn many things from this premier message about what being a witness of Christ entails, the inspired record of Peter’s first witnessing of Christ in Jerusalem (Acts 2) also teaches us many key truths about what being a witness of Christ does not mean:

  1. Being a witness of Christ does not mean that we should necessarily give people as short and simple a message as possible. These people heard a four-part vast testimony (Acts 2:11; 2:14-21; 2:22-36; 2:38-40) that plainly declared to them many profound truths (cf. Acts 2:11, 33, 36, 38), including truth about the day of the Lord (Acts 2:16-21) that Bible interpreters even today have difficulty fully understanding and explaining.
  2. Being a witness of Christ does not mean talking only or mainly just about Jesus Himself. In fact, Peter bore vital testimony many times in his message to what God the Father did in relation to Jesus (Acts 2:22, 24, 30, 32, 33, 34, 36).
  3. Being a witness of Christ does not mean talking only or mainly about the Crucifixion of Jesus. Although Peter, naturally, did testify of the Crucifixion (Acts 2:23), he emphasized the Resurrection and Exaltation of Christ far more than he did the Crucifixion (Acts 2:24-36).
  4. Being a witness of Christ does not mean talking only or mainly about Jesus as God. Although what Peter preached did testify to the deity of Jesus, he also testified that Jesus was the Christ whom God approved (Acts 2:22), worked through (Acts 2:22), raised (Acts 2:24, 32), and exalted (Acts 2:33, 36).
  5. Being a witness of Christ does not mean talking only or mainly about Jesus as Savior. Peter did testify to that truth, but he climaxed his message with a declaration of Jesus as the God-exalted Lord and Christ (Acts 2:36), which statement is not reducible to testimony merely about Jesus as Savior.
  6. Being a witness of Christ does not mean talking only or mainly about believing on Jesus. Peter emphatically demanded that his hearers also repent (Acts 2:38).
  7. Being a witness of Christ does not mean talking only or mainly about getting saved. Although Peter did provide testimony to them about being saved (Acts 2:21) and did urge them to be saved (Acts 2:40), he also demanded that they be baptized (Acts 2:38).

Conclusion

The inspired record of Peter’s testimony of Christ in Jerusalem that is recorded in Acts 2 provides us with vital instruction about being a witness of Christ. Let us all profit fully from this glorious passage!

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In Evangelism, Exposition, Preaching
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Paul as a Witness of Christ

February 23, 2015

In my final message in the series Thoroughly Equipped to be a Witness of Christ, I covered these key points about the apostle Paul as a witness of Christ. Although there is much more to learn about Paul as a witness that is important, these eight points cover many of the key things that Acts teaches us about this vital dimension of his life.

1. Paul began to be a witness of Christ (Acts 9:20) shortly after he was saved and baptized (Acts 9:18). Every believer must be baptized after he is saved, and then he should witness of Christ regularly (cf. Acts 9:20, 22, 27, 29).

2. Paul began to be a witness of Christ (Acts 9:20) in the place where he was after he was saved (Acts 9:19). If possible, we need to be witnesses of Christ wherever we are after we are saved.

3. Acts 9:20 does not tell us what Paul did not say to these people in the synagogues in Damascus when he witnessed to them. We must not misinterpret this one-verse summary of his message by saying that it teaches us something that it does not.

a. Acts 9:20 does not show that Paul did not preach about the resurrection of Christ to the people in the synagogues.

b. Acts 9:20 does not show us that Paul did not tell them to repent.

c. In fact, Acts 26:20-23 proves that he testified to both of these truths in Damascus when he first was a witness of Christ!

From Damascus, Paul went to Jerusalem and was a witness to Christ there (Acts 9:29). Then he was sent to Caesarea on his way to Tarsus, where he was born (Acts 9:30). Knowing Paul, he undoubtedly was a fervent witness in Tarsus.

After I was saved, I made a trip to city where I grew up to witness to everyone I grew up with. As God allows and directs, every believer should try to do likewise.

4. Paul served in the church at Antioch for some time before the Holy Spirit called him and Barnabas to go on a missions trip (Acts 13:1-4). God calls missionaries from local churches and sends them out from them.

Local churches must be faithful to prepare their people for the possibility of God’s calling them to missions. Local churches are where you should be trained to be a witness of Christ. Local churches are to be faithful in sending out and supporting those they send out as missionaries.

Acts 13:32-33 is an important passage because it shows that Psalm 2 was a key text that Paul used to preach the gospel of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ. We can preach the gospel to any lost person by taking them through Psalm 2!

5. Acts 16:31 does not show us that the jailor was saved by hearing a one-sentence gospel message. Note that Acts 16:32 says that Paul and Silas gave him more testimony than just what Acts 16:31 records.

Also, note what the jailor’s response was to the witness that they gave him: he was baptized (Acts 16:33) because Paul and Silas obviously told him that he needed to be baptized, which is not recorded in Acts 16:31.

6. Acts 17:17-18 is a key text about Paul as a witness because it shows that his content was the same with various groups that he evangelized in various ways. To all the people that he encountered in Athens, he preached the same essential content—Jesus and the resurrection. We must do likewise.

Acts 17:29-31 then teaches us vital truth that we should give to every person we witness to about Christ. We must explain to them that God has proven to them through His raising Jesus from the dead that He has fixed a day in which He will judge them through Jesus as the Judge that He has appointed. Because God has proven this to all men everywhere, we must tell them that God commands them to repent in view of these realities.

7. Acts 26:16-29 is perhaps the most important passage in at least the book of Acts for understanding Paul as a witness of Christ (Acts 26:16). It teaches us about his witnessing in four vital ways:

a. Geographical comprehensiveness – Paul began to be a witness where he was saved (Damascus). Then he witnessed of Christ in Jerusalem, throughout all the coasts of Judea, and to the Gentiles. Paul’s life of witnessing (Acts 26:20) was fully in line with what Christ directed His apostles to do (Acts 1:8).

b. Chronological comprehensiveness – Paul was a witness first in Damascus (Acts 26:20) and continued to be one unto the very day that he defended himself before King Agrippa and others (Acts 26:22). Paul’s entire life included his being a witness of Christ and so should ours.

c. Comprehensiveness about the people whom Paul witnessed to and about the people whom he desired to be saved – Paul witnessed to Jews and Gentiles (Acts 26:20), to the small and the great (Acts 26:22), and to the king (Acts 26:29), governor (Acts 26:30), and many others who were present at his defense (Bernice, chief captains, and principal men of the city [Acts 25:23]). Moreover, Paul wanted all of them to be saved (Acts 26:29)!

d. Content that Paul testified to every person – Paul told everyone everywhere from Damascus to the Gentiles that they had to repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance (Acts 26:20). He also testified to all people that Christ should suffer, be the first to rise from the dead, and show light to the people and the Gentiles (Acts 26:23)—all of which was exactly what Moses and the prophets did say should come (Acts 26:22).

8. Acts 28:23 and 28:30-31 show that Paul witnessed of Christ by testifying to everyone that he could for two entire years about both the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, just as Peter (Acts 2) and Philip did (Acts 8). We must likewise evangelize all people with the gospel of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ (Acts 8:12).

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In Evangelism, Preaching
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On The Value of Learning More about Being a Witness of Christ

February 17, 2015

I began my message this past Sunday morning with this illustration that pointedly challenged my hearers about a key issue:

Suppose that tomorrow, several hundred people here in Greenville would go to their mailboxes to get their mail. They find a letter that congratulates them because they have been chosen to attend some very special seminars. Billionaires will give specific teaching in these seminars that is guaranteed to make them very rich.

Can you imagine how eagerly people would pay attention in those seminars? Don’t you think that people would try to learn as much as they could? Wouldn’t they take very detailed notes about what those billionaires teach them about making money?

We are not here this morning to hear from billionaires about how to make lots of money. We are here to profit from the words of God about how to be a witness of Christ, which is far more important than making lots of money. I hope that you will pay very close attention this morning and take many notes from what God teaches you today.

How interested and eager are you about learning more about being a witness of Christ? If you will be in Greenville this Sunday morning (and do not already have your own church that you regularly attend), I invite you to come hear my final message in this series Thoroughly Equipped to Be a Witness of Christ.

 

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In Evangelism, Preaching
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Learning from Philip as a Witness of Christ

February 13, 2015

Acts 1:8 records that Jesus instructed His disciples to be witnesses of Him to the whole world. The rest of the book relates many accounts of their bearing witness to Him and for Him.

For many reasons, Acts 8 is a uniquely important chapter in the book of Acts for our understanding of being a witness of Christ:

—Shows how not just the apostles, but also other believers were witnesses of Christ (Acts 8:4)

—Has key statements about how believers initially witnessed of Christ to people outside of Jerusalem (Acts 8:1, 4)

—Has far more occurrences of forms of a key verb for preaching the gospel (euaggelizomai) than any other chapter of the book of Acts has (Acts 8:4, 12, 25, 35, 40)

—Provides the only inspired record of the gospel ministry of the only person named as an evangelist in Scripture (Acts 8:5-13; 26-40)

—Provides a crucial statement about the dual-faceted nature of sound gospel preaching (Acts 8:12)

—Records vital apostolic instruction about the necessity of repentance and prayer for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 8:22)

—Relates the vital importance of believers’ helping people understand what that they have been reading from Scripture but have not understood properly (Acts 8:30-35)

—Underscores the importance of confronting people with their need to have hearts that are right in the sight of God (Acts 8:20-23; 37)

Because God has given us Acts 8 to teach us so many important truths that vitally equip all believers for doing the good works of evangelizing and making disciples of the world, we need to profit from it as fully as possible. Because this chapter uniquely provides us with an extensive record of the evangelist Philip as a witness of Christ, we all as believers need especially to learn from Philip how God wants us to be witnesses of Christ.

If you will be in the Greenville area on this Sunday and are looking for a church to attend, I would like to invite you to come hear my message this Sunday morning that will explain these things further.

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In Discipleship, Evangelism, Preaching
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Petición de oración por mi predicación este domingo

February 13, 2015

En mi mensaje el pasado domingo, yo prediqué de Hechos 2 acerca de Pedro como testigo de Cristo en Jerusalén. Dios mediante, el domingo que viene, yo voy a predicar de Hechos 8 acerca de Felipe el evangelista como testigo de Cristo.

Por favor oren por mí.

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In Preaching, Spanish
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Thoroughly Equipped to Be Witnesses of Christ: Part I

February 7, 2015

In my first message in this series, I presented key introductory truths about how all Scripture equips us thoroughly to be witnesses of Christ. The following seventeen points summarize most of the teachings of Scripture about this vital subject that I emphasized in this message.

  1. God has given us the Bible to make us wise unto salvation (2 Tim. 3:15) and to equip us thoroughly for every good work (2 Tim. 3:16-17). We can only know with certainty what those good works are through what the Scripture says.
  2. Because we are believers in God after the coming of Christ, the NT books are of special significance for us in our knowing what good works God wants us to do (cf. Heb. 1:1-2). To understand further what these good works are that the NT books specially equip us to do, we must examine some key features of these books.
  3. Of the 27 books of the NT, we know that God explicitly directed many of them to the same original recipient or recipients. For example, First and Second Corinthians were both written to the same church (1 Cor. 1:2; 2 Cor. 1:1), First and Second Timothy were both written to the same man, Timothy (1 Tim. 1:2; 2 Tim. 1:2), and Luke and Acts were both written to the same man, Theophilus (Luke 1:3; Acts 1:1).
  4. Because of this key feature of these books, we are justified in treating them together as units of the NT. Among such units of the NT, Luke-Acts is by far the largest; in fact, Luke-Acts comprises more of the NT than the combined writings of any other author of the NT.
  5. Because God directed far more of the NT to Theophilus than He did any of the rest of the NT to any other original recipient or recipients of Scripture, we can be certain that Luke-Acts is of special importance for our understanding of the good works that Scripture equips us to do.
  6. Another indicator of the special importance of Luke-Acts relates to the special nature of the first five books of the NT in our present canonical order of Scripture. Each of the first four books ends by informing us that Jesus gave authoritative instructions to His disciples after His resurrection (Matt. 28; Mk. 16; Luke 24; John 20) and Acts, the fifth of these books, begins by doing so (Acts 1; cf. also Acts 10).
  7. From Matthew, the earliest written of these books as well as the first in the canonical order, we learn that Jesus informed His disciples that He had been given all authority in heaven and in earth (Matt. 28:18). Based on that authority, Jesus commanded them to go and make disciples of all nations (Matt. 28:19).
  8. Moreover, in making disciples of all nations, they were to baptize them and instruct them to obey everything that He had commanded them themselves as His original disciples to do (Matt. 28:19). Finally, He promised to be with them until the end of the age (Matt. 28:20), which implied that believers from then on were to continue making disciples for all time until the age would end.
  9. From Matthew, therefore, we learn that Scripture thoroughly equips us to do the good work of making disciples of all nations by teaching them to obey all that Jesus commanded. We are to do this good work because Jesus with the authority that the Father has given Him commanded us to do so  and because Jesus promised to be with us as we do so until the end of the age.
  10. The Gospel of Mark ends by specifying that Jesus commanded His disciples to go into the whole world and preach the gospel to every person (Mk. 16:15). Based on Matthew and Mark, we learn that all Scripture equips us for doing two primary good works that Jesus with the authority that the Father has given Him has commanded us to do: (1) evangelize all people in all nations; and (2) disciple all nations to obey all that Jesus commanded. Moreover, we are to do these good works until the end of the age.
  11. Although Matthew and Mark both provide us with vital information that equips us to do these good works that Jesus has commanded us to do, we should expect Luke-Acts to be even more important in doing so because it comprises by far the biggest section of the beginning books of the NT in the present canonical order of books. When we give special attention to Luke-Acts to see what it teaches us about these good works that Jesus has authoritatively directed us to do, we certainly discover that such is the case.
  12. The Gospel of Luke teaches us that God wants us to know the certainty of the things that we have been instructed (Luke 1:4). It also teaches us that God wants us to know all that He has revealed about what Jesus did and taught (cf. Acts 1:1).
  13. Luke ends with a record of explicit teaching from Jesus that He directed His followers to be witnesses of repentance and forgiveness of sins to all nations (Lk. 24:46-48). Based on what Matthew, Mark, and Luke combined teach us, we learn that Scripture equips us to do two primary good works: (1) evangelize all people in all nations by preaching the gospel to them, including especially witnessing to them about repentance and the forgiveness of sins; and (2) disciple all nations to obey all that Jesus has commanded.
  14. Acts begins with a record that amplifies our understanding of what Matthew, Mark, and Luke teach us by specifying that the disciples were to be witnesses of Christ to all places in the world in a specific geographical progression (Acts 1:7-8). Matthew, Mark, Luke, and Acts, therefore, equip believers to do two primary good works that Jesus has commanded them to do until the end of the age: (1) evangelize all people in all places in all nations, including testifying to them about repentance and remission of sins; and (2) disciple all nations to obey all that Jesus has commanded.
  15. Based on what we find in the rest of the book of Acts, we know that a major purpose of the book of Acts is to relate to us how the believers in the apostolic company were witnesses of Christ from Jerusalem to the world (Acts 1:7-8). Moreover, by applying Matthew 28:18-20 to what we find in Luke-Acts, we know that Christ wants us also to be such witnesses for Him (cf. Acts 8:1-4).
  16. Based on the discussion above, we learn that God has given us Luke-Acts especially so that we would be thoroughly equipped to be witnesses for Christ. In these four messages, we will look at many passages in Acts to learn more about how God wants us to be witnesses for Christ.
  17. The goal of this series is to present as thoroughly as possible in the time allotted many key biblical truths from Luke-Acts that we all need to give more attention to in our teaching and ministry in the area of witnessing.

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In Preaching, Theology
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“Thoroughly Equipped to Witness for Christ”!

January 21, 2015

Lord willing, I will have the opportunity to preach a four-message series on Sunday mornings in February entitled “Thoroughly Equipped to Witness for Christ.” In my messages, I plan to treat many key passages in Acts that pertain to missions and evangelism.

As the Lord brings me to mind, I would appreciate prayer for Spirit-filled skillfulness for handling the Word properly in each message. If you happen to be in the Greenville area next month, I would like to invite you to come to hear these messages at Iglesia Bautista de la Fe in Greenville, SC.

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In Preaching, Spanish
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Six Principles for Deciding Christian Liberty Issues

November 23, 2014

In his message tonight, Pastor Mark Minnick first rehearsed six principles that 1 Corinthians 8-10 provides us with for deciding Christian liberty issues.

1. Christian liberty issues concern matters that are not actually stipulated or specified in Scripture.

2. Nevertheless, they are Scriptural issues because there are Scriptural considerations that apply to these matters about which there is not explicit teaching.

3. These issues, therefore, are significant—they are not inconsequential.

4. The answers to these issues are not always short.

5. The answers to these issues are not always simple.

6. The answers to these issues are not always the same.

He then exposited 1 Corinthians 10:28-30 at some length to explain how the answers to these issues are not always the same. I highly commend his message Abstaining to you.

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In Mount Calvary Baptist Pulpit
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