The Pope Resigns

 

It has been almost 600 years since a Pope has resigned from the papacy.  At 85 years old, Pope Benedict XVI said he no longer has the mental or physical strength to carry on his responsibilities.  He went on to say, “Strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me” (CNN).  The Pope is expected to step down on February 28^th.

According to the Roman Catholic religion, the Pope is the worldwide leader of the church and the successor of the apostle Peter.  The problem is, the Bible doesn’t support this.  For one, the word “Pope” is not found in the Bible.  The first Pope didn’t come until several hundred years after the time of Christ.  While some say Peter was the first Pope, the facts don’t support this.  First of all, Peter never claimed supremacy but instead claimed he was just “an apostle” and a “fellow elder” (1 Peter 1:1; 5:1-2).  Beyond all of this, Peter was married (Matthew 8:14), which is contrary to the Roman Catholic Church’s requirement of their clergymen.  Also, the Bible never says Peter was the Pope, or that he was more significant than any other apostle, or that he ever even went to Rome.  Scripture simply doesn’t support the Pope, or Peter, as the leader of the church.  So, if the Pope isn’t the head of the church then who is?

Scripture makes it clear that Christ is the only head of the church (Ephesians 1:22-23; 5:22-23; Colossians 1:15-20; Romans 12:5; 1 Corinthians 3:11; etc).  Christ is the true head and true leader of the church.  Notice what a contrast He is to the Pope.

• Christ will never grow old.
• Christ will never get tired.
• Christ’s physical strength is unlimited.
• Christ’s mental prowess is without limits and beyond comprehension.
• Christ is eternal.
• Christ is God.
• Christ will never resign, nor will He ever need to.

Let’s keep in mind who the true, and vastly superior, leader of the church is.  The head of the church is Jesus Christ.  There could not be a leader greater than He.  Let’s follow Him and no other. 

Who Determines Truth?

Neal Pollard

"Truth" is an important Bible word, being found 189 times in the Old and New Testaments.  It is an important Bible word because of what it is.  Many have walked in old Pilate's shoes, asking, "What is truth?" (John 18:38).  Jesus' prayer concisely answered that question, even before Pilate uttered it.  The Lord said that God's Word is truth (John 17:17). Yet, we can easily find ourselves substituting that for something or someone else.  Notice the following.

The culture cannot be the standard of truth.  Not only does their standard constantly change, its basis for what is considered truth is skewed and self-determined.  In other words, a worldly approach to "truth" more often than not coincidentally coincides with what people want to do.  Many times, the world gets it exactly backward.  As Isaiah put it, the world using its own wisdom calls evil good and good evil (5:20).  By its own standards, the world does not come to even know God (1 Cor. 1:21).  1 John 2:16 thoroughly dismisses the idea of one's worldly contemporaries being the standard of truth.

The religious world cannot be the standard of truth.  In far too many areas, individual religious groups, denominations, have invented their own doctrines.  They, too, can form their teaching and convictions based upon the strong pressures of culture.   They can reform and reshape their beliefs to accommodate people's circumstances.  For any number of reasons, the religious world veers left or right of biblical center (cf. Deut. 5:32; Prov. 4:27).

The Lord's church cannot be the standard of truth.  Opinions, traditions or customs, and preferences cannot be passed off as synonymous with or equal to truth.  A congregation of God's people, well-intended or not, can depart from the truth.  We cannot blindly follow even these away from truth.

A particular school, preacher, periodical, etc., cannot be the standard of truth.  We can admire colleges and training schools for their work, teachers, and graduates, but this confidence must always remain conditional.  As we remember that one can veer from truth by binding or loosing, we must always measure what is promoted as truth with God's divine standard.  What is true of institutions is equally true of individuals. Even if someone speaks passionately, with conviction, and without hesitation or reservation, our job is to compare their message with God's (cf. Acts 17:11).  We can easily confuse charisma and chemistry with truth, but there is no inherent connection.

You and I cannot be the standard of truth. All of us have scruples, consciences, preferences, proclivities, likes, and dislikes.  We may feel quite strongly about them.  But, we cannot make ourselves the standard of truth on any biblical matter.  

There is but one right standard and that is scripture.  Yes, there is the matter of proper interpretation and recognizing there can be improper interpretation.  On some matters, scripture may not be as definitive as we want or even initially think.  Yet, regarding anything that would effect our salvation, God has a clear, understandable "position" stated forth in Scripture (cf. 2 Pet. 1:3).  What He says on the matter is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.  Accept no substitutes for this!

God Is "Number Conscious"

Neal Pollard

Occasionally, the accusation, "You are just number conscious," flies. If we speak in terms of attendance and emphasize its importance, we may justify mentioning it by saying that numbers represent souls. That is true, but there is no need to be ashamed of "number consciousness."  After all, the Holy Spirit must have been.

Did you know that He moved men to use the noun arithmos (from where we get "arithmetic") 18 times in the New Testament, including five times in Acts. Each time the word is used, God has been counting. In Acts, God is keeping track of the numbers being converted and the numbers making up the church.  Arithmos, in the literal sense, means "to count," "to reckon," and "number" (TDNT 1:461). In these passages in Acts, arithmos is used literally and specifically--"the number of the men came to be about 5,000" (4:4), "a number of men, about 400, joined themselves [to Theudas]" (5:36), "the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly" (6:7), "a large number believed" (11:21), "the churches were increasing in number daily" (16:5). Except for Gamaliel's Acts 5 speech, the Acts passages report numerical growth in the early church.

Gearing our programs and preaching at all costs and compromise to optimize attendance figures is not the idea.  Truth offends and turns away many. The early church had a large share of enemies and detractors. While many submitted to immersion, some resorted to throwing stones (7:58; 14:19). The early Christians were tarred, run over, beaten, imprisoned, burned alive, fed to lions, exiled, and otherwise mistreated. Though this was sporadic, it could be intense. They had a number of enemies, but, through their living hope (1 Pet. 1:3), they worked at their mission and God gave the increase (1 Cor. 3:6).  All the while, Heaven kept count.

Long before the cross, God said, "All souls are Mine" (Ezek. 18:14). He's been in every delivery room.  He's heard every baby's cry, watched every skinned knee, been privy to every child's fear, and seen every sinful thought, word, and action develop. He was there at the moment every individual crossed the line from "safe" to "separated" (cf. Isa. 59:2). As Redeemer, God marks down each instance where one goes from "separated" to "saved."

Let's think like God on this.  Pursue evangelistic opportunities, teach the truth, and the numbers will increase. Be "number conscious"!

HOW ARE WE DOING IN THE FIFTH KINGDOM?

Neal Pollard

Scott Balbin is doing a great job teaching Ezekiel and Daniel on Sunday mornings.  Yesterday, he briefly touched on what the class had seen in Daniel two the prior week.  It was my pleasure to sit next to our resident sage and my dear friend, Johnson Kell.  At the end of the class, he asked me the question, "How are we doing in the fifth kingdom?"  I knew exactly what he was asking.  Nebuchadnezzar's dream and visions about the "last days" concerned a great image, which represented four great kingdoms.  Historically, these were the Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Greek, and Roman Empires.  Daniel says that during the days of the Roman "kings," another kingdom would be set up that would never be destroyed (Dan. 2:44).  That kingdom is clearly shown in Hebrews 12:23-29 to be the church of the firstborn.  This is the church Jesus promised to build (Mat. 16:18-19), a kingdom the establishment of which was imminent (Mat. 16:28).  A kingdom that came with power on the Day of Pentecost, at which time we see first reference made to that church being in existence (Acts 1:8; 2:1-4; 47).  That "fifth kingdom," the church, will never be destroyed and nothing will bring about its utter and complete demise.

Yet, Johnson's question is valid.  How are we doing in this "fifth kingdom"?  Some individual congregations are thriving, while others are languishing.  Some are growing and some are dying.  Some are being faithful to the New Testament pattern and are boldly proclaiming the whole counsel, but others have abandoned such an approach.  

Beyond that, how is each congregation doing to educate, evangelize, edify, equip, entrust, and endow?  As we look at individual components of our congregation, how are we doing in church leadership, organization, involvement, outreach, benevolence, spirituality, morality, discipline, and the like?  

We should never be satisfied that we are doing enough.  We can always grow and improve.  But, oh the wisdom in asking the question.  If we stop self-analysis and self-examination, we are in a dangerous place!  This starts with me asking, "How am I doing in the fifth kingdom?"  That is the area over which I have the most control!  

Concussions

 

There has been a growing amount of discussion on head injuries the last several years, especially in sports.  The more we are learning about the brain, the more we are coming to realize just how dangerous concussions can be.  If a person breaks an arm, pulls a muscle, or tears a ligament, it is nowhere near as serious as injuring the brain.  After all, a single injury to the brain can paralyze the entire body!  There is simply nothing more serious than a head injury.

The church is often referred to as a “body” (Romans 12:4f; 1 Corinthians 12:26f; Colossians 1:17f).  All of New Testament Christians in the world make up the parts of this body.  The head of this body is Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:18).  Similar to our actual bodies, it is often injured.  The church body has been subject to attacks, divisions, and many other forms of damage.  Certainly we have ourselves to blame for many of these issues.  However, thanks be to God that the Head of the church, Christ, is so well protected.  Ever since He ascended into heaven, no man has been able to lay a finger on Christ.  Even Satan is powerless to hurt Him.  Never will the church’s head be injured.

Even though we worry about head injuries, we do not need to worry about the head of the New Testament church. We never have to worry about a crippling blow to the church.  Not only is Christ perfectly protected, but He also happens to be all-powerful and all-knowing.  Christ will always reign as the church’s head.  What a blessing it is to be part of a church body with Christ as head over us!