With the introduction of the Internet, there has been a much greater access to all kinds of information. Prior to that it was the local newspaper and some magazines that would give people their feed on information. Now a google search can open up a volume of material.
Along with this, there is also much greater access to a wide variety of religious broadcasting. Unlike Radio and TV, if you don’t like a certain part of the program, you can fast forward and see if you like other parts of it.
True local churches have always been in the minority. There are people who had some curiosity and would attend a true church occasionally, but now they don’t need to bother. They can sit at home and just click on whatever broadcast they want. They find what they like and if they don’t like any of it they just make up their own ideas or just ignore religion all together.
In Bible times, God chose 40 different men to give us His Word. He addressed every situation every person would ever face, in any generation. The Bible, the King James Bible for the English speaking world, is the Word of God. If you are saved, the Holy Spirit indwells you and He will guide you to be a part of a good, local church. He wants you to hear the truth and to walk in the truth. If you are not saved, the Holy Spirit will be convincing you of sin, of righteousness and of judgment. A few lost people will submit to the work of the Holy Spirit and they will allow Him to lead them to a good, local church where they can come to know the truth. That may take the form of a faithful Christian speaking with you at your door or on the street. It may also come through you finding some good material on the Internet. We are thankful for the privilege of having a good, local church and also being able to broadcast over the Internet. We trust that these devotionals are helpful. We do not want to clutter up your inbox. Sometimes we need to sort through what is coming into our inbox and be sure we are using good discernment on what we will read and what we will block or send to trash.
In our text, the apostle Paul did not have access to the Internet. He did not use the local newspaper, or radio or TV. He wrote a letter under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. That letter has been read and studied by many people over the past almost 2,000 years. It is a timeless message that is very important for us today as well. It is labelled as a “pastoral epistle.” It was written to the leader of the church in Crete. However, it is also an open letter for all to read and study because all people need to know what a good pastor needs to function like.
As is common with Paul’s letters, he began this letter with a short introduction of who he was. He identified himself here as a servant of God. He does not come out as someone who is a dictator. He acknowledged that he was a servant of God. Thus He acknowledged that he is under God’s authority. He was not speaking for himself. He was simply stating what God declared.
He also stated that he was an apostle of Jesus Christ. He was hand picked by Jesus Christ for a specific purpose. First of all he needed to be saved. We know of his salvation from Acts 9 and a few other places. He was a hardened Pharisee on a mission to destroy the people of “this way”. He had authority from the chief priests and he was a bold man who wanted power. On a particular day, God stopped him in his tracks. He could not move one step further. The men that he had with him were also stopped. However, God had a particular message for him. He needed to stop and consider the direction he was going in. He assumed he was pleasing God, but he did not know the true God. All he knew was the god that the Pharisees like Gamaliel had taught him of. He ignored all the truth, and chose to accept the lies he was fed. God stopped him and called him out for what he was doing. Jesus Christ spoke directly to Saul and confronted him regarding his plans. Saul needed to understand that he was fighting against Jesus Christ. He was fighting a losing battle. The fact that he had imprisoned some people of “this way”, and had consented to the death of Stephen, did not mean he was winning. He was losing. He needed to change course immediately. When Saul was confronted with this clear message, he changed course. He turned to God and put his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. After his salvation, he needed to prepare for the ministry that God had for him. Jesus Christ chose him to be an apostle. He would need to be prepared for this work as a leader in the first century churches. He needed to get rid of his Pharisaical teaching and he needed to replace that with the truth. Jesus Christ demonstrated His authority over Saul by changing his name to Paul. The name Saul means “desired” or “demanded”. The name Paul means “small” or “little”. Paul needed to be reminded that he was not that important. As a saved man he learned that, but prior to his salvation he assumed he was important.
Paul further stated that his calling was according to the faith of God’s elect. We see here that the election is in relation to the calling, not to salvation. All can be saved. God’s salvation is the only salvation there is. Once a person is saved, God has a calling for each saved person. Each saved person is elected to a certain work that God will design that person for. The person accepts that calling by faith. He or she trusts God to equip them for the task He wants them to do. It will take effort on the part of the saved person, but God provides all that is needed to accomplish the task.
The apostle Paul acknowledged the truth. Doing so is evidence of godliness. Those who claim to be saved, but want to argue against the truth do not demonstrate godliness. That is very clear here. I may not understand something and need clarification on it. However, if I insist that what God says is not true, that is fighting against God. That is not needing clarification. That is needing humility and confessing sin and accepting what God says and doing it.
In the Old Testament we have the account of Moses. He was chosen by God to lead the nation of Israel out of Egyptian bondage. He argued with God. He did not demonstrate godliness in his arguing. God was justifiably angry with him. God called him, He would equip him for the task at hand.
God called the apostle Paul and He did equip him for the work of being a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ. Paul did not argue with God and he demonstrated godliness in accepting God’s calling on his life. Paul showed by example how a Christian needs to function. It requires humility and an attitude adjustment. The saved person is always blessed by obedience. He robs himself of God’s blessing when he resists what God knows is right for him.
In verse 2 Paul reminded the readers that the saved have hope of eternal life. That is a promise of God. God cannot lie. There is no one who can point to one verse that would even hint at God lying. The devil has many goons out there who are trying hard to discredit God. They try to find some inconsistency in God’s Word. If a person accepts the perversions as legitimate, then of course you have discrepancies. You could then say that God is not always truthful. The perversions often speak contrary to what God actually said. Saved people must humble themselves and understand that God promised to give us His Word and He promised to preserve His Word. This same God also promised His followers eternal life.
Paul stated that God had promised this before the world began. He promised Adam this. Adam disregarded this important promise. He promised it to Cain but he did not want it either. He promised it to the many of Noah’s day, but they were too busy being wicked to consider the promise of God. God has promised eternal life today as well. Many want it, but on their terms. Thus they cannot have it. Eternal life is a gift of God. Man must accept God’s promise as He gave it. It is important to take the attitude of the apostle Paul if you are saved. There is no benefit in fighting with God. It is essential to humble yourself and accept Him at His Word. He knows what is right and He will do what is right. Trust Him and be blessed.
Pastor Bartel