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Podcast: What can we learn from the First Century Church? Part 14

March 30, 2026 / / 0 Comments

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Uneducated men

There is one interesting comparison I have found when observing the modern Western churches with those of the First Century. College and seminary degrees are much more important today than they were in the First Century. The apostle Paul, a highly educated man in his time, used his education to a great advantage in the Gospel. However, Jesus and His apostles got on quite well without this advantage. (John 7:15, Acts 4:13).

This is not to say that there was no preparation or no requirements for the work they were called to do. Jesus had been in training His entire life. After a life of submission to Joseph and Mary and listening to His Heavenly Father (John 7:16), He was anointed by the Holy Spirit, tested in the wilderness and sent forth with everything He needed to accomplish His mission. (Matthew 3:16-4:17). The 12 apostles underwent several years of rigorous ministry on the road with Jesus throughout His trials and triumphs. Not only that, but from Him they received the keys to understanding the scriptures by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit! (Luke 24:45). Later when the religious leaders saw the boldness of His apostles, they realized that they had spent time with Jesus! What an education! (Acts 4:13)

Other leaders in the the Early Church submitted to certain requirements for leadership. These requirements centered less on the amount of education they possessed. More important was the quality of their character. (1 Timothy 3:1-13, Titus 1:5-9).

Even today, in certain parts of the world, believers are finding that they need not be burdened by years of studying under the influence of intellectuals. They are spending time with Jesus and learning from Him. Then they are passing down what they have learned to others that are touched by God. (2 Timothy 2:2). But we are not talking about fulfilling the roles of pastor or church leader as they are understood normally today. This role does require courses in history, psychology, politics, sociology,  Greek, Latin, Hebrew and church governance. By the way, where is this role, this job description of the modern day church pastor or leader even found in the New Testament?

While I am not saying that educated men and women do not have value or are not important today, I am questioning whether they are as important as we have made them. In view of the problems and complexity inherent in the system of educating and placing them over God’s people, I think it is reasonable to ask these questions.

A college degree does usually indicate a level of effort, dedication and hard work that a person was willing to put forth. That can tell something about a person’s character. If that is what God is calling you to do, by all means pursue it. This is my hope for all of us, that we hear His Voice and follow Him.

Podcast: What can we learn from the First Century Church? Part 13

March 27, 2026 / / 0 Comments

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The Prayer of Faith

There was a foundation in the followers of Christ that was firmly established in the beginning. After His resurrection Jesus instructed His disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they were filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. After He ascended to heaven from the Mount of Olives, they obeyed this word faithfully and intently. They returned to Jerusalem and the eleven apostles gathered together in the upper room of the house where they were staying. Acts 1:14 tells us that: “These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.” NASB

Note two things. They were in unity and in prayer continually. When the time came for the Holy Spirit to come, they were ready. Through the Spirit they were given the boldness to powerfully bear witness to the what they saw — the resurrection of Jesus. When later they were threatened by the religious leaders, they again came together in unity and prayed for the Hand of the Lord to again heal and demonstrate His grace to others.

Acts 4:31-33:

31 After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.

32 All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. 33 With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all.
NIV

In another instance, Herod had executed James, and arrested Peter. The church earnestly prayed for him and he was miraculously released before his trial by an angel of the Lord! (Acts 12:6-11)

Throughout the history of the church prayer has always been the greatest source of her power. That time spent with Him in His presence, seeking Him, opening our hearts to Him, listening to Him, receiving both His encouragement and His correction can accomplish so much more than any of our human plans and schemes. For these early Christians, prayer was not a last resort.

Maybe in our day and in our part of the world we are not desperate enough to develop this kind of prayer life. But we should be! Maybe we should be reminded of what Jesus said in the book of Revelation to the church at Laodicea. They thought that they were fine because of their material prosperity. However, in the eyes of Jesus they were “wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.” (Revelation 3:17).
KJV

Maybe it is easier for believers in countries where they are persecuted or suffering in poverty to earnestly seek the Lord in prayer. On the other hand, maybe we need a real wake up call from Jesus to see how desperate we really are.

Drug abuse, divorce, homelessness, abortion, racism, war, greed, immorality, self-centeredness, crime, cultural decay have all become conditions that we have learned to live with in our modern society. Sure we can come to our nice church services and enjoy a measure of peace and comfort, but even that is often interrupted by scandal, corruption and division in our midst.

Beyond that, we will always have a reason to pray. He is our reason to desire time with Him! He alone is all the reward we need for responding to His desire for a relationship with us! In His Presence is fullness of joy!

James wrote of a specific kind of prayer.

James 5:16:

16 Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results.
NLT

In other translations of this passage the words, fervent and effective are used. I get the picture from this and other stories in the bible that these are not simply bland and formal prayers, but prayers filled with passion and heart. Most of all they are expressions of faith in the God Whom we know and trust. He is our Father Who will not give us a snake instead of a fish, or a rock instead of bread! (Matthew 7:8-11).

The church in Acts does not reflect a cold complacency but it inspires us to believe God for bigger things, things which bring glory to our wonderful Savior and Lord! He wants us to learn to pray in the Holy Spirit, so that we can confidently pray for those things which He in His wisdom knows is best for all. (1 Corinthians 14:15, Romans 8:26-27, Ephesians 6:18, Jude 20). Yes, He came into their lives as they prayed, but He also prayed through them with an energy and passion that turned the world upside down!

 

Podcast: What can we learn from the First Century Church? Part 12

March 21, 2026 / / 0 Comments

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Unquenchable Optimism

In Ray Stedman’s classic book, “Authentic Christianity,” he describes the ministry of Paul the apostle as an example of genuine faith in Christ. He believed that Paul’s ministry bears five unmistakable qualities of Christianity that cannot be successfully counterfeited. They are 1: Unquenchable Optimism, 2: Unvarying Success, 3: Unforgettable Impact, 4: Unimpeachable Integrity, 5: Undeniable Reality.

Lately I have given a lot of thought about the First Century Church, and have been seeking God for understanding of how we in our time and in our Western culture have sometimes departed from the foundation that has been laid for us by Christ. Many others have thought and written along these lines of course, and this book by Stedman is one that I have found helpful in many ways. The qualities he has listed here are certainly qualities to be desired. The first on the list is especially one that I greatly desire for myself in a time when pessimism seems to reign in our world and often even in Christianity.

The book points out that this optimism can only come out from a genuine connection with the One True God. It cannot be faked. If my hope is grounded in favorable circumstances or the favorable opinions of others it can eventually be lost. If it is based upon One Who cannot fail, and I trust only in Him, it will be unquenchable. The opposite of this kind of optimism is a yielding to all circumstances and to fate. One becomes merely a passive spectator who has surrendered to the idea that nothing can or should be done to change the direction of events.

While Jesus did subject Himself to humiliation and death, it was for the joy that was yet to come! (Hebrews 12:1-2). His return from the grave in an amazing supernatural and yet physical body appeared in the real, tangible and physical world. The knowledge of that truth empowered the first believers to possess a forward looking and optimistic faith. In fact those who opposed them testified that they had indeed, “turned the world upside down!” (In a good way, from our perspective!) (Acts 17:6)

Could this irrepressible joy have also come from the realization that they had been made new from the inside out? It seems to be a very pious and humble statement to confess that “I am just a sinner who has been saved by grace.” However, that was not the message that Paul taught. After naming a list of various kinds of sinners, he tells the Corinthians, “such WERE some of you! But you are washed, your are sanctified, you are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God!” He also wrote these words: “Therefore if any one is in Christ, He is a new creation. Old things have disappeared, and—look—all things have become new!” (1 Corinthians 6:11 KJV, 2 Corinthians 5:17 ISV)

This is not a claim to have achieved sinlessness, but it is a bold declaration of what our joyful God has done in us! We who have received Jesus have obtained the power, the privilege of becoming the true children of God! (John 1:12) We have been born of the Holy Spirit, born again, born of God, by the incorruptible Seed, the Word of God, which lives and abides forever! (John 3:5, 1 Peter 1:23)

Because of who were are in Christ today, we can follow His example of service to others. We can let His mind, His perspective, His attitude be in us for we too do not have think of the divine nature as a thing to be forcibly grasped. Through the Gospel and trusting in Christ we are being restored to God’s original plan for humanity (Genesis 1:26). At the same, even in our immaturity we are free as His children to lay our lives down in service to others. Yes, that is our true freedom! That is the source of our joy as well! (Philippians 2:1-11, Galatians 5:13).

People who have an inferiority complex are afraid to lift up others. They are often driven to put others down in an effort to feel better about themselves. Jesus and his followers are not like that. Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He was from the Father and returning to Him; got down on His hands and knees to wash the feet of His disciples. He knew He could lose nothing by becoming a servant, even a slave. (John 13:3-5, 14-15).

If you belong to Jesus, you have access to His joy. You are a new creation in Him, called to a life of true adventure and service to the greatest purpose of all!

1 John 3:1-3
3:1 How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.
NIV

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