He’s a professional holy man, they say. He only works two days a week, and never leaves the confines and comforts of his office, as some believe. Some think that he is disconnected from reality, and that the only time he experiences real life is at weddings and funerals. All of these misconceptions and more are associated with the office of pastor. But what is the truth about pastors and what does God say about them in His word?
According to the Scripture, pastors are primarily shepherds of the souls of a local church. His primary task is to feed, lead, protect, and rescue the sheep that God entrusted to him. A pastor is not a CEO or a “church boss.” He is a caretaker of a church’s spiritual health. That is what Peter meant when he commanded pastors, “Shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory” (1 Peter 5:2-4).
Pastors are also called to equip and train their congregations so that they might faithfully serve God and others. Contrary to popular belief, ministry is not relegated to the pastor only. Many mistakenly believe that the pastor is responsible for all of the work of ministry. And while he should serve alongside his people, his God-ordained job is to equip members of the church for the work of ministry. Paul wrote, “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ” (Eph. 4:11-12).
And the pastor’s principal means of feeding the sheep and equipping the saints is the preaching of the word of God. The Scripture is the believer’s spiritual food, and is the pastor’s role is to prepare a feast for the people to eat (1 Peter 2:2). The Bible is the believer’s training manual for godly living, and the pastor’s task is to guide congregants through it (2 Tim. 3:16-17). He is not called to entertain, share his opinions, or run out the clock by rambling about the ills and ails of society. He is called to preach the Bible, which means explaining, interpreting, and applying what God says in His word. Paul thus commanded pastors, “I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching” (2 Timothy 4:1-2).
The pastor’s character is also as crucially important as his calling. He is not free to live anyway he wants. He is called to live an exemplary life, and he may disqualify himself from the office of pastor if he brings reproach upon himself from living sinfully. That’s why the Scripture speaks of qualifications for pastors. Paul gave a lengthy list:
“Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church? He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil” (1 Timothy 3:2-7; cf. Titus 1:5-9).
Will you pray for your pastor, and ask the Lord to help him shepherd faithfully and live holy? Will you hold him accountable to uphold a godly character?
Brandon is the founder and main contributor to Brandon’s Desk, the blog with biblical resources from his ministry. He is proud to be the pastor of the family of believers at Locust Grove Baptist Church in Murray, Kentucky. He and his wife Dakota live there with their three dogs, Susie (Jack Russell), Aries (English shepherd), and Dot (beagle).
Underestimating always gets me into trouble. I purchased a drum kit a while back with the impression that learning to play would be simple. Swinging sticks up and down can’t be too difficult, right? Well, I can tell you, it ain’t as easy as it sounds. And the difficulty stems from the hand-and-foot coordination, since you must strike the snare, toms, and cymbals with your hands while simultaneously stomping the kick pedal with your foot.
And that’s the only way to do it right. The hands can’t do all the work, and neither can the feet. Therefore, every good rhythm depends on the cooperation, coordination, and individual contributions of the hands and feet. And this is how the Lord designed the local church to function as well. All believers in Christ have been spiritually united to the universal body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:12), and they are commanded to manifest this reality by uniting with a local church, where they can produce a God-pleasing rhythm with other members who do their part.
According to the apostle Paul, some believers are like the feet of the church, while others are like the hands, ears, and eyes (1 Cor. 12:14-30). Just as different parts of the human body have distinct functions, each believer possesses God-given spiritual gifts for the betterment of the local church. As Paul said, “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good” (1 Cor. 12:4-7). The work of ministry is too great for any one person to handle alone, but each of us can contribute in some way, and together we can fulfill the mission God has given us.
All believers have a job to do and a spiritual vacancy to fill. Just as the members of our physical body depend on each other for surviving and thriving, believers are also dependent on other believers and their spiritual gifts, and vice versa. And, contrary to popular belief, the church is not a country club where you pay your dues so that others can serve you—the church is the place where you serve others. Thus, we should never ask, “Should I serve my church?” Instead, the right question is always, “How can I best serve my church?”
Furthermore, the Lord always rewards such faithful service. The writer of Hebrews promised, “For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do” (Heb. 6:10). Additionally, He will grant you all the grace that you need for service (1 Peter 4:10-11). How are you benefiting the body of Christ? How are you serving your church?
Bible Gleanings is a widely-read weekend devotional column, written for the Murray Ledger & Times in Calloway County, Kentucky.
Brandon is the founder and main contributor to Brandon’s Desk, the blog with biblical resources from his ministry. He pastored the family of believers at Locust Grove Baptist Church in Murray, Kentucky for six years. He and his wife Dakota live there with their three dogs, Susie (Jack Russell), Aries (English Shepherd), and Dot (Bluetick Beagle).
For more devotional entries like this, check out Brandon’s latest book, Bible Gleanings Volume II, which features 100 daily devotionals gleaned from God’s word:
In a recent episode of The Simpsons, Bart was driving around a tank with the nozzle pointed at the local cathedral. This naturally alarmed the priest, who exclaimed, “Not the church, Bart! Don’t destroy the church; Jesus lives there!” And while this occurred in a fictional cartoon, this erroneous view of where Jesus dwells is very much a reality. Many people mistakenly believe that brick-and-mortar church buildings are where Jesus lives. But the reality is that believers are the “buildings” where Jesus lives.1
While the Lord certainly communes with His people when they assemble together, He primarily lives and dwells within His people. That is why the apostle Paul said, “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body” (1 Cor. 6:19-20). As pastor and author Sam Storms aptly stated, “We, the Church, are the body of Christ and therefore constitute the temple in which God is pleased to dwell. The shekinah of the Lord now abides permanently and powerfully in us through the Holy Spirit.”2
Saints are tents for the presence of the Lord. A believer’s heart is the sanctuary where the Holy Spirit lives (Romans 8:9). Followers of Christ are tabernacles in which the Lord has chosen to dwell (2 Cor. 6:16). As Paul said, “In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit” (Eph. 2:22). The church is a spiritual building that God is constructing for Himself: “You yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5).
Therefore, just like the temple of old, we need to keep ourselves holy and set apart for the Lord. God instructed the Israelites, “If the man who is unclean does not cleanse himself, that person shall be cut off from the midst of the assembly, since he has defiled the sanctuary of the Lord” (Num. 19:20a). We must purge ourselves of all iniquity by the “oil” of God’s grace, and dedicate ourselves wholly unto God’s service (Ex. 40:9). As Paul said, “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple” (1 Cor. 3:16-17). Our prayer as believers ought to be something along the lines of Sanctuary, a song written by four-time Grammy winner, Randy Scruggs (August 3, 1953 – April 17, 2018):
“Lord, prepare me to be a sanctuary,
pure and holy, tried and true;
with thanksgiving, I’ll be a living
sanctuary for you.”
I do not condone watching this show. This brief clip appeared while we were scrolling through the television guide.
Storms, Sam. Kingdom Come: The Amillennial Alternative (Scotland: Christian Focus Publications, 2012), 18.
Bible Gleanings is a widely-read weekend devotional column, written for the Murray Ledger & Times in Calloway County, Kentucky.
Brandon is the founder and main contributor to Brandon’s Desk, the blog with biblical resources from his ministry. He pastored the family of believers at Locust Grove Baptist Church in Murray, Kentucky for six years. He and his wife Dakota live there with their three dogs, Susie (Jack Russell), Aries (English Shepherd), and Dot (Bluetick Beagle).
For more devotional entries like this, check out Brandon’s latest book, Bible Gleanings Volume II, which features 100 daily devotionals gleaned from God’s word:
Because doctrine is fundamentally defining, a church will not know what it is or why it exists until it understands the Bible’s clear teaching on the doctrine of the church. If the church were merely a human organization, such as a country club or sports team, little would be lost or forfeited if it did not possess a basic knowledge of itself. However, because the church is an institution founded by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, the church and the world suffer eternal repercussions if a church doesn’t perceive itself according to biblical doctrine. Moreover, even human organizations have at least a basic notion of who they are and what their purposes are. Therefore, a biblical understanding of the doctrine of the church is both natural and eternally significant, and the importance of such may be seen in the six main areas which a comprehension of this doctrine affects:1
First, the doctrine of the church matters for the leadership of the church. Pastors (also called bishops and overseers in Scripture) are commanded to “preach the word,” and “shepherd the flock of God” (2 Tim. 4:2; 1 Peter 5:2). Such God-called pastors must understand these primary responsibilities in order to feed congregants with the “pure milk” of God’s word (1 Peter 2:2) and care for their wandering souls (Rom. 3:11), lest he starve the children of God of the spiritual food they require, and risk appearing ashamedly before the chief Shepherd (2 Tim. 4:1). The Scripture also teaches that pastors must be qualified by living “above reproach” (1 Tim. 3:1; Titus 1:6). Ignoring this high and holy standard results in wolves behind the pulpit and the wolf in sheep’s clothing laying snares for both the pastor and the church (1 Tim. 3:7; cf. Heb. 13:17).
Additionally, the pastor must understand the Bible’s teaching on church discipline and the proper administration of the Christ-ordained ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. The Scripture teaches that those living in unrepentant sin must be properly disciplined (Matt. 18:15-20; 1 Cor. 5:1-5, 13). Without this, churches incur the displeasure and judgment of God (Rev. 2:12-29), and they reproach the holy name of Christ that they claim to represent (cf. 1 Pet. 3:15-16). Furthermore, baptism and the Lord’s Supper must be administered with careful consideration of a member’s salvation and standing with the Lord (Matt. 28:19-20; 1 Cor. 11:23-32). When this is neglected, the pastor risks offering unbelievers false assurance, and he blatantly contradicts the rich symbolism of the ordinances, which are solely for believers.
Second, the doctrine of the church matters for the members of a church. According to the Scripture, there are prerequisites and qualifications for church members. The prerequisites are simple: those who wish to join a local church must be baptized believers. That is, one must be a member of the universal body of Christ by faith and be baptized by immersion in water, with the latter symbolizing the former (1 Cor. 12:13). It is perfectly permissible for unbaptized believers to become part of a church upon their baptism, but not before it. The qualifications for members of a local church are also straightforward: personal holiness, love for one another, and involvement in the life of the church, to name a few. And such qualifications are evident not only in the commands to live holy (1 Pet. 1:15-16), love one another (1 Pet. 4:8), and use one’s spiritual gifts (1 Pet. 4:10-11), but also in the biblical prescriptions for disciplining such members who openly disregard such commands (as noted in the discussion above). Neglect of either the prerequisites or qualifications for membership leads to false assurance to unbelievers and false assurance to unrepentant believers.
Third, the doctrine of the church matters for the structure of the church. The Scripture teaches that churches must have qualified pastors, and that members must submit to such men in humility. Nowhere in Scripture is this more plainly stated than in Hebrews 13:17, which says, “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.” God has uniquely gifted pastors to “equip the saints for the work of ministry” (Eph. 4:12), and this work will never begin (or continue) unless shepherds are competent to equip and members are willing to be equipped. The Bible’s teaching on church structure is truly the rebar that holds it together, and it crumbles apart without it. Unfortunately, many evangelical denominations have abandoned biblical teaching on church structure through the ordination of women to the pastorate, exaltation of mere men as “apostles,” and restoration of morally fallen men who have no business near a pulpit.
Fourth, the doctrine of the church matters for the culture of the church. Churches are communities, and all communities are cultures. Thus, a church will inevitably cultivate a culture, with or without understanding the Bible’s teaching about the church’s identity or mission. However, with a proper understanding of the church’s identity and mission, a church cultivates a culture of Christ-centeredness, ongoing discipleship, multitude-of-sins-covering love, accountability, prayerfulness, and evangelism. Simply put, the word of God rightly understood and applied will transform the people of God. When a biblical understanding of the church is not prioritized, a church’s culture falls prey to pragmatism and emotionalism.
Fifth, the doctrine of the church matters for the character of the church. The character or testimony/witness of a local church matters in the eyes of both God and the world. A church must strive for holiness in order to prevent displeasing the Lord, who is the church’s “husband” (Eph. 5:32). But the church must likewise strive for holiness in order to testify to the world that she is set apart and transformed by the gospel. And such holiness is greatly promoted through personal holiness and the difficult, but biblical practice of church discipline. Through church discipline, unrepentant believers are lovingly warned, compassionately rebuked, and if necessary, excommunicated. And while this is a painful process, the eternal consequences of not doing so are far more painful.
Sixth, the doctrine of the church ultimately matters for God’s glory. God glorifies Himself primarily through the gospel—and the church is the Christ-founded institution commanded to proclaim it (Matt. 28:16-20). But, without a thorough knowledge of the doctrine of the church, a church stifles its gospel proclamation, robbing God of glory. Moreover, a church living in unholiness (due to ignorance of the doctrine of the church) contradicts the life-transforming power of the gospel that it claims to believe.
Here’s the sum of it all: right doctrine is a pillar for the church to stand upon, whereas wrong doctrine is sinking sand that will swallow her whole. Therefore, it is imperative that we get our doctrine right, and right from the Scriptures.
“I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.” — Romans 16:17-18
This list originally came Mark Dever’s contribution to the systematic theology, A Theology for the Church. See: Akin, Daniel. A Theology for the Church (Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2014), 660-668. All of the explanations and expositions of the points are my own.
Brandon is the founder and main contributor to Brandon’s Desk, the blog with biblical resources from his ministry. He is proud to be the pastor of the family of believers at Locust Grove Baptist Church in Murray, Kentucky. He and his wife Dakota live there with their three dogs, Susie (Jack Russell), Aries (English shepherd), and Dot (beagle).
Simply put, the ordinance of baptism is a rich symbol of the believer’s salvation. Baptism is an emblematic “watery grave” and a visual sermon which announces that the one being baptized has died to the old life and has been spiritually raised to live a new life. It is a visual testimony of a spiritual reality and an outward expression of an inward manifestation. Baptism is not required for salvation, but it is required for obedience to Christ, as the New Testament model makes abundantly clear. As a matter of fact, those who neglect being baptized publicly are actually denying what has happened to them spiritually and are living in contradiction to the truth.
Of course, many falsely believe that baptism is absolutely necessary for salvation and that the Scriptures teach what is known as “baptismal regeneration,” in which God the Spirit literally regenerates a person when they are immersed in water. This is an essential teaching among Lutherans and restorationists (“churches of Christ”). I have actually heard local restorationists ministers state that the water is the means by which the believer “comes into contact” with the blood of Christ. And this blatant misinterpretation of baptism stems from both a literal reading of the word “baptism” wherever it appears in the New Testament, and an extreme good-works-centered understanding of salvation which proposes that the Holy Spirit needs water to regenerate a sinner’s heart. But nothing could be farther from the truth: baptism is not a necessary component to bring about regeneration; baptism is a necessary visual which declares that regeneration has already occurred within a believer’s heart.
The most compelling argument for baptismal regeneration comes from a surface-level reading of Peter’s declaration in Acts 2:38, where he said, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” It would seem that repentance and baptism are prerequisites for being forgiven and receiving the Holy Spirit. However, there are several obvious problems with this interpretation. First, the Greek preposition “for” could actually be translated as, “on the basis of” or “because of,” essentially meaning, “Be baptized because of the forgiveness of sins (which you already possess).” Second, Peter and the apostles omit baptism many times in their gospel sermons, thus emphasizing that faith in Christ alone is what saves sinners (Acts 3:19-20; 10:34-43; 17:29-31). And third, the typical pattern in the Book of Acts is salvation leading to baptism, not baptism leading to salvation (Acts 8:34-38; 9:10-19; 10:44-48).
Ultimately, therefore, physical baptism is a visual representation of this spiritual reality:
“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:1-4).
Brandon is the founder and main contributor to Brandon’s Desk, the blog with biblical resources from his ministry. He is proud to be the pastor of the family of believers at Locust Grove Baptist Church in Murray, Kentucky. He and his wife Dakota live there with their three dogs, Susie (Jack Russell), Aries (English shepherd), and Dot (beagle).
He lacerated backs with leather lashes and lacerated hearts with loathsome words of mockery. Flavius Julianus (also known as “Julian the Apostate”) was an emperor of Rome (AD 361-363) who reinstated pagan worship and ruthlessly persecuted Christians. One day, Flavius tried to show off in front of his pals by taunting a believer named Agaton. “So, how is your carpenter of Nazareth?” he derided. “Is he finding work these days?” And without hesitation, Agaton replied, “He is perhaps taking time away from building mansions for the faithful to build a coffin for your empire.”
Agaton was right; the Roman Empire burned to the ground a little more than a century later. Earthly empires rise and fall, but only one kingdom shall stand forever: the kingdom of God. It cannot crumble because it is “unshakeable” (Heb. 12:28). It cannot be conquered because its Ruler is the King of kings and Lord of lords (Rev. 19:16). And it will outlast all earthly kingdoms because it is spiritual, eternal, and “other-worldly” (1 Cor. 15:50; John 18:36).
Right now, the Sovereign Lord is building coffins for the thrones of the wicked and the empires of evil. As the prophet Daniel declared, God is setting up “a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall [it] be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever” (Dan. 2:44). When the Carpenter drives the last nail into the coffins of judgment, He will return to fill them. The heavenly hosts will shout on that day, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever” (Rev. 11:15b).
To be a citizen of this everlasting kingdom, you must bow to the King, Jesus Christ. As the psalmist admonished, “Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him” (Psalm 2:12). You must humble yourself like a child, recognizing your helplessness and dependence on His saving grace. For Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it” (Mark 10:15).
And all who belong to His everlasting kingdom may cheerfully croon the words of the great hymn, A Child of the King:
“Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord” (Acts 11:19-21).
Any church whose members offer their hands to labor in preaching the gospel will have God’s handof favor resting upon them. He blesses churches who “bring in the sheaves.” His blessing will come inside the church when believers go outside the church with the gospel of grace. He fills the barn with wheat when laborers work the field for a harvest.
We often experience a shortage of God’s blessing on our churches because of a shortage of gospel-laborers gleaning in the field. There is no undersupply of gospel seed. There is no lack of fields ripe for planting. What is in short measure are grace-empowered, Spirit-compelled believers sowing the gospel seed in fertile fields. That is precisely why Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few, therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest” (Matthew 9:37-38).
The gospel harvest was abundant in the city of Antioch, according to St. Luke in the passage above. Believers fleeing persecution in Jerusalem took the gospel seed with them, scattering it in the soil of many unsaved hearts (cf. Acts 8:1, 4). As a result, multitudes came to Christ, eventually forming a large church in the city.
As the scattered saints sounded the saving message of Christ, they experienced the spectacular blessing of God, for, “the hand of the Lord was with them.” You can’t stifle the outstandingly powerful hand of God Almighty. The Scripture declares, “None can stay his hand” (Daniel 4:35b). His hand of grace can lift any sinner drowning in the mire pit of iniquity. His hand of salvation can reach the farthest wandering soul, no matter how vehemently they run hellbound on the broad road to destruction. His hand of mercy can pry open the most impenetrable prison cell to liberate even the most enslaved sinner.
By God’s hand of blessing and grace, a growing church was born without seminary training, strategic planning, or the spending of money. Believers preached. God saved souls. Membership skyrocketed. That’s it.
The hand of the Lord—that’s what it takes. Of course, offering your hands to sow the gospel seed in evangelism is essential, too. God does the saving, but no one can be saved unless they first hear the gospel—from you (cf. Romans 10:14-17). Faith comes by hearing the word of Christ.
Moreover, we would be foolish to try to channel growth into our churches any other way. Solomon warned, “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain” (Psalm 127:1a). And God’s chosen means of building His house, the church, is evangelism, where we take the gospel to the unsaved in faith that God will save them, and lay them as living stones in His ever-growing spiritual house (1 Peter 2:5). Let’s stick to it.
“Now the apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcision party criticized him, saying, “You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.” — Acts 11:1-3
The Jerusalem church received an incredible report: the Gentiles embraced the gospel with open arms. The gospel ship landed on the Gentile shores of pigs and pagans. The sweet sound of salvation in Jesus’ name echoed from Jerusalem to Caesarea (Acts 4:12; 10:1). The promises Jesus made about His gospel reaching the nations were being fulfilled (Matt. 28:18-20; Acts 1:8).
The only right response is, “To God be the glory, great things He hath done!” But strikingly, that is not the way the church in Jerusalem responded. Instead, they scorned Peter, saying, “What have you done?”
They were appalled that Peter made friends with the Gentiles, glossing over the awesome reality that the Gentiles became friends of God. They criticized Peter for socializing with Gentiles, slighting the fact that Peter evangelized the Gentiles. They reprimanded him for welcoming Gentiles with a hand of fellowship, disregarding that God had welcomed Gentiles into His kingdom by His righteous right hand.
Genuine believers like Andrew, James, and John criticized Peter for doing good—taking the gospel to the ends of the earth. Of course, they were stirred up by the devout Jews of the “circumcision party,” but isn’t this bizarre? How could true believers be so frustrated by a trivial issue such as eating with Gentiles? And why were they hesitant to welcome the Gentile believers into the church?
On the one hand, you have to cut them a break. They did not yet understand what God was doing by expanding His kingdom beyond Jerusalem. We have the books of Romans, Galatians, Ephesians, and Hebrews to explain the union of Jew and Gentile into one body; they did not. Additionally, the Lord had only spoken to Peter in a vision about including Gentiles in His saving plan (Acts 10:9-16).
On the other hand, this was a grave error. Because of their fixation on circumcision and the Law of Moses, they instinctually required Gentiles to do more than embrace Christ as Savior and Lord—they also had to embrace Judaism. Thankfully, they later understood their error and addressed the issue as a congregation (Acts 11:18; 15:1-35). But at this point, their high regard for circumcision and law-keeping was a barrier to unity and a roadblock to evangelization. Their imposition of criteria and conditions that had no saving value were a clenched fist to communion and a locked door to fellowship.
We should be careful in pointing fingers at these Jewish Christians for their subtle favoritism, however, because the Lord points His finger at us for precisely the same sin. Sometimes, we tend to focus on trivial issues that have no saving value. Whether we realize it or not, we sometimes erect artificial barriers that disrupt unity and discourage evangelism. This is what we refer to as legalism, when we knowingly or unknowingly bind others to observe man-made rules.
This may sound shocking, but sometimes what hinders evangelism of unbelievers and fellowship with fellow believers is not cultural differences, geographical distance, or even Satan—it is us. And believe me, I want to shout, “Say it ain’t so!” But if believers were totally immune to such partiality, Paul would have saved his ink in Romans 14 where he wrote, “Don’t quarrel over opinions” (v. 1), “Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God” (v. 10), and “Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother” (v. 13).
Every true believer should be enthusiastically offered the hand of fellowship, regardless of whether they vote differently, look differently, or hold contrary opinions. External and superficial matters like these do not matter to the Lord who sees the heart—what matters is that one’s heart has been changed by the Lord.
Furthermore, the gospel message should be fervently carried to every unbeliever, regardless of whether they are alcoholics, addicted to drugs, immersed in false religion, stubborn to the things of God, liberal or conservative, Democrat or Republican, black or white, or pro- or anti-vaccine.
All those guilty of such partiality will give an account to the Lord for standing in the way of the saving gospel and sanctifying fellowship. Such a discriminatory spirit is anti-gospel, satanic, and should be immediately repented of when found in the heart. Don’t let inconsequential things get in the way of fellowship or evangelism. Every believer should be embraced. Every unbeliever should be evangelized.
Brandon is the founder and main contributor to Brandon’s Desk, the blog with biblical resources from his ministry. He is proud to be the pastor of the family of believers at Locust Grove Baptist Church in Murray, Kentucky. He and his wife Dakota live there with their three dogs, Susie (Jack Russell), Aries (English shepherd), and Dot (beagle).
Brandon is the founder and main contributor to Brandon’s Desk, the blog with biblical resources from his ministry. He is proud to be the pastor of the family of believers at Locust Grove Baptist Church in Murray, Kentucky. He and his wife Dakota live there with their three dogs, Susie (Jack Russell), Aries (English shepherd), and Dot (beagle).
Resources from the Ministry of Pastor Brandon G. Bramlett
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