Wives and Daughters Praying

If a Christian man is to be the spiritual leader of his household (Eph. 5:22-24; 6:4), what about others in the family (incl. females) leading prayers at mealtime, bedtime, or in family devotionals?

With biblical directives concerning male spiritual leadership understood,¹ it might be helpful to note the distinction between corporate worship (e.g., 1 Cor. 14:26), worship training (e.g., Luke 11:1-4), and “worship” activities outside the corporate assembly (e.g., Acts 27:35). There are certain things regarded as unacceptable in a mixed worship assembly yet appropriate outside the assembly, particularly in the home (e.g.,  1 Cor. 11:22; 14:35). 

Training our children in the way of the Lord is a long-established divinely-enjoined duty (Deut. 6:5-7; Prov. 22:6; Eph. 6:1-4).²  Christian women are not exempt from being “teachers of good things” (Tit. 2:3) and engaging “in supplications and prayers night and day” (1 Tim. 5:5). In order for a mother’s children to “rise up and call her blessed” (Prov. 31:8), it would seem they need to witness her engaged in spiritual activities. 

While the Bible lays out general guidelines, it does not reveal specifics about how to train children for spiritual service. They learn by observation, instruction, and doing. Here is where we start getting into matters of personal judgment. Conservative Christians would object to a woman taking leadership in a corporate worship assembly, but in the home each family must decide how to implement biblical principles without neglecting or violating the Lord’s expectations.

In my family, I lead the prayers when we pray together. Everyone understands my leadership role. However, when my girls were little and wanted to say a prayer before a meal or at bedtime, we allowed them to talk to God as an innocent child and as part of their spiritual training, then I would follow with a prayer on behalf of the family. Not everyone would agree with this (some stricter, others more lenient), but I consider it a judgment call each family has to make. I would not be comfortable with a woman leading a family prayer instead of her husband when he is present, although this seems different than a husband and wife praying together. 

Obviously we don’t want to send the wrong message or leave the wrong impression, but neither do we want to establish regulations for God that he has not dictated. This is one of those areas where we genuinely seek to be pleasing to God and try to avoid unnecessary extremes. 

--Kevin L. Moore

Endnotes:

     ¹ 1 Cor. 11:3; 14:33-35; Eph. 5:22–6:4; Col. 3:18-21; 1 Tim. 2:8-15. See K. L. Moore, “A Woman’s Service in the Church,” Moore Perspective (27 December 2014), <Link>.

     2 See K. L. Moore, “Train Up a Child,” Moore Perspective (7 Oct. 2015), <Link>.

Related Posts: The Bible's Radical View on Women, Questions Concerning the Role of Women, Jesus Couldn't Be a Priest 

 

Image credit: https://www.dreamstime.com/illustration/family-prayer.html

Endurance of Hope

The Thessalonian Christians are commended for their “endurance” or “steadfastness” of “hope” (1 Thess. 1:3). In the New Testament ἐλπίς (“hope”),¹ particularly with reference to what lies ahead for the faithful child of God, is an earnest expectation, something eagerly anticipated. It “consists of a great longing and a positive certainty.”² The term in the Greek New Testament is much stronger than what the English typically conveys and “is Paul’s primary way of speaking about the certainty of the future.”³

 

Embracing the stability of God’s promises, hope is the sure and steadfast anchor of the soul (Heb. 6:18-19); it is to the Christian what a steady anchor is to a ship. It supports, braces, secures, and gives confidence to the believer during life’s storms. Without hope, we drift aimlessly and have no security in this turbulent world. 

Hope engenders, drives, and sustains ὑπομονή,⁴ “steadfastness,” “perseverance,” “endurance,” “fortitude,” which “is not a quiet, passive resignation, but an active constancy in the face of difficulties.”⁵ Both the noun and verb forms are used throughout the New Testament in connection with the inevitable afflictions encountered by followers of Jesus.⁶

 

In Christ alone, my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm ...⁷

 

Thank you Lord for the endurance of hope, your gracious gift that takes us home.

--Kevin L. Moore

 

Endnotes:

     ¹ Cf. Acts 2:26; 16:19; 23:6; 24:15; 26:6, 7; 27:20; 28:20; Rom. 4:18; 5:2, 4, 5; 8:20, 24; 12:12; 15:4, 13; 1 Cor. 9:10; 13:13; 2 Cor. 1:7; 3:12; 10:15; Gal. 5:5; Eph. 1:18; 2:12; 4:4; Phil. 1:20; Col. 1:5, 23, 27; 1 Thess. 1:3; 2:19; 4:13; 5:8; 2 Thess. 2:16; 1 Tim. 1:1; Tit. 1:2; 2:13; 3:7; Heb. 3:6; 6:11, 18; 7:19; 10:23; 1 Pet. 1:3, 21; 3:15; 1 John 3:3.

     ² H. N. Ridderbos, Epistle to Galatia 189-90.

     ³ G. D. Fee, Thessalonians 108, emp. in the text.

     ⁴ This is a compound word, comprised of ὑπό (“under”) + μένω (“remain”). The verb form ὑπομένω appears in Matt. 10:22; 24:13; Mark 13:13; Luke 2:43; Acts 17:14; Rom. 12:12; 1 Cor. 13:7; 2 Tim. 2:10, 12; Heb. 10:32; 12:2, 3, 7; Jas. 1:12; 5:11; 1 Pet. 2:20.

     ⁵ L. Morris, Thessalonians 42.

     ⁶ Cf. Luke 8:15; 21:19; Rom. 2:7; 5:3, 4; 8:25; 15:4, 5; 2 Cor. 1:6; 6:4; 12:12; Col. 1:11; 1 Thess. 1:3; 2 Thess. 1:4; 3:5; 1 Tim. 6:11; 2 Tim. 3:10; Tit. 2:2; Heb. 10:36; 12:1; Jas. 1:3, 4; 5:11; 2 Pet. 1:6; Rev. 1:9; 2:2, 3, 19; 3:10; 13:10; 14:12.

     ⁷ Lyrics by Keith Getty and Stuart Townsend, © Thankyou Music Ltd.

Related Posts: Obligation of Love & Power of Hope 

 

Image credit: https://theconversation.com/how-hope-can-keep-you-healthier-and-happier-132507

 

Encountering Jesus in His Word

Introduction

Philip “preached Christ” to the Samaritans (Acts 8:5) and then “preached Jesus” to the Ethiopian official (Acts 8:35). Paul affirms that at Corinth he and his companions preached “the Son of God, Jesus Christ” (2 Cor. 1:19). Peter declares, “we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ ...” (2 Pet. 1:16).¹ But the broader context of these passages clearly shows that the person of Jesus Christ, the primary focus of the gospel message, is not the sum total of what is taught.

Preaching “Christ” to the Samaritans included the kingdom of God, the name (authority) of Jesus Christ, and baptism (Acts 8:12-13). Preaching “Jesus” to the Ethiopian helped him understand his need to be baptized (Acts 8:36-39). Preaching “the Son of God, Jesus Christ” at Corinth included the Lord's death, burial and resurrection (1 Cor. 1:23; 2:2; 15:1-4), baptism into his body (Acts 18:8; 1 Cor. 12:13), and all the other teachings that were passed on to them (Acts 18:11). Peter, in his recorded sermons and two inspired epistles, obviously taught more than just the person of Jesus. 

To preach “Jesus,” in the biblical sense, not only involves transmitting the doctrine about Jesus but also the doctrine from Jesus (including what is conveyed through his inspired agents), “the doctrine of Christ” (John 7:16-17; 2 John 9), “the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27). 

Beware of an Overly-Simplified Condensed Gospel 

How do we answer the question, “What must I do to be saved?” This question is asked on three separate occasions in the book of Acts (2:37; 16:30; 22:10), with a different response given each time. The answer depends on who is asking and where the inquirer is along his or her spiritual journey. 

The Jews in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost (chap. 2) and the Ethiopian official on the road to Gaza (chap. 8) were already deeply committed to God and to the authority of the scriptures, whereas the Philippian jailer (chap. 16) and the Athenian philosophers (chap. 17) were not. Still today each prospective convert is unique, and there is no one-size-fits-all approach that is suitable for every person.

Martin Luther preached an abbreviated gospel of justification by faith alone. And if we’re not careful, we can also be guilty of reducing the gospel message to a fraction of what the Lord originally intended.

“Hear, believe, repent, confess, and be baptized” is the standard formula often cited as the gospel plan of salvation, typically accompanied by a single-verse Bible reference for each. Surely we recognize the need to “remain faithful” after baptism, but what all does this entail? We don’t want to overly complicate what ought to be simple and straightforward, but at the same time we don’t want to oversimplify something so important that it could result in the gospel being insufficiently taught. The bottom line is, what exactly is to be heard and believed and obeyed? And where’s the church in God’s plan?

The Book of Conversions

While the fifth book of the NT has historically been labeled “the Book of Conversions,” let’s not forget that it is actually the sequel of a two-volume set. As Dr. Luke composed the historical narrative of Acts, he could reasonably assume that his readers were already familiar with “the former account” (Acts 1:1). 

The Acts narrative is not an intricately detailed report of all that was said and done in each recorded event. In fact, thirty-two years of history have been compacted into only twenty-eight chapters! Acts consists of selective highlights of the conversion stories it recounts rather than comprehensive details of each. Although there is no explicit reference to confession of faith in chap. 2, or to baptism in chaps. 3-4, or to repentance in chap. 8, or to belief in most of chap. 9, surely we understand that it is the totality of information that provides the complete picture.

Peter’s sermon on the Day of Pentecost, which led to the conversions of about 3,000 souls, is boiled down to merely twenty-six verses (which can be read or quoted in less than two-and-a-half minutes!). These verses do not contain the sum total of the apostle’s message, as the inspired historian clearly explains: “And with many other words he testified and exhorted them ...” (Acts 2:40).

The next recorded gospel sermon is summed up in only fifteen verses (Acts 3:12-26), even though it appears to have lasted for several hours. While the events that instigated this evangelistic opportunity started around 3 o’clock in the afternoon (3:1), the preaching continued on into the evening (4:3).

Where’s the Church in the Gospel Plan of Salvation?

Penitent baptized believers are added to the church (Acts 2:37-47), baptized into one body (1 Cor. 12:13), the church (Col. 1:18). Jesus is the Savior of the body/the church (Eph. 1:22-23; 5:23). The Greek word ekklēsía, translated “church” in our English Bibles, occurs no less than twenty-two times in Acts with reference to the congregated disciples of Jesus.² As we trace the gospel story through Luke’s first volume (the Gospel) and on through the second (Acts), it is clear that the ekklēsía of Acts fulfills the numerous basileía (kingdom) prophecies of the Gospel.³

Jesus came to earth to “preach the kingdom of God” (Luke 4:43; 8:1; 9:11), and he commissioned his disciples to do the same (Luke 9:2; 10:9, 11). He promised that within their lifetime they would actually see this spiritual kingdom realized (Luke 9:27). Following his death and resurrection, and for several weeks prior to his ascension, the Lord continually reminded the apostles “of things pertaining to the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3).

On the Day of Pentecost, when the gospel was communicated in its fullness, penitent baptized believers were forgiven of sins and added to the community of the saved (Acts 2:21-47). From this point onward the church that Jesus had promised to build and the kingdom he had repeatedly foretold is coming are no longer spoken of prospectively. The church is present (Acts 5:11; 8:1, 3; 20:28)⁴ and the kingdom is present (Acts 8:12; 14:22; 19:8; 20:25; 28:23, 31).⁵

While the kingship of Jesus is implied and his lordship affirmed in the Pentecost-day discourse (Acts 2:30, 36), Peter preached “many other words” (v. 40). The Samaritans who obeyed the gospel “believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God …” (Acts 8:12) and were counted among the newly established churches in the region (Acts 9:31). The Galatians were warned by Barnabas and Paul of inevitable afflictions when entering “into the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22), which incorporated the churches of that area (Gal. 1:2). In planting the church in Thessalonica (1 Thess. 1:1), Jesus was proclaimed as “king” (Acts 17:7). Paul consistently taught those in Ephesus about “the kingdom of God” (Acts 19:8; 20:25), and as “fellow citizens” (Eph. 2:19) they comprised the church (Eph. 1:22; 3:10, 21; 5:23). In Rome he preached “the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus …” (Acts 28:23) and spent two whole years “preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ …” (v. 31).

Can we preach “Jesus” without including the church that he purchased with his own blood? (Acts 20:28). Who are we to sever the head from the body (Eph. 5:23), or to keep the foundation while removing God’s spiritual house that he built on it? (1 Cor. 3:9-16). Can we divorce the bride from the bridegroom? (Rev. 21:9). How can Jesus be King without his kingdom? (Col. 1:13). If Jesus is “the Way” (John 14:6), can we dismiss his church that is also called “the Way”? (Acts 9:2; 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14, 22). Jesus and his church are not mutually exclusive, and to preach one without the other is insufficient and detrimental to his cause.

The Commitment Requirement

The Great Commission involves the worldwide proclamation of the gospel and making disciples of all nations.⁶ In the first volume of his two-volume set, Luke records in chap. 14  the words of Jesus, prior to issuing the Great Commission, where he unequivocally states three times that one “cannot be My disciple” unless he or she counts the cost of discipleship and is totally committed all the way to the end (vv. 26-33). As we continue obeying the Great Commission today and seek to make disciples, we do a grave disservice when we try to rush people into the baptistery who are insufficiently taught, not entirely committed to the Lord, and uninformed about what is expected after baptism.

The Gospel Plan of Salvation

Simply stated, the gospel plan of salvation is our gracious God seeking to reconcile sinners to himself through the life, death, burial, and resurrection of his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, in a unified collectivity of forgiven disciples. Our response to this divine plan can be summarized as follows:

o   Hear (listen to, understand, heed) the gospel message (Mark 4:23-24; Acts 2:22, 37; 3:22), and keep on hearing, receptively and responsively (Rom. 10:17; Eph. 4:21, 29; Phil. 4:9; Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 29).

o   Believe the gospel message (Acts 4:4; 18:8; 9:42) and continue believing and increasing in faith (Rom. 3:22; 4:11, 24; 10:4; 2 Pet. 1:5-7).

o   Repent of sinful attitudes and behaviors (Acts 2:38; 3:19), and don’t stop repenting as it is needed (Acts 8:22; Rom. 6:1-18; 2 Cor. 7:9-10).

o   Confess faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (Matt. 10:32; 1 Tim. 6:12) and keep on confessing (Rom. 10:9-10; 2 Cor. 9:13; Heb. 4:14; 10:23).

o   Be immersed in water for forgiveness of past sins by Christ’s blood (Acts 2:38; 8:36-39; 22:16), entering (“into”) Christ and his emblematic body, the church, the saved community (Acts 2:41-47; 1 Cor. 12:13; Gal. 3:26-27; 1 Pet. 2:20-21), raised to live a new life (Rom. 6:3-5; Col. 2:11-13; 3:1-3).

o   Remain faithful (Acts 2:42; 14:22) as an active and devoted member of Christ’s body—universally (Eph. 3:6; 5:23; 1 Pet. 2:17) and locally (Rom. 12:3-13; 1 Cor. 12:12-27)—a loyal citizen of his spiritual kingdom (Eph. 2:19; Col. 1:9-18).

 

Conclusion

In our humble attempts to evangelize, how do we help people encounter Jesus in his word? We show them Jesus by introducing them to the gospel of Christ in its entirety, without abridgements, shortcuts, or compromise.

--Kevin L. Moore

Endnotes:

     ¹ Unless otherwise noted, scripture quotations are from the NKJV.

     ² Ekklēsia also appears in Acts 2:47 in the Byzantine Majority Text tradition; once in reference to the assembling of Israelites (7:38), and three more times in a secular sense (19:32-41).

     ³ The basileia (kingdom) of God is referenced seven times in Acts, and a whopping thirty-nine times in the Gospel of Luke!  

     ⁴ See also 1 Cor. 10:32; 11:22; Gal. 1:13; Eph. 1:22; et al.

     ⁵ See also Rom. 14:17; 1 Cor. 4:20; Col. 1:12, 13; 4:11; et al.

     ⁶ Matt. 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16; Luke 24:45-47; Acts 1:8.

*Prepared for the 2025 FHU Lectureship as part of the series Missions and Church Growth: Personal Evangelism. Full title, “Conducting the Study: Encountering Jesus in His Word.”

Related Posts: What Must I Do To Be Saved?, The Church of the NT

Related articles:

 

Image credit: https://www.dreamstime.com/illustration/light-shining-open-bible.html

Should the Congregational Budget Be Public?

Church Finances

In 1 Corinthians 16:1-3 Paul issues an apostolic command for churches to take up a collection of funds every first day of the week, receiving from each contributing member according to his or her own ability and level of prosperity. At the time of writing Paul was raising benevolent aid for a particular need, but there are broader implications for how the work of the church is to be financed. Beyond this explicit injunction, there are numerous examples of the Lord’s work funded through free-will offerings collected in a common treasury.¹ No other method of financing the Lord’s work is biblically sanctioned beyond the intentional and generous giving of members of the local church.²

Keeping the Church Informed

In the earliest days of the church, the giving and distribution of funds were public (Acts 4:32-37). The apostolic church-leaders delegated this benevolent ministry to reputable and qualified men (Acts 6:1-6). In later reports of congregational free-will giving, the brethren knew what their contributions were funding (1 Cor. 16:1-4; 2 Cor. 8:1–9:15), and it was a matter of public record (Rom. 15:25-28).

Elders, as congregational leaders, are to be above reproach, not greedy for money, and good stewards of God (1 Tim. 3:2-3; Tit. 1:6-9). It seems that transparency (including the reporting of church finances) is necessary for the congregation to have confidence in their leaders as scripturally qualified men and for incentive to obey passages like 1 Thess. 5:12-13; Heb. 13:7, 17. 

“The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away” (1 Pet. 3:1-4, NKJV).

--Kevin L. Moore

Endnotes:

     ¹ Cf. Acts 2:42, 44, 45; 4:32, 34-37; 5:1-2; 6:1-4; 11:29-30; Rom. 15:26-27; 2 Cor. 8:10-12, 19; 9:1-7; Eph. 4:28. 

     ² See K. L. Moore, “The Sunday Collection,” Moore Perspective (25 March 2015), <Link>.

Related Posts: The Biblical Doctrine of Tithing, Qualifications of Elders (Part 2)

 

Image credit: https://www.dreamstime.com/stock-illustration-business-concept-illustration-man-hiding-money-bag-behind-his-back-tax-evasion-concept-man-hiding-money-bag-behind-image98804120

The Scientific Consistency of the Bible

The Bible is not a science book. But if it is what it claims to be—the inspired word of God—we would expect it to be scientifically accurate and consistent in what it teaches. While clearly at variance with atheistic and anti-theistic hypotheses of how life, morality, and the physical universe came to be, the message of the Bible is consistent and readily accords with the evidence available for experimental and observational scientific confirmation.  

Our physical universe is something we can all observe, so how is it to be explained? Either (a) it is just an illusion and doesn’t really exist; or (b) it spontaneously arose out of a void of nothingness; or (c) it has always existed in some form; or (d) it was created by an intelligent and powerful force beyond and superior to itself. The first option is not taken seriously by most rational thinkers, and the second has been debunked since the mid-nineteenth century. The third option has had a much longer tenure. 

Atheistic Naturalism

From the 1960s to the 1990s, astronomer and Pulitzer-Prize-winning author Dr. Carl Sagan was widely acclaimed as “the most brilliant scientist of our times.”¹ In his 1980 book Cosmos, spending seventy weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list, he made the bold claim, “the Cosmos is all there is or was or ever will be.”² He apparently considered the physical universe to be eternal. But Sagan’s confident assertion, which fellow-scientists and non-scientists alike have taken as fact, is an unproven and unprovable assumption that cannot be verified by scientific observation or experimentation.

Atheistic naturalism begins with impersonal, mindless matter that either came into existence from nothing (physically impossible) or is eternal. Life is allegedly a freak accident of nature, governed by nothing and going nowhere. Outside the natural world nothing is believed to exist. 

Theistic Supernaturalism

During the sixteen centuries the documents comprising the Bible were produced, rather than emulating the popular myths and legends of their day and contrary to the eternal-universe model, biblical writers consistently affirmed the finite beginning of the material world and all lifeforms on earth, including intelligent life. 

•       Moses (1500 BC): “In the beginning …” (Genesis 1:1).

•       Psalmist (1000 BC): “in the beginning …” (Hebrews 1:10).

•       Solomon (950 BC): “at the beginning …” (Proverbs 8:22).

•       Isaiah (700 BC): “from the beginning …” (Isaiah 48:18).

•       Jesus (AD 29-30): “since the beginning …” (Mark 13:19); “at the beginning …” (Matthew 19:4).

•       Paul, Silvanus, Timothy (AD 50-51): “from the beginning …” (2 Thessalonians 2:13).

•       Paul (AD 62): “from the beginning …” (Ephesians 3:9).

•       Peter (AD 65): “from the beginning …” (2 Peter 3:4).

•       John (AD 90): “In the beginning …” (John 1:1).

Rethinking the Eternal-Universe Model

The year following the publication of Dr. Sagan’s book, physicist and cosmologist Dr. Stephen Hawking, who was also deemed “one of the world’s most brilliant minds,”³ gave a lecture at a cosmology conference at the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy of Sciences about “the possibility that space-time was finite but had no boundary, which means that it had no beginning, no moment of Creation.”⁴

Just a few years later, however, in his 1988 book A Brief History of Time, Hawking wrote: “The old idea of an essentially unchanging universe that could have existed, and could continue to exist, forever was replaced by the notion of a dynamic, expanding universe that seemed to have begun a finite time ago, and that might end at a finite time in the future …. Einstein’s general theory of relativity implied that the universe must have a beginning and, possibly, an end.”⁵ In 1996, the year Carl Sagan died, Hawking stated in his Cambridge Lectures: “All the evidence seems to indicate, that the universe has not existed forever, but that it had a beginning …. probably the most remarkable discovery of modern cosmology.”⁶

Conclusion

Hawking never abandoned anti-theistic evolutionary theory, but the indisputable evidence of physics, mathematical calculations, and cosmology finally led him and most of the scientific world to conclude what the Bible has consistently affirmed all along, even if touted as “the most remarkable discovery of modern cosmology.” 

--Kevin L. Moore

Endnotes:

     ¹ The Associated Press in the opening pages of Cosmos by Carl Sagan (New York: Random House, 1980).  

     ² Ibid. p. 4. Sagan compared the question of the universe’s origin to the question of God’s origin, reasoning that if God is said to be eternal, why couldn’t the cosmos be eternal? “Where did God come from? If we decide that this is an unanswerable question, why not save a step and conclude that the origin of the universe is an unanswerable question? Or, if we say that God always existed, why not save a step and conclude that the universe always existed. There’s no need for a creation; it was always here” --“Carl Sagan on God and Creation,” <Link>.

     ³ University of Cambridge, <Link>. 

     ⁴ Stephen Hawking, A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes (New York: Bantam, 1988); chap. 8, “The Origin and Fate of the Universe,” <Link>.

     ⁵ A Brief History of Time, chap. 2, “Space and Time,” <Link>.

     ⁶ Stephen Hawking, Publications and Lectures <Link>.

Related Posts: Are You Sure About God? (Part 1) 

Related articles: Jeff Miller, God and the Laws of Thermodynamics, Kyle Butt, Science and the Bible 

 

Image credit: https://medium.com/@adeyemitestimony6/i-am-christian-and-i-believe-in-the-universe-5923193c11ee

One Eldership Over Multiple Churches?

The massive number of Christians in Jerusalem (Acts 2:41; 4:4; 21:20) would have prohibited them from assembling in a single location, and only one church in Jerusalem is reported as having elders (Acts 11:30; 15:4). Is it scriptural for one eldership to oversee many groups meeting independently in one city? 

When the Jerusalem church began it was initially under the oversight of the apostles (Acts 2:42; 6:2), but the vast majority of these Christians left Jerusalem within a few years (8:1). Several years later the Jerusalem church (however big or small) had elders (11:30; 12:25; 15:2, 4), with the possibility of multiple congregations with elderships throughout the region of Judea (cf. 11:29-30). 

In Acts 21:20 the myriads of believing Jews were not all residents of Jerusalem but were visiting the city from distant places—including Asia Minor (21:27; 24:18) where elderships in multiple churches had been appointed (14:23; 20:17)—for the annual Pentecost celebrations (20:16; compare 2:1, 5). As ethnic Jews, this was part of their cultural heritage and family traditions. 

There is no clear teaching or example in scripture of a single eldership overseeing multiple congregations. Each community of the Lord’s church is autonomous, with a plurality of qualified men serving as the principal leaders (Acts 11:30; 14:23; 15:2-6, 23; 20:17, 28; 21:17-19; Eph. 4:11-12; Phil. 1:1; 1 Tim. 3:1-7; 5:17; Tit. 1:5-9; Jas. 5:14; 1 Pet. 5:1-4; cf. 1 Thess. 5:12-13; Heb. 13:7, 17). The oversight exercised by these men is limited to the respective congregations in which they have membership (1 Pet. 5:2). At the same time, effective leaders “equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ” (Eph. 4:11-12).

--Kevin L. Moore

 

Related Posts: Who is Qualified to be an Elder?, Congregational Leadership Without Elders

 

Image credit: https://depositphotos.com/photos/shepherd-with-sheep.html

Rejoicing with Friends and Neighbors (Luke 15:1-32)

In Luke 15 Jesus addresses two very different groups of hearers: (a) spiritually deficient tax collectors and sinners, and (b) religiously pompous Pharisees and scribes. To illustrate why he invested so much time and energy focusing on the irreligious, Jesus shares three parables about the loss of something valuable that engenders tremendous joy when retrieved.

When the lost sheep is found, the shepherd rejoices and calls together his “friends and neighbors” to share in his joy (v. 6). When the lost coin is found, the woman calls together her “friends and neighbors” to rejoice with her (v. 9). When the lost son returns home, in the midst of much celebration and gladness the angry older brother feels neglected, never having been given the opportunity “that I might make merry with my friends” (v. 29). Notice what’s missing? What about his “neighbors”?

The concept of “neighbor,” as Jesus defines it, involves anyone needing love and merciful kindness (Luke 10:27-37). The lost sheep, coin, and son represent sinners estranged from God, in urgent need of compassionate rescue, causing considerable delight among God’s people and his holy angels when repentance (renouncing sinful ways) leads to a safe return to the welcoming refuge of God (vv. 7, 10). The older brother, representing the prideful Pharisees and scribes, is indicative of one who is self-absorbed, narrowly focused, oblivious and uncaring, overlooking precious souls (neighbors) about whom the Lord is genuinely concerned.

The lesson here is to not just concentrate on our “friends,” those we like the best, whose company we enjoy, with whom we have the most in common. Let us ever be mindful of our “neighbors,” desperately needing God’s mercy and the help of God’s people in finding their way back to him. Invite, encourage, and share the love of Christ with those who need it the most.   

--Kevin L. Moore

Related Posts:

 

Image credit: https://goodthinkinc.com/live-happy-the-power-of-others/