The Privilege Of Serving
“Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by the which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.” Ephesians 4:13, 16
It is a God given honor to serve in a New Testament Church: “But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.” 1 Corinthians 12:18 When two people marry, they must change their thinking process and the way they do things to fully accommodate both parties individually, as well as jointly. To serve in the church, one must be fully minded and wise unto functioning as a member of Christ’s Body with the Body. Some suggestions are:
~Make all the decisions necessary to get yourself in good standing with the Lord and the church.
~Pray about what the Lord would have you do, unto reaching the point of being fully surrendered to Him for whatever it takes.
~Count the cost; be wise to the fact there will be challenges and things that seek to interfere with your serving faithfully, that you must overcome through firm resolve on your part.
~Be of the same mind with the church and it’s leadership. If you have questions, differences, be out in the open and settle them up front. Don’t ambush the leadership with an outbreak of rebellion, discord or offense by taking issue with established policies. Reconcile first before making the claim of being on board.
~Hold yourself accountable and responsible to faithfully perform any undertaking. Don’t take on anything you are not prepared to do faithfully. Should you be unable or unwilling to perform faithfully, remove yourself by stepping down.
~Look not for the praise of men. Do what you do as unto the Lord and not unto men. Look for your rewards in heaven, not on earth.
SHARING
Taking A Fresh Look At Christianity
Humanly speaking, Christianity is an impossibility. For example, it takes a miracle to save a soul. It takes the power of God to keep those whom He saves. Thus, we can see that when we look at Christianity from our human perspective, everything begins to pile in on us and it seems so impossible.
We need to remember that our Christianity will be measured, not according to the self-satisfaction that it brought to us, but from how we earnestly contended for the faith. God rewards us for our faithfulness to Him, not our circumstantial success.
Christianity operates in reverse order. The last shall be first with God. Those who are abased shall be exalted. We fail to see the glory of this process, due to the personal mortification involved. But rest assured, we are always indebted to our Lord.
Christian legacy does not originate from those who are the esteemed of men. The example the Bible gives of one who left his mark for Christianity, was one who knew not any favorable response from men. Abel’s legacy still stands as a testimony to mankind – Hebrews 11:4. All Abel saw for his efforts of being faithful and true was the hatred that slew him. But for almost 6000 years now, the legacy of his faith has continued to make him one of God’s jewels for which he will be richly rewarded.
The kingdom of Christianity is not of this world. Therefore, Christianity is not measured by our accomplishments down here. Rather, God directs us to the reality of doing all we can to “endure” while in our pilgrimage of life down here.
Christianity results in the scourging of, rather than the crowning of, our earthly person. Not that it is bad for man, but that because of blindness, men are bad towards Christians. This, too, shall greatly enrich us in the kingdom we will inherit with Christ – Matthew 5:10-12.
As Peter surrendered to Christ’s call to the worthy and noble vocation of feeding Christ’s sheep, he was shown that in his latter day, others would “carry thee whither thou wouldest not. This spake he (Christ) signifying by what death he (Peter) should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me.” – John 21:18f-19.
Paul’s Christian ministry cost him his freedom and eventually his life. But in assessing his life in full view of this, he told the elders of Ephesus, at his meeting with them at Miletus (Acts 20): (1) That he was pure from the blood of all men, having not shunned to declare all the counsel of God, (2) He knew he was not to continue, so he poured out of himself to them, that they might perpetuate the gospel to others.
Our tour of duty is but for a season. As we sense the greatness of our troubles, may it help us to realize the magnitude of the glory that awaits us after the battle is over.
Yes, “heaven will surely be worth it all.”
SHARINGReligion Minus Divine Authority
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17
The truth of God’s Word supplies enlightenment and faith. When human reasoning sets aside any part of God’s Word, this allows the cloud of deception, as was introduced to Eve in Eden (Genesis 3).
While many profess to stand for the Divine inspiration of all scripture, they fall for the reasons that abandon “all scripture” as being the standard for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness.
Just as all scripture is given by Divine authority, all scripture is what sets forth God’s authority on all matters for us. To agree with the inspiration of “all scripture”, without accepting “all scripture” as the authority on God’s will for our lives, is the condition of having a form of godliness, but denying the power (authority) thereof (2 Timothy 3:5). To study “all scripture” without accepting the way of “all scripture”, is the condition of ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth (2 Timothy 3:7).
False Christianity would be exposed instantly, if the rule was applied that “all scripture” is required for true doctrine. False Christianity is able to establish itself with men, because it persuades men that not all scripture applies to us. Most take the position that truth is dispensational, i.e., that what was the truth in a former dispensation is no longer truth for our present dispensation, etc. For example, many teach that the way Jesus saved sinners, such as the thief on the cross, is different than how one becomes a Christian today. So false Christianity is built on the principle that while all scripture is given by inspiration of God, yet all scripture is not profitable for doctrine, etc.
Sad to say, many professed Baptists have fallen for the same false interpretation of the scripture. While they may not accept the false teachings on the plan of salvation that have departed from the doctrine of all scripture, they eagerly accept the departure from “all scripture” as being profitable for their doctrine on how they want to live, dress, and observe the Lord’s Day. They do so as if they have impunity (exemption) from “all scripture”, misapplying a borrowed term from the scriptures, “we’re not under the law”. They thus will no longer be reproved nor corrected unto God’s will by what “all scripture” has to say. They have limited themselves to an acceptance of only some scriptures of their choosing, while having their eyes and ears closed to what “all scripture” has to say.
Since “all scripture” must be used to establish doctrinal correctness, the departure from this principle of Divine authority is to enter the pathway of doctrinal error, that sanctions false religion. SELAH!
SHARINGWhat Makes New Testament Baptists Different?
ANSWER: The very things that make us a New Testament Baptist are what make us different.
When we look at our prototype, John the Baptist, it was what he was by God’s will and authority that made him different. John the Baptist not only served God, he was sent from and by God, identified by God, with heaven’s authority to perform his mission: “…to make ready a people prepared for the Lord,” Luke 1:17.
For a people to be made ready for the Lord, it involved:
–their responding to the preaching that they must repent, Matthew 3:2,8
–their acceptance of Christ as “the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world,” John 1:29,35-37.
–that they be administered New Testament Baptist baptism, sent from heaven, (John 1:33, Acts 1:22) at the hands of the first Baptist preacher, Matthew 3:1.
Christ (who submitted to Baptist baptism to fulfill all righteousness, Matthew 3:13-17) took those whom John had prepared for Him and set them first in His New Testament Church, 1 Corinthians 12:28. It was the fact they were prepared by a ministry of Divine authority, baptized by a minister authorized and identified by God’s authority, and set in the church by the authority of Christ–that’s what made the first New Testament Baptist Church at Jerusalem different from all other religious bodies.
Christ taught that His Body, the New Testament Church He built from those apostles whom John the Baptist prepared for Him, was not a product of human making, but had come to pass, i.e. been created by the Divine authority that had brought it all to pass, see John 15:1-5. The vine with its branches exists due to the life God has given it by His authority. Whereas man cannot create life, he can only produce something that is artificial.
It was this “life” that existed in the New Testament Church that Jesus built that made it different, that made it the work of God, the same way that it was the authority of God that sent and made John the Baptist’s baptism different and sanctioned by heaven.
Today, a New Testament Baptist Church is different because it has descended from the church that Jesus built, with this same existing authority and baptism that God once delivered to the saints, having the same Head (Christ), the same authority and Biblically identifiable baptism that Jesus and the apostles had (Baptist), who were the first set in the church.
These distinctives are not subject to the arguments of men, but are rather afforded to those who accept them by faith.
With God, there is but “One Lord, one faith, one baptism.” Ephesians 4:5
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