Male-Female Role Relatioships in the Church

The Scripture reveals that there are separate roles, functions and callings for male and female Christians in the Local Church. Paul's epistles to the Corinthians and to Timothy addressed this issue clearly.

Unfortunately, many theologians, renowned Bible teachers, Pastors and preachers believe there is no difference between the role of men and women in the Church. Consequently, whenever this "controversial" issue arises they are very likely to cite what the apostle Paul wrote to the Galatians to support their unbiblical view:

"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28, NKJV, emphasis added).

If we look at the above verse in the context we will not fail to realize that the apostle Paul was not talking about role relationships. He was talking about sons and heirs through faith in Christ Jesus. He was explaining the nature of the Abrahamic Covenanat whereby the blessing of salvation came to mankind. When we are saved we are all "one in Christ Jesus". We are the children of God; we become members of the Body of Christ. Both men and women are children of God - whether one is a Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female makes no difference. The union into which the sinner enters by faith, in Christ, is one and the same with all people, no matter what their circumstances, national origin, social status, or gender.

I urge my readers to heed Paul's advice, "Test all things; hold fast what is good" (1 Thess 5:21). It is very easy to be deceived by wrong teaching even though some teachers of the Word might have erred unintentionally.

Galatians 3:28 does not speak to role relationships; this verse is not intended to address the respective functional distinctions between men and women in the body of Christ or in the Local Church. Such a careless and unscriptural interpretation is entirely foreign to the context.

The principle is, never take Bible verses out of their proper context. If we do we can easily make the Bible says whatever we want it to say! Bible teachers should be reminded that they "shall receive a striter judgment" (James 3:1, NKJV).

Paul's teaching on male-female role relationships

The best source of Biblical material for this topic of discussion comes from Paul's epistles. On no occasion was Paul questioning the ability of woman taking the role of man in the Church.

The questions we need to ask are:

1. "Should a woman take the role of man in the Church?"

2. "Should a woman exercise authority over men in the Church?"

The real Biblical issue is not about ability, education or even Biblical knowledge but about the separate callings for man and woman to fulfill God's divine purpose and design in the Church. Both man and woman have different roles to play in the Local Church. If we follow Paul's teaching and place men and women in their proper roles then we are obedient to God; if we do not, then we are counted as disobedient to God. It is as simple as this! Furthermore, Paul's teaching is very clear and there is no "grey area".

Paul addressed this issue clearly in his first epistle to Timothy (1 Timothy 2:8 - 15).

But, in order to understand the full meaning and implication of role relationships for both sexes, we need, first of all, study 1 Corinthians 11:3 - 12 where Paul teaches man's headship in Christ and the authority of a man over a woman.

Paul's teaching on God-ordained divine Headship

"But I want you to know that the head of every man in Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God" (1 Cor. 11:3, NKJV, emphasis added).

Therefore the divine order of headship in the Church is - God > Christ > man > woman. Divine authority follows the same order.

Paul also gave the reason why it is the will of God for a man to exercise authority over a woman:
"For man is not from woman, but woman from man, nor was man created for the woman, but woman for the man" (1 Cor. 11:8,9)

Therefore, this divine headship and authority of man over a woman has been ordained by God as far back as at the Creation of man. This Spiritual Law like many others is unchanging throughout the Church Age. There is no question that it applies to the present day Local Churches as well.

Notice that Paul said nothing about following Jewish laws or early Church customs.

Beware of compromising and man-pleasing Bible teachers who are in the habit of adding their opinions to make their teaching more acceptable and less offensive.

Paul's instructions to Timothy

Paul instructed Timothy to take heed of the regulations concerning how a woman should conduct herself in the Church:

"Let a woman learn in silence with all submission. And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression. Nevertherless she will be saved in childbearing if they continue in faith, love, and holiness, with self-control" (1 Tim. 2:11 - 15, NKJV).

1. "Let a woman learn in silence with all submission"

The focus is upon a woman's attitude and behavior in the local congregation. When the Church gathers, the submissive Christian woman is to receive instructions willingly, but she does not give it.

2. "And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence"

This verse expands upon the role of women. According to Paul women are to occupy a chaste and submissive place in the Church. This precludes the activities involving teaching men and having authority over men pertaining to the Scripture. But, Paul said nothing about women exercising authority and teaching children in the Local Church.

3. "For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression"

Paul gave the reasons for the previous statements he made. He referred to the divine headship again. The fact that Adam was created before Eve means that men are not to be subjected to the authority of women. Applying this principle to the Local Church, the Creation hierarchy is violated should a woman assume or hold a position in which she rules over a man.

The word "deceived" is a translation from the Greek word "exapatao" meaning "seduced completely" or "enticed to sin". When Satan tempted Eve, she disregarded the implications of the order in which she and Adam were created. Eve by making her own decision removed herself from the safeguarding environment that God designed. She, consequently, fell into transgression.

4. "Nevertheless she will be saved in childbearing if they continue in faith, love, and holiness, with self-control"

A part of a woman's obligation in the marriage relationship (covenant) is the bearing of children who would be the means by which men would rule over God's creation. By fulfilling their roles, men and women could preserve the order that God created and expect God's blessings.

The phrase "saved in childbearing" has been a source of confusion to many Bible teachers and writers of Bible Commentaries. The explanation can be found if we refer to Genesis when God passed a sentence to Eve because of her transgression:

God said, "I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; in pain you shall bring forth children; your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you" (Gen. 3:16, NKJV, emphasis added).

In spite of the above difficulties, if a woman honors her unique God given role which belongs to her only - the ability to bear children, she would be blessed and be delivered from God's sentence upon Eve. However, it does not mean that a woman should do nothing but bear childred, nor that she is regenerated (saved) by giving birth. It means that a woman should not seek to do what God intends man to do. Instead she should continue in her God given role in the Church, in faith, love, and holiness with self-control.

Must women keep silent and forbidden to speak in the Church?

"Let your women keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak; but they are to be submissive, as the law also says. and if they want to learn something, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is shameful for women to speak in church" (1 Cor. 14:34, 35).

If we take these verses of Scripture out of context a likely answer would be:

"In the early Church most Christian women were not well educated. So it was shameful for them to ask silly questions in Church meetings. Now, the situation is different and most women are well educated. Some of them even have better knowledge of the Scripture than men. Therefore, they are not only qualified to speak but to preach as well".

Notice that this type of answer sounds convincing and fully pleasing to the women in the Local Church. But it ignores totally God's ordained role of women in the Church.

The right answer comes naturally if we put these two verses of Scripture in the context. As we have considered so far, it is not the role of women to teach and to have authority over men in the Local Church. But, Paul was not talking about that when he wrote to the Corinthians. Instead, he was talking about the lack of orderliness in Church meetings. The Church in Corinth was a good example where the exercising of Spiritual gifts was without control. Everyone, both men and women, prophesied and spoke in tongues at the same time without interpretation, and without waiting for their turn to speak.

Paul said, "For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints" (1 Cor. 14:33, emphasis added).

Notice that this applies to all Church meetings including our Church meetings. Because of the problem of unruliness and discorderliness women are not allowed to prophesy and speak in tonques during Church meetings. Therefore, Paul gave instruction that, if they want to learn something from such unruly Church meetings, it is far better for them to ask their husband privately at home.

Paul did not forbid women to go to Church to worship God, to learn and to listen to sermons. In fact Jesus Himself wants women to listen and learn!

Mary sat at the feet of Jesus to hear His Word (Luke 10:39).

Jesus said to Martha who was busy preparing food to serve Him:

"Martha, Martha, you are warried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her" (Luke 10:42, NKJV).

It is in the heart of Jesus to have women to hear His Words in Church meetings in all submission!

Gods Specific Calling for Individual Believers

God has a specific calling for each individual believer. The “calling” of God is a ministry appointed by God for every individual believer as part of his salvation and sanctification process. It is important for a believer to stay in his God given calling if he wants to do the will of God. If he stays out of the calling God, then not every thing the believer does is according to the will of God for his life.

Paul said to Timothy, “Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, …” (2 Tim. 1:8, 9, NKJV, emphasis added).

The above verses say:

1. If you are saved, then you are also called. Being called is part of your salvation process. This means every believer has a unique calling.

2. Your calling is holy. This means you are set apart to do God’s will. God sets limits and boundaries around your life; you cannot do as you please. God says: “Be holy, for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:16).

3. Your calling does not depend on your works. This means it has nothing to do with your talent, your effort or you ability. God will enable and equip you to fulfill your calling.

4. God has a special distinctive purpose when by grace He calls you. This means your calling is God’s specific gift to you and you cannot earn it. Neither can you bargain with God.

5. Your calling is God’s choice and God has worked out His calling for you before time began.

Paul’s Unique Calling

God’s unique calling for the apostle Paul is seen in 2 Timothy 1:11, 12:

“…. I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day” (NKJV, emphasis added).

Paul’s calling was to be a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. He had committed his calling to God even if it meant suffering! He knew God would enable him to complete his work. Paul kept his calling of God until he died!

Paul’s Divine Calling was fulfilled

The account of Paul’s journey to Rome given in Acts 27 and 28 is a miraculous act of God to enable Paul to fulfill his calling.

God had committed to Paul the responsibility of bringing the Gospel to the Gentile world (Galatians 2:7). The key to this would be to establish a centre in the city of Rome. From there, many different channels would automatically carry the Gospel to the whole ancient world – channels of commerce, education, finance, governmental administration and natural social intercourse. Because of Paul’s unique calling, he was the person best qualified to establish such a centre in Rome.

Because of the significance of Paul’s move to Rome, satanic forces did everything in their power to destroy him before he could reach his destination. Paul was traveling on a freight ship as a prisoner in chains. Furthermore, the ship was caught up in a storm so horrific that for two full weeks the people on board never caught a glimpse of the sun by day or of the moon and the stars by night.

I believe the storm of such intensity was generated by supernatural forces – similar to the type Satan sent to destroy Job’s sons and daughter (Job 1:19).

Paul knew that even in the midst of the storm there would be no loss of life. He said to the men:

“Now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. For there stood by me this night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve, saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar; and indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you’” (Acts 27:22, 23, 24, emphasis added).

Paul used two phrases here to describe his relationship to God: “to whom I belong” and “whom I serve”. I believe these two phrases can never be separated. If we do not belong to God, we have no right to serve Him. On the other hand, we cannot claim to be belong to God, if we are not available to Him for His service.

After the shipwreck Satan had one more challenge. The people who had escaped safely to land began to collect fuel for a fire. Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire. Satan used this as an opportunity to make one final attempt to destroy Paul – “A viper came out because of the heat, and fastened on his hand” (Acts 28:3). This could not be a coincidence. At least Paul himself did not believe in coincidence. But, if this was not the work of Satan, out of so many people, why did the viper choose Paul as its victim?

But Paul was full of the Holy Spirit. He did not feel the need to pray or to speak in tongues. To the amazement of the local islanders who knew how deadly a viper’s bite was, Paul simply “shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm” (Acts 28:5)!

The success of Paul’s mission to Rome is summed up:

“Then Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rented house, and received all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him” (Acts 28:30, 31).

The Gospel for the Gentiles had been established in Rome, and from there to the whole of the Gentile world. This was Paul’s accomplishment of God’s specific calling for him (2 Tim. 11).

What was the secret of Paul’s victorious life? He himself explained in 2 Timothy 1:12:

“For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day” (emphasis added).

The secret of Paul’s victorious living is summed up in the phrase – “Committed to Him until that Day”. In other words, he was totally at God’s disposal until the Day when Jesus comes again to take him to His Father’s House!

Whatever trial he went through; whatever tribulation and suffering he went through Paul himself confirmed what he said to the Roman Christians:

“And we know that all things work together for good to those who are love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28, emphasis added).

All things work together for good

Christians must be very careful in interpreting the above verse of Scripture. I have heard many Bible teachers said, “Because all believers received the call of God for salvation; therefore all things work together for good to him from now on”.

It is true that all Christians have responded and received the calling to be saved. This is the general calling for all believers. But, Romans 8:28 speaks of the specific calling of God for individual believers.

As I mentioned from the beginning, all saved persons also receives from God a specific calling to accomplish God’s will for him (2 Tim. 1:9). In other words, the calling of God for salvation and the calling of God for the individual believer to accomplish His will are two entirely different things.

“All things work together for good” is applicable only for the believer's specific calling. It is attached with the following conditions:

1. The Christian must love God.

2. He must faithfully works out his calling given by God according to His purpose.

In other words, a believer who loves God and follows his God given calling faithfully, whatever happens to him and in whatever circumstances, God will be with him and protects him and all things will work out just the way God wants to accomplish His purpose.

This interesting spiritual law has been proven in Paul’s ministry. The same law applies to all true Christians who answer the call of God faithfully!

Biblical way of discerning and doing the will of God

There are three things a believer needs to do as soon as he is born again:

1. To discover his calling

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:1, 2).

Paul says the believer needs to present his body to the Altar of God as a living sacrifice so that it could be made holy and acceptable to God. In Old Testament time animal sacrificed to God was made holy at the Altar. God then takes control of the believer’s body, which has been made holy, to do His will. God tells the believer what to do. The believer cannot do whatever he wishes independent of God. He must not conform to the way of the world. By the renewal of his mind the believer has been transformed by God so that he understands the will and the calling of God.
2. To cultivate his calling

The believer must grow and be fruitful in his calling.

“Do you not know that those who run in a race in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it (1 Cor. 9:24).

The believer needs to cultivate his calling in such a way that in the end he receives an imperishable crown (Verse 25).

Paul cultivated his calling and he was able to say, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Tim. 4:7)

3. To stay in his calling

When God calls the believer to do His will, He also sets limits for his calling. The believer needs to stay in the sphere of his calling:

Paul said, “We, however, will not boast beyond measure, but within the limits of the sphere which God appointed us – a sphere which especially includes you” (2 Cor. 10:13).

An example of a person who failed to stay in his calling was king Saul. Saul was God’s choice (1 Samuel 9:16, 17). He started out fine, but later disobeyed Samuel and God. He presumptuously offered burn offering and peace offering at Gilgal. It was Samuel’s duty to offer burn offering and peace offering. Saul acted beyond his calling (1 Samuel 13:5 – 14). God later rejected him from being king over Israel.

This serves as a solemn warning to all servants of God. If we fail to stay in the sphere of our calling God might also reject us.

Surely, not “all things work together for good” for those who fail to stay in the sphere of their calling!

Understanding Humanism and the Man of Sin

This message, like most other messages I have posted so far, is the outcome of some serious Bible reseach. I do not claim to have a prophetic ministry but I depend upon the prophetic words revealed in the Scripture.

The purpose of this message is to show my readers that the "man of sin" is the Antichrist and the false gospel that he preaches is "humanism"

The name “Antichrist” is only used by the apostle John (1 John 2:18 – 23; 2 John 1:7). According to the apostle Paul this Antichrist is called the Man of Sin or the son of perdition (2 Thess. 2:3, NKJV) or the “man of lawlessness” (NIV).

“Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as god in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God” (2 Thess. 2:3, 4, NKJV, emphasis added).

Paul said:

1. The Antichrist has not been revealed yet. Therefore at this time we still don’t know who he is and when he would reveal himself. Therefore Christian should be on their guard from being deceived by anyone who says he knows who the Antichrist is.

2. Before the Antichrist is revealed there will be false doctrines and great apostasy in the Christian Church.

3. The Day of the Lord (Christ Second Coming) will not come until the Antichrist manifests himself as God, claims to be God and sits at the temple of God (Church or any place of worship) and claims the honors due to God.

The Antichrist

Careful study of the Scripture enables us to know a great deal about the Antichrist, his attributes, his doctrine and the timing of his coming to the temple of God.

The antichrist is a false Christ

The Antichrist’s name gives the indication he is anti-Christ. He has the ability to work miracles, signs and wonders to deceive Christians:

Jesus said, “For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect” (Matthew 24:24, NKJV, emphasis added).

The antichrist is opposition to Christ

The Antichrist is opposition to Christ personally; he is against the Church of Jesus Christ; he is against Christ’s Word – the Holy Scripture.

Christ’s mission is to reveal God the Father to men whom God has chosen:

Jesus said, “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world” (John 17:6).

On the other hand, the Antichrist’s mission is to deceive God’s people and take them from God’s Kingdom back to the kingdom of the world where Satan is god. The Antichrist opposes God Himself and says blasphemous things against God:

John said, “Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacles, and those who dwell in heaven” (Rev. 13:6).

The one motivating force in his life is opposition the Jesus Christ, opposition to all that He stands for, and to all that stand for Him.

The antichrist takes the place of Christ

The name Antichrist also indicates substitution. The Antichrist opposes Jesus in order to supplant Him, to take His place as Christ.

2 Thessalonians 2 points out how the Antichrist comes as an impostor of Christ. Christ has the Kingdom of God; the Antichrist has the kingdom of Satan. Christ comes by the power of the Holy Spirit; the Antichrist will come by the power of a spirit, who is the Devil himself. The Antichrist is Satan’s counterpart to Christ. Jesus is the Son of God sent by God the Father to establish His Kingdom, redeem His people and renew His creation; the Antichrist is Satan’s choice to establish his kingdom, gather in as many people as he can, and subject all to him. Ultimately God will cast everyone in the Antichrist’s kingdom together with the Antichrist himself to the lake of fire (Rev. 20:10). God’s total plan hinges on the works of Jesus, the Christ; Satan’s plans hinge on the works and success of the Antichrist.

Antichrist’s method of deception

The primary work of the Antichrist is deception, which also characterizes Satan in his attempts to undermine the work of God in the world.

Paul said, “… Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great things if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works (2 Cor. 11:14, 15, emphasis added).

Satan transforms himself “into an angel of light” and inspires his ministers to masquerade as “ministers of righteousness”. The serpent who deceived Eve was a minister of Satan. The Antichrist who is deceiving God’s people is also a minister of Satan. Both these evil ministers used the same method.

The serpent did not urge Eve to shake her fist at God and denounce Him, nor did he inspire her to practice overly evil acts. On the contrary, he enticed her with promises of a better “self-image”, of being a wiser and better person – of even becoming “like God”. What could be wrong with that high ambition? Evil is far more seductive and effective when it is packaged as good. If he can encourage expressions of “man’s basic goodness” that are high-minded and spiritual, but without Christ, Satan is achieving his purpose.

After the Fall Satan became the “god of this age” who has blinded the minds of the natural men (2 Cor. 4:4). The natural man is basically a rebel and this makes the Antichrist’s job of deception easier. Furthermore, even so-called Christians who are not continuously filled with the Spirit and walking in the Spirit are easy targets for the Antichrist.

Humanism

The Antichrist makes use of the sinful nature of the natural man (or weak Christian) to exalt self and promote the cause of man without God. The natural man’s sinful nature of rebellion causes him to go his own ways, exercises his own wisdom, own will, and using his own strength for his own purpose. In other words, he does everything independent from God. He is “soulish” and his spirit is dead and cannot understand God who is Spirit (Please refer to my previous postings). Therefore he will not seek God but seek after the benefits of God. He worships God’s creation rather than the Creator (Romans 1:18 – 22). He is self centered and man-centered. In contrast, a true Christian is Christ-centered, God fearing and therefore believes in Bible based doctrine.

The Antichrist’s doctrine is humanism. He teaches men, especially careless and immature Christians, to follow humanistic values to achieve humanistic goals. The humanist’s god is self. He exalts resourcefulness, human wisdom and courage instead of faith and trust in God. Humanism places trust in human intelligence rather than divine guidance.

There is no such thing as “Christian Humanism” because true Bible believing and Christ-centered Christians will not follow the doctrine of humanism. The so-called Christian humanism is actually Christianized secular humanism. It is secular humanism dressed up in Christianity to seduce Christians. The aim of the humanist is to deceive people to make them his disciples.

It is interesting to note that The Webster’s Third New International Dictionary defines “Christian Humanism” as “A philosophy advocating the self-fulfillment of man within the framework of Christian principles”. Someone has said, “The word ‘humanism’ emphasized the importance of man, not to the exclusion of God, but simple with little emphasis of God”. This is perfectly true because any humanistic teaching with complete exclusion of God will not appeal to Christian believers!

An Application of Humanism Paradigm

The most well know paradigm shift in teaching and training method is the so called "Coaching Paradigm". Coaching experts believe that people who are basically good, can solve their own problems. Someone had said, “Coaches are change experts who help leaders take responsibility and act to maximize their own potential”. Someone defined coaching as “A method of unlocking a person’s potential to maximize growth”.

The philosophy behind the coaching paradigm is entirely “Humanism” based. It is a perfect example of humanistic teaching. Through psychological study of human behavior it is easy for the humanist to discover that, in general, people are easily offended when they are told what to do. They do not trust people who ask too many questions. But, people are willing to tell the Coach expert their problems if he is kind to them, willing to listen them and takes the initiative to maintain a good relationship with them. So, the key to successful coaching is “Ask, don’t tell”. Let the client (or coachee) do the telling. The coach is to ask indirect and inoffensive non-confrontational and open-ended questions. In this way a person who is under a Coaching expert is able to discover or rediscover his self-worth and hidden potential. The coaching expert allows the client to set his own agenda and goal, but he is not accountable or responsible to the success of the client. Instead he makes the client to be a accoutable to himselve.

How the Coaching Method is Christianized

Some coaching experts claim that Jesus was using the same coaching method when He was with his apostles and disciples. In other words, they claim Jesus asked powerful questions but never tell them what to do. They take Scripture verses out of context to substantiate their claim.

Jesus asks powerful questions, but He also commands and instructs

A powerful question - "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy" (Luke 6:9)?

But, Jesus never compromises. He tells (not ask) His disciple what to do as part of the Sermon on the Mount:

"Let your 'Yes' be 'Yes', and your 'No', 'No'. For whatever is more than these is from the evil one" (Matt. 5:37).

There should not be any doubt that Jesus uses three ways to influence His people and to maintain a close relationship with them - Coaching, mentoring and consulting (counseling).

Paul asks direct questions, but he also instructs

An example of a direct question is - "Do you not know?" (NKJV). Paul uses this phrase 4 times in Romans; 10 times in 1 Corinthians and once in 2 Corintians.

"Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ" (1 Cor. 6:15)?

Just like Jesus, Paul never compromises. He gave many instructions to Timothy and Titus. He urged the Christians in the Church in Corinth to imitate him:

"Therefore I urge you, imitate me" (1 Cor. 4:16).

"Imitate me, just as I also imtitate Christ" (1 Cor. 11:1).

Paul, like Jesus also uses three ways to influence Chriatians and to maintain a close relationship with them - Coaching, mentoring and consulting (counseling).

An important point to note is that the coaching expert asks his clients "intuitive" questions; whereas Jesus and Paul asked their disciples "Spirit-led" questions. The main difference is that "intuitive" questions come from the un-regenerated spirit of man; but "Spirit-led" questions come from the regenerated spirit of man led by the Spirit of God.

Therefore, in the Kingdom of God true Christians must emulate Jesus and Paul.

My Opinion

I am not out to discredit the Coaching paradigm; but I am following Paul's instruction:

"Test all things; hold fast what is good" (1 Thess. 5:21, NKJV).

It is best to look at it objectively. The coaching paradigm is based on the study of human psychology and philosophy. It is neither Christ-centered nor Bible based; but it is practical and effective in the real world system. It works well in the present World Order whose 'god' is Satan. But, Christians must be reminded that not everything that works is Biblical. On the other hand, not every thing unbiblical is not good and will not work!

My contention is that we must not Christianize the Coaching paradigm. We are working and living in the secular world and the Coaching paradigm fits in perfectly well in our relationship with our peers and subordinates, Christians or non-Christians. Even in the Local Church not everyone is a mature Christian and therefore, the Coaching paradigm has a place there too. The Coaching paradigm helps mature believers to understand fellow Church members by learning how to listen to weaker Christians in order to discern their problems. It is also helpful in evangelical and mission work where Spirit-led (not intuitive) listening is important. The Coaching paradigm is effective and beneficial in many other ways. We need not Christianized it. It can stand on its own in the secular world - till He comes.

The Antichrist and Humanism

The last thing the antichrist chooses to do is to confront and offend religious people. He knows fully well that religions will never unite the people of the world. Wars are being fought because of differences in religious beliefs. Therefore, in order to promote the New World order effectively and to set up a one-world government and one-world money system he must be a humanist. The Antichrist is a type of coaching expert who lets you make your own choices and solve your own problems, but he is not responsible or accountable for the outcome. He uses only the coaching paradigm to win people.

Unfortunately, Humanism will culminate in the worship of Antichrist. This is exactly what he wants. The Antichrist will succeed in deceiving many. But his destiny is revealed by Paul:

“The lawless one (the Antichrist) will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming” (2 Thess. 2:8, NKJV, emphasis added).

The Blessed Hope

It is rather unfortunate that the majority of Christians are confused regarding the events leading to the End of Time (or the End of the Age). Most Bible-believing Christians have read Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21 and understand the signs being described by Jesus Himself through the Gospel writers. It is true that we are living in the time when all those things must be fulfilled and the Second coming of Jesus is “near – at the doors” (Matt. 24:33, NKJV)!

In my opinion many Bible Scholars and preachers are confused and therefore have presented a wrong picture of the Second Coming of Jesus. Notice that Mark 13 and Luke 21 describe only the signs leading to the to the Second Coming of Jesus to rescue Isreal from the enemies of God. The Rapture is not mentioned. Matthew 24 gives a picture of the signs leading to the Rapture of the Church (Bride of Christ) and the Second Coming; but is no less confusing. Both the Rapture and the Second Coming are being described as "the coming of the Son of Man" (Matt. 24:30 and 37).

Read carefully you will notice that Matt. 24:29 - 35 describe the Second Coming. But, Verses 36 to 44 describe the Rapture. Because of this confusion, Christians are divided among those who believe in pre-tribulation rapture, mid-tribulation rapture and post-tribulation rapture. The truth is the eminent rapture of the true Church of Jesus Christ and the Second coming are two entirely separate events. The Rapture is the “Blessed Hope” for true Christians.

Let us look somewhere else in the Bible for the Blessed Hope and the related events leading to the Second Coming of Jesus.

The Blessed Hope

Paul wrote to Titus, “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works” (Titus 2:11 – 14, emphasis added).

Please take note of the following:

1. The Blessed Hope and the glorious appearing of Jesus are promises of God for the true Church – a group or congregation of true believers. This is the Rapture when Jesus will come to take His Bride to heaven.

2. Believers qualified for the Blessed Hope are those who deny ungodliness, worldly lusts, live righteously, and godly in the present age (the Church age). In other words, the Blessed Hope is for all true Christians.

3. The true Church is “His own special people, zealous for good works”. This the Bride of Christ that Paul wrote about in Ephesians 5:27:

“He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish”.

The Rapture

I believe in the rapture because the Scripture says so.

Paul said, “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven …. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord” (1 Thess. 4:16, 17, NKJV, emphasis added).

The word “Rapture” is not a Biblical word. It is an English word comes from the Latin translation of the above verses. The Latin word for “rapture” is “rapturos”. The New Testament Greek translation is “harpazo” literally mean “pluck up, or catch away by force”. It describes how God’s people “shall be caught up” to meet the Lord in the clouds.

Notice that after the rapture the true Church shall always be with the Lord. In fact all true believers with the above qualification for the Blessed Hope shall be with the Lord when He comes again (the Second Coming) to rescue Israel and execute judgment upon the Antichrist and his followers. I’ll explain as we go on. I do not claim to exercise any prophetic gift. This message is the outcome of Bible research and the application of common sense logically.

The Promise of His coming again for the Church

Jesus said to His disciples, “In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:2, 3, emphasis added).

Notice the assurance given by Jesus. He will come again for you and me. After He has taken us to Himself we shall always be with Him – Just as Paul said in Thess. 4:17!

Christians are instructed by Paul to partake of the Holy Communion until Jesus comes again:

“For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes” (1 Cor. 11:26, emphasis added).

We proclaim the Lord’s death at the Communion Table until He comes again to receive us to Himself. Jesus wants all Christians to remember the Blessed Hope as often as we partake of the Lord’s Table.

Rapture and the Second coming are two distinct events

In rapture, Jesus comes to rescue His true Church from His enemies. In the Second coming, Jesus comes to rescue Israel from His enemise. Christians must not be confused concerning theses two distinct events. The Church is a type of Israel; similarly the rapture is a type of Second Coming!

It is beyond the scope of this message to explain Daniel’s prophecies in Daniel 9. But it is good for my readers to seek understanding that the Church age of Grace is between the 69 weeks of years and the remaining 1 week of years (seven years). The length of the Church Age is in God’s hand and no one knows how long we have to wait before He takes us to the Father’s House – the Rapture. After the rapture God’s clock for the remaining 1 week (of years) will start to tick!

The Rapture and the Second Coming are two distinct events, one occurring at the beginning and the other at the end of Daniel’s seventieth week. Christ must first of all come for His saints (true believers) to rapture them to heaven, or He could never come with His saints from heaven to rescue Israel at Armageddon. This is confirmed by verses of Scripture in both Old and New Testaments:

1. Zechariah prophesied, “Thus the Lord my God will come, and all the saints with You” (Zech. 14:5, emphasis added).

2. “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him” (Jude 14, 15, emphasis added).
Notice that the “ungodly sinners” with their ungodly ways and deeds, who have spoken against Christ, are the enemies of God.

3. John said in Revelation that these saints are the Bride of Christ:

“And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, follow Him on white horses” (Rev. 19:14, emphasis added).

The wedding garment for the Bride of Christ is clean, white and fine linen.

These are the saints that Paul spoke about in 1 Thess. 4:16, 17 are the “dead in Christ” and “those who are alive in Christ” when He comes. Old Testament saints (not the Bride) who died before the first coming of Christ are also part of the armies in heaven.

Compelling reasons for the two distinct events

1. It is logical to give inference that the Bride and other saints cannot be part of the armies in heaven had they never been to heaven first. Nor could they accompany Christ from heaven had they not been taken up there previously. It is therefore reasonable to infer that the Rapture must come before the Second Coming of Christ.

2. The Rapture will occur when least expected; the Second Coming takes place only after all the signs (listed in Matthew 24) have been given and everyone should know that Christ is about to return in “power and great glory” (Matt. 24:30) even though on one knows the exact date or time.

3. The Rapture comes in the midst of peace.

Paul said, “For when they say, ‘Peace and safety!’ then sudden destruction comes upon them, …” (1 Thess. 5:3).

Jesus Himself said when the “Son of Man” is revealed to rapture the true Church will be at a time similar to the days Noah and Lot (Luke 17:26 – 36). These were the days when the people are preoccupied with enjoying their wealth – eating, drinking, marrying wives, buying and selling properties. They were also leading careless and wicked lives and indulging in homosexual activities. The people in the days of Noah and Lot were in slumber and the judgment from God was furthest from their mind. In this respect our generation is quite similar. Notice that Rapture will not come in the days of hardship and tribulation as most Bible scholars claimed.

4. The Second Coming occurs in the midst of war, destruction, suffering and tribulation which are described in Revelation 19, Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21. People will not be able to lead a normal life let alone enjoying their wealth, buying, selling, planting and building. There will be catastrophic upheavals of nature which will leave the earth pulverized and her inhabitants in desperate straits! The conditions on earth at the time of the Second Coming are exactly the opposite of those to which Christ referred – days of Noah and Lot.

A Likely Scenario

I believe the first event in heaven after the Rapture of the true Church will be the Judgment Seat of Christ (1 Cor. 3:12 – 15 and 2 Cor. 5:10). This is not a judgment for condemnation but a judgment for reward (Please refer to my previous postings). After this the Groom will want to spend some time with His Bride, the now glorified Church in the Father’s House.

In Christ’s days the Jewish bride was taken to her father’s house where the two were in seclusion for seven days (one week). Christ must have had the Jewish custom in mind when He promised to take His Bride to His Father’s House for “one week of year”. During these seven years (the 70th week of years in Daniel’s prophecy – Daniel 9:24 – 27) the earth is going through the great tribulation under the reign of the Antichrist! But, at precisely the same time in heaven the marriage supper of the Lamb is being prepared (Rev. 19:7, 8)! The bride of Christ escapes the wrath of the Antichrist. That is the way God protects His true Church, fulfilling what Jesus said to Peter:

“The gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18).

Christ brings His Church to Himself! This is the Blessed Hope!

Eagerly Waiting For The Return Of Christ

The writers of the Epistles have something in common. Most of them charged the New Testament Church to live in anticipation of the Lord’s Return.

The writer of Hebrews said, “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation (Hebrews 9:27, 28, NKJV, emphasis added).

The reason of the first coming (first advent) of Christ is to “bear the sins of many” so that men need not be condemned in the Eternal Judgment. Christ will come again the second time for salvation to those whose sins are washed away by Christ’s atoning blood and those who are eagerly waiting for Him.

Notice that the return of Christ for salvation (final deliverance) is not for every Christian. There are conditions attached. It is only offered for Christians who live in anticipation of His coming again. To Christians who are eagerly waiting for Him.

Eagerly waiting for Him till He comes

The following Scriptures from various writers of the Epistles show that Christians must live in the anticipation of the Lord’s Return:

The Epistles of Paul

1. A Christian is to be found blameless when He comes.

“…. So that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 1:7, 8, NKJV, emphasis added).

Paul desires that the Christians in the Church at Corinth to exercise spiritual gifts and lead a blameless life while eagerly waiting for Christ’s return.

2. A Christian is to partake of the Lord’s Supper with the right attitude.

Regarding the institution of the Lord’s Supper Paul said to the Corinthians Christians:

“For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes” (1 Cor. 11:26, NKJV, emphasis added).

Christians need to picture the Lord’s Supper or the Holy Communion with the right perspective. In partaking of the Communion elements they are proclaiming and showing the Lord’s death until He comes.

Someone has said Christians need to remember, “There is no past but the Cross; no future but His coming”! In other words, the Christian has no past except the Cross. His past sins before the Cross have been forgotten. His future is in the Lord at His coming. There is no future for anyone if the Lord does not come again!

Notice that Jesus Himself had this in mind when He instituted the Lord’s Supper with His disciples:

“But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom” (Matt. 26:29, emphasis added).

The phrase, “until that day” indicates that day when the True Church as the Bride of Christ would be received to heaven. The phrase, “I drink it new with you” is His assurance to His true Church that the “new” wine he would drink with them would not be the “fruit of the vine” which represents His blood of the new covenant (Verse 28). It would be a new wine for rejoicing in His Kingdom.

3. Christians are to love one another while living a holy and blameless life.

Paul said to the Church of the Thessalonians:

“And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you, so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints” (1 Thess. 3:12, 13, emphasis added).

4. The whole personality (spirit, soul and body) of the Christian is to be sanctified by the God of peace Himself.

Paul said to the Church of the Thessalonians:

“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thess. 5:33, emphasis added).

5. A Christian is to be faithful, blameless and without spot in keeping the command of “Fight the good fight of faith”.

One of Paul’s instructions to Timothy was:

“I urged you in the sight of God who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate, that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing” (1 Tim. 6:13, 14, emphasis added).

Notice that the phrase “Keep this commandment” refers to the command of “Fight the good fight of faith”. This is confirmed by the previous Verse (V. 12). Furthermore, Paul instructed Timothy to “pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness” (V.11). These are the virtues of a “spotless” and blameless life.

6. A crown of righteousness is promised to every Christian who loved His appearing.

Paul’s farewell words to Timothy are:

“Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on the Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing” (2 Tim. 4:8, emphasis added).

Those who have loved His appearing are those who are eagerly wait for Him.

7. The “blessed hope” is for Christians who are holy – those who deny ungodliness and worldly lusts and live soberly and righteously.

Paul’s wrote to Titus, the Pastor of the Church at Crete:

“…teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:12, 13, emphasis added).

The Epistle of James

“Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand” (James 5:7, 8, emphasis added).

Christians should be patient while waiting for the Lord’s return.

The First Epistle of Peter

“… who (you) are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ …” (1 Peter 1:5, 6, 7, emphasis added).

The Christian’s salvation will be revealed at the revelation of Jesus Christ. In the meantime his faith is being tested by fire. This testing is more precious than gold because the end result is praise, honor and glory given by the Judge!

The First Epistle of John

“And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming” (1 John 1:28, emphasis added).

To abide in Christ means to live a life dependence on Him, obey His Commands, imitate His examples and constantly exercise faith in Him. To abide in Him is to bear fruit of righteousness.

“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me” (John 15:4).

The Return of Christ for His Bride

Jesus Christ is returning to a body of true Christians, His true Church, who are eagerly waiting for Him. As we have considered above, Church attendance and busy with Church activities does not show that the believer is eagerly waiting for the Lord’s return. The emphasis is on holy and blameless lifestyle. God seeks after holy conduct and godliness. God’s emphasis is on “being” and not on “doing”.

Peter’s farewell instruction to Christians is:

“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with g great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, ….” (2 Peter 3:10, 11, emphasis added).

The true Church of Jesus Christ is His Bride. This is how the apostle Paul depicted the Bride:

“… Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that the might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish” (Ephesians 5:25, 27, 28, emphasis added).

In other words, the qualifications for being the Bride of Christ are:

1. The Church that will be sanctified and cleansed by the Truth of God’s Word.

2. The Church that will be glorious – permeated by God’s glory.

3. The Church that will be holy.

4. The Church that will be without blemish and without blame.

The writer of Hebrews said:

"Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14).

Compare this verse with John 3:3 which says "unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom God", we see that holiness is part of the package deal of salvation.

Without holiness we will not see the Lord, let alone being His Bride!

All Things to All Men

Paul’s statement “All things to all men” comes from Paul’s first epistle to the Church in Corinth.

“….. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. Now this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I may be partaker of it with you” (1 Cor. 9:22, 23, NKJV, emphasis added).

It is unfortunate that the misinterpretation of Paul’s statement “All things to all men” has given rise to the notion that the Church must become like the world to win the world. Someone said that virtually every modern worldly attraction has a “Christian” counterpart. There are Christian heavy-metal rock bands, Christian casinos, Christian amusement parks, Christian dance clubs and even Christian nudist camps. Same sex marriages are also being solemnized in gay and lesbians Churches with gay pastors and ministers. The Church seems to give a seriously wrong message to the world that, what the world can offer unbelievers, the Church of Jesus Christ can offer them exactly what they want. No one needs to sacrifice anything. No one needs to deny himself, carry the cross to follow Jesus!

Where did Christians ever get the idea that we could win the world by imitating it? Is there a shred of Biblical justification for that kind of thinking?

Ironically, many Christian leaders usually cite the apostle Paul as someone who advocated adapting the Gospel to the tastes of his listeners. In other words, Paul compromised the truth of the Gospel to please his audience. He has also been accused by many Bible teachers of using his communication skill to “market” the Gospel according to the desire of the people he preached to in order to receive the response he sought.

Paul’s Uncompromising Ministry

First, let us study how Paul carried out his ministry as an apostle to the Jews and the Gentile.

Paul was not a man-pleaser

He wrote, “For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ” (Gal. 1:10, NKJV).

Paul was not a compromiser

Paul did not water-down or compromise his message to please people. He was utterly unwilling to try to remove the “offense” from the Gospel.

“And I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, why do I still suffer persecution? Then the offense of the cross has ceased” (Gal. 5:11).

What made Paul’s ministry effective was not “marketing” technique, but a stubborn devotion to the truth. Truth to him was something to be declared, not negotiated.

Paul was not ashamed of the Gospel

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation ….” (Romans 1:16).

Paul suffered for Christ

Paul was willing to suffer for Christ like all true ministers of Christ (2 Cor. 11:23 – 28). He did not back down in the face of opposition, persecution or rejection. He did not compromise with unbelievers or make friends with the enemies of God.

Paul’s Message was Non-negotiable

Paul’s ministry was in response to a divine mandate. God had called him and commissioned him. He was not a man-pleaser to accommodate his listeners for their response to the Gospel.

He wrote, “For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel” (1 Cor. 9:16)!

The fact that he was stoned, beaten with rods, received 39 stripes and imprisoned many times ought to demonstrate that he did not adapt God’s message to make it pleasing to his hearers!

Preaching the truth of God’s Word and the Gospel was so important to Paul that he gave two charges to Timothy, “a true son in faith” (1 Tim. 1:2) in his farewell message to him. Please read my previous two postings.

The first charge was that he should emulate him to “Preach the Word! Be ready in season and out of season” (2 Tim. 4:2).

The second charge was, “Be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry” (2 Tim.4:5).

Paul’s reason to become “All things to all men”

Please read 1 Cor. 9:19 – 23). This passage of Scripture is too long to be quoted here.

The reason that Paul became “all things to all men” is to advance the Gospel that all under his ministry might become partakers of the gift of salvation:

"Now this I do for the gospel's sake, that I may be partaker of it with you" (1 Cor. 9:23).

By becoming "all things to all men", Paul did the following for the purpose of wining souls:

1. Became a servant of all to win more souls.

Paul was a freeman (1 Cor. 9:1) and was under obligation to none. But, he chose to enslave himself to be servant of all so as to win more to Christ; that he might be the means of saving more souls.

Paul’s noble instance of self-denial and true greatness is in line with what Jesus said:

“If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all” (Mark 9:35, emphasis added).

Paul was describing not his willingness to sacrifice the gospel message, but his willingness to sacrifice himself to preach the message. Winning people to Christ was his only objective. In order to do that, Paul was willing give up all his rights and privileges, his position, his rank, his livelihood, his freedom and ultimately, even his life.

Paul would not modify the message to suit the world, but would behave so that he personally would never be an obstacle to anyone’s hearing and understanding the message of Christ. He was describing an attitude of personal sacrifice, not compromise. He would never alter the clear and confrontive call to repentance and faith.

2. To the Jew, Paul became like a Jew to win the Jews. To those who were under the Law (Moses Law), Paul became like a person under the Law to win those under the Law.

Paul was describing a selfless sacrifice of personal liberty. He willingly subjected himself to the law’s ritual requirements in order to win those who were under the Law. In other words, he adopted their customs. Notice Paul did not come under the Law to reach the unsaved but became “like one” under the Law. Whatever their ceremonial law dictated, he was willing to do. If it was important to abstain from eating pork, he abstained. If their sensibilities demanded that a certain feast be observed, he observed it. Why? Not to appease their pride or affirm their religion, but in order to open a door of opportunity for him to preach the uncompromised truth, so that he might win them to Christ.

3. To those who were not under the Law (Gentile), Paul became like a Gentile to win the Gentiles.

When Paul ministered to the Gentiles, he dropped all his Jewish (non-moral) traditions. When He was with the Gentiles he followed Gentile customs and culture insofar as it did not conflict with the law of Christ. He avoided needless offending the Gentiles.

When Paul was in Jerusalem, for example, he followed Jewish religious customs. He observed the feasts and Sabbaths, and he followed Jewish dietary laws. When he went to Antioch, however, he ate with the Gentiles, even though that violated his own tradition and upbringing.

Peter came to Antioch and also ate with the Gentiles, until some Judaizers showed up. Then Peter “withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision” (Gal. 2:12). Some other Jews also followed Peter. That was when Paul rebuked Peter to his face in front of others. Paul said Peter and those with him acted like hypocrites and were “not straightforward about the truth of the Gospel” (Gal. 2:14). In other words, Peter failed to be “all things to all men” like Paul.

4. To the weak (weak in faith), Paul became weak to win the weak.

“The weak” refers to immature believers who do not understand their liberty in Christ.

Paul said to the believers in Rome:

“Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things” (Romans 4:1).

“We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves” (Romans 15:1).

“One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observed it” (Romans 4:5, 6, emphasis added).

An appropriate example is the celebration of Christmas. A Christian who is strong in his faith knows that the Scripture does not say anything about Christmas celebration. In fact, you cannot find the word “Christmas” in the Bible. In other words, there is no Biblical basis for any Christian to celebrate Christmas. But, in the light of Paul’s statement, it is not wise to judge anyone who esteems Christmas day as a special day to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. It does not matter whether Jesus was actually born on Christmas day or not - provided it is true that the weak believer who observes Christmas day as a day of celebration, observes it to the Lord!

Paul was a freeman and was not governed by any law except the law and commands of Christ. Although he felt free to do things that other people’s conscience would not allow them to do, when he was with weaker brethrens he was careful not to violate their sensibilities. He adapted his behavior so as not to offend them. He yielded in love rather than risk offending a weaker brother.

Conclusion

Paul set himself in contrast with the compromising and men-pleasing preachers of God’s Word when he said:

“For we are not, as so many, peddling the word of God; but as of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ” (2 Cor. 2:17, NKJV).

The compromiser sells a cheap gospel and tries to make it appealing by stripping away the offense of Christ. Paul simply wanted to keep himself from being an obstacle or a stumbling block to people’s conscience so that the unadulterated message could penetrate hearts and do its work. If people were offended by the message, Paul did not try to remove the offense of the Gospel or abolish the stumbling block of the cross, and he would not tolerate those who tried. God will not tolerate either!

All Who Are In Authority

The title of my message this week comes from Paul’s first letter to Timothy. To pray all who are in authority is an important charge and instruction given to Timothy in the proper administration and management of the local Church which Paul called God’s house (1 Tim. 3:15). Paul gave directions for the Church’s ministry of prayer:

“Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence” (1 Tim.2:1, 2, NKJV, emphasis added).

Notice the phrase “first of all” indicates that the first duty of Christians meeting together in regular fellowship is prayer. The four prayer activities are: supplications, prayers, intercessions and the giving of thanks. Paul further said that prayer is to be made “for all men” which means all people of the world, believers or unbelievers!

Paul’s instruction to Timothy agrees with the prophecy of Isaiah 56:7 where God says,

“For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations” (NKJV, emphasis added).

The word “nations” means “countries other than Israel”. In Scripture it means the Gentile nations other than Israel.

God is concerned with “all men” and “all people” and He expects His people to share His concerns. He specifically calls for prayers to be made to kings (rulers) and all who are in authority. The phrase “all who are in authority” usually indicates all those who are responsible for governing the nation – the government. The need to pray for the government is extremely important and I shall discuss in a separate message.

This message concerns the need of prayer for all Christians who are in authority. All Christians have authority because all of them are under the authority of God. In fact, every person on earth, a believer or unbeliever (whether he understands or not), has authority because everyone is under authority.

Since we are instructed to offer our prayers to all men we must include groups of people who are not involved in governing the nation but are also “in authority”.

Intrinsic authority and derived authority

There are two basic forms of authority – intrinsic authority and derived authority. Intrinsic authority means authority belonging to one’s nature; derived authority is given to one from another source. The Scripture says intrinsic authority belongs to God only:

“For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God” (Romans 13:1, NKJV).

Therefore every kind of authority other than that of God Himself is derived and therefore secondary to God’s power.

Jesus said to Pilate, “You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above” (John 19:11).

Pilate was not a believer, but whatever power (authority) he had came from God.

Examples of derived authority

Some of the important derived authority the Bible speaks about are: Christian or non-Christian civil governments (Rom. 13:1 – 7), employers (Eph. 6:5 – 9), angels (Luke 1:19, 20) and Satan (Luke 4:6).

Notice that the Bible (the Word of God) has derived authority. God gave authority to His own Word. But it is above every other kind of derived authority. The Bible is inspired by God (2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Peter. 1:20 – 21; Heb. 4:12). It has divine power and authority. God did not give His Word to be read only, but to be believed and obey.

Every Christian has derived authority. This includes the authority of a father or mother (Eph. 6:1 – 4); Church ministers include elders, pastors, deacons and leaders have derived authority.

The writer of Hebrews said, “Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you” (Heb. 13:17, NIV, emphasis added).

Leaders in the Christian Church are accountable to God to watch over Church members. They are answerable to God in the day of judgement. In return, Church members should show them proper respect and to submit to their authority in the Church so that their leadership tasks will not be a burden. But their God-given tasks must be administered in accordance with the precepts of Christ. Church members' obligation to obedience does not, of course, extend to anything which is wrong by itself, or which would be a violation of conscience.

The most noble use of the leaders’ authority is for serving others. Since Jesus came to serve His disciples there is no reason why leaders of the Church would not serve Church members in the fear of God.

Jesus said to His disciples, “…. He who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves. For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves? Yet I am among you as the One who serves” (Luke 22:26, 27).

Men under Authority

Even Jesus Himself had no authority unless he was under the Authority of God. When Jesus was in submission to the Authority of God, He gained all the power and stature of God the Father.

Jesus said to the Jews, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner” (John 5:19, NKJV).

Jesus had authority in His Ministry because he was in complete submission to God the Father. Concerning Jesus the writer of Hebrews sums it up like this:

“During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission” (Hebrews 5:7, NIV, emphasis added).

Notice that without submission to God the Father's Authority even Jesus' prayer would not be heard! It follows that if Christians do not submit to the Authority of God their prayers will not be heard, let alone getting an answer from God!

The general spiritual principle is that only when you are under the authority of God can you exercise the authority of His Kingdom. This principle can be extended to authority in general – a person has no authority unless he is under authority. Any person (Christian or an unbeliever) has authority if he is under authority.

This principle is illustrated in the healing of a Centurion’s Servant. The Centurion, although an unbeliever, understood the power of authority in Jesus. He saw beyond Jesus to the power and authority of God. This was not difficult for him to understand, for he was in a similar position with regard to the power of the Roman Empire. When he spoke to the soldiers under his command, they knew that the whole authority of the Roman Empire was behind him.

He said to Jesus, “But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me” (Matt. 8:8, 9, emphasis added).

By saying “I also am a man under authority” indicates that the centurion had seen Jesus who Himself was subject to the intrinsic Authority of God.

Praying for all who are in authority

This message concerns the need of Christian believers to pray for all who are in authority. Paul’s instruction for believers to pray for all who are in authority means Christians are to pray for one another.

We have no problem with the common situation where we see Pastors praying for Church members and fathers praying for their family members. But, what about the reverse order? Is it scriptural to have Church members praying for Pastors, wives praying for their husbands and children praying for their fathers?

The writer of Hebrews said, “Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct” (Heb. 13:7, emphasis added).

There are actually two ways of interpreting the above verse. One way is that, Christians must bring to remembrance and imitate the faith of those Christian leaders who have taught them the Scripture.

Another way which I choose to follow is: Christians are to pray for those who exercise authority over them and have spoken the Word of God to them. We are to imitate their faith and good conduct.

The Greek word for “remember” is “mnemoneuo” meaning “make mention or be mindful in prayers”.

“Those who rule over you” means “those who exercise authority over you”. The chain of authority includes: “Elders over Pastors”, “Pastors over Church members”, “Husbands over wives” and “Father over children” and so on.

In other words, according to the Scripture, Pastors should pray for their Elders, Church members should pray for their Pastors, wives should pray for their husbands and children should pray for their fathers and so on.

Anyone who teaches Scripture needs prayer. Most Christians believe it is good for a Christian father to teach his wife and children the Word and God. Therefore, fathers need prayers from the members of their households. It is the expected duty of Pastors to teach the members of the congregation the Word of God in faith. Therefore, Pastors need Church members' prayer. Pastors, being in the frontline of authority (in the Local Church) are usual targets for Satan (the god of this age). We need to pray against deceptions, unbiblical doctrines, spiritual attacks, bad health and sicknesses and so on.

Any Pastor or Elder (including the head of a Christian denomination) who thinks he needs no prayer from Church members is unwise.

Here are some consequences:

1. Recently, it was reported that a group of renowned evangelical Pastor, Bible teachers, book writers came together to endorse an unbiblical theology called the “Dual covenant theology”. They believe that the Jews are automatically saved. They have a “special relationship with God” through revelation at Sinai. They will be welcomed into Heaven even if they deny Jesus as the Messiah. Therefore, it is a waste of time to evangelize the Jew!

We do not condemn but we need to pray for these Christian leaders who are obviously deceived.


2. The spirit of "humanism" is slowly creeping into the ministries of the Church of Jesus Christ. Human rights, equal roles of men and women in the Church, feminism, rights of abortions, right of total freedom for children, right of gay marriages and so on. New Age and New World Order theologies are also based on the teaching of humanism. Many Bible teachers and Pastors are using "christianized" motivational books based on psychology, philosophy and humanism theology to teach their followers how to be effective Church leaders.

I believe humanism is the spirit of the Antichrist. The "gospel" of the Antichrist is humanism. God helping me I intend to post a message soon.

Paul’s prophesy about the “last days”, many would not give heed to sound doctrine (2 Tim. 4:3) is being fulfilled now!

Do The Work Of An Evangelist

Paul’s Second Epistle to Timothy is an extremely important farewell message to Timothy and to all Christians. He gave Timothy two charges. The first one was “Preach the Word” (2 Tim. 3:2) which I shared last week. The second one was “Do the work of an evangelist” (2 Tim. 3:5) – my message this week

Paul was a type of Christ to Timothy

I am using Typology to compare the ministry of Paul to that of Christ. When I say Paul is a type of Christ I am saying that there are certain aspects in Paul's life that portray the life and ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Christ’s last command to His disciples was:

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19, 20, NKJV, emphasis added).

Paul’s last charge to Timothy was:

“But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry” (2 Tim. 4:5, NKJV, emphasis added).

Notice the parallel truth concerning the calling of Christ and calling of Paul to their respective disciples/servants. Both Christ’s and Paul’s command was “Preach the Gospel” – the work of an evangelist. This is the same command for all Christians – even to the end of the age! When we do the work of an evangelist Christ promised to be with us just as He was with Timothy.

As Christians (disciples of Christ) and especially as pastors, we must also heed the advice of Paul to Timothy. Notice that there are four imperatives in 2 Tim. 4:5:

1. Watchful in all things

In the epistles of Paul and Peter the idea of watchfulness and alertness is stressed.

“Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober” (1 Thess. 5:6).

“Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong” (1 Cor. 16:13).

“But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers” (1 Peter 4:7).

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8).

We must be vigilant against error and against sin; watch our work, watch against the temptations of Satan; prayerful and watch over the souls of those who are committed to our charge.

2. Endure afflictions

Christians and ministers are expected to endure afflictions in the discharge of their duty faithfully:

“You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ” (2 Tim. 2:3).

“Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (2 Tim. 3:12).

An example of Paul’s suffering for the gospel is:

“… for which (the gospel) I suffer trouble as an evildoer, even to the point of chains; but the word of God is not chained” (2 Tim 2:9).

“… But share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God” (2 Tim. 1:8).

But the Lord delivered Paul from all his afflictions and persecutions:

“Persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me …. And out of them all the Lord delivered me” (2 Tim. 3:11).

3. Do the work of an evangelist

“Evangelist” is one of the five ministry gifts given to the Church (Eph. 4:11). Not every minister or Christian holds the office of the evangelist which is a special calling. But, every Christian, as a disciple of Christ, must do the work of an evangelist.

The word “evangelist” comes from the Greek word, “euaggelistes” which means, “a preacher of the gospel” or “one appointed to proclaim the glad tidings of salvation”.

Timothy at one time was Paul’s traveling companion and both of them were doing the work of evangelists. Later on Paul planted a Church in Ephesus and he stationed Timothy at Ephesus to be the Pastor. Paul wrote to Timothy two epistles known as the Pastoral Epistles when he served as the Pastor there. Paul charged Timothy to carry on and do the work of an evangelist besides his pastoral duties.

4. Fulfill your ministry

Paul’s final advice to Timothy was “Fulfill your ministry”. One way of fulfilling the pastoral ministry is to do the work of an evangelist. At the same time Timothy needs to be a good example to his own Church members:

“Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity” (1 Tim. 4:12).

Paul also encouraged Timothy to reach out beyond the comfort level of his own flock and boldly proclaim the Gospel to unbelievers outside. Timothy must do it all, leave nothing undone but to accomplish every God-given task and ministry.

Paul set himself as an example for Timothy to follow:

“But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24, emphasis added).

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Tim. 4:7, emphasis added).

Our race is not finished until we have fulfilled our ministry.

The reward is, “Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not me only but also to all who have loved His appearing” (2 Tim. 4:8, emphasis added).

God’s condition for us to receive the “Crown of righteousness” is to “love His appearing”. This means Christians must look forward to the second coming of Christ. In other words, the promise of the "Crown of righteousness" is for all Christians who are “looking for and hastening the coming of the day God ….” (2 Peter 3:12).

The Scriptural way to hasten the second coming of Christ is found in Matthew 24:

“And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come” (Matt. 24:14).

To preach the Gospel of the Kingdom to all the world is God’s mandate for all Christians – everyone must do the work of an evangelist!

Timothy’s strengths and weaknesses

Some Christians might think that Timothy was such a unique person that not many can carry out the tasks like he did. But he has his fare share of strong and weak traits.

Strong traits

Timothy’s strongest traits were his sensitivity, affection and loyalty. Paul commended him to the Philippians as one person with “proven character”.

“But you know his proven character, that as a son with his father he served with me in the gospel” (Phil. 2:22, emphasis added).

Weak traits

Paul’s warning to Timothy, “Be strong in the grace that is in Jesus Christ” (2 Tim 2:1) suggests he suffered from timidity and fearfulness (1 Cor. 16:10 – 12; 2 Tim.1:17). There is also some indication that he suffered bodily infirmities (1 Tim 5:23) and perhaps youthful lusts (2 Tim. 2:22).

Summary of Paul’s Instruction to Timothy

In his two rather short epistles to Timothy Paul had given him a lot of instructions and commands. We can sum them up in five categories:

1. To be faithful in his preaching of Biblical truth.

2. To be bold in exposing and refuting error.

3. To be an example of godliness to the flock.

4. To be diligent and work hard in the ministry.

5. To be willing to suffer hardship and persecution in his service for the Lord.

Paul said nothing about:

1. How people might respond to his ministry method.

2. How to be successful in building mega-churches.

3. Timothy must attend a Bible Seminary for training or coaching before he could be officially ordained as a pastor and allowed to preach.

Paul himself was personally trained by Gamaliel, an extremely strict teacher of the Old Testament laws (Acts 22:3). But, Paul counted “all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus …” (Phil. 3:8). To Paul the Holy Spirit is a far better teacher.

Notice that Paul would not instruct Timothy to do anything he himself had not done. He led Timothy by examples. He did not instruct Timothy to "do as I say and not as I have done". In other words, Paul was a perfect mentor and counsellor for Timothy. Above all, Paul was a perfect personal coach to young Timothy by helping him to develop further his "proven charcacter" and his spiritual gifts. Paul coached Timothy to pursue excellence and not to seek external success. Timothy must know that external criteria such as affluence, numbers, money, or positive response have never been the biblical measure of success in ministry. Paul's emphasis was on commitment and not external success.

Conclusion

An interesting question is, was Timothy faithful in following Paul’s counsel? As far as we know from the Scripture we heard nothing about Timothy replying Paul’s epistles. But, I notice an obscure little verse at the end of the Epistle to the Hebrews:

“Know that our brother Timothy has been set free, with whom I shall see you if he comes shortly” (Hebrews 13:23, NKJV, emphasis added).

The writer of Hebrews (very likely Paul) obviously knew Timothy well. He told the Hebrew Christians that Timothy had been “set free” or “released”. Released from what? The Greek word used in this verse suggests that Timothy had been released from prison. From this inference we are confident to come to the conclusion that when suffering came, Timothy endured it. He did not compromise. He did not try to please men, especially his captors. Just like his mentor, the apostle Paul, he remained faithful, even though it evidently meant imprisonment!

Preach The Word!

Paul wrote to Timothy regarding his duty as a Pastor:

"I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth ......" (2 Tim. 4:1 - 4, NKJV, emphasis added).

Here are some important things to take note of:

1. Notice the solemnity of the charge. It is given in the presence of God and Jesus Christ, in the light of the fact that Christ will judge the living and the dead and in view of His appearing in His Kingdom.

2. The charge is to preach the Word. There is a pressing need and sense of urgency to preach the Word (including the Gospel). The reference to the fact that Jesus will judge the living and the dead indicates the preacher will answer to the Lord for the messages he preaches. It is the preacher's task to preach the Word at all times whether it is convenient or inconvenient to do so. The Word must be preached not only at the appointed time or appointed place in a Church service. The Word must be preached whenever there is still someone willing to hear!

3. A time will come when self-pleasing Christian rebels will no longer endure sound doctrine. They will be looking for preachers who are willing to preach sermons they like to hear and not what they need to hear. It is a warning that not all will receive the truth. Nevertheless, in spite of opposition and criticism, the charge is to preach of Word of God. Paul's charge is not for Timothy alone but for all true Christians - ordained or unordained pastors, full time workers, all preachers and ministers of God's Word.

Sound Teaching of God's Word

The above verses of Scripture are prophetic. In fact Paul's prophecy regarding Christians turning away from hearing the truth of God's Word is being fulfilled now. The fact that sound doctrine needs endurance to accept shows that only unsound man-pleasing doctrine is welcomed! This is the reason why it is extremely difficult to hear uncompromised sound teaching of the Scripture in an average Local Church today.

Notice that when Paul instructed Timothy to preach the Word, he meant exactly that - The Word, the pure and unadulterated Word of God. Timothy must not preach any other things except the truth of God's Word. He must not preach human philosophy, political ideologies, Church politics, denominational preferences or even elaborate doubtful theology.

It was never in the mind of Paul that Timothy has the liberty to abuse God's Word. No preacher or pastor is given the liberty to preach man's "purpose driven" interpretation of the Word which is watered-down and tailored to gratify the itching ears of men to entice them to fill up every pew of the Local Church every Sunday morning.

The Effectiveness of God's Word

Christian ministers need to be reminded of what the Scripture says about the effectiveness of God's Word:

God said, "So shall My word be that goes forth from My mounth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it" (Isaiah 55:11, NKJV).

"Is not My word like a fire?" says the Lord, "and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces" (Jeremiah 23:29)?

The writer of Hebrews said, "For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints an marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12).

There is tremendous power in the preached Word of God. Its results are guaranteed. It will not return empty. It will accomplish God's purpose and pleasure. It is like a sharp sword that pierces to the innermost recesses of the human personality and lays bare the secrets of men's hearts and minds.

The same cannot be said about the preaching of man's words or man's compromising interpretation of God's Word!

The Effectiveness of Paul's Ministry

As far as preaching the Word is concerned Paul would never compromise. Acts 19:8 - 10 is an example of the power of the preached Word of God from Paul's ministry in Ephesus:

"And he went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading concerning the things of the kingdom of God" (Acts 19:8).

Read the rest of the verses you'll notice that Paul not only preached the Word in the synagogue for three months but also taught certain disciples daily for two years, intensely and continuously. The result was:

"God did extraordinary miracles through Paul" (Acts 19:11, NIV, emphasis added).

Notice the phrase "extraordinary miracles". This implies that some miracles were ordinary, but the ones that happened here in Ephesus were extraordinary!

In how many of our Churches today do we have even ordinary miracles, let alone extraordinary miracles? Why? The difference between Paul and preachers of today is - Paul did not compromise the truth of God's Word in his preaching, but we do!

What happened to Paul confirms the statement made by Mark:

"And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs" (Mark 16:20, NKJV).

God does not confirm human theories or philosophy or man's gospel. He will, however, confirm His Word.

The Truth of God's Word

The psalmist David understood the truth and authority of God's Word:

"Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven" (Ps. 119:89).

Here David emphasizes that the Bible is not the product of time but of eternity. It contains the eternal mind and full counsel of God, formed before the beginning of time or the foundation of the world. Out of eternity it has been projected through human channels into this world of time. God desires obedient, usable and teachable human channels so that the mind and counsel of God revealed through the Scripture, by preaching, will still stand unmoved and unchanged.

The same thought is expressed by Christ Himself, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away" (Matt. 24:35).

Again, David said, "The entirety of Your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever" (Ps. 119:160).

In other words, the Bible is true from Genesis 1:1 right on through to the very last verse of Revelation.

The Word must be Preached without Compromise

The preacher's task is to proclaim the Scripture accurately without compromise and give sense of it and nothing else. We are human channels that God uses to "Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching" (2 Tim. 4:2).

Preaching the Word is not always easy. The message of the cross is far from man-pleasing but is often offensive. Christ Himself is a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence (Romans 9:33; 1 Peter 2:8). The message of the cross is a stumbling block to some, and mere foolishness to others:

"But we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God" (1 Cor. 1:23, 24).

Notice that salvation belongs to the Lord. Salvation is a call of God rather than the choice of man:

Paul said to the Corinthians Church, "God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord" (1 Cor. 1:9, emphasis added).

A Christian is someone who is called into the fellowship of Jesus Christ. But, he has the freewill to response or not to response to the call of God. If he responses to the call then he is saved. Otherwise he is not a Christian.

Furthermore, Paul said, "I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase" (1 Cor. 3:6).

In other words, some of us plant and some of us water, but it is God who gives the increase - the increase of saved persons. A pastor might be able to increase the number of Church members, but only God has the power to increase the number of saved persons as Church members! For example, a pastor can start a "church" solely for homosexuals and he would have no difficulty in getting members. Homosexuals would have the best of both "worlds"!

A preacher's mandate is to preach the Word; whether the hearer of the Gospel is finally saved or not is not his problem:

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek" (Romans 1:16, emphasis added).

Paul was not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ. But, preachers who compromise the truth of God's Word are ashamed of the Gospel. These preachers think they know better than God; they think the Gospel is too unacceptable to the natural man and needs to be watered-down to please men. To them, God is too harsh in His Word. Consequently, they fail to exercise the power of God to salvation. Consequently, their hearer's salvation might not be genuine.

Why Preachers compromise the Truth of God's Word?

"God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth" (John 4:24).

Our God-given ministry is a form of worship to God. Therefore, our ministry must be in spirit and in truth. We cannot serve God effectively with our soul and body unless we are led by the Spirit of God through our regenerated spirit. Please refer to my earlier postings regarding the functions of the Spirit, Soul and Body of the redeemed man.

Paul's ministry was powerful, successful and found pleasing to God because he served God with his spirit.

"For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, ....." (Romans 1:9, emphasis added).

We need to emulate Paul and cease to serve God with our soul (emotion, feelings and sentiment). If we minister with our feelings and emotion we might fear and feel threatened when the Church is not growing and members start to leave. We might imagine, with fear, that we have been preaching messages they would not like to hear. We then come to the conclusion that it is impossible to minister without compromising the Truth of God's Word. That is how we are persuaded to please men.

A Preacher of the Word must not please men

Paul said, "God has not given us the spirit of fear" (2 Tim. 1:7).

Paul also said, "For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ" (Gal. 1:10).

The word "now" is used here to contrast between Paul's present and former purpose of life. Before he was converted Paul pleased the high priest by persecuting Christians (Acts 9:1, 2). But now Paul would not please men, for if he still does, he would not be a true Christian (bondservant of Christ)!

Again Paul emphasized, "But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts" (1 Thess. 4:4, emphasis added).

According to Paul those who are entrusted with the gospel should not please men but God. The truth is any preacher who pleases men cannot please God at the same time - it is mutually exclusive. Furthermore God is constantly testing what is in our hearts! He is testing our obedience to preach His Word without compromise!

Possible Consequences of Compromising the Truth of God's Word

1. Fear of men

"But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers ..... shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death" (Rev. 21:8, KJV, emphasis added).

Heading the list of those who are destined to taste the second death are the "fearful"!

2. Failing to do God's Will

At the close of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gave this warning:

"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven" (Matt. 7:21, NKJV, emphasis added).

To compromise the Truth of God's Word in our preaching is NOT the will of God!