Abe and the Gospel Ship

Deb and I are on our first cruise.  Our ship is the Oasis of the Seas, the largest cruise ship in the world.  It holds 5,400 guests and 2,100 crew members.  

More than half these people are from countries other than the U.S.  This is literally a floating U.N.  And it is a beautiful parallel of God’s gracious saving act in Jesus.  

Just as He promises through Abraham to bless all nations the world, this massive ship safely carries people from just about every ethnic group on our journey.

While we ride as passengers on this huge cruise ship, God’s saints set sail on His amazing Gospel ship.

Paul tells the Galatians that they are saved through their faith in God just as Abe was.  No good works required.  No rule keeping needed.  The false teachers are wrong.  Very wrong.  

Once again, the apostle flips his Bible open to Genesis to explain the doctrine of justification by faith.  “We’re children of faith thanks to Abraham” (Gal 3:7).

He describes how the writers of Scripture looked into the future and saw how “God would justify the Gentiles by faith” (v8).  Paul uses the Greek word εθνος/ethnos to describe the Gentiles.  It’s where we get our English word “ethnic.”  

The Lord reveal to the prophetic authors how one day He would bless, save, and justify people from every ethnic group through the faith of Abraham.  He would actually do this through Abe’s descendant Jesus.

Paul uses a very interesting phrase when he writes how “the Scripture…preached the Gospel beforehand to Abraham” (v8).  “Preached the Gospel”?  

In the OT?  Huh?  It’s another fabulous example that the Bible is really one story, not two.  And Jesus is THE Hero of that story.  The OT saints were saved the same way God saves believers in the NT.  By faith and trust in Him alone.

The apostle says that the Gospel that Abraham heard preached was God’s personal promise to him, “In you shall all the nations be blessed” (v8).  This is a quote from Genesis 16:3 that’s later repeated again in Genesis 18:18 and yet again in Genesis 22:18.

Here Paul equates the very words of Yahweh to Scripture.  This reminds us how the inspired words of the Bible are equal to hearing directly from the lips of the Lord.  It is indeed God’s holy Word.

God’s promise of future blessing qualifies as the Gospel because that future blessing of all the people groups of the world will happen through Abe’s eventual descendant, Jesus Christ, the radical Rabbi/Carpenter from Nazareth. 

It is through Jesus that we receive that blessing.  What is that blessing?  Ultimately it is God Himself.  He is my portion(Ps 73:26; Lam 3:24).

The beauty of God’s Gospel ship as opposed to our cruise ship is that He is still accepting passengers, just as He has been for thousands of years.  He is welcoming aboard people from every country, race, language, and religious background.  

They don’t need a ticket.  They don’t need a passport.  If they’ve placed their trust in Jesus, He lovingly welcomes them aboard.

©2012 

Jay Jennings

Demolition Man

False teachers have infiltrated the Galatian church network and accused Paul of going rogue and failing to preach a complete Gospel (Gal 2:4).  They have perverted the true Good News with a counterfeit message of “do better through obedience to the rules” (Gal 1:6-7).  

The apostle insists that any self-salvation efforts by through good behavior by either Jew or non-Jew is actually no salvation at all.  It’s only when we place our faith in what Jesus has done for us what we could never do that we are made right in the eyes of God (Gal 2:15-16).

Paul has dedicated the past few years of his life preaching the Gospel Jesus personally gave Him (Gal 1:12).  Christ told Paul that His death on the cross demolished the barriers between Jew and Gentile.  The Good News puts the wrecking ball to ethnic walls.  

The big story: Gentiles can now come to faith in Messiah Jesus AS GENTILES!  No conversion to Judaism need.  No rituals necessary.  No circumcision required.  And the big wigs of the church gave Paul’s radical message their seal of approval (Gal 2:6).  

The apostle has spent all of his energy tearing down these walls as he travels.  He has just returned from his trip to Galatia with Barnabas where he was the Demolition Man (Acts 13:13-14:23).  They made two stops in the churches of Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra and Derbe knocking down walls.

He’s the Demolition Man.  

That’s the scene when Paul writes, “For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor” (v18).  The construction of the original Greek is more than a little awkward in English.  It could be something like, “For if the things I tore down I build again, I prove myself to be a violator.”  

The apostle describes his days as the Demolition Man.  He uses the verb καταλυω/kataluo.  It means to take something apart, tear down, abolish, demolish or destroy.  Paul has torn down and completely dismantled centuries old racial walls.  He’s dedicated himself to the destruction of ethnic barriers between Jews and Gentiles as they come to faith in Jesus.

He’s the Demolition Man.

Paul tells us that it would be ridiculous for him to rebuild what he worked so diligently to demolish.  And if he did, “I would prove myself to be a transgressor” (v18).  The Greek word for transgressor is παραβατης/parabates.  

It describes someone who illegally crosses a boundary or knowingly oversteps a line.  A trespasser.  An illegal alien.  The apostle says that if he went around trying to put back together all of the walls he’s worked hard to tear down, he would knowingly be violating what Jesus specifically commanded him to do.  

He’s the Demolition Man.

Jesus has called me to be a Demolition Man too.  Walls still exist.  Barriers between races.  Barriers between economic groups.  Barriers between neighborhoods.  Barriers between genders.  It’s time to get out the Gospel wrecking ball and get to work.  

The night before His crucifixion, Jesus prayed to His heavenly Dad “that they may be one even as We are one.  I in them and You in Me, that they may become perfectly  one, so that the world may know that You sent Me and loved them even as You loved Me” (Jn 17:22-23).  That only happens when we work hard to destroy the walls we’ve erected between us.

Let’s be Demolition Men.

©2012
Jay Jennings

Jesus, Deacon of Sin?

Paul explains to the Galatians that God doesn’t rule us as righteous based on our obedience, but through putting our faith in what Jesus has done for us (Gal 2:15-16).  It’s only because of His obedience to the law and trusting in what He has done on our behalf that we are justified (2Cor 5:21).  

A trade.  An exchange.  Let’s face it, God’s getting the raw end of the deal on this one.  But He gets all of the glory in the end.

But what if Paul’s made a huge mistake?  What if he’s got it all wrong?  What if what he’s taught the Galatians about Jesus is a horrible miscalculation?  

Well, that’s we examines next.  “But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin?” (v17).  What would it mean if Paul’s desire to be put his trust in what Jesus did on our behalf only resulted in our being sinners?  That’s the question on the table.

Remember, this goes back to Jews and non-Jews hanging out together.  God had knocked down all of the ethnic and racial walls wherever the message of Jesus was preached.  The risen Christ revealed a marvelous and mysterious new revelation of His Gospel to Paul.  

Gentiles could come to faith in Him AS GENTILES!  There are no more boundaries.  No more requirements.  No more rituals.  No more laws.  No insiders.  No outsiders.  Just one church.  One kingdom.  One family.

However, something happened in Antioch that threatened this mind-bending new reality.  The Apostle Peter was actually eating meals with Gentiles, something any Jew is his right mind would never.  It’s the new kosher!  

But when some Christian Jews hit town from Jerusalem, Pete freaked out.  He suddenly ignored his non-Jewish friends and only ate kosher meals with the Jewish posse.  This caused Paul to put his finger in Pete’s chest and call him on his hypocrisy (Gal 2:11-14).

This is the context when Paul asks the Galatians the question in verse 17.  You see, he’s been eating with Gentiles.  Hanging out in their homes.  Jesus knocked down those walls and the apostle was taking full advantage.  

But wait a second.  If these false teachers and their perverted gospel are right, then “we too were found to be sinners.”  If that’s the case, they’ve made a horrible, horrible mistake.

There’s just one problem.  Jesus personally let Paul in on His Gospel to the non-Jews (Gal 1:11-12).  If Paul’s wrong then Jesus is wrong.  Or as the apostle writes, “Is Christ then a servant of sin?”  Since Jesus did everything to tear down these barriers between  Jew and Gentile then He MUST be a servant of sin, right?  

First of all, we need to remember that Christ began chipping away at Jewish dietary restrictions during His time on earth.  Our Savior said that it’s not what we eat that makes us unclean but the filth that’s in our hearts.  Mark adds the note, “Thus He declared all foods clean” (Mk 7:18-19).  No more kosher food rules.  Later God gave Peter a vision on a rooftop in Joppa that let him know that there were no longer any difference between ethnic groups (Acts 10:9-16, 28).

So if Jesus took a bulldozer to racial walls and this was wrong there’s only one conclusion.  He’s “a servant of sin.”  Paul uses the Greek noun διακονος/diakonos.  It means a servant, helper or minister.  It’s actually the word from which we get our term deacon.  

The apostle says that if the false teachers are on target then Jesus is a deacon of sin.  I have to admit that I’ve been around some deacons that were less than godly.  But I can’t say I would call any of them a deacon of sin.  Okay, maybe a couple of them.  

Paul says that’s the only conclusion you can reach regarding if Jesus and Paul are wrong.  If Paul is wrong then Jesus is wrong.

So what’s the answer?  The Apostle Paul leaves no room for confusion.  “Certainly not!” (v17).  

End of discussion.

©2012 

Jay Jennings

Walk Straight

In this letter, Paul is working quickly to put out the heretical fire that has sparked in the Galatian churches.  False teachers called Judaizers have rolled into the region just after he and Barnabas hit the road on their first missionary journey (Acts 13:13-14:23).  

These men have infiltrated the Galatians and perverted the Gospel of grace, telling those who are not ethnically Jewish that they must first become Jews in order to follow Jesus (Gal 1:6-7; 2:4).

But Paul tells the Galatians that he's seen this before.  And you'll never guess who it was.  Peter.  Yup, THAT Peter.  The Apostle Peter.  It happened at the church in Antioch, Syria.  

This is the church that God used to send Paul and Barnabas on that very first missionary expedition (Acts 13:2-3).  This is also the same place where Jesus' followers earned the nickname "Christians" (Acts 11:26).

The "Gentile Problem" first happened here because the church was made up of both Jews and non-Jews.  Persecution that followed Stephen's murder forced the Jewish followers of Christ to leave Jerusalem and move to places like Antioch (Acts 11:19).  

Luke tells us that thanks to God's use of men like Barnabas in telling folks about Jesus, a boatload of Gentiles also came to faith (Acts 11:21, 24).  The First Church of Antioch was a marvelous mixed up mess of people from all ethnic groups.  

It's this context that provides fertile ground for racial discrimination.

This is the scene in Antioch when Pete hits town.  At first things are great.  He's hanging out with anyone and everyone in the church.  Paul tells us that Peter was living "like a Gentile" despite being ethnically Jewish (v14).  The walls have come down.  

But things change when "certain men came from James" (Gal 2:11).  When they showed up, Pete freaked out and became very worried about his reputation (Gal 2:12).  

He suddenly ditched his Gentile friends and only hung with the boys from Jerusalem (Gal 2:13).  If this wasn't bad enough, Pete's behavior impacted everybody else, including Barnabas.

At some point, Paul puts his foot down.  "I opposed him (Peter) to his face" (Gal 2:11).  He got up in Pete's grill.  He didn't try to work through his friends behind the scenes.  He confronted him directly and lovingly.  Face to face.

The Apostle Paul "saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the Gospel" (v14).  The ESV does a solid job translating the original text, but there's an interesting nuance in the Greek.  

Paul uses the verb ορθοποδεω/orthopodeo.  Looks familiar, doesn't it?  It's where we get our term "orthopedic."  It's a compound word meaning "straight" (ορθο-/ortho-) "walking” (-ποδεω/-podeo).  

Paul saw that Pete and those he influenced were no longer walking straight in regard to the Gospel.  They had veered off course.  They needed a course correction.  

You could say that they had begun to limp badly in their walk with Christ.  They needed orthopedic surgery.  God prompts Paul to provide the treatment needed so they could walk straight once again.

This results in a showdown between the two apostles.  Paul confronts "Cephas before them all" (v14).  Chances are he had tried to talk to him privately, following Jesus' instructions in Matthew 18:15-20.  

Paul most certainly followed that up by taking a couple of witnesses with him for a second private meeting.  These guys knew each other.  They had spent two weeks together at some point (Gal 1:18).  

Here he describes the resulting confrontation before the entire church.  This is the kind of meeting Paul tells Timothy about.  "As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear" (1Tim 5:20).  

Calvin wrote that private sin should be dealt with privately and public sin rebuked publicly.  That's exactly what happened here.  

Because Pete's sin became such a divisive cancer in the First Community Church of Antioch, Paul needed to handle it very publicly.  That way everyone would know this was wrong.

In front of the entire church, Paul cuts the chase with Peter.  "If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?" (v14).  Dude, you're Jewish.  You clearly understand the truth of the Gospel and the freedom you have in Jesus by living like a non-Jew.  

That's because Pete understood that Jesus completely fulfilled all of the requirements of the Law.  Yet, once the boys hit town from Jerusalem, he was forcing "Gentiles to live like Jews."  What's up with that?!?!

This is a reminder of a couple of incredibly important points.  First of all, walking straight according to the truth of Jesus' Gospel is NOT about keeping a list of rules and forcing others to do the same.  

It's interesting that, in essence, Paul is rebuking Peter for breaking the rule of establishing unnecessary rules.  Here's the deal, Jesus kept the rules that we couldn’t and wouldn't keep.

Second, this demonstrates the importance of protecting the purity of Christ's Gospel of grace.  He did the work.  He did the heavy lifting.  

Because of what He did in His life and on the Cross, we have access to His righteousness.  He takes our sin.  We get His sinless perfection.  

Luther called it the Great Exchange (2Cor 5:21).  To try an add our own good works to the formula ruins the math.  As Tullian Tchividjian consistently says, "Jesus plus nothing equals everything."  Paul knew that Pete's expectation of Jewish rule-following by Gentile believers was bad math.

Finally, we see godly and loving confrontation.  Paul would have loved nothing better than to avoid such a nasty scene in front of the entire church.  But it was vitally necessary.  

His friend needed correction.  He did this out of his love for Pete.  He did this out of love for God.

When it comes to the Gospel, we are to walk straight.

©2012

Jay Jennings

Face off at Antioch

Paul is writing to the Galatians who are victims of a covert spiritual attack by false teachers.  A group of Judaizers snuck into their midst pretending to be followers of Jesus, only to preach a counterfeit gospel and steal the freedom the apostle proclaimed in Christ (Gal 2:4).  

These despicable men accused Paul of being a rogue apostle who preached an incomplete message.  Paul reassured the Galatians that he met with the boys in the home office and confirmed they were all on the same page about the Good News (Gal 2:2, 6-10).

But the issue about God's inclusion of Gentiles into His kingdom was far from over.  Paul lets us in on some of the dirty laundry from the early days of the church.  This is another example of how the writers of Scripture didn't varnish the truth.  It would have been very easy to edit out this paragraph and never tell anyone of Paul and Peter's ugly and public face off in Antioch.  

But here it is.  Here we read of Peter, the leader of the apostles and one of Jesus' inner circle, making a mess of things.  Even the well-respected Barnabas doesn't escape.  The lesson here is that these people are sinners just like us.  They continue to goof up and fall short.  Yet Jesus continues to use them.  That's grace.

The scene is Antioch in Syria.  This is first great mega-church outside of Jerusalem.  The Holy Spirit had so gripped the city that Barnabas had to call in Saul for reinforcements (Acts 11:19-26).  This where Jesus' disciples first earned the nickname Christians.  It's also the same church that commissioned Barnabas and Paul on their first mission trip (Acts 13:2-3).

Paul describes how the Apostle Peter "came to Antioch" (v11).  It wasn't long before things blew up into one of the biggest controversies in the NT.  At first, things were great.  Pete was hanging out and eating with people from non-Jewish ethnic groups (v12).  

What happened in Antioch should be happening in every church today.  God has removed racial and ethnic barriers through the death of Jesus (Gal 2:28).  As the saying goes, the ground is level at the foot of the cross.

But everything changed when "certain men came from James" (v12).  James is Jesus' brother that Paul talked about earlier (Gal 1:19; 2:9).  

He had become a big dog in the church in Jerusalem while the apostles hit the road to tell the world about Jesus.  James even wrote the first book of the NT, which bears his name.  But when this posse arrived representing him, it all went down in Antioch (v11).

The first thing that happened is Peter's reaction.  "He drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party" (v12).  The Greek verb for "drew back" is ‘υποστελλω/hupostello.  It's actually a military term that describes a calculated and strategic retreat.  In other words, Peter knew EXACTLY what he was doing.  He had been hanging out with Gentile Christians until his Jewish buds rolled into Antioch.  

Pete was worried about what these Jewish Christians would think when if they saw him having dinner with non-Jews.  The so-called "circumcision party" believed that Gentiles could become followers of Jesus but they had to basically become Jews first.  Follow the Mosaic Law.  Become circumcised.  But church leaders ruled that NOT to be the case (Gal 2:1-10; Acts 15:1-29).

It's hard for us to wrap our heads around the scope of this controversy some 2,000 years later.  Jesus' inclusion of Gentiles was revolutionary and radical.  The Jews were God's chosen people.  Up until this point, the only way to know the blessings of Yahweh was to convert to Judaism.  The Gentile Controversy is THE issue in the book of Acts.

The Apostle Peter continually struggled with the idea.  At times he clearly supports the idea.  In the wake of the incredible vision God gives him on a rooftop in Joppa, Pete undoubtedly understands this to be divine instructions to reach out to non-Jews (Acts 10:1-48).  

As a result, he tells the Good News of Jesus to the Gentile Centurion Cornelius and his family.  Its Pete who tells the church leaders about the breathtaking move of the Holy Spirit among non-Jews (Acts 11:1-18).  Yet Pete's the problem in Antioch.  This tells us how this apostle continued to wrestle with this radical new concept.

The problem is that it didn't stop with Peter.  His actions have an impact on many others.  "And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with them" (v13).  The church in Antioch was a marvelous mixture of Jewish and Gentile followers of Jesus.  When Pete distanced himself from the non-Jews, so did all of the other Jews.  

As the leader of the apostles, people are watching Peter to see what he does.  We need to remember that others are watching us too.  Whether we like it or not, we set an example for others to follow.  Will it be a good or bad one?

Pete's bungle even impacted one of the most respected members of the early church.  "Even Barnabas was led away by their hypocrisy" (v13).  This Cypriot Jew played an incredibly important role in the early days.  He made a huge contribution of his personal wealth by selling some real estate to help struggling brothers and sisters (Acts 4:36-37).  

Barney vouched for Saul/Paul when he first came to Jerusalem at a time folks wouldn't touch him with a ten foot pole (Acts 9:26-27).  He was a valuable teacher in the early days of God's work in Antioch (Acts 11:22-24).  He was the leader of the first mission team that the church commissioned that Paul accompanied (Acts 13:2-3).  Yet, Pete's hypocrisy even brought down Barnabas.  

That's why Paul had to do something.  He "opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned" (v11).  Paul didn't mess around and strategize about how to handle the situation.  He didn't go behind Pete's back and work through his friends.  He "opposed him to his face.”  

Paul knew without a doubt that Pete was WAY wrong.  Pete was sinning and needed to be corrected.  The biblical way of handling this is a loving but firm confrontation.  

Paul went to Pete.  Face to face.  Man to man.  He pulled no punches.  And it's what God calls each of us to do.  Trust me, I HATE confrontation.  I'll do what I can to avoid it.  As a matter of fact, I'm more likely to be like Peter and worry about my reputation among others.  

But Scripture is clear.  When we are in sin, confrontation is in order.  It's time for a face off.

©2012

Jay Jennings

Facial Recognition

In these verses, Paul continues to describe to the Galatians the very important trip he made to the home office in Jerusalem (Gal 2:1).  He met with the Apostle Peter and Jesus' brother James, two crucial leaders of the church (Gal 1:18-19).  He took Barnabas, a Jew, and Titus, a Gentile with him.  His mission: to make sure the Gospel he preached to non-Jews wasn't rogue (Gal 2:2).  

Pete and Jim made a key decision regarding Paul's message when non-Jewish Titus "was not forced to be circumcised" (Gal 2:3).  This not only affirms what Paul preaches but is certainly great news for Gentile men everywhere!  

The apostle describes how these dastardly false teachers slipped into the Galatian churches in sleeper cells in order to sabotage the freedom the disciples have in Jesus (Gal 2:4).

Paul tells us when he and the boys were in Jerusalem, they didn't waver for an instant to the perverted gospel being spread by the Judaizers.  "To them we did yield in submission even for a moment" (v5).  This isn't a contradiction of what the apostle wrote to the church in Ephesus: "Submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ" (Eph 5:21).  

When the truth of God's salvation and the eternal destiny of others is at stake, you must take a stand.  We certainly are do so "with gentleness and respect" (1Pet 3:15).  But we much stand strong against evil (Eph 6:13).  And when it came to the counterfeit message spreading like a cancer in Galatia, Paul didn't budge.  Not even for the blink of an eye.

The Apostle Paul stood rock steady because of what was at stake.  "So that the truth of the Gospel might be preserved for you" (v5).  This isn't about Paul.  This isn't about his reputation.  This isn't about what others thought about him.  

This is about the message of Jesus the Gentile Galatians have embraced.  This is about the Gospel they've heard.  If Paul is wrong and these moles who've infiltrated the church are right, it changes everything.  Everything.

Reading the phrase "the truth of the Gospel," I can't help but think of what Jesus said to His boys.  "I am the way, and the truth, and the life" (Jn 14:6).  The truth of the Gospel is Jesus Himself.  As Henry Blackaby likes to say, Truth is a Person.  Jesus is Truth.  And Jesus is the Truth of the Gospel.  

The Good News is not simply head knowledge or some mental acceptance.  It is a relationship with the One who is the Truth.  Jesus.  Paul is fighting for Truth.  Paul is fighting for the Galatians' personal relationship with Jesus.  

The apostle twice refers to the heavy hitters he and his boys meet with in Jerusalem.  "Those who seemed to be influential...those, I say, who seemed to be influential" (v6).  Again, this is the Apostle Peter and James, the brother of Jesus.  Paul uses a common phrase of the day to describe them (Gal 2:2, 9).

While the man from Tarsus understands who they are meeting, he really doesn't care.  "What they were makes no difference to me" (6).  What may seem like absolute arrogance is actually anything but.  Paul understood who he was in Christ.  

He understood that Jesus Himself handpicked him before birth (Gal 1:15).  The risen Christ personally appeared to him and commissioned him as a full-fledged apostle (Gal 1:16; Acts 9:3-6, 15).  

Paul's identity is not in himself.  It is in Jesus and His righteousness.  Because of that, he was bulletproof.  This made him the perfect apostle.  If you killed him, "to die is gain."  If you let him live, "to live is Christ" (Phil 1:21).  A little meeting with Peter and James wasn't going to shake Paul.

The apostle then makes a HUGE statement that is easy to blow right past.  "God shows no partiality" (v6).  The Greek here is very awkward.  It literally reads "God does not accept the face of man."  What in the wide, wide world of sports does this mean?  

As a matter of fact, we find this same idea written in a similar Greek idiom in two other places.  "God shows no partiality" (Acts 10:34).  "For God shows no partiality" (Rom 2:11).  Both times, it refers to God's offer of salvation to all people, regardless of race or ethnicity.

The original text uses the noun προσοπον/prosopon.  It means face or outward appearance.  Paul is telling us that God doesn't use facial recognition to identify us.  

Remember the movie "Face Off"?  Nicolas Cage and John Travolta had radical plastic surgery to actually become the other person.  From looking at them, it was impossible to know who they were.  That's because as fallen human beings, we look at the appearance.  Too often we judge by facial recognition.

God isn't fooled by faces.  Remember when He tapped Samuel on the shoulder and told him to go find the next king of Israel?  "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him.  For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart" (1Sam 16:7).  

God doesn't rely on facial recognition.  He uses heart recognition.  That's absolutely foolproof.

Paul's meeting with Peter and James confirms what he knew all along.  His message was indeed THE Message!  Pete and Jim "added nothing to me" (v6).  His Gospel lined up perfectly with their Gospel.  Don't change a thing, they told him.  It's perfect.  

The reason they agreed is because they all heard it from Jesus' lips personally.  Peter walked with Christ during His earthly ministry and saw the resurrected Jesus.  James became a follower of his Brother after seeing Him rise from the dead (1Cor 15:7).  Jesus mugged Paul on the Damascus interstate and personally delivered His message of salvation.  The common denominator is Jesus.

The bottom line: Paul and his Gospel are good to go.  What he preached to the Galatians is right on target.  They are to forget everything those goobers told them and get back to grace.

©2012

Jay Jennings

Prejudice and Playing Favorites

“In the presence of God and of Christ and of the elect angels I charge you to keep these rules without prejudging, doing nothing from partiality” (1Tim 5:21).

For some defendants, the trial seems like a formality. Sometimes it appears to be an open and shut case. To make matters worse, the accused LOOKS guilty. For Pete’s sake, the TV newscast has them walking in slow motion!! A slo-mow perp walk is a sure sign of guilt!! 

Then you have those defendants who simply couldn’t have done it. Maybe they’re your neighbor or your friend or local celebrity. How could anybody charge such a nice looking guy or sweet older lady with such a horrible crime?

Sometimes our preconceptions corrupt the process. That is Paul’s warning to his protege Timothy. He’s laying out the procedure Tim should follow when the church investigates its leaders. 

Don’t waste your time on frivolous accusations against an elder. You’re gonna need at least two, hopefully three witnesses (1Tim 5:19). If a leader takes repeated rides on the sin cycle, it’s time for a church-wide intervention, for the good of both the leader and the congregation (1Tim 5:20).

At this point, the apostle wants Pastor Tim to make sure that nobody jumps to conclusions before hearing the evidence. “In the presence of God and of Christ and of the elect angels I charge you to keep these rules without prejudging, doing nothing from partiality” (v21). 

This is a big deal. A VERY big deal. Remember that the heavenly courtroom is also in session. Protect the process. Don’t railroad a leader just because you don’t like him. Don’t go easy on an elder simply because he’s popular. It’s no time for prejudice. This is no time to play favorites.

Having this process in place to investigate and discipline church leaders ahead of time is essential for any congregation. But it was a desperately needed tool Ephesian believers at the time Paul wrote this letter in 64 AD. 

This once shining model of cross-cultural ministry in the metropolitan melting pot of Ephesus has become a total hot mess. Spiritual hucksters sold the followers of Jesus a load of theological snake oil involving goofy myths and doctrine that was downright demonic (1Tim 1:3-7; 4:1-3).

When God sends the man from Tarsus on a mission trip to Macedonia, Paul hands Tim the broom of reform in a letter we know as 1 Timothy. Get folks praying again (1Tim 2:1-8). Find new leaders known for their godliness and integrity rather than their love of the spotlight (1Tim 3:1-13). 

Focus your teaching on God’s goodness and His gracious Gospel (1Tim 1:12-17; 4:3-4). Tim is to personally lead by example and lean into his teaching gift (1Tim 4:6-16). The apostle even provides guidelines for Gospel style assisted living (1Tim 5:3-16). You know, this is probably not a bad list to keep handy for any church in any century.

With Ephesian reform well underway, Paul lets Tim know the gravity of what’s at stake when investigating charges against an elder. First and foremost, we need to remember that this is being done “in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels” (v21). In other words, there’s a whole lot more going on here than a church wide business meeting. The heavenly court is also in session.

If you’re like me, you may be scratching your noggin on his inclusion of “the elect angels” (v20). I mean, the first Two here really need no introduction at this point. Father God and His one and only Son. But who in the world are the “elect angels” (v20)? They are probably those angelic beings who remained loyal to God during Satan’s ill-fated civil war (Is 14:12-15; Ezek 28:11-19). 

Lucifer convinced a significant portion of God’s angel army to join him in his attempt to overthrow God. He lost and lost badly. Just to be clear, poking your finger in the chest of Almighty God is NEVER a good idea.

As a result, Yahweh booted the devil and his demons out of heaven. Those loyal angels who remain are the “elect angels” (v21). God chose them to stay due to their allegiance during the coup. According the ESV Study Bible, Paul probably includes the angels here because of their role in the final judgment (Mt 25:31; Lk 9:26; Rev 14:10).

Once we realize the heavenly courtroom is part of these proceedings, Paul goes on to write, “I charge you” (v21). Be sure, he’s NOT accusing Tim of a crime. He uses a Greek word (Gr. diamarturomai) that means to declare something solemnly and emphatically. In other words, the apostle is earnestly asking. 

Three other times in his two letters to Timothy, the apostle uses this very same term to get the young pastor’s undivided attention (1Tim 6:13; 2Tim 2:14; 4:1-2). Listen up and listen good. What he’s about to say is incredibly important.

So what’s the bottom line? Just who are these angels and what election did they win? I wouldn’t waste much time trying to figure out why Paul included the angels. Their identity isn’t the apostle’s point. Let’s not major in the minors and miss the main thing. The apostle wants Tim and everyone else who reads this to know he means business. Everybody pay attention. Don’t miss this. Get it? Got it? Good.

Now that we understanding the weight of what’s at stake, Tim is to “keep the rules” when it comes to church leadership. We must protect the process. That means honoring elders for leading well, especially as teachers (1Tim 5:17-18). Ignoring baseless charges against them (1Tim 5:19). 

When the investigation turns up something, pursuing discipline against them for the good of the leader and the good of the church (1Tim 5:20). In other words, don’t let any prejudice or partiality derail the process. This is no time to play favorites. There’s too much at stake.

But let’s not make the mistake of using the rules in the wrong way or for the wrong reasons. They are not in place to ruthlessly run roughshod over those who get in your way. God gives us guidelines to guard His flock, not to use as a weapon. And these processes don’t take precedence over people. 

Remember Jesus’ answer when someone asked which rules are the most important? Love God and love people (Mt 22:36-40; Mk 12:28-31). “Love God and love procedure,” said our Savior never. People ALWAYS trump process.

We protect people who are in this process is by doing it “without prejudging, doing nothing from partiality” (v21). You don’t railroad and you don’t play favorites. On one hand, we proceed without prejudice. Don’t jump to conclusions of guilt on anyone just because someone tells you they’ve dug up some dirt. 

That’s especially the case when it comes to an elder or pastor. They’re NOT guilty just because there’s an inquiry. Don’t railroad the accused. Let the investigation run it’s course. The truth will come out.

Likewise, we must also make sure we’re “doing nothing from partiality” (v21). This is when we’re inclined to be nice to someone for some reason other than the evidence. Maybe they’re your buddy. Maybe they’re your neighbor. Maybe they’re cute. Maybe they’re famous. Maybe they’re rich. Maybe they’re successful. Maybe they look like you. Whatever the case, don’t play favorites.

Let’s face the facts. Nobody loves church discipline. (And if you do, you REALLY need to get some counseling! Do not pass “go.” Do not collect $200.) And the stickiest and messiest kind of church discipline involves a pastor or an elder. When it does happen, let’s proceed with extreme caution. 

Make sure the pendulum doesn’t swing too far one way or the other. Or as the Message paraphrases the apostle, “God and Jesus and angels all back me up in these instructions. Carry them out without favoritism, without taking sides” (v21 The Message).

There's a bigger biblical principle at play here as well. First of all, we need to keep prejudice and favoritism far away the entire leadership process. If someone is biblically qualified, there's nothing else that should eliminate them from consideration. Not race. Not neighborhood. Not income. Not education level. Not political party. In the same way, none of these should ever be factors working in someone's favor to be an elder.

Protect the process. Don’t railroad a leader just because you don’t like him. Don’t go easy on an elder simply because he’s popular. This is no time for prejudice. It’s no time to play favorites. Don't bring that stuff in here.