Tag: acts

  • Church: Religion? Philosophic Discourse? or Cultural Calling?

    Church: Religion? Philosophic Discourse? or Cultural Calling?

    The instant you say, ‘church,’ you dip your toe into waters of reactions which you know not how hot or cold, how shallow or deep, how stagnant or storm-tossed the hearer of your faith.

    Do you dare even ask?

    • Are YOU a CHRISTIAN?
    • Where did you worship last Sunday?
    • Do you belong to OUR church?
    • What are you currently studying from the Bible?
    • Would you talk of JESUS with me?
    • May I SHARE the Good News of my Biblical Christian faith?

    Just imagine the wide range of reactions of any other soul to ANY of these questions of the faithful evangelical Christian daring to share the Gospel of their Biblical Christian church.

    An even more troubling question:

    Does a Christian dare engage OTHER ‘christians‘ in a conversation about Christ (the Namesake of our Christian faith) addressing ALL of these questions and more about our Biblical Christian faith?

    Have YOU, in fact, tested these troublesome waters?

    IF SO, perhaps you too have received a baptism of hot opposition or a cold withdrawal of the flesh from the waters of faith.

    That would be evangelism = a RED FLAG of RELIGION to which a world (inclusively with some calling themselves a ‘church,’) will often react with ears that do not hear, as well as the rhetoric of rebellion against the Lord God and anarchy against salvation of the sinful soul.


    • Perhaps evangelism nets too few caught in the rising waters of a cultural flood of this world reacting to the ‘church,’ by denying Christ Jesus.
    • Maybe a pure Biblical Christian faith offends some tiptoeing into the mire of murky waters of philosophic denial.

    The [*] wicked fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”

    They act corruptly, they commit abominable deeds;

    There is no one who does good.

    Psalm 14 :: Legacy Standard Bible (LSB) * wicked – one who rejects wisdom in rebellion against God
    (Although some these wicked fools have crept into pulpits of places which call themselves, 'church.')

    ANY constant questioning of authoritative adherence to the Word of God, the Holy Bible of our Christian faith, should sound an alarm to the faithful:

    Beware of the tempter in sheep’s clothing.

    Who else would deconstruct the Biblical Christian foundation of the Church, only to reconstruct our faith by compromises of the only Truth, replacing authoritative Scripture with several shifting pebbles of heretical half-truths ‘reasoned’ by the wicked at war with Christ?

    So I ask you .. I ask us:

    Who are these 21st century Christians?

    What are YOUR answers to my earlier questions I dare to ask my fellow evangelical Christian believers and worshipers of Jesus Christ? (ADD your Comment on Scripture to this Saturday Post of TalkofJESUS.com) 
    Our church in Christ Jesus has no place for the unrepentant wicked fool; for our Gospel is for those who believe.
    

    I began this Saturday Post series as a deeper discussion of DOCTRINE (or teaching) of the Church. The alarm of the watchman on the wall rang in my ears while hearing about a subtle teaching, an undercurrent of doctrine seeping into the evangelical christian church.

    Evangelical RECONSTRUCTION was something I naively had never heard of; YET now I will raise the trumpet of warning to sound the alarm:

    Medieval church bell tower during sundown in valley

    Something’s wrong with our church!

    (Who wouldn't agree?)
     YES it is.

    So why not RECALL it?

    (Send it ‘back to the manufacturer? Can’t do that. So how can WE evolve the church into a 21st c. style faith?)

    Tear it down to the ground demolishing doctrine by doctrine.

    Then WE can RECONSTRUCT that which WE have deconstructed to fix the church how WE want.

    But WE had better do it subtly (so as not to offend anybody) and stealthily (without account of a foundational Biblical Christian teaching).

    A 21st c. RECALL of the CHURCH is just what WE need for OUR Evangelical Reconstruction of the Church into a socially acceptable gathering which will attract any follower from religions of every culture of our world.

    NOT!

    To borrow from the Apostle Paul refuting premises of clear untruths:

    By no means!

    Perfect Teaching (for God’s imperfect ‘church’)

    https://talkofjesus.com/talk-jesus-com/what-is-doctrine/
    διδασκαλία – didaskalia – doctrine (19x), teaching (1x), learning (1x). – source: BlueLetterBible.org

    Doctrine, whether by preaching or teaching or proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ, is foundational to faith and therefore never to be torn down by any mortal sinner. Scripture affirms God’s truth and the trustworthy teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ for those who believe.

    .. so that we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming, ..

    Letter of the Apostle Paul to the Church in Ephesus 4:14 Legacy Standard Bible

    This same Apostle (to the Gentiles) confesses in his first letter to the pastor, Timothy 1:15

    .. that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

    And the Apostle Peter fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying,

    “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!”

    the Good News of Luke 5:8 Legacy Standard Bible

    Some call Peter and Paul, Saints (and they are); yet all of God’s faithful are saints to the Lord.

    Psalm 34:9 (WLC 34:10) יְראוּ אֶת־יְהוָה קְדֹשָׁיו כִּי־ אֵין מַחְסוֹר לִירֵאָֽיו׃

    Yodh
    Oh, fear Yahweh, you His saints;
    For there is no want to those who fear Him.
    Do YOU FEAR THE LORD GOD, oh you sinner?
    
    The MARQEE denominational name of your 'church' matters NOT, my fellow sinner. 
    Seek the salvation of the Lord, my dear fellow saint, His redemption of your soul to eternal life witnessed in the Gospel of the Christ JESUS.

    Perfect Preaching (Teaching)

    Is based on & does not manipulate Scripture.

    THE LORD GOD IS! (God IS God and mankind is not.)

    God spoke to and through men whom the Lord God chose and commanded to write HIS words.

    “God is not a man, that He should lie,

    Nor a son of man, that He should repent;

    Has He said, and will He not do it?

    Or has He spoken, and will He not establish it?

    Numbers 23:19 LSB
    Do you really believe that? Can you affirm that ONLY Scripture Sola Scriptura is the inspired word of the Lord God?
    ONLY Scripture – Sola Scriptura

    All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness,

    2 Timothy 3:16 LSB

    NOT ‘some,’ NOT ‘select scripture’ ..

    AND separate from the truth that some church pastors will never reprove or correct those wayward weak sheep of their own flock,

    ALL of the WRITTEN WORD OF SCRIPTURE IS GOD INSPIRED!

    Mortal SINNERS DO NOT get to reconstruct what GOD has said.

    (But false teachers of every era subtly seek to lead Christ’s lost sheep into the abyss of disbelief.)

    Inerrant TRUTH: Our reasoned Biblical Faith

    Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?”

    The Apostle John’s Good News for you is:

    .. that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe.

    Evangelical RE-construction of the Church

    Source material for the following is transcribed (written as accurately as possible) from the A.D. 2022 podcast 'Just Thinking,' previously recommended and linked on TalkofJESUS.com and used with permission of its author. - RH

    In deconstruction everything is a SOCIAL construction, including the church.

    Darrell Harrison
    By the way, this Saturday Post series, Church – Who are these 21st c. Christians? - is directed toward faithful evangelical Christians who fear God and believe Scripture as a warning and caution for infidelity to Christ we increasingly hear from the pulpits of our RE-engineered 21st c. 'churches.' - RH
    
    I will add brief comment to Harrison's outline below for your consideration and intentional thinking about the teaching of your church. Why not add your own thoughts in the Comments at the bottom of this post. 
    
    God-willing, we will continue the course of identifying the faithful of our 21st century 'Church' next Saturday.
    
    © Darrell B. Harrison and Just Thinking Ministries

    Evangelical Deconstructionism

    Most of the points quoted may be found in the Just Thinking Podcast near 1:32.

    FIVE-POINT PROGRESSION of Evangelical Deconstructionism

    1. EMBRACE and posit [plant or assume] the idea [philosophy] that the CHURCH is a SOCIALLY constructed system, NOT a divinely ordained idea [institution] that originated in the mind of God.
    2. ASSUME that this socially constructed system is designed to be exclusive of certain intersectional identities, traditions and behaviors.
    3. IDENTIFY subjective [reasoned in the mind] points or cracks in that socially constructed system that have failed [as reasoned by the philosopher] AND need to be fixed [or reconstructed].
    4. APPLY a hermeneutic [interpretive explanation] of SUSPICION to that SOCIALIALLY-CONSTRUCTED system so that ANYONE [who even remotely] connected to that system is deemed UNTRUSTWORTHY.. deemed an enemy.
    5. RECONSTRUCT this SOCIAL SYSTEM [church, etc.] into the IMAGE and likeness of the CULTURE with socially acceptable.. [everythingology].

    Have you heard the alarm?

    “Therefore watch out, so that the thing spoken of in the Prophets may not come upon you:

    Acts of the Apostles 13:40 LSB [in context 13:23-41]

    Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.

    Gospel of Matthew 7:15 LSB – a warning of Jesus

    “Now why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?

    Gospel of Luke 6:46 LSB – CHALLANGE of the Lord Jesus Christ to followers


    What must we do?

    Does YOUR local church have a new cultural calling to evangelism?

    Please comment below on what you observe of Evangelical Deconstructionism?

    Comment on Scripture + Share the Gospel

  • Is the Evangelical Christian?

    Is the Evangelical Christian?

    What’s YOUR image of the evangelical christian?

    What is it that they do? Where do YOU hear about them?

    How do YOU become one? (Would you even want to add YOUR name to a list of evangelical Christians?)

    This all-American anomaly does seem more prevalent in certain months of certain years. It’s practically an insult, isn’t it?

    Who is calling out these evangelical christians so visible in the media?

    Good News – Bad News

    First, the Good News.

    εὐαγγελιστής – Evangelist (noun) – The Evangelist brings good news! It’s the name given to the NT heralds of salvation through Christ who are not apostles.

    Philip and the Ethiopian official in his chariot on the road from Jerusalem in Gaza, reading the scroll of Isaiah before he is baptized

    Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” And Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said,

    “Do you understand what you are reading?”

    And he said, “Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

    Acts of the Apostles 8:26-40 Legacy Standard Bible

    GOOD NEWS: Philip is a Biblical example of an Evangelical Christian.

    Evangelicals are preachers – those who have received their Gospel from the angels of God!

    Christians are called to proclaim Jesus Christ, preaching His Gospel Good News to those drawn by God to eternal life.

    For indeed we have had good news preached to us, even as they also did, but the word they heard didn’t profit them, because it wasn’t mixed with faith by those who heard.

    Hebrews 4:2 – HNV

    Now the Bad News (and it is two-fold).

    Many evangelical christians do NOT follow Jesus Christ

    1. Many who hear the Good News proclaimed will not benefit.
    2. Some who claim to bring their good news to all do not preach Christ. (Listen with caution to where these so-called evangelicals would lead you and their loyal herds into the turmoil of this world.)

    Listen to the sound reasoning of the Apostle Paul as he encourages believers of the Church at Corinth:

    But if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case, the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

    For we are not proclaiming ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’s sake. – 2 Corinthians 4:3-5 CSB

    A Christian Evangelical

    The authentic evangelical Christian claims no Lord other than Jesus Christ or agenda before the Gospel of Scripture.

    Roger@talkofJESUS.com

    The Gospel of Jesus Christ is foremost in the proclamation of the evangelical.

    • Political and cultural cause do not become a gospel for an authentic evangelical Christian.

    It is both true and troublesome that the label ‘Christians‘ was first used in Antioch (Acts 11:26) to malign followers of Jesus Christ compared to other religions and contemporarily used to claim or malign Jesus as a cause for or against culture unrelated to Christ.

    Not every evangelical is so, just because someone called them an ‘evangelical christian’ away from the context of worship.

    • The authentic evangelical worshiper will not ride every wave of contemporary culture or cling to cultural traditions of their past.
    • An authentic evangelical church does not blindly follow the vision of a pastor ahead of the Gospel which God has revealed in the Bible.
    • The authentic evangelical preacher does not substitute his own words for the true Gospel written in Scripture.

    What is it that authentic Evangelical Christians do?

    They evangelize good news of Christ.

    The Gospel is Good News for sinners saved from death and the judgement of God. But the NEWS of Jesus Christ is NOT a topic shared by the world set against God.

    Is the Lord Jesus Christ the HEADLINE of media?

    Hardly.

    What is it that Republicans do? They evangelize the good news of the republic (regardless of who they claim as their god).

    And what is it that Democrats do? They evangelize the good news of democracy (regardless of what universal religion of the masses they claim).

    Who is calling out these evangelical christians so visible in the media?

    The opposition – opponents both of each other and against Jesus Christ.

    So what is the business of media (including, of course, SOCIAL MEDIA)?

    NEWS that sells.

    Viral News that spreads through the unconsciousness of addicted consumers of culture.

    NEWS creates COVID

    – a Culture Of Viral Influential Destruction

    of its consumed viewers, readers, listeners and virtual audience.

    Whenever the world believes they can once again crucify the Lord God on their cross,

    the NEWS maligns evangelical christians as human examples

    demonstrating how God cannot save their world or their souls.


    From Tents to Stadiums & Community to MEGA-Church

    The Apostles of the first century Church appointed other men like Philip to serve their growing church and preach the Gospel. These men and women were evangelical Christians in the fullest sense, proclaiming Gospel Good News of salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord to all the world — men, women and children of every culture and nation.

    Their churches (some to which we have letters from the Apostles) were mostly house churches or gatherings of the saints in certain public places.

    Evangelism was by word of mouth and by their own example of Christ-like uniqueness from the cultures in which they lived.

    Peter, John, Paul, Philip, Barnabas, Luke and many others represent Christ as evangels of their first century lives. They traveled between communities, wrote letters, sent money and pastoral advice and stayed with these believers for a time when the Spirit led them to build up the Church.

    The Tabernacle was central to the Hebrew community as they traveled to the Promised Land

    Paul made tents for travelers, but by the days of the explorers of later centuries, larger tents became meeting places – a public square in the middle of nowhere as in the days of the Tabernacle of Moses.

    Evangelical Christians have gone into all the world in every century between the first and twenty-first an proclaimed the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

    a Glance at Evangelicalism Divided

    evangelical christians worshiping in church

    The impression of Christ by the evangelical of the twentieth century became tainted by evangelicals themselves, a trend which has multiplied into further contention in our cultural churches of the twenty-first century.

    We will continue our look at Evangelical Christian Churches NEXT TIME in a brief overview of 1950-2000 by Iain Murray.

    Stay tuned…


  • Breaking NEWS from ACTS 9!

    Breaking NEWS from ACTS 9!

    google earth map of the mediterranean under the influence of Rome and the world beyond
    Talk of JESUS .com

    Good NEWS (the gospel)

    Even in this 21st century in the year of our Lord, 2022, the Gospel of Jesus Christ has enemies. NO Good News where atheist leaders can prevent it.

    But any map of the world will reveal MANY roads – paths for Good News to Damascus or ANY other city in the world where the LORD commands the Gospel to be proclaimed.

    Gospel blocked by Russian Federation - READ Acts 8 anyway

    SO let’s travel as refugees to places of other languages (even IF it has been coerced by a path to suffer for the sake of Christ).


    Other roads for the Good News (TalkofJESUS.com) is one of them

    as we received mercy, we do not lose heart
    εἰ δὲ καὶ ἔστιν κεκαλυμμένον τὸ εὐαγγέλιον ἡμῶν ἐν τοῖς ἀπολλυμένοις ἐστὶν κεκαλυμμένον
    ἐν οἷς ὁ θεὸς τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου ἐτύφλωσεν τὰ νοήματα τῶν ἀπίστων εἰς τὸ μὴ αὐγάσαι τὸν φωτισμὸν τοῦ εὐαγγελίου τῆς δόξης τοῦ Χριστοῦ ὅς ἐστιν εἰκὼν τοῦ θεοῦ
    
    + from the writings of Saul of Tarsus to the Church at Corinth, Greece 4:3-4 PROS KORINQIOUS BV (2 Corinthians) 4 :: Morphological Greek New Testament (MGNT)

    Our Talk of JESUS .com series from ACTS of the Apostles has brought us from Jerusalem to Damascus, Syria in ACTS 7-9.

    Saul, of Tarsus [Turkey] meets Jesus Christ, risen Son of God along a road to Damascus

    ACTS 9:

    “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting,”

    ACTS 9:5b

    a History of the First Century Church and the beginning of persecution of the faithful

    Syria Cilicia Phoenice with Damascus as a road of witness into all the Roman world of the AD first century
    Gospel goes into Gaza then Syria

    CLICK HERE to READ Acts 9 in your language

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