A genuine 'insider'
My earliest memories of church were in an 'old-school' Baptist church in Moonah, Tasmania, at 6 years of age. My family soon moved to a more lively Brethren church – Lindisfarne Bible Chapel – which in time went through its own charismatic revival. I myself was one of the earliest (and youngest) in our youth group to 'experience' at the age of 15 what we described as 'baptism in the Holy Spirit,' accompanied by tongues-speaking. Some years later our church joined the Australian Pentecostal denomination, Assemblies of God, aligning strongly with Sydney's Hills Christian Life Centre (now called Hillsong).
I myself became one of the foremost proponents of Pentecostalism within our growing movement of churches in Hobart. I spread the teaching of Pentecostalism and later the Word of Faith movement within the youth group and wider church, then later also in the preaching circles in which I operated. I began preaching in our churches at the age of 17. By that time I was a dedicated supporter of Kenneth Copeland's ministry, having read widely through American and Australian Pentecostal literature, including much of Hagin and Copeland's work. I was extremely zealous for the movement, converting many Christians into Pentecostalism, including friends and family, some of whom I convinced regarding Divine Healing and other key doctrines of Pentecostalism. I also vigorously defended Pentecostal doctrine to skeptics.
Turning points
In 1997 I left Tasmania to study at Hills Leadership College (now Hillsong College) in Sydney. It was there, at the age of 18, that I went through what could be described as my own personal 'reformation.' There in one of the key Pentecostal Bible colleges of Australia, I began intensly reading the Bible, going from Genesis to Revelation, again and again. My Scriptural 'feeding frenzy' was sparked by a series of perplexities that arose out of a number of biblical themes that I slowly began to see within the Scriptures themselves. I began to realise that some key ideas repeatedly emphasised by the Biblical authors could not be accomodated by the theological system of Pentecostalism that I was learning.
There were several elements that came together for me, acting like catalysts for my intense reading of the biblical data, and then, in the years following my return from Hills Leadership College, facilitated my re-thinking of my theology and subsequent move away from Pentecostalism. What follows is not a list of pitfalls in the theological system of Pentecostalism. Rather, what follows is a chronological description of the four main areas that I began wrestling with as a dedicated Pentecostal, whose resolution forced me into a turning point in my Christian understanding:
1. The emphasis of the New Testament as a whole
As I read and re-read the New Testament, I became increasingly aware that the Scriptures were thoroughly Christ-focussed and Gospel-driven. And this emphasis from Matthew to Revelation revealed a glaring disparity with the emphasis of Pentecostalism. The movement I was a part of glossed over the key elements of the Christian message, and much of the Apostle's teaching in their letters, such as the seriousness of sin, the judgment to come, the centrality of the Christ's resurrection, repentance, righteousness, and the return of our Lord. It is not as though Pentecostals do not acknowlege the importance of these themes, but it was revealing that little time was spent focussing on them when the New Testament went on and on about them, with little attention to much else. I began to see that Pentecostalism preached a superficial works-based law centred on the ego and focussed on power, performance and prosperity. I've described this issue with more detail in my corrective to Rick Warren's best seller, The Purpose Driven Life - Part II: A Corrective.
2. The Sovereignty of God over all things
Next, I distinctly recall in my 'Doctrine' classes asking my lecturer what he meant when he declared, “God never intended human sin, or any to go to hell -- although we know that God is in control of everything.” It became obvious that “I don't know; I don't quite understand it” was a standard reply. I became increasingly aware that my lecturer's theology came unstuck on the topic of God's sovereignty in view of original sin, the origin of evil and Satan, the presence of suffering now and our certainty regarding everlasting judgment. God's knowledge and power were in question. My lecturers sincerely admitted their doctrine could not hold together both the existence of evil and suffering and the absolute sovereignty of a good God. Therefore, following Pentecostalism to its conclusion, God's place outside of time, his knowledge, his power and control, were all inevitably 'limited' in some way. None of this squared with the Bible's grand vision of a God who is both perfectly good and absolutely all-controlling. I've written a brief article on this topic to address these questions: God, Evil & Sovereignty: A Pentecostal dilemma.
3. Grace, Election and the Predestination of Christians
Similarly, after reading and re-reading Paul's Epistle to the Romans, I began to see that what the Scriptures taught about God's sovereignty in salvation, his election, predestination, foreknowledge, and his grace, did not marry with the doctrines of Pentecostalism either. I became extremely perplexed with Jesus' own words and the Apostle's teaching about predestination, and their complete disagreement with my own Pentecostal view of predestination and foreknowledge. My beliefs about faith, conversion and human freedom of choice all left me out of line with the direct teaching of the Bible. Again, I've written briefly on this topic: Predestination: A Pentecostal Problem.
4. Understanding and applying the Old Testament
In addition, it became apparent that although very often the Old Testament was a basis for Pentecostal preaching, very rarely was the actual historical meaning of Old Testament texts explained or applied. Abraham was about God's promise to make me great, Moses was about how God would use me despite my imperfections, David was about how I could have victory over the giants in my life. However I began to see that Christ himself insisted that the Patriarchs, the Exodus, the Law, the Kingdom under David, the Temple, the Exile, the Return of the Remnant, all spoke about him. My own reading of the Old Testament at that time had not yet understood how Abraham, Moses and David were actually about Jesus. I began to realise though that God had been revealing his gospel from the very beginning, in every page of Scripture. The message of God's kingdom was the focus of the entire storyline of the Bible, from Beginning to End.
I now saw that Pentecostals relied on allegorical methods of interpretting the Old Testament, which did not square with Jesus' and the Apostle's own historical-grammatical and christological interpretation. I became increasingly frustrated with Pentecostal preaching from Old Testament narratives, which turned any text into a sermon about success or methods of achieving as a Christian, rather than a revelation of God in his gospel deeds and words. I've now also written briefly on this subject in The answer for Pentecostalism and Overview of the Old Testament: The Gospel in Context.
My re-think
These four elements then together combined to spark a re-think in my understanding of the message of the Bible as a whole, along with my theological standpoint on just about every Pentecostal doctrine that I held as a Pentecostal at that time. The rest is history, so to speak. For more details on where I arrived at in my understanding of the teachings of the Bible, read the rest of my Talking Pentecostalism articles.
talkingpentecostalism.blogspot.com | joe towns: christian discussion on pentecost, charisma, pentecostal and charismatic beliefs, the Bible and Jesus; including the origin and history of pentecostalism, baptism in the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, gifts and miracles, divine healing and word of faith, prosperity and wealth, praise and worship, guidance and hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit.
Why Stephen died: Where God's glory is focused today
What is God's geography? Where is God's glory seen today? Our geography shows us a lot about who we are, and what we do as a civilization. Our geography, such as the big cities of our world -- Sydney, London, New York, Paris -- reveal the glory of our western world.
There are many different opinions about where God is seen today. Is the picture of God's greatness today seen in the image of a man hanging upon a cross? Is it seen in Rome, in the Vatican? Or is God's magnificence seen in the shrine at Mecca called “Ca'ba?” Is that the holy place? Will God's glory be seen if the Jews rebuild their temple in Jerusalem? Is it seen in church buildings, or in worship services? Or is it seen today in miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit? Thankfully, this is not just a contemporary issue.
The place of the Temple in Christianity (Acts 6:8 – 7:1)
Acts 6:8 – 7:60 is all about this question: It was a time in the history of the early church when the word of God was spreading, and the number of disciples in Jerusalem was increased rapidly, and even a large number of priests had become obedient to the faith. Stephen was a man “full of God's grace and power.” He was chosen as a leader because he was full of faith and the Spirit. However, opposition arose against Stephen because of arguments he was having with certain men. People began reporting, 'we have heard Stephen's preaching, and it's blasphemous against God and Moses' (Acts 6:11). Stephen was brought before the highest tribunal of the Jews - the Sanhedrin – and the high priest questioned him, "Are these charges true?". And so in Acts 7:2, Stephan began what seems to us like a very lengthy reply.
The key to understanding Stephen's reply is understanding the charges laid against him. The charge has two sides: blasphemy against the law of Moses (Acts 6:11) and blasphemy against the temple of God (Acts 6:13). And the evidence they bring is their testimony that they have heard Stephen preach that Jesus will (1) destroy the Jewish temple, and (2) and change the Jewish law (Acts 6:14).
All this came from their general opposition to the gospel. When the Church started in the first century, Jewish Christians began changing the whole way they think about the temple. They believed that it was no longer necessary to go to a priest and bring sacrifices to the temple, and in fact that because of Jesus the whole temple ministry was now obsolete. All of a sudden these Jewish followers of Jesus began to break with the customs of their law, by eating pork and seeing it as no longer necessary to observe circumcision and the Sabbath. On top of all that, Stephen's preaching sounded like he was saying that the temple will be done away with altogether and that Jesus has changed the law. It is understandable that this would bring opposition. In their view, this was opposing God because the temple and the law were from him.
Their opposition to the gospel is similar to the arguments that still go on today in religion. Today, if a notable Christian were to publically speak out in the name of Christ, against the “holy places” in Orthodox or Catholic churches, or in Islam or any religion, opposition would immediately arise. The vilification laws of Victoria may even incriminate him.
However, Christians themselves fall into the same error as these religion leaders (Stephen's opponents): When Christian churches begin to treat their church building as a type of Temple, they too need to hear carefully Stephen's reply.
The 'place of the law' in Christianity has also often been a topic that has caused arguments to flourish amongst Christians. There are those today that would say, for example, that Christians must keep the Sabbath because it is holy; it is a timeless, unchanging law of God – and those who don't are charged with desecrating what has been handed down from God. They too need to look at Stephen's reply.
Stephen's Sermon (Acts 7:2-56)
You would expect Stephen's reply to address the charges laid against him. Why his long history lesson? There's an important lesson to be learnt here from Stephen's method: He didn't argue back at them in the way they attacked him. Before he even answered them specifically, he took them to the Bible, and without making any assumptions, he set out the theology of the Bible itself. That's also the approach we need to take when we come up against arguably matters today.
The Jews that opposed Stephen grew up with the Bible, but Stephen's point was also that they were actually biblically illiterate. They needed educating because they didn't know how to interpret the Bible and how to apply it. Today also we need to make sure we ourselves don't fall into that category.
However, Stephen didn't simply repeat the history already given in the Bible, as if this group had never heard it before. He was actually constructing a theology from the Bible, and it was all about 'glory', which was the root issue of his opponent's argument, and also all about changing 'geography'.
Stephen began by answering the question behind their argument: Where is God's glory seen? And he began by looking at the times and places when God has revealed his glory in Israel's past.
The time of Abraham (Acts 7:2-8)
“The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia...” This is the claim of the Bible, but notice, he was still in Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq). Before Abraham had any descendants, before he owned even a single foot of the promised land, before the law, and certainly before the temple, God had made himself known in all his glory.
And what did that mean for Abraham at that time? Was he to start treating that place as holy and set up camp there permanently? No, he left that land, because, from the very beginning, God's glory was always about his plans for the future. God made promises that were to involve changes and moves, not just in their geography, but also in where and how they were to worship God.
The time of Joseph ( Acts 7:9-15)
Now the God of glory was with Joseph, in Egypt - the secular world of that day - even though the sons of Israel had sold him into slavery. God rescued him and exalted him to the right hand of the king, to rule over his entire kingdom. Why? To bring God's salvation to God's people, Abraham's starving descendants. But this wasn't where it was to stop. The fulfilment of God's promise still lay in the future, because Jacob and his whole family all ended up in Egypt, where they all died.
The time of Moses (Acts 7:17-36)
Once again, the time had changed because of where God was up to in fulfilling his promises. Now it was Moses to whom the God of glory appeared. And interestingly, at this time the Lord said to him, the place where you are standing is holy ground (Acts 7:33). Moses wasn't in the 'holy land', nor did he yet have the 'holy place'. He was out in the desert. What did this mean for Moses at that time? The God of glory had appeared to set his people free (Acts 7:34). So he didn't stay there. God sent him back to Egypt at that time. Why? So God's glory could be seen in the change he was about to bring as Moses led Israel out of Egypt and did wonders and miraculous signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea and for forty years in the desert (Acts 7:36).
This was that Moses whose own people rejected with the words: 'Who made you ruler and judge over us? This was that Moses who had fled from them to live in the desert as a foreigner. And yet, this was that Moses who brought them salvation and who God used to show his glory.
The time of the law (Acts 7:37-43)
Now Stephen's words began to relate specifically to the charge they brought against him about the Law. Stephen replied that when Moses received the law, the God of glory gave them his word to obey (Acts 7:38). Now God's time had come for them to leave Egypt behind and move towards the future God was bringing them into. But instead, they refused to obey God and they rejected Moses and “in their hearts turned back to Egypt”. Instead, they made for themselves other gods. They rejected God's glory for idols. And so when they did finally enter God's promised land, it was only to be kicked out of it again, into Babylon (Acts 7:43).
And sadly, this is the same thing Stephen's hearers also did. They too had received the law but not obeyed it (Acts 7:43). They had charged Stephen for 'speaking against the law', but Stephen replied, 'you have not obeyed the law!'
The time of the temple (Acts 7:44-50)
Now Stephen's words began to specifically relate to the second charge that they had brought against him about the Temple. Stephen replied that the Tabernacle, which preceded the temple, had been made as God directed Moses, according to the pattern he had seen. It was a pattern of the glory of God that Moses had seen in the desert. But it was never more than a pattern, and Israel should have known this. Even in the time of David when God allowed Solomon to build him a dwelling place in the temple, Israel should have known that “the Most High does not live in houses made by men” (Acts 7:48).
But Stephen's hearers treated their temple in Jerusalem as a “holy place” (Acts 6:13) even though it was not even the temple Solomon built. And for speaking about its destruction, which was something that the Old Testament prophets did, they had charged Stephen with “blasphemy” against God himself! They had idolised the temple when it was only a temporary pattern of the future reality that God was bringing. They had charged Stephen with 'speaking about the temple's destruction', and Stephen replied, 'you have made the temple your idol'.
The time of the cross (Acts 7:51-53)
Up until this point Stephen had made a very repeated and significant point to his opponents: God's glory that was seen in the past was about his saving acts for them through those he sent – even the temple and the law pointed to the future change that God was going to bring. But they had always opposed God's change by rejecting those he sent, by disobeying his law, and by committing idolatry.
Stephen, now pulling this all together into one big conclusion, pointed his finger straight at his accusers: 'This is exactly what you are like' (Acts 7:51). For just as the Israel of the past had persecuted the prophets who pointed out these sins to them, and just as they even killed those who predicted the coming of the Messiah, so too, now, this group of Jews were the very ones who had betrayed and murdered the Messiah! They had charged Stephen with speaking against God's glory, and now rather than clearing himself, Stephen turned the charges on them: 'you are rejecting God's glory.'
What does it mean for our world today? The purpose of the law was to point out human rebellion, and the purpose of the temple was to provide for human rebellion. And so the message of both the law and the temple was that people are sinful. And the reaction of the Jews to the law and the temple actually prove this message. For they rejected the law, and they idolised the temple, both of which showed their sinfulness all the more.
Responses to Stephen (Acts 7:54-56)
It's not surprising that when Stephen's opponents heard this, they were furious. But in the midst of their anger, right when they were about to respond to him, Jesus himself burst into the scene and gave his response first.
The time of Jesus now (Acts 7:54-56)
Stephen right then looked up to heaven and saw God's glory and Jesus was there! Jesus was standing in the glory of God! This was not a vision he saw at his martyrdom. It was a vision immediately at the end of his sermon. It was a conclusion to his message provided by Jesus himself to justify everything Stephen had told them. But it also is a vision showing the time we are in right now; the stage in the revelation of God's glory that Stephen's sermon had left off.
Jesus' response, on the one hand, proved Stephen's very point: Once again the God of glory has appeared to his people, but it was not tied to the physical pattern of the temple at Jerusalem, or their land or their law, but in God's man who he had used to bring deliverance to God's people. Once again God had as brought his change. Jesus wasn't seen there as the man they killed. The time had come for God to lift him up to his right hand as the glorious Son of Man. And now it is where Jesus is standing in heaven that we see God's glory. It is now where Jesus is that God calls his “holy place”.
Their response (Acts 7:54 – 60)
Stephen's contemporaries responded again to God's glory with rebellion. If in Acts 7:54 after his sermon they were furious at him, now they want to kill him. Their reaction to him proves the point of Stephen's message because they do exactly what their father's had done – they reject God's glory, that had now appeared again, by killing Stephen.
Our response
The law and the temple, correctly understood, have always taught that God's glory is not fixed to places and things in this world, or a certain way of doing things, but has always been located in God's own rule as King from heaven through the man he's appointed to bring salvation. And that means God's glory is now seen in Jesus.
We need to make sure we figure out how to understand the place of the law and the temple in the Old Testament, and not fall into the trap of going backwards. Pentecostalism and the charismatic movement need to hear Stephen's sermon: We mustn't mimic what is past. We can do that by imitating the temple ministry of the Old Testament, or by simply carrying over into Christianity aspects of the law, or by naively imitating the earthly ministry of Jesus, whether it was his miracles or him hanging on the cross.
Jesus has now changed how we understand all this. Stephen died to show that where God's glory is seen in the world today has changed. And Jesus appeared to show that his own place in the world has now changed. He's now not in the world. He is now glorified in heaven where he is moving us toward the future where he is going to change everything again.
This means we need to be very careful about how we think about places and things and ways of doing things in Christianity. We need to resist the temptation to idolize things of this world by focusing on what is temporary: church buildings, baptism, worship styles, the gift of tongues – all of which are temporary and will pass away. Our focus should always be on things above, which are eternal, where Christ is seated, and on the future that Christ's coming will bring.
And it also means we need to do away with all attempts of bringing God's glory in this world by anything other than by speeding the coming of Christ himself: Rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem will not bring God's glory, but praying “come Lord Jesus” will; singing special songs in a special order in a special church service in a special building will not bring God's glory, but speeding Christ's return by preaching the gospel and living a godly life will; looking upon a picture of a man handing on the cross will not show you the glory of God, but letting his word reveal to you the exalted Lord Jesus will. Come our Lord Jesus!
---
Cook, David. Teaching Acts (Christian Focus Publications, 2007).
There are many different opinions about where God is seen today. Is the picture of God's greatness today seen in the image of a man hanging upon a cross? Is it seen in Rome, in the Vatican? Or is God's magnificence seen in the shrine at Mecca called “Ca'ba?” Is that the holy place? Will God's glory be seen if the Jews rebuild their temple in Jerusalem? Is it seen in church buildings, or in worship services? Or is it seen today in miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit? Thankfully, this is not just a contemporary issue.
The place of the Temple in Christianity (Acts 6:8 – 7:1)
Acts 6:8 – 7:60 is all about this question: It was a time in the history of the early church when the word of God was spreading, and the number of disciples in Jerusalem was increased rapidly, and even a large number of priests had become obedient to the faith. Stephen was a man “full of God's grace and power.” He was chosen as a leader because he was full of faith and the Spirit. However, opposition arose against Stephen because of arguments he was having with certain men. People began reporting, 'we have heard Stephen's preaching, and it's blasphemous against God and Moses' (Acts 6:11). Stephen was brought before the highest tribunal of the Jews - the Sanhedrin – and the high priest questioned him, "Are these charges true?". And so in Acts 7:2, Stephan began what seems to us like a very lengthy reply.
The key to understanding Stephen's reply is understanding the charges laid against him. The charge has two sides: blasphemy against the law of Moses (Acts 6:11) and blasphemy against the temple of God (Acts 6:13). And the evidence they bring is their testimony that they have heard Stephen preach that Jesus will (1) destroy the Jewish temple, and (2) and change the Jewish law (Acts 6:14).
All this came from their general opposition to the gospel. When the Church started in the first century, Jewish Christians began changing the whole way they think about the temple. They believed that it was no longer necessary to go to a priest and bring sacrifices to the temple, and in fact that because of Jesus the whole temple ministry was now obsolete. All of a sudden these Jewish followers of Jesus began to break with the customs of their law, by eating pork and seeing it as no longer necessary to observe circumcision and the Sabbath. On top of all that, Stephen's preaching sounded like he was saying that the temple will be done away with altogether and that Jesus has changed the law. It is understandable that this would bring opposition. In their view, this was opposing God because the temple and the law were from him.
Their opposition to the gospel is similar to the arguments that still go on today in religion. Today, if a notable Christian were to publically speak out in the name of Christ, against the “holy places” in Orthodox or Catholic churches, or in Islam or any religion, opposition would immediately arise. The vilification laws of Victoria may even incriminate him.
However, Christians themselves fall into the same error as these religion leaders (Stephen's opponents): When Christian churches begin to treat their church building as a type of Temple, they too need to hear carefully Stephen's reply.
The 'place of the law' in Christianity has also often been a topic that has caused arguments to flourish amongst Christians. There are those today that would say, for example, that Christians must keep the Sabbath because it is holy; it is a timeless, unchanging law of God – and those who don't are charged with desecrating what has been handed down from God. They too need to look at Stephen's reply.
Stephen's Sermon (Acts 7:2-56)
You would expect Stephen's reply to address the charges laid against him. Why his long history lesson? There's an important lesson to be learnt here from Stephen's method: He didn't argue back at them in the way they attacked him. Before he even answered them specifically, he took them to the Bible, and without making any assumptions, he set out the theology of the Bible itself. That's also the approach we need to take when we come up against arguably matters today.
The Jews that opposed Stephen grew up with the Bible, but Stephen's point was also that they were actually biblically illiterate. They needed educating because they didn't know how to interpret the Bible and how to apply it. Today also we need to make sure we ourselves don't fall into that category.
However, Stephen didn't simply repeat the history already given in the Bible, as if this group had never heard it before. He was actually constructing a theology from the Bible, and it was all about 'glory', which was the root issue of his opponent's argument, and also all about changing 'geography'.
Stephen began by answering the question behind their argument: Where is God's glory seen? And he began by looking at the times and places when God has revealed his glory in Israel's past.
The time of Abraham (Acts 7:2-8)
“The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia...” This is the claim of the Bible, but notice, he was still in Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq). Before Abraham had any descendants, before he owned even a single foot of the promised land, before the law, and certainly before the temple, God had made himself known in all his glory.
And what did that mean for Abraham at that time? Was he to start treating that place as holy and set up camp there permanently? No, he left that land, because, from the very beginning, God's glory was always about his plans for the future. God made promises that were to involve changes and moves, not just in their geography, but also in where and how they were to worship God.
The time of Joseph ( Acts 7:9-15)
Now the God of glory was with Joseph, in Egypt - the secular world of that day - even though the sons of Israel had sold him into slavery. God rescued him and exalted him to the right hand of the king, to rule over his entire kingdom. Why? To bring God's salvation to God's people, Abraham's starving descendants. But this wasn't where it was to stop. The fulfilment of God's promise still lay in the future, because Jacob and his whole family all ended up in Egypt, where they all died.
The time of Moses (Acts 7:17-36)
Once again, the time had changed because of where God was up to in fulfilling his promises. Now it was Moses to whom the God of glory appeared. And interestingly, at this time the Lord said to him, the place where you are standing is holy ground (Acts 7:33). Moses wasn't in the 'holy land', nor did he yet have the 'holy place'. He was out in the desert. What did this mean for Moses at that time? The God of glory had appeared to set his people free (Acts 7:34). So he didn't stay there. God sent him back to Egypt at that time. Why? So God's glory could be seen in the change he was about to bring as Moses led Israel out of Egypt and did wonders and miraculous signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea and for forty years in the desert (Acts 7:36).
This was that Moses whose own people rejected with the words: 'Who made you ruler and judge over us? This was that Moses who had fled from them to live in the desert as a foreigner. And yet, this was that Moses who brought them salvation and who God used to show his glory.
The time of the law (Acts 7:37-43)
Now Stephen's words began to relate specifically to the charge they brought against him about the Law. Stephen replied that when Moses received the law, the God of glory gave them his word to obey (Acts 7:38). Now God's time had come for them to leave Egypt behind and move towards the future God was bringing them into. But instead, they refused to obey God and they rejected Moses and “in their hearts turned back to Egypt”. Instead, they made for themselves other gods. They rejected God's glory for idols. And so when they did finally enter God's promised land, it was only to be kicked out of it again, into Babylon (Acts 7:43).
And sadly, this is the same thing Stephen's hearers also did. They too had received the law but not obeyed it (Acts 7:43). They had charged Stephen for 'speaking against the law', but Stephen replied, 'you have not obeyed the law!'
The time of the temple (Acts 7:44-50)
Now Stephen's words began to specifically relate to the second charge that they had brought against him about the Temple. Stephen replied that the Tabernacle, which preceded the temple, had been made as God directed Moses, according to the pattern he had seen. It was a pattern of the glory of God that Moses had seen in the desert. But it was never more than a pattern, and Israel should have known this. Even in the time of David when God allowed Solomon to build him a dwelling place in the temple, Israel should have known that “the Most High does not live in houses made by men” (Acts 7:48).
But Stephen's hearers treated their temple in Jerusalem as a “holy place” (Acts 6:13) even though it was not even the temple Solomon built. And for speaking about its destruction, which was something that the Old Testament prophets did, they had charged Stephen with “blasphemy” against God himself! They had idolised the temple when it was only a temporary pattern of the future reality that God was bringing. They had charged Stephen with 'speaking about the temple's destruction', and Stephen replied, 'you have made the temple your idol'.
The time of the cross (Acts 7:51-53)
Up until this point Stephen had made a very repeated and significant point to his opponents: God's glory that was seen in the past was about his saving acts for them through those he sent – even the temple and the law pointed to the future change that God was going to bring. But they had always opposed God's change by rejecting those he sent, by disobeying his law, and by committing idolatry.
Stephen, now pulling this all together into one big conclusion, pointed his finger straight at his accusers: 'This is exactly what you are like' (Acts 7:51). For just as the Israel of the past had persecuted the prophets who pointed out these sins to them, and just as they even killed those who predicted the coming of the Messiah, so too, now, this group of Jews were the very ones who had betrayed and murdered the Messiah! They had charged Stephen with speaking against God's glory, and now rather than clearing himself, Stephen turned the charges on them: 'you are rejecting God's glory.'
What does it mean for our world today? The purpose of the law was to point out human rebellion, and the purpose of the temple was to provide for human rebellion. And so the message of both the law and the temple was that people are sinful. And the reaction of the Jews to the law and the temple actually prove this message. For they rejected the law, and they idolised the temple, both of which showed their sinfulness all the more.
Responses to Stephen (Acts 7:54-56)
It's not surprising that when Stephen's opponents heard this, they were furious. But in the midst of their anger, right when they were about to respond to him, Jesus himself burst into the scene and gave his response first.
The time of Jesus now (Acts 7:54-56)
Stephen right then looked up to heaven and saw God's glory and Jesus was there! Jesus was standing in the glory of God! This was not a vision he saw at his martyrdom. It was a vision immediately at the end of his sermon. It was a conclusion to his message provided by Jesus himself to justify everything Stephen had told them. But it also is a vision showing the time we are in right now; the stage in the revelation of God's glory that Stephen's sermon had left off.
Jesus' response, on the one hand, proved Stephen's very point: Once again the God of glory has appeared to his people, but it was not tied to the physical pattern of the temple at Jerusalem, or their land or their law, but in God's man who he had used to bring deliverance to God's people. Once again God had as brought his change. Jesus wasn't seen there as the man they killed. The time had come for God to lift him up to his right hand as the glorious Son of Man. And now it is where Jesus is standing in heaven that we see God's glory. It is now where Jesus is that God calls his “holy place”.
Their response (Acts 7:54 – 60)
Stephen's contemporaries responded again to God's glory with rebellion. If in Acts 7:54 after his sermon they were furious at him, now they want to kill him. Their reaction to him proves the point of Stephen's message because they do exactly what their father's had done – they reject God's glory, that had now appeared again, by killing Stephen.
Our response
The law and the temple, correctly understood, have always taught that God's glory is not fixed to places and things in this world, or a certain way of doing things, but has always been located in God's own rule as King from heaven through the man he's appointed to bring salvation. And that means God's glory is now seen in Jesus.
We need to make sure we figure out how to understand the place of the law and the temple in the Old Testament, and not fall into the trap of going backwards. Pentecostalism and the charismatic movement need to hear Stephen's sermon: We mustn't mimic what is past. We can do that by imitating the temple ministry of the Old Testament, or by simply carrying over into Christianity aspects of the law, or by naively imitating the earthly ministry of Jesus, whether it was his miracles or him hanging on the cross.
Jesus has now changed how we understand all this. Stephen died to show that where God's glory is seen in the world today has changed. And Jesus appeared to show that his own place in the world has now changed. He's now not in the world. He is now glorified in heaven where he is moving us toward the future where he is going to change everything again.
This means we need to be very careful about how we think about places and things and ways of doing things in Christianity. We need to resist the temptation to idolize things of this world by focusing on what is temporary: church buildings, baptism, worship styles, the gift of tongues – all of which are temporary and will pass away. Our focus should always be on things above, which are eternal, where Christ is seated, and on the future that Christ's coming will bring.
And it also means we need to do away with all attempts of bringing God's glory in this world by anything other than by speeding the coming of Christ himself: Rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem will not bring God's glory, but praying “come Lord Jesus” will; singing special songs in a special order in a special church service in a special building will not bring God's glory, but speeding Christ's return by preaching the gospel and living a godly life will; looking upon a picture of a man handing on the cross will not show you the glory of God, but letting his word reveal to you the exalted Lord Jesus will. Come our Lord Jesus!
---
Cook, David. Teaching Acts (Christian Focus Publications, 2007).
Do we need the Bible: The Church & the Word of God
Do we need the Bible for church? The Bible itself says, in effect, 'Wherever two or three people come together in Christ's Name, there is Christ among them' (Matthew 18:20). How 'essential' is reading the Bible to church meetings?
In Pentecostal and charismatic churches around the world today, it would seem as if the spirit and life and growth of the Church was dependant on the quality of the music, not the preaching. But if preaching is important, it is the ability of a speaker to connect with his audience, or speak with relevance about real-to-life issues. The nature and function of 'leaders' in the Church has become just that; 'leadership'. The chief responsibility of leaders is to empower every-member ministry, so as to keep seats full. The Bible may get a mention, maybe even a look-up, but then again, sometimes not.
The church growth movement has spawned a growing trend, particularly within Pentecostal and charismatic circles, towards 'seeker sensitive' meetings, with the focus on attracting new comers. Dynamic and prolonged 'praise and worship' times feature strongly in meetings, followed by highly 'relevant', and at times entertaining, practical and 'down-to-earth' messages, aimed at kick-starting Christianity for new comers and 'charging up' the spiritual energy of regulars. The move away from Bible-teaching centred church meetings is extenuated.
Sadly, this trend portrays a deep ignorance in Pentecostalism and wider about how God is known and makes himself known to people. It comes from a conviction that God is known via 'encounters' in the experience of worship, and that this begins by coming to know him for the first time in the emotion of an initial encounter.
But what does the Bible have to day about all this? How has God revealed himself in the past, and how does he make himself known today, both individually, and in the Church?
The Revelation of God
God is light, says 1 John 1:5. He is open, and not secretive, and delights to make himself known. He wants to reveal himself to the people who are his creation, shining his light into people's darkness (2 Corinthians 4:4-6).
But more than that, God has acted. God has actually taken the initiative to reveal himself in deeds. He has shown his power and deity in his creative universe. He has given his redemptive plan in the Old Testament through Israel, and accomplished it in the New Testament through his most mighty act: the birth, death and resurrection of his Son, Jesus Christ.
But also in addition to his actions, God has spoken. He has actually communicated to his people by speech (Isaiah 40:5; 55:11; cf. Psalm 115:5). His self-revelation is not only in historical deeds, but through explanatory words, and the two are together. Even his ‘Word made flesh’ would remain vague had he not described it and interpreted him through his apostles.
God is light (and so wanting to be known), that God has acted (and thus made himself known), and that God has spoken (and thus explained his actions).
The Word of God
God has not only acted, and spoken, but the divine speech, recording and explaining the divine activity, has been committed to writing. Scripture is God’s Word written. God’s words through men’s words, spoken through human mouths and written through human hands; the Bible has both 100 per cent human and divine authorship (2 Timothy 3:16; cf. 2 Peter 3:16).
But the God who spoke centuries ago is not silent today. Scripture is not a museum of ancient documents in which the words of God a preserved. On the contrary, it is a living Word to living people from the living God; a contemporary message for a contemporary world. (Hebrews 4:12; e.g Hebrews 3:7). God still speaks through what he has spoken. That is, God speaks to us today through the Scriptures.
We must guard against two opposite errors in thinking: The first is that, though God spoke in ancient times, God is silent today. The second is the claim that God is indeed speaking today, but his Word has little if not nothing to do with Scripture. God has spoken, and God speaks, and it is through what he has spoken that he speaks. We must keep the Word and the Spirit together, for apart from the Spirit, the Word is dead, but apart from the Word, the Spirit is unknown.
But not only has God spoken, and continue to speak through what he has spoken, but when he speaks he acts. God’s Word is powerful. The Word does more than explain God’s actions, it is in itself active. God accomplishes his purpose by his Word (Isaiah 55:11; Hebrews 4:12). God’s Word is so different from ours, because in his Word his speech and actions are combined.
The Church of God
The universe was formed by God's Word and is sustained by it. So too, the Church is the creation of God by his Word, and as God’s ‘new creation’, it is as dependant upon his Word as his first creation (the universe). Not only has he brought it into being, but he maintains and sustains it, directs and sanctifies it, reforms and renews it through that same Word. The Word of God is the scepter by which Christ rules the Church and the food with which he nourishes it. That is, the Church lives by the Word of God in the Bible.
'The quality of preaching and the spirit and life of the church have advanced or declined together' (Stott, 1982). The spirit and life and growth of the Church is dependant on the quality of the teaching of God's word in the Church. The nature and function of 'ministry' in the Church is 'pastoral'. It is a ministry of the Word where the chief responsibility of pastors who ‘tend’ the sheep is to ‘feed’ them the Word of God; 'leading' them to obey the Word of God, and 'protecting' them from false teaching and godlessness by teaching them accurately the Word of God (Ezekiel 34:1-3; Psalm 23:1,2; John 10:9; 21:15,17; 1 Peter 5:2; Acts 20:28; Ephesians 4:11).
--
Stott, John. I believe in Preaching, Hodder and Stoughton, 1982. talkingpentecostalism.blogspot.com | joe towns: christian discussion on pentecost, charisma, pentecostal and charismatic beliefs, the Bible and Jesus; including the origin and history of pentecostalism, baptism in the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, gifts and miracles, divine healing and word of faith, prosperity and wealth, praise and worship, guidance and hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit.
In Pentecostal and charismatic churches around the world today, it would seem as if the spirit and life and growth of the Church was dependant on the quality of the music, not the preaching. But if preaching is important, it is the ability of a speaker to connect with his audience, or speak with relevance about real-to-life issues. The nature and function of 'leaders' in the Church has become just that; 'leadership'. The chief responsibility of leaders is to empower every-member ministry, so as to keep seats full. The Bible may get a mention, maybe even a look-up, but then again, sometimes not.
The church growth movement has spawned a growing trend, particularly within Pentecostal and charismatic circles, towards 'seeker sensitive' meetings, with the focus on attracting new comers. Dynamic and prolonged 'praise and worship' times feature strongly in meetings, followed by highly 'relevant', and at times entertaining, practical and 'down-to-earth' messages, aimed at kick-starting Christianity for new comers and 'charging up' the spiritual energy of regulars. The move away from Bible-teaching centred church meetings is extenuated.
Sadly, this trend portrays a deep ignorance in Pentecostalism and wider about how God is known and makes himself known to people. It comes from a conviction that God is known via 'encounters' in the experience of worship, and that this begins by coming to know him for the first time in the emotion of an initial encounter.
But what does the Bible have to day about all this? How has God revealed himself in the past, and how does he make himself known today, both individually, and in the Church?
The Revelation of God
God is light, says 1 John 1:5. He is open, and not secretive, and delights to make himself known. He wants to reveal himself to the people who are his creation, shining his light into people's darkness (2 Corinthians 4:4-6).
But more than that, God has acted. God has actually taken the initiative to reveal himself in deeds. He has shown his power and deity in his creative universe. He has given his redemptive plan in the Old Testament through Israel, and accomplished it in the New Testament through his most mighty act: the birth, death and resurrection of his Son, Jesus Christ.
But also in addition to his actions, God has spoken. He has actually communicated to his people by speech (Isaiah 40:5; 55:11; cf. Psalm 115:5). His self-revelation is not only in historical deeds, but through explanatory words, and the two are together. Even his ‘Word made flesh’ would remain vague had he not described it and interpreted him through his apostles.
God is light (and so wanting to be known), that God has acted (and thus made himself known), and that God has spoken (and thus explained his actions).
The Word of God
God has not only acted, and spoken, but the divine speech, recording and explaining the divine activity, has been committed to writing. Scripture is God’s Word written. God’s words through men’s words, spoken through human mouths and written through human hands; the Bible has both 100 per cent human and divine authorship (2 Timothy 3:16; cf. 2 Peter 3:16).
But the God who spoke centuries ago is not silent today. Scripture is not a museum of ancient documents in which the words of God a preserved. On the contrary, it is a living Word to living people from the living God; a contemporary message for a contemporary world. (Hebrews 4:12; e.g Hebrews 3:7). God still speaks through what he has spoken. That is, God speaks to us today through the Scriptures.
We must guard against two opposite errors in thinking: The first is that, though God spoke in ancient times, God is silent today. The second is the claim that God is indeed speaking today, but his Word has little if not nothing to do with Scripture. God has spoken, and God speaks, and it is through what he has spoken that he speaks. We must keep the Word and the Spirit together, for apart from the Spirit, the Word is dead, but apart from the Word, the Spirit is unknown.
But not only has God spoken, and continue to speak through what he has spoken, but when he speaks he acts. God’s Word is powerful. The Word does more than explain God’s actions, it is in itself active. God accomplishes his purpose by his Word (Isaiah 55:11; Hebrews 4:12). God’s Word is so different from ours, because in his Word his speech and actions are combined.
The Church of God
The universe was formed by God's Word and is sustained by it. So too, the Church is the creation of God by his Word, and as God’s ‘new creation’, it is as dependant upon his Word as his first creation (the universe). Not only has he brought it into being, but he maintains and sustains it, directs and sanctifies it, reforms and renews it through that same Word. The Word of God is the scepter by which Christ rules the Church and the food with which he nourishes it. That is, the Church lives by the Word of God in the Bible.
'The quality of preaching and the spirit and life of the church have advanced or declined together' (Stott, 1982). The spirit and life and growth of the Church is dependant on the quality of the teaching of God's word in the Church. The nature and function of 'ministry' in the Church is 'pastoral'. It is a ministry of the Word where the chief responsibility of pastors who ‘tend’ the sheep is to ‘feed’ them the Word of God; 'leading' them to obey the Word of God, and 'protecting' them from false teaching and godlessness by teaching them accurately the Word of God (Ezekiel 34:1-3; Psalm 23:1,2; John 10:9; 21:15,17; 1 Peter 5:2; Acts 20:28; Ephesians 4:11).
--
Stott, John. I believe in Preaching, Hodder and Stoughton, 1982. talkingpentecostalism.blogspot.com | joe towns: christian discussion on pentecost, charisma, pentecostal and charismatic beliefs, the Bible and Jesus; including the origin and history of pentecostalism, baptism in the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, gifts and miracles, divine healing and word of faith, prosperity and wealth, praise and worship, guidance and hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit.
Mark Strom: Jesus, not experiences or success
An extract from Mark Strom, The Symphony of Scripture, 2001.
Colossians: Jesus, not mysteries and experiences
No book of the Bible has influenced my own pilgrimage to comprehend the wonder of the gospel as profoundly as Paul's letter to the Colossians.
Some years ago I belonged to a particularly zealous group of Christians; we desired to follow the Lord closely and for him to use us significantly. But despite our motives, aspects of the group's teaching led us into murky waters. The “unusual” increasingly fascinated us; e.g the demonic and angelic, tales of unusual experiences and visions, and a deep commitment to immediate messages from God as being more authoritative than the Bible. Like other similar groups, we articulated obedience as the foundation of any true “deeper” or “higher” christian life. These emphases combined to reinforce other beliefs such as that a christian may lose salvation and/or become demon possessed through disobedience.
This teaching produced mixed results. While some were mature enough to take what was good and leave the rest, most of the group experienced the increasing influence of three false attitudes: (1) a sense of one-up-manship of having “arrived” as a christian—and corresponding disdain or pity for others who did not share our ideas; (2) a thirst for new revelation which took us further and further away from the gospel onto the thin ice of curious commands about each individual's future and rules concerning abstinence from various people, activities and substances; and (3) a (sometimes fearful) conviction that a christian is protected from evil and mishap only through praying certain prayers regularly and maintaining a high level of obedience.
Colossians was a personal letter for me. The names and details had changed, but the troublemakers at Colossae entertained the same superior and fearful commitment to revelations, visions, mysteries and laws as I had (see Colossians 2:16-23). Paul's answer for his friends (and for me and mine) was startlingly simple; the mystery of all mysteries was the (now public) good news of what Jesus did on the cross for his people (1:28-2:5). Moreover, Paul made it plain that maturity came through understanding this gospel better and better, not through laws, experiences and revelations. According to Paul, such rules always sound spiritual but they are totally ineffective and even anti-gospel since they lead people away from the central importance of Christ (2:19, 22-23).
2 Corinthians: Jesus, not strength and success
Christians throughout the western world have accepted the spirit of industrialization. We believe, along with the rest of our society, that bigger is better, that progress is the highest good for mankind, and that power, riches and success must always be preferred and honoured over frailty and vulnerability. Sadly, we reflect this spirit in our christian sub-cultures in such things as our commitment to denominations, church buildings, tyrannical and bureaucratic leadership, high profile and pressured evangelistic systems, and tertiary education as a prerequisite for ministry.
Some Christians go so far as to identify unbelief and disobedience as the root cause of all poverty, ill-health and failure. Consequently, many Christians who are sick, poor, depressed, emotionally disturbed or lacking in social skills feel that they must be “second rate”, “ineffectual” and “unspiritual” because of their difficulties.
The apostle Paul faced similar attitudes. His critics most likely gloated over this failures and sufferings and tried to undermine the value of this ministry to his friends (2 Corinthians 2:17-3:2; 5:12; 10:1-11:15). Like Job's acquaintances, these “false apostles” probably believed that weakness and suffering were the evidence of inferiority and even unbelief. Paul's response went to the heart; he rejoiced in his weaknesses for he chose to follow the way of Jesus, which is the way of the cross, and its apparent weakness and foolishness (4:7-18; 6:3-10; 11:21b-29; 12:7-10).
Live by grace, not by law
Why say all this?... I do so because I am convinced that the same mistakes pervade the christian scene today. Like the people of God through all ages we misunderstand and distort the relationship between what God has done (the “is”) and what we should do (the “ought”). In particular, this departure from the gospel shows its ugly head in... the search for a deeper, higher, more powerful and prosperous christian life...
And what of the search for a greater christian experience? Such teachings always confuse the “ought” and the “is”. For example, rather than remind people of the security we have in Christ's death and resurrection, some teach that victory is only ours through certain prayers and acts; rather than point to our full forgiveness in Christ, some urge us to calm our troubled consciences by embracing esoteric ideas about repentance and obedience; rather than remind us that the Spirit of God has come fully to point us to Christ, some teach that we must fill our minds with “deeper truths” and experience more of him. In every case, we pervert the gospel; we turn what Christ did for us into something that we must do for ourselves.
This extract is a word-for-word quote from Mark Strom, The Symphony of Scripture, p. 69-72, P&R Publishing Company, 2001. talkingpentecostalism.blogspot.com | joe towns: christian discussion on pentecost, charisma, pentecostal and charismatic beliefs, the Bible and Jesus; including the origin and history of pentecostalism, baptism in the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, gifts and miracles, divine healing and word of faith, prosperity and wealth, praise and worship, guidance and hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit.
Colossians: Jesus, not mysteries and experiences
No book of the Bible has influenced my own pilgrimage to comprehend the wonder of the gospel as profoundly as Paul's letter to the Colossians.
Some years ago I belonged to a particularly zealous group of Christians; we desired to follow the Lord closely and for him to use us significantly. But despite our motives, aspects of the group's teaching led us into murky waters. The “unusual” increasingly fascinated us; e.g the demonic and angelic, tales of unusual experiences and visions, and a deep commitment to immediate messages from God as being more authoritative than the Bible. Like other similar groups, we articulated obedience as the foundation of any true “deeper” or “higher” christian life. These emphases combined to reinforce other beliefs such as that a christian may lose salvation and/or become demon possessed through disobedience.
This teaching produced mixed results. While some were mature enough to take what was good and leave the rest, most of the group experienced the increasing influence of three false attitudes: (1) a sense of one-up-manship of having “arrived” as a christian—and corresponding disdain or pity for others who did not share our ideas; (2) a thirst for new revelation which took us further and further away from the gospel onto the thin ice of curious commands about each individual's future and rules concerning abstinence from various people, activities and substances; and (3) a (sometimes fearful) conviction that a christian is protected from evil and mishap only through praying certain prayers regularly and maintaining a high level of obedience.
Colossians was a personal letter for me. The names and details had changed, but the troublemakers at Colossae entertained the same superior and fearful commitment to revelations, visions, mysteries and laws as I had (see Colossians 2:16-23). Paul's answer for his friends (and for me and mine) was startlingly simple; the mystery of all mysteries was the (now public) good news of what Jesus did on the cross for his people (1:28-2:5). Moreover, Paul made it plain that maturity came through understanding this gospel better and better, not through laws, experiences and revelations. According to Paul, such rules always sound spiritual but they are totally ineffective and even anti-gospel since they lead people away from the central importance of Christ (2:19, 22-23).
2 Corinthians: Jesus, not strength and success
Christians throughout the western world have accepted the spirit of industrialization. We believe, along with the rest of our society, that bigger is better, that progress is the highest good for mankind, and that power, riches and success must always be preferred and honoured over frailty and vulnerability. Sadly, we reflect this spirit in our christian sub-cultures in such things as our commitment to denominations, church buildings, tyrannical and bureaucratic leadership, high profile and pressured evangelistic systems, and tertiary education as a prerequisite for ministry.
Some Christians go so far as to identify unbelief and disobedience as the root cause of all poverty, ill-health and failure. Consequently, many Christians who are sick, poor, depressed, emotionally disturbed or lacking in social skills feel that they must be “second rate”, “ineffectual” and “unspiritual” because of their difficulties.
The apostle Paul faced similar attitudes. His critics most likely gloated over this failures and sufferings and tried to undermine the value of this ministry to his friends (2 Corinthians 2:17-3:2; 5:12; 10:1-11:15). Like Job's acquaintances, these “false apostles” probably believed that weakness and suffering were the evidence of inferiority and even unbelief. Paul's response went to the heart; he rejoiced in his weaknesses for he chose to follow the way of Jesus, which is the way of the cross, and its apparent weakness and foolishness (4:7-18; 6:3-10; 11:21b-29; 12:7-10).
Live by grace, not by law
Why say all this?... I do so because I am convinced that the same mistakes pervade the christian scene today. Like the people of God through all ages we misunderstand and distort the relationship between what God has done (the “is”) and what we should do (the “ought”). In particular, this departure from the gospel shows its ugly head in... the search for a deeper, higher, more powerful and prosperous christian life...
And what of the search for a greater christian experience? Such teachings always confuse the “ought” and the “is”. For example, rather than remind people of the security we have in Christ's death and resurrection, some teach that victory is only ours through certain prayers and acts; rather than point to our full forgiveness in Christ, some urge us to calm our troubled consciences by embracing esoteric ideas about repentance and obedience; rather than remind us that the Spirit of God has come fully to point us to Christ, some teach that we must fill our minds with “deeper truths” and experience more of him. In every case, we pervert the gospel; we turn what Christ did for us into something that we must do for ourselves.
This extract is a word-for-word quote from Mark Strom, The Symphony of Scripture, p. 69-72, P&R Publishing Company, 2001. talkingpentecostalism.blogspot.com | joe towns: christian discussion on pentecost, charisma, pentecostal and charismatic beliefs, the Bible and Jesus; including the origin and history of pentecostalism, baptism in the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, gifts and miracles, divine healing and word of faith, prosperity and wealth, praise and worship, guidance and hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit.
Why we meet: The centrality of Preaching
Why should we preach at all? Pentecostal and charismatic churches today make 'worship' central to their meetings, and tack-on-the-end sermons have increasingly suffered from a shift in emphasis and purpose. They serve to 'charge up' Christian motivation, or sell a vision for the future direction of the church, or explain keys to successful Christian living--anything but the bold and accurate declaration of the message of God as written from Genesis to the Revelation of Jesus Christ.
The New Testament never gives 'worship' as a reason why Christians should gather together at all. But it does teach that Christians should meet together for edification and fellowship. We should meet to build one another up in faith and share in our common-union with Christ (Hebrews 10:24-25). But how do we build each other up as Christians? The answer highlights the importance of preaching within Christianity and our church meetings: it is through speaking God’s word to one another that we grow up into Christ (Ephesians 4:15).
Preaching as God's idea
Preaching is God’s idea. Preaching didn’t evolve out of history. It isn’t the idea or invention of people. It isn't something the church came up with as a contemporary means of communication. It actually was the plan that God had for the church. Preaching is completely characteristic of Christianity.
Jesus
Jesus used preaching as the central point to his ministry. The evangelists present Jesus as having been first and foremost an itinerant preacher (Mark 1:14). This was Jesus’ own understanding of his mission at that period (Luke 4:18). He acknowledged that the Spirit of God was on him to preach: “The Spirit of the sovereign Lord is on me because he has anointed me to preach good news.” During his life Jesus sent his apostles out to preach to Israel (Mark 3:14), and after his resurrection he solemnly commissioned them to preach the gospel to the nations (Matthew 28:19), and this is exactly what they did (Mark 16:20).
The Apostles
The apostles gave priority to the ministry of preaching (Acts 6:4), since it was to this that Jesus had primarily called them. It appears that reading the Scriptures at Christian gatherings (e.g. Colossians 4:16; 1 Thessalonians 5:27; 2 Thessalonians 3:14), followed by Bible exposition (Acts 20:7) was preserved as a custom in synagogues, and taken over and Christianized by the apostles (Acts 13:14-43). And the Apostles continued to pass on the baton to others. To start with, they were not the only ones that preached in the first century. Philip (Acts 8:5) and Barnabas (Acts 13:2, 5) are two famous examples. Paul passed his commission to preach on to Timothy (2 Timothy 4:1, 2). He also instructed Timothy to continue passing on this responsibility to teach God’s Word onto others (2 Timothy 2:1). The Apostles taught that preaching was God’s appointed way by which sinners would hear of the Savior and so call on him for salvation (1 Corinthans 1:17-21; 9:16; Romans 10:14,15).
Church history
Preaching and teaching God’s Word continued to be a predominant emphasis among the early church fathers, and using this as its means, in 3 centuries alone, the Church brought the Roman empire to its knees. And preaching has continued to be a predominant emphasis of the Church right down through all of Church history: 'Since the early Church era, the quality of preaching and the spirit and life of the church have advanced or declined together' (Stott, 1982).
What is preaching
To 'expound' the Scriptures is to bring out of the text what is there and expose it, rather than ‘imposition’, which is to impose on the text what is not there. But preaching is more than exposition, for otherwise preaching would not necessarily have any application to our contemporary lives. Preaching is more than communication. Preaching involves communication, however there is no other form of communication which resembles it and could replace it because each component is special, making this type of communication unique: the Preacher is a servant of God who speaks God's words, as God's word, to God's people, knowing that God himself is speaking through his words to his people.
The Bible itself uses a variety of images to illustrate what Christian preaching is. The commonest is the 'herald' (or 'town crier'), who has been given a message of good news to proclaim. Two of Paul’s most direct descriptions of his evangelistic preaching are “we herald Christ crucified” and “we herald... Jesus Christ as Lord” (1 Corinthains 1:23; 2 Corinthians 4:5; Isaiah 52:7).
Other metaphors the Bible gives to illustrate the role of a preacher of God’s Word are 'sower' (Luke 8:4-15), 'ambassador' (2 Corinthians 5:20; Ephesians 6:20), 'fellow worker' (2 Corinthians 6:1; 1 Corinthians 3:6-9), 'steward' or 'housekeeper' (1 Corinthians 4:1-2; 1Tim 3:4-5; Tit 1:7), 'pastor' or 'shepherd' (John 21:15; Acts 20:28-31; Cf. Ezekiel 34), and 'workman' (2 Timothy 2:15).
The preacher goes out into the world, like a farmer into his fields, spreading the precious seed of God’s Word, praying that some of it will fall into well-prepared soil and in time bear good fruit. The preacher has been commissioned to serve as an envoy in a foreign–even hostile–world. He has the responsibility of representing the sovereign Government he represents, whose cause he is proud to plead. The preacher is partnering with God in the work of God. He is a co-worker: He has a role to play, and God has a role to play, and together the job will get done. The preacher is privileged to have been put in charge of God’s household and entrusted with the provision they need: God’s revealed secrets. He is expected above all to be faithful in dispensing them to God’s family. The preacher is an under-shepherd of the Chief Shepherd, to whom he has delegated the care of his flock and who he has charged to protect them from wolves (false teachers) and lead them to good pasture (sound teaching). The kind of preacher who is approved in God’s sight is the workman who is skilful in his treatment of the word of truth. He correctly handles the Bible.
Contemporary objections
Preaching in our contemporary age has its challenges. Society has for decades now seen preaching as a ‘dying art’, an outmoded form of communication, a ‘relic from the past’. The 'anti-authority' culture that seeks ‘true freedom’ sees preaching as a symbol of the authority that it rejects. People have their own opinions and convictions, which they at the very least consider to be equally valid to the preacher's; a preacher has no right to lay down his message as 'law' on another, or frame his message in absolute terms as 'truth', let alone assume to speak as one with the 'words of God'.
The Scriptures teach that fallen mankind can only find fulfillment in the context of authority. Unlimited freedom is an illusion. The mind is free only under the authority of the truth, and the will under the authority of righteousness. We believe not what we have invented but what God has revealed. This gives us authority. Preachers are trustees of divine revelation (1 Corinthians 4:1). A sermon by very nature is a revelation, not an exhortation. The Word of God is the authority. The authority with which we preach is inherent neither in us as individuals, nor primarily in our office as a preacher, nor even in the church whose members and accredited pastors we may be, but supremely in the Word of God which we expound. But it is not enough for us to make pronouncements of authority. Preachers need to argue the reasonableness and demonstrate the relevance of God's word. When a message 'rings true' and is seen to relate correctly with human reality, it carries its own authority, and authenticates itself.
The contemporary loss of confidence in the gospel is the most basic of all hindrances to preaching. To preach is to publicly proclaim a message, while to ‘evangelize’ is to spread the good news. Both presuppose that we have been given something to say. Without a clear and confident message preaching is impossible. Yet it is precisely this that Pentecostalism increasingly lacks. Much charismatic preaching today is ‘speaking’ not preaching: encouraging motivation, explaining practical insights, proclaiming speculations, giving opinions, expounding views, declaring the preacher's beliefs.
Preaching as essential
Preaching is a distinguishing feature of Christianity. It is essential to Christianity; it is a necessary and authentic part of it. Christianity is a religion of the Word of God. It revolves around the fact that God has revealed himself by his own initiative to fallen humanity, and his self revelation is given to us in the most straightforward means of communication known to people--by words. God spoke through the prophets and instructed them to convey his message to Israel by speech and writing. Supremely, he has spoken in his Son, who is his "Word made flesh", whether directly or through his apostles. God's word comes to us by the Holy Spirit, who bears witness to Christ and to the Scriptures, and who enables us to accept it as God's Word.
It is God’s speech that makes our speech necessary. Those who have heard and believed God’s Word are to speak it to others. We must speak what he has spoken - this is the Christian obligation to preach.
Needed: A recovery of preaching
What is needed within Pentecostalism is a recovery of conviction in the essence and importance of preaching. Pentecostals need to regain confidence in the truth, relevance and power of the message of the Bible--the gospel. Preaching is not motivational speaking, it is not the proclamation of new ideas, or the discussion of key issues. Preaching is the declaration of the Word, the truth as it has been revealed in the Bible.
--
Stott, John. I believe in Preaching, Hodder and Stoughton, 1982. talkingpentecostalism.blogspot.com | joe towns: christian discussion on pentecost, charisma, pentecostal and charismatic beliefs, the Bible and Jesus; including the origin and history of pentecostalism, baptism in the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, gifts and miracles, divine healing and word of faith, prosperity and wealth, praise and worship, guidance and hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit.
The New Testament never gives 'worship' as a reason why Christians should gather together at all. But it does teach that Christians should meet together for edification and fellowship. We should meet to build one another up in faith and share in our common-union with Christ (Hebrews 10:24-25). But how do we build each other up as Christians? The answer highlights the importance of preaching within Christianity and our church meetings: it is through speaking God’s word to one another that we grow up into Christ (Ephesians 4:15).
Preaching as God's idea
Preaching is God’s idea. Preaching didn’t evolve out of history. It isn’t the idea or invention of people. It isn't something the church came up with as a contemporary means of communication. It actually was the plan that God had for the church. Preaching is completely characteristic of Christianity.
Jesus
Jesus used preaching as the central point to his ministry. The evangelists present Jesus as having been first and foremost an itinerant preacher (Mark 1:14). This was Jesus’ own understanding of his mission at that period (Luke 4:18). He acknowledged that the Spirit of God was on him to preach: “The Spirit of the sovereign Lord is on me because he has anointed me to preach good news.” During his life Jesus sent his apostles out to preach to Israel (Mark 3:14), and after his resurrection he solemnly commissioned them to preach the gospel to the nations (Matthew 28:19), and this is exactly what they did (Mark 16:20).
The Apostles
The apostles gave priority to the ministry of preaching (Acts 6:4), since it was to this that Jesus had primarily called them. It appears that reading the Scriptures at Christian gatherings (e.g. Colossians 4:16; 1 Thessalonians 5:27; 2 Thessalonians 3:14), followed by Bible exposition (Acts 20:7) was preserved as a custom in synagogues, and taken over and Christianized by the apostles (Acts 13:14-43). And the Apostles continued to pass on the baton to others. To start with, they were not the only ones that preached in the first century. Philip (Acts 8:5) and Barnabas (Acts 13:2, 5) are two famous examples. Paul passed his commission to preach on to Timothy (2 Timothy 4:1, 2). He also instructed Timothy to continue passing on this responsibility to teach God’s Word onto others (2 Timothy 2:1). The Apostles taught that preaching was God’s appointed way by which sinners would hear of the Savior and so call on him for salvation (1 Corinthans 1:17-21; 9:16; Romans 10:14,15).
Church history
Preaching and teaching God’s Word continued to be a predominant emphasis among the early church fathers, and using this as its means, in 3 centuries alone, the Church brought the Roman empire to its knees. And preaching has continued to be a predominant emphasis of the Church right down through all of Church history: 'Since the early Church era, the quality of preaching and the spirit and life of the church have advanced or declined together' (Stott, 1982).
What is preaching
To 'expound' the Scriptures is to bring out of the text what is there and expose it, rather than ‘imposition’, which is to impose on the text what is not there. But preaching is more than exposition, for otherwise preaching would not necessarily have any application to our contemporary lives. Preaching is more than communication. Preaching involves communication, however there is no other form of communication which resembles it and could replace it because each component is special, making this type of communication unique: the Preacher is a servant of God who speaks God's words, as God's word, to God's people, knowing that God himself is speaking through his words to his people.
The Bible itself uses a variety of images to illustrate what Christian preaching is. The commonest is the 'herald' (or 'town crier'), who has been given a message of good news to proclaim. Two of Paul’s most direct descriptions of his evangelistic preaching are “we herald Christ crucified” and “we herald... Jesus Christ as Lord” (1 Corinthains 1:23; 2 Corinthians 4:5; Isaiah 52:7).
Other metaphors the Bible gives to illustrate the role of a preacher of God’s Word are 'sower' (Luke 8:4-15), 'ambassador' (2 Corinthians 5:20; Ephesians 6:20), 'fellow worker' (2 Corinthians 6:1; 1 Corinthians 3:6-9), 'steward' or 'housekeeper' (1 Corinthians 4:1-2; 1Tim 3:4-5; Tit 1:7), 'pastor' or 'shepherd' (John 21:15; Acts 20:28-31; Cf. Ezekiel 34), and 'workman' (2 Timothy 2:15).
The preacher goes out into the world, like a farmer into his fields, spreading the precious seed of God’s Word, praying that some of it will fall into well-prepared soil and in time bear good fruit. The preacher has been commissioned to serve as an envoy in a foreign–even hostile–world. He has the responsibility of representing the sovereign Government he represents, whose cause he is proud to plead. The preacher is partnering with God in the work of God. He is a co-worker: He has a role to play, and God has a role to play, and together the job will get done. The preacher is privileged to have been put in charge of God’s household and entrusted with the provision they need: God’s revealed secrets. He is expected above all to be faithful in dispensing them to God’s family. The preacher is an under-shepherd of the Chief Shepherd, to whom he has delegated the care of his flock and who he has charged to protect them from wolves (false teachers) and lead them to good pasture (sound teaching). The kind of preacher who is approved in God’s sight is the workman who is skilful in his treatment of the word of truth. He correctly handles the Bible.
Contemporary objections
Preaching in our contemporary age has its challenges. Society has for decades now seen preaching as a ‘dying art’, an outmoded form of communication, a ‘relic from the past’. The 'anti-authority' culture that seeks ‘true freedom’ sees preaching as a symbol of the authority that it rejects. People have their own opinions and convictions, which they at the very least consider to be equally valid to the preacher's; a preacher has no right to lay down his message as 'law' on another, or frame his message in absolute terms as 'truth', let alone assume to speak as one with the 'words of God'.
The Scriptures teach that fallen mankind can only find fulfillment in the context of authority. Unlimited freedom is an illusion. The mind is free only under the authority of the truth, and the will under the authority of righteousness. We believe not what we have invented but what God has revealed. This gives us authority. Preachers are trustees of divine revelation (1 Corinthians 4:1). A sermon by very nature is a revelation, not an exhortation. The Word of God is the authority. The authority with which we preach is inherent neither in us as individuals, nor primarily in our office as a preacher, nor even in the church whose members and accredited pastors we may be, but supremely in the Word of God which we expound. But it is not enough for us to make pronouncements of authority. Preachers need to argue the reasonableness and demonstrate the relevance of God's word. When a message 'rings true' and is seen to relate correctly with human reality, it carries its own authority, and authenticates itself.
The contemporary loss of confidence in the gospel is the most basic of all hindrances to preaching. To preach is to publicly proclaim a message, while to ‘evangelize’ is to spread the good news. Both presuppose that we have been given something to say. Without a clear and confident message preaching is impossible. Yet it is precisely this that Pentecostalism increasingly lacks. Much charismatic preaching today is ‘speaking’ not preaching: encouraging motivation, explaining practical insights, proclaiming speculations, giving opinions, expounding views, declaring the preacher's beliefs.
Preaching as essential
Preaching is a distinguishing feature of Christianity. It is essential to Christianity; it is a necessary and authentic part of it. Christianity is a religion of the Word of God. It revolves around the fact that God has revealed himself by his own initiative to fallen humanity, and his self revelation is given to us in the most straightforward means of communication known to people--by words. God spoke through the prophets and instructed them to convey his message to Israel by speech and writing. Supremely, he has spoken in his Son, who is his "Word made flesh", whether directly or through his apostles. God's word comes to us by the Holy Spirit, who bears witness to Christ and to the Scriptures, and who enables us to accept it as God's Word.
It is God’s speech that makes our speech necessary. Those who have heard and believed God’s Word are to speak it to others. We must speak what he has spoken - this is the Christian obligation to preach.
Needed: A recovery of preaching
What is needed within Pentecostalism is a recovery of conviction in the essence and importance of preaching. Pentecostals need to regain confidence in the truth, relevance and power of the message of the Bible--the gospel. Preaching is not motivational speaking, it is not the proclamation of new ideas, or the discussion of key issues. Preaching is the declaration of the Word, the truth as it has been revealed in the Bible.
--
Stott, John. I believe in Preaching, Hodder and Stoughton, 1982. talkingpentecostalism.blogspot.com | joe towns: christian discussion on pentecost, charisma, pentecostal and charismatic beliefs, the Bible and Jesus; including the origin and history of pentecostalism, baptism in the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, gifts and miracles, divine healing and word of faith, prosperity and wealth, praise and worship, guidance and hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit.
Experiencing God’s guidance
God’s promised guidance
God guided his people under the Old Covenant into the inheritance he had prepared for them. Psalm 78:51-55 shows the LORD, after redeeming Israel, leading them into his promised land of Canaan with the loving guidance of a shepherd. But although the LORD destroyed the house of Israel for their sin and exiled Judah from their paradise – the land flowing with milk and honey – the prophets foretold that when the Christ came, bringing salvation, restoration and deliverance, he would have compassion on God's people and once again guide them, leading them into a new paradise (Isaiah 49:8-10). And so Jesus came, declaring “I am the good shepherd” (John 10:11-16); “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish...” (John 10:27-28). The new promised paradise into which our Lord guides his people – Christians – is the eternal life of knowing his Father (John 17:3).
Just as Moses led Israel our of Egypt, through the sea and through the desert, until they came into their promised inheritance of Canaan, the New Testament teaches that through Christ in the scriptures God does guide every Christian into the inheritance he has promised them. “In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.” (Hebrews 1:1-2) God has spoken to us in the person of Jesus, and through the Scriptures the Holy Spirit continues to guide us into God's love, Christ likeness and Heaven's glory. God’s will is to bring all things under Christ’s authority (Ephesians 1:10) and make us more like Christ; this is our destiny; this is God's plan for our lives (Romans 8:29, 2 Peter 1:3, 1 Thessalonians 4:3, 2 Timothy 3:17, Ephesians 2:10).
Experiences, external and internal
External experiences – circumstances and events – are ambiguous without objective revelation. We cannot know for sure, in advance, what God’s specific will is in external events. External events are dumb; they do not speak to us. An event itself will not tell me God’s will. God gave Satan permission to test Job’s faith (Job 1:6-12). The book gives the reader the actual will of God behind the events, but Job and those present at the time did not have this revealed to them. In Job 1:20 we see that Job trusted God even while he didn’t know what was going on. In Job 8:1-6 we see that Bildad interpreted the events falsely. Without what we have in the Scriptures, they were in the dark. God sent Assyria as a tool for judgement against Israel, in Isaiah 10:5. But in Isaiah 10:7 we see that Assyria had no idea that this was God’s purpose. They were just war mongering. A crowd with Jesus made a false conclusion about a man’s sickness. They thought the reason was sin. But Jesus declares that God’s own purpose was very different (John 9:1-3).
Internal events – inner promptings, urges, convictions, dreams – are also unreliable. It is not doubted that God can speak to us through external and internal experiences. But he does not promise to do so. Therefore, Christians should not expect the voice of the Spirit to come through circumstances, events, inner promptings, urges, convictions or dreams. These things are not normative, but subjective, and as such untrustworthy means of knowing God's will. However, we can trust the Scriptures. The Apostle Peter declared that the word of the prophets is surer than even his own eye witness experience (2 Peter 1:19). The only promise we have is that God has spoken to us through Jesus (Hebrews 1:1-3). We don’t need to wait for this; we can simply read the Bible. Countless Christians have wasted countless hours praying for God to speak to them through other unreliable means, but he has already spoken to us a word that is sure and unchangeable. We should instead be students of the Bible, which is an objective revelation, and his reliable word.
Beyond the subjective
What should we to do with experiences and feelings? We should trust in God’s sovereign goodness, and not the situation. God sovereignly (and invisibly) directs everything behind the scenes for the good of Christians. He uses every situation to steer us towards Christ likeness. We should also learn of God’s moral will as revealed in Scripture. God has given us moral guidance in Scripture. We can consciously cooperate with his will revealed in the Bible. We can take actions that we know God wants us to take. We need to learn from the Scripture what God has already said to us all, and let this interpret our experience, rather than the other way around.
We should enjoy your freedom of choice regarding non-moral decisions. We don’t need to be concerned to discover God’s specific individual will for our lives, through interpreting our external and internal experiences. The first problem with this (apart from its subjectivity and ambiguity) is that it leads to frustration. Everybody will inevitably fail to follow any perceived path perfectly. We will sin and therefore step outside our expected ‘Plan A’. This leads to feelings of guilt and spiritual inadequacy. A second problem is that this understanding diminishes God’s power. Cannot God still accomplish his perfect work in your life despite your failings, bad decisions and sin. The Scriptures indicate that this is in fact what He is always doing. Therefore, regarding non-moral details we have freedom to choose from many options. As long as we make sure to live like Jesus, we don’t have to be scared about missing his plan. We are not pre-planned robots with an exact path to follow at every point. We have the dignity to be able to think and do, as we will in God’s good creation, trusting that the outcome will always be for our good under God’s sovereign providence.
We should therefore focus on the big picture and leave God to order the minute details. This is not being flippant, but enjoying our freedom. God does have a specific will for everything, but he has never promised that we will know this. It’s his secret until it happens. We can’t therefore be sure that we will know his specific will in advance (although you can in hindsight, for whatever happens is his specific will). Although we can step outside his moral will as revealed in Scripture, we can never move outside his sovereign will behind all things. “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever!” (Romans 11:36)
--
Adapted from a sermon given by Scott Warner to Mars Hill Anglican Church, NSW, 2004. talkingpentecostalism.blogspot.com | joe towns: christian discussion on pentecost, charisma, pentecostal and charismatic beliefs, the Bible and Jesus; including the origin and history of pentecostalism, baptism in the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, gifts and miracles, divine healing and word of faith, prosperity and wealth, praise and worship, guidance and hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit.
God guided his people under the Old Covenant into the inheritance he had prepared for them. Psalm 78:51-55 shows the LORD, after redeeming Israel, leading them into his promised land of Canaan with the loving guidance of a shepherd. But although the LORD destroyed the house of Israel for their sin and exiled Judah from their paradise – the land flowing with milk and honey – the prophets foretold that when the Christ came, bringing salvation, restoration and deliverance, he would have compassion on God's people and once again guide them, leading them into a new paradise (Isaiah 49:8-10). And so Jesus came, declaring “I am the good shepherd” (John 10:11-16); “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish...” (John 10:27-28). The new promised paradise into which our Lord guides his people – Christians – is the eternal life of knowing his Father (John 17:3).
Just as Moses led Israel our of Egypt, through the sea and through the desert, until they came into their promised inheritance of Canaan, the New Testament teaches that through Christ in the scriptures God does guide every Christian into the inheritance he has promised them. “In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.” (Hebrews 1:1-2) God has spoken to us in the person of Jesus, and through the Scriptures the Holy Spirit continues to guide us into God's love, Christ likeness and Heaven's glory. God’s will is to bring all things under Christ’s authority (Ephesians 1:10) and make us more like Christ; this is our destiny; this is God's plan for our lives (Romans 8:29, 2 Peter 1:3, 1 Thessalonians 4:3, 2 Timothy 3:17, Ephesians 2:10).
Experiences, external and internal
External experiences – circumstances and events – are ambiguous without objective revelation. We cannot know for sure, in advance, what God’s specific will is in external events. External events are dumb; they do not speak to us. An event itself will not tell me God’s will. God gave Satan permission to test Job’s faith (Job 1:6-12). The book gives the reader the actual will of God behind the events, but Job and those present at the time did not have this revealed to them. In Job 1:20 we see that Job trusted God even while he didn’t know what was going on. In Job 8:1-6 we see that Bildad interpreted the events falsely. Without what we have in the Scriptures, they were in the dark. God sent Assyria as a tool for judgement against Israel, in Isaiah 10:5. But in Isaiah 10:7 we see that Assyria had no idea that this was God’s purpose. They were just war mongering. A crowd with Jesus made a false conclusion about a man’s sickness. They thought the reason was sin. But Jesus declares that God’s own purpose was very different (John 9:1-3).
Internal events – inner promptings, urges, convictions, dreams – are also unreliable. It is not doubted that God can speak to us through external and internal experiences. But he does not promise to do so. Therefore, Christians should not expect the voice of the Spirit to come through circumstances, events, inner promptings, urges, convictions or dreams. These things are not normative, but subjective, and as such untrustworthy means of knowing God's will. However, we can trust the Scriptures. The Apostle Peter declared that the word of the prophets is surer than even his own eye witness experience (2 Peter 1:19). The only promise we have is that God has spoken to us through Jesus (Hebrews 1:1-3). We don’t need to wait for this; we can simply read the Bible. Countless Christians have wasted countless hours praying for God to speak to them through other unreliable means, but he has already spoken to us a word that is sure and unchangeable. We should instead be students of the Bible, which is an objective revelation, and his reliable word.
Beyond the subjective
What should we to do with experiences and feelings? We should trust in God’s sovereign goodness, and not the situation. God sovereignly (and invisibly) directs everything behind the scenes for the good of Christians. He uses every situation to steer us towards Christ likeness. We should also learn of God’s moral will as revealed in Scripture. God has given us moral guidance in Scripture. We can consciously cooperate with his will revealed in the Bible. We can take actions that we know God wants us to take. We need to learn from the Scripture what God has already said to us all, and let this interpret our experience, rather than the other way around.
We should enjoy your freedom of choice regarding non-moral decisions. We don’t need to be concerned to discover God’s specific individual will for our lives, through interpreting our external and internal experiences. The first problem with this (apart from its subjectivity and ambiguity) is that it leads to frustration. Everybody will inevitably fail to follow any perceived path perfectly. We will sin and therefore step outside our expected ‘Plan A’. This leads to feelings of guilt and spiritual inadequacy. A second problem is that this understanding diminishes God’s power. Cannot God still accomplish his perfect work in your life despite your failings, bad decisions and sin. The Scriptures indicate that this is in fact what He is always doing. Therefore, regarding non-moral details we have freedom to choose from many options. As long as we make sure to live like Jesus, we don’t have to be scared about missing his plan. We are not pre-planned robots with an exact path to follow at every point. We have the dignity to be able to think and do, as we will in God’s good creation, trusting that the outcome will always be for our good under God’s sovereign providence.
We should therefore focus on the big picture and leave God to order the minute details. This is not being flippant, but enjoying our freedom. God does have a specific will for everything, but he has never promised that we will know this. It’s his secret until it happens. We can’t therefore be sure that we will know his specific will in advance (although you can in hindsight, for whatever happens is his specific will). Although we can step outside his moral will as revealed in Scripture, we can never move outside his sovereign will behind all things. “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever!” (Romans 11:36)
--
Adapted from a sermon given by Scott Warner to Mars Hill Anglican Church, NSW, 2004. talkingpentecostalism.blogspot.com | joe towns: christian discussion on pentecost, charisma, pentecostal and charismatic beliefs, the Bible and Jesus; including the origin and history of pentecostalism, baptism in the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, gifts and miracles, divine healing and word of faith, prosperity and wealth, praise and worship, guidance and hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit.
The guidance of the Spirit: What Pentecostals believe
According to Pentecostalism, God 'calls' every Christian to consciously walk in a God-given 'destiny' for their lives – God's 'plan A' for each of us. Fulfillment of God's plan for our lives depends on our level of cooperation with the specific guidance provided by God. Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD , "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Pentecostals teach that according to this verse and others, God's destiny for our present lives always involves prosperity and successful living, for his glory. This is generally true for all Christians, but 'destiny-teaching' gets downs to the specifics of our individual 'calling' and God's unique plan for our lives.
Destiny
During the 1990s a strong emphasis on Christian 'destiny' spread from America to Australia and has had widespread influence within Pentecostal and charismatic circles ever since. ‘Destiny’ is God’s specific plan for a Christian now, in this life. ‘Calling’ relates to the specific tasks and gifts that God has ‘placed upon’ our lives. God’s 'will’ encompasses all of his desires for our lives, including the specific details of our destiny, such as what job I should take. For example, God’s destiny on my life might include his will that I marry a certain person, sell a certain property, move to a certain country, and fulfill my calling to become a missionary.
God's ‘general’ will is relevant to all Christians, but it is his ‘special’ will that relates to the destiny of each individual. He has revealed his ‘general' will universally (to all) in the Bible, which primarily concerns our salvation and godliness. But God’s ‘special' will is not found in the Bible because it relates to his specific plans for each individual’s life – not minute details such as what colour socks I should wear on a given day, but the decisions that will effect the 'direction' of my life; that is, that will effect whether or not I am on course to 'achieve' my destiny. God's ‘special will’, like his ‘general will’, is perfect; the destiny that God has on my life is his ‘perfect will’ for my life – it is the very ‘best’ the God has for me.
Guidance
Considerable focus is given within the Pentecostalism and charismatic movements to help Christians find out their ‘calling’ in life. This comes from understanding how the Spirit 'guides' Christians. A whole new school of teaching has emerged aimed at training Christians with the know-how to find their destiny, and of critical importance is the skill of ‘hearing the Spirit’s voice’, discerning ‘God’s will for you’, and understanding the Spirit's guidance. Following the guidance of the Spirit is the way by which Christians should walk in the destiny that God has for them individually. It is by cooperating with the Spirit’s ‘leading’ as we make the specific decisions of our lives that we 'achieve' our destiny. Consequence, according to Pentecostalism, those who do not follow the Spirit’s guidance adequately – whether deliberately or not – miss out on God’s very best for them; they settle for a second rate life and miss out on the ‘perfect will of God’ for their lives.
The voice of the Spirit
God guides Christians by the voice of the Holy Spirit. The methods used by the Spirit to speak to Christians are varied, though his (inner) 'still-small-voice' is the primary means by which he leads willing and listening Christians to make the life critical decisions in the present that ensure that their futures accord with God's will and perfect plan for them.
God’s guidance through the Bible remains foundational, since the basic areas of living that are common to all Christians through the ages have been applied within the teaching and examples found in the New and Old Testaments. Also, since God has given Christians a ‘renewed’ mind, God expects them to use their common sense in matters of basic reasoning.
There are however multiple other ways by which God regularly attempts to guides Christians to make the right specific decisions that are crucial to them fulfilling their destiny. Christians should rely on God to use any set of several methods available to him to guide them, including provision of spiritual experiences, direct 'words’, prophecy, fresh 'revelation', visions or dreams. Christians may hear the inner voice of the Spirit speaking to them while in prayer or while meditating on God’s word. ‘Waiting on God’ while ‘listening’ for the Spirit’s voice is important – his voice coming in the form of internal promptings. He supplies confirmation of what we understand to be his will by giving us a feeling of ‘inner peace’. God also provides 'signs', and Christians should ask God to give them and watch for his direction. Finally, it is always wise that Christians seek ‘godly counsel’, that will confirm what the Spirit has said through his other means.
How it is that God speaks to the Christian is variegated, but that he will speak through the means he uses is certain. Christians need to constantly be attuned to his voice in order to hear the guidance he is always giving. Fulfilling our destiny in God will always depend on our faith; we will always need to ‘step out’ in confidence in the Spirit’s guidance. The aim of the Christian should be to continually depend on and follow the Spirit’s guidance for their lives; we should constantly ‘walk by the Spirit’; ‘live in the Spirit’ and ‘keep in step with the Spirit’. talkingpentecostalism.blogspot.com | joe towns: christian discussion on pentecost, charisma, pentecostal and charismatic beliefs, the Bible and Jesus; including the origin and history of pentecostalism, baptism in the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, gifts and miracles, divine healing and word of faith, prosperity and wealth, praise and worship, guidance and hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit.
Destiny
During the 1990s a strong emphasis on Christian 'destiny' spread from America to Australia and has had widespread influence within Pentecostal and charismatic circles ever since. ‘Destiny’ is God’s specific plan for a Christian now, in this life. ‘Calling’ relates to the specific tasks and gifts that God has ‘placed upon’ our lives. God’s 'will’ encompasses all of his desires for our lives, including the specific details of our destiny, such as what job I should take. For example, God’s destiny on my life might include his will that I marry a certain person, sell a certain property, move to a certain country, and fulfill my calling to become a missionary.
God's ‘general’ will is relevant to all Christians, but it is his ‘special’ will that relates to the destiny of each individual. He has revealed his ‘general' will universally (to all) in the Bible, which primarily concerns our salvation and godliness. But God’s ‘special' will is not found in the Bible because it relates to his specific plans for each individual’s life – not minute details such as what colour socks I should wear on a given day, but the decisions that will effect the 'direction' of my life; that is, that will effect whether or not I am on course to 'achieve' my destiny. God's ‘special will’, like his ‘general will’, is perfect; the destiny that God has on my life is his ‘perfect will’ for my life – it is the very ‘best’ the God has for me.
Guidance
Considerable focus is given within the Pentecostalism and charismatic movements to help Christians find out their ‘calling’ in life. This comes from understanding how the Spirit 'guides' Christians. A whole new school of teaching has emerged aimed at training Christians with the know-how to find their destiny, and of critical importance is the skill of ‘hearing the Spirit’s voice’, discerning ‘God’s will for you’, and understanding the Spirit's guidance. Following the guidance of the Spirit is the way by which Christians should walk in the destiny that God has for them individually. It is by cooperating with the Spirit’s ‘leading’ as we make the specific decisions of our lives that we 'achieve' our destiny. Consequence, according to Pentecostalism, those who do not follow the Spirit’s guidance adequately – whether deliberately or not – miss out on God’s very best for them; they settle for a second rate life and miss out on the ‘perfect will of God’ for their lives.
The voice of the Spirit
God guides Christians by the voice of the Holy Spirit. The methods used by the Spirit to speak to Christians are varied, though his (inner) 'still-small-voice' is the primary means by which he leads willing and listening Christians to make the life critical decisions in the present that ensure that their futures accord with God's will and perfect plan for them.
God’s guidance through the Bible remains foundational, since the basic areas of living that are common to all Christians through the ages have been applied within the teaching and examples found in the New and Old Testaments. Also, since God has given Christians a ‘renewed’ mind, God expects them to use their common sense in matters of basic reasoning.
There are however multiple other ways by which God regularly attempts to guides Christians to make the right specific decisions that are crucial to them fulfilling their destiny. Christians should rely on God to use any set of several methods available to him to guide them, including provision of spiritual experiences, direct 'words’, prophecy, fresh 'revelation', visions or dreams. Christians may hear the inner voice of the Spirit speaking to them while in prayer or while meditating on God’s word. ‘Waiting on God’ while ‘listening’ for the Spirit’s voice is important – his voice coming in the form of internal promptings. He supplies confirmation of what we understand to be his will by giving us a feeling of ‘inner peace’. God also provides 'signs', and Christians should ask God to give them and watch for his direction. Finally, it is always wise that Christians seek ‘godly counsel’, that will confirm what the Spirit has said through his other means.
How it is that God speaks to the Christian is variegated, but that he will speak through the means he uses is certain. Christians need to constantly be attuned to his voice in order to hear the guidance he is always giving. Fulfilling our destiny in God will always depend on our faith; we will always need to ‘step out’ in confidence in the Spirit’s guidance. The aim of the Christian should be to continually depend on and follow the Spirit’s guidance for their lives; we should constantly ‘walk by the Spirit’; ‘live in the Spirit’ and ‘keep in step with the Spirit’. talkingpentecostalism.blogspot.com | joe towns: christian discussion on pentecost, charisma, pentecostal and charismatic beliefs, the Bible and Jesus; including the origin and history of pentecostalism, baptism in the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, gifts and miracles, divine healing and word of faith, prosperity and wealth, praise and worship, guidance and hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit.
Pentecostal worship: What's at Stake
The strong emphasis of the praise and worship movement has been prolonged, and is set to continue. When it comes to 'worship', there is more at stake than just a confusion of terms.
The gospel
Whole sections of Christianity around the globe have experienced a blurring of the gospel itself. The worship movement distracts Christians from the vital and assuring truth of Christ as the perfect worshiper of God on their behalf who has permanently secured for them their intimacy with God. The consequence is that Christians are robbed of their assurance.
Christian living
The Pentecostal and charismatic movement's view of and emphasis on worship confuses the nature of the Christian life which is to chiefly involve worship in the New Testament sense: a continual faith response to God of holy living, obedience and generous service from a heart of thanksgiving to Christ. Instead, the Pentecostal movement has many Christians thinking that their weekly lives hinge on spending quantified time each day speaking in 'tongues' (ecstatic or simply unintelligable vocalisations). The praise and worship movement also has many Christians focusing their daily efforts on momentary connections with the emotion of their relationship with God, helped on by a whole genre and industry of praise and worship music cds. Their weekend life similarly revolves around the climax of their corporate public worship events.
The result of this emphasis is that church meetings and private encounters with God are seen to be the place where God’s blessing is received, even the necessary place. This was intrinsically clear when Hillsong's music proclaimed that God’s blessings were found ‘in this place’ and ‘in the secret place’ where God is. In other words, a special blessing is found in God's special presence (which is personal and intimate). And God's special presence is 'entered' via ‘worship’.
In this movement, the event or activity of ‘worship’ has become the mediator of God’s blessings to his people. Since ‘worship’ is understood within the movements as the way or means by which we approach God, then the error of the Charismatic and Pentecostal movement is that it makes an event or activity the mediator of Christian's approach to God.
To do this is to rebuild the earthly tent: the worship movement reintroduces the Old Testament model of human mediation in relating to God, and an unauthorised one at that. It indirectly teaches that what is needed when coming to God is the gospel plus a human element. And so in this emphasis on ‘praise and worship’ the Charismatic and Pentecostal movements have let go of the absolute sufficiency of what Christ has done for us through his death and resurrection. This is offering an alternative gospel, because it offers a different way of drawing near to God, other than through faith in Christ alone.
Christian growth
The praise and worship movement has distracted generations of Christians within the Charismatic and Pentecostal movement from the God-given task of ‘edification’ and ‘fellowship’. Our shared responsibility is to build one another up in faith and join together with others in true Christian communion. But charismaticism has the tendency to promote a self-absorbing culture because Christians are overly focused on building themselves up in their individual journey to achieve fullness in God. The unfortunate result is that Christians – who lack the teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness that comes from the Scriptures (2 Tim 3:16) – are left lacking in good works, and consequently left spiritually immature in Christ. talkingpentecostalism.blogspot.com | joe towns: christian discussion on pentecost, charisma, pentecostal and charismatic beliefs, the Bible and Jesus; including the origin and history of pentecostalism, baptism in the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, gifts and miracles, divine healing and word of faith, prosperity and wealth, praise and worship, guidance and hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit.
The gospel
Whole sections of Christianity around the globe have experienced a blurring of the gospel itself. The worship movement distracts Christians from the vital and assuring truth of Christ as the perfect worshiper of God on their behalf who has permanently secured for them their intimacy with God. The consequence is that Christians are robbed of their assurance.
Christian living
The Pentecostal and charismatic movement's view of and emphasis on worship confuses the nature of the Christian life which is to chiefly involve worship in the New Testament sense: a continual faith response to God of holy living, obedience and generous service from a heart of thanksgiving to Christ. Instead, the Pentecostal movement has many Christians thinking that their weekly lives hinge on spending quantified time each day speaking in 'tongues' (ecstatic or simply unintelligable vocalisations). The praise and worship movement also has many Christians focusing their daily efforts on momentary connections with the emotion of their relationship with God, helped on by a whole genre and industry of praise and worship music cds. Their weekend life similarly revolves around the climax of their corporate public worship events.
The result of this emphasis is that church meetings and private encounters with God are seen to be the place where God’s blessing is received, even the necessary place. This was intrinsically clear when Hillsong's music proclaimed that God’s blessings were found ‘in this place’ and ‘in the secret place’ where God is. In other words, a special blessing is found in God's special presence (which is personal and intimate). And God's special presence is 'entered' via ‘worship’.
In this movement, the event or activity of ‘worship’ has become the mediator of God’s blessings to his people. Since ‘worship’ is understood within the movements as the way or means by which we approach God, then the error of the Charismatic and Pentecostal movement is that it makes an event or activity the mediator of Christian's approach to God.
To do this is to rebuild the earthly tent: the worship movement reintroduces the Old Testament model of human mediation in relating to God, and an unauthorised one at that. It indirectly teaches that what is needed when coming to God is the gospel plus a human element. And so in this emphasis on ‘praise and worship’ the Charismatic and Pentecostal movements have let go of the absolute sufficiency of what Christ has done for us through his death and resurrection. This is offering an alternative gospel, because it offers a different way of drawing near to God, other than through faith in Christ alone.
Christian growth
The praise and worship movement has distracted generations of Christians within the Charismatic and Pentecostal movement from the God-given task of ‘edification’ and ‘fellowship’. Our shared responsibility is to build one another up in faith and join together with others in true Christian communion. But charismaticism has the tendency to promote a self-absorbing culture because Christians are overly focused on building themselves up in their individual journey to achieve fullness in God. The unfortunate result is that Christians – who lack the teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness that comes from the Scriptures (2 Tim 3:16) – are left lacking in good works, and consequently left spiritually immature in Christ. talkingpentecostalism.blogspot.com | joe towns: christian discussion on pentecost, charisma, pentecostal and charismatic beliefs, the Bible and Jesus; including the origin and history of pentecostalism, baptism in the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, gifts and miracles, divine healing and word of faith, prosperity and wealth, praise and worship, guidance and hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit.
Christian services: Why we meet
Why do Christians meet? What are church 'services' meant to be about? If we stick to the concept of 'worship' in its true biblical sense – as our faith response of obedience and service to God – then is ‘worship’ the central reason why Christians gather together? Is worship at least one of the main reasons for church 'services?'
Why Christians meet together
There is abundant teaching in the New Testament on the reasons why Christians should meet together. But a very simple look at the New Testament teaching itself would seem to forbid us upholding ‘worship’ as a central reason for the Christian gathering.
It is clear that ‘worship’ is nowhere expressly taught as a reason why Christians did, should or do gather. In fact, the Greek words that are translated in our Bibles as ‘worship’ or ‘service’ are not often used to describe what Christians did when they gathered corporately. The New Testament certainly does not provide a single example of a Christian gathering where they sang songs at all, let alone involving themselves in such events as are staged at many Charismatic and Pentecostal meetings.
The New Testament specifically teaches that the reason Christians should meet together, while not for ‘worship’, is for ‘edification’ and ‘fellowship’; that is, to build one another up in faith and share in communion (common-union through Christ) (Hebrews 10:24-25). How we build each other up as Christians is worth emphasising: it is through speaking God’s word to one another (Ephesians 4:15), for by this we encourage, comfort and strengthen each other in our faith in Christ (1 Corinthians 14:3). As previously mentioned, we do not edify each other unless we come together with "some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or word of instruction" (1 Corinthians 14:4-6). Whether we bring a "hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation", either way, "these must be done for the strengthening of the church" (1 Corinthians 14:26); that is, it is the word of God by which those with word gifts "prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up", with the ultimate goal of reaching "unity in the faith" and becoming "mature" in Christ. And to this goal each and every member of the body has its part to play (Ephesians 4:11-16; 1 Corinthians 12).
There is no doubt that the reason why Jews gathered together at the temple was for worship. But that old system awaited the coming of Christ. To hold that we now gather together for the central purpose of worship – where Christians approach God by presenting to him a sacrifice of praise, by which they enter his presence and receive his blessing – is to hold onto an old (and redundant) model. When we do have earthly gatherings now, it is not so that we can draw near to God by our offering of 'worship' to him. To be sure, as we put our faith in Jesus and display our faith in Jesus when we meet together we do consequently 'draw near to God' (According to Hebrews 10:19-22). But the reason why we meet together (and should meet together, and need to meet together) is in order to "spur one another on towards love and good deeds", so that we may "encourage one another" as we "see the Day approaching" (Hebrews 10:24-25). talkingpentecostalism.blogspot.com | joe towns: christian discussion on pentecost, charisma, pentecostal and charismatic beliefs, the Bible and Jesus; including the origin and history of pentecostalism, baptism in the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, gifts and miracles, divine healing and word of faith, prosperity and wealth, praise and worship, guidance and hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit.
Why Christians meet together
There is abundant teaching in the New Testament on the reasons why Christians should meet together. But a very simple look at the New Testament teaching itself would seem to forbid us upholding ‘worship’ as a central reason for the Christian gathering.
It is clear that ‘worship’ is nowhere expressly taught as a reason why Christians did, should or do gather. In fact, the Greek words that are translated in our Bibles as ‘worship’ or ‘service’ are not often used to describe what Christians did when they gathered corporately. The New Testament certainly does not provide a single example of a Christian gathering where they sang songs at all, let alone involving themselves in such events as are staged at many Charismatic and Pentecostal meetings.
The New Testament specifically teaches that the reason Christians should meet together, while not for ‘worship’, is for ‘edification’ and ‘fellowship’; that is, to build one another up in faith and share in communion (common-union through Christ) (Hebrews 10:24-25). How we build each other up as Christians is worth emphasising: it is through speaking God’s word to one another (Ephesians 4:15), for by this we encourage, comfort and strengthen each other in our faith in Christ (1 Corinthians 14:3). As previously mentioned, we do not edify each other unless we come together with "some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or word of instruction" (1 Corinthians 14:4-6). Whether we bring a "hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation", either way, "these must be done for the strengthening of the church" (1 Corinthians 14:26); that is, it is the word of God by which those with word gifts "prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up", with the ultimate goal of reaching "unity in the faith" and becoming "mature" in Christ. And to this goal each and every member of the body has its part to play (Ephesians 4:11-16; 1 Corinthians 12).
There is no doubt that the reason why Jews gathered together at the temple was for worship. But that old system awaited the coming of Christ. To hold that we now gather together for the central purpose of worship – where Christians approach God by presenting to him a sacrifice of praise, by which they enter his presence and receive his blessing – is to hold onto an old (and redundant) model. When we do have earthly gatherings now, it is not so that we can draw near to God by our offering of 'worship' to him. To be sure, as we put our faith in Jesus and display our faith in Jesus when we meet together we do consequently 'draw near to God' (According to Hebrews 10:19-22). But the reason why we meet together (and should meet together, and need to meet together) is in order to "spur one another on towards love and good deeds", so that we may "encourage one another" as we "see the Day approaching" (Hebrews 10:24-25). talkingpentecostalism.blogspot.com | joe towns: christian discussion on pentecost, charisma, pentecostal and charismatic beliefs, the Bible and Jesus; including the origin and history of pentecostalism, baptism in the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, gifts and miracles, divine healing and word of faith, prosperity and wealth, praise and worship, guidance and hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit.
Worship: Why and How
Worship for the Christian is their faith response to God that comes from a heart of thanksgiving because of Christ’s perfect sacrifice of Himself on the cross, offered to God by him on their behalf. It involves the obedience that comes from their faith in Christ, through whom they offer themselves to God with holy lives in his service.
Why do we worship?
If that is what worship is for the Christian, the question is: 'Why do Christians need to worship God'? It is crucial to distinguish between Christ’s sacrifice offered for us, and our sacrifice offered through him. It is Christ’s sacrifice alone that obtains God’s mercy and favour for Christians. Only his worship on the cross reconciles us to God; that is, it alone brings us into fellowship with him. Our sacrifice is a duty that does not achieve anything for us; but rather it demonstrates the gratitude of those whom God himself has already brought into fellowship with himself through Christ: we worship God by offering ourselves to God through Christ in thanksgiving. The cross is the work that secures God’s favour for us. The obedience of our faith is our expression of thanksgiving for Christ’s work on our behalf. It is necessary for us to worship God because it is necessary for us to be thankful to God. So then, "let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our "God is a consuming fire" (Heb 12:28-29)".
How do we worship?
The New Testament describes the church as a ‘holy’ and ‘royal priesthood’ in which all of God’s people act as priests, offering ‘spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ’ (1 Peter 2:5, 9; Revelation 1:6). But the question is: ‘how does the New Testament picture these sacrifices, in practical terms?’ They include just about any type of sacrifice of oneself that is from a thankful response to God’s grace in Christ, as the many and varied references to Christians’ spiritual worship in the New Testament shows: we offer our bodies by living a holy and pleasing lifestyle to God (Romans 12:1); we praise God by confessing his name to others (Heb 13:15); we pray for others (Acts 10:4; Revelation 5:8; 8:3-4); we continue to have faith (Php 2:17); we give to others (Acts 10:4; Philippians 4:18); we do good to others; we share with others (Hebrews 13:16); we preach the gospel (Romans 15:16; 2 Corinthians 3:15); we give our lives even unto death for the gospel (2 Timothy 4:6).
Praise and worship
Alongside the term 'worship', it seems that the concept of ‘praise’ is also a term largely misunderstood and often misapplied in the Charismatic and Pentecostal movements. The Psalms demonstrate that the chief way we praise God is by telling others about him (E.g. Psalm 22:22; and 2 Samuel 22:50); that is, we praise God to each other, and those who have not heard of him. It seems from a number of New Testament verses that a key expression of worship is the continual ‘praising of God’ to others - both to fellow Christians and unbelievers - which involves the confessing of God’s name; that is, speaking to others about the greatness of God. This is chiefly done in the New Testament by telling other people the gospel (Hebrews 13:15; 1 Peter 2:9; Ephesians 1:6, 12, 14).
It seems then that the picture of Christian worship in the New Testament is a collage; there is a myriad of images all superimposed on each other in a way that leaves us wondering whether or not there is a picture at all.
Charismatic worship
At this point, it is imperative to see that New Testament Christian worship looks in most part completely different to what the term ‘worship’ is used to describe in a Charismatic meeting. The point here is not that Charismatics or Pentecostals do not worship, but only that there is nothing about their ‘praise and worship’ 'services' and singing that is necessarily worship. It is only if during such ‘praise and worship’ ‘times’ that Christians engage in some type of sacrifice of themselves that comes from a thankful response to God’s grace in Christ that it is really worship in spirit and in truth.
In other words, if any Christian meeting is really a 'service', because in it Christians serve God and serve each other, then it may certainly be referred to as 'worship' to God. This may well take place as some respond by praying to God with a thankful heart. Others may find themselves looking around and with heartfelt thanks to God find themselves confessing his name through the songs to other Christians.
But even then, the ‘praise and worship time’ was not necessary (or even helpful) for this. For loud emotive songs can often distract from genuine and thoughtful prayer to God and for others. And most often than not confessing God’s name to others - whether to Christians or not - is most effectively done directly (that is, in person, over coffee).
talkingpentecostalism.blogspot.com | joe towns: christian discussion on pentecost, charisma, pentecostal and charismatic beliefs, the Bible and Jesus; including the origin and history of pentecostalism, baptism in the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, gifts and miracles, divine healing and word of faith, prosperity and wealth, praise and worship, guidance and hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit.
Why do we worship?
If that is what worship is for the Christian, the question is: 'Why do Christians need to worship God'? It is crucial to distinguish between Christ’s sacrifice offered for us, and our sacrifice offered through him. It is Christ’s sacrifice alone that obtains God’s mercy and favour for Christians. Only his worship on the cross reconciles us to God; that is, it alone brings us into fellowship with him. Our sacrifice is a duty that does not achieve anything for us; but rather it demonstrates the gratitude of those whom God himself has already brought into fellowship with himself through Christ: we worship God by offering ourselves to God through Christ in thanksgiving. The cross is the work that secures God’s favour for us. The obedience of our faith is our expression of thanksgiving for Christ’s work on our behalf. It is necessary for us to worship God because it is necessary for us to be thankful to God. So then, "let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our "God is a consuming fire" (Heb 12:28-29)".
How do we worship?
The New Testament describes the church as a ‘holy’ and ‘royal priesthood’ in which all of God’s people act as priests, offering ‘spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ’ (1 Peter 2:5, 9; Revelation 1:6). But the question is: ‘how does the New Testament picture these sacrifices, in practical terms?’ They include just about any type of sacrifice of oneself that is from a thankful response to God’s grace in Christ, as the many and varied references to Christians’ spiritual worship in the New Testament shows: we offer our bodies by living a holy and pleasing lifestyle to God (Romans 12:1); we praise God by confessing his name to others (Heb 13:15); we pray for others (Acts 10:4; Revelation 5:8; 8:3-4); we continue to have faith (Php 2:17); we give to others (Acts 10:4; Philippians 4:18); we do good to others; we share with others (Hebrews 13:16); we preach the gospel (Romans 15:16; 2 Corinthians 3:15); we give our lives even unto death for the gospel (2 Timothy 4:6).
Praise and worship
Alongside the term 'worship', it seems that the concept of ‘praise’ is also a term largely misunderstood and often misapplied in the Charismatic and Pentecostal movements. The Psalms demonstrate that the chief way we praise God is by telling others about him (E.g. Psalm 22:22; and 2 Samuel 22:50); that is, we praise God to each other, and those who have not heard of him. It seems from a number of New Testament verses that a key expression of worship is the continual ‘praising of God’ to others - both to fellow Christians and unbelievers - which involves the confessing of God’s name; that is, speaking to others about the greatness of God. This is chiefly done in the New Testament by telling other people the gospel (Hebrews 13:15; 1 Peter 2:9; Ephesians 1:6, 12, 14).
It seems then that the picture of Christian worship in the New Testament is a collage; there is a myriad of images all superimposed on each other in a way that leaves us wondering whether or not there is a picture at all.
Charismatic worship
At this point, it is imperative to see that New Testament Christian worship looks in most part completely different to what the term ‘worship’ is used to describe in a Charismatic meeting. The point here is not that Charismatics or Pentecostals do not worship, but only that there is nothing about their ‘praise and worship’ 'services' and singing that is necessarily worship. It is only if during such ‘praise and worship’ ‘times’ that Christians engage in some type of sacrifice of themselves that comes from a thankful response to God’s grace in Christ that it is really worship in spirit and in truth.
In other words, if any Christian meeting is really a 'service', because in it Christians serve God and serve each other, then it may certainly be referred to as 'worship' to God. This may well take place as some respond by praying to God with a thankful heart. Others may find themselves looking around and with heartfelt thanks to God find themselves confessing his name through the songs to other Christians.
But even then, the ‘praise and worship time’ was not necessary (or even helpful) for this. For loud emotive songs can often distract from genuine and thoughtful prayer to God and for others. And most often than not confessing God’s name to others - whether to Christians or not - is most effectively done directly (that is, in person, over coffee).
talkingpentecostalism.blogspot.com | joe towns: christian discussion on pentecost, charisma, pentecostal and charismatic beliefs, the Bible and Jesus; including the origin and history of pentecostalism, baptism in the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, gifts and miracles, divine healing and word of faith, prosperity and wealth, praise and worship, guidance and hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit.
What is Worship: Your Spiritual Act
What is worship - for the Christian? Is our approach to God mediated through sacrifices, as it was for Israel under the Old Covenant? Do Christians need to 'worship' in order to ‘approach’ God? How should Christians ‘draw near’ to God and maintain the ‘presence of God’ in their lives?
Old Covenant worship
The biblical concept of worship has its origin in the Old Covenant. Israel were redeemed from slavery in Egypt and brought before God on Mount Sinai. There he gave them his law and the sacrificial system; that is, he gave them the means by which they were to relate to him as his saved people. Obedience to his covenant law was the proper loving response to the God who had become their covenant king. The sacrificial system was the gracious means that he provided for them to maintain the covenant, since he knew that they could not keep his law. God had provided a way by which Israel might approach his holy presence, and it was on their part to come to him in worship by the obedience of faith in the sacrificial system, without fear of judgement.
This was how Israel worshipped God: by offering him sacrifices in faith – and not any sacrifices offered in any way (Look up 'unauthorised fire' in your concordance). They were to worship (approach him) only in the way perscribed by God in his law. By such worship - obedience to the sacrificial regulations set out in the law - Israel would show their commitment to the covenant, because by it they showed their faith in the God-given means for maintaining their God-given relationship him.
Worship, then, was a faith response of obedience to the covenant, whereby Israel applied the God-given means for maintaining their covenant relationship with God. Therefore the sacrificial system mediated Israel’s relationship with God; that is, they approached God through the sacrifices the law prescribed.
New Covenant worship
What then is worship for the Christian? Is our approach to God also mediated through sacrifices, but of a less bloody kind? God initiated worship took a cataclysmic change with the coming of Jesus. The New Testament presents Jesus himself as the once for all sacrifice who perfects worshipers under the new covenant. Jesus himself has become the priestly worshipper on our behalf of Christians (Heb 9-10).
Before this time worship was a faith response whereby Israel applied the God-given means prescribed in the sacrificial system to maintain their relationship with God. But now Jesus’ work on the cross has put and end to the sacrificial system, because it was the final God-given means for maintaining our covenant relationship with God. His blood was the perfect sacrifice, offered once for all time, that the Old Testament sacrificial system looked forward to. He has performed it (not us), and it is now finished (not ongoing). And he now forever lives in God’s presence as our perfect priest making intercession for us. Since Jesus has ‘entered into’ God's presence in heaven (the perfect tabernacle), once for all by his own offered to God on our behalf, Jesus is the perfect worship of God for us (Heb 7:27; 9:26). Because sin is the only thing that alienated us from God, and since Jesus has dealt with our sin by his cross, there is no longer any need for any sacrifice for sin ever again.
What Christian worship is not
Christians therefore do not need to 'worship' (make sacrifices) themselves in order to ‘approach’ God. And indeed they simply cannot ‘draw near to’ him through their own actions (effort/works). Christians cannot achieve (or maintain for themselves) the ‘presence of God’. This is what worship achieved under the old covenant, but that covenant has been finished by the work of Christ. The work of worship in that sense has since that time been fulfilled perfectly by Christ. There is no longer any offering of worship for sin (Heb 10:18).
Jesus has already approached God for us by his once for all worship on the cross. Those who have faith in him are permanently brought into God's presence (the heavenly realm) with him now. Those who trust in Jesus have a full and complete assurance that their covenant is maintained for them perfectly by Jesus who now intercedes for us in God's presence on our behalf.
The question is, therefore, do Christians worship at all? If so what is their spiritual act of worship? This is a question that the New Testament itself asks, and answers. It is related to the essence of what worship was under the old covenant, but with an important difference. We do have a sacrifice to offer, but it’s nature and purpose is very different.
Your spiritual act
Worship has always been a faith response whereby God’s people applied the God-given means for maintaining their covenant relationship with God. In the New Testament worship for the Christian still involves a faith response of obedience, except that we as God’s people no longer apply the God-given means ourselves for maintaining our covenant with God. Jesus has already done that for us. It is left to us only to have faith in him. Our worship is nothing more (though also nothing less) than continuing to display a faith response to Jesus who has permanently secured our relationship with God forever by his own perfect offering to God of his blood. We 'draw near to God' in worship with the offering of a 'sincere heart in full assurance of faith' (Heb 10:19-22); that is, we enter God's presence by putting our faith in Jesus, and we continue in God's presence by continuing to display our faith response to Jesus.
So what does a faith response to Jesus really look like? Since the gospel proclaims Jesus as Lord, it means treating him as Lord in our lives: “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him (Col 2:6)”. And to live with Christ Jesus as Lord of ones life means nothing less than to submit to his Lordship in every area of our lives. Our offering to him is therefore our display to him of a holy life involving our obedient service to him. It is just as Paul commands us: “in view of God’s mercy, offer your body as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to him. This is your spiritual act of worship (Rom 12:1)”.
talkingpentecostalism.blogspot.com | joe towns: christian discussion on pentecost, charisma, pentecostal and charismatic beliefs, the Bible and Jesus; including the origin and history of pentecostalism, baptism in the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, gifts and miracles, divine healing and word of faith, prosperity and wealth, praise and worship, guidance and hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit.
Old Covenant worship
The biblical concept of worship has its origin in the Old Covenant. Israel were redeemed from slavery in Egypt and brought before God on Mount Sinai. There he gave them his law and the sacrificial system; that is, he gave them the means by which they were to relate to him as his saved people. Obedience to his covenant law was the proper loving response to the God who had become their covenant king. The sacrificial system was the gracious means that he provided for them to maintain the covenant, since he knew that they could not keep his law. God had provided a way by which Israel might approach his holy presence, and it was on their part to come to him in worship by the obedience of faith in the sacrificial system, without fear of judgement.
This was how Israel worshipped God: by offering him sacrifices in faith – and not any sacrifices offered in any way (Look up 'unauthorised fire' in your concordance). They were to worship (approach him) only in the way perscribed by God in his law. By such worship - obedience to the sacrificial regulations set out in the law - Israel would show their commitment to the covenant, because by it they showed their faith in the God-given means for maintaining their God-given relationship him.
Worship, then, was a faith response of obedience to the covenant, whereby Israel applied the God-given means for maintaining their covenant relationship with God. Therefore the sacrificial system mediated Israel’s relationship with God; that is, they approached God through the sacrifices the law prescribed.
New Covenant worship
What then is worship for the Christian? Is our approach to God also mediated through sacrifices, but of a less bloody kind? God initiated worship took a cataclysmic change with the coming of Jesus. The New Testament presents Jesus himself as the once for all sacrifice who perfects worshipers under the new covenant. Jesus himself has become the priestly worshipper on our behalf of Christians (Heb 9-10).
Before this time worship was a faith response whereby Israel applied the God-given means prescribed in the sacrificial system to maintain their relationship with God. But now Jesus’ work on the cross has put and end to the sacrificial system, because it was the final God-given means for maintaining our covenant relationship with God. His blood was the perfect sacrifice, offered once for all time, that the Old Testament sacrificial system looked forward to. He has performed it (not us), and it is now finished (not ongoing). And he now forever lives in God’s presence as our perfect priest making intercession for us. Since Jesus has ‘entered into’ God's presence in heaven (the perfect tabernacle), once for all by his own offered to God on our behalf, Jesus is the perfect worship of God for us (Heb 7:27; 9:26). Because sin is the only thing that alienated us from God, and since Jesus has dealt with our sin by his cross, there is no longer any need for any sacrifice for sin ever again.
What Christian worship is not
Christians therefore do not need to 'worship' (make sacrifices) themselves in order to ‘approach’ God. And indeed they simply cannot ‘draw near to’ him through their own actions (effort/works). Christians cannot achieve (or maintain for themselves) the ‘presence of God’. This is what worship achieved under the old covenant, but that covenant has been finished by the work of Christ. The work of worship in that sense has since that time been fulfilled perfectly by Christ. There is no longer any offering of worship for sin (Heb 10:18).
Jesus has already approached God for us by his once for all worship on the cross. Those who have faith in him are permanently brought into God's presence (the heavenly realm) with him now. Those who trust in Jesus have a full and complete assurance that their covenant is maintained for them perfectly by Jesus who now intercedes for us in God's presence on our behalf.
The question is, therefore, do Christians worship at all? If so what is their spiritual act of worship? This is a question that the New Testament itself asks, and answers. It is related to the essence of what worship was under the old covenant, but with an important difference. We do have a sacrifice to offer, but it’s nature and purpose is very different.
Your spiritual act
Worship has always been a faith response whereby God’s people applied the God-given means for maintaining their covenant relationship with God. In the New Testament worship for the Christian still involves a faith response of obedience, except that we as God’s people no longer apply the God-given means ourselves for maintaining our covenant with God. Jesus has already done that for us. It is left to us only to have faith in him. Our worship is nothing more (though also nothing less) than continuing to display a faith response to Jesus who has permanently secured our relationship with God forever by his own perfect offering to God of his blood. We 'draw near to God' in worship with the offering of a 'sincere heart in full assurance of faith' (Heb 10:19-22); that is, we enter God's presence by putting our faith in Jesus, and we continue in God's presence by continuing to display our faith response to Jesus.
So what does a faith response to Jesus really look like? Since the gospel proclaims Jesus as Lord, it means treating him as Lord in our lives: “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him (Col 2:6)”. And to live with Christ Jesus as Lord of ones life means nothing less than to submit to his Lordship in every area of our lives. Our offering to him is therefore our display to him of a holy life involving our obedient service to him. It is just as Paul commands us: “in view of God’s mercy, offer your body as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to him. This is your spiritual act of worship (Rom 12:1)”.
talkingpentecostalism.blogspot.com | joe towns: christian discussion on pentecost, charisma, pentecostal and charismatic beliefs, the Bible and Jesus; including the origin and history of pentecostalism, baptism in the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, gifts and miracles, divine healing and word of faith, prosperity and wealth, praise and worship, guidance and hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit.
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