The word bondservant is used several different times throughout the Bible. What is the meaning of this word, and who does it refer to?
Course Spotlight From The General Epistles: (Part 2) The Letters of John and Jude
Author: Mr. Kenneth Frank | Faculty in Theology, Living Education
Estimated Reading Time: 6 min.
Jeremiah would learn that they had been faithful to that command for about two and a half centuries. God contrasted the obedience of these non-Israelites to the disobedience of the Jews to His commands, which eventually led to this invasion and captivity. These nomads were Rechabites, a branch of the Kenites related to Moses’ father-in-law. This Digging Deeper analyzes Jeremiah 35 illustrating lessons for Christians today.
Before we delve into this chapter, we should consider earlier historical events as backstories. In about 841 BC, King Jehu of Judah vigorously opposed Baalism in the days of wicked King Ahab of Israel because of his “zeal for the LORD” (2 Kings 10:15-16). One of his allies was a man named Jonadab (also called Jehonadab) who was from this Kenite tribe. Smith’s Bible Dictionary reports that Jonadab’s ancestor was Rechab whose house: “…is identified with a section of the Kenites, a Midianitish tribe who came into Canaan with the Israelites, and retained their nomadic habits” (e-Sword 12.2).
The Rechabites were only distantly related to the twelve tribes of Israel. The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia explains: “A part of the Kenite tribe joined the Israelites during the wilderness wanderings (Numbers 10:29-32; Judges 1:16; 4:17), becoming identified with the tribe of Judah … Rechab was the ancestor or founder of a family, or order, in Israel known as the Rechabites, who at various times were conspicuous in the religious life of the nation” (e-Sword 12.2).
Wine-drinking was excessive in the Ancient Near East for Canaanite worship and its association with Baalism. During the reign of King Jehu of Judah (841-814 BC), the Rechabites joined him in a vigorous assault on Baalism (2 Kings 10:15-23). Jonadab made a family rule that they would drink no wine, like the Nazarites (Numbers 6:1-21), and that they would not build houses, nor sow seed, nor plant vineyards but dwell in tents as nomads (Jerermiah 35:6-9). Fausset’s Bible Dictionary explains this requirement: “The ascetic rule against wine, houses, sowing, and planting (Jeremiah 35), was a safeguard against the corrupting license of the Phoenician cities and their idolatries (Amos 2:7-8; 6:3-6)” (e-Sword 12.2). The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia adds further: “They followed this simple life in order to guard against the enervating tendencies of sensualism, and as a covenant of fidelity to Yahweh, to whom they wholly devoted themselves when they joined themselves to Israel” (Ibid.).
The Babylonian captivity of the House of Judah came in three waves, finalizing in 587/6 BC when the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar, destroyed the city of Jerusalem and the Temple and carried away thousands of Jews as captives back to the Babylonian empire. Before Nebuchadnezzar’s siege of the cities of Judah, these Rechabites fled to Jerusalem. Jeremiah was commanded by God to set before them pots full of wine with cups in the Temple and then instruct them to drink (Jeremiah 35:1-5). They refused, not out of disrespect for Jeremiah or the Almighty, but in obedience to their ancestor’s by-gone command. For about two and a half centuries these people had obeyed their ancestor, Rechab, and would not dishonor him even at the request of Jeremiah.
God’s word emphasizes that their faithfulness to Jonadab’s decree contrasted to the utter faithlessness of the Jews to His commands (Jerermiah 35:12-17). Because the Jews refused to heed His many prophets, who called them to repent through several centuries, God punished them with captivity as had been prophesied. These Rechabites were more faithful to an ancestor’s command than the Jews were to God’s greater commandments.
The description of these ancient people who were faithful to an ancestor’s command from about two and a half centuries before is included in Holy Scripture to instruct Christians. Notice what the apostle Paul writes: “Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come” (1 Corinthians 10:11 KJV). Paul’s point is that when we read the Old Testament, Christians are obligated to draw from it lessons for righteous living today. This story provides lessons by comparing the lesser to the greater. Joseph S. Exell’s The Biblical Illustrator contrasts the obedience of the Rechabites with Christians, who disobey Christ, with this admonition:
III. Wherein it shames Christian disobedience.
1. These Rechabites are obedient to their father Jonadab, a mere man who had been dead nearly three hundred years, while Judah is in open and flagrant disobedience to the Most High God.
2. Jonadab commanded but once, and he had instant and constant heed, generation upon generation, for centuries. “But I,” saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel—“I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking. I have also sent unto you,” &c.
3. Obedience to Jonadab was at a cost, and it brought at the best only power to endure and the spirit of independence. It left the Rechabites poor and homeless. Obedience to God was also at a cost, but it gave His people assured possessions, peace of conscience, protection from their enemies, and all the exceeding riches of an eternal inheritance in God’s kingdom of grace and glory. Yet the Rechabites obeyed Jonadab with a beautiful constancy, while Judah hearkened not to the voice of the Lord. (e-Sword 12.2)
Again from The Biblical Illustrator, here are some positive things we should learn:
I. Wherein it resembles Christian obedience.
1. It was total. They did not consult their preferences or their “affinities.” They did not proceed upon any law of “natural selection.” They did not show punctilious fidelity with reference to one commandment, and great laxity concerning another. This is one essential characteristic of Christian obedience. It is total. If we can make choice of such commands as we feel like obeying and disregard the rest, what are we but masters instead of subjects, dictating terms instead of receiving orders?
2. It was constant. It kept an unbroken path. It bore the stress of storms and tests. And herein it was marked by another essential characteristic of Christian obedience—a beautiful constancy. Enlistment in the Lord’s army is for life, and there is no discharge in that war. (Ibid.)
This little-known aside in the Book of Jeremiah teaches Christians that, by contrast to the price the Rechabites paid for their rigorous faithfulness to Jonadab’s command, we have been mightily blessed by the God of the universe who gave His only begotten Son that we might live forever. Christian “Rechabites” who are committed to His commands will make old lessons new again.
Kenneth Frank was born and raised in New Jersey, USA, and attended Ambassador College, graduating in 1973. He served in the Canadian ministry from 1973-1999, after which he returned to the USA to pastor churches in Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina for 15 years. Having earned a BA degree from Ambassador College he later earned a MA degree from Grand Canyon University before being assigned to the Charlotte office to teach at Living University, now Living Education. Currently, he teaches the Survey of the Bible course to the on-campus students and writes the Digging Deeper column for our online Bible study program. He is married, has four children, and seven grandchildren.
Author: Juliette McNair | Student, Living Education Charlotte 2020
This week, Living Ed students took a trip 800 years into the past. At 9:00 a.m., on Monday morning, twelve students stood in the dorm driveway waiting for Ms. Rebekah Ross and Mr. Jonathan McNair, their taxi-drivers for the trip.
A couple hours later, they pulled into the Cottian Alps in the border-region of France and Italy—actually, they arrived at Waldensian Trail of Faith located in Valdese, NC. But, for just half a day, they journeyed into the Era of Thyatira.
At this outdoor museum, they stepped into an exact imitation of the old ‘Barbi’ college where young Waldensians memorized large tracts of Scripture in secret. Several intrepid Living Ed students crawled on hands and knees into the cave where dozens of Waldensians congregated in secret, studying and singing hymns. Only a sliver of light illuminated the back of the cave. The guide explained that, one terrible day, French-Catholic soldiers used that tiny crack in the rock to smoke the gatherers out. As they crawled out, they were killed one by one.
Mr. McNair explained to the group that much of the history exhibited here was not the history of true Christians. Early on, the majority of the Waldenses were absorbed into Protestantism and the true Church faded into Eastern Europe. Driving this point home, the students passed a replica of the Monument of Chanforan, dedicated to the Waldensians official entry into the Reformation in 1532.
After driving back to Charlotte, the students jumped out of the cars and back into their modern lives at Living Education 2020. For just a day, they visited the Era of Thyatira and stepped into the shoes of the Waldensians—but just as the Church has carried on in time, so do they.
Juliette McNair is a student at Living Education Charlotte. She works in the Editorial Department transcribing sermons and proofreading transcripts. She also assists Living Education by writing Second Thoughts essays and Forum/Assembly Summaries for the website. Juliette recently graduated from SUNY Cobleskill in Upstate New York with an A.A.S in Horticulture, a B.T in Plant Science, and a minor in English with a writing focus. She loves playing soccer on the beach, getting up early to watch the sunrise, and playing piano with the lights out.
Author: Juliette McNair | Student, Living Education Charlotte 2020
Estimated reading time: 1 min. 35 sec.
Mr. Dan Hall, the regional pastor of the southeastern U.S, attended his first Feast of Tabernacles when he was fourteen. Mr. Hall’s parents were called into the Church in the 1950s. He recalled, “During that early time, it was a rare thing for people to leave the Church.” But some people do leave the Church. Why?
He began with a quote from Vince Lombardi, professional American football coach:
Since the beginning, Mr. Hall explained, Satan’s modus operandi has been to incite doubt in God’s people and cause us to give up. Yet, we must learn to hang on. In 1914, Sir Ernest Shackleton led an expedition to cross the Antarctic continent. The story goes, after pack ice crushed the Endurance, he and his entire crew survived under brutal conditions for almost two years before reaching safety. “What did Shackleton do that caused people to hang in there?” He kept hope alive for his men.
Mr. Hall quoted Napoleon Bonaparte, “A leader is a dealer in hope.” A past leader, the Apostle Paul, shows us this in Hebrews 10:22-23, “Let us draw near with a true heart… Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering.” We were reminded that if Mr. Armstrong or Dr. Meredith had given up, many of us would not be in God’s Church today. Our leaders can inspire hope in us. They remind us that there’s “only one way to grow and that’s forward.”
Mr. Hall concluded, “It’s not a matter of who gets to the Kingdom first, we’re all going to be together as a family… I want to encourage you to be winners and not quitters because quitters never win.”
This post is part of our new series of student-written content for LivingEd-Charlotte. These summaries cover topics originally presented by our faculty and guest speakers in our weekly Forum and Assembly. For more Assembly-related content check out our Second Thoughts posts.
Author: Mr. Kenneth Frank | Faculty in Theology, Living Education
Estimated Reading Time: 6 min.
If anyone knows the nature of human beings it is Christ, who is our Creator (Ephesians 3:9; Colossians 1:16). Even though He granted believers the powerful Holy Spirit of love and unity, He realized that fully meeting that standard would be difficult to attain at times. Nonetheless, He commands His followers to strive continually for the peace that passes understanding (Philippians 4:7). This Digging Deeper will explore this vital topic to remind Christians of one of our ultimate goals in the universal body of Christ, especially while we live at a time of global disunity, partisanship, and chaos.
Our primary text for consideration reads: “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:1-3 KJV). The cohesion that should hold together Christians as they unitedly preach the gospel is called a “bond.” The phrase “the bond of peace” can be understood in a couple of ways. Ethelbert Bullinger presents what he considers the most likely position in his Figures of Speech Used in the Bible: this phrase is a figure of speech called a genitive of apposition: “‘The bond of peace’: i.e., the bond, which is peace.'” (Bible Analyzer 5.4.1.22). In other words, the bond consists of peace. A Popular Commentary on the New Testament edited by Philip Schaff elaborates further: “’ Peace’ is the result of peace with God, and, binding Christians together, it is ‘a condition and symbol of that inner unity wrought by the indwelling Spirit of God’ (Alford). Hence an outward unity, which does not bind Christians in peace, can scarcely be ‘the unity of the Spirit'” (e-Sword 12.1). This unity results from Christ, who is our peace, bringing together Jews and Gentiles into one united body (Ephesians 2:13-14). Peaceable relations between believers continue to hold them together.
The Websters Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 defines a bond as: “1. That which binds, ties, fastens, or confines, or by which anything is fastened or bound, as a cord, chain, etc.; a band; a ligament; a shackle or a manacle” (Bible Analyzer 5.4.1.22). Thayer’s Greek Definitions defines the Greek word (sundesmos) translated “bond” much the same way (e-Sword 12.1). Significantly, bond is compared to the ligaments that hold together parts of the human body. Christ likens his church to His body in the Book of Ephesians.
A couple of ways the English word peace is defined by Webster’s 1828 Dictionary are:
1. In a general sense, a state of quiet or tranquillity; freedom from disturbance or agitation; applicable to society, to individuals, or to the temper of the mind…
5. Freedom from agitation or disturbance by the passions, as from fear, terror, anger, anxiety or the like; quietness of mind; tranquillity; calmness; quiet of conscience (e-Sword 12.1). Once again, the English translation agrees closely with the meaning of the Greek word (eirene) here (e-Sword 12.1).
Martin Manser in his Dictionary of Bible Themes defines peace as: “The state of harmony that is available to believers through having a right relationship with God and others and is especially associated with the presence of the Holy Spirit” (Bible Analyzer 5.4.1.22). He next explains peace experienced among believers: “Peace is the birthright of every believer in all circumstances. It is found only in God and is maintained through having a close relationship with him” (Ibid.). Finally, he defines what destroys peace among humans: “Because of human sinfulness, God’s provision of peace is always under threat. Scripture shows that this breaking of peace has implications for the whole of creation” (Ibid.). The bond of peace is an on-going project, not only among humans in general but among believers in their congregations as well. Christians must ever be on guard for that which they might do or say that assaults this bond of peace.
The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, Vol 6 comments that in Ephesians 4:1-2 Paul enumerated the virtues to be exercised to maintain the bond of peace: to walk worthy of our vocation with all lowliness, meekness, longsuffering and forbearing one another in love. Following his admonition to keep the unity in the bond of peace, he lists seven particulars of which this unity is comprised (Ephesians 4:4-6):
Peace is an aspect of God’s nature. He is referred to in Scripture as “the God of peace” (Romans 15:33;16:20; 2 Corinthians13:11; Philippians 4:9; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; Hebrews 13:20). Christians who serve the God of peace and the Lord Jesus Christ must actively preserve this precious bond among themselves. The Devil delights in and promotes strife and contention among God’s people. He is the great divider, not an uniter (except in rebellion against God).
Other notable Bible verses relating to the bond of peace include:
The Expository Notes of Dr. [Thomas L.] Constable provides us a fitting citation to conclude our short study on this essential Christian virtue: “Christians must preserve the unity between believers that God has created in the church. Paul viewed peace as what keeps potential factions together. He had in mind peace between all kinds of diverse groups in the church, the most basic being Jews and Gentiles” (e-Sword 12.1). Christians’ goal is to live up to the peace that Christ has already afforded them. They must recognize that He has offered this same peace to every true believer through activating God’s spirit within them. Remembering this responsibility tempers our tempers and promotes patience, understanding, forgiveness, and love as we endeavor “… to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3 KJV).
Kenneth Frank was born and raised in New Jersey, USA, and attended Ambassador College, graduating in 1973. He served in the Canadian ministry from 1973-1999, after which he returned to the USA to pastor churches in Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina for 15 years. Having earned a BA degree from Ambassador College he later earned a MA degree from Grand Canyon University before being assigned to the Charlotte office to teach at Living University, now Living Education. Currently, he teaches the Survey of the Bible course to the on-campus students and writes the Digging Deeper column for our online Bible study program. He is married, has four children, and seven grandchildren.
Some believe that those who keep the Ten Commandments are engaging in the “works of the law” and are therefore under a curse (cf. Galatians 3:10). What are the works of the law, and is obedience to God’s law a curse?
Course Spotlight From The General Epistles: (Part 1) The Letters of James and Peter
Author: Juliette McNair | Student, Living Education Charlotte 2020
Estimated reading time: 3 min. 35 sec.
Mr. Weston moved nine times by the time he turned fourteen; his father served in the Air Force. Living at the Vandenburg Air Force Base in California during the Cold War, he said, “If there ever was a war, I would be sitting at ground zero.” Mr. Weston “grew up in the shadow of the bomb.” ICBMs were regularly tested at the base. Mr. Weston’s father helped develop MIRVs, and his squadron loaded nuclear weapons onto aircraft.
As a young man, Mr. Weston was in the Boy Scouts, the Civil Air Patrol, and Search and Rescue. He played baseball, football, swam, and ran track in high school. When he was fifteen years old, a friend on his bus gave him The Book of Revelation Unveiled at Last; he finished reading it that evening. As he read more literature, his interest in the Church grew—as did his parent’s disapproval. Mr. Weston listened to The World Tomorrow on KGO San Francisco, with his hand on the dial—ready to switch stations should they walk into his room. He began to keep the Sabbath at the local library, finishing his work around the house earlier in the week to do so. Following the food laws was a challenge in his household; on one occasion, his father was not pleased when he refused to eat the pork spare ribs his mother had made. He said, “It was touch and go every time we had unclean meats for dinner.”
Finally, in 1964, he moved out to attend Ventura College. “The first thing I did was call up the minister.” After attending for only one Sabbath, he kept Atonement and then observed his first Feast of Tabernacles. The following year, Mr. Weston went to Ambassador College. He came to know Mr. Armstrong as a student in his “Principles of Christian Life” class. Mr. Weston explained that he could not claim to be close to him personally. “He wouldn’t know me today,” he said, “But I do know how he thought on many different things.” Mr. Weston met his wife at Pasadena when she transferred from Big Sandy. Then, after graduating AC in 1969, he was hired to serve in the ministry.
On March 11, 1995, nine years after Mr. Armstrong’s death, Mr. Weston gave his last sermon in the Kansas City congregation of the Worldwide Church of God. He asked three questions: Why are there such massive changes? Where is it heading? What should we do? After getting fired from the Worldwide Church of God ministry, he looked for where God was working and found Dr. Meredith continuing the Work in the Global Church of God. “That’s where the Work was being done and the flock was being fed.” He explained to us that we may one day have to make a decision that will affect the rest of our life and beyond—a choice between following our friends or following the truth.
Over the years, Mr. Weston has lived in Houston, Texas; Lake Charles, Louisiana; Monroe, Louisiana; Michigan; Asheville, North Carolina; Kansas City, Missouri; Canada; the U.K; and finally, Charlotte, North Carolina. As a pastor in the Worldwide Church of God, he and his wife served at the youth camps in both Minnesota and Texas. In Global, he was asked to assist at the camps in Missouri and North Carolina. Then, from 1998 to 2008, he served as director of the Living Youth Camp in Michigan.
Mr. Weston advised us to learn from history and people’s perspectives to understand what happens today. He encouraged us to “know those who labor among you.”
This post is part of our new series of student-written content for LivingEd-Charlotte. These summaries cover topics originally presented by our faculty and guest speakers in our weekly Forum and Assembly. For more Assembly-related content check out our Second Thoughts posts.
Author: Juliette McNair | Student, Living Education Charlotte 2020
Mr. Phil Sena, pastor of several congregations in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio, presented the students with this question at the beginning of his forum. He explained that at some point, our lives will become drastically more difficult than they are now. “You may not want to live through the “beginning of sorrows,” but you cannot change the times in which you live. You can control your response.”
Yet, she rose to Mordecai’s challenge. “For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place” (Esther 4:14). She didn’t run. Esther became “one who influences positively,”—Mr. Sena’s definition of a good leader. After seeking the people’s and God’s support, she made her choice: “I will go to the king… If I perish, I perish!” (v. 16)
We build our core by making decisions. God used Esther to do His Work—to deliver His people. “Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (4:14) Mr. Sena explained that a young person’s example has far-reaching implications. “You represent the Kingdom.”
We don’t have control over the times in which we live, but we can control our response. Mr. Sena inspired us to learn from the story of Esther: accept the challenge, become a leader, do God’s Work.
This post is part of our new series of student-written content for LivingEd-Charlotte. These summaries cover topics originally presented by our faculty and guest speakers in our weekly Forum and Assembly. For more Assembly-related content check out our Second Thoughts posts.
Author: Mr. Kenneth Frank | Faculty in Theology, Living Education
Estimated reading time: 7 min., 48 sec.
Of all the nations around the globe, God chose a slave people in Egypt, set them free by a series of miracles, guided them on a perilous journey through the Sinai wilderness, and delivered them to the Promised Land. They were a privileged but obligated people. With privilege comes responsibility. This Digging Deeper explores Israel’s God-appointed task to represent Him to the world. We will learn that even though they failed in that task, God did not abandon them and will yet employ them as His witnesses in the future. Additionally, there is a lesson for Christian witness today.
Our central passage for this study is: “Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour. I have declared, and have saved, and I have shewed, when there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, that I am God (Isaiah 43:10-12 KJV)”. Another companion verse is: “Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any (Isaiah 44:8 KJV).”
These verses are part of the second major section of the Book of Isaiah. Is it merely coincidence (or design?) that this book has 66 chapters, corresponding to the 66 books of our English Bible. Another parallel is that chapters 1-39 equal the number of Old Testament books (39) and chapters 40-66 equal the number of New Testament books (27). Even the themes of each section parallel those of the corresponding testament. The Book of Isaiah is heavily Messianic, especially in the second section. Our three primary verses referring to Israel as God’s witnesses all come from this second section. This informs us that God still has a plan for Israel to represent Him in the Millennium and beyond.
The scene portrayed in Isaiah 43 is a courtroom in which God challenges the nations to gather and present their gods to compete with the Almighty in prophesying the future (Isaiah 43:9). Verses 10-12 then notify Israel that they are to witness to the truth about the one true God: there is no other. Webster’s 1913 Unabridged Dictionary defines a witness in law as: “One who testifies in a cause, or gives evidence before a judicial tribunal; as, the witness in court agreed in all essential facts” (e-Sword 12.1). God chose Israel for this holy task to testify that there is one God, that He is supreme, that He is good, that He can be trusted, that He has our best interests at heart, and that someday we may join Him in eternity.
The Dake Annotated Reference Bible presents four reasons God chose Israel as His witnesses:
Israel will need to know God intellectually and relationally to teach other nations about Him. Jeremiah informs people how to know God: “And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart (Jeremiah 24:7 KJV).” This new heart requires faith and understanding to prepare witnesses to testify that the God described in Scripture is the only true God.
The Dake Annotated Reference Bible then describes eight things Israel was to bear witness to:
Only when Israel is cured of its idolatry is it capable of witnessing to polytheistic nations that the many gods they serve are vain, fiendish, and non-existent in reality. In the world to come, all nations will serve only one God. Pagan worship will not be tolerated and all icons will be removed and destroyed. God will not share His worship with other deities. There is no other Savior.
Solomon’s dedicatory speech for the magnificent Temple declared that one reason for its existence (among others) was to attract the Gentile nations to repent of their idolatry and serve the Creator. Notice what he said: “Moreover concerning the stranger, which is not of thy people Israel, but is come from a far country for thy great name’s sake, and thy mighty hand, and thy stretched out arm; if they come and pray in this house; Then hear thou from the heavens, even from thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for; that all people of the earth may know thy name, and fear thee, as doth thy people Israel, and may know that this house which I have built is called by thy name (2 Chronicles 6:32-33 KJV).”
During Israel’s heyday, no doubt many Gentiles did take advantage of this golden opportunity to convert. For example, the Queen of Sheba visited Solomon to learn more about Israel’s faith. Regrettably, it was not long afterward that Solomon compromised with idolatry by accepting the gods of his foreign wives into his kingdom. This leaven eventually so corrupted the nation Israel that God was left with no choice but to punish His people because they rejected the prophets He sent for hundreds of years to call the nation to repent.
Ancient Israel failed in its responsibility to represent the Almighty (Amos 3:9-11; Jeremiah 2:9-13; 18:13). However, in the Millennium when it is cured of idolatry, it will finally fulfill its assigned duty. In the meantime, God’s church today has the same mission: to witness to the one true God and Savior. Numerous verses in our New Testament describe how the early church did just that: Luke 1:2; 24:48; Acts 1:22; 5:32; 10:39; 13:31; 1 Peter 5:1; 2 Peter 1:16. For example, notice what Paul wrote: “For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him (1 Corinthians 8:5-6 KJV).
Joseph S. Exell in his The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary enumerates qualities required of Christians to witness to God today: “1. Knowledge. 2. Veracity. 3. Consistency. 4. Patience. 5. Boldness, firmness. (H. E. I. 3922–3976) (e-Sword 12.1).” Christians need to study Holy Scripture to understand the true God since He has revealed His mind through it. They need to be reliable witnesses who affirm that what the Bible says is correct. They need to live consistently holy lives that effectively declare the truth. Patience and endurance are required to present this consistent message over and over if need be. In a world of opposition, they will require boldness and firmness. Strong convictions will fortify Christians that despite the opposition they will continue to represent a Holy God. The New Testament records how God’s early church did just that against all odds.
The lesson for Christians today is that the world is watching us, examining whether we live consistently holy lives that represent our only Savior, creating an attractive alternative to the hopelessness and futility of the gods of other world religions. In this time of world history with increasing danger and chaos, people need truth and hope. God calls upon His church to present this saving message to unbelievers by challenging us with this mission: “Ye are my witnesses.”
Kenneth Frank was born and raised in New Jersey, USA, and attended Ambassador College, graduating in 1973. He served in the Canadian ministry from 1973-1999, after which he returned to the USA to pastor churches in Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina for 15 years. Having earned a BA degree from Ambassador College he later earned a MA degree from Grand Canyon University before being assigned to the Charlotte office to teach at Living University, now Living Education. Currently, he teaches the Survey of the Bible course to the on-campus students and writes the Digging Deeper column for our online Bible study program. He is married, has four children, and seven grandchildren.