Results 1 - 4 of 4
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Why did Paul do it? For conscience sake? | Acts 21:23 | MJH | 218078 | ||
Doc, I apologizes for the disrespect. None was intended and certainly I wasn't attempting anything cultural by it. Either way, I ought to have known better than to make a condescending sounding remark to someone who, believe it or not, I respect. Please accept my apologies. MJH |
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2 | Why did Paul do it? For conscience sake? | Acts 21:23 | DocTrinsograce | 218082 | ||
Dear MJH, I believe that you do respect me. I also believe your apology is sincere. As I said, I am not anyone to whom your respect is required. Oddly enough, God calls us to respect people for the positions in which He has placed them -- not that they deserve or warrant respect. That's odd to us, because we tend to think entirely in matters of merit. For example, Paul affirms his clear conscience in Acts 23:1. His assertion wins the disapproval of Ananias, who commands that he be struck in the mouth, a way of demanding his silence (v2). Paul, reacts angrily to the blow (v3), with words that are in and of themselves quite true. Such language was recognizably out-of-line (v4). Paul had not known who had ordered him to be struck (v5a). When he is informed, he immediately apologizes (v5). Was this because Ananias was a man whose character merited respect? No -- quite the contrary! It was because Ananias' held his position by virtue of the suffrage of God. The Lord would, indeed, bring judgment and destruction down upon the entire organization a scant few years later. The example of submission to those in authority ranges from one end of Scripture to the other. Christ Himself exemplifies this on several occasions. MJH, God has placed your pastor in a position of authority over you specifically because He has deemed it to be appropriate. Your pastor deserves great respect and deference by virtue of God's calling on him to minister to your congregation. When you express yourself as you have described, you elevate yourself as his teacher. What is worse, you leave an example to others that this is acceptable behavior. Thus you are assuming a position in direct opposition to God. Scary! Might I suggest that a humble man, exemplifying Christ-like submission, would remain publicly silent. He would approach the pastor on an individual, private basis to gain clarification and instruction. Ultimately, if you discern that your pastor is so prone to error, the appropriate thing to do is to go elsewhere. After all, your pastor is one who will stand before God to give an account of how he has disposed his office. Meanwhile, God will give the humble man grace (Job 22:29; Isaiah 57:15; James 4:6; etc.). The Puritans used to speak of cultivating a high degree of self-suspicion. The heart of man can spring forth all kinds of ungodly things, while assuming a guise of righteousness. You know that I disagree with your position on the role of the Mosaic Law in the life of the believer. Nevertheless, wisdom is justified by her children (Luke 7:35). So let us seek humility and meekness, forbearance and forgiveness, in how we relate to those in our individual congregations. Then, perhaps, our Lord will grant us grace to correct us where we err. It is not a matter of whether one or the other of us is right. In the long run, what do we care about that? Only our Lord is important. In Him, Doc |
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3 | Why did Paul do it? For conscience sake? | Acts 21:23 | MJH | 218083 | ||
Your note is received well. Thank you for your instruction and I hold it dearly. I have not seen my actions in this light, but your willingness to shine the light on it has shown me the truth. While I meant no disrespect, the disrespect was there non-the-less. Even though only my friend heard me and she knows my admiration for my pastor, I still see my own heart for what was there. I truly have been helped in reading these past few responses to my hastily written post. I know you all and know that you mean only the best for me and others. And even though we disagree on some matters, I look forward to the day when I can put a face to the name and thank you personally for what you have added to my life and "walk" over the past number of years. MJH PS- It's the 40 days of repentance. Something I'm doing for the first time leading up to the Day of Atonement. Boy, do I get a good start on things. ;-) |
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4 | Why did Paul do it? For conscience sake? | Acts 21:23 | DocTrinsograce | 218089 | ||
That is good that you only need to redress this with a single person. I understand the 40 days. Repentance in Christ is not a seasonal thing, as practiced by Jews in Elul or as practiced by the Romanists in Lent. Instead, it is a continual way of life; a fruit of the changed life; an increasing growth in sanctification by the redeemed. There is no more propitious time to repentant than now. |
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