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Mt. Baker Beacon 2024
Vol. 03, No. 24 Jun 16, 2024
Your word is a lamp to my feet Mount Volume 03, Number 24 Published by Location: Sunday: Web site: Mt. Baker church
| In this issue: THE HUMBLE PREACHER The Sanhedrin council in Jerusalem was made up of highly educated and very intelligent men (cf. Acts 5:34). Without question, they were the leading experts and authorities in the customs and theology of the Jews at that time. They knew Hebrew and Aramaic completely and fluently (as well as Greek and Latin). Some could recite vast sections of the OT from memory in the original languages. No one can deny the fact that they were the acknowledged leaders in the field of Biblical scholarship and learning (cf. Matt. 2:4). Unfortunately, they prided themselves concerning their intelligence and knowledge of the OT and their traditions (John 7:49; 9:34; Rom. 2:17-20). Indeed, they had a serious problem with their ego (Matt. 23:5-7; Lk. 18:9-14). These prideful, learned, and intelligent men did not understand, and therefore overlooked, some vitally important truth that the prophets spoke of in their writings (Acts 3:17; 13:27). They did not understand the nature of the Messiah or His kingdom (Acts 3:24; 1 Cor. 2:8; Jno. 7:17). And there were other very important concepts of the Scriptures that they also overlooked (Matt. 23:23-24). Even ignorant and unlearned fishermen (Acts 4:13) understood more than they did concerning the Messiah and His kingdom. It is very clear that the Sanhedrin scholars (regardless of their great learning and high intellect) had the wrong "perspective" concerning the new covenant of Christ. Many intelligent and learned theologians of today are in the same boat with the Sanhedrin scholars. Just keep in mind, that if their thinking and teaching were in harmony with the Bible, they would be members of the Lord’s church. If not, why not? Now, we should therefore understand that it is not necessary to be highly educated and highly intelligent to effectively hold up the banner of truth (Matt. 11:25; 1 Cor. 2:7-8). Rather it requires an honest, humble heart with a profound love for God and His Word, as well as a sincere love for the souls of mankind, to equip us to preach the gospel of Christ. Couple this with the willingness to continue to learn, and, also, to correct and adjust our thinking and teaching when we find ourselves out of step with truth (cf. Acts 8:30-31; 18:24-28). Please note that we are not against education and high intellect. We could wish that we had more ourselves. But having a great intellect and vast knowledge are simply not the answer for one to be qualified to preach the gospel of Christ (cf. 1 Cor. 1:18-2:5). Some may think that they have to sit at the feet of (and constantly read the writings of) "learned and intellectual" theologians in order to be a successful preacher. But they may become too smart and so filled with “new perspective” to faithfully preach the simple (and sound) gospel of Christ (Col. 2:8)! Certainly, we understand that we can learn history, culture, definitions of words, etc. from learned sectarians. But we must always be careful to properly evaluate the information, as we measure all things by the Word of God. We just may need to empty our minds of our prideful egos and get our thinking in line with what the Bible teaches concerning the qualifications of a faithful gospel preacher (1 Tim. 4:16; 2 Tim. 4:1-5). STANDING FOR NOTHING HAS CONSEQUENCES I remember hearing a lyric to a song on the radio that went, "If you stand for nothing, you will fall for everything." This line immediately made me think of what the apostle Paul told the brethren at Ephesus, "that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness by which they lie in wait to deceive" (Ephesians 4:14). Who likes to be deceived, especially when it comes to Biblical teaching? The sad reality is, many people are deceived, and we need to do everything we can to prevent that from happening. But the question we have is, how can we prevent it from happening? The Lord has provided many helps, but we will just focus on the ones we find in the verse we just quoted by Paul. First: Grow up The first thing the apostle told the saints was, "be not children". God's people need to grow up, meaning they need to increase their faith (2 Peter 3:18). Even though Christians are God's children, in this text, it is talking about maturity. Those who never get grounded will remain a babe and as such, are vulnerable, not being able to discern between good and evil (Hebrews 5:13-14). The goal of every convert ought to be to desire the milk as a babe, but get off the milk and onto the meat as soon as possible (Hebrews 5:12). Second: Don't believe everything you hear The Ephesian church was told not to be carried away with every wind of doctrine. It's one thing to be trusting, it's another matter when it is done to a fault. God's people are commanded to test the spirits to see whether they are of God (1 John 4:1). There shouldn't be a tossing about, going back and forth, when there is only the doctrine of Christ (2 John 9). There are many teachings that sound Biblical, but they don't have a scripture to stand on. When people say things like, "Baptism is an outward sign of an inward grace" or "Cleanliness is next to godliness" and "Accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and you will be saved", they are words that sound scriptural, but they are not. Third: Remember that religious teachers are just men Again, in Ephesians 4:14, Paul stated that saints were not to be tossed about by the trickery and cunning craftiness of men. Such people often get away with what they do because people hold them up above others. To give anyone a blind allegiance is a recipe for disaster. Just because someone says they are a teacher of God's word; he must be held to the standard - the word of God (1 Peter 4:11). The mere fact that Paul told these brethren not to fall for their teachings, is proof that such men can be opposed - regardless of their position. Even the apostle Peter couldn't rest on the fact he was an apostle, when Paul rebuked him for his sinful behavior (Galatians 2:11). Men might want to be elevated, but if we allow that to happen, the fault is ours. Fourth: Know that you can have victory The mere fact that these brethren were given instructions as to what they should not allow, is evidence that it can be prevented. Why tell someone not to be tossed about, if it has to happen? Falling away doesn't have to happen. As Jesus pointed out, we can know the truth and the truth will set us free (John 8:32). Truth be known, if someone is teaching error, you can correct them (Acts 18:26-28), and if they don't change, you can walk away from them. Remember, we can resist the devil (James 4:7). Let us all heed these words in Ephesians 4:14, and not be children and carried about with every wind of doctrine. Created by John Bass, last updated. 06/15/2024 The Mount Baker Beacon is a weekly publication of the Mt. Baker church of Christ, Bellingham, WA. |
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