Skip to main content

Paul


Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God— (Romans 1:1) 

          Paul, a servant…. In the story I’m writing, one of the characters is a servant. At one point, he tries to explain to the heroine that he is a servant. He can only make up his own mind in matters within the parameters set by his master. Most of us don’t think we have servants so we don’t tend to think about this. We have devices. I don’t imagine many of us would be pleased if our computers started making purchases, or our cars taking trips. Neither do we appreciate it when someone we hired to do something does something without our permission or starts adding charges for things we didn’t approve. 
         The idea isn’t entirely foreign to us. We complain bitterly when the person our city, county, state or country elects doesn’t do what we think they should. But somehow, when it comes to God and his servants, we forget. There are people who don’t some of the things that Paul writes. They feel free to disregard the things they don’t like because – after all, Paul wrote them. They didn’t come from God. He was writing what he wanted to write. 
          But now we have this claim. Was Paul a servant of Christ Jesus, or wasn’t he? Dare we suggest that in “this half of this sentence” he was, and in “that half of the sentence” he was not? I don’t believe we do. Either we must accept the whole, or reject the whole. Further, I believe that the decision must not be based on anything other than his agreement or disagreement with what Scripture has taught from Genesis through Revelation. The Word of God is understood in the light of the Word of God not in the light of our culture. 
         And if we, likewise, are servants of Christ Jesus, then we, likewise, should speak what He has taught us, and not take it upon ourselves to improve on what He has taught.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Saved?

  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:28-30) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ ” (Matthew 7:21-23) Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.” (Romans 3:4)   What conclusion do you draw when someone who was raised in a Christian family and church, perhaps even playing a significant role in a chur...
Post a Comment
Read more

Meditations of the Heart

  May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm19:14)           As I started writing this post, I noted that the meditations of my heart are all over the mental landscape, from a hub where eight superhighways come together to a lunar or nuclear landscape. Do you see my error? The moment I read the word meditation , I think about thoughts. But what’s described here is the meditations of our hearts ; our wills.           While the meditations of our minds may be all over the place, the meditations of our wills tend to be a little more stable by the time we are adults. We no longer tend to want to pursue the ten separate careers we did in any given day as children. Part of this is humble acceptance of reality. We come to understand that we can’t do it all. I think another part of it is disappointmen...
Post a Comment
Read more

Listen To Him

              The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him . (Deuteronomy 18:15)           Today, we switch from Jesus’ claims of “I am” to prophecies made about Him. My Bible platform is starting in Deuteronomy. I’d start in Genesis, where we would learn that the one who would save us would be a descendant of Eve (Genesis 3:15), of Noah (by default), Abram and Sara(Genesis 12:1-3). Isaac (Genesis 17:19), Jacob (Genesis 25:23), Judah (Genesis 29:8), and David (II Samuel 7:12-16). There were also references to a new covenant (Jer. 31:31-34; Ezek. 36:22-32). In addition, there were prophecies about when and where the prophet/Messiah would be born and what would happen to him.           Of course, naysayers will claim that Jesus’ life was retrofitted or reverse enginee...
Post a Comment
Read more