Something Must Have Happened Here

Posted on December 10, 2018 by russellmckinney

In the early 1800s, an adventurous trapper decided to see for himself what America’s western frontier looked like. Day and night he rode, seeing new sites daily, always trekking westward. Finally he came upon the Grand Canyon, which of course he knew nothing about. As he sat atop his horse looking out over that awesome expanse, all he could say was, “Something musta happened here!”

Something must of happened in the little town of Bethlehem one night. That something was enough to serve as the spark of a religious movement that continues today, almost 2,000 years later. The something didn’t create a gaping hole in the ground, but it certainly did create a gaping hole in the religions of the world. Frankly, none of them have been the same since, and some of them got pushed out of existence altogether.

Like that trapper’s take on the Grand Canyon, though, many people still don’t know what happened in Bethlehem. According to one website I read, over 2 billion people around the world have never heard the story of Jesus. Another website places the number at over 3 billion. Even in countries that have been saturated with the gospel, new babies are being born each day, babies that will grow up and need to hear the gospel. You see, fulfilling Jesus’ Great Commission to, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15, N.K.J.V.) is an ongoing assignment that constantly perpetuates itself.

Yes, something did happen in Bethlehem. A baby was born there, a baby that was different from all other babies ever born. This child was conceived in the womb of a virgin. He was the eternal God the Son come down from heaven to take upon Himself a human body and live among His created race of people. He would live 33-and-a-half years upon the earth and never commit even one sin. He would perform miracles that proved His divinity. He would heal the sick, cast out demons, and raise the dead.

But the miracles weren’t why He came. His real purpose in coming was to die as the substitutionary sacrifice for the sins of the human race. After that, He Himself would resurrect from the dead and return to heaven to sit again upon His throne and offer salvation to anyone and everyone who will voluntarily believe in Him as Savior (John 3:16).

This Christmas, anytime you see a manger scene, think upon these things. Christmas is about so much more than a baby. Jesus the baby was merely the human beginning of Jesus the Savior.

You say, “I know that, Russell.” Great, then share it with someone who doesn’t know it. Even if that person has heard bits and pieces of Christ’s story, perhaps they’ve never heard a simple, clear presentation of the whole story (i.e., Christ’s virgin birth, His sinless life, His miracles that proved His divinity, His substitutionary death, His resurrection, His ascension, and His promise to return to the earth one day). If they haven’t heard all that presented in a way they can grasp, then the best gift you can give them this Christmas is the gift of telling it to them. Perhaps they will believe in Jesus as Savior. Perhaps they won’t. But what they’ll never be able to do again is plead ignorance to knowing what happened.

Posted in Belief, Christ's Second Coming, Christ's Birth, Christ's Death, Christ's Miracles, Christ's Resurrection, Christ's Return, Christmas, Evangelism, Salvation, The Gospel, Witnessing | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Settling for Pig Food

Posted on December 7, 2018 by russellmckinney

Let’s say that a kid wants the newest, hottest, super-duper-deluxe video-game system for Christmas. The thing costs $450. Now let’s say that the kid’s parents just can’t afford to spend that much on a Christmas present. So what do they do? They buy a  knockoff version, a game system that mimics the real deal and is made by some generic company. Cost? $100. Now you tell me, will that kid ever be truly satisfied with that lesser system? You know the answer.

Sadly, many Christians settle for less than God’s best when it comes to His will. The usual problem is that God’s best is typically found at the end of you doing something you don’t want to do. That something might be waiting. It might be persevering. It might be repenting. It might be confessing. So, rather than do that something you don’t want to do, you grab the best option available at the time and spend the rest of your life not being satisfied with the choice.

This reminds me of the story of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32). The young man asked his father for the inheritance the father planned to leave him, and the father granted the request. The young man then headed off into a far country to waste his newfound money on partying (v.13) and prostitutes (v.30). He was really living it up until his money ran out and he was forced to take a job feeding pigs. That job didn’t pay much, and he eventually found himself so hungry that he would gladly have filled his stomach with the food he was feeding the pigs.

If he had settled for that pig food, though, he would have missed God’s best for his life. That best awaited him back at his father’s house. To receive it, however, he’d have to repent of his sins, return home, make his confession to his father, and ask his father for mercy. None of that would be easy.

What he couldn’t have known, though, was that the reward would be his father giving him a beautiful robe, an expensive ring, and a nice pair of sandals. The father would also have the fatted calf killed and throw the young man a “welcome home” feast. A fatted calf verses pig food? There’s no comparison.

So, I guess my question to you right now is, “Are you willing to do that which is necessary to receive God’s best for your life?” If it requires waiting, will you wait? If it requires persevering, will you persevere? If it requires repenting, will you repent? If it requires confessing, will you confess?

You say, “No, Russell, I just can’t do that.” Well then the only thing left for you to do is acquire a taste for pig food. And, frankly, that’s what a lot of people (including many professing Christians) have done. Rather than do what was required of them to get in on God’s highest and best, they chose easier paths and in so doing settled for things inferior to what God had in mind for them.

You see, we’re not talking about life and death here. The prodigal son could have lived a long life in the far country eating that pig food. What we are talking about is quality of life. We’re talking about the difference between living in the father’s house and living in the far country. We’re talking about the difference between steak and pig food. We’re talking about the difference between a top-of-the-line game system and a knockoff one. We’re talking about the difference between God’s best for your life and something else, something that doesn’t cost you as much but isn’t as satisfying, either.

Posted in Choices, Confession, Desires, Disappointment, God's Timing, God's Will, Impatience, Patience, Perseverance, Repentance, Reward, Sin, Temptation, Trials, Waiting | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

It’s a Pleasure Doing Business With You

Posted on December 5, 2018 by russellmckinney

Two women were walking down the street of a large city. It was Christmastime and the storefront windows were all decked out for the holiday in an attempt to lure in the shoppers. The dress-store window featured a Christmas tree standing in the midst of several of the most beautiful dresses the store had for sale. The shoe-store window featured figurines of Santa Claus and his reindeer perfectly placed alongside several samplings of shoes. The candy-store featured a depiction of a snowy, wintry scene in which all kinds of candies — candy canes, fudge, milk chocolate, etc. — lay scattered.

Then the women came to the storefront window of a Christian bookstore that sold books, greeting cards, ornaments, and all other manner of do-dads. This window featured nothing but an elegantly simple nativity scene. No latest best-seller. No in-demand ornaments. No seasonal offerings. No marked-down or clearance items. Just the manger scene, complete with a baby Jesus right in the center. One of the women looked at the other and said, “Can you believe that? Now the church is trying to horn in on Christmas!”

A Christmas cartoon from some years ago showed Jesus hanging high on a cross. A ladder was leaned up against the cross, and Santa Claus was standing on one of the top rungs of the ladder. And what was Santa doing up there? He was whispering into Jesus’ ear, “It’s a pleasure doing business with you.” I don’t have to explain the meaning of that cartoon. We’ll all be living it right up until the 25th of this month, won’t we?

Posted in Christ's Birth, Christ's Death, Christmas, Christmas Traditions, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

It’s Not Enough Just to Start

Posted on December 3, 2018 by russellmckinney

A retired couple were advised by their doctor to get more exercise. So, they decided to start walking two miles a day. Since they lived at the end of a long road in a rural area, they planned to daily walk down the road one mile and then turn around and walk back home.

On the first day, they headed out of the house and made it to the one-mile mark. Now it was time to turn around for the other mile. The husband asked the wife, “Can you make it back, or are you too tired?” The wife answered, “Oh, I’m fine. I can make it back without any problem.” The husband said, “Good, I’ll wait here while you go get the car and come get me.”

Have you ever heard the saying, “He’s great out of the gate but not much for stamina”? Unfortunately, that saying can be applied to a lot of Christians. They start out to pray more, but their prayer times reduce back to average after just a few days. They commit themselves to reading the Bible in a year, but they get bogged down somewhere in Leviticus and give up on the goal. They promise God they will better their church attendance, but after a month or so their spike in attendance vanishes. They dedicate themselves to contributing more money to God’s work, but that dedication ends up being no match for the first unexpected bill. What can we say about such Christians? They are great out of the gate but not much for stamina.

In 2 Thessalonians 3:13, we are told, “But as for you brethren, do not grow weary in doing good” (N.K.J.V.). As you consider this verse, think about your own life. How many starts and stops do you have on your record with God? Also, ask yourself one major question: “Have I stopped something that God didn’t want me to stop?” And if you find yourself answering, “Yes” to that question, then get back to the starting blocks and begin again with God, this time working harder at persevering.

Posted in Adversity, Backsliding, Bible Study, Church Attendance, Commitment, Doing Good, Faithfulness, Giving, God's Work, Marriage, Perseverance, Personal Holiness, Prayer, Service | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Lies & Dishonest Scales

Posted on November 30, 2018 by russellmckinney

Two college boys foolishly spent the week before their final Physics exam drinking and partying at their off-campus apartment. They didn’t sober up until the morning of the exam, and that’s when it dawned on them how much trouble they were in for not studying. So, they cooked up a lie to tell their professor. They would miss the exam completely, show up two hours later as he was in the middle of another class, tell him they’d been delayed by a flat tire on the way to the exam, and ask if they could take the test sometime the next day.

The professor listened to their story and agreed to let them take the test the next morning at 8:00 a.m. sharp. Pleased with themselves for having gotten away with their deception, the boys raced back to their apartment and began cramming for the exam. By dawn of the next morning they were ready.

When the boys arrived at the professor’s classroom, he kept one of them in the classroom and sent the other one to the room next door. As each boy sat down in his assigned seat, he opened the test pamphlet and was surprised to find that the test consisted of only two questions. Question #1 read: “For 5 points, what are the contents of an atom?” Each boy was amused at the simplicity of the question and smugly wrote down: “proton, neutron, and electron.” Then came question #2: “For 95 points, which one of your car’s four tires went flat yesterday?”

A similar story comes from the world of a big-city butcher. A woman came into his shop and asked to buy a chicken. The butcher promptly went to the back and located the chicken he knew was the only one he had left. He brought it out to the counter, placed it onto the scales, and said to the lady, “The weight is five pounds.” The woman thought for a moment and responded, “I want a bigger one.”

The butcher, not wanting to lose a sale, removed the chicken from the scales and said to the woman, “Give me a second while I go in the back and get a bigger one.” Then he took the chicken into the back, waited a little while, and brought it back to the counter. He again placed it onto the scales but this time subtly forced his thumb down onto the scale enough to make the weight total up to seven pounds.” He looked at the woman and said, “This one is seven pounds. Is that big enough?” She said, “Yes. As a matter of fact, I’ll just take both.”

There are many Bible verses that speak to the issue of honesty. The book of Proverbs, in particular, provides numerous ones. Here are two that specifically pertain to the two stories you just read:

Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, But those who deal truthfully are His delight. (Proverbs 12:22, N.K.J.V.)

Dishonest scales are an abomination to the Lord, But a just weight is His delight. (Proverbs 11:1, N.K.J.V.)

Isn’t it interesting that each of these verses uses the word “abomination”? Lying is an abomination of the Lord and so are dishonest scales. Lying applies to our conduct in personal matters, and dishonest scales applies to our conduct in business matters. God keeps a close eye on us in both realms, and we should conduct ourselves accordingly.

Posted in Business, Character, Communication, Conscience, Deception, Depravity, Doing Good, Honesty, Lying, Money, Personal Holiness, Work | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Breaking Away from Family & Upbringing

Posted on November 28, 2018 by russellmckinney

If you are a Christian who was born into a “Christian” household, let me ask you a question: If you had been born into a household that was not “Christian,” would you have still believed in Jesus Christ at some point and thereby gotten saved?

Let me get even more specific. If you had been born into a Jewish household, can you say with certainty that you would have converted from Judaism to Christianity at some point? If you had been born into a Muslim household, can you say with certainty that you would have converted from Islam to Christianity at some point? If you had been born into a Hindu household, can you say with certainty that you would have converted from Hinduism to Christianity at some point? If you had been born into a Buddhist household, can you say with certainty that you would have converted from Buddhism to Christianity at some point?

Now let me ask the same sort of question about the different denominations of Christianity. If you are a Southern Baptist — and by that, I mean that your denomination is the Southern Baptist Convention, not just that you are a Baptist who lives in the south — are you a Southern Baptist by choice or by family tradition? If you are an Independent Baptist, are you that by choice or by family tradition? If you are a Freewill Baptist, are you that by choice or by family tradition? If you are a Methodist, are you that by choice or by family tradition? If you are a Presbyterian, are you that by choice or by family tradition? If you are a Pentecostal, are you that by choice or by family tradition? If you are a Charismatic, are you that by choice or by family tradition? If you are a Lutheran, are you that by choice or by family tradition? If you are Church of Christ, are you that by choice or by family tradition?

The fact is that one’s background can be a very, very hard thing from which to break clear. This is especially true in cases where the individual looks back with fondness upon his or her upbringing. I once had a fellow who had been brought up in a certain denomination, one that has some doctrines and practices with which I differ, attend the church I was pastoring. He came a few Sundays at the urging of his wife and her parents, all of whom hold to the same doctrines I do. This fellow is a great guy and we are still friends to this day, but I’ll never forget what he told me just before he and his wife stopped attending my church and went back to his family church. He said, “Russell, if I accept as the truth everything that you teach, it will mean that my parents have been wrong for years in what they have always believed.” Needless to say, since he loved his parents dearly, that was a bridge he just wasn’t willing to cross.

It took nothing less than a personal visit from Jesus to get the scandalous Samaritan woman to understand that her Samaritan religion was in error and that she needed to believe in Jesus, a Jew, as Savior (John 4:4-42). It took nothing less than a physical encounter with Jesus on the Damascus Road to get Saul of Tarsus to lay aside his Jewish upbringing and believe in Jesus as Savior (Acts 9:1-19). It took nothing less than a divine vision from heaven to get Peter to step outside the walls of his Jewish upbringing and come to the knowledge that Gentiles can get in on the same salvation that God offers to Jews (Acts 10:1-48). Each of these stories can be cited as evidence that breaking clear from your religious upbringing and background doesn’t happen easily.

Reading these stories should make us appreciate Abraham (whose original name was Abram) all the more. There he was in the city of Ur in the land of Chaldea, minding his own business, married to Sarah (whose original name was Sarai), living his life, worshiping the same false idols his father Terah worshiped (Joshua 24:2). Then one day God said to him, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you” (Genesis 12:1, N.I.V.).

Did Abraham hear a voice or did He have some type of vision? The Bible doesn’t give us the details. Either way, though, can you imagine God speaking to you right now and saying, “I want you to leave behind everything that you know and everybody that you know (except for your spouse and your children), and I want you to follow My voice as I lead you to a completely new land, a completely new way of life, and a completely new religion?” I wonder, would you be willing to do it?

Actually, even Abraham’s obedience wasn’t perfect. Whereas God wanted him to leave behind his father and the rest of his family (except for Sarah), Abraham took along not only Terah (his father) but also Lot (his nephew). As a matter of fact, the way Genesis 11:31 reads Terah was actually the ramrod of the operation. That verse says:

And Terah took his son Abram and his grandson Lot, the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and they went out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan; and they came to Haran and dwelt there. (N.K.J.V.)

Notice two things about this verse. First, notice that Terah, not Abraham, is the dominant character in the verse. Did Terah horn his way into God’s unique call upon Abraham’s life? Maybe, but it’s likely that Abraham didn’t mind having his father and his nephew along for his trip into the unknown. Second, notice that the whole operation ended up settling down in Haran, which was only about the halfway point between Ur and Canaan, the land where God ultimately wanted Abraham. Evidently, Terah liked it in Haran and decided the family had traveled far enough. They even acquired some servants there in Haran (Genesis 12:5).

It wasn’t until Terah died in Haran that Abraham, Sarah, Lot, and those servants pulled up stakes from there and pressed on for the land of Canaan (Genesis 11:32; 12:4-5; Acts 7:4). Commentators believe that Abraham spent several wasted years in Haran. You see, this is the damage that can be done by the powerful pull of family, especially the pull of parents, especially the pull of fathers. We are even left to wonder if Abraham would ever have made it to his God-given land of Canaan if Terah had lived much longer. Remember, neither Terah nor Lot were even supposed to be along on the journey!

What I’m trying to show you in all this is that family and upbringing can be powerful dams that prevent God’s river from flowing in your life. Putting it another way, Satan can use your background against you to keep you from living out God’s will for your life. Certainly, this holds true in regards to salvation itself, but it also holds true in regards to what we might call the various “stations” of your life. By “stations” I mean: where you live, where you work, which school you attend, which church you attend, which political affiliations you hold, etc.

I guess what I’m asking you is, “Are you really your own person or is your life dominated by your raising?” I’m not suggesting that God wants everybody to forsake family and friends in order to head off into the wild blue yonder with Him. But what I am suggesting is that each of us needs to be enough of a “free agent” that we can mind God completely no matter how radical His will for our life gets. Think of it this way: If God has a Canaan in mind for you, you will never know His best if you either stay in your Ur or settle for a Haran. And if you reaching that Canaan requires you to break away from your family and your upbringing, then so be it. Putting it simply, it’s a price worth paying.

Posted in Change, Children, Choices, Church, Church Attendance, Commitment, Courage, Decisions, Desires, Discernment, Dying To Self, Faith, Faithfulness, Family, Fatherhood, Fear, God's Guidance, God's Will, God's Work, Husbands, Individuality, Obedience, Parenting, Salvation, Service, Submission, Trusting In God, Wives, Work | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Road Signs

Posted on November 26, 2018 by russellmckinney

By the close of 1944, Adolph Hitler’s dreams of world domination were coming to an end. Just a few months later, on April 30, 1945, he would commit suicide, and May 8, 1945, would become the day Americans call V-E (Victory in Europe) day. But in December of 1944 Hitler’s Germany mounted one last major counteroffensive that employed 250,000 German troops and caught the Allied forces off guard.

The counteroffensive was launched 100 miles inside the Belgian border in the densely forested region of the Ardennes. Germany’s goal was to use a surprise blitzkrieg attack to split the Allied lines and prevent the Allied forces from using the Belgian port of Antwerp. If the splitting of the lines proved successful in separating and fragmenting the Allied forces, the Germans would be able to destroy no less than four Allied armies. The press dubbed the counteroffensive “the Battle of the Bulge” because of the way the fighting caused the Allied front line to bulge inwardly on maps.

In the end, the Allied forces won the Battle of the Bulge, but the victory came at a high cost. The U.S. forces alone suffered over 100,00 casualties, making the battle the deadliest ever fought by America’s army. The German attack came so close to succeeding because the Germans used a variety of ingenious tactics as part of it. One of those tactics involved, of all things, road signs.

A few days before the Germans launched the counteroffensive, a group of elite German soldiers parachuted behind Allied lines. These soldiers were dressed in American uniforms that had been taken from POWs. Other similarly dressed German soldiers made their way behind enemy lines by using American jeeps that had been captured.

And what were all those covert Germans supposed to do behind Allied lines? Their mission was to alter road signs so as to prevent reinforcing troops from being able to reach the Allied forces when the fighting began. By most accounts this particular tactic proved only moderately successful for the Germans, but we can’t deny that the attempt made a lot of sense. Road signs are certainly important to anyone who doesn’t know the way. Even if you have a G.P.S. you still need road signs to identify the roads.

Of course, just as we need road signs to get where we want to go on a trip, we also need them to get where we want to go spiritually. And where do we find these spiritual road signs? We find them in one place: the Bible. That book is a repository of spiritual road signs that serve to guide our way through this confusing land. Therefore, if we don’t study the Bible and build our lives around its teachings, we really shouldn’t expect to ever get to where God wants us to go.

Posted in Bible Study, Choices, Decisions, Discernment, God's Guidance, God's Will, God's Word, Scripture, The Bible, Truth | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Make Your Bed

Posted on November 23, 2018 by russellmckinney

Naval Admiral William McRaven served as the ninth commander of the U.S. Special Operations Command from August 8, 2011, to August 28, 2014. On May 17, 2014, he gave the commencement speech at the University of Texas at Austin. His 20-minute speech is now considered one of the best commencement speeches ever given.

McRaven’s speech featured ten life lessons that he gleaned from basic SEAL training. (SEAL is an acronym for Sea, Air, and Land.) It is the first of those ten lessons that I want to mention for this post. That lesson is: Make Your Bed.

McRaven said:

If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed. If you make your bed every morning, you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride and encourage you to do another task. And by the end of the day that one task will encourage you to complete another task and another.

Making your bed will also reinforce the fact that little things in life matter. If you can’t do the little things right, you will never be able to do the big things right. And if by chance you have a miserable day, you will come home to a bed that is made. A made bed gives you encouragement that tomorrow will be better.

When I read these words from McRaven, I’m reminded of three Bible passages. Each of the three speaks of the importance of doing the little things well, and each passage has a direct application to the Christian in regards to living all out for Jesus. I offer the passages (all from the N.K.J.V.) as the close to this post. Consider them well, Christian, and be honest about how the activities that fill your day are measuring up to them.

  • Ecclesiastes 9:10: Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going.
  • 1 Corinthians 10:31: Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
  • Colossians 3:17: And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
Posted in Attitude, Character, Commitment, Doing Good, Faithfulness, God's Work, Leadership, Perseverance, Service, Work | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Noticing Old Faithful

Posted on November 21, 2018 by russellmckinney

Christian author Philip Yancey tells the story of his first visit to the Old Faithful geyser in Yellowstone National Park. As he and his wife ate a meal inside the dining room of the Old Faithful Inn, which overlooks the geyser, they looked out the window to see that the big, digital clock that stands beside the geyser was predicting an eruption in 24 minutes. That countdown continued as they enjoyed their meal.

When the clock reached one minute, Yancey and his wife joined all the other diners in leaving their tables and making their way over to the large windows to witness the eruption. He couldn’t help but notice, however, that when all the diners moved to the windows, a crew of waiters and busboys sprang into action to refill drinks, clear away dirty dishes, etc. Even as the geyser erupted, he looked back to see that not one waiter or busboy even bothered to look out the window. Obviously, somewhere along the line that restaurant staff had stopped being impressed by Old Faithful and had started taking the natural wonder for granted.

How many of us treat God’s blessings like that? God sends us a marvelous thing and places it right in front of us, but we don’t see it because we are too busy working or tending to the affairs of life. We go around with our heads down, trudging through the monotonous chores of everyday life, trying to get done whatever it is we feel we must get done, and all the while we fail to notice the wonderful blessings that God is faithfully bestowing upon us each day and each night.

This Thanksgiving be sure that you don’t allow God’s blessings in your life to become like Old Faithful to those restaurant workers. Don’t take His blessings for granted so much that you don’t even notice them anymore. No matter what problems you are experiencing these days — and those problems might be very, very real — God continues to faithfully erupt numerous blessings in your life. Just be sure that you take the time to notice them and acknowledge them for what they are.

Posted in Attitude, Contentment, Problems, Thankfulness, Thanksgiving | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

What Ever Happened to the Original Church of Jerusalem?

Posted on November 19, 2018 by russellmckinney

(Series: “The Early Church of Jerusalem” post #16)

The church of Jerusalem, the megachurch that was the world’s first church (Acts 8:1; 11:22), was never intended to be the planet’s only church. God’s plan was always for those believers to launch out from that church, take the gospel to all parts of the globe, and organize churches everywhere (Matthew 28:16-20; Acts 1:4-8). That dispersal was kick-started in earnest by the persecution that began with the martyrdom of Stephen (Acts 7:54-60; 8:1-4).

What follows over the course of the New Testament is the founding of churches all across the Roman empire. Churches were started in cities such as Antioch (Acts 13:1), Cenchrea (Romans 16:1), Smyrna (Revelation 2:8), Pergamos (Revelation 2:12), Thyatira (Revelation 2:18), Sardis (Revelation 3:1), Philadelphia (Revelation 3:7), Laodicea (Revelation 3:14), etc. You get the idea.

The New Testament book of Romans is the apostle Paul’s letter to the church of Rome, the capital city of the empire. 1 and 2 Corinthians are his letters to the church of Corinth. Galatians is his letter to the churches of the region of Galatia. Ephesians is his letter to the church of Ephesus. Philippians is his letter to the church of Philippi. Colossians is his letter to the church of Colosse. 1 and 2 Thessalonians are his letters to the church of Thessalonica. As you can see, the emphasis of the New Testament becomes very much the local churches that were “birthed” from the “mother” church of Jerusalem.

The interesting thing, however, about these other churches is that they involved house-church congregations. We know this was the case because house churches are specifically mentioned in: Romans 16:3-5; 1 Corinthians 16:19; Colossians 4:15; and Philemon verses 1 and 2. Along the same lines, James 2:1-3 speaks of a “footstool” as being part of a local church assembly, and 2 John verse 10 talks about not receiving false teachers into your house.

So, what do we make of this? The best interpretation is that all the house churches of a city (such as Rome, Corinth, Ephesus, etc.) or a region (such as Galatia) totaled up to be the one “church” of that city or region. In other words, the church of Corinth was not one congregation of hundreds or thousands that met in a big building that sat on the corner of Oak Street and Elm Street. It was, instead, a series of house churches that were scattered throughout that large city.

As for the New Testament’s pastors (also known as elders, bishops, shepherds, and overseers in the New Testament), Acts 14:23 says that Paul and Barnabas appointed (“ordained” K.J.V.) elders in every church. But does that mean they appointed pastors in every house-church congregation or in every city? If we go with the old adage that the best commentary on the Bible is the Bible, the answer is found in Titus 1:5. There Paul says to Titus concerning the island of Crete, “For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you” (N.K.J.V.).

You see, if we stack Acts 14:23 and Titus 1:5 beside each other, we find that the words “church” and “city” are used interchangeably in regards to where pastors were appointed (ordained). In one verse the pastors are appointed in every church, while in the other verse they are appointed in every city. This provides even more evidence that the “church” of any given city or region (or island in the case of Crete) was the sum total of all its house churches.

Furthermore, it seems logical to conclude that there was one pastor per house church, which explains how one church (one city) could have multiple pastors. For example, Acts 20:17 talks about the elders (pastors) of the church of Ephesus, and Philippians 1:1 talks about the bishops (pastors) of Philippi. These verses don’t mean that the cities of Ephesus and Philippi each had one huge church congregation, consisting of hundreds or thousands of members, and that each of those congregations was led by a pastoral team that consisted of multiple elders. Instead, the verses paint the picture of multiple house churches in each city, with each house church having a pastor. After all, even two pastors, let alone a pastoral team, wouldn’t be needed for a congregation small enough to meet inside a house.

But what about evangelism and church growth? What did a house church do when it outgrew the home in which it was meeting? Did the members establish a building fund for the purpose of building an addition on to the house? Did they look for a bigger house? The best answer is that some of the members simply branched off, started another house church, and found a new pastor to shepherd the new congregation. In this way, each house church was involved in church planting.

Meanwhile, back at the church of Jerusalem, that church certainly didn’t immediately disappear once all these other churches came into existence. As late as Acts 15:1-29 the Jerusalem church was still serving as the home base of Christianity, the place where the religion’s doctrinal disputes got settled. Even as late as Acts 21:20 it still boasted “many thousands” (N.I.V.) of Jewish believers.

However, the leadership of the Jerusalem church did change when the 12 apostles, who were the church’s original pastoral team, began to spend more time away from the city in their roles of authority over the ever-expanding realm of Christianity. The leadership void created by their absence in the Jerusalem church was filled by a team of elders/pastors (Acts 15:1-6; 21:18) who were led by James, the half-brother of Jesus (Acts 15:13; 21:18; Galatians 2:9). In Galatians 2:9, Paul lists the three “pillars” (N.K.J.V.) of the Jerusalem church as being James, the apostle Peter (Cephas), and the apostle John.

Ultimately, though, three factors ended the 40-year era of the original church of Jerusalem. The first two of these factors helped destabilized the church, and the third one finished it off completely. Let’s take these factors one at a time.

Factor #1: Acts 12:1-19 lets us know that Jerusalem’s Roman leaders eventually chimed in with the church persecution that had been begun by the city’s Jewish leaders. It started with the Roman ruler Herod Agrippa I having the apostle James, the brother of John the apostle, killed (Acts 12:1-2). Following James’ execution, Herod then had the apostle Peter arrested with the intention of executing him after Passover (Acts 12:2-4). But God sent an angel to help Peter escape from prison and avoid being executed (Acts 12:5-19). For good measure, a short time later God also struck Herod Agrippa I dead (Acts 12:20-24). Nevertheless, the Romans coming on board to help the Jews persecute the church of Jerusalem obviously made things much worse for that church.

Factor #2: The city of Jerusalem (including the church) was hit hard by a time of famine sometime around A.D. 46 during the reign of the Roman emperor Claudius, who reigned from A.D. 41 to A.D. 54. A Christian prophet named Agabus had even prophesied this famine would come (Acts 11:27-28). Evidently, the famine created such dire conditions in Jerusalem that the apostle Paul felt the church there needed relief help from other churches. Consequently, he spent a considerable amount of time openly asking the churches to which he ministered to contribute to that relief help. This “collection for the saints” is spoken of in: Acts 11:29-30; Romans 15:25-27, 1 Corinthians 16:1-4; and 2 Corinthians 8:16-21.

Factor #3: Even though the events aren’t recorded in the New Testament, history tells us that in A.D. 66 Jewish rebel factions in Jerusalem revolted against Rome and actually took control of the city for an extended time. To reclaim the city, the Romans eventually resorted to a long-term siege of it. Finally, in A.D. 70 they destroyed the city and leveled the Jewish temple in the process, thus fulfilling Jesus’ prophecy (Matthew 24:1-2; Luke 19:41-44). The Jewish historian Josephus reports that over one million people, most of them Jews, were killed during Rome’s siege and conquering. All this marked the end of the original church of Jerusalem.

Actually, though, we might say that the original church of Jerusalem, in a sense, continues on today. It continues on in all the Christian churches that dot the globe. These churches are the offspring, propagated down through the multiple eras and generations, of the work the Jerusalem church did to fulfill Christ’s Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) in its day.

Whereas that church accomplished so much in its brief 40-year run, it’s to the shame of our modern churches that so many of them have done so little with so much more time and resources in regards to fulfilling that Commission. In Acts 17:6, the unbelieving Jews of Thessalonica say of the evangelistic efforts of Paul and Silas, “These who have turned the world upside down have come here too” (N.K.J.V.). You see, that’s how the lost people described the Christians of the early church, as people who had turned the world upside down. Unfortunately, if today’s lost people described us modern Christians, I’m not sure they could accuse us of causing the world much more than a minor shake.

Posted in Church, Evangelism, God's Work, Ministry, Missions, Pastors, Persecution, Preaching, Series: "The Early Church of Jerusalem", The Gospel, Witnessing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments