In These Days of Apostasy

That's for sure!!! I have seen this a lot since I became born-again.

Matthew 23:15 "

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves."

We have been courted to attend a church, only to become the pariah in it for asking that we follow the Bible in our thinking and in practice. These are even people who say they are "Bible-believing", they only say it, it was not proven by their practice.

The Two Must Match Pitch

Two sayings I have heard over the years that match with Biblical standards, "your actions speak so loud I can't hear a word you are saying" and "your actions speak louder than words."

Our actions prove what is in our heart! Words do not prove our heart, they are just words without meaning if the actions do not match pitch with the words.

James 1:19-25
"19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;
20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror.
24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.
25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing."

Our God, He Is Alive

Christ in us is the Authority Over Us!

1 John 2:27 "And as for you, the anointing which you received from Him remains in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you remain in Him."

This passage was given to ALL born-again believers.

Those who would lead you to believe you cannot know the truth of the Bible without a "pastor" or a mentor" are in violation of the scriptures.

However, God does use each of us to teach one another where we may lack knowledge or wisdom. We are to share what we know and be willing to be taught ourselves where we lack.

Colossians 3:15-17 "…15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, for to this you were called as members of one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.…"

We help one another but no one is above another in the body of Christ. We are to heed the teaching of any teacher who stands in front of the gathering to teach, but we are also to test everything they say through the Word of God. If the person teaching is in error then the others are to judge and bring Scripture that proves their assertions.

Anyone who says you are not to speak in opposition to them as they speak is disobeying the Word of God.

Acts 17:11 "11Now the Bereans were more noble-minded than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if these teachings were true. "

1 Corinthians 14:30 " But if a revelation is made to another who is seated, then the first one is to keep silent."

Each man is to speak openly during the teaching, they add to the teaching or they correct the teaching. The teacher is not the authority over others. The teacher is to receive the input of the others that the Holy Spirit in each person has a voice.

The modern idea of a one-man paid pastor seen as the authority over others is not only not Biblical but it makes the men in the pews lazy to study the Bible on their own in their homes so they come to the gathering prepared to be led by the Holy Spirit.

Our modern Christian gatherings are so far from the first century model of the gathering that it hardly resembles what happened in those first house churches.

A reason so many Christians do not know their Bibles is that they have believed that only the one-man-paid pastor is the only one who can know because he was educated in seminaries. This is a false belief system coming out of Catholicism only tweaked a little to fit the Protestant model.

There is no hierarchy in the Christian gathering according to the Bible. There are respected teachers who are subject to all the born-again believers in the gathering.

God said this:

2 Timothy 2:24-25 "24 And a servant of the Lord must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, and forbearing. 25 He must gently reprove those who oppose him, in the hope that God may grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth."

This has been translated to sound like the preacher should be good at preaching, but in fact, the real meaning according to the original language means "the teacher should be teachable himself."

Any leader who is preaching must be able to be corrected, if he is not, if he is arrogant and attempts to have power over others, he does not belong in a position of teaching.

Elders and their attitudes:

1 Thessalonians 2:7

"On the contrary, we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother caring for her children."

1 Timothy 3:2

"An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to be taught himself,"

1 Timothy 3:3

"not dependent on wine, not violent but gentle, peaceable, and free of the love of money."

Fruit of the Spirit is vital in the life of the born-again teacher.

Galatians 5:22-23

"22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."

If an elder or teacher is given to rage, rudeness or superiority he must be rebuked, if he will not stop he must be removed of that position. God was not making suggestions in His commands of the qualifications of elders, these were commands and expected to be followed.

A challenge to all of us might be; how much of the Bible do we actually believe enough to follow? Praying for wisdom and truth in every single area of our Christian walk will bring about such eye-opening that cannot be shut again. Once we know the truth we will never go back to the beggarly things again.

Galatians 4:9 "But now that you know God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you are turning back to those weak and worthless principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?"

It is one thing to know in our heads and quite another to actually follow what we say we know.