During a sermon titled Great is the Mystery, I heard an Elder of a Primitive Baptist Church say some strange things. I thought about the topic on and off for several weeks, checked my sword and was inspired to write the following blog post.
Here are a
few relevant quotes from the Elder’s sermon:
1. “…The primary way that God reveals this teaching to His children is through the preaching of His Word.”
Continuing:
The story is told again in Acts 22. Let us see what Ananias said to Saul.
Did you
read the part about Ananias preaching and teaching the gospel to Saul? No? You didn't because it is not in the scriptures. Not only that, Ananias is said to have been a devout man in Acts 22:12 not a preacher or teacher! Ananias cured Saul’s blindness.
Saul also received the Holy Spirit and was baptized. There was no preaching and
no teaching by Ananias recorded in the scriptures! It is true that Lord Jesus said to Saul “Arise, and go
into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.” But nowhere in the
scriptures did any man teach Paul the Gospel of Christ. But wait, are you
sure? The scriptures are vague, they don’t say for sure, do they?
There you have the answer. Paul got his gospel directly from Jesus Christ. It was not taught to him by Ananias. If you read on in Galatians you will see it was not taught to Paul by the other apostles. Paul plainly states it was from a revelation of Jesus Christ. And there was not just one revelation, there were several. As a matter of fact, Paul was given a splinter of the flesh to keep him in check because of the many revelations from Jesus Christ.
The last quote I want to highlight is also not scriptural. The elder said: “Christ says go to this man Ananias and he will tell you what to do.” This is not at all what Christ said. Christ said “Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.” Christ did give the name of Ananias to Saul in a vision but simply said that: “…and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight.”
Romans 16:25 Now to him that is of power to establish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,
It was kept secret. Ananias did not know the secret! Moses did not know the secret. The twelve who were with Jesus through his whole ministry did not know what was revealed to Paul by Jesus Christ.
Colossians 1:26 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
Ephesians 3:8 Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;
This mystery or secret, was unsearchable because it had never been revealed before!
What Paul preached was different than what the twelve preached. Paul had a different mission, a different commission. No one else spoke of this present dispensation of Grace. No other author of scripture speaks of the Body of Christ. No other author of scripture writes about the Gospel of the Grace of God. All of these were hidden until Christ revealed them through Paul.
I believe
members of Christ’s body are obligated to stand fast in the truth. Paul said:
2
Timothy 3:16, 17: All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is
profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto
all good works.
1. “…The primary way that God reveals this teaching to His children is through the preaching of His Word.”
2. “We are
here to do our best to worship God in spirit and in truth…”
3. “Even when Paul was converted on the road to
Damascus he had to go to a preacher to hear the truth”
4. “Christ
says go to this man Ananias and he will tell you what to do.”
It is
imperative that members of the body of Christ be accurate when they quote
scripture. As members of the body we represent Christ to other members and also
to those who are not. Additionally, all members can and will be teachers at one
time or another and must strive to accurately represent the scriptures.
Preachers,
teachers and elders are fallible humans and they make mistakes. When they do
they need to be corrected. They need to be corrected so the congregation does
not continue in their walk believing something that is not true. While most
congregants do not study to show themselves approved, I
believe it is important to dig into the scriptures like the Bereans of Acts
17:2 who searched the scriptures daily to see if these things be true.
What I took
from the closing words of the sermon was: No one is smart enough to understand
the truths of Christ without a preacher, teacher or elder to guide them. That
point was made largely by the first quote I mentioned: “…The primary way that
God reveals this teaching to His children is through the preaching of His
Word.” This is true given that most people will not take the time to study for themselves.
To drive
the point home, the elder says that: “Even when Paul was converted on the
road to Damascus he had to go to a preacher to hear the truth”. This statement
is what raised the red flag when I heard this sermon for the first time several
weeks ago. The truth is that Paul did not learn anything about the gospel of
Christ from Ananias. So the question is, who did Paul receive his gospel from?
Let us dig into the scriptures. For this exercise we will use the King James Version.
Acts
9:4-13: And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice
saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art
thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for
thee to kick against the pricks. And he trembling and astonished said, Lord,
what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into
the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. And the men which
journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man. And
Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but
they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus. And he was three days
without sight, and neither did eat nor drink. And there was a certain disciple
at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And
he said, Behold, I am here, Lord. And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go
into the street which is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for
one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth, And hath seen in a vision
a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might
receive his sight. Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this
man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem:
Continuing:
Acts
9:17-20: And Ananias
went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said,
Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou
camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with
the Holy Ghost. And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales:
and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized. And when he had
received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the
disciples which were at Damascus. And straightway he preached Christ in the
synagogues, that he is the Son of God.
The story is told again in Acts 22. Let us see what Ananias said to Saul.
Acts
22:14-16 And he said, The God of our
fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that Just
One, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth. For thou shalt be his witness
unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard. And now why tarriest thou?
arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the
Lord.
Would it
not be safe to check something Paul wrote to find out how he received what he
termed “My Gospel”? The answer is in Paul’s words! For the answer to the
question we read:
Galatians 1:11, 12: But I certify you, brethren, that the
gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of
man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.
There you have the answer. Paul got his gospel directly from Jesus Christ. It was not taught to him by Ananias. If you read on in Galatians you will see it was not taught to Paul by the other apostles. Paul plainly states it was from a revelation of Jesus Christ. And there was not just one revelation, there were several. As a matter of fact, Paul was given a splinter of the flesh to keep him in check because of the many revelations from Jesus Christ.
2
Corinthians 12:7 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the
abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the
messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.
The last quote I want to highlight is also not scriptural. The elder said: “Christ says go to this man Ananias and he will tell you what to do.” This is not at all what Christ said. Christ said “Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.” Christ did give the name of Ananias to Saul in a vision but simply said that: “…and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight.”
Was Saul
told what he must do when he arrived? He sure was! But the scriptures do not
say that Saul received any teaching or preaching from Ananias! After he
received his sight, he received the Holy Spirit and was baptized. We are not
told specifically when Paul received “His” gospel from Christ but we know for
sure it was not taught to him from Ananias. Do you think the Holy Spirit taught
Saul a thing or two?
Galatians
1:11, 12 again: But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached
of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught
it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Romans 16:25 Now to him that is of power to establish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,
It was kept secret. Ananias did not know the secret! Moses did not know the secret. The twelve who were with Jesus through his whole ministry did not know what was revealed to Paul by Jesus Christ.
Want more
proof?
Ephesians
3:9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from
the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by
Jesus Christ:
Colossians 1:26 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
Ephesians 3:8 Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;
This mystery or secret, was unsearchable because it had never been revealed before!
Galatians
2:7 But
contrariwise, when they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed
unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter;
What Paul preached was different than what the twelve preached. Paul had a different mission, a different commission. No one else spoke of this present dispensation of Grace. No other author of scripture speaks of the Body of Christ. No other author of scripture writes about the Gospel of the Grace of God. All of these were hidden until Christ revealed them through Paul.
Ananias
opened Saul’s eyes but he could not have revealed the radically different
message that Paul preached. Ananias did not preach to Saul! I hope this can be
seen not from my argument but from studying the scriptures. This takes me back
to the second quote from Elder Harvey that I highlighted: “We are here to do
our best to worship God in spirit and in truth…”
As a simple student of the
scriptures and member of Christ’s body, my advice to fellow members: Do not
depart from the scriptures! It is the scriptures that are given to the man of
God so that he may be perfect and thoroughly furnished unto all good works (2
Tim 3:16, 17) not preaching!
There are
no more prophets, disciples or apostles. The scriptures have been provided.
They are complete. I suggest you members of the body study! Study to show
yourself approved! (2 Timothy 2:15)
My takeaway from the Primitive Baptist elder is: You members of the body need me to preach and
reveal the truth to you because you cannot grasp it. Hence the quote: “Even
when Paul was converted on the road to Damascus he had to go to a preacher to
hear the truth.”
Don't forget this little jewel that was inspired by the Holy Spirit: 1 Corinthians 1:21: For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
Now you know where Paul received his gospel from! You have the scriptures! Study like a Berean and pray for the Spirit to guide you.
Don't forget this little jewel that was inspired by the Holy Spirit: 1 Corinthians 1:21: For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
Now you know where Paul received his gospel from! You have the scriptures! Study like a Berean and pray for the Spirit to guide you.
May the
Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Grace be with you.
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