Prosperity by this Trade

Prosperity by this Trade

The religious impact Paul had on the city of Ephesus cannot be overstated. One of the seven wonders of the ancient world, “The Temple of Diana,” was located in the center of the city. Paul’s preaching began turning many of the pagans in Ephesus toward Christ. His preaching also began to have an economic impact on the merchants of that city.

What is your source of prosperity?

What is your source of prosperity?

As the Ephesians learned the truth, they brought their costly pagan books of magical sorcery and burned them publicly (Acts 19:19). An even greater result of Paul’s preaching was on those silversmiths who made small icons of Diana. The leader of this guild of silversmiths was Demetrius. He told all the silversmiths, “We have our prosperity by this trade…Not only is this trade of ours in danger of falling into disrepute, but also the temple of great goddess Diana may be despised and her magnificence destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worship.”

How tragic it was that these tradesmen did not listen to Paul, but their love of money caused them to elevate it because “…we have our prosperity by this trade.” This attitude was not just found among silversmiths in ancient Ephesus but permeates our world today. Truth matters little. What does matter to many is their prosperity by their trade.

Many of the decisions made in Washington are greatly impacted by the monies given (sometimes secretly) by lobbyists to those who have taken oaths to represent the districts from which they come. You might be amazed to Google and find how many who arrived in Washington with ordinary income now are millionaires. “We have our prosperity by this trade.”

This concept of “prosperity by this trade” is readily seen when one looks at the wealth accumulated by televangelists. A search of the internet will show that the “poorest” of the top five televangelists is worth $27,000,000, and the richest is worth over $750,000,000. Is there any wonder that unbelievers are negatively impacted by these obvious truths? Demetrius of Ephesus is not the only one who could say, “We have our prosperity by this trade.”

One does not have to be in the “top five” to be guilty of having this attitude. However, how can we fail to see the parallel between this and Jesus’ words in the temple? “Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise” (John 2:16). Jesus taught against judging the motives of others, but He also said, “By their fruits you shall know them.” He did not make us judges, but he made us fruit inspectors.”

Truth matters above everything else. We must never put our “prosperity by any trade” above truth.

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Glorify Jesus

Glorify Jesus!

The word “glorify” means to praise, honor, or lift up.  The Hebrew word for glorify is “chabad,” which means to be weighty, or heavy.  The idea of “honor” was associated with the word due to the gravity of honorable events. In the New Testament, the word “glorify” is a translation of the Greek word “doxazo,” which meant to hold an opinion, or think of something or someone. The word evolved to mean: to hold a high opinion of another, and thus to elevate or lift up another to a position of honor. The word “glorify”has many specialized meanings involving the status of God, Jesus, or the saints and ultimate honor given to them. For God, this honor is intrinsic to Who He is, and thus He is to be glorified, or praised (Leviticus 10:3, Luke 13:13).  Jesus earned honor by living a sinless life (John 17:1-5). Christians will be changed and glorified by the grace of God through Jesus (Romans 8:30).

Lift Him Up in Your Thoughts and in Your Life.

Lift Him Up in Your Thoughts and in Your Life.

Jesus is three-times glorified. First, He is glorified for the fact of His being divine. He is God in the flesh, Immanuel, the incarnate Word, our Creator, Sustainer, and Provider.  For that very reason alone, He is to be glorified. Second, He is glorified for His sinless life and vicarious sacrifice. Peter said in Acts 3:13, “The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him.” Third, He has also been glorified in His humanity. Paul wrote in Romans 8:17, “and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.”

 

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MILAGROS DEL NUEVO TESTAMENTO

EL PROPOSITO DE LOS MILAGROS DEL NUEVO TESTAMENTO

Esto es un asunto importante a considerar. De hecho es trascendental notar algunas cosas que no estaban ahí para servir como el propósito de los milagros durante el siglo primero. En primer lugar, los milagros en el siglo primero no estaban ahí para traer fama o notoriedad en la persona que los hacia. De hecho en muchos casos el Señor prohibió divulgar el milagro que el había acontecido (Marcos 1:43,44; 3:10-12). En adición, los milagros no eran hechos para recaudar fondos de ningún tipo ni mucho menos para aprovecharse de la generosidad de la audiencia. Ni siquiera los milagros fueron realizados para limpiar o lavar los pecados del hombre. Recibir el perdón de los pecados era realmente un asunto diferente, y no dependía del milagro para hacer esto.

los milagros en el siglo primero no estaban ahí para traer fama o notoriedad en la persona que los hacia.

los milagros en el siglo primero no estaban ahí para traer fama o notoriedad en la persona que los hacia.

Deberíamos observar que los milagros no eran necesariamente para arreglarle la vida a una persona en cuestión o simplemente sanarla. Claro quienes se beneficiaron de los milagros recibieron una un bono extra.

Al estudiar las paginas del Nuevo Testamento también entendemos que no siempre la petición por sanción fue contestada positivamente. El apóstol Pablo era atormentado con un “aguijón en la carne” (2Co.12:7-10), y la respuesta que recibe es “bástate de mi gracia”. Dios no removió el problema de Pablo ni siquiera lo sanó. Otro hermano de nombre Trófimo también había sido dejado enfermo por Pablo en Mileto (2Tim.4:20). Pablo instruye incluso a Timoteo que use de la medicina natural en su tiempo, “Oinos” (Vino) por efectos de salud. En vez de haber realizado un milagro, Pablo salió dejando atrás enfermo a Trófimo, en vez de haber hecho un milagro, Pablo recomienda la medicina natural . Obviamente no era la voluntad del Espíritu Santo sanar a toda persona enferma. ¿Cuál era entonces el propósito de los milagros ene l Nuevo Testamento?.

En el caso de Jesús el hizo milagros para probar que lo que el clamaba de sobre sí mismo era verdad. Es decir que realmente  el provenía del cielo y del Padre mismo. En Juan 10:25 él dijo que le creyeren a él sino a las obras que él hacía. El caso de la resurrección de Lazaro, el Señor espero para ir hasta dónde estaba con un propósito definido y este propósito se cumplió. Al final muchos de los que habían venido al sepulcro Juan 11 dice “Creyeron en él”.

En adición a esto Jesucristo realizó milagros para cumplir con las profecías del Antiguo Testamento.Mateo registra que el Señor había sanado muchas personas y que esto había sido hecho para que se cumpliera la palabra hablada por el profeta Isaías.. (Mat.8:16,17).

Otro propósito por el cual los milagros eran realizados a la vista de las personas era para confirmar la palabra que el mensajero estaba predicando (Mr.16:20). Los discípulos habían salido y habían estado predicando el evangelio, y mientras lo hacían ellos tenían el poder para realizar milagros y probar que lo que ellos estaban diciendo venía del cielo, que era verdad y que debía de ser obedecido. El concepto una vez más, está claramente establecido en Hebreos 2:3-4 cuando dice:  “¿cómo escaparemos nosotros si descuidamos una salvación tan grande? La cual, después que fue anunciada primeramente por medio del Señor, nos fue confirmada por los que oyeron, testificando Dios juntamente con ellos, tanto por señales como por prodigios, y por diversos milagros y por dones del Espíritu Santo según su propia voluntad.” (LBLA). De acuerdo a este texto, ¿Cuál entonces fue el propósito de los milagros, maravillas y dones?  Nada de lo que estos mensajeros proclamaban provenir del corazón de ellos sino del corazón mismo de Dios.

Un cuarto propósito de la realización de milagros tenía que ver con la ratificación de un apóstol verdadero de Jesucristo. Pablo dijo que en Corinto, las Señales de un apóstol habían sido hechas entre ellos (2Co.12:12). Muchos en el siglo primero proclamaban ser apóstoles pero ellos mentían (Ap.2:2). Los cristianos del siglo primero a travez de las Señales o milagros de apóstol podían distinguir entre uno verdadero y aquellos falsos.

El propósito de los Milagros en el N.T no puede ser determinado observando los tiempos actuales ni mucho menos a través de las emociones. Cualquiera que responda a la pregunta ¿Cuál fue el propósito de los milagros en el N.T? siempre ha de responder basado precisamente en el Nuevo Testamento, eso implica su contexto, su evidencia y los textos que hemos mencionados. Con tales factores nadie puede concluir que las razones bíblicas son las mismas que las razones del día de hoy en las sectas y en aquellos que claman ser testigos de milagros modernos. La palabra ha sido trasmitida y la tenemos de una forma escrita y ella es inerrante. Ningún apóstol continúa con vida hoy por lo tanto los milagros ya no tienen lugar en nuestra era porque ya cumplieron su propósito.

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Fickle and Unfaithful

Fickle and Unfaithful

“In the second half of the book of Numbers we continue to see the age-old struggle of mankind striving against God’s will. The children of Israel have defeat snatched from the hands of victory as they call on God to deliver their enemy and then turn around and murmur against Him. Balaam has to have a discussion with his donkey in order to hear God and he was a prophet. Balak keeps saying, “Let’s try over here.” “No?” “Let’s try over here…” Is it that hard to hear the Lord and do what He says? We can be hard on these fickle and unfaithful biblical characters, but do we not often act in the same way?
Yet God still cares for and loves His people, and in He begins to make preparation for Israel’s entrance into the Promised Land. God has made provision for us to enter the Promised Land of Heaven.

Do not waver in following God.

Do not waver in following God.

As we close the book God informs Moses that his life will soon end and he is to give some final instructions to the Children of Israel. A couple things stand out to me in this reading. 1) God loves His people and is concerned for their well-being. 2) God is just and righteous and His judgment needs to be enforced. 3) He expects the people to remain pure and free from evil influences. When the family has wicked and divisive influences among them, that defile the body and pollute the land, it must be cleansed (33:55–56; 35:34). God is faithful, be ye faithful!

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Cephas to His Friends

Cephas to His Friends

Have you ever wondered why the apostles often seemed to have more than one name?

Let’s take the apostle Peter, for example. He is sometimes in the Bible called Peter; he is sometimes called Simon; and he is sometimes called Cephas. All three names are used to refer to the same man, sometimes in close proximity to each other.

Cephas was known by other names.

Cephas was known by other names.

For instance, in the book of Galatians, Paul refers to Peter, as Peter in Galatians 2:7, 8. But he calls him Cephas in Galatians 1:13, and Galatians 2:11, 14. This is not the only time Paul calls Peter, Cephas. He does so as well in 1 Corinthians 1:12, 3:22, 9:5 and 15:5.  Why the different name?

And why is Peter called Simon in so many other places? In approximately 69 places in the New Testament, in the four Gospels and in Acts, the name Simon is used to identify Peter. (cf. Acts 11:13, etc.)

Peter is the name most often used (well over a hundred times) and is the name used by the apostle himself when penning his own epistles (cf. 1 Peter 1:1) though in his second epistle, he identifies himself as Simon Peter, or Simeon Peter, depending on the spelling. (2 Peter 1:1)

The answer has to do with languages, and perhaps something to do with the reason why God chose the period of time He did for the birth of the church and the initial preaching of the Gospel.

We are told that in many synagogues in Palestine, in the first century, Jewish children were taught to read, write and speak in at least three languages: Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. It was also common for Jews to have names for each of these languages. In Peter’s case, Simon was his given Hebrew name, the name he grew up with. In John 1:42, when Simon meets Jesus, Jesus gives him a new nick-name: Cephas. Cephas is Aramaic for rock. The Greek equivalent to Cephas is Peter, which also means stone, or rock.

Paul, writing to the Galatians in the Greek language, naturally used the name Peter in some places. This was the name most of the Greek-speaking church would have known him by. However, in private conversation, with his friends, Peter, who was a native Aramaic speaker, most likely called himself Cephas. Thus Paul, when thinking about his close friend and brother, often thought of him as Cephas, the name by which he knew him best.

Though we often think of the apostles as “uneducated,” we should recognize that they were each multi-lingual individuals who could read and write fluently in several languages. This practiced ability was further supplemented by the miraculous gift of tongues which allowed them to preach and teach to a wide variety of individuals in that own individual’s native language. (cf. Acts 2:7-11)

It was God’s plan for His apostles to take the Gospel to the world, and the world all spoke different languages. It was thus necessary for the apostles to each be able to communicate effectively to a wide swath of people. When the apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian church, “To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews,” and “to those outside the law I became as one outside the law… that I might win those outside the law,” we should not overlook the lingual aspects of this approach. (cf. 1 Corinthians 9:19-21)

God wanted the Gospel presented to people where they were, in the place where they lived, in the language they were accustomed to speaking. This is why the books of the New Testament were so quickly translated into other languages soon after they were written, including Coptic and Latin. It was so that men could have the message taken to them in their own language.

This was God’s plan, and it is reflected in the Lord’s grand commission, commanding us to, “Go to all the world (Matthew 28:19).” One wonders how often modern Christians would prefer for the world to come to us?

If we meet a non-believer who is also not a native English speaker, would we prefer that they first learn English before we convert them, or are we willing to put forth the effort to learn their tongue so as to better teach them? Do we prefer potential converts to walk into the doors of our buildings, or are we willing to go out and meet them where they are? These are important questions to consider.

As we consider such questions, we might keep in mind the Apostle who was willing to address his epistles, in Greek, as Peter, even though to his friends, he normally went by Cephas.

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