Things Didn’t Go As Planned – Acts 13:26-39

Posted on October 6, 2022 by Pastor Ricky Kurth

Summary:

God’s word of salvation always went to Jews in the Old Testament, and even in the New Testament (Acts 3:12,26). God had a plan to save the Gentiles, but it involved saving Israel “first” (Acts 3:26), then using them to save the Gentiles. The Jews were supposed to rise to the occasion by receiving the Lord, and the Gentiles were supposed to be drawn to the brightness of the rising of the entire nation (Isa. 60:1-3). When they fell instead, God introduced His secret plan to reach the Gentiles directly (Acts 113:26) through Israel’s fall, a plan He called the mystery (Rom.11:11,25).

At Pentecost, Peter blamed the Jewish rulers in Jerusalem for not receiving Christ, using the pronoun “ye” a lot (Acts 2:22,23; 3:13,14). But Paul told the Jews in Antioch it wasn’t their fault that their rulers rejected Him, using “they” a lot (Acts 13:27,28). The nation may have rejected Christ, but God was reaching out to individual Jews through Paul.

Those Jews fulfilled Scripture in condemning Him (Acts 13:27), but that doesn’t mean they had to condemn Him. God planned for them to receive Christ and sacrifice Him for their sins instead of animals (Ps.118:26cf.Mt.21:9).

But either way He died, God’s plan also involved raising Christ from the dead (Acts 13:29-33). The word “begotten” (v.33) is usually associated with giving life to a son by fathering him (Gen.5:4), but God begat His Son by giving Him life after He died, making him the “first begotten of the dead” (Rev.1:5). Others in the Bible rose from the dead, but just got their old lives back and died again. Christ was the first to rise with new life, resurrection life (Rom.6:9).

But why did the Father have to tell His Son, “Thou art My Son,” the day He raised Him from the dead? When people rise from the dead, they don’t rise with amnesia, to where they need to be told who they are. But this was the day of the Lord’s bar mitzvah. When He was 12, his earthly bar mitzvah made Him Joseph’s adult son, when his father recognized He was old enough to go into the family carpentry business, which we know He did (Mark 6:3). But He reminded His parents He had another Father and another family business to go into (Lu.2:42-49). That Father was in the quickening business (Jo.5:17-21), and someday the Lord will raise our dead loved ones, and later kingdom believers.

David spoke of his soul being confined in the comfort side of hell while his body was in the grave (Ps.16:810 cf. Lu.16:19-31). He was comforted by the knowledge that God wouldn’t “leave” his soul there, that God would raise him from the dead before his body began to “see corruption” on the fourth day (cf. Jo.11:38,39). But as Peter pointed out, God didn’t raise him. He explained that David was a prophet who was talking about Christ’s resurrection on the third day (Acts 2:25-29). That’s why Paul quotes God as telling His Son, “I will give You the sure mercies of David” (13:34). Paul explained the same thing (13:35-37).

We know that “the law of Moses” that Paul says cannot justify us (13:38,39) was the ten commandments, for James quotes a few of those commandments, and says if you break one, you’ve broken them all (James 2:10,11). And we’ve all broken more than one! But Christ didn’t, and He died a sacrificial death for us. Paul says if we “believe” that He died for us, we can be justified from all things from which we cannot be justified by trying to keep the ten commandments.

Finally, whatever hell you’re going through in life, you can learn to say, as David said in Psalm 16, “The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places.” You just have to remember that God doesn’t intend to leave you in whatever hellish situation you are in, but will deliver you from it at the Rapture. If that doesn’t make you want to “bless the Lord” as David did, you need to study the Scriptures more to learn what a “goodly heritage” you have waiting for you in heaven!

A video of this sermon is available on YouTube: “Things Didn’t Go As Planned” Acts 13:26-39

God-Fearing, Moral, Religious, But Lost

Posted on October 6, 2022 by Pastor Kevin Sadler

“There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band, A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway” (Acts 10:1-2).

Cornelius was a Roman centurion who was stationed in Caesarea, a major Roman seaport at Roman Judae on the Mediterranean Sea at that time. Luke records that Cornelius was a devout, God-fearing man, who gave alms generously to impoverished Jewish people, and who prayed to God all the time. And as Cornelius feared God, his example of devotion led to “all his house” fearing God with him.

Acts 10:3 informs us that Cornelius observed the Jewish hour of prayer, praying at “the ninth hour” in his home (cf. Acts 3:1). And Acts 10:30 records that he prayed earnestly and intensely, even fasting as he sought God. Acts 10:22 further describes Cornelius as “a just man,” or an upright man, one who lived a moral life.

Cornelius was God-fearing, moral, and religious, but Cornelius was lost and on his way to hell. By all outward appearances, one might’ve thought he was saved. But the fear of God he possessed, his earnest prayers, fasting, moral life, and kindness to others did not mean he had eternal life. He was still unsaved.

The Lord sent Peter to Cornelius that he might “receive remission of sins” (Acts 10:43). In Peter’s retelling of this encounter in Acts 11, we learn that Peter came to “tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved” (Acts 11:14).

We often look at the account of Cornelius in light of its dispensational significance and Peter being shown that God’s dealings with mankind were changing as God was turning to the Gentiles. But Cornelius is also a reminder that being a seemingly good, moral person who prays, fears the true God, and does good things does not mean that one is right with God.

Today we’re continually surrounded by people who are God-fearing, moral, and religious, but lost, like Cornelius. They need to hear the good news and be reconciled to God by trusting the gospel of grace that Christ died for our sins and rose again (1 Cor. 15:3-4).

To the Reader:

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Los dones de Dios a su iglesia

Posted on October 6, 2022 by Pastor Paul M. Sadler

“Y a unos los constituyó apóstoles; y unos, profetas; y unos, evangelistas; y unos, pastores y maestros; para la perfección de los santos, para la obra del ministerio.”
— Efesios 4:11-13

Pablo nos advierte acerca de aquellos que, ya sea a sabiendas o no, difundirían entre nosotros doctrinas insensatas. Vivimos en una época en la que algunos hermanos parecen considerar importante encontrar algo nuevo. Por supuesto, no es nuestra intención desanimar a nadie con respecto a ejercer el “espíritu de Berea”. Sin embargo, se debe tener cuidado de no socavar el fundamento sobre el cual descansa nuestra fe. Hacemos bien en recordar que la “Declaración Doctrinal” que nuestros antepasados forjaron para nosotros fue producto de un intenso debate con los líderes denominacionales de su época. Cada tablón de la declaración fue elaborado cuidadosamente como una defensa y confirmación de los Fundamentos de la fe y el evangelio de Pablo. Por lo tanto, no nos apresuremos a desafiar aquellas cosas que son “probadas y verdaderas”.

En esta hora tardía, hay quienes nos dicen que los “dones” de evangelistas, pastores y maestros o pastores-maestros ya no están en funcionamiento hoy. Algunos incluso han ido tan lejos como para decir que los “regalos” habilitadores también han pasado. Esto va en contra de nuestra “Declaración Doctrinal”, que nos ha servido bien durante más de cincuenta años. Afirma:

“Los dones necesarios para el ministerio del Cuerpo de Cristo son los enumerados en Ef. 4:7-16. De estos, solo los dones de evangelistas y pastores-maestros están en operación hoy. Todos los dones de señales del período de los Hechos, tales como lenguas, profecía y sanidad (I Cor. 12:1-31), siendo de carácter temporal, han cesado (I Cor. 13:8-11).”

Aquí en Efesios, una de las últimas epístolas de Pablo, el apóstol establece el tono para el curso de esta dispensación. Claramente, el contexto de esta porción se refiere a los dones que Dios le ha dado a Su Iglesia. Es verdad que los dones de “apóstoles” y “profetas” pasaron con la consumación de la Palabra de Dios (I Cor. 13:8-13 cf. Col. 1:25). Una vez que se dispensó la Palabra de Dios, estos dos oficios y los hombres dotados que los ocupaban no eran esenciales. Ahora tenemos algo mucho mejor, la revelación escrita que nos transmitieron, que debe ser obedecida en asuntos de fe y práctica.

No hay indicación alguna de que los dones de evangelistas, pastores y maestros hayan sido retirados alguna vez. De hecho, Pablo declara claramente su propósito: “Para la perfección [maduración] de los santos, para la obra del ministerio, para la edificación [edificación] del Cuerpo de Cristo”. ¿Y cuánto tiempo continuará esto? “Hasta que todos lleguemos a la unidad de la fe y del conocimiento [Gr. epignosis — pleno conocimiento] del Hijo de Dios” (Efesios 4:13).

Seguramente, no se puede decir que haya habido un período en la historia de la Iglesia, pasado o presente, en el que se haya alcanzado la “unidad de la fe”, y mucho menos un “conocimiento pleno” del Hijo de Dios. Pero esto es exactamente lo que se nos pide que creamos; es decir, se ha alcanzado la unidad de la fe. Tal vez, deberíamos poner esto a la prueba de Berea.

Creación: Algunos creen que Dios creó todas las cosas en seis días literales de veinticuatro horas. Otros enseñan la “teoría de la ruina y la reconstrucción” de que Dios creó, destruyó y volvió a crear. Esto se conoce comúnmente como la “teoría de la brecha” que coloca millones o miles de millones de años entre la creación original y la recreación.

Redención: La batalla ha durado siglos sobre si Cristo murió por los pecados de toda la humanidad o simplemente por los pecados de los elegidos. ¿Cuál crees?

Cosas por venir: Es bien sabido que hay quienes creen que los eventos cubiertos en el Libro de Apocalipsis son completamente futuristas. Muchos desafiarían esta afirmación como absurda. Enseñan que los primeros capítulos del Apocalipsis describen las diversas etapas de la historia de la Iglesia hasta la era actual de “Laodicea”. Si estamos de acuerdo en que hay dos campos de interpretación sobre cualquier tema bíblico, entonces todavía tenemos que llegar a la unidad de la fe.

No hay una sola chispa de evidencia de que la “unidad de la fe” haya sido alcanzada por todos. Incluso en los días de Pablo, los santos empuñaban la espada del Espíritu unos contra otros (II Tim. 1:15 cf. 2:17-19). Además, debemos preguntarnos: ¿Ha llegado la Iglesia al pleno conocimiento del Hijo de Dios? Es decir, de Su persona, obra y presente ministerio celestial. Responderemos a esta pregunta con una pregunta: ¿Ha reconocido la Iglesia, que es su Cuerpo, la predicación de Jesucristo según la revelación del Misterio?

La “unidad de la fe” y el “pleno conocimiento” de Cristo es una meta que se nos presenta y que nunca se alcanzará por completo hasta el Rapto. Así, la responsabilidad de los dones de Dios a Su Iglesia es proclamar todo el consejo de Dios a la luz de las epístolas paulinas. ¿Por qué? para que los santos sean confirmados en la fe!

También hay un lado experiencial de esta verdad. Cuando Dios me llamó al ministerio hace casi treinta años, fue definitivo. Otros pastores han testificado de experiencias similares, lo que confirma que “los dones y llamamientos de Dios son sin arrepentimiento” (Rom. 11:29). ¡Cuidado con aquellos que les robarían esta preciosa verdad!