Paul's Passing Thoughts

Let’s pretend. The apostle Paul shows up at your church this Sunday and your pastor quickly concedes the pulpit to him. As he approaches the pulpit, you ready your bible and your concordance. You then murmur to yourself, “I don’t care if you are an apostle, what you teach better line-up with the Word of God buddy!” What would the bible call such an attitude? Well, except for maybe the “buddy” part, scripture would call it “noble-minded”

Act 17:10 The brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. Act 17:11 Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily {to see} whether these things were so. Act 17:12 Therefore many of them believed, along with a number of prominent Greek women and men.

If you look up “noble” in the dictionary, you know the word has very lofty synonyms. But I think a good description of the word can be seen in verse 11. Noble minded people love the word of God, feed on it often and trust it for all guidance. Notice the results: “Therefore” many of them believed [vs. 12]. This brings to mind:

Rom 10:17 So faith {comes} from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. Faith comes from the word of God.

 As we continue in the study of God’s word, our faith will increase.

The word of God is quickened in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. For it is by the word of God that we are able to grow in our knowledge and understanding of who God is and what He desires for us:

1Pe 2:2 like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, Also, note that the milk is to be “pure”.

Tainted milk will not produce faith. We must never mix God’s word with error. God gives strong warnings to those who would. Error does not produce faith. Therefore, heaven will not honour it. This is why the Bereans searched the scriptures to verify what Paul taught. Whoever had more authority than the apostle Paul save Christ himself? Yet, Paul’s word was not enough, it had to be confirmed in order that belief would follow. So what has happened to the noble-minded Christian? Look around, especially in “Christian” book stores. Today’s Christianity is defined by men, with their own niche ministries and motto’s. They are too numerous to name here. In 1st Corinthians, Paul shows the link between weakness in the word and the following of men:

1Cr 3:1 And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ. 1Cr 3:2 I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able {to receive it.} Indeed, even now you are not yet able, 1Cr 3:3 for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men? 1Cr 3:4 For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not {mere} men? 1Cr 3:5 What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave {opportunity} to each one.

I love how the Old Testament speaks to this issue. In 2 Samuel 7, David comes to Nathan, the most formidable prophet of that time with an idea to build a house for God. Nathan then told David:

2Sa 7:3 And Nathan said to the king, “Go, do all that is in your heart, for the Lord is with you.”

The very next verse follows:

2Sa 7:4 But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, 2Sa 7:7 “‘In all places where I have moved with all the people of Israel, did I speak a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?”’

This is not snippy sarcasm by God. How would Nathan know that answer?, he wasn’t there. God is referring to the scriptures that were available at the time covering the exodus, religious ceremonies, customs, creation of the tabernacle and it’s ordinances, Mosaic Law, sacrificial systems ect. What God was saying to Nathan was in essence: ‘where have you seen that in the scriptures Nathan?’ Nathan therefore had no authority to give David God’s blessing, nor should we follow any instruction contrary to the word of God.

paul