Are We Like Christ
Are We Like Christ
Are We Like Christ
L I k e
Christ?
Facing the Truth,
Holiness & Love of
the Lord Jesus Christ
Personally & Historically
by
Steve Phillips
ARE WE LIKE CHRIST?
January 2005
http://phillipsmissionforum.org/
In any citation or translation of this work, do not attribute the text to the
author unless quoting or translating verbatim. Translation into other
languages is hereby granted by the author in accordance with the
aforementioned.
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CONTENTS
3 SO SEND I YOU
Whom Does God Send? - 39/ Peter - 40/ Stephen - 41/ Paul - 42/ John
- 47
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7 REMNANT
Spontaneous Expansion - 107/ Justin Martyr - 109/ Epistle to Diognetus -
110/ Montanists - 111/ Tertullian - 112/ Athanasius - 113/ Pricillianists -
114/ Augustine - 116/ Patrick - 118/ Columba - 118/
Paulicians–Armenians - 120/ Constantine Silvanus - 122/ Simeon - 123/
Sergius - 124/ Claudius - 125/ Bogomils “Friends of God” - 126/ Basil -
128/ Cathars - 128/ Waldenses – Albigenses - 129-135/ Beliefs and
Practices - 129/ Peter Waldo - 132/ Their “Crimes” - 133/ John Wycliffe
- 135-138/ Beliefs - 135/ Works - 136/ Legacy - 137/ John Huss - 138/
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10 LAODICEA
The Modern Church - 278/ Seven Churches - 278-284/ Ephesus - 279/
Smyrna - 280/ Pergamos - 280/ Thyatira - 281/ Sardis - 282/ Philadelphia
- 283/ Devilish Schemes - 283/ Modern Thought in Europe and America
284/ Evolution - 288/ Theistic Evolution - 290/ Revolutions - 291/
Psychology - 294/ Popular Media - 294/ Charismatic - 296/ Ecumenism -
297/ Christian Publications - 298/ Americanism - 299/ Summary - 301
APPENDICES
APPENDIX 1 NT Leadership
Key Passages: Nature of the Church - 302-307/ Foundation - 302/ Father
and Children - 303/ Master and Slaves - 303/ Shepherd and Sheep - 304/
Foundation and Temple - 304/ High Priest and Priests - 305/ Vine and
Branches - 305/ Head and Body - 306/ Captain and Soldiers - 306/
Bridegroom and Bride - 307/ Key Passages: Leadership - 307-312/ Luke
22:24-27 - 307/ Acts 20:28-32 - 308/ I Peter 5:1-6 - 309/ Hebrews 13:7,17
- 309/ I Timothy 3:1-7 - 310/ Titus 1:5-9 - 311/ I Timothy 5:17-22 - 311/
I Thessalonians 5:12,13 - 312/ NT Greek Words for Authority/Rule -
312-319/ Leadership: Plural or Singular? - 320/ Leadership: Male or
Female? - 320/ Believers: Inferiors or Equals? - 321/ Churches: Assemblies
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APPENDIX 2 Resurrection
Historical Facts and Evidence For - 326
APPENDIX 4 Slavery
History of African Slavery - 341/ Scramble For Africa - 351/ South Africa
and Rhodesia - 353/ Leopold’s Congo - 355/ German Colonies - 358/
Nigeria - 359/ Scramble Out of Africa - 360/ Reflections upon Slavery and
Colonialism - 360
APPENDIX 5 Animism
Basic Elements of Animism - 362 / Animism and the Christian Home -
368/ Animism and West African Christianity - 370
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BEGIN HERE
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1
IN THE FULNESS OF TIME
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The Greeks, who were the world rulers before being defeated
by Rome, developed and spread a universal trade language known as
Koine [common] Greek. This was the language in use in New
Testament [NT] times.
It was also the language into which the Old Testament [OT]
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ISRAEL’S CONDITION
ISRAEL: SYNAGOGUES
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the entire OT was read and taught in each synagogue and any male
was free to teach, though prominence was given to the rabbi or scribe
among them.
Differing schools of thought arose around prominent rabbis
who gained a following. Pupils studied the commentaries of their
rabbi rather than the text of the OT itself. Over time the “correct”
interpretation of the rabbi came to have as much authority as the text
of the OT itself in the minds of their followers.
Eventually the scribes, who faithfully copied the text of the
OT onto hand-written manuscripts, feared to proclaim any
understanding of Scripture unless it was backed by the “authority” of
some master. But this was an “authority” of a man-made office from
which doctrine that was nothing more than human opinion was
taught.
This is how the “tradition of the elders” spoken of in the NT
developed. It is also why Jesus’ teaching amazed men, for His
authority and message was drawn from the eternal spring of wisdom
itself.
The thoughts of man became elevated to the same level as
the Scriptures themselves and the ceremonial took on the same
significance as the moral and spiritual. Whenever this occurs, the
text of the Word is soon neglected and forgotten while true godliness
declines and disappears.
Stop and think: What are the dangers of basing your faith
on the explanations of men rather than knowledge of the text of the
Word of God itself?
ISRAEL: PHARISEES
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ISRAEL: SADDUCEES
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Temple ceremonies and even bought and sold the office of the High
Priest among themselves. Since they did not believe in the
resurrection, angels, or spirits [Acts 23:8], they imagined that worldly
prosperity was an indication of God’s favor upon them.
Love of money, political and social influence, joined with a
despising of the poor and unfortunate were what characterized their
miserable and heartless lives.
Though they could not escape close association due to the
common Temple they frequented, Pharisees and Sadducees actually
hated each other; the Pharisees because they viewed the Sadducees as
abandoning true religion, and the Sadducees because of the
arrogance of their imagined social and religious superiority since they
were the wealthy elite and the High Priesthood was under their
control [see Acts 23:1-10].
The Council or Sanhedrin [a seating together] was made up
of seventy-one prominent members of the High Priest’s family,
Jewish elders, and scribes. It served as a Jewish supreme court of sorts
in judging cases involving interpretation and violation of the Law.
Both Sadducees and Pharisees were members of the Council. It was
this Council that ordered the crucifixion of Christ, the stoning of
Stephen, and attempted to kill Paul [Acts 23:1-10].
Stop and think: What happens when the moral and spiritual
aspects of the kingdom of God are replaced by the material and
political?
ISRAEL: ESSENES
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ISRAEL: ZEALOTS
Roman rule was not popular with most Jews. The Roman
yoke was a reproach and a bondage to the Israelite. The Pharisees
viewed Roman oppression as a judgment of God for the sins of the
nation that must be patiently borne until God was pleased to remove
it. Many expected the promised Messiah [Christ/Anointed One] to
free them from it.
Some were violently opposed to Rome and refused to pay
taxes to Caesar and even led followers in revolt. These were the
Zealots. They advocated taking up the sword against their enemies as
did Israel of old. Various of their leaders perished in their rebellions
as did Theudas and Judas [Acts 5:35-39].
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ISRAEL: SAMARITANS
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2
THE LIFE WAS MANIFESTED
PATTERN
Christ Jesus the Lord is the Pattern for His people. He came,
delighting to do the Father’s will. He emptied Himself of honor to
take the form of a servant in order to deliver men from sin. This is
the NT Pattern for the church.
Glory was revealed in His flesh [Jn.1:14]. Men heard,
beheld, and handled that manifested life [I Jn.1:1,2]. The excellency
of God’s character was manifest in His own body on earth. So it is
now that His body, the church, is the visible expression of Christ, her
Head.
The church is the city set on a hill, the light of the world
[Mt.5:14], like unto Christ, the true Light of men [Jn.1:9, 8:12] . As
He is, so are we in this world [I Jn.4:17]; in truth, holiness, and love.
Christ Jesus is the Pattern for the church both as to character
and in ministry. Conformity to Him is the standard. His mind is to
dwell in His own and govern their every thought and action in all
humility, considering others as more important than self [Phil.2:3-5].
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In this, as in all things, the Lord Jesus is our example that we should
do as I did to you [Jn.13:15].
Jesus was utterly unlike the religion that He came to dwell
among, both in character and in approach to teaching, training, and
influencing men. Because He was greater in love, humility, and
service, He called those whom lesser men cast away; fishermen,
lepers, children, women, uneducated, and the poor.
Unlike the Pharisees, He was not rigid in self-devised
regulations which they imposed upon multitudes whom they
despised. He was no Sadducee, compromising the Word by courting
the favor of the political and influential out of a heart filled with
greed.
Though a King indeed, he used no force to promote
religious ends as did the Zealots. The corruption of the Temple in
Jerusalem did not impel Him to physically isolate Himself from
sinful men like the Essenes thought they must. He was even known
as the friend of tax-gatherers and sinners while maintaining spotless
integrity among them.
Stop and think: Will following the Pattern of Christ Jesus
lead us to conform to popular religious ideas and practices
surrounding us?
BIRTH
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WORLD
Herod fitly shows the fury of the world’s power as set against
Christ [Mt.2:16]. The heart of man will tolerate no rival King; two
cannot reign from the same throne. And so, from the days of Cain,
the wicked have always determined to eliminate the righteous and to
silence the troublesome conviction of conscience that they bring.
It is no wonder, then, that His followers would also suffer at
the hands of the world. If the Lord of the house is blasphemed and
cast out as Beelzebub [“ lord of the house” of demons], how could the
members receive anything less [Mt.10:25]? Christians walk in the
same manner as He walked [I Jn.2:6] and therefore must suffer with
Him whom they follow [Jn.15:18-23].
Yet this is a blessed condition indeed; persecuted, rejected,
and scorned. Such occasions caused the Lord Jesus to rejoice greatly
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in the Holy Spirit [Mt.11:20,25; Lk.10:21]. And these times are our
opportunity to also do the same [Mt.5:10-12].
Stop and think: Why is it normal for a Christian to suffer
and what blessing is associated with it? [I Pet.2:20; 4:14-16;
Phil.1:28-30].
GENEALOGY
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of a new race, a new humanity, as the second Man and last Adam [I
Cor.15:45-49]. Christ sympathetically identifies with all men and
their common lot in life though He is separate from the human
corruption which is our natural state due to sin.
Genealogies inform us that a man’s condition can be traced
to a root cause. They show that no man lives unto himself, that our
lives influence others for good or ill. And most significantly, they
show that it is only grace that can interrupt and transform the natural
tendencies inherited from forefathers.
Stop and think: How is it possible for a man to be free from
the prejudices and defilement of one’s ancestors? [I Pet.1:18,19;
Col.1:13,14].
PREPARATION
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BAPTISM
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never have been accomplished had Christ not been numbered with
the transgressors [Isa.53:12].
And thus He submitted to baptism to fulfill all
righteousness [Mt.3:15] and thereby set His face as a flint on the
course of shame and reproach that the remaining years of His life
would righteously fulfill.
Stop and think: What happens to fulfilling all righteousness
when men do not wish to be identified with people who might bring
shame to their reputation? [Gal.2:11-14].
TEMPTATION
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of God [Mt.4:4]. This was victory over the appeal to the lust of the
flesh.
He was assailed next with the presumptuous arrogance that
would make God His own servant rather than He, the servant of
God. It was a test whether He would distort the Scriptures to His
own end in order to “compel” God to respond to His will instead of
Him humbly submitting to the will of the Father. You shall not
tempt the Lord your God [Mt.4:7] silenced this wicked suggestion to
indulge the pride of life.
Finally, the lust of the eyes was presented before Him in all
of its glory: Kingdoms, wealth, and universal dominion were to be
His if He would but deviate from His appointed course. It was a
temptation to visualize the end and possess it without regard for the
means by which it was gained [Rom.3:8].
This was a devilish allurement to begin at the end rather
than the beginning: to embrace the outward in its developed form
though obtaining it by compromise under the delusion of filling it
with spiritual reality afterwards.
See the devil flee before the Spirit’s sword, Away with you,
Satan! For it is written, “You shall worship the Lord your God, and
Him only you shall serve” [Mt.4:10]. May we go and also resist the
enemy in like manner.
Stop and think: There are no other temptations facing us
other than three [I Jn.2:15-17]. What is the perfect Pattern for
resisting evil?
TEACHING
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MIRACLES
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that will not listen to God’s Word; the withered hand, the
powerlessness to perform any work that is good.
Healing of our souls is what we need [Ps.41:4]. Indeed, from
the sole of our foot to the crown of our heads, we are sick in rebellion
[Isa.1:5,6]. Only the touch of Christ, the Great Physician, can cure us
of such unrighteous illnesses of the heart [Mk.2:17].
Stop and think: Compare one whose body was healed but
not his soul, with one who endures bodily affliction in this life but
whose soul is delivered from sin. Now, define blessing and the focus
of ministry.
PRAYER
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My spirit [Lk.23:46].
Stop and think: If the Lord of glory thus resorted to and
needed prayer, being what He was, how much more us, being what
we are?
SCRIPTURES
One does not need to read far in the Gospels to see that
Christ, the living Word, had treasured the written Word of God
richly within Himself. So throughly familiar was He with the
Scriptures that on the strength of a single text the devil fled
[Mt.4:10,11], mouths of contradicting wisemen were stopped
[Mt.22:41-46], and centuries of foolish human tradition was
confounded [Mt.12:2-7].
So accurately did He know God’s Word that His
explanation of the tense of one verb in one quotation exposed the
error and scattered the doctrine of His strongest religious opponents
[Mt.22:31,32]. Down to the smallest letter of the alphabet and the
tiniest stroke of the pen is how holy and unchanging the entire Law
and Prophets were to Him [Mt.5:17,18].
He knew the hidden and less traveled paths through the
Word and was able to pluck unusual phrases from obscure places to
address the needs of the moment [Jn.10:33-36]. Not only was the
text precisely in His mind, its truest meaning and intention dwelt in
His heart in fullest measure [Mt.5:27,28].
Wherever one could conceivably turn in the pages of the
Bible, He was no stranger there but rather the Master of it. Whether
the histories of David and the kings [Mt.12:3,4,42], that of the
prophets [Lk.4:25-27], or of Noah, Abraham, and the patriarchs
[Mt.24:37; Jn.8:39,40; 1:51], the details of all were His familiar
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delight.
Israel’s wanderings in the wilderness were fertile fields for
His preaching and doctrine [Jn.3:14]. He could, as well, visit Hosea
[Mt.9:13], borrow from Micah [Mt.10:35,36], announce Zechariah
[Mt.26:31], or bring forth Malachi [Mt.11:10]. Deuteronomy,
Psalms, and Isaiah, like intimate friends, were frequented and invited
forth more often than any others during His discourses.
The whole of God’s revelation was possessed
comprehensively in addition to its countless particulars. Sweeping
themes of deepest insight were His studied portion. Words of grace
lay ready upon His tongue having been received morning by morning
through His awakened ear [Isa.50:4].
At once He could tell with authority which were the greatest
commandments and declare that the entire Scriptures were
summarized thereby [Mt.22:36-40]. Capably He could survey the
whole of the revelation of God from beginning to end while pointing
out its spiritual consequence [Mt.23:34,35]. With burning
conviction from Genesis to Malachi, He explained everything in all
of the Old Testament pertaining to Himself [Lk.24:25-27].
The Scriptures testify of Christ [Jn.5:39], and throughout all
of His life He testified of them, both by word and by deed.
Stop and think: If the Lord of glory thus resorted to and
needed the Scriptures, being what He was, how much more us, being
what we are? By what means are we to become like Him in His
knowledge of and dependence upon the Word of God? [Prov.2:1-12;
2 Tim.2:15; Ps.119].
HOLY SPIRIT
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DISCIPLES
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APOSTLES
Jesus Himself was the Apostle [Heb.3:1] and knew what was
required to be one. The word “apostle” means “sent forth.” It
describes one who by character and understanding can represent the
interests of the one who sent him.
Christ did nothing except what He saw and heard from His
Father, therefore apostles must go forth with no novelty of message
and representation. They are ambassadors, and an ambassador dare
not speak or act beyond what he has been authorized to do.
As the Apostle, He only did what He had authority to do
from His Father. No independent message and judgment is fitting in
an apostle.
I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My
judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the
will of the Father who sent Me [Jn.5:30].
I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father
who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I
should speak [Jn.12:49].
This is the apostolic process: Men are chosen to first be with
Him, separated from the unbroken tradition of their customary life
until transformed. They then could be sent forth back into that
culture without being overtaken by it when conformity to Christ’s
character and message was consistent with His own [Mk.3:14]. This
explains why laborers are yet few. The Father does not send just
anyone into His vineyard.
In the extension of the kingdom of heaven, Wisdom
dictated to perpetuate life by life, not by pen or sword; the number
of trees in one pawpaw cannot be counted. Grace dictated that
those chosen be from the mainstream of common humanity and not
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from the exceptional or elite, that no flesh may boast in His presence.
And thus it was that unlearned fishermen [Acts4:13], a tax
collector, a political zealot, and volatile sons of thunder became
chosen vessels of worldwide blessing. It was a grassroots endeavor so
that whatever noteworthy and commendable would be attributable
to Christ and not to man.
Christ’s prayer summarizes His apostolic work, I have given
to them the Words which You have given Me; and they have
received them [Jn.17:8]. Two by two they were thus sent forth,
vindicating the wisdom of a three stranded strength entwined
together with His own [Eccl.4:9-12].
Stop and think: How can the difference be known between
one who has been sent, from him who has merely gone?
[Jer.23:21,22]. Why were they sent two by two?
SINLESSNESS
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CONTROVERSY
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HATED
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KINGDOM
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tradition [Jn.4:20-24]; coming not with signs, but one that is within
you [Lk.17:20,21].
In this spiritual and internal kingdom of character
[Rom.14:17], earthly and outward qualifications of rank and
regiment do not reign. Here, none can make Him King by force and
demand loaves from His hand ever after, for this is not what the
kingdom of heaven is [Jn.6:14,15,26,27]. Those attempting to,
stumble over their own bellies and go their way without bread or
Christ either one.
The kingdom of heaven belongs to the poor and persecuted
[Lk.6:20; Mt.5:10], not to the aggressive and triumphant, the proud
Pharisee, luxurious Sadducee, or schooled scribe [I Cor.1:26-29].
Entrance is obtained by all who are born again [Jn.3:3,5] who thereby
gain victory to overcome the world [I Jn.5:4,5], not by might or
sword, but by being slaves to the truth of which Christ is the King
[Jn.18:36,37].
Stop and think: What is the single concern of a slave? Jesus
said that His kingdom was not of this world [Jn.18:36]. Describe the
place that politics, tribal preference, and social status have in His
kingdom.
LEADERSHIP
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greatest are servants, the first the last, and leaders are as the youngest,
performing lowly unwanted tasks. True leadership in the church is
patterned after the Son of Man who did not come to be served, but
to serve [Mt.20:28].
It is the Life that is the Light of men [Jn.1:4] and the
beholding and handling of it that leads to fellowship [I Jn.1:1-3].
Dictating from a distance is not the Pattern of Christ. Precept lacks
power unless it be incarnate. Only as the truth is lived will weight be
lent to words [Prov.26:7; 29:19]. Christ has not only told us the way
[Jn.12:49,50], but He has shown it to us as well [Lk.22:27;
Jn.13:12-15].
Nothing in true godliness or leadership is produced by force
or external codes. Christ’s object and method was to persuade and
win the hearts of men, not to subjugate them or merely modify
outward behavior. His manner that we must follow is that of a
compelling example of love and holiness merged with the persuasive
power of truth. Lord of all that He is, He has provided a servant’s
Pattern for us to imitate, not that of lordship [see Appendix 1 NT
Leadership].
Stop and think: How does the rule of a man over one’s soul
prevent someone from following Christ? What is the true Pattern of
leadership in the church of the Lord Jesus?
LOVE
If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?
For even sinners love those who love them [Lk.6:32]. Being perfect
as the Father in heaven, is defined in terms of one’s love
[Mt.5:43-48]. And in this, our Lord Jesus excelled all men.
None were excluded from the broad self-sacrificing benefit
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of His loving heart. Neither a rich ruler nor miserable beggars were
refused. Whether the most notable among teachers or be they
ignorant multitudes, all were loved.
Children were embraced and violent persecutors prayed for.
Repulsive lepers were kindly touched and weeping harlots washed
His feet with shameful tears.
No distinctions of social status, nationality, age, gender,
disease, occupation, education, religion, morality, tribe, or wealth
determined His love. He loved because He was full of God, and God
is love.
Love moved Him to pity and relieve the world’s misery.
Love compelled Him to speak the truth to expose the secrets of hearts
[Mk.10:21]. And love for His Father led Him to lay down His life in
obedience to His every command [Jn.14:31].
Stop and think: Without love we are nothing [I Cor.13:2,3]
and our religion stinks. Define love by considering the life of Christ.
CROSS
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RESURRECTION
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3
SO SEND I YOU
As the Father has sent Me, so send I you [Jn.20:21]
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PETER
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STEPHEN
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PAUL
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that he did not even know what the Lord wished him to do [Acts
9:5,6]. Awaiting him was a new mission assignment unto the nations
[Acts 9:15].
Saul, who had caused so much suffering and sorrow, must be
shown how much he must suffer for My name’s sake [Acts 9:16].
The persecutor must become the persecuted.
Weighty letters from the highest religious authorities [Acts
9:2] were dropped and scattered along the road. His hands must be
free to receive and pen thirteen letters from the throne of God to be
included in the NT Scriptures. Saul of Tarsus, mighty in Israel, was
struck to the dust and became Paul [small], lowly and despised.
His conversion on the Damascus road was the seed of his
entire doctrine. Life as he knew it came to an abrupt end: He had
been crucified with Christ. The totality of his previous life was of no
account and suitable only to be unceremoniously buried along the
road in Damascus dust.
Saul of Tarsus died that day. Paul arose in his place. He was
no more Saul, the captain of his own soul and leader of men. That
day he became Paul the slave, blinded and led by the hand into the
knowledge of Christ and of a God he had never known.
Who are you, Lord? [Acts 9:5] signaled his fresh beginning.
He confessed that he knew nothing, that before now he had been a
self-willed rebel. Christ Jesus was seen to be Lord, and Paul a slave;
the basis of his repeated theme of believers being servants/slaves of
Christ [Rom.6:14-23]. Christ’s reply, I am Jesus whom you are
persecuting, pierced his soul with a terrifying realization. Hatred of
Christians was actually hatred of Jesus Himself. Jesus and His people
are one [I Cor.12:12,13].
This was the initial revelation to his heart of his loftiest and
most frequently repeated doctrine; the believers’ Union with Christ.
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His epistles are full of phrases such as “in Christ,” “by Christ,”
“through Christ,” and “with Christ.”
He learned that day that love for the church, the body of
Christ, is the most practical and fundamental expression of love for
Christ Himself [I Cor.13:1-3]. Christ in glory ever after was his focus.
It was this that he wrote of and prayed that God would grant insight
into by the illumination of the Holy Spirit [Eph.1:15-23; Col.1:9-12].
In one blazing burst of Light he learned that circumcision
and law-keeping are vain hopes of attaining unto salvation. They had
not assisted him in the slightest, but were actually his greatest
hindrance. Christ did not improve upon a righteousness that Paul
already had by these means. Rather, Paul’s was cast out as so much
worthless dung in order to attain the righteousness that comes by
Christ alone [Phil.3:4-9].
Law was ordained of God to demonstrate the utter failure of
human nature to attain unto righteousness, even among the most
devoted and privileged among men, i.e., the Jews. The Cross,
however, God appointed to resolve the problem of human nature.
The flesh must be crucified, not modified through religious
exercise [Gal.2:20,21]. This, only union with the living Christ will
accomplish. And Paul saw it, beginning from that day forward.
In Jerusalem, Paul and Peter met and together resolutely
resisted the entangling vines of fleshly tradition threatening the
church [Acts 15:1-29]. Left unchecked, those tentacles would have
wound about the neck of the bride and strangled her, ere the
Bridegroom could kiss her with the kisses of His lips.
They steadfastly refused and rebuked the Law’s crushing
burden of man-made tradition. At the same time, they guarded
against that false form of liberty that imagines freedom as being
license without restraint.
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John was the last of the Apostles who made the final
contributions to the NT revelation. His writings set forth Christ as
the sufficiency for the church during the following centuries up until
His return.
In the history of God’s people, the time came when it was
announced, Moses my servant is dead [Josh.1:2]. Some years
afterwards, Joshua and the elders who survived him had been
gathered to their people. And then the people of God were tested as
they had not been before.
The test was this: What is to be done in the absence of
notable spiritual leaders? How will the kingdom of heaven advance
in the hands of the average believer when they are gone?
The answer to those questions is little different for the
church today as it was for Israel following Joshua’s departure. Like
them, the church has recourse to the Lord Himself and the
fellowship of like-minded brethren. These are the means for
sustained victory in accomplishing the will of the Lord in our
generation [Jud.1:1-4].
John is the bridge from apostolic beginnings, to a church
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that is completely dependent upon the Lord apart from her founding
human leaders. His five writings set forth Christ in the glory of His
perfect example and boundless supply. This is what will preserve the
church; to be cast wholly upon Him as Support, Guide, and Pattern.
What shall we do when Peter is no more among us to feed
[Jn.21:15-17] and guide the flock of God [I Pet.5:1-3]? We have the
abiding presence of Jesus, the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls
[I Pet.2:25].
How can the whole counsel of God be maintained when all
have turned away from the Apostle [2 Tim.1:15] and Paul has
departed to be with Christ? We are left with the faith and love
which are in Christ Jesus [to] guard through the Holy Spirit who
dwells in us, the good deposit which has been entrusted to [us] [2
Tim.1:13,14].
Before departing from this life, John left the church with an
abiding legacy, sufficient for all time and effective in every situation.
His Gospel summarizes the blessed portion of those who have not
seen either Jesus or the Apostles, and yet believed [Jn.20:29].
Chapters are in [ ].
[1] Jesus is the Word, the full and final revelation of the
unseen God. He is the Lamb, the one Sacrifice that has forever
satisfied the righteous demands of the holy God against sinful men.
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[10] The Good Shepherd leads, protects, and feeds His own
sheep who hear and follow His voice. Jesus the Lord is the Door to
salvation’s pastures and refreshing streams.
[11] Dead men in trespasses and sins and all who enter
eternity after death of the body have but one hope, Jesus Christ, the
Resurrection and the Life.
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[5] Lame Man. Sin has left us enfeebled and helpless for so
long a time. No man can help. No angel can strengthen and raise
up. Pharisees’ only concerns are arresting violators of their laws.
Only Jesus can make a man walk with power on the straight path and
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narrow way.
[9] Blind Man. From birth, all has been darkness. Not one
glimmer of hope had ever penetrated the gross blackness. Stumbling
beggars and groping for mercy are we, one and all. These are the
ones that the works of God can be displayed in; possessing no
insight, wisdom, or vision of their own. Sight is received by washing
according to the Word of Christ.
The one who has seen the Light can never be convinced that
he is yet in darkness, or that religious darkness is Light. Only those
who imagine that they see apart from the touch of Christ will insist
that it is so. Their darkness remains, as they abide in wilful blindness
as strangers to the Light of day, though they vainly protest that they
see.
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hopelessly wail in the finality of death’s despair. Both the living and
the dead are helpless in death’s wake. The living weep and the dead
rot; both impotent to reverse the stroke of this final enemy.
Jesus but speaks the Word and the spirit returns, the soul
awakes, and the body pulses revitalized. Death to life abundant is the
portion of all the dead who hear the voice of the Son of God.
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[Mt.28:20]. He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake
you.” [Heb.13:5].
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4
THE STORM BREAKS
PERSECUTION AND ITS CAUSES
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an immoral secret cult society that they imagined fed on the flesh of
Jesus.
[4] CALAMITY. The image makers, who were losing
money [Acts 19:24-27] along with the pagan priests and occultists,
incited the popular prejudice against the Christians. They blamed
the Christians for all calamities, wars, tempest, and pestilence which
plagued mankind, saying that the gods were angry because the people
had left off the old ways.
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blame.
In order to divert suspicion from himself, Nero charged the
Christian “haters of mankind” for the wicked deed which turned the
unreasoning mobs against the brethren. And thus the houses of
believers were broken into and the disciples dragged off to be beaten,
tortured, burnt, crucified, or thrown to the beasts and gladiators at
their games.
Diocletian instigated the last and most furious of the ten
waves of persecution. In 303 he issued a decree for all church
buildings to be destroyed. All copies of the Bible were to be collected
and burnt. Christians were deprived of all civil rights and
government employment.
All were to sacrifice to the gods or be executed. Any groups
meeting as Christians were to be put to death. Some Christians were
sunk by whole shiploads in the depths of the sea. Others had eyes,
ears, nose, or hands cut off and were left to wander about as a
warning to other yet undiscovered Christians.
Eventually he commanded all provisions sold in the markets
to be sprinkled with sacrificial wine. This was done so that the
church would be forced into either apostasy or starvation. It was a
horrific fiery trial whose smoke engulfed the Empire for ten dreadful
years.
CATACOMBS
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unbelievers.
“Here lies Marcia, put to rest in a dream of peace.”
“Lawrence to his sweetest son, borne away by angels.” “Victorious in
peace and in Christ.” “Simplicius, may you live in Christ.”
Contrast these with those of the pagans, such as: “Live for
the present hour, since we are sure of nothing more.” “I lift my
hands against the gods who took me away at the age of twenty though
I had done no harm.” “Once I was not. Now I am not. I know
nothing about it, and it is no concern of mine.” “Traveler, curse me
not as you pass, for I am in darkness and cannot answer.”
Stop and think: What distinguishes Christian death and
burial from the traditional burial in your tribe? Is there a clear
difference?
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the Scriptures, which are true, which were given through the Holy
Spirit; and you know that nothing unrighteous or counterfeit is
written in them.
You will not find that righteous persons have been thrust out by
holy men. Righteous men were persecuted, but it was by the
lawless; they were imprisoned, but it was by the unholy.
Stop and think: Often the godly who say that the Word of
God must be obeyed are accused of being unreasonable or causing
division. What was the view of these early brethren about such
things? [3Jn.9,10].
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speak or write this, but also to perform and endure it, so that I may
not only be called a Christian, but also be found one in truth.”
Godly Ignatius was brought forth into the midst of the arena
with the assembled multitudes who gathered gladly for the spectacle.
He boldly raised his voice and addressed them all, “O you Romans,
all you who have come to witness with your own eyes this combat, I
am the grain of God. I am ground by the teeth of the beast, that I
may be found to be a pure bread of Christ, who is to me the Bread
of Life.” Thereupon the gates to the pits were opened and two raging
lions rushed upon him leaving but a few mangled bodily remains of
him whose soul had departed to eternal safety in Jesus.
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FELICITAS c.164 AD
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in the face with her tormentors’ fists, but even this did not silence
her. Seeing that she would not deny the Lord Jesus, each of her sons
were tortured and executed before her eyes; some by being whipped
to death, others by beatings with rods, still others by being thrown off
high places or beheaded. At last, this saintly soul was killed by the
sword and joined her faithful sons in the everlasting arms of Jesus.
Stop and think: Who overcame in this conflict, Felicitas or
Publius? [Rev.12:11].
SANCTUS c.172 AD
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BLANDINA c.172 AD
PERPETUA c.202 AD
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CASSIAN c.302 AD
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EULALIA c.302 AD
Not more than twelve or thirteen years old, this lovely girl
was filled with fervent devotion to our Lord Jesus Christ. Boldly she
appeared before the judge and all the officials saying, “Are you not
ashamed to cast your own souls and those of others at once into
eternal judgment by denying the only true God, the Father of us all,
and the Creator of all things?
“O you wretched men! Do you seek the Christians, that you
may put them to death? Behold, here am I, an adversary of your
satanical sacrifices! I confess with heart and mouth God alone; but
Isis, Apollo, and Venus are vain idols!”
Whereupon the judge, filled with rage, called for the
executioner with this charge, “Strip her and inflict various
punishments upon her so that she may feel the wrath of the gods of
her fathers and learn thereby that it will be hard for her to despise the
command of our Prince” [i.e. the Emperor].
After further threats of unspeakable torments, she was urged
with these soft words, “Daughter, you can escape all these tortures
with little trouble if you will only take a few grains of salt and incense
on the tips of your fingers, and sacrifice it.”
Without a word she replied by pushing far away from her the
wretched images, altar, and sacrificial book, sending all scattering to
the floor. Instantly two executioners tore open her sides down to the
ribs with sharp hooks so that her young blood flowed freely down her
sides.
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JUSTUS c.303 AD
A father and his two sons, while journeying along the road,
had been accused to the soldiers of Diocletian by evil informers.
Justus, the youngest son, learned of their evil intent and quickly
rushed to warn his father and brother to hide in a nearby cave while
he kept a watch out for the Emperor’s horsemen.
Upon their approach, he went forth and replied to their
questions about his identity and the location of his companions in
this way, “I am called Justus, and I freely confess that I am also a
Christian. But since I regard you as persecutors of the Christians, it
is not lawful for me to betray my companions.”
To this, they drew their swords and threatened to slay him
on the spot if he did not betray his fellows and lead them to their
place of hiding. Justus replied, “Truly, I shall consider myself happy,
if I may be permitted to suffer all manner of punishment, yes, death
itself, for the name of Christ; for I am ready to lose my soul in this
world that I may keep it unto life eternal.” Having said so, the sword
flashed in fury and struck off his head and he entered into that life
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FELIX c.303 AD
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LAPSED
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the moment and three Lapsed request to join you at the Lord’s
Supper. What should that church do?
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5
LEAVEN IN THE MEAL
The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid
in three measures of meal till it was all leavened [Mt.13:33]
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former in its outward form, but possesses the true life of that
kingdom within.
Such were the Jews in Jesus’ day, full of form and ceremony
though their hearts were far from Him; sons of the kingdom but cast
out. Such was the tendency of the church in Jerusalem as seen in
Acts 21.
There they boasted in their shame, zealously promoted law
above grace, and embraced tradition as godliness. They required
obedience to worthless ceremonies while offering vain assurances
that they had not abandoned their previous convictions [Acts
21:17-26].
Though Galatians had already been penned, Paul agreed to
their carnal scheme. Their leaven spread to him because he was
explicitly disobedient to the Spirit of God by even coming to
Jerusalem [Acts 21:4].
A vital lesson is gained by this. Only spiritual men can
maintain spiritual simplicity. As soon as we lean on the arm of the
flesh, immediately tradition, ceremony, and religion promoted by
worldly means begin to take over.
It is why the old leaven must be purged. Left within, the
whole becomes affected throughout. But it can only be removed
when the heart is broken and contrite and trembles at His Word
[Isa.66:2].
The pulling down of temples, as happened to Jerusalem in
70 AD, does not clean the leaven from the heart. Twenty years
afterwards, Diotrephes demonstrates the effect that tolerating its
presence brings.
He loved to take Christ’s place of preeminence in the
church. Truth was set aside for his own doctrine and tradition. The
truly godly and spiritual were slandered and warned against. Any
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who disagreed with him were persecuted, punished, and cast out of
“his” church [3 Jn.9,10].
Our Lord Jesus warned us of wolves dressed in sheep’s
clothing who would not spare the flock [Mt.7:15]. Paul warned of
leaders arising, speaking perverse things to draw disciples away after
themselves [Acts 20:29,30]. And he confirms to us that a mystery of
lawlessness is already at work [2 Thess.2:7].
Peter assures us that false teachers will secretly bring in
destructive heresies. Many will be captured through covetousness to
follow deceptive words and the way of the truth will be blasphemed
[2 Pet.2:1-3]. Jude exhorts us to contend earnestly for the faith
because men such as these have crept in unnoticed into the midst of
the brethren [Jude 3,4]. And by the time John writes, already many
antichrists had gone out into the world [I Jn.2:18; 2 Jn.7].
Watch yourselves, that you do not lose what we have
accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward [2 Jn.8]. But
gradually, more and more were slowly seduced from the simplicity of
Christ [2 Cor.11:2-4] and drifted from the Word of God [Heb.2:1]
into the traditions of men. And thus the leaven began its subtle
work.
AUTHORITY
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WORLDLY PRACTICES
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IRENAEUS c.180 AD
CYPRIAN c.250 AD
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6
UNTIL ALL WAS LEAVENED
BABEL’S LEGACY
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WORLDLINESS
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ARIAN HERESY
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FLATTERY OF EUSEBIUS
MONASTICISM
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helping the poor while begging for their food. There were even
monasteries [convents] for women who called themselves nuns.
These very monasteries that were established for deliverance
from sin and worldliness, eventually became breeding grounds for
the very evils they were designed to overcome. As early as 450 AD,
Augustine said that he found among the monks and nuns both the
best and worst of humanity. During the 1200's up until the 1500's,
they were infamous as dens of iniquity, and many served as some of
the fiercest persecutors in behalf of Romanism against the true
believers of Christ.
Stop and think: How did Jesus relate to the evils
encountered in His day; how did the Essenes? Which is our pattern?
UNGODLINESS
WORSHIP OF MARY
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raised to heaven.”
Rapidly during the fifth century, many churches were
dedicated to the “holy Mother of God, the perpetual Virgin.” In 608
AD, Pope Boniface IV turned the Pantheon in Rome [the temple
dedicated for the worship of all pagan gods] into a temple of Mary
and the martyrs.
By the 1200's, she was firmly exalted in the eyes of the
common people as being the co-mediator between God and man; the
one who would intercede with her Son, Jesus, in behalf of sinners.
The worship of Mary turned their religion of terror into one of mercy
and love.
Perhaps the harsh, unreasonable, and torturous cruelty of
the Inquisition was what led multitudes to seek the compassion and
tenderness of a Mother-goddess to appeal to her angry and terrible
Son. At least this was how the Popes, the false visible representatives
of Christ, had made Him to appear.
Stop and think: See John 2:3-5. Who obeys whom? Does
Jesus accept the appeals of His mother as a mediator between men
and Himself? Who is mediator and whose name saves? [I Tim.2:5;
Acts 4:12].
INFANT BAPTISM
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TRADITION
Archbishop Hilary [c.440 AD] said, “The heretics all cite the
Scriptures, but without the sense of the Scriptures; for those who are
outside the Church can have no understanding of the Word of
God.” On this subject, the monk, Vicentius [c.450 AD], stated what
became the standard in the Roman church, declaring, “We must
hold what has been everywhere, always, and by all believed.”
Stop and think: How do these ideas relate to Acts 17:11; I
Cor.10:15; 14:29; and I Thess.5:21?
MOHAMMAD
PURGATORY
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will suffer for their own sins for a time before being released into
heaven.
This teaching became a source of great wealth to the Roman
church. It was proclaimed as an official doctrine by the Council of
Florence in 1438 AD. The living were told that the buying of
indulgences or paying for Masses to be said for the dead would
release their departed loved ones sooner from Purgatory’s torments.
Stop and think: How does Lk.16:22-26 relate to Purgatory?
POPE AS A TITLE
HERETICAL POPE
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CORRUPT PRIESTS
PSEUDO-ISADORIAN DECRETALS
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the present could not be reversed. Though the human author is still
unknown, undoubtedly the collection and contents of the Decretals
can be traced to the father of lies.
Stop and think: Relate the Decretals to Isa.8:20 and
Mt.7:15-20.
IMAGE WORSHIP
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MULTIPLIED WICKEDNESS
In eight short years between 896 and 904 AD, ten Popes
occupied the chair of St. Peter in Rome. At least one was strangled
to death while two others were murdered in prison by a rival Pope.
It became the custom of the common people, whenever a
Pope died, to raid the palace, stealing whatever of value they could lay
hands on. It was an almost indescribably wicked and depraved
period.
PORNOCRACY
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SIMONY
[Buying and selling religious position and influence]
CELIBACY
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THIEVERY
ROSARY
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CRUSADES
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1187; reconquered in 1229 and lost once more in 1244. But Christ
wasn’t there. He had risen and ascended over one thousand years
before.
The chaplain of the archbishop during the third Crusade
[c.1190 AD], was made sick unto death by what he witnessed among
the “holy” Crusaders. He reports, “The army is altogether dissolute
[completely wicked] and given up to drinking, women, and dice
[gambling]. The Lord is not in the camp.”
Rape was common, even forceful orgies in convents of
women dedicated to the church, such as occurred in the fourth
Crusade. Yet they were granted an unlimited Indulgence
[forgiveness of sin] by Popes for their service to this “holy” cause.
It is estimated that more than a million souls perished
during these years of religious wickedness. Even one of the Crusades
was made up of tens of thousands of children between the ages of ten
and twelve.
Based upon a vision of one youth in 1213 AD, they marched
to conquer the Muslims armed only with the singing of hymns and
prayers as their weapons. Many simply died of starvation and
weakness along the way while others were captured or deceived and
sold into slavery.
Stop and think: What means did Jesus use to influence the
world?
INQUISITION
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RELICS
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it was believed that the wood had the power to miraculously multiply
itself. All became the holiest objects of adoration in this dismal time
of darkness.
Stop and think: What is the danger of such religious
objects? [Ex.32:1-8; Jud.8:27; 2 K.18:4].
INDULGENCES
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HARLOTRY
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THREE POPES
Pope John XXIII [1410-1415 AD] had the godly John Huss
and Jerome of Prague condemned and burned at the stake at the
Council of Constance. It was also at this time that the cup was
forbidden to the laity during the communion.
Later, that same council condemned this same John XXIII,
one of the three rival Popes at the time, “for being a mass-murderer,
mass-fornicator, a pirate, rapist, and sodomite,” decreeing that no
Pope is above the authority of a duly gathered ecumenical council.
After spending three years in prison, he was released and promoted
as a cardinal by his successor, Pope Martin V.
This same Martin V [1417-1431 AD], wrote to the king of
Poland to utterly exterminate the followers of John Huss. His letter
commands, “Make it a duty to exterminate the Hussites. Remember
that these impious persons dare proclaim principles of equality; they
maintain that all Christians are brethren...they call the people to
liberty...While there is still time, then, turn your forces against
Bohemia; burn, massacre, and make deserts everywhere, for nothing
could be more agreeable to God.” He also reversed the decision of
the Council that appointed him, saying that the Pope is subject to no
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council.
About the year 1534 AD, the Society of Jesus, or the Jesuit
order, was founded by Ignatius Loyola. Its pledged purpose was to
“serve the Roman vicar” [the Pope as the personal representative of
Christ on earth] and to “execute immediately and without hesitation
or excuse all that the reigning Pope or his successors may enjoin
upon them.” Absolute obedience to Loyola, its general, and, in turn,
to the Pope was mandatory.
Though approving of the Inquisition, they proceeded to
advance Roman Catholicism by strict disciplined educational and
moral means. He wrote “The Book of Exercises” that taught men
how to obtain their own conversion. It was claimed that it “was truly
written by the finger of God, and delivered to Ignatius by the Holy
Mother of God.” They became one of history’s most powerful
promoters of Roman Catholicism.
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INFALLIBILITY OF POPES
ECUMENISM
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7
REMNANT
Though the number of the sons of Israel be like the sand of the sea,
it is the remnant that will be saved [Rom.9:27].
SPONTANEOUS EXPANSION
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They dwell in cities of Greeks and barbarians and follow the native
customs in dress and food and the other arrangements of life. Yet
the constitution [manner of life] of their own citizenship is
marvelous.
They have their meals in common, but not their wives. They find
themselves in the flesh, and yet they do not live according to the
flesh. Their existence is on earth, but their citizenship is in
heaven.
They obey the established laws, and they surpass the laws in their
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own lives. They love all men, and they are persecuted by all. They
are put to death, and they are endued [filled with] life.
They are in beggary [poor], yet they make many rich. They are in
want [lack] of all things, and yet they abound in all things. They
are dishonored, and yet they are glorified in their dishonor.
They are evil spoken of, and yet they are vindicated [shown to be in
the right]. They are reviled, and they bless; they are insulted, and
they respect. Doing good, they are punished as evil-doers; being
punished they rejoice, as if they were thereby made alive.
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I flung myself down under a fig tree, giving free course to my tears.
I sent up these sorrowful cries, ‘How long, how long? Why is there
not this hour an end to my uncleanness?’ I was saying these things
and weeping in the most bitter contrition of my heart, I heard the
voice as of a boy or girl, coming from a neighboring house, ‘Take
up and read! Take up and read!’
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COLUMBA c. 521 - ? AD
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SIMEON
But this is not the end of the story. Simeon was highly
impressed by the calm strength of Silvanus and the other brethren
that suffered under his hands. He made serious inquiry from the
Paulician believers about their doctrine and manner of life.
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were widely circulated among the churches and used of God to both
instruct and heal many problems that inevitably arise among
brethren. His testimony was such that he could ask from those who
knew him if he had ever taken advantage of any, or ever lorded it over
anyone.
But his ministry did not go unnoticed by the organized
Church. They persecuted this devoted and useful brother unto
death. In 834 he fell asleep in Jesus, having been cut in two with an
axe at the hands of his pursuers.
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ample provision for his wife and family and giving the rest to the
poor, he departed to devote the rest of his days to preaching and
teaching the Word of God. Waldo died in Bohemia in the year
1217.
Mockingly and in hatred, they became known as Waldenses
as well as by many other names. They were called “The Poor Men of
Lyons” because of being driven out of that city with next to nothing.
In England, Germany, and other places they called them “Lollards,”
[Babbler /Weed] since Rome said they should be rooted out from the
true corn of God.
Italians referred to them as Fratricellii [Little Brothers]. Some
parts of Germany tagged them Gazares [Accursed/Abominable].
Those in Flanders were designated Turilupini [Dwellers with Wolves].
Among all the sects that ever were, there is none more pernicious
[destructive, deadly, evil] than the Lyonists [Waldenses], and this
for three reasons. Firstly, because it is the most ancient, for some
say it has existed from the time of the Apostles. Secondly, because
there is no country where this sect is not found. Thirdly, because
this sect has a great semblance [appearance] of godliness, because
they lead a godly life before men, and have a true belief in all things
concerning God, only they condemn the Roman Church and the
clergy.
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That the Church of Rome is not the church of Christ, is full of all
sins and defects, and is the whore described in John’s Revelation.
That the Pope is the head of all errors. That the prelates [Roman
clergy] are scribes, Pharisees, and murderers. That only God is to
be obeyed, not prelates. That all human rules are Pharisaical
institutions. That no one is greater than another, but all are
brethren. That no titles such as Pope or Bishop should be used.
That no one may bow his knees before the priest. That men should
not gives tithes to the clergy. That no force should be used to
compel any to the faith.
They assert that there were two churches; the one, carnal,
abounding in riches, luxuries and lusts of this world, polluted with
all manner of sin and shame, and governed by the Pope of Rome.
The other [is] spiritual, temperate, pure, virtuous, honorable, and
poor; to which they and their adherents [followers] alone belong.
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WYCLIFFE: BELIEFS
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WYCLIFFE: WORKS
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and whole English Bibles shed their life-giving beams into the
darkened corners of the English speaking world.
The Word of God is what sets men free from the systems of
men. This, the Pope realized all too well. And so, in 1377 he
excommunicated Wycliffe from the Church, banishing him to
eternal destruction.
The Lord used two things to protect His servant from the
wrath of Rome. King Edward III of England was determined that he
would be sovereign over his own country, and not Rome, and thus
refused to act upon the Pope’s order against Wycliffe.
Secondly, in less than a year, the excommunicating Pope had
died and the Roman Catholic Church was split in one of the greatest
scandals of its history. For nearly forty years the Great Schism
[division] continued, with one set of popes in Rome and another
group of popes in Avignon, both claiming to be the true successors
of Peter.
The Catholic nations were divided, some siding with the
“Pope” in Rome, and some with the one in Avignon, and so were
confused and distracted from pursuing the “heretics” for a season.
Thus, while the rival “heads” of Christendom hurled
anathemas at each other, the true Head of the church, the Lord Jesus
Christ, protected His servants and brought many souls to Himself
through their preaching. When his life work was finished, Wycliffe
peacefully passed into the presence of the Lord in 1384, having
righteously served his generation and countless generations to come.
WYCLIFFE: LEGACY
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But [they] have received the crown of life, that glorious crown
which the Lord, I firmly believe, will grant to me – to you also,
earnest defenders of the truth, and to all who steadfastly love the
Lord Jesus.
O most Holy Christ, draw me, weak as I am, after Yourself, for if
You do not draw us we cannot follow You. Strengthen my spirit,
that it may be willing. If the flesh is weak, let Your grace precede
us; come between and follow, for without You we cannot go for
Your sake to a cruel death.
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It was while he was thus engaged that a spy from the English
clergy came to his residence in Belgium, pretending to be a merchant
and in agreement with Scriptural teaching. After some time, Tyndale
was arrested and imprisoned for eighteen months awaiting his
execution.
During that time, his godly character and words of truth
were used of the Lord to convert the jailor, his daughter, and other
members of the household. His testimony throughout the castle was
such that even the unbelievers said, “If he is not a good Christian
man, then we know not whom we might take to be one.”
In the year 1536, he was tied to a stake, strangled, and then
burned to ashes. His last cry with loud voice from fervent lips was,
“Lord! Open the king of England’s eyes!” Unknown to Tyndale, his
beloved co-worker, Miles Coverdale, had completed and printed the
first entire English Bible the year before which were already in
circulation at the time of his death.
By 1538, just two years after his martyrdom, Bibles were to
be found in every church in England. By royal decree from King
Henry VIII, the very king Tyndale had prayed for, copies of
Coverdale’s Bible containing Tyndale’s NT were placed in every
church for the edification of all who desired to read.
He who goes forth and weeps, bearing precious seed, shall
doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him
[Ps.126:6].
Thus did William Tyndale, who laid down his life for the
sake of his nation, that the gospel might burst the darkened dungeon
of religious bondage and set the captives free. In commenting upon
his translation in a letter to brother Frith, he declared, “I call God to
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record against the day we shall appear before our Lord Jesus, that I
never altered one syllable of God’s Word against my conscience, nor
would do this day, if all that is in earth, whether it be honor,
pleasure, or riches, might be given me.”
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8
THE LIGHT DAWNS
REFORMATION OF THE 1500'S
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PREPARATIONS
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REFORMATION IN GERMANY
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spared his life, he would abandon the world and devote himself
entirely unto God. But how could he stand before the judgment of
the living God, the all-consuming fire, in his present condition?
He must become holy. But how? He resolved to withdraw
from the university and enter an Augustinian monastery, hoping to
be relieved of his terror of judgment, burden of guilt, and obtain the
holiness he lacked.
Through prayers, fasting, and severe treatment of his body,
he discovered no peace within, but rather matters grew worse. His
superior, Johan Staupitz, counseled him to read the Scriptures, and
pointed him directly to Christ as the only means of salvation and
peace with God.
Though he often read and reflected upon the one chained
Bible present in the monastery, his heart remained chained in its
dungeon of sin and despair. The gospel’s blessed light had not yet
burst his bonds.
After three years as a monk, Staupitz arranged to have him
appointed as a lecturer at the University of Wittenberg in 1508.
There, through the study of Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, finally,
glad light entered Luther’s heart; he had found that the just shall live
by faith [Rom.1:17]. “Justification by faith alone” became his theme
and the burning passion of his preaching thereafter.
Persuaded by Staupitz, he took up preaching at the old and
battered chapel of Wittenberg, a small decaying wood structure
measuring twenty by thirty feet. In this wretched place, reminding
one of the crude manger-birth of the Son of God, the preaching of
the Reformation was born.
Never had such preaching been heard. Before then,
preachers had sought to amuse or impress their hearers, not bring the
conviction unto eternal life. Multitudes flocked to hear him, for he
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spoke with authority, and not as their scribes. Soon the little chapel
could not contain them.
But his lecturing and preaching were interrupted by a
necessity laid upon him to represent the Augustinian monks in
Rome itself. It was God’s preparation for his servant to witness
firsthand the luxury, decay, and evils of the center of Christendom.
When the city of seven hills first came into sight, he fell to
his knees with this exclamation, “Holy Rome, I salute thee!” He was
to be shockingly disappointed when he saw her naked before him,
stripped of her legendary fame. He too soon learned why men used
the popular proverb, “If there is a hell, Rome is built over it; it is an
abyss from which issues every kind of sin.”
Luther returned to Wittenberg sobered and with a deeper
sense of the wonders of the just living by faith, and not by the vanity
of religious works. There, he obtained his doctorate in divinity and
continued to proclaim the Word of God to the blessing of many.
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Indulgences are the most precious and noble of God’s gifts. This
red cross has as much efficacy [power to effect results] as the very
cross of Jesus Christ. The Lord our God no longer reigns. He has
resigned all power to the Pope!
But more than this, indulgences are effective not only for the
living, but for the dead. Priest! Noble! Merchant! Wife! Youth!
Maiden! Do you not hear your parents and your friends who are
dead, and who cry from the bottom of the abyss: ‘We are suffering
horrible torments! Only some small coins will deliver us; you can
give it, and you will not!’
Blessed are the eyes which see the things that you see: For I tell you,
that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things
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27. They preach mere human follies who maintain, that as soon
as the money rattles in the box, the soul flies out of Purgatory.
36. Every Christian who truly repents of his sins, enjoys an entire
remission both of the penalty and of the guilt, without any need of
indulgences.
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62. The true and precious treasure of the Church is the Holy
gospel of the glory and grace of God.
76. The indulgence of the Pope cannot take away the smallest
daily sin, as far as regards the guilt or the offense.
79. It is blasphemy to say that the red cross adorned with the
emblem of the Pope is as effectual as the cross of Christ.
92. Would that we were rid of all these preachers who say to the
Church: Peace! Peace! And there is no peace.
95. For it is far better to enter into the kingdom of heaven through
much tribulation, than to acquire a carnal security by the
consolations of a false peace.
Thus was the axe laid at the root of the tree. Though
indulgences were the primary focus of the Theses, the principle of
full and free justification of sins by grace through faith alone shone
through. And it was this that spelled the demise of the whole Roman
system.
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governments.
There he was confronted with a pile of his publications and
asked whether he acknowledged them all. “Do or do you not
repudiate your books and the errors they contain?” His first answer
echoed that of Christ, “If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil;
but if well, then why do you strike me? If you can convict me of error
by the Scriptures, I will revoke my books, and be the first to commit
them to the flames.”
He concluded his first defense with a warning to the
Emperor not to begin his reign by condemning the Word of God,
reminding him of the judgments upon Pharaoh, the king of Babylon,
and the ungodly kings of Israel. The assembled dignitaries were
offended and refused to answer him, saying that such heresies as
taught by Wycliffe and Huss had already been condemned by the
Council of Constance. A straightforward answer was demanded
from him.
His reply became the memorable declaration of freedom of
conscience recorded in the histories of religious liberty. With clear
firm voice heard by all in the overcrowded hall, he declared:
“Unless I am convicted by testimony of Sacred Scripture or
by plain reason [I do not accept the authority of popes or councils,
for they have often erred and contradicted each other], my
conscience is captive to the Word of God.
“I cannot and will not recant anything, for to go against my
conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand. I cannot do
otherwise. God help me! Amen.”
Luther was dismissed in the care of Frederick, Elector [one
of six high-ranking princes in Germany] of Saxony while the Diet
decided on his case. They published their verdict after some days,
charging Luther with all manner of outlandish and false allegations,
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which only served to expose their own malice and folly before all
generations to come. They claimed:
This devil [Luther] has brought together ancient errors into one
stinking puddle, and has invented new ones. His teaching makes
for rebellion, division, war, murder, robbery, arson, and the
collapse of Christendom.
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and not their reason, they were stirred into violent revolt, and
Luther’s doctrine was blamed. Though he tried to mediate and settle
matters peacefully, his efforts proved fruitless.
As the revolt worsened, Luther wrote a fiery pamphlet to
Frederick, Elector of Saxony, and the other German princes, to crush
the peasants unmercifully. Thus, urged on by Luther’s awful
foolishness, the uprising was drowned in a frightful bloodbath that
Luther ever after deeply regretted.
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LUTHER: COMPROMISE
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saw that their paths were taking different directions and wrote to
Luther about the growing number of nominal Christians in the
church, saying,
The evil spirit tells his fleshly “Christians” that a man is justified
without works and that Paul preached this. This is false. He did
indeed speak against those works of law and outward observances
in which men put their trust for salvation. But he never thought
evil of or did anything but praise those works which are the fruit
of faith and love and obedience to the heavenly commandments.
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With such order it would be possible for those who did not behave
in a Christian manner to be known, reproved, restored, or
excluded, according to the rule of Christ [Mt.18:15]. Here also
they could, in common, willingly give and distribute alms
[charitable gifts] among the poor according to the example of Paul
[2 Cor.9:1-12].
But I cannot yet order and establish such an assembly, for I have
not yet the right people for it.
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They boast much of the gospel and at first seek it earnestly, yet
afterwards nothing remains; for they do what they like, follow their
lusts, become worse than they were before. Peasants, citizens,
nobles, all are more covetous and undisciplined than they were
under the Papacy.
Ah, Lord God, if we only practiced this doctrine aright, then at last
we would become a Christian assembly, where now we are almost
utter heathen with the name of Christian. Then we could separate
from ourselves those of whom we know by their works that they
never believed and never had life, a thing that now is impossible to
us.
The Church, once joined to the power of the state, could not
be retrieved. Luther referred to the Protestant Princes who governed
the Church as “Makeshift [temporary solution] Bishops,” but they
actually became their permanent fixtures.
He often expressed his regret for the loss of liberty of the
individual Christians and congregations that had once been his aim.
There were now two state-church systems, that of Rome and the
other of Luther. The brethren who desired to maintain simple
conformity to the Pattern of Christ, now found themselves between
the swords of both.
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ZWINGLI: INDULGENCES
ZWINGLI: IN ZURICH
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Germany, the state took over the church. This was to have disastrous
results though it initially furthered the spread of the gospel in the
various cantons.
Most of the priests accepted the Council’s orders, as those
who did so were assured a salary from the state. Constantine’s leaven
continued to produce its same results, in Switzerland then, as it yet
does up to today.
The Catholics refused and established their own League of
five cantons to suppress all Hussites, Lutherans, and followers of
Zwingli. Thus the country was divided, religiously and politically.
By 1524, in Zurich, both civil and church authority was
merged into one Council with Zwingli as its unofficial head. As with
Calvin later, the OT ideal of the prophet guiding the state was
realized.
Zwingli increasingly devoted himself to writing on a variety
of subjects to set forth the teaching of the Bible while tensions
mounted between the Catholics and the Reformed brethren. The
year 1529 brought significant events that signaled the approaching
end.
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ZWINGLI’S END
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thunder the gospel message far and wide. One with quite a different
sphere of influence was also touched with the gospel truth.
Brissonnet, bishop of the palace, put the Word of God into the
hands of King Francis I and Margaret, Queen of Navarre, his sister.
The king hardened his heart against it and finally became a
persecutor of the brethren. Margaret, on the other hand, received its
blessed light and sheltered the brethren at peril to her own life, often
rescuing them from the hand of her own brother.
Together with Brissonnet, LeFevre translated the Scriptures
into French with the whole NT being published in 1524. In the city
of Meaux where they now labored, Brissonnet taught and put the
Word into the hands of the common man along with free copies
given to the poor. It was daily read in private homes and workshops,
rapidly becoming the talk of everyone and the blessing of many.
The simple people quickly became better instructed than the
Franciscan monks. From Meaux arose the first Protestant church in
France. So profound had the transformation been because of the
gospel truth, that throughout France their witness became
proverbial. Whenever someone believed the gospel, it was said, “He
has drunk at the well of Meaux.”
As is always the case when light shines in the darkness, there
was reaction from the Prince of darkness through his servants. The
monks traveled to Paris with the charge of heresy which fanned into
flame the fires of persecution.
Brissonnet himself turned back. He was intimidated by
threats of imprisonment and death to deny the faith and re-establish
public prayers to the Virgin Mary and the saints. He also agreed to
destroy Protestant writings and punish any who possessed them.
The city of Meaux was dismayed. LeFevre and other faithful
leaders were forced to flee with heavy hearts. Farel made his way to
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JOHN LECLERC
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LOUIS BERQUIN
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he could not be heard. The fire was lit, the brother was reduced to
ash, yet his death spoke to all France in tones that no priest could
silence.
PLACARDS
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Francis had died two years before and was succeeded by his
son, Henry II. He became the husband of the notorious Catherine de
Medici, an unparalleled Jezebel against the true saints of God. Like
Ahab of old, he was inflamed against truth and righteousness by his
crafty wife, and so continued the persecutions. But, as God sets up
and dethrones kings [Dan.2:21], he died in a sporting accident.
His son, Frances II, only sixteen years old, reigned in his
place for less than eighteen months. Upon his death, Catherine
placed her next son, Charles IX, a mere lad of nine years, upon the
throne of France. She assumed guardianship of the king and this
Italian mother became the undisputed power in the nation of
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Knox who had spent over a year and a half as a galley slave
aboard a French ship, escaped, and later was trained under Calvin.
Returning to Scotland, he shook his native land with his fiery
preaching. Justification by faith alone along with severe rejection of
the Pope as the antichrist and the Roman Church as the
“Congregation of Satan” were his themes.
Under his leadership, the Scottish “Reformation
Parliament” of 1560 officially abolished Catholicism, and established
Calvinist Protestantism as the state religion. Knox and his followers
drew up the Book of Discipline that defined their doctrine and
purposes by which Scotland was now ruled. The Mass was abolished.
He wrote many tracts, among which was, The First Blast of the
Trumpet against the Monstrous Regiment [rule] of Women. In it he
denounced all female sovereigns, aiming at Mary Tudor of England
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been born by the queen. And Mary, as a girl at that time in England,
would never be considered for the throne.
What to do in order to get an heir? Divorce was out of the
question due to Catholic doctrine and the personal and political fury
this would arouse against him from the powerful Charles V.
A crafty solution was invented by Henry. Have the Pope
annul his marriage to Catherine since he “unlawfully” married her
according to Henry’s convenient interpretation of Lev.20:21, If a
man take his brother’s wife it is an unclean thing. They shall be
childless.
At age sixteen, Catherine had been married to Henry’s
brother, Arthur, aged fourteen. He died six month’s later. Henry’s
father betrothed her to Henry [only ten at the time of Arthur’s
death], having obtained a special permission from Pope Julius II to
do so. Thus in 1503 when Henry was twelve years old, the marriage
was announced though not officially joined until 1509 when he was
eighteen, the year he assumed the throne of England.
HENRY’S “DIVORCE”
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ANNE BOLEYN
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Mary should she accept. Mary was delighted and England was
horrified.
Troops were gathered in order to de-throne her and promote
Elizabeth in her place. The revolt was defeated, heads rolled, and
Mary from then on was no more gentle. From 1554 to 1558 “Bloody
Mary” reigned.
The marriage took place and Philip remained with her for
thirteen months without her conceiving a child. On a pretense, he
left her, departing to another European country in order to assist his
father. Mary now turned her attention to re-establishing her beloved
Roman religion.
With renewed threats of insurrection and even assassination
of the Queen herself, she gave permission for the reign of terror to
begin. Up until the time of her death in 1558, countless men and
women were burned for their “heresies.”
The leading advisors to her half-brother Edward were
notable. In 1555, Ridley and Latimer were burnt for their faith.
They knelt together and prayed in front of the place of execution.
Then, chained to the posts with bags of gunpowder around
their necks, the wood was kindled. The eighty year-old Latimer
turned to his beloved brother with these words, “Be of good cheer,
Master Ridley, play the man; we shall this day light such a candle, by
God’s grace, in England, as I trust shall never be put out!”: Noble
words that the Lord honored in the coming centuries for the
testimony that went out from that land.
Mary condoned the persecutions until the day of her death.
Childless, perhaps insane, she passed the crown jewels to her rival,
Elizabeth, on the 6th of November. Early on the morning of the 17th
she heard Mass for the last time and died before dawn that same day.
Her final years of brutality did as much to alienate the
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Anabaptists [to baptize again] were given their name for their
insistence that only born-again adults should be baptized. They
themselves did not accept the name given to them by their enemies,
for they did not consider baptism of infants as being baptism at all.
This struck at the foundation of both Catholic and
Protestant state churches. Their teaching that only repentant
believers make up the true church along with their doctrine of the
state and church being separate, undermined the whole fabric of
medieval society. This was the real reason for their persecution,
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meekness, honesty in such measure that one would suppose they had
the Holy Spirit of God.”
However, others were fanatical and wicked in their
“spiritual” excesses. With shouts of, “The letter kills, but the Spirit
gives life!,” the NT was burned at the hands of some. Others fell into
convulsions under their “revelations” from the Holy Spirit. One
man even beheaded his own blood-brother under “inspiration”
received as if it were the will of the Father. The civil authorities
executed him as a murderer.
In certain other of the groups, multiple wives were taken by
leading “prophets” and polygamy was practiced in some of the
communes. In Holland, there were those who ran about naked in
imitation of Isaiah the prophet [Isa.20:2,3]. Though most were
pacifists, other groups among them took to the sword to establish
and defend their “New Jerusalem” upon earth.
They were utterly exterminated or driven out of Germany
and survived only in small persecuted groups in Holland and
Switzerland. Persecution forced them to flee to Poland, Hungary,
Moravia, and Russia.
Menno Simons, one of the most exemplary among them,
sets forth the true Pattern of Christ when he says that true Christians
must, “crucify the flesh and its desires and lusts, prune the heart,
mouth and the whole body with the knife of the divine Word from
all unclean thoughts, unbecoming words, and actions.”
An anonymous Anabaptist statement of a Swiss brother in
about 1525 shows the true understanding of the Pattern of Christ
that many held to and practiced.
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though no other reward should follow. The servile has its source
in a love of reward or of oneself. The filial ever does as much as
possible, apart from any command; the servile does as little as
possible, yea, nothing except by command. The filial is never able
to do enough for Him; but he who renders servile obedience
thinks he is constantly doing too much for Him. The filial rejoices
in the chastisement of the Father; the servile wishes to be without
chastisement although he may do nothing right.
The filial remains in the house and inherits all the Father has; the
servile wishes to reject this and receive his lawful reward. The
servile looks to the external; the filial is concerned about the inner
witness and the Spirit. The servile is Moses and produces
Pharisees and scribes; the filial is Christ and makes children of
God. The servile is either occupied with the ceremonies which
Moses commanded or with those which people themselves have
invented.
The filial is active in the love of God and one’s neighbor; yet he
also submits himself to the ceremonies for the sake of the servants
that he may instruct them in that which is better and lead them to
sonship. The servile produces self-willed and vindictive people;
the filial creates peaceable and mild-natured persons. The servile
is severe and gladly arrives quickly at the end of the work; the filial
is light and directs its gaze to that which endures. The servile is
malevolent [wishing evil] and wishes no one well but himself; the
filial would gladly have all men to be as himself.
The servile is the Old Covenant, and had the promise of temporal
happiness; the filial is the New Covenant, and has the promise of
eternal happiness, namely, the Creator Himself. The servile
endured for a time; the filial will last forever. The servile was a
figure and shadow; the filial is the body and truth.
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The servile was established to reveal and increase sin; the filial
follows to do away with it. For if a man wishes to escape from sin
he must first hate it, and if he would hate it he must first know it,
and if he would know it there must be something to stir up and
make known his hidden sin. Now it is Law or Scripture which
does this. Moreover, the law gives occasion to people to depart
farther from God, not because of itself [for it is good] but because
of the sin which is in man. This is also the reason why Paul says
that the law was given that it might increase sin, that sin might
thereby become known. Yea, the law is the strength of sin and
therefore it is just like the servile obedience, that is, obedience to
law, which leads people into the most intense hatred of God and
of one’s neighbor.
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Yea, they shall finally hear, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with
men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people,
and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God
[Rev.21:3]. But of the house of the Pharisees and scribes, it shall
be said, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the
habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage
of every unclean and hateful bird [Rev.18:2]. But to God be all
honor, praise and glory through His beloved Son, our Lord and
Brother Jesus Christ, Amen.
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it was evil.
He legislated the terms of membership in the church
according to his own law. No other administrative decision-making
but his own was allowed in his executive office. Any who dared
depart from his rule, suffered the judicial punishment that he
inflicted upon transgressors of his system. [See Appendix 1 NT
Leadership].
While planting the seeds of salvation and reform of the
church, at the same time, they planted the tares of its ruin. Baptism
of infants as a sign of entering the covenant, consecrated multitudes
into the churches who were strangers to the grace of God in Christ.
Communion’s ceremony being viewed as partaking of Christ, eroded
the necessary foundation of personal living faith in Christ Himself.
With the Sword of the Spirit in one hand and the sword of
the state in the other, citizens were compelled to outwardly conform
to a religion that they did not embrace from the heart. Flesh was
relied upon to enforce the Spirit, the sheep acted as wolves, and
Calvary’s cross was exchanged for the judgment hall of Pilate.
Rome’s yoke had not truly been cast off. Babel’s legacy of a
priest, shrine, and tyranny perpetuated by the popes was yet retained
by Reformation Christendom. Whereas the Catholic Church had
ruled the world, the world now ruled the church through its political
princes. Constantine was resurrected.
Several similar systems were substituted for the one reigning
in Rome. Though the Word was placed in the hands of the people,
sight was not restored when forced to view it through eyeglasses
provided by Protestant priests, now also their civil lords.
An Anglican bishop under King Henry VIII exposed the
nakedness of the new Protestant denominations when he said to the
King, “If we allow the people to have the Scriptures in their own
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9
WOOL & LINEN
You shall not wear a garment of different sorts,
such as wool and linen mixed together [Deut.22:11]
MIXTURE
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I charge you before God and His blessed angels, that you follow
me no farther than you have seen me follow the Lord Jesus Christ.
If God reveals anything to you by any other instrument [servant] of
His, be as ready to receive it as you were to receive any truth by my
ministry.
For I am verily persuaded that the Lord has more truth yet to break
forth out of His Holy Word. For my part, I cannot sufficiently
bewail the condition of those Reformed Churches which will go
no further than the instruments [men God has used] of their
Reformation.
Here, this brother neatly summarizes both the causes for the
advance as well as the decline of the church in any era. On the one
hand, there is freedom to receive from and progress by the
illumination of the Word of God from anyone who is truly taught of
the Spirit. On the other hand, the gathering around a man or
particular emphasis of doctrine will cut oneself off from the benefit
that one might otherwise obtain from all of the Lord’s gifts to His
church.
In the former, there is true fellowship in the Spirit around
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If, therefore, out of His wounds healing has sprung up, out of His
death life, out of His hell heaven and salvation, why should not we,
the little grains of corn, die according to the will of God? If the
blood of the martyrs and also our blood shall be the seed of the
Church for the increase later of those who fear God, ah, let us,
weeping, scatter the precious seed that we may bring in the sheaves
with rejoicing.
God will not destroy without building again. He makes all things
new. God knows what He is doing, we must trust Him to pull
down and to build up as He will.
I will not say that these confessions of faith are bad in themselves.
They become so, however, in that they feed the fire of enmity; only
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What is attained by it? Has a single learned strife ever been settled?
Never. Their number has only been increased. Satan is the
greatest sophist [philosopher/false reasoner]; he has never been
overcome in a strife of words. In divine service [church meetings]
the words of men are usually heard more than the Word of God.
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Christians, give ear! There is only one Life, but Death comes to us
in a thousand forms. There is only one Truth, but Error has a
thousand forms. There is only one Christ, but a thousand
Antichrists.
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marvelous work, Pilgrim’s Progress, that has been read more than any
other book besides the Bible. He wrote this during the twelve years
he was cast into the prison of Bedford for refusing to stop peaching
and teaching the gospel, though not ordained.
The Act divided England into clearly distinct groups;
Anglicans and Nonconformists. The Nonconformists, or Puritans as
they were referred to, were greatly used of the Lord to spread the
gospel and teach the Word. It demonstrated once again that the
Spirit of God cannot be confined to man’s institutions and
constraints.
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Labadie was deeply disappointed at the state of the church and their
concepts of Christianity. He understood the NT to say that the
church of the Lord Jesus is a company of born-again people, united
and led by the Holy Spirit.
The Calvinistic state church he encountered, however, was
full of Christians in name only. He introduced mutual edification of
each other from the Word and praying from one’s heart rather than
reading a pre-written prayer. These practices were widely received by
the people but led to conflict with the leaders.
If these practices were consistently followed, they reasoned,
they will lead to the complete change of our whole church structure
and system. Therefore, he and his followers were cast out of the
Reformed Church. With about three hundred brethren, they
formed a few independent congregations in the same city, but were
eventually driven out altogether.
For twenty years he had attempted to effect change within
the Reformed denomination, again, to no avail. From this he
concluded that reform from within the established system was
impossible, and that separation from these systems was the only
means that biblical principles could be restored.
They found refuge in Amsterdam of the Netherlands, where
they were received and found religious liberty. There the work
started afresh with great blessing on simple Scriptural grounds.
Many left the deadness of the institutional Reformed Church while
many others were sympathetic to their teaching and life.
Leaders of the Calvinistic churches appealed to the
government to outlaw them. This, however, was refused, and the
brethren were allowed to continue.
When we stray from the infallible Word that is forever
settled in heaven, into man’s inventions upon how to improve it,
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the brethren were dead to the world and led a godly life. What he
observed among Lutherans, however, was that the majority were not
born-again and the professing ministers did not know the basics of
Christian doctrine.
The average Lutheran was suspicious of him, and the official
Church attacked and ridiculed him, but he continued on in this way
until his death. His labors were a great blessing to many, among
whom was the godly August Francke who would profoundly affect
Zinzendorf.
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After the death of his father when Zinzendorf was only six
weeks old, he was raised by his godly grandmother who was a beloved
friend of Jakob Spener. That type of ministry, study of the
Scriptures, prayer, and the singing of hymns, were what filled his
early years to age ten. Then, as was noted above, he was sent to Halle
to further his education under the earnest and godly August Francke.
Notes in his diary summarize how these wonderful years
were used by the Lord to prepare His servant for a life of usefulness
in the kingdom of heaven:
“Daily meetings in professor Francke’s house, the edifying
accounts concerning the kingdom of Christ, the conversation with
witnesses of the truth in distant regions, the acquaintances with
several preachers, the light of different exiles and prisoners, the
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ZINZENDORF: HERRNHUT
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ZINZENDORF: REVIVAL
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ZINZENDORF: MISSIONS
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That dear blood for sinners spilt, Shows my sin in all its guilt:
Ah, my soul, He bore thy load; Thou hast slain the Lamb of God.
Hark! His dying words: “Forgive! Father, let the sinner live;
“Sinner, wipe thy tears away; I, thy ransom freely pay.”
Farewell, world, thy gold is dross; Now I see the bloody cross;
Jesus died to set me free, From the law, and sin, and thee!
He has dearly bought my soul; Lord, accept and claim the whole:
To Thy will I all resign, Now no more my own, but Thine.
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now turn.
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preach faith.”
The day of his deliverance came on May 24, 1738.
Reluctantly, because of his Anglican heritage, he attended a
Moravian meeting where Luther’s Preface to the Epistle to the Romans
was being read. In Wesley’s own words, this is what happened:
“While he was describing the change which God works in
the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed.
I felt I did trust in Christ...an assurance was given that He had taken
away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and
death.” Three days earlier, unknown to John, his brother Charles
had also become born-again. The history of the world was, literally,
about to be changed.
Three years before his own conversion, George Whitefield
had been born again and had already begun open-air preaching with
great impact. Whitefield soon drew John Wesley into this novel
practice, though Wesley’s churchly devotion made him very reluctant
at first. He said about himself that up until then he had been so
particular about every point of “decency and order, that I should
have thought the saving of souls almost a sin, if it had not been done
in a church.”
This means of preaching let loose a flood of conviction unto
salvation of countless thousands throughout the British Isles. Again,
contrary to his Anglicanism, Wesley had to yield to the undisputed
work of the Holy Spirit who raised up numerous unordained but
powerful preachers of the gospel.
While multitudes were saved, riotous mobs met them on
every hand, attacking them and destroying properties. Once Wesley
barely escaped with his life through a back door when he was locked
in a house while the crowds pulled the building apart, piece by piece.
Charles Wesley’s hymns, more than 6,000 in number,
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beautifully and truthfully set forth the doctrine of God in Christ and
the deepest longings of the spirit to love and glorify the Lord Jesus.
And Can It Be and Jesus Lover of My Soul are representative of the
lasting value that his deep devotion to the Savior has had for the
church through the centuries up to today.
Wesley diligently organized converts into “Bands” or
“Societies” as a practical means of providing continuance to the
work. These were not churches per se, as he endeavored throughout
his life to stay within the Anglican system. The time came, however,
when he had to admit that this could not be.
The Anglicans seriously disowned and systematically
opposed Wesley and the revival. When they refused to ordain his
converts, Wesley was faced with the inevitable separation. Actually,
what the Spirit of God was doing could not be contained in that old
wineskin and had to exist apart from it.
After his death, an official “Conference” was established to
try and coordinate and unify the “Methodists.” Being an institution
with clergy overseeing it, the inevitable jealousy and political
maneuvering set in which led to divisions among them and spiritual
decline.
With “all the world as my parish,” John Wesley preached
over 40,000 sermons in his lifetime. The revivals that God brought
in the British Isles and America in which the Wesleys and Whitefield
were prominent, prevented the horrors of the French Revolution
from staining English soil with its blood. It brought spiritual life and
fervor to countless thousands and paved the way for the great
missionary movements that launched forth from the United
Kingdom at the close of the 1700's, as well as contributing to reforms
in prisons and to the abolition of slavery.
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MISSIONS IN AFRICA
TRADITIONS
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beyond the grave to haunt the survivors who still see the sun and bow
to “the head of my father” and the blood of my mother. Stop and
think: What constitutes Christian burial and how does it differ from
traditional burial? [Mt.14:12; Lk.9:59,60; Jn.19:38-42; Acts 8:2; I
Thess.4:13,14].
Blood: With out the shedding of blood in Africa, there is no
– no anything. Blood purges, confirms, purchases, protects,
overcomes, curses, blesses, appeases, begins, and ends; the blood of
cocks, goats, rams, and men. Forgiveness is never obtained thereby,
only a postponement of the inevitable; a temporary rest from cruel
deities. Stop and think: Contrast the blood of Christ with the blood
of Africa [Heb.9:12-14,22; 10:19-22].
Mediator: Every fibre of the African’s being fixes upon the
man who will connect him with the unseen realm of spiritual power.
He becomes his link to influences not at his disposal. This
messenger quickly is seen as a miniature messiah. Perhaps this is why
the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip soon away from the first
convert of black Africa [Acts 8:39]. Stop and think: How do the
Apostles’ words show that they truly believed I Tim.2:5? [Acts
3:12-16; 14:8-18].
Spirits: The spirit of the living is connected with the spirit of
the dead through the mother’s blood that still circulates in the living
though she has now departed. “No man really dies” in Africa; there
is only a transition to glory. His connection with the mother spirit
softens the harshness of a father he may never have known, while the
spirits of the ancestors continue in the clan head to instill fear of
temptations to wander. In all this, the Father God is silent and cold
like the stars, doing nothing [it seems to him] in the unloved and
unloving cruelty of Africa’s hostile natural realm in which he must
live. Stop and think: How can the love of God be expressed to the
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African? [I Jn.4:7-12].
Polygamy: Precedent, not principle, is the law of Africa; what
is observed in nature, not what is entombed in books. Do the beasts
not teach us that there is a bull of the herd? As with the antelope and
elephant, there exists a parallel between lust and land, wives and
wealth. And so a man’s goats, gold, and girls share a striking
resemblance in his possession. And, indeed, his wives are little more
than goats to him; merely cooks, concubines, and consorts, but not
companions. Stop and think: What are the differences between
polygamy and Christ and His one bride, the church? [Eph.5:25-33].
Eyes: Eyes reveal the soul of a man. An African will read the
eyes of a man to see if they confirm the words of his lips. “Distrust
a man who cannot look you in the face, and beware of the woman
who can.” Stop and think: How blessed is that man whose eye is
simple, single, clear, and good. How can this be brought about?
[Mt.6:22,23; Mk.7:20-23; Lk.11:34-36].
Slavery: Body bondage means soul bondage; slavery of mind.
A slave is a living coin of commerce and becomes as insignificant as
any other means to an end; a commodity of exchange. If you can buy
a boy for a penny’s worth of cloth to make a headtie, there you have
the value of the man. When a mother and child are sold for small
bags of grain, then we can understand how “man eats maize, but
maize can eat man.”
Is it reasonable then, to imagine the cash payment of an
hour’s abolition to redeem centuries of bred into the bone slavery
and the growling grudge of that bondage? How then can the heart of
a passive, fatalistic, and dulled humanity be opened, set free indeed,
and reinvigorated?
Only with the key of opening one’s own heart to theirs [2
Cor.6:11-13]; to exposing them to the love of Christ by honoring all
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OBSTACLES
Little was done to reach Africa with the gospel during the
horrible centuries of the slave trade [see Appendix 4 Slavery]. It was
only after that abominable institution was abolished, on paper
though not in fact, that European and American missionaries turned
their attention in earnest to the souls of men. Up until then, the
occupation of their nations had been the buying and selling of their
bodies. Strange that the church was not compelled by spiritual
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Coveting/Corruption.
From the standpoint of the European nations, Commerce
was the great objective and Civilization became merely a means to
that end. Coveting and Corruption inflamed their Conquests while
Christianity was only tolerated and sometimes a hindrance in the
scramble to gain mastery over the continent [see Appendix 4 Slavery].
CENTRAL AFRICA
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UGANDA
King Mutesa of Uganda met his first white men in 1862 that
he described in this way, “I have not heard a white man tell a lie yet.
They bought no slaves, and the time they were in Uganda they were
very good.” It was thirteen years later that Henry Stanley met with
the chief who had begun to come under Islamic influence.
Stanley, an explorer first of all and missionary only
reluctantly and occasionally, tried to impress upon his mind the
truths of Christianity. More significantly, he wrote to England that
the king of Uganda was requesting that missionaries be sent. The call
was heeded and the CMS [Church Missionary Society of the
Anglicans] commissioned eight brethren to Uganda, Alexander
Mackay remaining as the sole survivor after just only two years in
Africa.
Mutesa and the intelligent lovable Baganda people received
him into their midst. The king was an unpredictable tyrant who
daily executed at least one of his subjects and is said to have had more
wives than any man in recorded history. He was known to have
sacrificed 2,000 people in a single day in order to appease the gods
that they might heal his loathsome incurable disease. Mackay said of
him, “Mutesa is the greatest slave-hunter in the world, a monstrous
murdering maniac, carrying on his raids on the strength of guns and
powder brought up country by Arabs.”
Both the king and his people were confused about the
competing claims of their traditional religion, Islam, Anglican
Christianity, and the soon to arrive French Roman Catholics.
Numerous conflicts and discussions ensued, along with several
attempts by Arabs and Roman Catholics alike to assassinate Mackay.
He was repeatedly falsely accused before the king, yet he bore all
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When the disease and flood had passed and not one of their
household had been struck, his dear wife took ill and in a very short
time was taken in death by the plague that she had tenderly nursed
many through. Shortly thereafter, his infant child also followed its
mother.
It was then that the enemy armies assaulted the city. Mob
rule took over within. His house was repeatedly attacked and
robbed, but, though all within were helpless and unarmed, none
suffered bodily harm. Cannon balls battered their building while
shots rang around them and violence prevailed in the streets. Their
eventual captors were far more merciful and orderly than the native
populace who had degenerated into anarchy and looting. These were
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the things endured by this servant of God for the sake of the gospel.
But he could write words such as these:
How slow we are to learn really to suffer, and to be abased with our
dear Lord [Phil.2:3-10]. However, I think we are generally much
more able to take up cheerfully any measure of bodily or mental
trial than that which degrades us before the world. To see that our
abasement is our glory, and our weakness our strength, requires
extraordinary faith.
Those who know the natives will, I am sure, feel with me, that this
plan of missions, whereby the native himself is thrown on God, is
calculated to develop individuality of character. The native naturally
loves a provision and ease, and thereby he is kept in dependence
on the creature: The European, on the other hand, loves to keep
the native in subjection and himself in the place of rule. But it
must be obvious to all, if the native churches be not strengthened
by learning to lean on the Lord instead of man, the political
changes of an hour may sweep away the present form of things, so
far as it depends on Europeans, and leave not a trace behind.
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I wish you to feel assured that nothing has estranged my heart from
you,...though I feel you have departed from those principles [you
once held] and are in principle returning to the city
[denominational thinking] from whence you departed...[when]
your union [basis of fellowship] daily [is] becoming one of doctrine
and opinion more than light and love, there will be little sympathy
with such [who do not agree with your every opinion]. Your
government [leadership] will become one wherein,
overwhelmingly, is felt the authority of men: You will be known
more by what you witness against than what you witness for, and
practically this will prove that you witness against all but
yourselves.
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From the age of five, Hudson Taylor had spoken freely about
his desire to be a missionary in China. By the time of his death, over
eight hundred missionaries served in association with him and that
entire mighty country had a gospel testimony in strategic locations
throughout the whole.
Though raised in a godly home, he was not converted until
his seventeenth year. While his mother was away from the home for
a few days, she sensed a great burden to pray for his conversion one
particular day. As she brought her son’s need before the Lord, she
received a certainty that the Lord had heard and answered her plea.
Upon return, Hudson met her with the news of his joyous
conversion. She was not surprised.
While studying medicine at age eighteen, he purposefully
disciplined himself by living a simple life of self-denial. He limited
his diet to one loaf of bread and perhaps two apples daily. He chose
to live in a comfortless one-room rental in a poverty stricken slum in
order to prepare himself for the hardships of missionary life in
China.
It was an experiment of living entirely by faith. When in
need, he expressed that to no one, not to parents nor to his employer
who was overdue in paying his wages from time to time. His thinking
was this, “When I get out to China I shall have no claim on anyone
for anything; my only claim will be on God. How important,
therefore, to learn before leaving England to move man, through
God, by prayer alone.” This became the famous motto for which he
became known in coming years.
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crew came to know the Lord and join in with their Bible studies.
Other things developed on board as well.
Seeds of ill-feeling and division had been allowed to take
root in the hearts of some. Jealousy and discontent sprang up
because of money matters, earthly possessions, or attention shown to
others. Taylor was able to soothe the disturbed and correct the
discontented with loving private discussions and prayer with each.
In some, however, it trimmed off the bitter fruit but did not pull up
the root. Upon landing, there was near disaster.
Complaints arose about the Chinese dress that they had all
agreed upon to wear before leaving. This, combined with the
ridicule of the missionaries from other societies and the overall
strangeness of the new environment led to bitterness and even
outright refusal to submit to Taylor’s leadership. Lewis Nicol led the
group of troublemakers to even meet separately for meals and would
not join with them in devotions.
The Lord’s ways are not our ways. It was a sore trial for
Hudson, Maria, and those spiritually minded among them who
longed for harmony, fellowship, and that the testimony might go
forward. None could have imagined how God would heal the
breach.
In 1867 little eight-year-old Gracie Taylor became ill and
never recovered. “Who plucked that lovely flower?” inquired the
gardener. “The Master did so and carried it to His home,” replied his
fellow-worker. And the gardener questioned no more.
In the grief and sorrow of that loss, bitterness and grievances
were forgotten in the sympathy expressed to the Taylors. All were
reconciled with the exception of Nicol and his wife who later had to
be dismissed from the mission due to their continuing strife. And
the Scripture was fulfilled which says, Cast out the scoffer, and
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I do wish I could have a talk with you now about the way of
Holiness. It [is] the subject of all others occupying my thoughts
[due to] a consciousness of [my own] failure; a constant falling
short of that which I felt should be aimed at; an unrest; a perpetual
striving to find some way by which I might continuously enjoy that
communion, that fellowship at times so real, but more often so
visionary, so far off!
Do you know, dear brother, I now think that this striving, effort,
longing, hoping for better days to come, is not the true way to
happiness, holiness or usefulness: better, no doubt far better, than
being satisfied with our poor attainments, but not the best way
after all. I have been struck with a passage from a book of yours left
here, entitled Christ is All. It says:
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I feel as though the first dawning of a glorious day has risen upon
me. I hail it with trembling, yet with trust. I seem to have got to
the edge only, but of a sea which is boundless; to have sipped only
[from] that which fully satisfies. Christ literally all seems to me
now the power, the only power for service; the only ground for
unchanging joy. May He lead us into the realization of His
unfathomable fulness.
How then to have our faith increased? Only by thinking of all that
Jesus is, and all He is for us: His life, His death, His work, He
Himself as revealed to us in the Word, to be the subject of our
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The Lord Jesus was pleased to use this as life and light to his
soul. In his own words he exclaimed, “As I read, I saw it all. I looked
to Jesus; and when I saw, oh how joy flowed!” He went forth as a new
man going out into a familiar world somehow strangely new. He
wrote right away to his beloved sister in England, quoting from the
letter he had received from McCarthy and commenting further with
these words:
Here, I feel is the secret: not asking how I am to get sap out of the
Vine into myself, but remembering that Jesus is the Vine – the
root, stem, branches, twigs, leaves, flowers, fruit, all indeed. Yes,
and far more too! He is the soil and sunshine, air and rain – more
than we can ask, think, or desire. Let us not then want to get
anything out of Him, but rejoice in being ourselves in Him – one
with Him, and, consequently, with all His fulness. Not seeking for
faith to bring holiness, but rejoicing in the fact of perfect holiness
in Christ, let us realize that – inseparably one with Him – this
holiness is ours, and accepting the fact, find it so indeed.
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My mind has been greatly exercised for six or eight months past,
feeling the need personally, and for our Mission, of more holiness,
life, power in our souls. But personal need stood first and was the
greatest. I felt the ingratitude, the danger, the sin of not living
nearer to God. I prayed, agonized, fasted, strove, made
resolutions, read the Word more diligently, sought more time for
retirement and meditation – but all was without effect.
Then came the question, “Is there no rescue? Must it be thus to the
end – constant conflict and, instead of victory, too often defeat?”
How, too, could I preach with sincerity that to those who receive
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Jesus, “to them gave He power to become the sons of God” [i.e.
God-like] when it was not so in my experience? Instead of growing
stronger, I seemed to be getting weaker and to have less power
against sin; and no wonder, for faith and even hope were getting
very low.
I would not give you the impression that this was the daily
experience of all those long, weary months. It was a too frequent
state of soul; that toward which I was tending, and which almost
ended in despair. And yet never did Christ seem more precious –
a Savior who could and would save such a sinner!...And sometimes
there were seasons not only of peace but of joy in the Lord. But
they were transitory, and at best there was a sad lack of power. Oh,
how good the Lord was in bringing this conflict to an end!
All the time I felt assured that there was in Christ all I needed, but
the practical question was how to get it out. He was rich, truly, but
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I was poor; He strong, but I weak. I knew full well that there was
in the root, the stem, abundant fatness; but how to get it into my
puny little branch was the question. As gradually the light was
dawning on me, I saw that faith was the only prerequisite, was the
hand to lay hold on His fulness but it would not come; tried to
exercise it, but in vain.
But this was not all He showed me, nor one half. As I thought of
the Vine and the branches, what light the blessed Spirit poured
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The sweetest part, if one may speak of one part being sweeter than
another, is the rest which full identification with Christ brings. I
am no longer anxious about anything, as I realize this; for He, I
know, is able to carry our His will, and His will is mine. It makes
no matter where He places me, or how. That is rather for Him to
consider than for me; for in the easiest positions He must give me
His grace, and in the most difficult His grace is sufficient.
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Faith, I now see, is “the substance of things hoped for,” and not
mere shadow. It is not less than sight, but more. Sight only shows
the outward forms of thing; faith gives the substance. You can rest
on substance, feed on substance. Christ dwelling in the heart by
faith is power indeed, is life indeed. And Christ and sin will not
dwell together; nor can we have His presence with love of the
world, or carefulness [worried distraction] about “many things”
[Lk.10:41; Mt.13:22].
And now I must close. I have not said half I would, nor as I would
had I more time. May God give you to lay hold on these blessed
truths. Do not let us continue to say, in effect, “who shall ascend
into heaven, that is to bring Christ down from above:” In other
words, do not let us consider Him as afar off, when God has made
us one with him, members of His very body. Nor should we look
upon this experience, these truths, as for the few. They are the
birthright of every child of God, and no one can dispense with
them without dishonor to our Lord. The only power for
deliverance from sin or for true service is CHRIST.
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10
LAODICEA
THE MODERN CHURCH
SEVEN CHURCHES
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EPHESUS [Rev.2:1-7]
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SMYRNA [Rev.2:8-11]
PERGAMOS [Rev.2:12-17]
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established during this period. Yet the Lord will have His faithful
witnesses in every period of the church; one or more like Antipas
[Against All], like Athanasius who stood against all the bishops of
Christendom as noted in Chapter 7 Remnant.
What is the remedy for such a church, such an age, or such
an individual heart? The Word of Christ, that sharp two-edged
sword, must divide, judge, and pierce to separate, convict, and
humble. Repent; or He will come in wrath and war against any
adulterously joined to the world [Jas.4:4]. He who has ears, let him
hear.
THYATIRA [Rev.2:18-29]
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deeds at the last be more than the first. Those reigning with Jezebel
presently will never reign with Christ unendingly. Authority over the
nations will be the future portion of the faithful with Christ then by
the gift of grace, not due to Jezebel’s sword and craftiness at the
moment. These are words that also must sink into our ears.
SARDIS [Rev.3:1-6]
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also this.
PHILADELPHIA [Rev.3:7-13]
DEVILISH SCHEMES
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The things above the line are what give meaning to the things
below. [Propositional: statements that are either true or false.
Propositional-Revelation refers to the Bible]. The observations of
man in the natural realm are focused and corrected by the things
above. Man’s thoughts about life, morals, society, relationships, and
human personality can only be accurate if they align with the
revelation of God in His written Word, the Bible.
When man began to reason about the individual things in
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Nature apart from the absolute reference point of eternal truth in the
Scriptures, confusion, corruption, and despair resulted. As this was
done following the Reformation period, conflicting opinions
prevailed as the Word was increasingly set aside.
Eventually, men saw the futility of attempting to derive
meaning from the particulars of Nature without any unchanging
reference point to evaluate opinions by. Finally, all attempts to do
that were abandoned, and Modern Man uncomfortably tried to
adjust himself to the idea that he was part of a mechanistic universe
of random chance.
Isaac Newton’s [1642-1727 AD] discoveries about gravity
through scientific reasoning, led to the common accepted belief that
natural forces are rigid laws that govern the universe. As European
explorers brought back news of distant cultures and religions, many
Rationalists began to express that there might be a basic natural
religion that all men had apart from the Bible or priests.
At the end of the 1700's, Rousseau maintained that
whatever is natural is right. He said in the realm of philosophy what
Darwin’s evolutionary theory in biology would say some eighty years
later. To him, man’s morality must be sought for within the closed
system of nature, not looked for outside of it in a god or religious
code.
Nature is autonomous [a law unto itself] and therefore
freedom is unrestrained since there is nothing outside Nature
[nothing above the line: Grace] to govern it. Rousseau maintained
that it is only institutions that have made men bad; by nature they are
essentially good. Therefore, when the sovereign natural will of the
people [which is good] is violated, the people may overthrow
institutions in order to return to natural law. This thinking fueled
the French Revolution.
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EVOLUTION
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survive.
THEISTIC EVOLUTION
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REVOLUTIONS
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PSYCHOLOGY
POPULAR MEDIA
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CHARISMATIC
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ECUMENISM
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CHRISTIAN PUBLICATIONS
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AMERICANISM
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SUMMARY
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APPENDIX 1 NT LEADERSHIP
KEY PASSAGES: NATURE OF THE CHURCH
Foundation [Mt.16:16-19]
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No man can serve two masters. There exists no place for men
to lord it over fellow slaves in the church of Christ. Jesus alone is
Lord.
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This is the church that Jesus builds. It is not built with wood
and cement. Living stones grow into a holy temple in the Lord. The
church of the Lord Jesus is the pillar and support of the truth [I
Tim.3:15], upholding and proclaiming the everlasting Word of God
of Him who dwells within His spiritual house.
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One Head governs the one body of Christ. There are not
multiple heads in His church. No one’s body could live and function
with two heads.
The members of the body receive their direction directly
from the Head, not from fellow members. The hand does not dictate
to the foot. If one suffers, that member sends a message of distress to
the Head. The Head then orders the response of the other members
to relieve the suffering member.
All is orderly and coordinated because the Head governs all.
No imposed structure from without directs the church. Christ is
truly the Head.
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Acts 20:28-32
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I Peter 5:1-6
Hebrews 13:7,17
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already been seen by our Lord Jesus’ use of this word in Lk.22:26.
They are guides; servants who lead by loving godly care while
speaking the truth.
Believers are to carefully reflect upon both the godly lives of
their Leaders and the Word that they have taught. It is then that they
are persuaded to imitate their faith and submit to their guidance and
example.
They obey because the Leaders’ doctrine and lives are
persuasive to the spiritual hearts of the godly. The church does not
obey because Leaders rule over them with authority as lords. Christ’s
Leaders follow His Pattern by guiding according to example,
combined with the persuasive power of truth.
The most frequent word in the NT for Obey is
[HUPAKOUO υπακουω] [not shown below]. It means TO OBEY,
in the sense of submitting to authority; such as a believer to the Lord
[Heb.5:9], a child to his parent [Eph.6:1], or a slave to his master
[Col.3:22].
However, in Heb.13:17, a different word for Obey is used.
That word, [PEITHO πειθω] [not shown below], means TO
CONVINCE, PERSUADE, OBEY. The obedience called for in
Heb.13:17 is based upon godly spiritual persuasion, not upon
submission to one in authority over others.
Thus, the meaning of the command in Heb.13:17 can better
be expressed in this way: Be persuaded by your Leaders and submit.
Their submission is to the truth of their teaching from the Word that
is also evident in the convincing example of their godly lives.
I Timothy 3:1-7
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Titus 1:5-9
I Timothy 5:17-22
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I Thessalonians 5:12,13
EXOUSIA [εξουσια]
AUTHORITY, ABILITY, FREEDOM OF CHOICE,
RIGHT, POWER, GOVERNING OFFICIALS. [Mt. 7:29; 8:9;
9:6,8; 10:1; 21:23,24,27; 28:18; Mk. 1:22,27; 2:10; 3:15; 6:7;
11:28,29,33; 13:34; Lk. 4:6,32,36; 5:24; 7:8; 9:1; 10:19; 12:5,11;
19:17; 20:2,8,20; 22:53; 23:7; Jn. 1:12; 5:27; 10:18; 17:2; 19:10,11;
Acts 1:7; 5:4; 8:19; 9:14; 26:10,12,18; Rom. 9:21; 13:1,2,3; I Cor.
7:37; 8:9; 9:4,5,6,12,18; 11:10; 15:24; 2 Cor. 10:8; 13:10; Eph.
1:21; 2:2; 3:10; 6:12; Col. 1:13,16; 2:10,15; 2 Thess. 3:9; Tit.
3:1; Heb. 13:10; I Pet. 3:22; Jude 25; Rev. 2:26; 6:8; 9:3,10,19;
11:6,6; 12:10; 13:2,4,5,7,12; 14:18; 16:9; 17:12,13; 18:1; 20:6;
22:14].
This word occurs ninety-four times in the NT and is never
once used of one believer as having Authority over another. The
Lord Jesus is the One who has all Authority in heaven and earth
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[Mt.28:18].
The only Authority that believers have with relationship to
one another is to perform the work that the Lord has commanded
each of them to do [Mk.13:34]. The work that Jesus gives to His
servants is never that of ruling over others, but is rather simply
Authority from Christ to build up the brethren [2 Cor. 10:8; 13:10].
Each believer has Authority to speak the truth in love to the building
up of the body of Christ [Eph.4:15,16].
EXOUSIAZO [εξουσιαζω]
TO EXERCISE AUTHORITY OVER. [Lk. 22:25; I Cor.
6:12; 7:4,4]. Jesus forbids His leaders from exercising authority over
His people. Only heathen men of the world do that.
KATEXOUSIAZO [κατεξουσιαζω]
TO EXERCISE AUTHORITY OVER/UPON. [Mt.
20:25; Mk. 10:42]. It is worldliness for a leader in the church to act
like the oppressive rulers of the unbelievers.
KATAKURIEUO [κατακυριευω]
LORD IT OVER, BE MASTER, SUBDUE. [Mt. 20:25;
Mk. 10:42; Acts 19:16; I Pet. 5:3]. Both Jesus and Peter forbid NT
leaders to dominate and rule His people.
ARCHE [αρχη]
[A frequent meaning of this word is “beginning.” These
references have not been listed since they do not relate to our study
here. The following definitions are seen in the passages listed].
A RULE, AUTHORITY. [Lk.12:11; 20:20; Rom.8:38; I
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Cor. 15:24; Eph. 1:21; 3:10; 6:12; Col. 1:16; 2:10,15; Tit. 3:1].
This word is never used with reference to a believer. It refers only to
human political rule and authority or to angelic rulers and
authorities.
ARCHO [αρχω]
[Apart from two exceptions in the NT, this word means “to
begin.” The two times it means “to rule” are shown].
TO RULE. [Mk. 10:42; Rom. 15:12]. Rule over subjects is
a heathen practice among men, but is forbidden in the church.
ARCHON [αρχων]
RULER, LORD, PRINCE, AN AUTHORITY. [Can be
either human or demonic]. [Mt. 9:18,23,34; 12:24; 20:25; Mk.
3:22; Lk. 8:41; 11:15; 12:58; 14:1; 18:18; 23:13,35; 24:20; Jn. 3:1;
7:26,48; 12:31,42; 14:30; 16:11; Acts 3:17; 4:5,8,26; 7:27,35;
13:27; 14:5; 16:19; 23:5; Rom. 13:3; I Cor. 2:6,8; Eph. 2:2;
Rev. 1:5]. Never is any Christian said to be a Ruler, Lord, Prince, or
an Authority. This term has reference only to the civil magistrates,
governors, and Rulers of earth, the religious Rulers of the Jews, and
demonic powers and Authorities.
HEGEMON [ηγεμων]
PRINCE, GOVERNOR, RULER. [Mt. 2:6; 10:18;
27:2,11,14,15,21,27; 28:14; Mk. 13:9; Lk. 20:20; 21:12; Acts
23:24,26,33; 24:1,10; 26:30; I Pet. 2:14]. No Christian is ever
referred to as a Ruler. This term describes only the civil Governing
authorities of man’s governments or the religious Rulers of the Jews.
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HEGEOMAI [ηεγεομαι]
[This word is translated many times as “to think/consider.”
The passages shown are all references to the definitions noted].
TO LEAD, GUIDE, GOVERN, RULE. [Mt. 2:6; Lk.
22:26; Acts 7:10; 14:12; 15:22; Heb. 13:7,17,24]. Jesus’ definition
of this term determines the sense it has in His church. He says that
the HEGEOMAI is a servant, not a ruler [Lk.22:26]. No servants are
Rulers. Therefore, Leader or Guide are the only meanings that make
sense in the Christian context.
Paul was the Leading speaker, not the Ruler over Barnabas
[Acts 14:12]. Judas and Silas were Leading men among the brethren,
not Rulers over the Apostles and the church [Acts 15:22].
Rulers in Heb.13:7, 17 [KJV] must be understood to mean
Leaders or Guides because of Jesus’ own use of the word in Lk.22:26.
To do otherwise is to reject Jesus’ word for the sake of establishing
and maintaining man-made tradition and governing systems in the
church.
PROISTEMI [προιστημι]
Literally, TO STAND BEFORE, and is translated as LEAD,
ATTEND TO [with diligent care], MANAGE, MAINTAIN,
CONDUCT, BE CONCERNED ABOUT, CARE FOR, GIVE
AID, DIRECT, RULE. [Rom. 12:8; I Thess. 5:12; I Tim.
3:4,5,12; 5:17; Tit. 3:8,14]. This wide-range term describes
someone who is standing before others as an example of devoted
service, help, care, and direction to them. The ideas of Leading with
diligent care, concern, and direction is the idea in Rom.12:8.
In I Thess.5:12 it is those who are Attending to, Caring for,
Giving aid, and Directing the brethren by their laboring in teaching
and admonition that the saints are to lovingly esteem. They are not
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“over you” as ruling authorities, but are Standing before the church
as teachers and examples.
The sense in which Overseers are to “rule” [I Tim.3:4,5 KJV]
their household well is explained by the use of the term “take care
of” in I Tim.3:5. The word “take care of” [EPIMELEOMAI
επιμελεομαι], is used in only three verses in the NT; Lk.10:34,35
and I Tim.3:5.
In the Luke passage, the good Samaritan did not rule, lord it
over, or exercise authority over the man who had been robbed and
beaten. Rather, he Attended to, was Concerned about, Cared for,
Gave aid, and Directed for the care of the man in need. Provision
was made at his own expense for the well-being and blessing of the
wounded traveler.
This type of care is what is needed in the church and in the
home. If one cannot Attend to, be Concerned about, Care for, Give
aid, and Direct the members of one’s own family, how could a man
ever be of benefit to the church, the family of God? Ruling and
exercising authority as a lord does not fit or qualify a man to either
lead in his home or in the church.
Elders worthy of double honor are not worthy because they
are Rulers, but because they Attend to, are Concerned about, Care
for, and Give aid to the people of God [I Tim.5:17,18].
EPISKOPOS [επισκοποσ]
OVERSEER, SUPERINTENDENT, GUARDIAN,
BISHOP. [Acts 20:28; Phil. 1:1; I Tim. 3:2; Tit. 1:7; I Pet.
2:25]. Overseer emphasizes watching over the brethren for their
spiritual protection, comfort, and blessing. It is not a title of
superiority above that of Elder. Elder and Overseer are merely
descriptions of the same individual viewed from two different sides.
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Jesus is the only Overseer who has the right to rule over the brethren
[I Pet.2:25].
EPISKOPEO [επισκοπεω]
TO OVERSEE, CARE FOR, LOOK AT. [Heb. 12:15;
I Pet. 5:2]. In I Pet.5:2,3, Peter makes it absolutely certain that to
Watch over has nothing to do with Lording it over. Spiritual
maturity, insight, and alertness are required to Oversee. A man can
lord it over others with none of those qualities.
EPISKOPE [επισκοπη]
OVERSEERSHIP, POSITION AS OVERSEER,
VISITATION. [Lk. 19:44; Acts 1:20; I Tim. 3:1; I Pet. 2:12].
In neither Acts 1:20 nor in I Tim.3:1 is contained the idea of an
“Office” of rulership. It is not a place of superiority over those who
are subject to the one in authority. The desire for Overseership is a
good desire for a good work. And that good work is not a work of
ruling, but of setting an example for the saints along with teaching
sound doctrine and helping the brethren in their life of faith.
PRESBUTEROS [πρεσβυτεροσ]
OLDER, ELDER. [Often used to describe the Jewish Elders
in the Gospels and Acts such as in Mt.21:23. In Revelation, the
twenty-four Elders are mentioned as in Rev.4:4. The following
passages relate to Elders in reference to our topic of NT Leadership].
[Acts 11:30; 14:23; 15:2,4,6,22,23; 16:4; 20:17,18; I Tim.
5:17,19; Tit. 1:5; Jas. 5:14; I Pet. 5:1,5; 2 Jn. 1; 3Jn. 1].
Elders are older spiritually mature men who have a
testimony of proven character and wisdom. They are thus qualified
to Oversee the brethren. Physical age in years or recognition and
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PRESBUTERION [πρεσβυτεριον]
ASSEMBLY/COUNCIL OF ELDERS. [Lk. 22:66; Acts
22:5; I Tim. 4:14]. The Elders, as a group of spiritually mature men
who Oversee the brethren, observed in Timothy both the gift of God
and his proven character. They therefore were willing to commend
him to the work of the Lord by the laying on of their hands. This
indicated their blessing for him to represent Christ’s church in
behalf of the assembly.
POIMEN [ποιμην]
SHEPHERD, SHEEP-HERDER. [Used literally in many
passages such as Lk.2:8. The passages listed relate to NT Leadership].
[Mt. 9:36; 25:32; 26:31; Mk. 6:34; 14:27; Jn. 10:2,11,12,14,16;
Eph. 4:11; Heb. 13:20; I Pet. 2:25].
The Lord Jesus Christ is the Shepherd of His church
[Jn.10:2,11,12,14,16; Heb.13:20; I Pet.2:25]. Men can only
properly be called Shepherds [pastors] if they are leading the flock
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POIMAINO [ποιμαινω]
TO SHEPHERD, RULE. [Mt. 2:6; Lk. 17:7; Jn. 21:16;
Acts 20:28; I Cor. 9:7; I Pet. 5:2; Jude 12; Rev. 2:27; 7:17;
12:5; 19:15].
Feeding of the flock is the primary task of the Elders and
Overseers who Shepherd the people of God. Since the Lord Jesus is
the One Shepherd of the church [Jn.10:16], the true Overseer of our
souls [I Pet.2:25], and the Ruling Shepherd [I Pet.5:4], no man ought
to dare to influence the church to follow himself rather than Christ.
Every man who does the work of a Shepherd is, himself, also
a sheep in the flock. He must therefore also follow the Good
Shepherd, but he cannot rule. Only Jesus alone has the right to rule
His sheep.
ARCHIPOIMEN [αρχιποιμην]
CHIEF/RULING SHEPHERD. [I Pet. 5:4]. This
description is used of the Lord Jesus only. No one else is the Ruling
Shepherd.
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IN THE NT CHURCH
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rulers.
All is done decently and in order [I Cor.14:40] because He
is not a God of confusion but of peace [I Cor.14:33]. Yet no
pre-arranged program is needed to direct the worship of the church.
The Spirit of God, whose work it is to glorify Christ [Jn.16:13,14],
will lead the people of God [Rom.8:14] to worship the Father in
Spirit and truth [Jn.4:23].
Unity exists, not by outward conformity and association, but
because the Spirit of God joins all to glorify Jesus as Lord [Eph.4:3,4]
in a common life of godliness [Jn.17:21-23].
Each one contributes for the edification of all [I Cor.14:26]
and all judge what is spoken by any [I Cor.14:29].
Everyone submits to each other in the fear of Christ,
whether believer or leader, young or old alike [Eph.5:21].
The Breaking of Bread [Lord’s Supper/Communion
meeting] is the commanded meeting of the church. Do this in
remembrance of Me [Lk.22:19]. Other gatherings are secondary or
even optional.
Disobedient brethren are lovingly restored back into the way
or regretfully removed from the fellowship by the church, not by its
leaders alone [Gal.6:1,2; Mt.18:15-18; I Cor.5:1-13].
Jesus Christ the Lord, who has the central place among the
lampstands [Rev.2:1], hates the deeds of the Nicolaitans [Rev.2:6].
He hates it because they attempt to take over His rightful place as
Lord.
Nicolaitan is a compound word in Greek. It comes from
joining the words NIKAO [νικαω] TO OVERCOME and LAOS
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APPENDIX 2 RESURRECTION
HISTORICAL FACTS AND EVIDENCE FOR
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His back until raw [Mt.27:26]. After being beaten on the head
[Mt.27:30], He had His hands and feet nailed to a cross [Jn.19:18;
20:25]. Finally, His side was pierced with a spear [Jn.19:34].
Because He was obviously dead [Jn.19:31-35], His body was
taken down from the cross. Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea
wrapped Jesus’ body in linen along with about one hundred pounds
[50 kg] of spices according to Jewish burial custom [Jn.19:38-40].
They laid Him in a tomb cut out of the rock [Lk.23:53] and
a large stone was rolled against the entrance [Mt.27:60]. Pilate placed
a guard of Roman soldiers at the tomb to prevent theft of the body
[Mt.27:62-66].
Early on the morning of the third day, His followers found
the tomb empty [Lk.24:1-3]. An angel informed them that Jesus was
risen from the dead, just as He said [Mt.28:5,6].
After His bodily resurrection from the dead, Jesus appeared
to many witnesses, proving that He was alive. He was seen by Mary
Magdalene [Jn.19:16-18], the two Marys [Mt.28:1,9], and two men on
the road to Emmaus [Lk.24:13-35].
He appeared to Peter [Lk.24:34], ten disciples [Jn.20:19,20]
and others [Lk.24:33-36]. He showed Himself alive to Thomas, a
doubter [Jn.20:26-29], seven of His followers at the Sea of Galilee
[Jn.21:1-3], and to over five hundred brethren at once who were still
alive as witnesses some twenty-two years afterwards [I Cor.15:6].
Men have invented many foolish explanations to deny that
Jesus actually rose from the dead according to the Scriptures. Some
of these explanations were purposeful lies. The Jewish leaders bribed
the Roman soldiers to spread the lie that the Apostles stole the body
[Mt.28:12-15].
The foolishness of this lie is obvious to all. How could
disciples proclaim the resurrection of Christ that they knew was a lie,
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since they themselves teach that liars will not inherit the kingdom of
God? Secondly, why would they choose to die horrible deaths for a
lie that they themselves invented [I Cor.15:12-19, 30-32]?
More foolish yet is the idea that the disciples came to the
wrong tomb and, in their joy at finding it empty, began to preach a
false message of Jesus’ resurrection. If that were so, why then did the
Jewish and Roman authorities not simply show His dead body at the
correct tomb and put an end to the “deception” of Christianity?
They could not because He was not there.
Some unbelievers [even in the “church”] say that Jesus never
was an actual man who lived upon earth. They claim that His whole
life story is a religious myth that never really happened.
This is nonsense. If that were true, how could Peter on the
day of Pentecost accuse the Jews of crucifying Jesus, their Messiah, a
Man who never even existed [Acts 2:22-24]? Even more amazing, is
that some three thousand of these enemies of Christ repented and
asked forgiveness from a Christ whom they knew never lived and did
not exist! [Acts 2:36-41].
There is one further wicked denial of the truth of our Lord’s
resurrection. It is stated that, though something may have happened,
no one really knows for sure what that was.
The people to whom the Apostles spoke knew. They were
some of the very ones who had eaten of the multiplied loaves, who
had been healed [Mk.3:7-10], and who had heard Him teach daily in
the synagogues and the Temple [Jn.18:20,21].
They certainly knew what had happened. And if the
Apostles had misrepresented the facts, they would have immediately
been contradicted by thousands. No one would have listened to
them again.
However, these multitudes knew by firsthand experience the
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truth of the message and were not fooled. Neither were they fools.
They believed the obvious. There is no other explanation for Jesus’
empty tomb except that He is risen and He is Lord!
The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God” [Ps.14:1].
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HISTORY OF ISLAM
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Mecca and its Ka’ba thereafter has been the sacred and
undisputed center of Islam and of their pilgrimage. War was
declared against all forms of “unbelief;” pagan, Jewish and Christian,
and has since spread throughout the world. Today there are about
one billion Muslims worldwide.
WHO IS ALLAH?
Islam and Christianity are not serving the same God. Allah
and the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ are not the same.
They are two different deities with two different religions.
“Father” is not one of Allah’s ninety-nine names and he
“begets no son” [S.17:111]. He cannot possibly be the Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ. Christians are to pray, Our Father who is in
heaven [Mt.6:9]. No Muslim would ever pray to Allah in this way.
Allah of the Quran does not love sinners, the God and
Father of the Bible does. Allah does not love transgressors [S.2:190]. He
loveth not any ungrateful sinner [S.2:276]. Allah loveth not those that do
wrong [S.3:140]. Allah loveth not those who trespass beyond bounds
[S.7:55]. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that
while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us [Rom.5:8].
Who then does Allah love, if he does not love sinners and he
is supposedly, oft-forgiving, most merciful [S.4:25]? The Quran gives the
answer, Truly Allah loves those who fight in his cause in battle array, as if
they were a solid cemented structure [S.61:4].
Allah loves those who kill in his cause; who terrorize kafara
[unbelievers] into submission to Islam. Allah preaches a message of
submission or slaughter. Kafara are to be converted or eliminated.
Therefore, when ye meet the Unbelievers (in fight), smite at their
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necks;...But (He lets you fight) in order to test you...But those who are slain
in the way of Allah, he will never let their deeds be lost. Soon will he guide
them and improve their condition, and admit them to the Garden [Paradise,
the Islamic “heaven”] which he has made known to them [S.47:4-6].
Those engaging in jihad, have the highest rank in the sight of Allah. They
are the people who will achieve salvation [S.9:20].
Fight in the cause of Allah...and slay them wherever ye catch
them...and fight them on until there is no more persecution and the religion
becomes Allah’s [S.2:190-193]. I [Allah] will instill terror into the hearts of
the unbelievers: smite ye above their necks and smite all their finger-tips off
them [S.8:12]. Fight and slay the Pagans wherever you find them, and seize
them, and beleaguer them [surround with an army], and lie in wait for
them in every stratagem [scheme] of war [S.9:5].
But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse
you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who
spitefully use you and persecute you [Mt.6:44].
But they did not receive Him...When His disciples James
and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do you want us to command
fire to come down from heaven and consume them?”
But He turned and rebuked them, and said, “You do not
know what kind of spirit you are of; for the Son of Man did not
come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them” [Lk.9:53-56].
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WHO IS JESUS?
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Christian would ever think such an unworthy thing of the true and
living God.
When we speak about a son we say that he is the very image
of his father. He has the authority and right to represent his father
and speak on his behalf. His word is the same as hearing that of his
father. To see the son is to see the father.
When you go to the village, you first must go and greet the
chief. Many times you will be escorted by a younger man to the
dwelling of the chief. As you speak, it is often the young man who
replies. You soon realize that this is the son of the chief.
To see him is to see the chief. To hear his answer is to hear
the reply of the chief. He has full authority to speak in his behalf.
He is the heir of the kingdom. He is to be honored as one would
honor the chief. This son stands in a unique relationship to this
father which no one else shares.
This is what Christians mean when we say that Jesus is the
Son of God. He is unique. No one else is like Him in relationship
to God or men. He is greater than any prophet or angel [Heb.1:1-6].
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[4] Trinity: The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are co-eternal as
three distinct personalities in one essence [Jn.1:1; Heb.9:14].
One reason for Islam’s hatred of the Trinity is that it was
thought that Allah, Jesus, and Mary were the three gods of the
Christians. This is expressed in the Quran in this way, And behold!
Allah will say: “O Jesus the son of Mary! Didst thou say unto men, ‘Take
me and my mother for two gods beside Allah’?”...[S.5:116].
Sabellius [c.260 AD] put forth yet another error regarding
the Trinity which is widespread in many branches of Pentecostalism
up to today. He conceived of an unscriptural view of a successive
trinity of revelation, rather than the biblical truth of a simultaneous
Trinity of essence.
His view is referred to as Modalism [a Trinity of form rather
than of essence]. He taught that the one unity of God manifested
itself first as Father in the giving of the OT law. Secondly, the
revelation of Father was withdrawn to make way for the coming of
the revelation of God as the Son at the time of Jesus. Lastly, when
Jesus ascended to heaven, God next was revealed as the Holy Spirit in
inspiration, regeneration, and sanctification.
In other words, there is no such thing as three distinct,
co-eternal personalities in the being of God, only three different ways
to show Himself to man. While in the mode as Father, the Son and
Holy Spirit did not exist. When revealed as the Son, there was no
such thing as Father or Spirit. Finally, both Father and Son are no
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but one, though there are three distinct elements in your being.
Your word communicates yourself, your very spirit. It
reveals all that you are. Your spirit cannot be expressed apart from
your word. Your word cannot be expressed apart from your bodily
members of tongue and lips.
The same life breathes in your word, spirit, and body. You
are one in essence, though distinct as three. Are your words really
different than you? Is the Spirit dwelling in your body something
besides your own self? Is your body separate from who you are? No,
you are one and not three.
This, in a very limited way, is what is meant by Trinity. God,
His Word, and His Spirit are what Christians call the Father, Son,
and the Holy Spirit; one God with three eternal distinctions in the
one essence.
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Heb.11:4].
Abraham offered up the ram in the place of his condemned
son. The lamb was a substitute in the place of his son. The shed
blood of the lamb rescued the son from death and judgment. Never
again would he face judgment because God had provided a sacrifice
in his place [Gen.22:4-14]. Even the Quran refers to this event and
states We [Allah] ransomed him with a momentous sacrifice [S.37:107].
Moses was directed by the Lord to have every Israelite slay a
lamb and apply the blood to where they lived. It was only then that
they would be saved from the judgment coming upon the whole
land. The blood of the lamb was their protection from the wrath of
God coming upon the unbelievers [Ex.12:3,6,7,13].
All these were preparing the way for the coming of the
Lord’s final sacrifice, the one that forgives sins once and for all.
Isaiah spoke in great detail about this coming sacrifice many
hundreds of years before He came [Isa.52:13-15; 53:1-12].
It was the purpose of God to make His Servant a sacrifice for
sin. This Servant was pierced for our iniquities. He was like a lamb
sacrificed to bear the sins of others. Who was this Servant? How
could a Servant of God become a sacrifice to forgive sins?
John, the prophet of God tells us. He saw Jesus coming to
him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of
the world!” [Jn.1:29]. No one took Jesus’ life from Him. He rather
gave Himself freely to die in the place of sinful men [Jn.10:17,18]. It
was the will of God that Jesus should offer Himself as a sinless
substitute for the sins of man in order that they might be forgiven.
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know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills
to reveal Him [Mt.11:27].
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APPENDIX 4 SLAVERY
HISTORY OF AFRICAN SLAVERY
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pulpits of the world during the entire 1600's. A sole voice, that of the
English Puritan, Richard Baxter, said on one occasion in the late
1600's, “It is better to call those who owned slaves demons rather
than Christians.”
Opposition to the atrocities of slavery were slow in coming.
A novel appeared in 1688 written by a woman, Aphra Behn, that
vividly brought before French and British audiences for over one
hundred years the plight of African slaves. The Quakers, in the mid
1700's, both in America and in England, began to openly oppose
slavery.
They published statements like, “No Quaker could keep a
slave without risking damnation,” and condemned all who invested
in the trade or supplied cargoes for it. Others also began to question
the trade.
Montesquieu, a Frenchman in the later 1700's, mockingly
said, “One cannot put oneself into the frame of mind in which God,
who is a very wise being, took it upon Himself to put a soul, and a
very good soul at that, into such an entirely black body. [So] it is
impossible for us to suppose these creatures are men because, if one
were to allow them to be so, a suspicion would follow that we are not
ourselves Christian.”
George Wallace of Scotland in 1761 protested, “An
institution so unnatural and so inhuman as that of slavery ought to
be abolished.” Sir William Blackstone took up the pen in England,
declaring in 1769 that the law of England, “abhors and will not
endure the state of slavery within this nation.”
Even apart from such humanitarian [concern for the good of
people] appeals, there also began to be a growing worry that the
slaves, much more numerous than their owners, might rise up in
rebellion. This added additional concerns over increasing the slave
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population.
A Quaker in America, Benezet by name, began in the late
1760's to persuade others outside of his denomination about the
moral outrage of slavery. He wrote Edmund Burke, the Archbishop
of Canterbury, and John Wesley, among others, which established an
intercontinental link for the growing opposition.
During the middle 1700's in England, Granville Sharp
prosecuted the institution on legal grounds. John Wesley wrote
moving pamphlets against it on moral and humanitarian grounds,
predicting that the time for England to repent was fast approaching,
“whose worst crime was its indulgence in the slave trade.”
Adam Smith pointed out the economic disadvantages and
risky investment both in terms of human lives and financial returns.
Meanwhile, the rebellious Americans were challenging the rights of
the British parliament to make laws binding upon the colonists.
In an open letter to King George III printed in the Boston
Gazette in 1771, it was claimed that being subject to laws made by
other people is the essence of slavery with its “endless and
numberless curses,” a condition “worse than death.” At the time,
this was little more than a curious emotional hypocrisy, as the
American colonists still practiced and profited by the black slave
trade. It at least showed the effect that the golden rule, “Do unto
others as you would have them do unto you,” produced in their
minds, however inconsistent their application of that was.
A timely “Committee for Effecting the Abolition of the
Slave Trade” was established in 1787. This London society joined
together many diverse international opponents of the slave trade
together. Action began to be taken in British parliament led by
William Wilberforce with the support of his friend William Pitt, the
Prime Minister.
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buy, kidnap, and sell slaves just as they have always done?” Indeed,
there continued to be more slaves in Africa than in America.
The Haussa slave trade continued inland unabated. It is
estimated that fully twenty five percent of the population under the
Sokoto Caliphate may have been slaves by the end of the 1800's.
Among the Ashantis, the laboring people were still mostly
slaves in 1840. More than one thousand were sacrificed at the death
of the king of Ashanti in 1824.
Slavery continued to prevail throughout West Africa. From
Lagos blacks uninterruptedly sold blacks by the tens of thousands
across the Sahara to the north. In Bornu near Lake Chad, merchants
would hardly accept payment for goods in anything other than slaves
in the 1820's.
Half of Brazil’s population of four million in 1817 were
slaves. In Virginia of the USA, by 1800 there existed farms for
breeding slaves. The invention of the cotton gin [a machine that
separated seeds from the cotton] greatly increased the demand for
slaves, especially women, so that their numbers tripled between the
years of 1790 and 1825.
Other nations were slow to follow the British lead to end the
despicable business. The British navy began patrolling the West
African coast to insure obeying the new abolition law while arresting
and fining “pirates” who had no legal right to carry slaves.
Soon ships of other European and South American
countries were intercepted and their human cargoes were taken to
Freetown and set free in the colony that had been reestablished
there. Up unto 1840, 425 slave ships were forced by the Royal Navy
to deliver up their captives at Freetown where they were maintained
by the British for one year and then left to fend for themselves.
Rapidly the liberated slaves from 117 tribes of western and central
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machetes, and guns of Arab and Swahili slave raiders along with
tribal chiefs’ willing cooperation, the “open sore of the world”
flourished.
It was under the banner of eliminating this evil that
imperialist Europe marched into Africa. Few were sincere about the
humanitarian aspect of occupation. Most were consumed by passion
for profit and political power. The missionaries were the most
consistent exception to this exploitation and “legal” enslavement.
Even notable explorers like David Livingstone’s companion, Henry
Stanley, were little more than agents of colonial conquerors
themselves.
Livingstone truly had opened up the continent for the “3
C’s” of Commerce, Christianity, and Civilization. Though he
traveled widely and preached to the Africans, this was not his main
objective. He stated that he was not so much interested in preaching
Christ to Africa as in preaching Africa to Europe. His great burden
was to heal the open sore of slavery that ravaged the heart of the
continent, and to accomplish that required for it to be brought
before the conscience of Europe.
Livingstone himself lived in humility and selfless meekness
and kindness. Stanley did not walk in the footsteps of his master.
He said about himself, “My methods, however, will not be
Livingstone’s. Each man has his own way. [He] has been almost
Christ-like for goodness, patience, and self-sacrifice. The selfish and
wooden-headed world requires mastering, as well as a loving charity.”
He lived his creed. When refused food and threatened by
the Bumbireh people, he decided to “make an example” of them. He
and his men shot and killed more than 40 villagers and wounded
more than 100. This was the first of such brutalities to open the way
for the mixed blessings of the “3 C’s.” Such atrocities earned him the
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LEOPOLD’S CONGO
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GERMAN COLONIES
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NIGERIA
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Prisoners were executed, heads severed and placed on poles, and the
entire village leveled to the ground. The Sultan of Sokoto
pronounced a curse on anyone who would try and rebuild Satiru or
cultivate its fields.
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APPENDIX 5 ANIMISM
Knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things
like silver or gold from your empty way of life received by tradition
from your forefathers; but with the precious blood of Christ
[I Pet.1:18, 19]
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the next. To be cut off from the tribe is therefore the most terrible
punishment that can be inflicted upon anyone.
Yet his participation in the community is essentially
self-seeking. His desire is to gain power both within the group and
over his own destiny. Prayer, sacrifice, and rituals are not performed
out of devotion, but in order gain what he wants by “using” the spirit
world.
Power can be gained in a variety of ways; through sacrifices,
offerings, incantations, liturgies, taboos, charms, fetishes,
ceremonies, witchcraft, sorcery, or by contact with powerful persons
or objects, through the laying on of hands, or articles of clothing,
anointing, etc. Because of the universal belief that the spoken word
carries power to effect reality, speaking in tongues is widely practiced
among animists and is thought to have more power than
understandable prayer.
Dreams, visions, and ghosts play a significant role as they are
viewed as bringing contact with the ancestral spiritual world. Also,
totems [certain animals, objects, or plants that are thought to have a
special brotherly relationship with the family or tribe] are not to be
treated as common, but as sacred. Trees, groves, rocks, streams, or
mountains and high places are examples of these.
To an animist, the supreme God is at best distant and
unconcerned with the practical affairs of men. He may be respected,
but He is not personal, certainly not a Father, though He may be
considered to be Creator or even Judge.
The existence of an impersonal power often referred to as
the life-force is a common belief among animists. This force has no
moral nature but can be tapped into and used for either good or evil.
This belief is evident even in various forms of Pentecostalism where
it is common to hear groans, shouts, or short gasping sounds to
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the Father.
Jesus Christ is not a deity to be added to those already being
served; the one who can forgive and carry to heaven while the others
take care of the “practical” issues of daily living.
Because the animist views all of life as means to his own ends
by manipulating, controlling, or even deceiving the forces he
encounters, this has direct bearing on his home, especially his
women. The basic animistic orientation towards women is a result
of his whole outlook on life. To him, women are disposable
possessions; a means to achieving the man’s end for pleasure, profit,
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When you enter the land which the Lord your God gives
you, you shall not learn to imitate the detestable things of those
nations.
There shall not be found among you anyone who makes
his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses
divination, one who practices witchcraft, or one who interprets
omens, or a sorcerer,
or one who casts a spell, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one
who calls up the dead.
For whoever does these things is an abomination to the
Lord; and because of these abominable things the Lord your God
will drive them out before you.
You shall be blameless before the Lord your God.
For these nations, which you shall dispossess, listen to
those who practice witchcraft and to diviners, but as for you, the
Lord your God has not allowed you to do so [Deut.18:9-14].
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ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
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http://phillipsmissionforum.org/
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