Preacher, Reverend, Pastor, or ?

Question: Why do churches of Christ not call their preachers Reverends or Pastors like most of the denominations do?

Answer: Because both would be unbiblical at the very least, and perhaps blasphemous at the very worst, at least in one case. Consider; the title “Father,” when applied to religious leaders is strictly condemned by Christ Himself, “for you have one Father, who is in Heaven” (See Matthew 23:1-12 for comment and context).

Likewise, the term “reverend” is found only once in the Scriptures and that is in the great Psalm 111, verse 9 (KJV) where it says, speaking specifically of God alone, “Holy and reverend is His Name” (Emphasis mine – DED). Only Jesus is equal with God; certainly no mere mortal ever was, is, or ever shall be. Not even the miracle-working apostles ever dared lay claim to equality with God. And yet, unlike the Catholic religious leaders who, despite Jesus’ outright condemnation of such, continue to insist upon being called by the name reserved for God in Heaven alone and thereby presumptuously put themselves on His level, we believe that the term “Reverend,” which no human being in the Bible was ever referred to by, and a term which was Biblically said to be exclusively His Name, should certainly never be used to address or title any human being, as that would also presumptuously put them on His level as well, wouldn’t it? It would be like calling some mere mortal sinner “the Savior (of mankind),” “the Alpha and the Omega,” or, “the Head of the church;” descriptive terms respectfully and Biblically given only and exclusively to Christ Himself (1 John 4:4; Jude 25; Revelation 22:13; and Ephesians 1:15-23). Actually, I suppose that the  Protestant Denominations commit a similar atrocity when they remove the name that is above all names from their church and refer to themselves by Luther’s, the Baptist’s, or some other man-honoring name in which there is no salvation, instead of the name of Christ (Acts 4:12).

Speaking of Protestant Denominations and some of their man-made teachings, perhaps no other term of description for specific servants and their service in the church is as misused in the denominational world around us today as is the word “pastor.”

“ Pastor ” is from the Greek word “poimen,” which means “shepherd.” This is apparent from several passages in which Jesus Himself used the term to refer to Himself as “the good shepherd” in John, chapter 10 (verses 2, 11, 12, 14, and 16). In fact, in the 18 occurrences of this word “poimen” in the entire Greek N. T. text (Matthew 9:36, 25:32, 26:31; Mark 6:34, 14:27; Luke 2:8, 15, 18, 20; John  10:2, 11, 12, 14, 16; Ephesians 4:11; Hebrews 13:20; and I Peter 2:25) it is always translated as “shepherd” – except for the one verse in Ephesians 4:11 where it is translated “pastor.”

“ Pastor ” actually denotes one who is a shepherd of God’s flock. In the Bible, these very same shepherds are also known as: “elders,” and “overseers” or “bishops.” All four of these terms in Scripture are describing the same exact individual (Compare different translations on the following passages: Acts 20:17-30; Philippians 1:1; I Peter 2:25 and 5:1-4). But the Bible is crystal clear that these “poimen”/pastors, elders, overseers, bishops MUST possess certain qualities  without compromise; and these are the God-given “musts” of I Timothy 3:1-7, and Titus 1:5-9 (i.e., must be male, the husband of one wife, having believing children, etc). If one does not possess each and every one of these God-required qualities and qualifications, he simply is not a pastor/elder/overseer/shepherd according to God’s eternal standard. (Note: a very concise and in-depth study of this very topic can be found and downloaded completely free of charge from http://www.clevelandcoc.com/?page_id=148.)

So, how do we refer to our religious leaders in congregations of the churches of Christ? Well, biblically of course! (Whatever was good enough for God’s first-century church is good enough for God’s 21st or any other century church.) They are biblically, correctly, and therefore congregationally referred to as an “evangelist” (See Acts 21:8; Ephesians 4:11; II Timothy 4:5), a “minister” (See Luke 1:2; I Corinthians 3:5; II Corinthians 3:6, 6:4), and/or a “preacher” (See Romans 10:14; I Timothy 2:7; II Timothy 1:111; and II Peter 2:5).

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Adversity

Attitude Toward Adversity

When I think about all that Paul endured as a Christian, I am so amazed at the price he paid just to be a follower of Jesus.  False teachers in Corinth tried to parade all they had done for the Lord as evidence of the fact they preached the truth. This forced Paul to give an abbreviated summary of how much he had suffered. “From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness—besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches” (2 Cor. 11:24-28). Has anyone ever suffered more?

It is even more amazing to see how Paul describes such adversity. He calls it light affliction which is just for a moment, and says it is not worthy to be compared to what awaits us (2 Cor. 4:17; Rom. 8:18). Light afflictions? Wonder how he might look at what we are suffering.

Yet we get depressed when anyone says even one word about the religious convictions we have. We sometimes cower in fear and remain silent when others are advocating and defending sin. When we occasionally have to refuse to go where our friends are going because we know this is not a place where we should be, we feel bad.

Paul says that all who live godly lives in Christ will suffer persecution (2 Tim. 3:12). We may have fewer friends, who think it strange that now that we are Christians we cannot live as we once did (1 Pet. 4:3). We may have family problems simply because Jesus shows that being a Christian causes others to have such disdain for us (Matt. 10:34-35). Early Christians could not buy or sell or get money because they would not worship pagan gods. You may have been bypassed for promotion simply because you would not “go with the flow” of your employer.  It may be rare, but I have known Christians who have suffered physical abuse because they followed the Lord.

What do we learn from this? We are going to suffer in some way, but it is nothing to compare with what those early Christians suffered. If they called their torture light affliction, how would they describe the inconveniences in our lives? All that matters is our attitude. They rejoiced that they were worthy to suffer for Him (Acts 5:31). Do you have this joy?

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Genealogy

Harmonizing the Genealogy Accounts of Jesus

From the time that sin first entered the world, God had made certain promises to mankind concerning a redeemer or “Messiah” who would eventually free him from the bondage of sin. This was first promised, in Genesis 3:15, to Satan that the seed of Eve would bruise his head.  A second promise was made to Abraham, in Genesis 12:3, that all the nations of the earth would be blessed through his seed. This promise was again made to David in 2 Samuel 7:12-13, that the world’s redeemer would come from his seed and would establish a kingdom that would last forever. Both Matthew and Luke list the genealogy of Jesus to show that he was this promised Messiah. The accuracy of their genealogical record is shown by the silence of the critics.

“The silence of the enemies of the Gospel, both Heathen and Jewish, during even the first century, is itself a sufficient proof that neither inconsistency nor corruption could be then alleged against this part of evangelical history. If a charge of this nature could have been supported, it unquestionably would have been made.” (Adam Clarke’s Commentary)

This silence is a strong argument for the case of Jesus as Messiah and these records show that he was not only a descendant of Abraham through David, but that he was also a descendant of Adam and Eve.

The Genealogical Record by Matthew

In the first century it was accepted by the Jewish people that the Messiah would be a direct descendant of David.

“Natural sonship to David on the part of the Messiah was of vital importance to many Jewish inquirers…The tradition, universal from the earliest times among believers and granted even by the bitterest opponents, that He was connected with the line of David may also be readily accepted.” (International Standard Bible Encyclopedia)

Matthew wrote his Gospel account to the Judean Jews in order to prove that Jesus was the Messiah. He began his Gospel account with a genealogy of Jesus. In chapter 1:1, Matthew stated that Jesus Christ was a “Son of David”, a descendant of both Abraham and David. The significance of this mentioning is that, “God had given certain unconditional, eternal covenants [to Abraham and David] that determined the course of the history of the nation of Israel.”  (Pentecost, J. Dwight, The Words and Works of Jesus Christ)Thus he showed that Jesus was of the royal lineage of David through Joseph and Solomon.

Matthew’s genealogy traces the Messianic line beginning with Abraham and ending with Joseph the husband of Mary. This line is shown through three artificial groupings, each consisting of fourteen generations: from Abraham to David, from David to the Babylonian captivity, and from then unto the birth of Jesus. There is a purpose these groups were edited, by the omission of certain names, so that they would each equal fourteen generations.

“Matthew focuses attention on the Davidic descent of Jesus in a subtle way. In Hebrew there are no vowels written, so David’s name would be written DVD. Each letter had a numerical significance, as the Hebrews used the alphabet in counting. For example, in their system, D=4, V=6. Thus the letters in David’s name total fourteen. Hence Matthew lists fourteen names in each of the three groups.” (D.J. Pentecost)

This would serve to emphasize the lineage of David and really drive home to the Jews the physical royalty of Jesus Christ.

 

The Genealogical Record by Luke

 

Luke’s record of the lineage of Jesus emphasizes his messiahship to the entire human race. Luke, writing to a largely Gentile audience knew that they would not be impressed that Jesus was the “Son of David” so he presented Jesus as the “Son of Man” and traced his lineage all the way back to Adam. This “Son of Man” Messiah would not only rule over Israel, but would rule over all nations and would be the world’s Messiah.   While Matthew reckoned his genealogy through the line of Joseph his earthly father, Luke reckoned his genealogy through the line of Mary. This record did not concern itself with the legality of Hebrew patriarchal lineage, but is a record of Jesus’ natural generation.

Mary was also a descendant of David; her lineage diverged from that of her husband in that she is a descendant through Nathan, a younger son of David who did not inherit the throne, while Joseph was a descendant through Solomon.  The fact that Mary also descended from David silences those who claim that Jesus was only a descendant of David by virtue of the virgin Mary’s marriage to Joseph and not by any blood relationship. This reconciles the problem of the virgin birth and the origin of Christ through the line of David.

Another far deeper problem existed, to harmonize the incarnation and the Davidic origin of Jesus. This is also reconciled by the tracing of Jesus lineage through Mary.

“This problem had been presented in shadow and intimation by Jesus Himself in the question: “David himself calleth him Lord; and whence is he his Son?” It is further to be noticed that in the annunciation (Lk 1:32) the promised One is called at once Son of God and Son of David, and that He is the Son of God by virtue of His conception by the Spirit—leaving it evident that He is Son of David by virtue of His birth of Mary. With this should be compared the statement of Paul (Rom 1:3, 1): He who was God’s Son was “born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.” (ISBE)

This silences the critics that attempt to deny Jesus as the Messiah on the grounds of his physical descendant of David.

The descendant line of Jesus the Messiah has never been seriously questioned. Luke and Matthew both established Jesus as a physical descendant of David. This was in fulfillment of many prophecies showing the Messiah as a “Son of David”. Luke went even further than Matthew and established Jesus as the”Son of Man” through his descendant from Adam. These two genealogical accounts serve to emphasize Jesus’ relationship to the Jewish people through his kinship to the royal line of Israel and to the gentile world by his descendant from the common ancestor of all mankind.

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Read the Bible

One of the sad as well as destructive failures of man/woman today is their failure to read the Bible and seek wisdom therein. Many people even in America today have never picked up a copy of the Bible and given it an examination. It is my opinion that these people do not understand how important to their and their family’s well being knowledge of the Bible can be. Just a casual reading of the Bible on a daily basis will give a person a better understanding of themselves, their origin, and why they were born into this world. It is surely a difficult lifestyle to live without knowing that God created all things and that God is a friend of mankind and not an enemy. Indeed, the Bible tells us about our arch enemy the Devil who would keep all people from reading the Bible because the Devil knows that when a person begins to read and understand the Bible their knowledge will condemn evil; of which the Devil is the father – cf. 1 Tim. 3:7 – Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. 1 Peter 5:8 – Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: (KJV)

We came from somewhere, off in the past, and there is 6,000 years of history that indicates that man has been on this earth [i.e. the historical record contained in the Bible that indicates the age of mankind as app. 6,000]. As we examine the Bible we find out many things about ourselves that we did not know. For instance we find that our first ancestors were Adam and Eve the first people on earth and from these two people all the people of the earth has descended; thereby making us all of one blood {i.e. relatives} cf. Acts 17:23-28 – 23 For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you. 24 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; 25 Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; 26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; 27 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: 28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. (KJV)

Yes, the Bible is truly a remarkable book; everyone should read and study it for valuable guidance through the pitfalls of life. Indeed; the Bible tells us about God, about the great flood, about the history of the Israelites, about the Promised Land that God promised to give to the Israelites and yes, about their inheritance and settlement in the Promised Land – cf. the united kingdom under Saul, David, and Solomon. There is a great and wonderful experience in store for those who have never read and searched the Bible. There are so many amazing and wonderful things, relationships, and concepts for the reader to digest that is contained in the Bible. The importance of the Bible in today’s modern world cannot be over emphasized; there are far too many people without meaningful life or direction today. The Bible can aid man in understanding his role in the scheme of life – Note carefully the following thought that is revealed to us by the Prophet; Jeremiah … Jeremiah 10:23 – O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps. (KJV)

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Faith Renewed by Grace

Why Does Our Faith Need to Be Renewed?

In Genesis 12, God calls Abram from Ur of the  Chaldees in Mesopotamia and provides a covenant  of great promise to him, but just three chapters later  (Gen. 15), we see God renewing his covenant and his  promises to him. Thus, he serves as one of many, many  examples of one whose faith needed renewing, since we  find God saying at the very beginning of the chapter,  “Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding  great reward” (Gen. 15:1). In other words, since fear is  the opposite of faith, evidently Abram needed his faith  renewed.

The apostle Paul points out the need for faith  being renewed in Galatians 6:1:  “Brethren, if a man  be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore  such a one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself,  lest thou also be tempted.” Since Christianity demands  giving God our heart, soul, mind and strength (Luke  10:27), then from time to time, our faith needs renewing.  We are prone to falter along the way. Thus, as we consider  the overall theme of “Renewing our Faith,” let us seek  to answer the question, “Why does our faith need to be  renewed?”

Our faith needs to be renewed because of the  continual need for the grace of God. Paul denotes the  conditional nature of grace when he declared, “ Not  by works of righteousness which we have done, but  according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of  regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which  He shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our  Savior; That being justified by His grace, we should  be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life ”  (Titus 3:5-7). In such, he connects our salvation by  “ the washing of regeneration ” with our justification  by grace. Naturally, “ the washing of regeneration ” is  an allusion to our faithful response of obedience to  God by submitting to the act of baptism. While God  supplies grace void of any merit on our part (Eph. 2:8- 9), “ the washing of regeneration ” is a condition of our  redemption. Again, Paul clearly gave both the divine  offer for salvation (“ For by grace are ye saved …”), as  well as the human responsive condition for acceptance  (“… through faith …”), which he later links with the fact  that we were “ cleansed by the washing of water with the  word ” (Eph. 5:26). While scholars almost universally  acknowledge the washing to be an allusion to baptism,  we can clearly see the condition of our reception of His  grace includes baptism.

However, add to this the fact that certain conditions  exist for one to continue in His grace. Far too many  believe that once God demonstrated grace in their lives,  God would never allow them to fall away (perseverance  of the saints). Yet, the Bible is clear that a child of God  can fall from grace (Gal. 5:4). It is possible to deny our  Lord who bought us to the point of destruction (2 Pet.  2:1). If one cannot fall from grace, then why did Paul and  Barnabas urge their brethren to “ continue in the grace  of God ” (Acts 13:43). Therefore, God has established  parameters for his children to keep ourselves in the  love of God (Jude 1:21) and to give diligence to make  our calling and election sure (2 Pet. 1:10) so that our  reception of the amazing grace of God is not in vain (2  Cor. 6:1). If so, it surely would be our fault and not His!

Our faith needs to be renewed because we often  falter along the way as those who are prone to the  temptations of the world. Consider the case study of  Simon the sorcerer from Samaria in Acts 8. He heard  the same gospel preached by Philip and submitted to  its conditions as did others. In fact, Luke describes his  conversion in precisely the same language as he did  the other believers (Acts 8:12-13). However, shortly  thereafter, Simon succumbed to the temptation before  him when he was fascinated at the ability of the apostles  to convey miraculous gifts through the process of laying  of hands. Thus, he attempted to bribe Peter and John  with money to purchase this unique ability. As a result,  his faith needed be renewed:  “But Peter said unto him,  Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought  that the gift of God may be purchased with money. Thou  hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is  not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this thy  wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine  heart may be forgiven thee. For I perceive that thou art in  the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity” (Acts  8:20-23). In other words, he needed his faith renewed  because he was in danger of “perishing” with his money.  One author defined the term and declared that Simon was  on the road to destruction unless he repented!

James declares frankly when he wrote,  “Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one  convert him; Let him know, that he which converteth  the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul  from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins”  (James  5:19-20). Thus, speaking of brethren, one can “err” in  such a way that he needs “converting,” which would  indeed save his soul and avert his destiny. May we all  caution ourselves from those things that would destroy  our faith, avail ourselves of the resources to renew our  faith when we falter, and appreciate the love and grace  of God every day of our lives!

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