The most recent version of this post is available here.
“Love often manifests itself in giving people what they can’t appreciate and don’t want, and
in demanding from them precisely what they most want to retain for themselves.” — Tom
- Home
- What We’re Doing Here
- F A Q
- Anonymous Asks
- Apocrypha-lypso
- Book Reviews
- The Commentariat Speaks
- DAMWWTIM
- Flyover Country
- How Not to Crash and Burn
- Inbox
- The Language of the Debate
- Letters from the Best Man
- Mining the Minors
- On the Mount
- Quote of the Day
- Recommend-a-blog
- Semi-Random Musings
- That Wacky Old Testament
- Time and Chance
- What Does Your Proof Text Prove?
Showing posts with label Acts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Acts. Show all posts
Monday, December 15, 2014
Sunday, December 14, 2014
Monday, December 01, 2014
The Hand of the Lord
Raphael: St Paul Before the Proconsul, 1515 |
These nine verses mark the beginning of what is often called
Paul’s first missionary journey, which began in Syrian Antioch. They relate the story of Elymas the magician.
It is unclear whether “magician” in this context means that Elymas gave wise counsel, knew a
few parlour tricks or actually possessed genuine demonic power. The word magos, which the KJV translates “sorcerer”,
is also translated “wise men” when Matthew employs it to describe those who
came to worship the Lord Jesus as a baby (I suspect Matthew uses magos to mean “astronomers” or “scientists” rather than those who trafficked in witchcraft). In Acts 8, however, when used to describe
Simon the magician who “amazed people with his magic”, it clearly speaks of
gimmickry or something much worse.
In any case, Elymas had an encounter with the hand of the Lord that did not
go as expected.
Labels:
Acts
/
Apostle Paul
Tuesday, October 07, 2014
A Multiplication of Woes
If you want to get wrapped up in a modern church problem not
contemplated by specific doctrinal teaching in the New Testament, this would
surely be a prime candidate.
I didn’t even know what a “multi-site” church was until I
read Jonathan Leeman’s recent blog post about the problems that tend to result
from them.
Call me out of touch, but now that I think about it, I know
of more than one local situation in which this sort of arrangement might appear
to present a potential solution to complications resulting from sudden or
unexpected church growth.
Labels:
Acts
/
Church
/
Multi-Site Churches
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
The Purpose of God in My Generation
“People try to put us down just because we get around.
Things they do look awful cold. I hope I die before I get old.
Talkin’ ’bout my generation.”
— Pete Townshend, 1965
I’m dating myself with this quotation, but you don’t need to
have been alive in ’65 to be familiar with The Who’s anthem. I’ve left out the
awful Roger Daltrey stutter that features in seven of the song’s eight lines,
but you get the drift. It’s an expression of teen alienation; a de rigueur dissing of the previous
generation.
“Why don’t you all f-fade away?” Townshend asked the parents
of his audience and of course, eventually, they did.
Labels:
Acts
/
David
/
Pete Townshend
/
Saul
Sunday, September 07, 2014
Is Christianity a Religion?
The most recent version of this post is available here.
Labels:
Acts
/
Apostle Paul
/
Christianity
/
Religion
Wednesday, September 03, 2014
The Deadliest Attack on Happiness
Author Trent Hand lists what he believes are the deadliest attacks on happiness:
1. Comparing
yourself to others
2. Talking
about your dreams instead of going to work on them
3. Listening to
people with nothing positive to say
4. Focusing on
the news
5. Deciding
someone else needs to change
6. Thinking
“happiness” is a destination you can reach
7. Forgetting
to say “thank you”
Clearing negative influences out of our lives does have a
certain utility.
Tuesday, September 02, 2014
You Don’t Want to be ‘That Guy’
The most recent version of this post is available here.
Labels:
Acts
/
David
/
Psalms
/
Revelation
Monday, June 23, 2014
Slavery in the Old Testament [Part 1]
The following quotes are lifted from another blog
commentary. Like many comments that appear after blog posts with a sizable
audience, they are completely unrelated to the actual topic under discussion.
Possibly to their credit, neither the moderator nor any other commenter took
the bait these two were dangling.
I, on the other hand, have great difficulty resisting a baited
hook, so here goes:
“I have always wanted a slave and from what I can read in MY bible that is totally ok with God right?”
— Emily
“Hi Emily, You see God only let them keep slaves then, because at the time that was how economies worked. There was simply no other way for God to help Israel prosper, they needed to be just the same as the surrounding nations.”
— Minion68
(It ought to be mentioned, in case it is not evident, that
the second comment is pure sarcasm, as Minion’s other comments relating to the
same post make exceedingly clear.)
From their tone, I get the feeling that both commenters have
already made up their minds.
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Christians and the Law: Repercussions
“And some men came down from Judea and began teaching the brethren, ‘Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved’ ”.
These
words in Acts 15:1 introduce an issue that challenged the Christian church
soon after its inception and would continue to be debated among the believers
for years to come.
But what were the consequences of the Apostles’ attempts to deal with the controversy?
But what were the consequences of the Apostles’ attempts to deal with the controversy?
The
Consequences
When the meeting at Jerusalem concluded, Barnabas, Paul and their new companions Judas and Silas promptly carried the apostolic letter to the church at Antioch, where it was received with great rejoicing.
Although
the issue of whether or not circumcision and Law-keeping were necessary to
salvation remained a hotly debated one in the Christian community for some time
afterward, and Paul was soon forced to write a lengthy epistle to the church at
Galatia to counteract the grievously effective work of the Judaizers among
them, there could no longer be a doubt as to the opinion of the leading
apostles and elders on this question.
The official statement had been made:
Gentiles were justified by faith in Jesus Christ alone, and neither
circumcision nor observance of the Mosaic Law was necessary to complete their
justification.
Thursday, April 10, 2014
Christians and the Law: Answering the Challenge
“And some men came down from Judea and began teaching the brethren, ‘Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved’ ”.
These words in Acts 15:1 introduce an issue that challenged
the Christian church soon after its inception and would continue to be debated
among the believers for years to come.
But how did the apostles deal with this challenge to the
gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ?
Peter’s attempt to persuade his brethren was based on his
personal experience of how God had worked in the hearts and lives of the
Gentiles who had believed through his ministry. He described how God had not
only directed him to share the gospel with pagan people, but had showed His
approval by bestowing the Holy Spirit on those who had believed.
By giving the Spirit He had clearly shown that in His sight the Gentile
believers were no different from and no less privileged than the Jewish
believers.
This being the case, what grounds were there for saying that
the uncircumcised Gentiles were inferior in God’s sight and needed to do more
to complete their salvation?
Had God Himself made a mistake in giving the Spirit
prematurely to people who were not truly saved?
Tuesday, April 08, 2014
Christians and the Law: Controversy
“And some men came down from Judea and began teaching the brethren, ‘Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved’ ”.
These words in Acts 15:1 introduce an issue that challenged
the Christian church soon after its inception and would continue to be debated
among the believers for years to come.
But why was it such a crucial matter for the early church?
Paul’s background as a Pharisee certainly gave him a ready understanding of the Judaizers’ position, but on the
basis of his knowledge of the gospel of grace, he strongly opposed their
teaching. Years later he would explain to the Galatians:
“A man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus ... by the works of the Law shall no flesh be justified ... if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.” (Galatians 2:16,21)
Paul and Barnabas fought the Judaizers in Antioch for some
time before it became clear that the debate must be officially resolved.
At last the church at Antioch decided to send a delegation, led by Paul and
Barnabas, to Jerusalem to consult the apostles and elders there.
Whatever was
decided at the council would determine the practice of the Gentile believers
throughout the Roman Empire and throughout subsequent history.
Saturday, April 05, 2014
Christians and the Law: Why the Confusion?
“And some men came down from Judea and began teaching the brethren, ‘Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved’ ”.
These words in Acts 15:1 introduce an issue that challenged
the Christian church soon after its inception and would continue to be debated
among the believers for years to come.
But where did this controversy originate?
The Cause
In order to trace this issue back to its roots, one must go
back to the Old Testament and consider what it has to say about the relationship
between Jew and Gentile.
Monday, December 23, 2013
A Chosen Instrument
When the Lord Jesus appeared to Saul on the road to Damascus,
he was blinded and spent three days fasting and praying until the Lord healed him
through the hands of Ananias.
Speaking about his conversion to the Jews in Jerusalem
much later, he said:
“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God as all of you are this day” (Acts 22:3)
A Jew: Was being a Jew useful to Paul in the Lord’s service?
No kidding. Had he been only a Gentile, it would have been extremely difficult
for Paul to convince anyone, especially Jews, of the critical truth that salvation
was now offered freely outside of the legal prescriptions of Judaism. Instead,
he could endorse Gentile membership in the body of Christ (and for that matter,
salvation by faith rather than works) without any apparent personal agenda.
Labels:
Acts
/
Apostle Paul
/
Chosen
Thursday, December 12, 2013
Conspiracy Theory
The most recent version of this post is available here.
Labels:
Acts
/
Apostle Paul
/
Contradictions in Scripture
Subscribe to:
Posts
(
Atom
)