Friday, January 11, 2008

How not to preach on Acts 4*

I recently heard an elder of a church refer to "the momentous ignorance of truth" of "the Jews" in Acts 4. He meant, of course, the "religious leaders". I do not recall him mentioning that the 5,000 who heard the message and believed (and that was only the men, verse 4) were Jewish, nor that the two men taking a courageous stand for the gospel before the Sanhedrin were Jewish.

There were 3 Jewish people in the congregation.

Clearly, Joe Weissman's article on anti-Jewish sentiment in British churches is on the mark.

* Or, for that matter, on any other passage.

2 comments:

Judah Gabriel Himango said...

Heh. Sometimes I think Christian gentiles forget Paul's warning in Romans 11: don't boast that some Jews were cut off from the Israel tree so that you can be grafted in!

How easily these boasting branches could be broken off when the time of the gentiles is up.

If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, do not boast over those branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, "Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in." Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.

Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!

James said...

well said judah!