INTRODUCING THE BOOK OF ACTS
#833 INTRODUCING THE BOOK OF ACTS
Scripture Acts 1:1-8, NIV Orig. September 29, 1985
Passage: In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. 3 After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. 4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with[a] water, but in a few days you will be baptized with[b] the Holy Spirit.”
6 Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Purpose: Beginning a study for Church Training leading my people to a deeper comprehension of The Book of Acts.
Introduction
By way of beginning, we need to face up to purpose. Why did Luke write Acts? The best evidence suggests that he did. And, we can conclude that the book was written shortly before or after Paul’s death in Rome, about 58 or 59 A.D.
So, WHY did he write? To depict “Acts of the Apostles.” That is the title by which it is best known. Or, is it the book that declares the Holy Spirit’s life and work as the gospel declares the life and work of Jesus? Perhaps there is some other purpose. For instance, the revealing of the spread of the gospel from Jerusalem to Rome; or, a book seeking to reconcile rivalries between different factions of the church.
Better understood, it is all of these things, but only to a limited degree. These are supplemental purposes. Its major focus has to do with expansion. Partly, the expansion that carries the gospel across geographical barriers; but even more, the author depicts how Christianity broke through the imposition of limitations placed upon it by people locked into a narrow, self-limiting culture. It is about how the gospel took on the character of its [founder], and not of His disciples.
The story begins in Jerusalem. It ends 28 chapters later in Rome. The passage was not easy. Many changes are observed. Leaders come into view, remain for awhile, and often are heard from no more. The foundling church appears, descriptions of it, single it out for what it is: a very human inducement to faith. The most obvious change is cultural. The book opens on a Jewish prayer meeting. None but Jews are there. It closes with a chronicler of the gospel, incarcerated, but proclaiming an “unhindered” gospel to all who come to hear.
I. What are the arguments for Luke’s authorship?
Both ACTS and LUKE [are] dedicated to Theophilus. Luke 1:3/Acts 1:1. Acts opens speaking of former treatises.
Similarity in style/phraseology/medical jargon.
Luke is known to have traveled with Paul. Acts 16:10/20:6 “We” passages.
Rule out Silas (16:19) and Timothy (20:4-5).
Christian tradition accepts Luke as author.
II. What can we conclude about the date?
Outset—Christ is with disciples prior to His ascension (30-40A.D.).
Conclusion—Paul arrives in Rome. Dated by mention of political figures (Acts 25:13, Agrippa, Festus/Felix). Sometime between 58 and 63 A.D. Luke was undoubtedly with Paul: II Timothy 4:6, “I have fought the good fight”; II Timothy 4:11, “Only Luke is with me.”
III. What more needs to be said about purpose?
“Acts of the Holy Spirit”—but not to the degree that gospels are about Jesus.
“Acts of the Apostles”—a factor, but not definitive. Even Paul is left inconclusively a Roman prisoner.
“Acts of the Ascended Christ”—1:1, “all that Jesus began to do and teach.” A direct reference to the “former treatise” (gospel).
The book of gospel initiative. 1:8, “Ye shall receive power . . . and ye shall be my witnesses . . . .” 28:31, “boldly and without hindrance . . . preached.”
IV. Defining the key thought.
Verse 1:8, “Ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you, and . . . .”
The key in outline:
1 Introduction
2-7 Witness in Jerusalem
8-12 Witness in Judea and Samaria
13-28 Witness to the uttermost.
V. The two-part breakdown of the book.
Part I (1-12)
In Jerusalem
Peter most prominent
From Jerusalem to Judea/Samaria
Geography—Palestine (Jew/Gentile)
General rejection by Jews
Peter imprisoned (12:3)
Part II (13-28)
From Antioch
Paul most prominent
From Antioch to Empire
Geography—Mediterranean (Jew/Gentile)
Rejection by Jews of dispersion
Paul imprisoned (28:16)
VI. Peter and Paul in parallel consideration.
INCIDENT Peter Paul
1-First Sermon 2:14f 13:16
2-Healing of lame man 3:1f 14:8f
3-Dealing with a sorcerer—Simon 8:9 13:8f—Elymas
4-Influence--shadow 5:15 19:12f—high priests
5-Laying on of hands--Samaritans 8:17 19:6—pagans
6-Worshipped—Cornelius 10:25 14:11—Lystra
7-Raised from the dead—Tabitha 9:40 20:9—Eutychus
8-Imprisoned—Herod 12:3 28:16—Nero
THE FIVE “R’s” OF A WINNING WITNESS
#509 THE FIVE “R’s” OF A WINNING WITNESS
Scripture Acts 1:8, NIV Orig. 6/30/1968 (12/1976)
Rewr. 1/11/1987
Passage: 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
Purpose: To observe Witness Commitment Day, and to call my people to a deeper understanding of their need to express their faith in regular witness.
Keywords: Conversion Repentance Salvation Sin Witness Revival
Introduction
We are beginning to receive information from the Internal Revenue Service. We are getting tax booklets that define our responsibility. We may be getting reminders that there is additional material that we may order to assist with everything but paying our taxes. This material is a witness to us that tax-time is here again. Once a year we are affirmed as dues-paying citizens of a free republic, the greatest country of all. None of us want to be anywhere else.
When we fill out that tax form in a few weeks, the form itself will be a witness. It will witness our material well-being, or lack of it. It will also be a witness to the level of our faith. Do we take God’s Word seriously? Do we give earnest consideration to the blessings that have come to us from God? It also may witness whether we are honest persons or not.
An IRS deputy tells of an occasion which he was witness to in pursuit of his job.
“Some guy with an income less than $5,000 claimed he gave $624 to some church. It was within the 20% limit, but it looked mighty suspicious. I dropped in on the guy and asked about his return. I thought he’d become nervous like most of them do, but not this guy. He came back at me about the $624 without batting an eyelash.
“‘Have you a receipt from the church?’ I asked, figuring that would make him squirm. ‘Sure,’ he said, and he went off and brought the receipt.
“Well, he had me. One look and I knew he was on the level. I apologized for bothering him. . . . [As I was] leaving, he invited me to his church. ‘Thanks, but I belong to a church myself.’ The he said the strangest thing. ‘Excuse me,’ he said, ‘that possibility hadn’t occurred to me.’
“As I rode home, I kept wondering what he meant by that last remark. It wasn’t until a Sunday or so later, when I was in church and started to put my usual dollar in the offering plate that it came to me.” (Pulpit Helps—1/1977)
We are witnesses, you and I. We need to renegotiate the terms of our witness, and offer a more positive face to unbelieving friends and acquaintances. To that end I share “The Five ‘R’s’ of a Winning Witness.”
I. Realize—that Man in His Natural State is Separated from God.
The Old Testament concept of sin is shared by those who knew its power, and the grace of God’s forgiveness. Psalm 32:1 (David), “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.” Proverbs 11:3 (Solomon), “The perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them.” Isaiah 59:2 (Isaiah), “Your iniquities have separated between you and God.”
These were men who had walked under the heavy burden of personal sin, but who had experienced God’s forgiveness. Realizing that through which they had been, they were bound to witness to others of the way out.
This ancient concept of sin, and separation, was not altered by the teaching of Jesus, nor by the instrumentality of the church. John 3: 19 (Jesus), “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” Luke 15:17f (Jesus), Parable of prodigal son/loving Father. Romans 3:23 (Paul), “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” And, risking misunderstanding here, I remind you that Jesus knew about sin from personal experience. Hebrews 4:15 reminds us “He was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” He knew that sin separated. That was reason enough to dread the cross.
II. The Next “R” is to Recognize that We Cannot Save Ourselves.
A story was told in “Reader’s Digest” a while back entitled “The Trail.” It was the story of a man who went back to a wilderness trail that he had traveled with his wife. He was in a state of agitation because of her death. She had been killed in a needless accident. While on the trail, there came a sudden worsening of the weather, and he suddenly became resigned to his own death on the trail, rather than to struggle to safety and survival. Suddenly, as his strength was ebbing, he heard a cry for help. Managing the strength to reach the victim, he found a boy injured in a snowmobile accident. He cared for the boy through the night, and with daylight, managed to get the boy to safety. Visiting the boy in the hospital he heard him say, “‘Thank you for saving my life.’ I did not say so to him, but it was he who saved my life.”
How often has the word of a friend turned us from despair to destiny? Why should it seem so unbelievable that God chooses to arrange our salvation through another? John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh to the Father but by me.” Ephesians 2:5, “Even when we were dead in sins, [God] hath quickened us together with Christ.”
III. Next Comes Repentance. I John 1:9, “If we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin.” Luke 13:3, “Except ye repent, ye shall all . . . perish.”
We must not overlook any important aspect of repentance. One can easily claim to be a Christian: Brought up in home/church; taught the language; participate in the extraneous. With glibness we measure ourselves by our functions rather than scripture. We may even know 4 Spiritual Laws. Can we point to an experience of “repentance” with life-changing emphasis?
Nothing brings sin home to us like repenting of it. It’s like living in a house with dirty windows, refusing to go outside because it looks so dismal. Finally, being forced out, we discover that the bleakness is over us, not the world.
IV. Hence Comes the Two-Fold Stage of Request and Receive.
No because of what we are, but because of what God is that they can’t be separated. To come to His altar, to seek His grace, . . . is to receive His bestowal. Romans 10:13, “For whoso shall call upon the name of the Lord, shall be saved.” John 1:12, “But as many as received Him, to them God gives the power to become His children.”
We must be reminded where that altar is: Not the place where we stand, [but rather] a place for which we are reaching. Just as marriages are not sanctified by a place, but by a vision for which we are reaching, by two who together are seeking the will of God in communion with each other.
May it be stated as simply as ever it can be, “to seek . . . is to receive.” The burden that is upon the preacher is that of proclaiming unadulterated truth with simplicity. The story is told of Andrew R. McCheyne: Talking with a fellow preacher he asked what he had preached the Sunday before. “That the wicked shall be turned into hell.” McCheyne replied, “Were you able to preach it with tenderness?”
V. Finally, is the Certification that the Believer Rejoices in His Salvation.
To hear gladly is to believe gladly. Mark 12:37, those who heard Jesus “heard him gladly.” Likewise, those who believe in Jesus, “believe in Him gladly.”
The very word “gospel” is from a Greek word meaning “good news.”
Christmas brought and brings a proliferation of the word joy, in a form that rolls out as “jolly.” Anyone can be jolly: the clown beneath his external hilarity .. . , even Santa Claus, behind grandfatherly beard, and pink cheeks—may be grieving to death or loneliness. But Christian joy is something else—not a mask (Mardi Gras) or cloak (expensive furs); it is an inner presence that no misfortune can conceal.
Conclusion
A message preached years ago carried a story of an event of early WWII vintage. Protectionism was running scared, especially on the West Coast. Threats were seen everywhere. A bottle washed ashore. Inside, a message, but sun and salt had bleached the words. Suspicion developed immediately. FBI, and Secret Service were called in. Every skill applied. Finally, “two quarts of milk, no cream.”
What is the real message, told by our inner lives, though we try to conceal it from the world? What kind of witness do you want to be?
McCheyne: https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/he-died-early-in-the-smile-of-god
EARTHLY SECRETS OF HEAVENLY GLORY
#258a EARTHLY SECRETS OF HEAVENLY GLORY
Scripture Acts 1:1-11, NIV Orig. 10-15-1962
Rewr. 9-21-1979
Passage: In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. 3 After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. 4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with[a] water, but in a few days you will be baptized with[b] the Holy Spirit.”
6 Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”
Purpose: To call my people to consider the high and glorious calling that is ours in Christ Jesus.
Introduction
An unusual change takes place in the lives of the people most closely associated with Jesus. Two different artists or interpreters of the scenes could have interpreted them in widely divergent ways.
In the upper room in Jerusalem on the night after Jesus died at Calvary, a small group of men cower behind a bolted door. Fear is the most apparent emotion and it hangs like a specter of this scene. Along with this fear, there is the desperation of beaten men whose fondest hopes and aspirations have failed to materialize. They sit in silence, stunned that they could have been so deluded. They were too heartbroken to speak, too anguished of soul to pray.
We cannot follow these men, step by step, over the next few weeks; we can only meet them again and discover the radical change that has come over them. It is unquestionably the same men. But they are men who are alive again. They are not skulking behind closed doors. They are out in the streets of the city. They have suddenly become absolutely fearless, and deliciously happy. They are no longer moping about in the circumstance of unfairly deluded men. They have become men who are totally committed to a cause.
It is not what happened in history that changed these scenes, and their interpretation. It is what happened in the lives of these men and others. John Masefield’s drama, The Trial of Jesus1, puts things in perspective for us. The Roman centurion, Longinus, who was in command of the soldiers at the cross, brings a day’s end report to Pilate. After the report, Procula, Pilate’s wife, begs the centurion to tell her how the prisoner died. He satisfies her request, and she then asks, “Do you think he is dead?”
“No, Lady,” answers Longinus, “I don’t.”
“Then where is he?” she asks.
“Let loose in the world, Lady, where neither Roman nor Jew can stop his truth.”
“Earthly Secrets of Heavenly Glory” must always begin, not with historical evidence, but with personal encounter with the living Christ.
I. Consider First the Documentation of Power. V8, “But ye shall receive power.”
It was a mistaken notion about power that had controlled this nation from the very first. They rightly fancied themselves a special people. Moses came out of the desert with a special sense of mystery about him. It was as if he had become the messenger to the elite of earth. Exodus 7:16, “The Lord God of the Hebrews hath sent me unto thee,” he said to Pharaoh.
They wrongly concluded that what made them special was in themselves, that God had looked the wide world over, and He had concluded that His best bet lay with them. This was certainly the view of the Samaritan woman who encountered the Christ. “How is it that thou, being a Jew, asketh drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria?” John 4:9, Living Water. It appears that it was this very attitude with which Jesus was dealing when the Scribes and Pharisees demanded a sign. Matthew 12:39, “No sign shall be given, but the sign of the Prophet Jonas.” You wrongly follow the word of man. Your need is the word of God.
You see, what God was after was not a people with sufficient power to accomplish His design; but rather a people with sufficient commitment to allow the flow of God’s power. John 8:32, “You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.” Prisoners are “set free,” and following their own chosen path, are imprisoned again. God offers the “freedom” which sustains itself because it is in Him.
The power was promised. It was promised to those who belonged to God by virtue of the activity of Jesus. It belonged to all alike who would claim it. The subject of Jesus’ teaching during these days was “the kingdom” (V3). The Hebrews had conceived of this “kingdom” in political terms. Jesus proclaimed it to be a spiritual entity. Matthew 6:10, “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” The kingdom of God on earth consists, as it does in heaven, of people yielding their will to God’s will. It is done in an act of personal submission; it is more difficult in society’s “be me”; almost impossible for the social elite.
The power is available, but only within the kingdom: Only through Jesus; only to accomplish God’s will in your life; only by waiting for the Holy Spirit.
II. Consider, Next, the Declaration of Privilege. V8, “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you.”
The power of God, always in the world, is made available to the world by the Believer, who has been empowered by the Holy Spirit, who has been given by Christ. The Holy Spirit is not the end result; he is not the prime mover; he is the means chosen of God.
All of the contemporary expressions of power have always been in the world. It was the 19th century before electrical power was harnessed. Men knew of petroleum for centuries before the first barrel was pumped to the surface, refined, and awaited the invention of the automobile. We are even now struggling to know of other energy reserves always in the world, not yet sufficiently understood.
The Holy Spirit is the privilege accorded to every believer. This has always been the way that God has chosen to work with and through His people. Just before Gideon’s rout of the Midianites with 300 men, we discovered Gideon’s secret. Judges 6:34, “The spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon.” It is pictured also as a self-limiting power if we reject it. Isaiah 63:10, “They rebelled and vexed His Holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them.”
It is then, within the limits of God’s will that the Holy Spirit is free to impose Himself in our lives. He is free, not to aid us in doing what we want, but what we ought. There is a 1st and 20th century parallel. The Holy Spirit was committed to God’s program of world evangelization. The early church managed to get through 12 chapters of the Book of Acts before they had resolved the matter. Acts 11:9, “What God has cleansed call not thou common.”
Make no mistake about it, God’s purpose is unchanged. Hear it ringing out in the words of Margaret Clarkson, and set to music by John W. Peterson, “So Send I You.”
So send I you to labour unrewarded,
To serve unpaid, unloved, unsought, unknown,
To bear rebuke, to suffer scorn and scoffing.
So send I you to toil for Me alone.
So send I you to bind the bruised and broken,
Over wandering souls to work, to weep, to wake,
To bear the burdens of a world a-weary.
So send I you to suffer for My sake.
So send I you to loneliness and longing,
With hart a-hungering for the loved and known,
Forsaking kin and kindred, friend and dear one.
So send I you to know My love alone.
So send I you to leave your life's ambition,
To die to dear desire, self-will resign,
To labour long, and love where men revile you.
So send I you to lose your life in Mine.
So send I you to hearts made hard by hatred,
To eyes made blind because they will not see,
To spend, though it be blood to spend and spare not.
So send I you to taste of Calvary.
As the Father hath sent me, so send I you.
III. This Brings Us Finally to Consider, the Dividend of Purpose. V8, “And ye shall be my witnesses . . . unto the uttermost parts of the earth.”
Martin Luther: “A Christian is an utterly free man, lord of all, subject to none. A Christian is an utterly dutiful man, servant of all, subject to all.”2
Conclusion
Karl Heim, in his Christian Faith and Natural Science, degrades the message of the contemporary church, and bears a negative witness to the world. He writes, “The church is like a ship on whose deck festivities are still kept up and glorious music is heard, while deep below the water-line a leak has been sprung and masses of water are pouring in, so that the vessel is settling hourly lower, though the pumps are manned day and night.”
The two men standing by at the ascension of Jesus spoke rather sharply to His disciples as they stood there that day, “Why stand you here gazing? Man the pumps! Stop the leaks! Dispose of the waters! Turn your attention to that which is your real purpose!”
It begins with faith in Christ.
Masefield: https://allpoetry.com/John-Masefield
1 Masefield, J. (1925.) The Trial of Jesus. William Heinemann, Ltd.
2 Luther, M. (1970.) Three Treatises, Fortress Press.
A COVENANTED PEOPLE
#635 A COVENANTED PEOPLE
Scripture Acts 6:1-8; Ephesians 5:13-16, NIV Orig. September 5, 1976
Passage:
Acts 6
In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews[a] among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. 2 So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. 3 Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them 4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.” 5 This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. 6 They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. 7 So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.
Stephen Seized
8 Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people.
Ephesians 5
13 But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. 14 This is why it is said:
“Wake up, sleeper,
rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”
15 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.
Introduction
Have you ever considered the diversity of backgrounds from which the apostles came. Several of them came from a background of having been commercial fishermen. That is somewhat to be expected when Jesus began his ministry in Galilee. Others, however, represented other trades. There probably were farmers, such as farmers were in Galilee. There were tradesmen. One could not find an abundance of formal education, but what they lacked there, they made up for in determination and common sense.
As different as they were in social grace, they were even more different in personality. Phillip was this kind of fellow you remember, who tried to calculate the cost of feeding the thousands on what mental computer he did have.
Matthew was the most typically human. It didn’t matter to him where his livelihood came from, so long as it came. The scripture is strangely silent on whether his wife had anything to do with it.
Simon Peter? I think he did not readily understand himself. Available immediately to any cause he considered worthwhile. He had the knack of wanting to wade in and bash a few heads if it took that to accomplish his purpose. If his motivation flagged, however, then he was going to be the first one out the back door.
Time doesn’t permit further discussions of these man-like creatures with whom Jesus labored. A brief look at the one area of their lives in which they were in total agreement, may be helpful. Someone has put together a survey on how they died.
· John—extreme old age in Ephesus
· Peter—crucified by Nero
· Andrew—on a cross in Achaia
· James—thrown from a pinnacle of the temple
· Bartholomew—flayed alive in Armenia
· James the Elder—beheaded at Jerusalem
· Thomas—with a lance at Coromandel
· Phillip—hanged in Hierapolis
· Matthew—by sword in Ethiopia
· Thaddeus—shot with arrows
· Simon—on a cross in Persia
· Judas—hanged himself
The only thing that brought unity to the diversity of their lives was Jesus. To have walked with Jesus made them fearless patriots of His cause. When we have a source, there is a danger that the further we get from that source, the less able we will be to comprehend it. It becomes of fundamental importance, that we let this SOURCE continually manifest HIMSELF through our
lives as different as they are.
I. The Day of Vision Brings Insight into the Things that Separate Us.
Acts 6:1, “There arose a murmuring because of these neglected widows.” Ephesians 5:13, “All things that are reproved are made manifest by the light.”
We have spoken before of the two kinds of murmurings: There is the murmuring of the malcontent; there is also the murmuring of concern. The Greek seems to call to mind a more private rather than a public outcry.
Vision has its beginning, does it not, when we acknowledge our problems and begin to deal with them in light of faith and reason. The first practical solution to that ancient problem in the church at Jerusalem was a [recognizing] of responsibility. And please don’t make the mistake of assuming that it called for a separation of laity and clergy: The greater the depth of spiritual energy to be exhausted, the more necessary for that person to commit himself to prayer; it became a vital spiritual responsibility for every believer to support the active ministries of others in prayer.
It is more than a question “Do you pray for your pastor?” that I raise this morning. Do we pray for those around us? Do we pray for our deacons, or do we just throw barbs or murmurings at them? Do we pray that Sunday School teachers will be able to communicate the love of Jesus through what he or she does?
With what power the Word of God separates the eternal and the variable. The eternal, you remember, is what we are by virtue of the Word; the variable is what we do with what we are. It is the eternal which must address itself to the variable, and not the other way around. Ephesians 5:13, “Whatsoever doth make manifest is light”—that which brings openness and honesty. In the church, neither our organizational structures nor our moral [prohibitions] are to be considered eternal unless they are given credence by the Word of God.
In the world, the believer is to put his confidence in that only that comes under the scrutiny of the Word.
II. A Day of Visitation.
The leadership of God—the seven were called out not by the apostle but by the multitude of believers:
· Concern about church program—support it or change it
· Concern about the inactive
· Concern about the lost
· Concern about our own lives.
Every person in his place (Nehemiah 4; Acts 2:1). Henry Drummond told the story of shipwrecked men adrift on the great ocean in a small boat. After several days they were growing weaker. In the night, [they saw] the masthead of a ship. [They] had a lantern but only one match, slightly damp.
I have on the corner of my desk a stack of cards (200)—Soul-Winning Commitment Cards. If one of ten had kept that pledge we would have baptized 50 or more. We say mean things about draft card burners but we have burned our commitment cards. God’s promises are not written and signed. Our promise need not be written to be kept.
An endeavor of cooperative faith reaches across membership lines—man in town unreached because he overheard a fellow church member make an unchristian remark about him; it reaches across church lines; across denomination lines.
III. A Day of Victory
· And the Word of God increased
· And the numbers of disciples multiplied
· And priests were obedient to the faith
· And Stephen did great wonders, a man full of faith and the Holy Ghost
Closing
We are familiar with the unfortunate expression “a cross I must bear.” Yet these words are spoken with dismay, perhaps even discontent. The vision, visitation, and victory I have spoken of this morning have to do with our [bearing] a cross. But this cross is a burden as wings are a burden to a bird, or as sails are a hindrance to a ship.
Drummond
GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT—What Baptists Believe
#792 GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT
What Baptists Believe
Scripture Luke 3:16; Acts 2:33, NIV Orig. 3/6/1983
Rewr. 3/23/1988
Passage:
Luke 3
16 John answered them all, “I baptize you with[a] water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with[b] the Holy Spirit and fire.
Acts 2
33 Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.
Purpose: In a message accentuating Baptist Beliefs, here calling attention to the person and work of God the Holy Spirit.
Keywords: God, Sustainer Series, Baptist Beliefs Holy Spirit Trinity
Introduction
Grady Welch, our Director of Stewardship for the Louisiana Baptist Convention, used to tell about a church down in one of our CenLa parishes that discovered oil on its property. I went through that parish last week and saw some of those wells pumping still. The church was just a small one as numbers go. And even thirty years ago, the return would be considerable. A hasty business meeting was called, and the membership closed except to the families of members who might come on profession of faith. They were going to divide the income among themselves, and didn’t want people to join expecting to get in on the spoils.
William Temple long before had written well relative to the church and its relation to community. “The church exists primarily for those who never go near it,” he declared. How sad it becomes when a church exists to pay tribute to itself. It exists to exist.
As God the Son came into the human picture to intercede with God the Father for our salvation, even so, God the Holy Spirit came, following the human Jesus in a renewed display of Spirit presence. His purpose was and is to magnify the work of Jesus in the world. His work inside the church must be mutually directed toward those who are outside the church, and never can be exclusive of them.
Dr. James Stewart wrote, “When a church is not worried about those who never go near it, . . . that church may be flourishing, but it is certainly not Christian.” This message deals with the place allowed the Holy Spirit in our lives.
I. We Must First Acknowledge the Scriptural Declaration of God the Holy Spirit.
I remind you that the Holy Spirit is spoken of as God in the Scriptures. Consider the case of Ananias and Sapphira. Acts 5:3,4, “Ananias, . . . you have lied to the Holy Spirit . . . . You have not lied to man but to God.” Wrong done to men. Wrong done to the faith. But chiefly, sin against God.
It is positively asserted also. I Corinthians 3:16, “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” Hieron is the temple precincts. Naos is the place where God and man come face to face. Before Christ only the designated priest could enter. The believer is where lost people encounter God.
I remind you as well, that the Holy Spirit is given the attributes of God. We know that God is life. Romans 8:2, “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free.” We know that God is truth. John 16:13, “When he, the Spirit of truth is come, he will guide you to all truth.” We know that God is love. Romans 15:30, “I urge you brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ, and by the love of the Spirit . . . (pray) for me.”
And I remind you that the Holy Spirit is assigned the works of God. The work of God in creation: Genesis 1:2, “The Spirit of God was brooding upon the face of the waters.” The work of God in undergirding Christ: Matthew 12:28, “If I drive out demons by the Spirit of God then the Kingdom of God has come.” The work of God in redemption: John 3:5, “Except a man is born of . . . the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God.” Titus 3:5, “He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. The work of God in renewed faith: Romans 8:11, “He who raised Christ from the dead . . . will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.”
II. We Must then Understand that the Holy Spirit is a Divine Person of the Godhead.
He is more than just a positive influence. It is true that the word for spirit is the same as for “wind, breath,” and as such is a [gender-neutral] word. But references to the Holy Spirit find this [gender-neutral] word accompanied by a masculine pronoun. John 16:13, “When he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth.” As with other references where the Holy Spirit is intended: John 14:26, “The comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, . . . he will teach you all.”
The Holy Spirit is never referred to in Scripture as an “it,” nor must we. He is a person. He has personality. We perceive of mind, will, even emotions. Intelligence—I Corinthians 2:10f, “The Spirit searcheth . . . the deep things of God. The things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit.” Will—I Corinthians 12:11, “But all these worketh that one and the selfsame spirit, dividing . . . as he will.” Emotions—Romans 15:30, speaks of the “love of the Spirit”; Ephesians 4:30, calls attention to the fact that he can be “grieved.”
III. Finally, We Must Grasp a Personal Relation with the Holy Spirit.
He is a seeking, searching agent for God even in man’s lost estate. Titus 3:5, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the . . . renewing of the Holy Spirit.”
Thus, the Holy Spirit is the major influence both before and after conversion.
The Holy Spirit comes into our lives at the time that we receive Christ as Lord. Acts 2:38, “Repent and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” There must be genuine repentance—not guilt for getting caught; not a tear-jerking confession at impressing someone; [but] repentance before God. There should be a covenant of trust that eventuates in baptism. [In] this interwoven tapestry of faith, repentance, remission, trust, baptism, there is the assuring gift of the Holy Spirit.
There are yet other applications of the Holy Spirit’s influence. The above is the “gift” of the Holy Spirit. There are also “gifts” of Holy Spirit: Romans 12:5, “So we, being many, are one body in Christ . . . having then, gifts according to the grace given”; Hebrews 2:4, “distributing the gifts of Holy Spirit." And there is the “fruit” of the Holy Spirit; this is the mellowing of our lives, growing in Bible knowledge and Christ-likeness.
During a time of rowdiness in our convention, an evangelist (James Robinson) wrote to [the] Baptist Message (3/1983) a letter of apology for verbal attacks he had engaged in on those who disagreed with him. “My eyes were distracted to focus more on the cancer in Baptist life than the cure.” “I’ve become more concerned about my own sin than the sin of others.”
The “filling” of the Holy Spirit is an imperative of faith. Ephesians 5;18, “Be not drunk with wine wherein is excess, but be ye filled with the Spirit”: Submission to His authority; few are full—it is complete submission; the Holy Spirit’s work is to magnify Christ—to be full of the Holy Spirit is to be full of desire to praise and honor our Lord.
Conclusion
Dr. F.B. Meyer gives a classic example of the work of the Holy Spirit. The young daughter of a prominent individual had started to take piano lessons. The parents of the little girl fussed over her even though her playing was more painful to non-family members than pleasurable. They would allow her to invade the gathering of their friends to “play" for these guests. Some started looking for excuses to get away early before the little girl started.
On one occasion, an eminent pianist was present. Instead of leaving, as some did, he took a place on the bench by the little girl. He began filling the void of the child’s discordant notes. In fact, it turned into very beautiful music. People who tried to leave were returning.
After a few minutes at the piano, the musician led the little girl around the room to receive the thanks and the praise of the other guests. So said Dr. Meyer, “The Holy Spirit helpeth our infirmities.” (Romans 8:26)
Alternate Conclusion
I read someone account of Will Campbell’s story in Brother to a Dragonfly1, of the Easter chicken. An acquaintance bought a purple chicken for his little girl at Easter. She loved it, for a little while. Then the chick began to feather out. Underneath that purple down, began to appear little pin feathers, and they were not purple, they were red. It was an awful picture, and the little girl no longer found it appealing. So, the chick went out in the chicken yard.
But there it was out of place. Some of the purple still showed. The other chickens knew it was different. It became this man’s parable of the church.
For a while, the other chickens resisted this one. They pecked it, chased it over the yard, generally, made its life miserable. At first the chick didn’t fight back. It was the new kid on the block. But even before all the purple was gone, the chick was bigger and stronger and knew that feed went to those who struggled for it. It just became like all the other chickens.
His point was, “Who needs an Easter chicken?” Or, “Who needs the church?”
But Preacher Campbell tried to point out that it was good because it still laid eggs. “Yeah, Preacher Will. It lays eggs. But they all lay eggs. Who needs an Easter chicken for that? And the Rotary Club serves coffee. And the 4-H Club says prayers. The Red Cross takes up offerings for hurricane victims. Mental Health does counseling, and the Boy Scouts have youth programs.”
The underlying question came clearly through. The parable was contemporary. “What unique thing does the church do?”
Don M. Aycock, Symbols of Salvation2
______________________
Temple: https://williamtemplefoundation.org.uk/about-the-foundation/archbishop-william-temple/
Campbell: https://www.upress.state.ms.us/Books/B/Brother-to-a-Dragonfly
Aycock: https://www.amazon.com/Symbols-salvation-Don-M-Aycock/dp/0805451900
1Campbell, W. (2018). Brother to a Dragonfly. University Press of Mississippi.
2Aycock, D.M. (1982). Symbols of Salvation. Broadman Press.
THE TRUE MEANING OF PRAYER
#781 & 781a THE TRUE MEANING OF PRAYER
Scripture Luke 18:1; Acts 4:31, NIV Orig. 4/16/1980
Rewr. 9/23/1987
Passage:
Luke 18
18 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.
Acts 4
31 After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
Purpose: Beginning a series on the subject of prayer using John Bunyan’s seven-fold description of prayer.
Keywords: Prayer
Timeline/Series: Prayer
Introduction
Christians the world over are familiar with the name of John Bunyan. Almost without exception, however, we associate him only with Pilgrim’s Progress, and are totally unfamiliar with his equally heartening book on prayer, Prayer,1 where he gives us one of the significant definitions of prayer, and his seven-fold prayer concern.
“Prayer is a sincere, sensible, affectionate pouring out of the heart or soul to God, through Christ, in the strength and assistance of the Holy Spirit, for such things as God has promised, or according to His word, for the good of the church, with submission in faith to the will of God.”
1. Prayer is sincere.
2. Prayer is sensible.
3. Prayer is the affectionate pouring out of the soul to God.
4. Prayer is through Christ, and in the assistance of the Holy Spirit.
5. Prayer is for such as God has promised.
6. Prayer is for the good of the church.
7. Prayer is submission to the will of God.
I. Prayer is Sincerely Pouring Out One’s Soul to God. Acts 2:46, “They . . . did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart.”
Few things in our lives make a difference like deeds done either with or without sincerity. It is New Testament simplicity. Romans 12:9, “Let love be without dissimulation.” I Corinthians 10:21, “You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of devils.” It was vital to the sense of the supper: I Corinthians 5:8, “Let us keep the feast with the unleavened bread of sincerity.” Leaven achieved taste, but it represented artificiality. Relation to God was to disdain such misrepresentation.
On the day before Passover, the Jews were to light a candle and ceremoniously begin a search for anything that might spoil the dough.
Even so, sincerity is an integral part of prayer. Psalm 66:17-18, “. . . If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” Jeremiah 29:12-13, “Ye shall seek me and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.” When Nathaniel came to Jesus, John 1:47, “Behold an Israelite, in whom is no guile.”
Sincerity is simply being the same in a darkened corner alone where none can see, that we are before the face of all the world.
II. Prayer is Sensibly Pouring Out One’s Soul to God. Philippians 4:6, “Be careful for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication . . . , let your requests be made known unto God.”
Sensibility understands life’s pressing needs. Ecclesiastes 3:1, “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven.” There is a time for want of mercy. There is a time for stating confession. There is a time for a bold word of intercession. Few have not prayed for Christianity.
There is a time for a joyous declaration of thanksgiving. Daniel 9:4, “And I prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my confession.” Genesis 32:11 (Jacob), “Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother.” Psalm 95:2, “Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving.”
781a
Romans 8:26-27, 26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
III. Prayer is Affectionately Pouring Out the Soul to God. Matthew 6:21, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Colossians 3:2, “Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth.”
Things done out of love bring satisfaction: God, family, occupation, avocation. Psalm 42: 1, “As the hart panteth after the waterbrooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.”
To thus view God, in prayer, with devotion is to pray to one who loves, and who will perform to our good. Daniel 9:18b, “. . . We do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies.” Romans 10:11, “Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.” Isaiah 66:13, “As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you.” Jonah 4:9, “Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd?” V11, “Should not I spare Nineveh, that great city [without] discernment?”
IV. Prayer is Pouring Out the Soul to God through Christ and with Assistance of Holy Spirit.
We have established the following: Sincerity, Sensibility, and Affection.
Now the believer addresses God where He has made Himself the most vulnerable. It our sin that constitutes the communication gap. But the sinless Son has the Father’s ear. Matthew 18:20, “Where two or more are gathered in my name, there am I.” John 14:13, “Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, [to the end that] the Father may be glorified in the son.”
Daniel grasped this special efficacy. Daniel 9:17, “O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, . . . for the Lord’s sake. . . .” v19, “O Lord, hear, . . . for thy city and thy people are called by thy name.” Romans 10:1, “Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.”
To claim Christ’s name before God is to claim His blood, is to claim His righteousness, is to claim His victory over sin, is to claim His intercession in our behalf. Ephesians 1:6, “To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the beloved.”
A newspaper article datelined Birmingham told of a little four-year-old boy taken in a stolen car. Asleep on back seat, parked in front of Women’s Hospital, the car was taken. A few hours later, the car was recovered but not the boy. Police speculated the thief abandoned. A disabled vet was searching near the site. On the porch of a deserted house he saw bundle of rags. Stopped, on crutches in semi-darkness, the bundle moved, showed fear. But the man called the lad’s father’s name, and told him he was taking him to his daddy.
V. Prayer is the Pouring Out of the Soul to God for Such Things as He has Promised. Psalm 37:4, “He shall give thee the desires of thine heart.”
The Character of the Promiser: Hebrews 10:23, “For He is faithful that promised.” For the sake of His own word. For our sake of redeemable humanity.
The Content of the Promise: II Peter 3:13, “We, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.” It states His integrity. It qualifies the human search.
The Certitude of the Promised: I John 2:25, “This is the promise that He hath promised us, even eternal life.”
VI. Prayer is the Pouring Out of the Soul to God for the Good of the Church.
Jesus prayed for the church. John 17:9f, “I pray for them; I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me.
Paul uses prayer in this sense. Philippians 1:4f, “. . . Prayer . . . for your friendship in the gospel . . . being confident . . . that . . . he will perform it.”
We must pray similarly. Romans 15:30, “. . . Strive with me in your prayers to God for me.”
We must not presume some divine accountability. God’s will is for our own good. Satan is working to disallow His will.
VII. Prayer is Pouring Out One’s Soul to God, Submitting to the Will of God.
Matthew 6:10, “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done.”
I John 5:14f, “This is the confidence that we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us; and if we know that hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.”
Links:
1Bunyan, J. (2022). Prayer. Banner of Truth, Puritan Paperback Series.
IN COVENANT TO GROW
#472 IN COVENANT TO GROW
Scripture Ecclesiastes 12:10-14; Acts 10:35 NIV Orig. 3/3/1968
Rewr. 10/1969, 9/20/1976
Passage:
Ecclesiastes 12:
10 The Teacher searched to find just the right words, and what he wrote was upright and true.
11 The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails—given by one shepherd.[a] 12 Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them.
Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body.
13 Now all has been heard;
here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep his commandments,
for this is the duty of all mankind.
14 For God will bring every deed into judgment,
including every hidden thing,
whether it is good or evil.
Acts 10
35 but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.
Introduction
I read an article last week that began, “The old taboos are dead or dying. A new, more permissive society is taking shape.” One man was quoted as saying, “The emphasis is on the senses and the release of the sensual. All the old codes have been broken down.”
Let me tell you about two men whom I knew. About 15 years ago one was working on the then-new Red River Bridge in Alexandria. He lost his balance and fell 86 feet to the river bank, not into the water, or soft mud, but onto a pile of plywood sheeting that had been used on pier forms. I saw him a few months back, and one who didn’t know would say “the law of gravity has broken down.”
Another, not yet old enough to vote, jumped from a plane as a paratrooper only to look up and face the horror of an unopened chute. To see him today one who didn’t know would say “the law of gravity has broken down.”
I, for one, am glad that prudery and hypocrisy in morality are dead or dying. But to think that we can exist without morality and codes of conduct is as foolish as saying that we can exist without gravity and natural law.
Let us not think that out of the ashes . . . (illegible).
I. Growing in Community Consciousness. Psalms 15:1-33, “Lord, who will abide in thy tabernacle? Who shall dwell in thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart. He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbor, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbor.”
Walking circumspectly. The word “circumspectly” means looking about cautiously in all directions. It is like the soldier on patrol—the needing to keep in contact with his unit, his primary duty is to search for hidden danger. Not an injunction to search for inconsistencies in others. A warning to stay away from threats, temptations.
Just in our dealings. A word with many meanings. For our use here it is to be consistent, impartial. We are to treat all men fairly. We are to take advantage of none. Romans 12:17, Provide things honest in the sight of all men. I still get amused at these movies that continue to beset us. The Indian chief speaks to the army major and says, “White man speaks with forked tongue.” It is too often true.
Faithful in our engagements. We could begin by saying it is an injunction for the deacon to take the office seriously. Active, energetic, faithful. We could call attention to laity on part of church workers—absenteeism about 25%. Sometimes I think preachers have created some of the problem. We left impression that the record is tithing—the very Sunday you lay out may be the Sunday God needed you for something great.
Exemplary in our deportment. God does not call us to go on crusades against the sins of the world until we have learned to deal with our own sin. But God is not ashamed to have any forgiven sinner, no matter how heinous his sin, to speak a word for Him.
Christlikeness is the order of the day. Living so as to reveal God’s love to those around us and those we chance to meet.
II. Growing in Family Faithfulness. Genesis 18:19, “For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord to do what is right and just.”
Maintain family devotions. This does not refer to grace at meals. Let us observe grace at home and abroad in the land. It is a time of planned Bible devotion. A parent or parents and children, reading together the word of God. Praying together for greater grace. (More strength to use prevailing grace.) It is one of the most difficult acts of Christian consciousness. I don’t know how often we have started on a few days, and some interruption or other [gets in the way]. Teaching our families to love and respect, but not worship, the Bible.
Religiously educate our children. It is first of all a job to be done at home. Most tragic verse in Bible is Jeremiah 7:18, “The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger.” We stop helping them in school work when they get beyond our school experience. Could this be the reason you do not help them in their spiritual exercises?
Then there is Sunday School. Sunday School is a Bible teaching organization—the sincere application of Bible truth is the teacher’s first responsibility. Gossip handled tactfully and discreetly. Training Union is Training for Christians. You say “I don’t get anything.” Of course not, you don’t give anything. You don’t enjoy it. You enjoy Ed Sullivan more.
Missionary organizations—115 million lost Americans above age of accountability.
Avoid all tattling, backbiting, excessive anger. This does not refer to temporary occasions of misunderstanding: husbands and wives, fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, teachers and parents, neighbors, relatives, any two people who spend time in association or chancing a misunderstanding.
This speaks directly to the person who delights in someone else’s troubles. It also directs us to seek accord when occasions of misunderstanding arise, and room is left for anger, but not excessive anger.
III. Growing in Personal Perceptivity. Haggai 1:7, “Thus saith the Lord of Hosts, consider your ways.” I Corinthians 11:31, “For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.”
Maintain secret devotions. A time of reverent study. I Timothy 4:13, “Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.” A time of quiet meditation.
Seek the salvation of our kindred and acquaintances. This you must settle at home in quietness of your own life.
Abstain from the sale of and the use of intoxicating beverages. Anything that limits our performance as a person, anything that weakens our witness. New Orleans pot party—2-year-old killed on Friday—mother reported him missing 7 hours later. Charged with negligence.
Closing
Morality is the way a man reacts in regard to his fellow human beings. For the Christian, morality is the effort to advance the Kingdom of our Saviour.
Article 134, Uniform Code of Military Justice—A man is chargeable and punishable for bringing discredit upon the military establishment.
Paul’s admonition to Timothy—Endure as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
JAMES: A FAITH THAT WORKS
#72b JAMES: A FAITH THAT WORKS
Source: Joel C. Gregory
“Religion that is pure and undefiled . . . is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction.” (James 1:27)
I. Authorship
a. What we know! James
b. There are five in the New Testament.
i. Son of Zebedee (Mark 1:19; 3:17*; Acts 2:1-2).
ii. Son of Alphaeus (Mark 3:18*).
iii. The younger (Mark 15:40*; 16:1*).
iv. Father of Apostle Judas (Luke 6:16; Acts 1:13).
v. The brother of Jesus (Mark 6:3*)—the Just.
c. Reasons for the choice of this latter.
i. A witness of the resurrection (I Corinthians 15:7).
ii. A known church leader (Acts 12:17; 15:13,20f).
iii. He matches this conservative Jewish outlook (Galatians 1:19; 2:2,12; Acts 21:18).
iv. Similarity with letter (Acts 15:23f).
v. Identified as Jesus’ brother (Galatians 1:19).
vi. Linked with second name of brother (Jude 1).
d. Problems identified by some.
i. Late agreement (Third Century).
ii. Use of stylized Hellenistic Greek.
e. Biographical review of this James.
i. Half-brother not step-brother.
ii. Became believer in Jesus as the Messiah after the resurrection (I Corinthians 15:7; Acts 1:14).
iii. Became a respected leader of the church in Jerusalem (Acts 12:12; 15:14f; 21:18).
II. Date
a. Some say end of First Century (von Soden, Bruckner, Spitta).
b. Most scholars opt for an early date (48-54a.d.).
i. Terminology basically Hebrew as the early church was (twelve tribes, dispersion).
ii. Terminology similar to Sermon on the Mount.
iii. Does not mention controversies.
iv. James the Just stoned A.D. 62—prompted by Ananus (High Priest). Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews.
v. Reference to poverty best reflects that early period. (Compare Romans 15:25f.)
III. To Whom Was the Letter Written?
a. Again, what we know: “To the tribes of the dispersion.”
b. What this may mean.
i. Jews
ii. Jewish Christians
iii. Both
iv. All Christians—twelve tribes a metaphor.
v. The early date would favor Jewish Christians who were finding it necessary to leave Jerusalem
vi. Its message clearly Christian. (James 1:1, 2:1, 5:7-8).
IV. Relationship of Author to Readers
a. James became the leader of Jerusalem church after departure of Peter (Acts 12:17).
b. In that role, he was chief spokesman for conservative Jewish Christians. Had some influence in Syria (Galatians 2:12).
c. Called upon to negotiate early disagreement among the believers (Galatians 2:1-10; Acts 15:13, 20-21).
V. What Prompted the Letter?
a. Reflects the economic and social conditions of Palestine and Syria in the years prior to Jewish revolt of AD 66-70.
i. Wealthy merchants (James 4:13f)/farmers (James 5:1-6).
ii. Considerable poverty (James 1:9-11, 2:6-7 and 14-17).
iii. Additional oppression of the poor (James 2:6-7, 5:1-6).
b. Reflects moral and spiritual problems as well.
i. Disunity and behavioral problems.
ii. Misunderstanding of Paul’s teaching of salvation by faith alone.
VI. What Can Be Established As the Author’s Intent?
a. The church must not discriminate against the poor.
i. Injunction to wealthy as to dangers in materialism as well as oppression of poor.
ii. Injunction to the poor not to let distress produce bitterness and disruption.
b. The wisdom of God produces character, consistency, community (relationships).
c. Tests of faith will come: God’s wisdom and strength produces the ability to endure and overcome.
d. Saving faith and its confession.
i. More than belief in Jesus.
ii. Gives expression in obedience.
iii. Magnifies compassion for the poor.
VII. Various Outlines
a. C.E. Colton
i. Concerning trials James 1:2-18
ii. Concerning true religious service James 1:19-27
iii. Concerning partiality James 2:1-26
iv. Concerning the tongue James 3:1-18
v. Concerning avarice and pride James 4:1-5:6
vi. Concerning the sick James 5:13-18
vii. Concerning compassion James 5:19-20
b. H.E. Dana
i. The problem of trials James 1:2-18
ii. The nature of true religion James 1:19-2:36
iii. The responsibility of the teaching office James 3:1-12
iv. A protest against prevalent evils James 3:13-5:6
1. Strife James 3:13-4:2
2. Avarice James 4:13-5:6
c. A.T. Robertson
i. Joy in Trial James 1:1-11
ii. The Way of Temptation James 1:12-18
iii. The Practice of the Word of God James 1:19-27
iv. Class Prejudice James 2:1-13
v. The Appeal to Life James 2:14-26
vi. The Tongues of Teachers James 3:1-12
vii. The True Wise Man James 3:13-18
viii. The Outer and Inner Life James 4:1-12
ix. God and Business James 4:13-5-6
x. Perseverance and Prayer James 5:7-20
d. Howard P. Colson
i. Some marks of genuine religion James 1:2-27
ii. The practical meaning of Faith James 2:1-26
iii. Tongue control and true wisdom James 3:1-18
iv. Sins of worldliness and Pride James 4:1-17
v. Social Justice and Christian living James 5:1-20
e. Virtus E. Gideon
i. Trials and the Christian Life James 1:2-27
ii. Works and the Christian Life James 2:1-26
iii. The Tongue and the Christian Life James 3:1-18
iv. Worldliness and the Christian Life James 4:1-17
v. Patience and the Christian Life James 5:1-20
Links/Citations
Gregory, J. (1986). James: Faith Works! Convention Press.
JAMES: AN OUTLINE
#72a JAMES: AN OUTLINE
Lamar Skinner
First Baptist Church
February 8/15, 1987
Greeting, James 1:1
“James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.”
I. When Temptations Abound, James 1:2-18
1. Joy in the face of it, James 1:2-4
2. Strength from God, James 1:5-8
3. Consistency of spirit is the key, James 1:9-11
4. Trials and temptations distinguished, James 1:12-15
5. The source of all good, James 1:16-18
II. Beyond Hearing to Doing, James 1:19-27
1. Communicating our faith, James 1:19-25
2. Communicating through our actions, James 1:26-27
III. Respect for Others, James 2:1-13
1. Without favoritism, James 2:1-7
2. The royal law, James 2:8-10
3. Reviewing the commandments, James 2:11-13
4. Faith and its counterpart action, James 2:14-20
5. Old Testament examples, James 2:21-26
IV. The Measure of Our Words, James 3:1-18
1. Advice to teachers, James 3:1
2. Control of the tongue, James 3:2-12
3. True wisdom is from God, James 3:13-18
V. The Spirit Within, James 4:1-5:6
1. Evidence of worldliness, James 4:1-2
2. The weakened prayer-life, James 4:3-4
3. Submitting and resisting, James 4:5-10
4. Evil speaking, James 4:11-12
5. Assertiveness and the Will of God, James 4:13-17
6. Wanton wealth breeds pleasure not godliness, James 5:1-6
VI. Patience As a Christian Virtue, James 5:7-12
1. Patience expected, James 5:7-9
2. Patience examined, James 5:10-11
3. Patience cultivated, James 5:12
VII. The Power of Prayer, James 5:13-18
1. Prayer for the sick, James 5:13-15
2. Prayer wrought in confession, James 5:16
3. Prayer in Old Testament example, James 5:17-18
VIII. Help for the Backslider, James 5:19-20
OBSERVANCE OF THE LORD’S SUPPER
#759a OBSERVANCE OF THE LORD’S SUPPER
First Baptist Church
Fellowship Hall ---- 7pm
Hymn “What a Wonderful Saviour!” Congregation
Christ has for sin atonement made, What a wonderful Saviour! I am redeemed, the price is paid; What a wonderful Saviour!
Refrain: What a wonderful Saviour is Jesus, my Jesus! What a wonderful Saviour is Jesus, my Lord!
He cleansed my heart from all its sin, What a wonderful Saviour! And now he reigns and rules therein, What a wonderful Saviour!
Refrain: What a wonderful Saviour is Jesus, my Jesus! What a wonderful Saviour is Jesus, my Lord!
Hymn “Amazing Grace” Congregation
Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, That saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now am found, Was blind, but now I see.
‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, And grace my fears relieved. How precious did that grace appear The hour I first believed.
Scripture: I John 4:7-11 Watson Goss
7. Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. 8. He that loveth not, knoweth not God; for God is love. 9. In this was manifested the love of God toward of us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. 10. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.
Sharing Time Harry Stall
(Others are invited to share testimonies)
Solo Eric Carter
“No One Ever Cared for Me Like Jesus”
Scripture: I Corinthians 10:16, 17, 21; 11:27-29 Delwyn Odom
10:16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? 17 For we being many are one bread, and one body; for we are all partakers of that one bread. 21 Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils. 11:27 Wherefore whosoever shall drink the cup of the Lord, unworthy, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let us examine ourselves, and let us eat of the bread, and drink of the cup. 29 For the one eating and drinking unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to oneself, not discerning the Lord’s body.
Hymn: “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” Congregation
When I survey the wondrous cross, On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss, And pour contempt on all my pride.
Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast, Save in the death of Christ my God;
All the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them to his blood.
Were the whole realm of nature mine, That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine, Demands my soul, my life, my all.
Scripture: I Corinthians 11:23-24
23 For I have received of the Lord that which I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread. 24 And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, ‘Take, eat; this is my body, which is broken for you. This do in remembrance of me.’
Prayer of Blessing Pastor
Sharing of Bread (Symbol of his broken body)
Hymn: “Break Thou the Bread of Life” Congregation
Break Thou the bread of life, Dear Lord, to me,
As Thou didst break the loaves Beside the sea;
Beyond the sacred page I seek Thee, Lord;
My spirit pants for Thee, O living Word.
Thou art the bread of life, O Lord, to me,
Thy holy Word the truth That saveth me;
Give me to eat and live With Thee above;
Teach me to love Thy truth, for Thou art love.
Scripture: Mark 14:22 Pastor
And as they did eat, Jesus took bread and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, ‘Take, eat; this is my body.’
Partaking of the Bread Congregation
Scripture: I Corinthians 11:25, 26
25 After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying ‘This cup is the new testament in my blood; this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.’ 26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord’s death ‘til he come.
Hymn “Let Us Break Bread Together” Congregation
Let us break bread together on our knees, Let us break bread together on our knees.
Refrain: When I fall on my knees, With my face to the rising sun, O Lord, have mercy on me.
Let us drink the cup together on our knees, Let us drink the cup together on our knees.
Refrain: When I fall on my knees, With my face to the rising sun, O Lord, have mercy on me.
Let us praise God together on our knees, Let us drink the cup together on our knees.
Refrain: When I fall on my knees, With my face to the rising sun, O Lord, have mercy on me.
Scripture: Matthew 26:27-28 Hugh McGee
27 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them saying, ‘Drink ye all of it.’ 28 ‘For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.’
Prayer of Blessing Pastor
Sharing of the Cup (Symbol of blood Christ shed) Deacons
Scripture: Hebrews 3:14 Pastor
We are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast until the end.
Partaking of the Cup Congregation
Scripture: John 13:34. 35 Windy Denham
34 A new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.
Hymn “The Master Hath Come” Congregation
The Master hath come, and he calls us to follow
The track of the footprints he leaves on our way;
Far over the mountains and through the deep hollow,
The path leads us on to the mansions of day;
The Master hath called us, the children who fear him,
Who march ‘neath Christ’s banner, his own little band;
We love him and seek him, we long to be near him,
And rest in the light of his beautiful land.
Meditation: Five Grains of Corn Pastor
Providence, Privation, Prayer, Present Crisis, Promise
Scripture: Matthew 26:30 Congregation
And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives.
Hymn “God Be With You” Congregation
God be with you till we meet again; loving counsels guide, uphold you; may the Shepherd’s care enfold you. God be with you till we meet again.
Refrain: Till we meet, till we meet, till we meet at Jesus’ feet. Till we meet, till we meet, God be with you till we meet again.
God be with you till we meet again!