Paul’s ministry
God opened Paul’s eyes to see His eternal purpose, one covenant people comprised of both Jews and Gentiles. It is this revelation that resulted in Paul being imprisoned for his friendship with the Ephesian, Trophimus. It is this revelation that has made him the Apostle to the Gentiles. This revelation was not just revealed to Paul but to the other apostles and prophets as well.
A mystery in plain sight
The fact that God would include the Gentiles as a part of His covenant people is all over the Old Testament. It is like a mystery where the solution is in front of you the whole time, yet you could not see it. All over the Old Testament God speaks of the Gentiles coming to worship Him because of the Messiah. It is literally everywhere from Genesis to Malachi. However, the people could not see it. It is because of this ignorance and blindness that they rejected Paul’s message.
We must unhitch ourselves from man
The racism of our day is closely related to the racism that Paul used to believe before his conversion. It is based largely upon people teaching “truth” when they are in fact blind. One of the core teachings of Christianity is the depravity of all men. Everyone is a sinner with blind spots. This includes every Bible teacher who has ever lived. It should not surprise us when a sinner sins. It should not floor us when a pastor has faults or errors. It should not surprise us that there have been racist, anti-Semitic, etc. beliefs masquerading as Christianity. Instead, we must realize that our faith rests on Jesus not the people who raised us. We must not tie Christianity to Christians; we must unhitch our faith from the teachings of men.
Jesus is our foundation
Jesus is Christianity. I cannot believe something because I was taught it in Sunday School. I must believe something because Jesus taught it. Christians must move past their earthly parents, pastors, and teachers; we must go back to the Cornerstone of our faith, Jesus.
Study to rightly divide
We must have the humility to acknowledge that we have not attained perfection. There are many mysteries in the Bible that we are still blind to. We all have errors and blind spots. This is why we must humble ourselves and study the Scriptures. Our generation is just as blind to the mysteries of Scripture as Paul was before God opened his eyes. We must humble ourselves and ask God to open our eyes to His mysteries.
Application:
Are your beliefs based upon the teachings of man or the teachings of Christ? Will you humble yourself and search Scripture? Will you come to Jesus so that He might open your eyes and change you?
- Audio (MP3) 38 MB
0 Comments