Giving - At the Heart of the matter

Today's post is on the end of Acts 11, verses 27-30. This passage teaches a very basic but important principle - that God is after hearts that are willingly obedient. (As always, HERE are the scriptures used in today's blog post)

God created us with free will for a reason. Make no mistake, if all He was after was obedience he could have and still could achieve that in us. The problem is that in such a model we become nothing but puppets with whom it is impossible for God to have a relationship. In the early part of the book we saw disciples selling and sharing ALL possessions, giving to each as he had need (2:45). This differs from what we know of socialism in one very important way, and that is that it was voluntary. The early disciples wanted to do this to make sure that everyone was cared for. In chapter 5 we see God strike down two who failed to give everything they had, not because they held some of their earnings back but because they lied about how much they gave so others would think more of them than they ought.

 Here again we see willing giving. In 11:29 it says, "The disciples [converts in Antioch], each according to his ability, decided to provide help to the brothers living in Judea." This is a shift from what we saw in the early part of this book (which was a necessity for the early church because of the circumstances) and more toward the type of giving Paul describes in 2 Corinthians 8-9.

This principle of cheerful giving is one that many of us are familiar with hearing, especially if we have grown up in the church, but it can be very difficult to implement. How do I give more than the numbers say I can and be happy about it? The answer is a balance. It comes down to a balance between willingness to give and willingness to be obedient. Jesus preached many times about money and the bible almost has too many references to finances to count. We are called to pray for God to give us an obedient heart, and part of that may mean giving more. When we put ourselves in a position where we need for nothing we can get in a rut that makes us take God for granted, thinking we've got things covered. When we give more we begin to feel that separation from our money and over time will start to view our incomes differently. The willingness spoken of here is rarely a willingness to give monetarily, but rather to be obedient to what God has commanded, knowing that by giving more you are breaking down walls of idolatry and growing your relationship with Him.

I do feel it important to clear up one thing, though. Reading 2 Corinthians 9 alone may lead us to dangerous thinking that falls under the "Prosperity Gospel," whereby the more you give the more God will give you back monetarily. This is simply not biblical. What this is talking about is spiritual blessings that you will sow from living a righteous life of humble obedience to God's word.

Cornelius' Conversion

Today's post is based on the rest of Acts 10.

This story is significant because it marks the end of the church's transition to the ends of the world. God's grace was originally available only to His nation, Israel. It then spent the first ten chapters of Acts, a period of seven to ten years, transitioning to be a grace available to all the Earth. With the conversion of Cornelius and his "posse," non-Jewish Gentiles, we see that God's message has successfully been made known to cultures outside the Jewish faith and is ready to be taken "to all the ends of the Earth" (Acts 1:8). We see a couple of interesting things here:

1. Peter refuses to be recognized by anything more than a flawed human creation in need of salvation (v.26). While Cornelius probably only bowed because of Peter's heightened position in the church (as an Apostle, not just a disciple), Peter's response was to make the statement in v.27 that there is no person more "clean" than another in God's eyes. What a relief for those that are gathered there to hear that stance!
2. His clarification of Law in v.28 is simply to state how important this must have been. Surely they knew they asked him to defy his law.
3. God's spirit is the baptism of the Gentiles just as it was God's spirit at Pentecost that touched the Jews. There is an important lesson here. This baptism of the Spirit came first and as an outward sign of this, water-baptisms were performed. This ties in with the July 19th post about God's presence preceding all else. God's presence in our life and our willingness to accept Him is what He's after. But it is fully and completely impossible for us to accept the reality of what Christ has done for us in our hearts and in not show through our actions. When you accept that truth, God will fill you with a gratitude that will pour out into your actions. You will start to act differently because your heart will be changed by the awesome power of His Spirit. This is the baptism that is critical for salvation, not necessarily that of the water. 
4. God's salvation is extended to all "who fear Him and do what is right" (v.35). Author Warren Wiersbe says it this way: 

"The idea that 'one religion is as good as another' is comletely false. Those who tell us that we should worship 'the God of many names' and not 'change other people's religions; are going contrary to scripture. 'Salvation is of the Jews' (John 4:22), and there can be no salvation apart from faith in Jesus Christ, who was born a Jew. Cornelius had piety and morality, but he did not have salvation. Some might say 'Leave Cornelius alone! His religion is a part of his culture and it's a shame to change his culture!' God does not see it that way. Apart from hearing the message of the Gospel and trusting Christ, Cornelius had no hope."

 We've been called to live in wonderment of our God and Saviour, and as a result of that awe live differently so that in every way Christ's kingdom may advance. We are to let Him change us on the inside so that it can be shown through our outer actions.

A Three-year Sabbatical: The Ultimate "Seminary" Education

 I'll be referring largely to two passages here, so I've pulled them up in a link. Click Here or any of the scripture references in the post for the passages to pull up all in one place!

In Monday's post, we discussed the brief background of S(P)aul and his story. Paul, as he is later known, was at one time the leading zealot of "Christian" persecution (I only use quotations because Christ's followers have not yet been called Christians). After his conversion he became the "Apostle to the Gentiles" (Gal 2:8) and the single largest contributor to the writings of the New Testament. The conversion might seem sudden but there was a lot of training that took place. By looking into Paul's other writings we can gain a more comprehensive view of his story.

Immediately after Saul is converted he begins to preach the word in Damascus, right where he was. His heroic escape (Acts9:25), however, comes later in the story after his second stay in the city. Galatians 1:11-24 is Paul's defense of his authority to preach, which we mentioned in Monday's post. Not only was he called by God, but he says in v.15-17 that when he was called, he "did not consult any man" or even "go see the apostles in Jerusalem" but instead went immediately to Arabia and then came back to Damascus. During his time in Arabia, we can assume that God revealed himself in many ways to Saul, based on Barnabas' testimony in Saul's defense (Acts9:27) and his own defense in Galatians 1:11-12.

In Acts 9:27, the word for "see" translates loosely. It could mean that he physically saw with his eyes, but also that he saw with his mind or even that he "became acquainted with by experience." We also know that one of the requirements for being an "apostle" is that you personally walked with and experienced Christ (Acts 1:21 separate link). The implications of this are very important. First of all, he would have been a normal disciple had he simply been taught by the Twelve but it took him three years (Galatians 1:18) to make their acquaintance. The second reason is that in reading Paul's letters in the NT you may be tempted to question certain things. He covers topics of Christian living in more detail than Christ himself did, and in many cases, says things that we have no record of Christ saying. If you believe Paul's experience to be true you will understand that anything he said outside of what issues Christ spoke specifically to are supplemental and not contradictory. They came from Christ's personal  revelation to Paul after his own death. He was preparing Paul to go out and preach to the Gentiles and teach them how to live and the audience would be much different that Christ's audience of religious Jews.

The second bit of proof is that Saul endured incredible amounts of punishment for his beliefs. Read the 2 Cor passage for Saul's account of his sufferings. This is not Larry King bringing your opponents on his show or picketing outside your home. Saul survived life-threatening, physical torture for his faith in Christ. Had this been a lie that he had fabricated, he would have lost EVERYTHING he had built up until the point of his conversion (remember, he was an ambitions man) and then been beaten within inches of his life for nothing and stuck to his guns? No person would do that. We can assume that there was something more than Saul himself behind his ministry. Additionally, the fact that he endured all that he did and lived speaks to the power of God to deliver His servants when they are faithfully attempting to fulfill His will. 

As you read through the New Testament and find challenging passages, try to find confidence in the fact that it was truly God-inspired and not just for that society at that time. Trust that it is God's voice being given to you. We are, after all, the gentiles in the "ends of the earth" who Paul was sent to minister to. See you Sunday!

Paul: the "Super Apostle"

This week we'll be studying the apostle Saul (later known as Paul), from Acts 9:20-31. I want to challenge you to do a couple of things this week: 1) read the passage and some of the supplemental passages that I'll send and 2) look for things that either stick out to you or can be applied to your day to day life this week. Here's the passage:

Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. ²⁰At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. ²¹All those who heard him were astonished and asked, "Isn't he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn't he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?" ²²Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Christ.^[a]

 ²³After many days had gone by, the Jews conspired to kill him, ²⁴but Saul learned of their plan. Day and night they kept close watch on the city gates in order to kill him. ²⁵But his followers took him by night and lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall.

 ²⁶When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. ²⁷But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. ²⁸So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. ²⁹He talked and debated with the Grecian Jews, but they tried to kill him. ³⁰When the brothers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.

 ³¹Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord.

A brief background on Saul is that he was a ferocious persecutor of Christ's message. He was a witness to the stoning of Stephen in Chapter 6 and when we see him converted he had the very rare authority of the Sanhedrin (Jewish governing council) to extradite and imprison any of Christ's followers that he found in Damascus. After his conversion, however, he is given the title 'Apostle,' begins to go by his Greek name (Paul) and goes on to write 2/3 of the new testament as we know it. Romans, Galatians, Corinthians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Thessalonians, Timothy, Titus, Philemon and Hebrews were all letters penned by Paul to either specific believers or churches as instructions on living a life for Christ. The most amazing thing about all of this is the extent of NT scripture penned by a man who was not really even present during Christ's ministry. 

The term "Apostle" comes from the greek "Apostolos" which means "messenger" or "one sent with orders." For Paul to call himself an Apostle (Look at the first verse of any of the above-mentioned letters) when he was clearly not sent by Christ during his time on Earth was quite the claim! If all scripture is God-breathed and inerrantly true, by what authority was this great apostle commissioned?

Later this week we will look at the source of Paul's knowledge and authority.