Tag: Acts

The Gospel Is For ALL!

The news that the good news is for everyone is old news to us, but it is still big news! It does not matter who you are, where you are from, what you have done, or when you hear, the gospel is for you, too!

Neal Pollard

The first time the word “Gentiles” appears in Scripture is in Psalm 2:1 (your translation may have “nations”). Isn’t it interesting that this is a Messianic psalm? According to New Testament writers, the “mystery of Christ” and the “mystery of the gospel” is “that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body…” (Eph. 3:6; cf. Rom. 16:25-27; Col. 1:27). Prophets like Isaiah foretold this (42:1). That’s incredibly important to you and me, since, presumably, the overwhelming majority of not only those who read this but also those who are members of the New Testament church in the 21st Century are ethnically Gentiles. Acts 10 is where it all began. Jesus’ roadmap of making disciples was ultimately heading to this destination (1:8). 

THE MAN (1-8). Luke introduces us to the Gentile who will first have the opportunity to hear the gospel. His righteous character is outlined: (a) “Devout” (profoundly reverent), (b) God-fearing, (c) Generous, and (d) Prayerful (2). He will later be described as “Cornelius, a centurion, a righteous and God-fearing man well spoken of by the entire nation of the Jews” (22). His “prayers and alms have ascended as a memorial before God” (4). He is directed by an angel of the Lord to send for Peter (5) who would preach to him (22). He was moral and full of faith in God, but he needed instruction and guidance. Though he was a good, moral man, he obviously needed more than that.

THE MISSIONARY (9ff). Peter is the first to preach the gospel to the Jews (Acts 2). Now, the Lord chooses him to be the first to preach it to the Gentiles. However reluctant he was about the first mission, this mission is far more complicated. So, the Lord gives him a visual to illustrate the legitimacy of this new mission. Peter “saw the sky opened up, and an object like a great sheet coming down, lowered by four corners to the ground, and there were in it all kinds of four-footed animals and crawling creatures of the earth and birds of the air. A voice came to him, ‘Get up, Peter, kill and eat!’” (11-13). At first, Peter refuses on the grounds that such was forbidden under the Law of Moses (Lev. 11:20-25; Deut. 14:4-20). But after divine reassurance and re-reassurance (14-16), Peter seems to get the message (cf. 28). When emissaries from Cornelius arrive to find Peter, he gives them lodging (23) then leaves with them the next day for Cornelius’ home (24). 

THE MESSAGE (13ff). Peter has to receive and comprehend the message before he can share it with Cornelius. The message is simple. No person is excluded. No one is unholy and unclean based solely on their ethnicity (15-16). While Peter is trying to connect those dots (17), it begins to make sense to him (19). It will form the launching point when he preaches Jesus to Cornelius and his house (34ff). 

The news that the good news is for everyone is old news to us, but it is still big news! It does not matter who you are, where you are from, what you have done, or when you hear, the gospel is for you, too! It is for your family, your neighbors, your co-workers, your classmates, your friends, your enemies–everybody! That may have started in Acts 10, but it will continue until the second coming of Christ. We must remove any hesitations and prejudices we may harbor and see every person through heavenly eyes. It’s our mission and God’s message for every man (and woman). 

Cos: An Interesting Example Of Inspiration

Neal Pollard

The city and harbor of Cos is mentioned in passing as a brief stopover made by Paul and perhaps also his large crew of fellow laborers (Acts 20:6), including Luke. Luke simply writes, “When we had departed from them (the Ephesian elders at Miletus, 20:17-38) and had set sail, we rain a straight course to Cos and the next day to Rhodes and from there to Patera” (Acts 21:1). Cos was apparently a night’s stay for the missionaries making their way to Jerusalem.

But, to the ancient world, Cos was a place of great importance. Consider what Allen Myers says about it: 

Settled by the Greeks ca. 1500 B.C., Cos became one of the most beautiful harbors of antiquity. As a Greek city-state it played a significant role in the Delian League during the Peloponnesian War (fifth century), and in 354 succeeded in its revolt against Athens. The island was renowned for its medical school, of which Hippocrates was a member, and a sacred shrine dedicated to Asclepius, the god of medicine (Eerdmans Bib. Dict., 239).

What’s more, Cos was the birthplace to the aforementioned Hippocrates, the “father of medicine” (and namesake of the Hippocratic Oath). “Under King Herod’s rule Cos received perpetual revenues, and a statue was built there to honor his son Herod Antipas” (Elwell and Beitzel, Baker Ency. Of The Bible, 527). 

It was a literary center, home of Philetas and Theocritus, and also a place noted for its fine weaving in the few centuries before the birth of Christ (McKay, New Bible Dict., 229). The emperor Claudius even exempted it from taxes (ibid.). 

But, it is a divine footnote on one of three missionary journeys made by Paul. He stopped and worked in important imperial cities like Ephesus, Philippi, Athens, and Corinth, but  the Holy Spirit through especially Luke is not blind to the existence of other important ancient places. Noting sites like Cos, these writers were showing us historical and geographic markers that puts the Bible in a context revealing its accuracy. This remarkable understatement regarding such a historic place reflects the many layers to be discovered by the Bible student reading through this sacred book. Just in Luke’s writing alone, there are literally dozens more like Cos. What a testimony to the sacred authorship of Acts and the other 65 books! 

Encouragement From Eutychus

Dale Pollard

Here’s a quick recap of the bizarre events that unfold in Acts 20.

  • Paul preaches past midnight. 
  • A young man named Eutychus falls asleep.
  • As a result he plummets to his death. 
  • He is then miraculously brought back to life.

So what?

Each word that was written in scripture was penned under God’s guidance— for our guidance. This means that even those accounts that might initially strike us as pointless are, in truth, spiritually pointed. 

With this is in mind, Let’s briefly examine three life lessons from Eutychus that deliver relevant reminders for the 21st century Christian. 

  1. A lesson on Common sense: God is with His people, God protects His people, but we still read of a young man who sits where he shouldn’t have. As a result, he tumbles to his death. Unfortunate things can happen to godly people, especially in the absence of common sense. 
  2. A Lesson On Commitment: This account is not a call for preachers to shorten their sermons, or even a warning for members who might be tempted to take a nap in worship. While Eutychus may not be the first guy that comes to mind when we think of a Bible character who demonstrated commitment— he still made it a priority to be with his Christian family. He held on, even though it was clearly past his bedtime. How many of us have forsaken the assembly simply because we don’t feel like it? How many Christians find themselves struggling to remain focused in a one hour period of worship? There is something to be said for this man’s commitment to Christ— even as the hours ticked by and exhaustion began to take its toll on him. 
  3. A Lesson On Correction: Though I would not want to be immortalized in history as the guy who fell out of a window in church, this potential tragedy became a powerful testimony of God’s grace. God does not expect total perfection, rather our constant correction. When we take a tumble spiritually, what corrections can we implement to avoid the same  mistake in the future? 

1 Corinthians: That There Be No Divisions Among You (I)

Background To Paul’s First Letter To Corinth (Acts 18)

Neal Pollard

Paul leaves Athens for Corinth (Acts 18:1) near the end of his historic second missionary journey. He was taking seriously his Christ-given commission to bear His name “before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel” (Acts 9:15). On this journey, he had taken the gospel to a continent it had not been and now he was taking it to one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the first-century world. 

Corinth was a wealthy commercial city, and was at the time the capitol of Greece (Lange 334). “More than twenty times larger than Athens, Corinth officially counted only its free citizens—Greeks, Italians, Roman army veterans, business and commerce people, and Orientals including a large number of Jews. Corinth was also home to nearly a half million slaves, bringing its overall population to about 700,000” (Gangel, Vol. 5, 301).  It was renowned for its sexual immorality, an influence we will see in the Corinthian epistles. There was even a common term in usage for half a millennia, “to Corinthianize,” to describe sexual immorality among the Greek-speaking world (ibid.).

But we notice how Paul’s relationship with the city, so far as his work as a missionary, begin by reading Luke’s inspired account of his initial preaching in this city. This effort would be the foundation of the first epistle to the Corinthians. Notice what we discover in Acts 18:1-18. 

HIS COWORKERS (2-3,5)

When he first arrives, he finds a Jewish couple, Aquila and Priscilla, whose secular profession was the same as his–tent-makers (3). The couple had been expelled, along with all other Jews, from Rome by the emperor Claudius (2; it is almost universally believed to have occurred around 49-50 A.D. The Roman historian, Seutonius, says Claudius “expelled all the Jews because of a tumult instigated by ‘Chrestus,’ Polhill, 382). Until his fellow missionaries join him in Corinth, Paul works his trade with Aquila and Priscilla and reserves his preaching to apparently his day off (4). Eventually, Silas and Timothy arrive from Macedonia and “Paul began devoting himself completely to the word” (5). He was still working, but the nature and type of work changed. He would go on to “teach the word of God among them” for 18 months (11). 

HIS CHALLENGES (4-6,9-10, 12-17)

Paul will later tell in graphic details all his challenges as a missionary and preacher (2 Cor. 11:23-33), and we get a glimpse of what would be relatively minor for this much-persecuted man. 

  • One challenge was trying to persuade Jews and Greeks (4)
  • Another challenge was the resistance and blasphemy of the Jews (5-6)
  • He was challenged by feelings of fear (9-10)
  • There was the challenge of the false accusations of the Jews before the Roman proconsul, Gallio (12-17).

He knew from experience what he would tell one of these coworkers, Timothy, that “all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (2 Tim. 3:12; cf. Acts 14:22). 

HIS CONVERTS (7-8, 18). 

His teaching resulted in the establishment of the church at Corinth. This would include possibly Titius Justus (7), Crispus, the leader of the synagogue and all his household (8), many of the Corinthians (8b), Ironically, it also included Sosthenes (Crispus’ successor or coworker), who was beaten by the Jews here (17) but called “a brother” in 1 Corinthians 1:1. Truly, the Lord had “many people in this city” (10). 

So, when you read along with me in this first epistle, don’t forget this vital background and the events that led to the church’s establishment in Corinth. While Paul will have much to say by way of correction and admonition, they were among the most receptive to the gospel we read about in Paul’s mission work. The second letter reveals a people who, despite their problems, were willing to work on them and overcome them. Their struggles, which we get clear insight into in the first epistle, are those we can all relate to today. Don’t lose sight of an important principle throughout, that God’s Word is the remedy to any and all such struggles. 

Necessary, But Not Essential

Friday’s Column: Supplemental Strength

brent 2020

Brent Pollard

Has your job been deemed “essential” during our mitigation efforts against COVID-19? If not, you are likely either working from home or are facing a difficult financial situation as we await the reopening of our economy. Noting the choices made by certain people in positions of authority about essential and nonessential workers, however, makes this whole process of determination seem…capricious.

Mike Rowe, a man who made a name for himself doing the “dirty jobs” other people refused to do, stated his opinion was that there was no job that is nonessential. Appearing on a cable news program, he said, “Right now, there is this fascinating conversation going on on your network and all the networks, where we are making a distinction between essential workers and nonessential workers.” Rowe continued, “…there’s something tricky with the language going on here because, with regard to an economy, I don’t think there is any such thing as a nonessential worker.” 1

Rowe did admit that certain positions are greatly needed during a pandemic. Hence, we have greater need for a doctor now than a center fielder for a Major League Baseball team. “I just wanted to make the point that, when we talk about the economy, all work is essential,” Rowe stated. “Maybe it’s a distinction without too much of a difference, but in my mind, there is no such thing right now as a nonessential worker.” 2

Rowe makes a good point. For a healthy economy, every able-bodied person of age, must work. When person “A” earns a paycheck, he spends it in person “B’s” store. Person “B” can then provide for his own family. The property taxes person “B” pays allows person “C’s” child to go to school. In other words, the economy is something in which we all play a role, whether we appreciate our role within it or not. Yet, we see what happens when we purposely shut down a country to mitigate a virus. All the financial gains about which our country boasted for the last few years was wiped out in six weeks!

This isn’t a message about the economy or politics or Mike Rowe. It is rather about the harmful consequences we bring about by rashly judging what’s essential and nonessential without considering the bigger picture. When you have extra time, enter in the words, “baptism” along with “essential” and “necessary,” into your internet search engine of choice. I did. I found one page that proffered “101 Reasons Why Water Baptism is Not Necessary to be Saved.”

Fortunately, we have the book of Acts, also known as the “book of conversions.” Acts has many examples of people who, having heard the proclamation of the Gospel, submitted to baptism. It is a troublesome book for the one seeking to discount the necessity of baptism’s role in salvation. For this reason, such practitioners of a perverted gospel must say, “Baptism is an outward sign of an inward faith.” In other words, all these people were baptized to show their salvation rather than receive it.

Even if we only had the example of Paul’s conversion in the book of Acts, we would have enough reason to prove why baptism is not only necessary but essential. Paul was a man, made miserable by his newly acquired knowledge he was a sinner. He prayed fervently for three days. If one could “pray through” then Paul should have been able to have done so. And yet, when the preacher Ananias arrived, he saw the pathetic state that Paul was in and said, “Now why do you delay? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name” (Acts 22.16). Did Paul not realize he was saved and needed only to perform a ritual to confirm his salvation? If true, Paul was the most miserable Christian about whom we read in the pages of the New Testament during those three days he prayed and fasted.

We might make a tough judgment call because of a virus and shut down certain sectors of our economy since we believe them less essential during a health crisis. Ultimately, though, we realize even those deemed “nonessential” do play an important part in our economy, as Rowe suggested. We need them if we are going to climb up out of this trillion-dollar deficit hole this crisis has made us fall into.

Likewise, people may capriciously proclaim baptism nonessential. However, one wanting total restoration to the innocence lost in Eden must also know a demon’s faith (James 2.19) is not only insufficient to save but fatal (Mark 16.16).

References

1  Shiver, Phil. “’Dirty Jobs’ Star Mike Rowe: There’s No Such Thing as a ‘Nonessential Worker’.” The Blaze, Blaze Media LLC, 2 Apr. 2020, www.theblaze.com/news/mike-rowe-non-essential-worker.
2  ibid.

409px-ready_for_a_dirty_job_28cropped29

Elders Who Shepherd

Monday’s Column: Neal at the Cross

IMG_1922

Neal Pollard

There was a problem with the shepherds of Ezekiel’s day. They tended to their own needs, but not the flock’s (34:2-3). There were tangible needs and problems, but these shepherds sinned by omission (34:4). The sheep were scattered and these shepherds did not work to get them back or save them from predators (34:5-6). Then, God through Ezekiel utters these harrowing words: “Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will demand My sheep from them and make them cease from feeding sheep” (34:10). 

In the New Testament, Paul tells the elders of the church at Ephesus to “be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood” (Acts 20:28). Guard the flock, watch over the flock, and shepherd the flock. What a weighty work! To be on guard means “to be in a continuous state of readiness to learn of any future danger, need, or error, and to respond appropriately” (Louw-Nida 332). An overseer has the responsibility of seeing to the spiritual safety and proper conduct first of themselves but also of those they watch over (Arndt 379). The idea of shepherding indicates care, concern, love, provision, relationship and intimacy, knowledge, and familiarity (see Kittel et al 902ff). These lexicographers who define what Bible words mean give insight into what elders are to be like as they do this crucial work. Isn’t it incredible and encouraging to see spiritual, albeit inevitably imperfect, men who “aspire to the office of overseer” (1 Tim. 3:1)?

Yesterday is a day I’ll never forget. We tagged along with three elders and their wives as they went around to 26 houses of members of our congregation. Exercising due caution under the current medical crisis, they nonetheless drove to see members young, old, and in-between. They visited with, sang to, and prayed for so many face to face, delivering Dana’s delicious baked goods. Seeing their enthusiasm to do this and watching the genuine joy on their faces as they served and ministered was a blessing that will stoke my spiritual fire for a long time to come. 

But, that’s just what I got to see. I’m not seeing the other times they’ve done this. I’m not there as they’re making so many phone calls to everyone. Over the weekend, they met together for several hours to strategize about a reopening and communication plan not just to get back to “normal” but to thrive and grow as we go into the future. Another of the elders has since spent hours piecing together that plan to provide clear communication to the church. 

All of them work full-time jobs and are hard workers. All of them have families to love and care for. All of them have hobbies and interests. But, all of them have Christ in the center of their hearts and lives. That last fact is what drives them to know about, care about, and reach out to the sheep. 

Thank God for the many churches who are being shepherded through unprecedented times like these by engaged, concerned, and involved shepherds. Church growth, doctrinal soundness, examples of Christ-centered living, and so much more depend on elders who shepherd. Will you take the names of your shepherds to the throne of God each day, imitate their faith, and assist them in their work? They are a vital part of God’s plan to touch and transform eternity! 

elders
Only ten in this group picture! 

“Wait Until Fall”

Neal Pollard

It was a beautiful experience, talking with our newest brother in Christ last night. It was beautiful watching him be bombarded with love and attention from member after member. Listening to him tell his story built my confidence in the simplicity of the Bible when a person reads it without prejudice or agenda. What an affirmation that God has a will for us and He made sure it was understandable to the seeker. As Jesus put it, “Seek, and you shall find” (Mat. 7:7).

Roberto has been seeking. As he has been attending a large, area Community Church, he has also been studying his Bible. He’s been a diligent student. Along the way, he read the repeated emphasis upon baptism as a necessity for salvation. This prompted him to approach his church and ask if he could be baptized. He was told that they baptize in the fall, and he could be baptized then. His immediate concern? What if I am killed in a car wreck or my phone blows up when I charge it? There was no manipulative or badgering teacher filling his head with such scenarios. Instead, he could make the connection between a command from God and the consequences of disobeying it.

He started Googling the importance of baptism and eventually found World Bible School. This led him to connect with Terry Pace, a Christian in Flint, Michigan, who studied with him. Roberto wanted to know if he could be baptized. Terry went to work. Terry’s son, Sam, happens to preach at the Northwest congregation in Westminster. One of the Northwest members, Allan Javellana, met him to study with him on Monday and found out he had sufficient understanding to be baptized. Since he lives close to Bear Valley, Allan brought him to our building where Wayne Nelson let him in. Allan stressed with Roberto the importance of working and worshipping with a group that is trying to answer Bible questions with Bible answers.

On Pentecost, they asked “What shall we do?” (Acts 2:37). They were told (Acts 2:38), and they acted that day (Acts 2:41).

On the road to Gaza, the eunuch asked Philip (who had preached Jesus to him, Acts 8:35), “Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?” (Acts 8:36). They stopped the chariot right there and then, and he was baptized (Acts 8:38).

At Cornelius’ house in Caesarea, this Gentile asked Peter to come over from Joppa (Acts 10:23ff). Cornelius knew Peter would be speaking words by which he could be saved (Acts 11:14). When it was clear that God wanted Gentiles to be saved (Acts 10:44-47), Cornelius and his household were baptized on the spot (Acts 10:48).

In the prison in Philippi, the jailor asked, “What must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30). He’s told to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 16:31), Who they proceed to teach him about (Acts 16:32). Armed with this knowledge of the Savior, this jailor “immediately…was baptized, he and all his household” (Acts 16:33).

Nobody waited because God’s answer was “now.” What has changed from then to now? What would make a different answer acceptable today? Roberto is another, amazing example of what a receptive heart does when faced with God’s Word and will. Simply, humbly do what He says. Oh, that I will approach God’s Word the same way!

water-baptism

On The Other Side Of Security

Neal Pollard

Gary Hampton tells the story of his first missionary trip, which he made in the 1980s—shortly after the “Jonestown Tragedy” and during a time of great national instability.  He recalls soldiers lining both sides of the runway, armed to the teeth, and having his bags checked thoroughly by those whose friendliness was not exactly established.  He says that there was nothing like being able to greet the local brethren on the other side of security, singing gospel songs with them en route to the town where they campaigned together.  I have felt similar relief in coming into places that were strange, unfamiliar, and potentially menacing in different parts of the world.

Do you wonder what it was like for the apostle Paul, who had just survived a horrific shipwreck only to be bitten by a deadly snake on the island where he was stranded.  Now, he had been on an Alexandrian ship once again bound for Rome, stopping at various cities along the way.  At one of them, Puteoli, Paul, Luke, and the rest of his fellow travelers “found brethren, and were invited to stay with them seven days. And so we went toward Rome. And from there, when the brethren heard about us, they came from as far as Appii Forum and Three Inns. When Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage” (Acts 28:14-15).  Notice how the local Christians, however far from Paul’s hometown, made Paul feel—thankful and encouraged.

There is something special and unique about the church, by God’s divine design.  Even brothers and sisters you meet in other countries, who speak different languages, and whose background and culture are different from your own, can have that effect on you.  Worshipping with God’s people in different parts of the country so often has the same effect. I’ve heard stories (so have you) from families and individuals who remarked about how unfriendly the local church they visited was.  I’ve had a few experiences where I didn’t feel the warmth I thought was proper, but that’s not nearly the norm.  However, I don’t wait for the brethren to come to me.  I’m anxious to see them!  They are my family, even if we’ve never met.

As you count your blessings today, won’t you thank God for the transcendent blessing that is the spiritual family!  The church was God’s eternal purpose (Eph. 3:9-11).  How wonderful that it bolsters us in the brief period of time we exist between birth and eternity!

Good Deeds

Neal Pollard

Good deeds don’t make the nightly news.  When a person serves or is nice to others, it rarely goes beyond the circle of occurrence.  That’s OK, because Jesus urges us, “Be careful not to do your acts of righteousness before me, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven” (Mat. 6:1).

That probably wasn’t a problem for Titus, since the Cretans weren’t renowned for doing good deeds. In fact, a Cretan prophet said of his fellow-citizens, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons” (Ti. 1:12). How would you like to live in a neighborhood or work on your job with such charming people as that? Paul calls them lying, wild, evil animals and slaves to their stomachs.

So, Paul spends some significant time in his letter talking about good deeds. There were some on Crete, particularly Jews, who by their deeds denied God and were “worthless for any good deed” (1:16). Thus, he urges Titus to show himself a pattern of good deeds (2:7). These deeds were not to earn salvation (3:5), but instead to please God. Notice how Paul emphasizes deeds in this letter.

  • Good Deeds Show The Right Example (2:7). I heard about a pair of identical twins.  One was a preacher and the other was a doctor. It was impossible to tell the two apart. A woman approached one of them and asked, “Are you the one that preaches?” He said, “No, ma’am. I’m the one who practices.” Paul tells Titus to show himself a pattern of good deeds in three areas: (1) Through sound teaching, (2) Through a serious life, and (3) Through his speech.
  • Good Deeds Show Where Our Passions Lie (2:14). Christ wants us zealous for good deeds. Wrongly directed zeal is destructive.  The Jewish zealots of the first-century helped bring about the demise of Jerusalem. But, a zealot with the right cause and conduct is powerful!  If we appreciate that we’ve been redeemed from every lawless deed (13), we’ll be zealous for good deeds. It should be natural for us, when saved from our sins, to be passionate about it to the point that our lives boil over with gratitude! That shows up in good deeds.
  • Good Deeds Show Our Faith In God (3:8). Paul urges Titus to share with all believers the need to be ready for every good deed (3:1). What will motivate us to do these good deeds? God’s mercy (3:5)! What will this motivate us to do? Share the good news (3:7-8). The world walks by sight and not by faith. Our challenge is to rise above that disbelief and show by our deeds our faith in the God who saved us from our sins! Our challenge is also to rise above the strife and division of those who profess to believe but whose lives yield evil deeds (3:9-11).  Doing good is broad and takes in the whole will of God for us, being all He wants us to be in marriage, parenting, the church, our neighborhood, the workplace, the nation, and in our relationships (cf. Titus 2). What will our good behavior in all these relationships tell others? Simply, that God is the guide of our lives and we put our trust in Him.
  • Good Deeds Meet Pressing Needs (3:14). Paul ends the letter by mentioning four Christians by name. The last two, Zenas and Apollos, would need financial help. Paul’s encouragement in Titus 3:14 seems directly related to this need. Whether it’s supporting missionaries or weekly giving, we are God’s hands on earth to help the needy when we give.

The old adage is true.  “Actions speak louder than words.” Paul writes of some who profess to know God, but in works deny Him. What a reminder that the Lord will not say, “Well said,” but “well done!”  Dorcas was a woman “full of good works and charitable deeds” (Acts 9:36). The woman with the Alabaster box did what she could (Mark 14:8).  What about us? What will be said about our deeds?

PREACHERS AND POLITICAL ACTIVISM

Neal Pollard

Being patriotic and having a political heritage like we do in this country, we may have strong, personal convictions in the realm of politics. Engaging in the political process, from volunteering to voting to political meetings, can help us not only be a positive agent of change but also salt and light before the world. But nothing can have a quicker negative impact on ministry than a “stumping sermonizer” or “campaigning church man.” I’ve known preachers who seem CONSUMED with politics and can hardly speak without ranting about it.  It just comes out! Beware that the mouth speaks out of the abundance of what’s in the heart (Mat. 12:34). Some preachers betray that they’re dwelling more on things below than things above (Col. 3:1-2).

The church began in the midst of political rottenness and corruption. Tacitus wrote of Augustus Caesar that he “seduced the army with bonuses, and his cheap food policy was successful bait for civilians. Indeed, he attracted everybody’s goodwill by the enjoyable gift of peace. Then he gradually pushed ahead and absorbed the functions of the senate, the officials, and even the law. Opposition did not exist. War or judicial murder had disposed of all men of spirit. Upper-class survivors found that slavish obedience was the way to succeed, both politically and financially” (https://facultystaff.richmond.edu/~wstevens/history331texts/augtotib.html). Of course, certain Jews did consume themselves with political interest and revolted against Rome—A venture that ended badly at Jerusalem and Masada. Read Tamarin’s classic book, Revolt In Judea, if you want the horrible details.  Politicians of the first century were guilty of wanton sexual immorality, including homosexuality and adultery; They practiced infanticide and whet their appetites for death and violence in their stadiums and arenas.  Where is Peter’s or Paul’s diatribe in scripture against vices and corruptions that sound a lot like our day? Where are the early Christians with their pickets and protests against the government?  Instead, “They went everywhere preaching the word (Acts 8:4)!

Political activism will hurt our efforts to effectively evangelize. How tragic to lose a soul trying to win a political argument!  Political activism, in preachers, can negatively impact what the church has paid them to do. They certainly didn’t pay him to spend all day on social media trolling stories or writing quips. They didn’t hire him to go to political rallies, being more wrapped up in affairs of state than affairs of heaven.

Paul was actually able to have an audience with the most prominent politicians of his day. Was he interested in discussing national or imperial policy with them?  Before Felix and Agrippa, he preached righteousness, temperance and judgment to come.  In Acts 27, he says God appointed him to speak before Caesar.  What could happen among us if more were devoted to spiritual revival than political reform?

How Often To Take “The Feast Of Love”?

Neal Pollard

I recently read a fascinating article by John H. Armstrong in the September, 2014, issue of “Christianity Today.” Armstrong starts out reminiscing on early childhood worship experiences in the denomination he attended. He writes that his church celebrated the Lord’s Supper “four times a year. I remember asking why we celebrated it so infrequently. The answer I got never satisfied, and it still doesn’t: ‘If we do this very often, it will lose its meaning'” (51). He goes on to say, “As I grew older, I discovered some churches took the meal weekly. I was then even more dissatisfied with the answer I had received” (ibid.).  He goes on to write a mostly historical examination of the Lord’s Supper, looking at the debates and developments of church history.  At the end, he summarizes by saying, “…[younger Christians] desire to receive the meal more often. And some of them—as I did when I was younger—have started attending congregations that take Communion ever week” (53).  The reasons given are that each observance gives us the opportunity to focus on Jesus’ crucifixion, expresses the unity of the body, and reflects our personal identity in Christ (ibid.). In other words, it offers commemoration, examination, and expectation.  We need that on an ongoing basis, and the Lord knew we would.  That is why He pointed ahead to a certain frequency when He established it, saying He would do it again when He established His Kingdom (Mark 14:25).  Paul says it was to be done with a certain frequency (1 Cor. 11:25—”as often as”).  Thankfully, Luke shows us how frequently it was taken (Acts 20:7—”on the first day of the week”).  It is good to understand that the Bible establishes the frequency of our observation of the Lord’s Supper, but it is also important to know why we take it each week.  We look up, look back, look within, look around, and look ahead.  Our all-wise God knew we would need this every time we assembled with our spiritual family.  Though so many have lost sight of its frequency, may we never lose sight of its significance!

God Is “Number Conscious”

Neal Pollard

Occasionally, the accusation, “You are just number conscious,” flies. If we speak in terms of attendance and emphasize its importance, we may justify mentioning it by saying that numbers represent souls. That is true, but there is no need to be ashamed of “number consciousness.”  After all, the Holy Spirit must have been.

Did you know that He moved men to use the noun arithmos (from where we get “arithmetic”) 18 times in the New Testament, including five times in Acts. Each time the word is used, God has been counting. In Acts, God is keeping track of the numbers being converted and the numbers making up the church.  Arithmos, in the literal sense, means “to count,” “to reckon,” and “number” (TDNT 1:461). In these passages in Acts, arithmos is used literally and specifically–“the number of the men came to be about 5,000” (4:4), “a number of men, about 400, joined themselves [to Theudas]” (5:36), “the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly” (6:7), “a large number believed” (11:21), “the churches were increasing in number daily” (16:5). Except for Gamaliel’s Acts 5 speech, the Acts passages report numerical growth in the early church.

Gearing our programs and preaching at all costs and compromise to optimize attendance figures is not the idea.  Truth offends and turns away many. The early church had a large share of enemies and detractors. While many submitted to immersion, some resorted to throwing stones (7:58; 14:19). The early Christians were tarred, run over, beaten, imprisoned, burned alive, fed to lions, exiled, and otherwise mistreated. Though this was sporadic, it could be intense. They had a number of enemies, but, through their living hope (1 Pet. 1:3), they worked at their mission and God gave the increase (1 Cor. 3:6).  All the while, Heaven kept count.

Long before the cross, God said, “All souls are Mine” (Ezek. 18:14). He’s been in every delivery room.  He’s heard every baby’s cry, watched every skinned knee, been privy to every child’s fear, and seen every sinful thought, word, and action develop. He was there at the moment every individual crossed the line from “safe” to “separated” (cf. Isa. 59:2). As Redeemer, God marks down each instance where one goes from “separated” to “saved.”

Let’s think like God on this.  Pursue evangelistic opportunities, teach the truth, and the numbers will increase. Be “number conscious”!