A People for His Name

Upcoming Evangelistic Services

August 1, 2011

Lord willing, I will be one of four preachers ministering in upcoming evangelistic services for Berean Baptist Church in Fountain Inn, SC. The services begin at 7pm this Sunday, August 6, and run through Wednesday, August 10.

I am scheduled to preach on Tuesday night, August 9. If you are near the Greenville area, I would like to invite you to try to bring some lost people to the services.

As the Lord brings it to mind, please pray for Spirit-filled skillfulness for us in proclaiming the Word and for the Lord to open the hearts of our hearers.

In Evangelism, Ministry, Prayer, Preaching

"We Do Not Get Our Doctrine From Acts"

July 31, 2011

I found the following on a site through searching on Google:

Luke is considered to be the author of the book of Acts. He wrote it around the year 61. We do not get our doctrine from Acts. It is a history of the transition from the Kingdom Gospel to our current Age of Grace dispensation.

(NOTE: The stoning of Stephen took place about 1 year after the nation of Israel rejected and crucified Jesus. Stephens message was of the Kingdom Gospel that Jesus came to fulfill. This was the rejection of the Holy Ghost that put the Kingdom Gospel on hold and ushered in the Age of Grace. In this dispensation we no longer require salvation through the nation of Israel. Now salvation is a free gift from God to all that “BELIEVE” in the Crucifixion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ that takes away the sins of the world. Jew and Gentile are now equal and can only be saved through the message that the Apostle Paul brings to us in Romans Thru Philemon)

—http://www.savedbygrace.com/acts.htm

I disagree strongly with a number of things that this source says.

First, concerning our doctrine, I find no Bible data that teaches me that the book of Acts is an exception to 2 Timothy 3:16-17, which states, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine . . .”

Second, Acts 8:12 shows us that Philip preached the gospel of the kingdom of God in Samaria after Stephen’s stoning. The statement above, therefore, that his stoning “was the rejection of the Holy Ghost that put the Kingdom Gospel on hold . . .” is not supported by the Scripture.

Third, Paul says that he preached the kingdom of God throughout Asia (20:25) in his three years of ministry there (20:31). Furthermore, Luke summarizes Paul’s entire ministry in Rome with two statements that emphasize his proclamation of the kingdom of God (28:23, 31). These bibilical statements do not support a supposed “transition from the Kingdom Gospel to our current Age of Grace dispensation.”

Fourth, it appears that this site views the Pauline Epistles as of singular significance for our day. I do not find biblical justification for this view.

I wonder how many of God’s people over the years have received teaching similar to these statements from this site. Even for those who have not received direct teaching of this type, I wonder how many have through one means or another come to hold such views.

In Gospel, Interpretation, Quotes

The Gospel According to Philip, the Evangelist

July 30, 2011

The apostle Paul teaches the vital importance of the gifted men whom Christ gave as gifts to the Church:

And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love (Eph. 4:11-16).

This teaching shows that the Church will only be all that it should be when it receives aright the ministry of all these men.

Paul lists evangelists among the gifted men whom Christ gave to His Church. Because Scripture names only Philip specifically as an evangelist, information about him in that regard has unique significance for the perfection of God’s people. Moreover, because only Acts 8 gives us specific information about his gospel ministry, it has unique significance for us in our understanding of gospel ministry.

A thorough assessment of Acts 8 makes clear that verse 12 gives us vital information because it reveals what Philip preached as the gospel:

BGT Acts 8:12 ὅτε δὲ ἐπίστευσαν τῷ Φιλίππῳ εὐαγγελιζομένῳ περὶ τῆς βασιλείας τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τοῦ ὀνόματος Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἐβαπτίζοντο ἄνδρες τε καὶ γυναῖκες.

SCR Acts 8:12 ὅτε δὲ ἐπίστευσαν τῷ Φιλίππῳ εὐαγγελιζομένῳ τὰ περὶ τῆς βασιλείας τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ τοῦ ὀνόματος τοῦ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἐβαπτίζοντο ἄνδρες τε καὶ γυναῖκες.

NAU Acts 8:12 But when they believed Philip preaching the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were being baptized, men and women alike.

KJV Acts 8:12 But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.

Philip preached the gospel (euaggelizomai) about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ. For the Church of Jesus Christ today to be all that God would have it to be, it must profit fully from this revelation about the gospel according to Philip, the evangelist.

In Biblical Greek, Biblical Languages, Evangelism, Gospel, Interpretation

Understanding the Biblical Use of "Dunamai" More Accurately

July 29, 2011

The verb δύναμαι occurs more than 400 times in the Bible in Greek. Of those believers who have heard teaching about this important and widely used verb, many probably have the notion that it signifies an inability to do something in the sense that a person is not capable of doing something.

Although the verb does express that idea in numerous passages, it does not always do so. The following passages show that the verb is used at times to express inability due not to a lack of capability but rather to a lack of authority to do something:

LXE Deuteronomy 16:5 thou shalt not have power to sacrifice the passover in any of the cities, which the Lord thy God gives thee.

BGT Deuteronomy 16:5 οὐ δυνήσῃ θῦσαι τὸ πασχα ἐν οὐδεμιᾷ τῶν πόλεών σου ὧν κύριος ὁ θεός σου δίδωσίν σοι

KJV Deuteronomy 16:5 Thou mayest not sacrifice the passover within any of thy gates, which the LORD thy God giveth thee:

LXE Deuteronomy 17:15 thou shalt surely set over thee the ruler whom the Lord God shall choose: of thy brethren thou shalt set over thee a ruler; thou shalt not have power to set over thee a stranger, because he is not thy brother.

BGT Deuteronomy 17:15 καθιστῶν καταστήσεις ἐπὶ σεαυτὸν ἄρχοντα ὃν ἂν ἐκλέξηται κύριος ὁ θεός σου αὐτόν ἐκ τῶν ἀδελφῶν σου καταστήσεις ἐπὶ σεαυτὸν ἄρχοντα οὐ δυνήσῃ καταστῆσαι ἐπὶ σεαυτὸν ἄνθρωπον ἀλλότριον ὅτι οὐκ ἀδελφός σού ἐστιν

KJV Deuteronomy 17:15 Thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the LORD thy God shall choose: one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee: thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, which is not thy brother.

In both passages, the verb signifies inability due to divine prohibition and not to an intrinsic lack of capacity to do the actions in view: The Israelites were physically capable of offering the Passover anywhere, but God did not permit them to do so except in the place that He assigned (16:5). Similarly, they could have set a stranger over them as king, but God did not authorize them to do so (17:15).

In Biblical Greek, Biblical Languages, Interpretation

Apostolic Preaching of Repentance and Conversion

July 28, 2011

The great themes of repentance and conversion were part of the apostolic preaching from the beginning (Acts 2:38; 3:26). Paul taught clearly that good works could save no one (Rom. 3:28). But he also taught that consequent good works were a necessity to demonstrate the genuineness of the conversion (Eph. 2:8-10). By grace a person must change the way he thinks and lives, must turn his life around from sin and selfishness to God, and must so live that people can see the seriousness of his choice for Christ. Only the transforming power of Christ can work such a change.

—Stewart Custer, Witness to Christ: A Commentary on Acts, 366

In Quotes

Morning and Evening Corporate Worship of God

July 27, 2011

The OT reveals in at least two ways that corporate worship of God took place both in the morning and in the evening:

“Now this is that which thou shalt offer upon the altar; two lambs of the first year day by day continually. 39 The one lamb thou shalt offer in the morning; and the other lamb thou shalt offer at even: 40 And with the one lamb a tenth deal of flour mingled with the fourth part of an hin of beaten oil; and the fourth part of an hin of wine for a drink offering. 41 And the other lamb thou shalt offer at even, and shalt do thereto according to the meat offering of the morning, and according to the drink offering thereof, for a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the LORD. 42 This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD: where I will meet you, to speak there unto thee. 43 And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory. 44 And I will sanctify the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar: I will sanctify also both Aaron and his sons, to minister to me in the priest’s office. 45 And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God. 46 And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, that brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them: I am the LORD their God” (Exod. 29:39-46; cf. 2 Kings 16:15; 1 Chron. 16:40; 2 Chron. 2:4; 13:11; 31:3; Ezra 3:3).

“And these are the singers, chief of the fathers of the Levites, who remaining in the chambers were free: for they were employed in that work day and night” (1 Chron. 9:33).

In the contexts of both of the above passages, the people of God were involved in many other activities of divine worship, both corporately and individually. These passages, however, specify two corporate activities of worship that took place continually both at day and at night.

Do these passages provide at least some biblical rationale for the modern-day people of God to meet at least twice for corporate worship on the Lord’s Day, once in the morning and once in the evening?

In Discipleship, Interpretation

Proclaim the Good News of the Destruction of the Enemy!

July 26, 2011

First Chronicles 10 records Saul’s death and the events preceding and following it. Because he did not want to be abused by his uncircumcised enemies (10:4) after he had been wounded (10:3), Saul fell on his own sword and died (10:4-6). The Israelites who were with him deserted their cities and fled (10:7), resulting in the Philistines taking over the cities.

On the next day, the Philistines found the dead bodies of Saul and his sons (10:8). They stripped him, cut off his head, and took it and his armor and sent people around their land (10:9a-b) “to carry tidings unto their idols, and to the people” (10:9c). They then “put his armor in the house of their gods, and fastened his head in the temple of Dagon” (10:10).

The LXX rendering of 10:9 is instructive:

LXE 1 Chronicles 10:9 And they stripped him, and took his head, and his armour, and sent them into the land of the Philistines round about, to proclaim the glad tidings to their idols, and to the people.

BGT 1 Chronicles 10:9 καὶ ἐξέδυσαν αὐτὸν καὶ ἔλαβον τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτοῦ καὶ τὰ σκεύη αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀπέστειλαν εἰς γῆν ἀλλοφύλων κύκλῳ τοῦ εὐαγγελίσασθαι τοῖς εἰδώλοις αὐτῶν καὶ τῷ λαῷ

Because their enemy had been destroyed, the Philistines sent people out to proclaim that good news to both their idols and their people. The verb used here (εὐαγγελίζομαι) is used in the NT for preaching the good news of Jesus Christ (e.g., Acts 14:7).

The great enemy of mankind, Satan, has been destroyed (cf. Heb. 2:14-15; 1 John 3:8). We should continually be praising and thanking our God for His destroying Satan through the work of His Son, and we should be proclaiming His doing so as good news throughout and to the whole world (cf. Acts 10:36-43, especially 10:38)!

In Evangelism, Gospel, Interpretation

Healed to Sin No More

July 25, 2011

Jesus healed a man who had suffered from an infirmity for 38 years (John 5:5). In their subsequent meeting in the temple, He challenged the man by saying, “Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee”(5:14).

The man had suffered greatly with a physical problem for a long time, yet Jesus exhorted him concerning his not sinning any longer. Prior to this statement, the passage does not say anything about the man’s having a sin problem. Why then did Jesus challenge him in the way that He did?

Interpreters differ on the meaning of Jesus’ words to the man. Blum holds that his sin did not cause his malady:

(Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you) does not mean that his paralysis was caused by any specific sin (cf. 9:3), though all disease and death come ultimately from sin. The warning was that his tragic life of 38 years was no comparison to the doom of hell. Jesus is interested not merely in healing a person’s body. Far more important is the healing of his soul from sin.

— BKC: NT, 290; bold in original

Carson argues for the opposite view concerning the man’s sinfulness having caused his condition but agrees about what Jesus was most concerned about:

But although suffering and illness have this deep, theological connection with sin in general, and although John elsewhere insists that a specific ailment is not necessarily the result of a specific sin (9:3), there is nothing in any of this that precludes the possibility that some ailments are the direct consequence of specific sins. And that is the most natural reading of this verse. . . . If so, it is just possible John is also telling us that the reason Jesus chose this invalid out of all the others who were waiting for the waters to be stirred, was precisely because his illness, and his alone, was tied to a specific sin. . . . The something worse must be final judgment (cf. v. 29).

—The Gospel According to John, PNTC, 246; bold words are in italics in the original

Regardless of which view we take to be correct, we should keep in mind that the passage teaches that this man was healed to sin no more. From this passage, we, therefore, should learn not to allow a legitimate concern for the healing of even serious physical suffering in people to keep us from being supremely concerned about their eternal destiny.

In Health, Interpretation, Quotes

Spurgeon on Soul Winning

July 24, 2011

There is a spiritual wooing and winning of hearts for the Lord Jesus. If you would learn the way, you must ask God to give you a tender heart and a sympathizing soul. I believe that much of the secret of soul-winning lies in having compassion, in having spirits that can be touched with the feeling of human infirmities. Carve a preacher out of granite, and even if you give him an angel’s tongue, he will convert nobody. Put him into the most fashionable pulpit, make his elocution faultless and his matter profoundly orthodox, but so long as he bears within his bosom a hard heart, he can never win a soul. Soul-saving requires a heart that beats hard against the ribs. It requires a soul full of the milk of human kindness. This is the sine qua non of success. This is the chief natural qualification for a soul winner, which, under God and blessed of Him, will accomplish wonders.

—The Soul Winner, 223; bold is in the original; underlined text is in italics in the original

In Quotes

Two Vastly Different Reactions to God's Word

July 23, 2011

King Josiah and his son, king Jehoiakim (cf. Jer. 36:1), reacted to the reading of God’s Word in two vastly different ways:

Josiah – “And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the book of the law, that he rent his clothes” (2 Kings 22:11).

Jehoiakim – “Now the king sat in the winter house in the ninth month: and there was a fire on the hearth burning before him. And it came to pass, that when Jehudi had read three or four leaves, he cut it with the penknife, and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the roll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth” (Jer. 36:22-23).

God took note of their differing responses:

Josiah – “But to the king of Judah which sent you to enquire of the LORD, thus shall ye say to him, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, As touching the words which thou hast heard; Because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the LORD, when thou heardest what I spake against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and hast rent thy clothes, and wept before me; I also have heard thee, saith the LORD” (2 Kings 22:18-19)

Jehoiakim – “Yet they were not afraid, nor rent their garments, neither the king, nor any of his servants that heard all these words” (Jer. 36:24).

God dealt with each king according to how he responded to His Word:

Josiah – “Behold therefore, I will gather thee unto thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered into thy grave in peace; and thine eyes shall not see all the evil which I will bring upon this place. And they brought the king word again” (2 Kings 22:20).

Jehoiakim – “And thou shalt say to Jehoiakim king of Judah, Thus saith the LORD; Thou hast burned this roll, saying, Why hast thou written therein, saying, The king of Babylon shall certainly come and destroy this land, and shall cause to cease from thence man and beast? Therefore thus saith the LORD of Jehoiakim king of Judah; He shall have none to sit upon the throne of David: and his dead body shall be cast out in the day to the heat, and in the night to the frost. And I will punish him and his seed and his servants for their iniquity; and I will bring upon them, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and upon the men of Judah, all the evil that I have pronounced against them; but they hearkened not” (Jer. 36:29-31).

God notes how we respond to His Word and will deal with us accordingly. Let us be like Josiah in receiving the Word of God.

In Bible reading, Discipleship

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