Paul And Other Gospels

Good morning and welcome to Our Daily Walk.

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When the word gospel is used most people correctly relate the term to Christianity. The first four books of the New Testaments are called the gospels, and the good news of the message of Jesus is also called the gospel. Sometimes the word is used to show that something is unquestionably true—“I’m telling you this and it’s the gospel truth.”

In recent years there have been books published claiming to be other gospels. These books appear as if they were written by Philip, Mary Magdalene, Thomas and even Judas, but they were not. They are generally known as the “Gnostic gospels” and have been regarded for centuries as heretical writings.

The majority of Bible believing people will quickly dismiss these other writings. But some in our culture will readily consume what these other gospels have to say. They pour over the contents hoping to find something that will give new insight on religious difficulties of the current time.

Some of these other gospels make claims that go against other Bible teaching. For example, that Jesus didn’t actually die on the cross, but that He faked His death and then fled to France to live out the rest of His life. While other books and even movies have been produced based on such lies, the truth is the Christ died, was buried and was raised from the dead on the third day. Then a few weeks later Jesus ascended to heaven and has not been back to earth since.

If not for the resurrection of our Lord, none of us would have any hope for eternal life. So to entertain a heretical document that undermines the essence of Christianity as inspired would be very foolish.

Today we have the benefit of having the printed Bible at our fingertips. But in the early years of the church it was much more difficult to maintain faithfulness to doctrine. At times people would distort the teachings of Jesus and the apostles and lead others away from the truth. And sometimes the teachings of the early church seemed too difficult to follow, so the people simply looked the other way and did what they thought was best.

Of course, to be found righteous in the eyes of God one must be faithful to obey His will which is found in the pages of the Bible. Paul dealt with some early Christians who should have known better, but still decided to distort the gospel teachings. We find this passage in Galatians 1:6-10.

I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.

For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ.

The issue in the Galatian churches was that they had allowed elements of Judaism to be introduced as a part of the Christian conversion and worship. Specifically, they had been trying to add circumcision to the process of becoming a Christian and living the Christian life. This was what was distorting the gospel.

In our postmodern culture, many people would not see any problem with changing the word of God to be tolerant and accepting of sin or even other religions. That’s a shame. That’s also a sin.

Some churches have even touted their openness and love by going directly against what is written in the Bible. Friends, this is a very grave mistake to make.

There is only one true gospel and that is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul wrote to the church in Thessalonica and said that those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ will be punished with everlasting destruction. 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9. So let’s be sure to be faithful to the instructions that God has provided for us.

On Our Daily Walk today, may we strengthen our faith in the word of God by devoting more time to reading the Bible and more time in prayer to God. May we also be mindful of those who do not follow God’s ways and look for opportunities to bring them to the truth of the gospel.

Our thought for the day: “The gospel is not something we go to church to hear; it is something we go from church to tell.” Vance Havner

May God bless you on your daily walk.

© Our Daily Walk, Mike Baker, 2007. Permission is granted to copy these articles provided they are not sold and the author's name and copyright are included.

Acquila, Priscilla And Apollos

Good morning and welcome to Our Daily Walk.

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I thought I had done a really good job with the sermon one Sunday. In fact, I had even incorporated an illustration from cartoons on protecting sheep. But in my talk I had made an error. Instead of saying that it was a coyote that was trying to steal the sheep, I had mentioned that it was a wolf.

Looking back on that talk I realize that I was wrong. But I’d been talking about sheep and wolves and that thought of the cartoon crossed my mind and before I knew it I had made that connection.

Not long after that service a member approached me and with a big grin on his face told me that I needed to brush up on my cartoon history. He got me. I’m sure that he also got the main gist of the sermon, but that one error stuck out in his mind and he wanted me to know about it.

Now, there are several routes that he could have taken. After all, this was not a critical doctrinal error, but just a factual error in an illustration. He could have shouted out in the service and corrected me. Or he could have just let it go and allowed me to be in error on future talks.

But instead he chose to come to me privately and let me know about my goof. I’m glad he did. Really, I am.

Imagine if you will that you are traveling to another town and you stop in for a worship service. As you settle into your seat and join in the worship it comes time for the preacher to deliver his message. All of it sounds really good and all of his points are in agreement with the Bible.

But then one point he makes goes against what you know to be the truth. He’s wrong on that point. You turn to your spouse and both of you agree. The Bible says one thing and he’s saying something different. What do you do?

Well, this actually did happen to a couple in the Bible. We find their story in Acts 18:24-28.

Now a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures, came to Ephesus. This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things of the Lord, though he knew only the baptism of John. So he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Aquila and Priscilla heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. And when he desired to cross to Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him; and when he arrived, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace; for he vigorously refuted the Jews publicly, showing from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ.

Apollos is perhaps one of the most talented speakers in the entire Bible. Yet, some of what he was preaching was in error and in need of correction. We can learn much from the example of Aquila and Priscilla.

First of all, these two were informed enough to recognize error when they encountered it. For those who practice a regular regiment of reading the Bible and worshipping God, they also will find it quite easy to spot something that is not right.

Second, this couple chose to find the right time and the right approach to reach out to Apollos. Although Matthew 18:15-17 deals with how to engage a brother who has sinned against you personally, the basic structure of that passage still works quite well for situations like this. Basically that reading says that we should make our first approach one that is on a one to one basis. That worked in this case and it will work for us today as well.

Third, we find that error was encountered, dealt with in a proper way and corrected in a proper spirit. Things worked out.

Friends, sometimes our initial reaction to an error is to scream out or perhaps we are tempted to deal with the error in a way for which God would not approve.

But consider the words of Paul in Galatians 6:1. “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself let you also be tempted.”

On Our Daily Walk today, may we always seek to be helpful to others, even offering to provide correction when necessary. May we also consider those who approach us and accept their comments and corrections as they are offered.

Our thought for the day: “Don’t mind criticism. If it’s untrue, disregard it; if it’s unfair, keep from irritation; if it’s ignorant, smile; if it’s justified, learn from it.”

May God bless you on your daily walk.

© Our Daily Walk, Mike Baker, 2007. Permission is granted to copy these articles provided they are not sold and the author's name and copyright are included.

Paul And The Resurrection

Good morning and welcome to Our Daily Walk.

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Perhaps the most significant fact of Christianity is summed up in one word—resurrection. Without the resurrection of Jesus Christ we would all be without hope. Even though hundreds of people attested to seeing Jesus alive after the resurrection, still many would not believe.

Many people today, even some who claim to be Christians, deny the resurrection of Jesus. For the life of me, I can’t imagine why they would still be Christians if they didn’t believe that Jesus rose from the grave that third day. One such person, a scholar no less, declared his belief that Jesus died and was buried in a shallow rock grave. Then wild dogs came and dug up his body and ate it. And this fellow claimed to be a Christian!

Friends, one cannot deny the resurrection of Christ and still claim to be a Christian, for the resurrection is the essence of the good news that we proclaim to the world! To deny that Jesus rose from the grave is to commit a serious religious error.

Paul was one of the first ones to confront the error of those who claimed that there could be no resurrection. In 1 Corinthians 15, which is dealing mostly with the resurrection, Paul uses logic to help counteract those who denied the resurrection.

Listen to how Paul lays out this argument in 1 Corinthians 15:12-19.

Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up — if in fact the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.

Logic should be our tool and our friend when examining evidence before us. What we learn as facts helps us to later apply logical thinking to a given situation in order to determine if we can believe it or not.

Notice again the line of logic that Paul uses.

1. If no resurrection, then Christ is still dead.

2. If Christ is still dead, then our preaching is empty and your faith is empty.

3. If Christ is still dead then the apostles were lying when they said he arose.

4. If Christ is still dead, then your faith is futile.

5. If Christ is still dead, then you are still in your sins.

6. If Christ is still dead, then those who died trusting in him are lost.

You see, it really doesn’t make any sense to try to be a Christian if you deny that Jesus Christ was resurrected from the grave. All of the benefits of Christianity hinge on the fact of that resurrection.

Earlier in that chapter Paul says that Jesus was seen by the apostles and then by over five hundred people at one time—and most of those people were still alive at the time of Paul’s writing.

The resurrection of Jesus was so important that the chief priests and elders of the Jews conspired to spread a rumor that the body of Jesus had been stolen from the grave. They even bribed the guards to say that this is what happened. But that story didn’t hold up.

Of course, the really good news for us is that one day we will also be resurrected. 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 says, “Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”

Without the resurrection of Jesus we are all without hope. With the resurrection of our Lord, the promises of God are validated, the hope of mankind is restored and the good news of the gospel can be proclaimed. Jesus conquered death and invites us to join Him in eternity.

On Our Daily Walk today, may we look for ways to use logic to validate the truths of the Bible to ourselves and to our friends. May we always put our trust in the inspired word of God which is our guide for this life leading to the next.

Our thought for the day: “Our Lord has written the promise of the resurrection, not on books alone, but on every leaf in springtime.” Martin Luther

May God bless you on your daily walk.

© Our Daily Walk, Mike Baker, 2007. Permission is granted to copy these articles provided they are not sold and the author's name and copyright are included.

Paul On Mars Hill

Good morning and welcome to Our Daily Walk.

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Object lessons are great ways to teach. When a tragedy hits an area it is often a good thing to stop and reflect on the loss that occurred. Many times lessons can be gained from a review of that event.

Likewise object lessons can also be effective means of teaching religious concepts. Jesus used objects lessons as He incorporated common people, events and even plants into His teaching.

Paul also came across a great object lesson when he was in Athens. While walking through the city he was able to see the vast assortment of temples and altars. Athens was polytheistic. They believed in many gods.

Of course, Paul didn’t believe in multiple gods. He only believed in the one true God. But rather than work to discredit each of the other gods, he focused on one altar that had been erected to an unknown god.

Not much is known about this particular altar, but we do know that the people there were very careful not to anger any god. So, when a blessing was found they would naturally want to thank the appropriate god. And when that blessing fell where a specific god could not be identified, they simply erected an altar to whatever god was responsible. That’s probably why this altar was found with the inscription, “To the unknown god.”

Here is that reading from Acts 17:16-30.

Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols. Therefore he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with the Gentile worshipers, and in the marketplace daily with those who happened to be there. Then certain Epicurean and Stoic philosophers encountered him. And some said, “What does this babbler want to say?”

Others said, “He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods,” because he preached to them Jesus and the resurrection.

And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new doctrine is of which you speak? For you are bringing some strange things to our ears. Therefore we want to know what these things mean.” For all the Athenians and the foreigners who were there spent their time in nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new thing.

Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.

Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you: God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men's hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’ Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man's devising. Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.”

Unfortunately for Paul, when they heard of the resurrection most of the crowd began to disperse. They didn’t believe in resurrection from the dead, but some of the people did believe and joined with Paul to learn more.

But let’s not lose sight of Paul’s key to holding their attention. He found something for which they were ignorant, and offered to teach them about their unknown god. What a great object lesson for us to study!

On Our Daily Walk today, may we be keenly aware of opportunities to answer questions and to provide helpful information to those who do not know God as they should. May we stand ever ready to give an answer to anyone who asks about our faith.

Our thought for the day: Although ignorance is no excuse with God, “Being ignorant is not so shameful as being unwilling to learn.”

May God bless you on your daily walk.

© Our Daily Walk, Mike Baker, 2007. Permission is granted to copy these articles provided they are not sold and the author's name and copyright are included.

God Or "God's"?

Good morning and welcome to Our Daily Walk.

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I can still remember sitting in junior English class in high school and listening to the teacher give a lecture on Roman and Greek gods. I really didn’t have much interest in these gods since I already knew that there was only one true God. But that didn’t stop me from having to learn about these other gods in order to pass the exam.

Many of these gods had the same function, but had different names. Depending on their Roman or Greek name, we came to know them as the following:

· Artemis, Diana, goddess of hunting and childbirth.

· Ares, Mars, god of war.

· Aphrodite, Venus, goddess of love.

· Eros, Cupid, god of love.

· Poseidon, Neptune, god of the sea.

· Zeus, Jupiter, ruler of the gods.

These gods of mythology would interact with one another and suffer the consequences or reap the blessings. In many ways they were mortal like we are, making mistakes and showing their weaknesses. These gods held no interest to me. I grew up learning of an all powerful God, one who was everywhere, knew all things, was all powerful and was intimately aware of the details of each of our lives.

That God, the God of the Bible, is described in many ways throughout the pages of the holy book. He tells us how He created the universe, our planet and all of life. He also tells us that He wants us to acknowledge Him and worship and serve Him throughout our lives.

Listen to what God said through Moses in Exodus 20:2-6.

“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

“You shall have no other gods before Me.

“You shall not make for yourself a carved image — any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.”

This God, our God, is a jealous God, but also a God that cares deeply for us. In fact, He loved us so much that He gave His only Son, Jesus, to die for our sins. But many people will reject not only the sacrifice of Jesus, but they will also reject the God of creation.

God exerted His supremacy in the reading above and Jesus likewise exerted an exclusive position in John 14:6, when He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

God says that He is the only God. And Jesus says that the only way to that God is through Jesus. It seems so simple, yet throughout history mankind has continually sought to find other gods to worship.

One such departure from God was brought to a climax when Joshua called upon the people to make up their minds and choose a god to worship. We find this reading in Joshua 24:14-15.

“Now therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the LORD! And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

God or gods? That remains the question even today. The one true God waits patiently for mankind to repent and follow after Him. But the reality is that mankind continues to manufacture more and more gods each generation.

Gone by the wayside are the gods of Zeus, Neptune and Diana, but in their places are the gods of sports, drugs and self-indulgence.

I’m thankful for great parents and friends who taught me from an early age that there is only one God, and that God knows me and cares for me and wants me to be with Him for eternity.

On Our Daily Walk today, may we be mindful of the influx of other gods into our society and may we always be on guard to protect our faith in the one true God. May we live our lives as a living testimony of the blessings that one can have by living a Christian life.

Our thought for the day: “God without man is still God; man without God is nothing.”

May God bless you on your daily walk.

© Our Daily Walk, Mike Baker, 2007. Permission is granted to copy these articles provided they are not sold and the author's name and copyright are included.

Facing Religious Errors

Good morning and welcome to Our Daily Walk.

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Have you ever been overcharged for an item at the store? Have you ever been served a meal that wasn’t what you ordered? Or have you ever been stopped and mistaken for someone else? Most people would agree that errors need to be corrected.

If you were served the wrong meal, overcharged for an item or mistaken for someone else I think that you would want to do something to correct that situation.

You would tell the waiter and send the incorrect meal back and ask for what you ordered. You would tell the clerk about the differences in the prices for the item. And you would certainly tell the person who stopped you that he must be mistaken because you are not the person he thought you were.

Errors occur all the time in life. Most of them are innocent, but some are intentional. But still, errors do occur.

I once called a church member by the wrong first name for an entire year. I didn’t mean to get it wrong, but after awhile she felt awkward about mentioning it to me until finally her husband convinced her to tell me that I was wrong.

Actually, I was wrong. And I was relieved that an error in my life had been corrected.

Errors also occur in the religious areas of our lives as well. David wrote in Psalm 14:1, “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” That is a rather large religious error to make. There is a God. But He doesn’t force you to believe in Him.

When we encounter people who do not believe in any gods at all, we should look for ways to help them correct that error. Of course, they won’t see their belief as an error, so that makes our job all the more difficult.

There are some other religious errors being taught today as well. Some say that the Bible is full of myths and fairy tales. But Paul said in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

Another error is that all paths lead to God and to heaven. This is one error that is believed by many people. There are so many sincere people in the world that genuinely believe that their god or their path in life will ultimately lead to eternal peace just like Christianity. But that isn’t what the Bible teaches.

In the Ten Commandments God said that He is the only God and that we are to follow Him and Him alone. We are not to make idols or worship any other gods. Additionally, Jesus said in John 14:16, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

There is only one way to God and to heaven and that is through Jesus Christ. All other teaching is religious error.

Another common error taught is that one religion is just as good as another. Like in the previous error, if this was true, many more people would live in peace in eternity. But it isn’t true. It is an error.

One illustration of how wrong it is to have other gods can be found in the account of the golden calf. In this setting Moses has gone up to the mountain to receive the Ten Commandments from God. He left Aaron in charge of the people while he was gone. But Aaron didn’t do such a good job of keeping people in line.

In fact, the people came to Aaron and asked him to make gods for them so they could worship something. Instead of sending them back to their tents or punishing them for wanting to leave the true God, Aaron decides to take the lead in overseeing the process of creating this idol.

In Exodus 32:4 we find that he said, “This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt.” The next day they held a great feast and sacrificed to their new god.

Obviously this all angered God and he sent Moses down to straighten things out. As a result all of the people suffered a plague and about three thousand of them were killed.

Friends, God wants us to know that He is the only true God. He gave us the Bible so that we could learn from the mistakes of others and determine to live our lives according to the truths of the Bible.

Whenever we confront error in our lives, whether in a store or in religion, we need to remember that there is a standard for truth and what is right. If we are unafraid to correct the clerk who returns the wrong amount of change, should we not also be willing to correct someone who believes an error in religion?

On Our Daily Walk today, may we reflect on the love of God and on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. May we also meditate upon the exclusive nature of God and Jesus and be thankful that we have been invited to join with them for all eternity.

Our thought for the day: “It is one thing to show a man he is in error, and quite another thing to put him in possession of the truth.”

May God bless you on your daily walk.

© Our Daily Walk, Mike Baker, 2007. Permission is granted to copy these articles provided they are not sold and the author's name and copyright are included.