Acts 19:8 (KJV)
And he went into the synagogue, and spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God.
Imagine this scene for a moment. The Bible says Paul went into the synagogue and, over the space of three months:
- Spoke boldly
- Disputed
- Persuaded
The things concerning the kingdom of God.
The context indicates this was a tense period in this synagogue. Paul’s boldness and “disputational” position led to the Jews becoming hardened.
I’m imagining what that would look like in a church environment.
This leads me to suggest that a church and a synagogue are not equivalent.
From what I gather in Scripture, the synagogue allowed for more open dialogue than a church is designed to have. Synagogues, remember, are man-made organizations. That’s not so with the local church. The pulpit of a church is meant to proclaim biblical truth, not a variety of ideas.
Paul was a Jew, a trained leader among them, and had some authority to dispute and persuade.
The authority to do this belongs exclusively to the pastor of the church and those whom he invites into the pulpit. It is not acceptable for someone to come in and boldly dispute the doctrine of the church. It is not even acceptable for members of the church to do that.
When it became evident that the Jews had hardened themselves, Paul left.
He did not cause trouble for trouble’s sake. When it was obvious he could no longer effectively preach the gospel, he found another venue. There’s just no reason to stay in a place and make trouble.
There are huge differences between what the Lord’s church is and what a Jewish synagogue was. It would be prudent for a person to avoid bold disputations inside God’s House.
#BoldPreaching #ProclaimTruth #ChurchAuthority #PaulInTheSynagogue #BiblicalDoctrine
Boldness and Boundaries: When to Speak Boldly and When to Move On
To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.
For this and, more than 6300 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.
If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.
For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.
My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org
Join me at Daily Visits with God Podcast
https://marvinmckenzie.substack.com/
Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more
Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi is an opportunity to support this effort to reach a world of souls with the Word of God. I would appreciate any gift you can give.
No comments:
Post a Comment