THE ORIGIN OF THE GOSPEL

Gal. 1:11-12 ... "I would have you know ... that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ."

      For the past couple of centuries the Bible has been under attack by people who consider themselves to be "enlightened." The traditional view is that God selected men to inscribe His word with pen and ink and then required them to put down exactly what He wants us to know. These documents were written during the period from perhaps 1500 BC to about 100 AD. They were at first mostly separate, but as the centuries passed, they were gradually assembled into a single body. By about 180 BC the Old Testament scrolls (books to us) had assumed their present unity. We count them as 39 books, but by joining certain ones together the ancient Jews counted them as 22. The New Testament books had been collected and united as a single volume by about 360 AD, and perhaps much earlier. Speaking of the formation of the Old Testament, the apostle Peter wrote, "No prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God" (II Pet. 1:21). The apostle Paul in       II Tim. 3:16 proclaimed  that "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness."

      Beginning some two hundred or more years ago, however, various scholars began to dispute the claims of Peter and Paul that the Bible is inspired of God. They advanced arguments that the Bible is really just another book produced by men, in many cases not even the men whose names are attached to the various books that compose the Bible. For example, rather than being written by the prophet Daniel in the sixth century BC, they claimed it was actually written in the second century BC by nationalistic Maccabbean Jews who incorporated myths or even allegorized factual events. These liberal scholars claim that much material in the Psalms was borrowed from the literature of the Egyptians, Syrians, or Phoenicians.  They declare that in the New Testament, Christians of the two generations following the apostles wrote the books that bear the names of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and other leaders in the church of the first century. They argue that most of the sayings of Jesus and His miracles were invented to give stature to the man whose name their religion carried. Although they attribute a few epistles to Paul, most say they were written by a later Christian who used his name.

      The Letter to the Galatians, however, is generally conceded by even liberal scholars to be a genuine document written by Paul. And in this very letter that apostle emphasizes that the doctrine he preached was not of human origin. He assures his readers that it came to him only by revelation from God. And in II Tim. 3:16 he firmly states that "all Scripture is inspired by God." If the liberal theologians are correct, then Paul was either misguided, or he was deliberately lying to deceive. If Paul was a man of integrity and intellect, which all evidence serves to indicate, then the liberal theologians are wrong. Paul knew whether he received the gospel by revelation; modern theologians do not. Saul of Tarsus the persecutor would not have become Paul the apostle had not God intervened in his life. The only reason this writer can see why people would discredit Paul, his writings, and the rest of the Bible is to free themselves from the responsibility to submit their lives to the teaching contained therein. As Jesus said in Jno. 3:20, "Everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed."

EXAMINE YOURSELF

 II Cor. 13:5 ... "Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves!"

      The word "faith" in New Testament usage can mean either "mental acceptance of something" or "the substance of that which one believes." One has faith in Jesus if he believes Jesus is the Son of God and the Savior of man. The doctrine of who Christ is, of what He did while on earth, and of the truth of what He taught is the faith, which Jude 3 declares was "once for all handed down to the saints." In this sense the faith is synonymous with the gospel. It is with this meaning of "the faith" as "the substance of what we believe," or the gospel, that the text above exhorts us to "test" ourselves to see whether we "are in the faith." The faith which has been handed down to us delineates a specific mode of life to which we are to conform. Once we have committed ourselves to this norm, we must take care lest we drift out of it. Throughout the New Testament we are constantly reminded to guard ourselves lest this drifting tendency take hold of us, for it can happen very easily. The changes that separate us from the way of faith are nearly always small, subtle and seemingly innocuous, so that we hardly take note of them one at a time. It is only after a succession of them that it becomes apparent we have left the way of the faith and entered into the field of sin and transgression. Thus we are warned in Heb. 2:1 that "we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it." The phrase, "what we have heard," is a single word in the original Greek and is here equivalent to "the faith," which is the gospel.

      It is a never ending task for a Christian to determine whether he is conducting his life within the parameters of the faith, which is what Paul was urging upon the Corinthians in the above text. Even a casual reading of the two epistles he wrote to them indicates plainly that they had not been sensitive to influences which had worked strongly within them to lead them further and further from the faith. In fact, they had removed so far that most of us today would hardly admit them to be a church of Christ, and yet, that is how Paul addressed them (I Cor. 1:2; II Cor. 1:1). Nevertheless, the digression had advanced so far that, as the apostle concluded this second letter, he threatened to come and administer corrective measures, (see 13:1-2). He hoped this letter, with the demand to "examine youselves," would have the desired effect of drawing them back within the limits of the faith before his arrival.

      It is better to find your own faults and correct them than carelessly continue with them and have them addressed by someone else. In this writer's long experience as a high school math teacher, he persisted in urging students taking a test to "check your work carefully, find your mistakes and correct them. When I discover with my famous red pen, you'll lose precious credit and get a lower grade." In the Lord's Supper passage in I Corinthians 11, just after writing that "a man must examine himself," Paul then wrote, "If we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged'" (vs. 28, 31). Any sin we are able to detect within us through careful self-examination is a sin we will not carry into the Judgment, where it will surely be uncovered by God, who will condemn us for never having repented of it. Our God, most benevolent, has given us a special mirror for inspecting our lives, His word (Jas. 1:23-25). When used well, it will reveal to us every flaw and blemish in our way of life and show us indeed whether we are "in the faith." After that, it is our task to devote our attention and ability to repent of every sin, to alter the attitudes and behavior patterns that led us into them, and to pray earnestly to God to remove them. If we will be diligent to do that, God will delete them and lead us back into the faith.  But if we ignore or excuse them, He will condemn us in the Judgment and sentence us to everlasting punishment (Mat. 25:46).

      

GRACE THAT IS SUFFICIENT

II Cor. 12:9 ... "And He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.' Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me."

      When Jesus was engaged in His earthly ministry, Paul, then known as Saul of Tarsus, was not one of His disciples. While the Twelve whom Jesus chose to be His apostles accompanied Him wherever He went, beholding His great and often miraculous deeds and hearing from His mouth the heavenly counsel He declared, Saul was sitting at the feet of a Jewish rabbi named Gamaliel being educated in the Mosaic Law and the rabbinical interpretation of it. Some years later, however, Saul was converted to Christ and then appointed to be an apostle of the same status as those who had walked personally with Jesus. In fact, only two verses after the chosen text above, Paul declared, "In no respect was I inferior to the most eminent apostles." But he suffered the great disadvantage of not having been an eyewitness of Jesus' ministry and not hearing the gospel taught from Jesus' very mouth. To overcome this deficiency, the Lord visited Paul with what he called "the surpassing greatness of the revelations" (v.7). In one of these visits Paul was caught up into into heaven where he heard "inexpressible words which a man is not permitted to speak" (v.4). In Gal. 1:12 Paul wrote, "For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ."

      Being a mortal man and subject to the same temptations as anyone else, Paul was faced with the danger of becoming swollen with pride over these frequent revelations and his extraordinary visit to heaven. To restrain this tendency, the Lord sent upon the apostle "a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to torment" him (v.7). In other words, God permitted Satan to afflict Paul with some kind of physical disorder to humble him, somewhat similar to the case in which God allowed Satan to strike Job with a loathsome disease. This disorder cannot be identified, although this writer is of the opinion it related to Paul's eyes and vision. (See Gal. 6:11, 4:14-15; Acts 23:5). Whatever it was, it distressed Paul greatly, so that he implored God three times to remove it. Because it was having the very effect upon Paul that God intended, He refused to remove it. Instead, He gave the answer, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." 

      The Lord refused to take away the physical malady, but He did promise His servant the strength to endure it. There is a great lesson here for Christians today. Pride is ultimately a more destructive force in a person's life than any physical disease, for pride can destroy the soul while a disease can destroy only the body. In Lk. 12:4-5 Jesus taught, "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that have no more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell." God hates pride (Pro. 6:17), and Jas. 4:6 declares that "God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble." It may just be that when a Christian suffers infirmities, it is part of the Lord's design to purify that person's soul and perfect it for heaven. It is certainly right to make repeated appeals to God to remove one's "thorn in the flesh," for if it is not sent by God, in His great mercy and lovingkindness He may act to remove it. James 5:15 promises that "the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up." But if the infirmity is a thing sent by God, we may trust that He will answer our prayers as He answered Paul's. He will by His grace supply all the strength and patience we need to endure the ailment while it performs its necessary task of perfecting our soul to see God and enjoy His beautiful home forever.

SATAN AS AN ANGEL OF LIGHT

II Cor. 11:14-15 ... [Since] "even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light ... it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds."

      We read in Acts 18 that Paul brought the gospel to Corinth, a very heathen city with an especially debased culture devoted to idolatry. Against great obstacles, which induced within him "fear and much trembling" (I Cor. 2:3), he was nevertheless able to plant a church there and begin to build it up. For the next year and a half, an unusual stay for Paul in one place, he labored to strengthen the new Christians and enable them to continue faithful service to the Lord when he had to leave.  Once he had moved on to other fields of work, there came to Corinth men who preached "another Jesus," were motivated by a "different spirit," and proclaimed a "different gospel" (v.4). They belittled Paul's claim to apostleship (v.5), cast contempt upon his speaking ability (v.6), and suggested he preached for wages he received (vs. 8-9). In this epistle Paul refuted all these charges, urged the brethren to hold to the view of Jesus he had shown them, let themselves be led by the same Spirit who directed him, and remain faithful to the gospel he had taught them.

    Then Paul turned upon these adversaries and declared them to be "false apostles" and "deceitful workers," but most of all ministers of Satan who "disguise themselves as "apostles of Christ" (v.13) and "servants of righeousness" (v.15).  These men had come to the church in Corinth presenting themselves as authentic apostles, teachers of the real gospel, and inspired by the true Spirit. They were probably more capable in oratory than Paul and possessed the type of personality and physical appearance that appealed to people.  It often seems that people are more attracted to and captivated by a speaker who is handsome, physically energetic, and projects his personality with a magnetic force that draws people to him, and who is able to fulfil the desire of an audience "to have their ears tickled," (II Tim.4:3) and to dazzle their minds with dynamic speaking.  The truth of a message and the power of God that truth delivers are usurped by the speaker's appearance, personality and aggressive method of presentation.  Paul was willing to concede that his physical appearance was not appealing and that his speaking ability was not impressive (10:10), but he insisted that his knowledge of truth was superior (v.6), that his motives were directed by God's will (vs. 7-8), and that his labors were entirely sacrificial (vs. 23-33). Others might attract crowds and generate enthusiasm by their superficial methods, but he with knowledge, humility, and self-sacrifice would build souls for eternity.

      The basic issue involved in the text is that evil can counterfeit goodness.  Satan transforms himself into an "angel of light" in order to hide his true appearance and deceive the innocent, even as he first "deceived Eve" (v.3). No one knows if Paul is speaking metaphorically or rather in fact about some actual event, for Scripture does not explicitly reveal it. We do recall of "a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord (Yahweh), and Satan also came among them" (Job 2:1).  The phrase "sons of God' in the New Testament refers to Christians.  And today we can believe that Satan's ministers indeed come into the midst of the "sons of God" and, teaching a gospel perverted by human opinion and worldly philosophy, present a distorted image of Christ. They disguise themselves as "ministers of righteousness" by their personal charisma, zeal, appearance of piety, and use of Biblical terminology and images. We must take notice, however, that their "end will be according to their deeds" (v.15) and not let ourselves be swept away by their flair and dynamic enthusiam. We must always look beyond the external appearance for the truth and attribute results to God's power. We must not permit ourselves to be deceived by the outward peformance of what is really theatrics, the pleasing facade that conceals the presence and power of Satan.

      

WHOM THE LORD COMMENDS

II Cor. 10:18 ... "It is not the man who commends himself that is accepted, but the man whom the Lord commends."

      It is natural and common for a person, after he has accomplished something, to seek approval for it. Parents know how early this human trait begins, for their children constantly call their attention to the little things they make or do in their play. Teachers know how important it is to approve whenever possible the small achievements of their students, because these successes are necessary increments in the education process. To approve them encourages the student to further and greater efforts. In every area of adult life we look for approval for the things we do, and we glory when it is given in the form of compliments, awards, trophies, ceremonies, or public notices. All of this is well and good, for Rom. 13:7 teaches us to give "honor to whom honor is due." In the Bible we often read where recognition is given to those who had earned it.

      Sometimes, however, we make the mistake of judging our own accomplishments and pronouncing them good, or even superior. Our mistake is the choice of using a faulty standard of measure. When it comes to assessing the merit of human endeavor, there are three standards available for use.  One is the standard of human opinion, one is the standard of Divine revelation, and one is the standard of self-evaluation. The poorest and most inaccurate of these is the instrument of self-evaluation. In I Cor. 4:3-4 Paul stated, "I do not ... judge myself. I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted." Few of us are able to see our faults in their reality. Most of them we tend to overlook. Even when we do detect them, we choose to minimize their extent and seriousness. In v.12 preceding the initial text, Paul wrote, "Not that we venture to class or compare ourselves with some of those who commend themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another, and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding." If one does not yield the evaluation of his efforts to an authority beyond himself, he will proceed with the delusion that all is great and wonderful when, in reality, his life may be flawed and bound for disaster.

      The standard of human opinion is much better than the introspective personal measure, for we find it far easier to detect the errors in others than those within ourselves. Scotland's great poet Robert Burns referred to this when he wrote (phrased in present English):

      "O would some power the Giver give us, to see ourselves as others see us!

        It would from many a wonder free us, and foolish notion."

      But even this standard is often faulty, because as a  people of the land we often have our cultural prejudices and common sins to which we are together blind. For example, a visitor to the United States from a radically different culture can see our characteristic faults clearly, whereas we cannot. We are so involved in them we do not recognize them. Similarly, in Mat. 23:24 Jesus said to the Pharisees, "You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!" Here was a great community of people who did not recognize their blindness because of their long adjustment to it. As they picked out the minor faults in others, they could not see the massive, glaring faults in themselves.

      The only accurate instrument for measuring human endeavor is God's revelation to us, contained in the Bible. It fairly concedes our successes and signals our errors. The successes it praises to encourage their progress. The errors it condemns and counsels us to forsake them with all speed. In Jas. 1:25, as "the perfect law of liberty," it is symbolized as a mirror that shows us exactly as we are. Only when the Lord confers His approval on a person's life through this perfect standard is that person approved.

PRINCIPLES OF CHRISTIAN GIVING

II Cor. 9:7 ... "Each one must do as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."

      Christian service, like any other service, incurs expenses which must be paid. As Jesus went about His ministry of preaching, teaching and healing, He had to eat, occasionally obtain clothing to wear, and find lodging when the weather was wet or cold. He did not engage in any business which paid monetary wages, and only once did He perform a miracle to meet His expenses, (Mat. 7:27). Rather, He allowed His disciples to support Him in His work by sharing their resources to pay His expenses. Thus Lazarus and his two sisters in Bethany often opened their house to Jesus and served Him meals along with His twelve apostles, (Jno. 12:1-6). Also, in Luk. 8:2-3 there is a report that Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, Susanna and many others "provided for them out of their means." The generosity of these various people, which was based in their faith in Jesus' ministry, freed our Lord from having to take up His valuable time in working to support Himself or having to perform miracles to provide for His needs.

      The principle of God's people donating from their resources to pay the worldly expenses incurred in Christian service is taught both in the model of Jesus' ministry, in the many examples of the church under apostolic direction, and in explicit commands. Of the later, we first take special notice of Jesus' order in Mt. 10:8, which is given in a context of teaching evangelism, "You received without paying, give without pay." God has given salvation to us without cost, along with the resulting privileges of sonship to Him as Father and citizenship in His eternal kingdom. Out of deep appreciation we should feel great motivation to give freely unto the work of His service. Another direct command is I Cor. 16:2, "On the first day of every week, each one of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper." Our giving is here required to be on a schedule, every Sunday, and gauged to the extent that God has prospered us. If we believe in the importance and necessity of God's church and its function, we should accept without difficulty the charge laid upon us as Christians to contribute to its expenses.

      In the lead text above, we are taught about the attitude which God expects us to maintain toward this aspect of our response to Him. First, it must be our settled purpose to contribute. When one is converted to Christ, he should fix it in his mind that thenceforth, so long as he obtains any income, a portion of it will be turned over to the Lord for His service. A Christian remains in spiritual infancy when he continually has to be urged to remember the Lord as he uses the wealth the Lord blesses him to receive. Second, our giving must be ungrudging. We should not resent every dollar we turn over to the Lord and every hour we spend in His service. No one enjoys a gift when he perceives the giver has reluctantly given it, and neither does the Lord. Most of us would much rather a person keep his gift than put it into our hands with a heavy, unwilling heart. Third, our giving must not be of necessity. What does God think of the person whose attitude is, "Oh no! Here it is Sunday again, and I have to put some of Friday's paycheck in the contribution basket"? Does He feel something like we do at Christmas or a birthday when we get the distinct feeling that the gifts we are receiving are perfunctory rather than sincere expressions of love and appreciation? And fourth, our giving must be cheerful. When this writer gives something to someone he loves, it produces a great deal of joy in his heart to be able to do it. In fact, as he grows older he has discovered that he derives far more joy in giving than in receiving. If we love God who created us, Christ who saves us, and the Spirit who comforts us, we will find it indeed a cheerful experience each Lord's Day to make our contribution to the Lord's service with a degree of liberality that gradually increases.

GIVING YOURSELF TO THE LORD

 II Cor. 8:5 ... "And this, not as we expected, but they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God."

      Paul undertook the project of raising a great contribution from the Gentile churches for the relief of poor Christians in Jerusalem and Judea. Not only was it right for disciples of Christ who prospered to try to assist those who suffered from want, but the apostle also hoped to ease the tension between the Jewish and Gentile segments of the church. Furthermore, he reasoned that the Jewish brethren who had shared spiritual wealth with the Gentiles deserved no less than to receive a material return when they so much needed it. As Paul visited churches in Asia Minor, Macedonia, and Achaia to collect these gifts, he expected there would be different degrees of cooperation. The brethren in Corinth seemed reluctant, perhaps even resistant, to participate in this aspect of fellowship. The apostle found it necessary to prod them rather strenuously in epistles he wrote to them to activate loving concern for suffering brethren so far away. This is the main thrust of his writing in chapters 8 and 9 of Second Corinthians.

      To encourage them to make up the requested contribution, Paul offered as example the way the Christians in Macedonia had responded. Although they had suffered persecution and were themselves rather poor, they had given gladly, willingly, and quite liberally. The Corinthians had been spared persecution and were materially prosperous, yet after a full year (v.10) they were far short of their goal. The effective difference between the two groups of disciples was that of attitude. The Corinthians were characterized by selfishness, while their Macedonian counterparts were characterized by selflessness. The Corinthians were yet "fleshly" (I Cor. 3:3) and clung to what they had for their own satisfaction and pleasure. But Paul says the Macedonians "first gave themselves to the Lord" and then "to us by the will of God." That is, they first surrendered their very lives to the service of the Lord. Then, when it came to the matter of the contribution to help His disciples in another place, they gladly, willingly and freely gave from their resources what they considered they had already dedicated to God.

      The primary challenge of the Christian life is the surrender of one's self to Jesus. In Mt. 16:24 He declared,"If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me." Discipleship to Jesus begins only with self-denial, no matter what act or ritual one might perform to enter into such discipleship. That initial act is no more than a vain ritual when one's mind is not in the attitude of self-denial and ultimate surrender to Jesus. We are told in Rom. 12:1 that our "spiritual service" to God is to "present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice," for this is what is "acceptable to God." It is critical that every Christian consider these statements and  determine how he is meeting their challenge. What have you yet sacrificed to Christ? a part, or the whole, of your life? Do you give Jesus access to your time, resources, and energy only so long as it does not much infringe on your personal comfort, pleasure, and ambitions? Are there areas of your life into which you refuse to let the rule of Christ enter? Why do preachers and elders continually find it necessary to exhort brethren to be regular in attendance at worship assemblies? Why do they have to appeal repeatedly for brethren to give as they have been prospered in a spirit of good will? Is it not because we have reserved a part of our lives to ourselves for our own selfish disposition and told the Lord, in effect, "Sorry, Sir, but this belongs only to me! You cannot make any claims here." Such an attitude will, in the end, condemn our souls to eternal rejection from God's presence. The gospel makes it quite clear that the Lord will have all of a person or none of him, (see Mat. 6:24). He has not left it up to us to set the standard of discipleship.