Views, Visions and Values.

Thursday, 24 April 2014

Were Ananias and Sapphira Believers?

Were Ananias and Sapphira believers who were judged by God because of their blatant sin? According to one prominent pastor , they were not, since things like this do not happen to believers in Jesus, to those under grace, since the Lord already took our judgment on the cross. Is this pastor correct?

Actually, the text does not tell us explicitly whether they were believers or not, but without a doubt, this account was recorded as a lesson for all of us, and the New Testament makes very clear that the Lord sometimes judges His own blood-bought people who engage in blatant sin.

Are we willing to accept the testimony of the Word of God?

This pastor, who is a gifted teacher with many good things to say, claims that in Acts 5, it is “very clearly stated” that Ananias and Sapphira were not believers, and for him, the lesson we learn from this passage of Scripture is that God will judge those who try to hurt the church, which is “very consoling” for him.

Words for the Wise, James 2, Faith & Works

James 2

English Standard Version Anglicised (ESVUK)

2 My brothers,[a] show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. 2 For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, 3 and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place”, while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there”, or, “Sit down at my feet”, 4 have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? 6 But you have dishonoured the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honourable name by which you were called?

8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself”, you are doing well. 9 But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. 11 For he who said, “Do not commit adultery”, also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. 13 For judgement is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgement.

Faith Without Works Is Dead

14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled”, without giving them the things needed for the body, what good[b] is that? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! 20 Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. 24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.

The IVP New Testament Commentary Series

Rhetorical Questions About Faith Without Deeds (2:14)

The two rhetorical questions about faith without deeds are (1) "What good is it?" (answer: none) and (2) "Can it save?" (answer: no). The first question implies a general lack of any usefulness for a faith without actions. The second question specifies a particular use that is lacking—salvation itself. The combined impact is to declare a thorough uselessness of faith without deeds and, to make it absolutely clear, also to declare its particular uselessness in regard to salvation, which would be the primary point of having faith in the first place. "In a Christian context such as this, . . . the `use' takes on serious consequences, for it is salvation which is at stake" (Davids 1982:120). In the subsequent example in 2:15-16, there is no "good" for the needy person who receives no help. Here in 2:14, however, it is explicit that the good lacking is for the person who claims to have faith. James asks not if such faith can save "anyone else" but if such faith can save him.

This biblical truth needs to be forcefully preached and taught for the social conscience of the modern church. It must become unthinkable for us, too, that our faith would leave us content to ignore needy people. Our churches are failing to supply the channels of ministry for a life of faith if they are not providing ways for Christians to minister to needy people. As churches plan their priorities, it does not matter whether church growth can occur through outreach to the poor; it is a question of whether we have genuine, saving faith. This point is a message to convict and to motivate those who would be people of "faith."

What does James mean by faith? A life of faith (pistis) is the unifying theme of James's letter. He strongly emphasizes that faith is a stance of belief and trust toward God—for example, trusting God even in the face of trials. But with equal strength James emphasizes that genuine faith is "working faith" (Moo 1985:107). It is the stance of belief toward God by which one endures trials, asks for wisdom, resists temptation, controls one's tongue, looks after orphans and widows in their distress, keeps oneself unpolluted by the world, avoids favoritism, loves one's neighbor as oneself, gives physical necessities to the poor and, in short, lives as a doer of the word.

We can affirm all of this with James's passionate earnestness but without distorting his view into an unrealistic expectation of sinless perfection. Of course Christians fail to live up to this perfectly; that is why James bothers to write about it. But the meaning of real faith is still to be embraced and practiced. If the works of faith are not present, the authenticity of one's faith is in serious question. Genuine faith, faith that does result in salvation, must acknowledge the lordship of Christ and so respond to Christ's word with actions of obedience. Thus 2:14 recalls the emphasis on that "which can save you" in 1:21. Christ is both Savior and Lord; he cannot be separated into two persons. Genuine, saving faith necessarily includes both a trusting of Christ as Savior and a following of Christ as Lord.

IVP New Testament Commentaries are made available by the generosity of InterVarsity Press.

Dictionary of Bible Themes

8021 faith, nature of

Confidence in and commitment to God and Jesus Christ. These attitudes remain sure even though the objects of faith are unseen. True faith is seen in obedient action, love and continuing good works.

The object of faith

God as the object of faith Heb 11:6 See also Ps 25:1-2; Ps 26:1; Pr 29:25; 1Pe 1:21

Jesus Christ as the object of faith Jn 14:1 See also Jn 3:16,18,36; Jn 6:68-69

False objects of faith Human resources: Ps 20:7; Hos 10:13

Ps 118:9 other people; Pr 28:26 self; Isa 42:17 idols

Faith is personal trust in God

2Sa 22:31 See also Ps 18:2-6; Ps 27:13-14; 1Pe 2:23

True faith cannot be second-hand 2Ti 1:5 See also Jn 4:42

Faith and assurance

Assurance accompanies faith Heb 11:1 See also Ro 4:19-21; 1Ti 3:13; Heb 10:22

Faith may be mixed with doubt Mt 14:31 Simon Peter; Mk 9:24 the father of the boy with an evil spirit; Jn 20:24-28 Thomas

Faith and sight

2Co 5:7

Faith as trust in what is unseen Jn 20:29 See also 2Co 4:18; Heb 11:1-3,7,27

Faith looks towards an unseen future Heb 11:13-14 See also Heb 11:8-10 Abraham; Heb 11:20-22 Isaac, Jacob and Joseph; Heb 11:24-26 Moses

Faith and obedience

True faith is demonstrated in obedience Ro 1:5; Heb 4:2 See also Ro 16:26; 2Co 9:13; 1Pe 1:2

Examples of obedient faith Noah builds the ark: Ge 6:22; Heb 11:7 Abraham leaves Haran: Ge 12:4; Heb 11:8 Abraham offers Isaac: Ge 22:1-10; Heb 11:17

Ex 14:15-16 Moses parts the sea. Caleb and Joshua: Nu 13:30; Nu 14:8-9

Jos 3:5-13 Joshua at the river Jordan Joshua at Jericho; Jos 6:2-5; Heb 11:30

Jn 21:4-6 Jesus Christ’s disciples, fishing; Ac 26:19 Paul

Faith and works

True faith is demonstrated in good deeds Jas 2:14-26 See also Php 2:17; 1Th 1:3; Tit 1:1; 2Pe 1:5

True faith issues in love Gal 5:6 See also Eph 1:15; Eph 6:23; 1Th 3:6; 1Th 5:8; 1Ti 1:5,14; 1Ti 4:12

True faith is constantly productive Lk 8:15 pp Mt 13:23 pp Mk 4:20 See also Jn 15:1-5

Yours in His Grace

Blair Humphreys

Southport, Merseyside

24^th April 2014.

What George O. Wood Really Thinks About Pentecostals Speaking in Tongues

That’s what Pentecostalism, in its purist form, tries to do. It tries to erase the smudges on the church for the last 20 centuries and get back to what the early Christians believed and practiced. That is our goal—to get back to biblical, original Christianity.

I have been asked a number of times by national reporters about speaking in tongues. I was talking with a reporter from the New York Times and told him there’s nothing unusual about what Pentecostals are doing today. If you look at the first-century church, all the writers of the New Testament spoke in tongues and the Early Church spoke in tongues. So Pentecostalism, at its roots, is basically a restorationist movement. We believe that we can cut through 20 centuries of church tradition and get back to the original church. It doesn’t mean that we do everything like the original church, but we’re trying to have the same doctrine and experience of the Early Church.

Read more here http://georgeowood.com/

The Shattering of Jars of Clay

Beginning on Tuesday, April 21st, Dan Haseltine, front-man for the popular Christian band Jars of Clay, took to Twitter to announce his apparent support for same-sex “marriage.” And for the life of him, he can’t figure out a single good reason to oppose it.

It is for reasons like this that we have been sounding the alarm these last 10 years.

In a series of tweets posted over a three-day period, and prompted by a movie he watched while in flight, he wrote: “The treatment of people as less than human based on the color of skin is crazy... Or gender, or sexual orientation for that matter.”

Of course, to compare skin color with “sexual orientation” is to compare apples with oranges, as has been demonstrated many times before.

But that was only the beginning. He added, “Not meaning to stir things up BUT... Is there a non-speculative or non ‘slippery slope’ reason why gays shouldn't marry? I don't hear one.”

This really boggles the mind.

When you’re sliding down a dangerous slippery slope, you don’t say, “Give me one good reason we’re in danger, other than the fact that we’re careening down this deadly slope.”

No. You grab hold of something to stop your fall and then figure out how to climb back to solid ground.