It does not reject or replace Christ

• Some have the idea that either Jesus or baptism saves. It is it not either or!
• Acts 2:38
• Luke 10:17 - What does “in your name” mean?
• Baptized in the name of Christ
  • Deuteronomy 18:20
  • I Samuel 17:45
  • Acts 3:6; 4:7
  • Matthew 28:19
  • Acts 2:38
  • Acts 8:16
  • Acts 10:48
  • Acts 19:5
• Romans 6:3
• Colossians 2:12
• I Peter 3:21
• Therefore … obey Christ by being baptized!
  • Luke 6:46 - Jesus is the one demanding we do things!

It does not add one to a denomination.

• I Corinthians 12:12, 27 - Baptism adds us to the one body.
• Ephesians 3:27
• Baptism doesn’t put one into any man-made organization or into a local church.
• Therefore … submit to Christ!
  • I Corinthians 1:12-15

It does not mean your work for God is done.

• Matthew 28:19-20
• Acts 2:38, 41
• Therefore … walk in newness of life!
  • Romans 6:3-5, 11-13

It does not keep one from sinning later and being lost.

• Acts 8:12-13, 18-24
• Galatians 5:4; 1:2; 3:26; 5:7 - They were once faithful, but then hindered.
• I Corinthians 9:19, 22-23, 27 - Paul was careful to not be lost himself after working so hard to save others.
• Therefore … keep resisting the devil.
  • James 4:7
  • Colossians 1:21

Local churches are authorized to provide for the preaching of the gospel (continued)

Overview of the New Testament passages (continued)

• Philippians 1:3-5; 4:14-18 - “participation in the gospel”
• I Thessalonians 1:6-10 - “sounded forth from you”
  • I Thessalonians 2:2, 14
  • II Thessalonians 1:4
  • This was a brand new church, but they were already spreading the word and had a reputation for doing so.

Observation: The money was sent directly to the preacher.

• Antioch ➡️ Paul and Barnabas (Acts 15:3?)
• Corinth ➡️ Paul (I Corinthians 9:1-18)
• Philippi ➡️ Paul (Philippians 4:14-18)
• II Corinthians 11:7-9 - multiple churches sent directly to Paul
• We never see a “sponsoring church” in the New Testament.
• Benchley sends money directly to preachers, giving us direct communication and oversight.

Objection: We need something more.

• First, whether we ever understand WHY God limited work to a congregational level instead of a multi-congregational level, that’s as far as the authority goes.
• Second, God’s congregational method works wonderfully!
• Example:
  • Initially, elders were over their own congregation, as directed in the New Testament.
  • Over time, one elder became chief elder, then one elder gained power over more churches, finally resulting in the Pope.
  • At what point did this become wrong?
  • How far back would you need to scale it back to make it right?

Sponsoring churches

• First, there is no authority for churches to pool money together for evangelism.
  • Some argue: churches sent wages to Paul via Philippi. Philippi was a sponsoring church.
    • Philippians 4:15
    • Context: Philippians 4:15-18 - The Philippian church sent directly to Paul.
    • II Corinthians 11:8 - Which churches are these? Is this the same occasion?
• Second, local churches - which should have independent function and local oversight - give away control of the money they send.

Introduction

• Micah 6:8
• The group at Benchley has changed greatly over the years, but we are called to walk humbly with God. How do we do this with a more heterogeneous group?
• When we have different interpretations of scripture, differing unstandings of God’s will, the baseline is always the scripture.

The unity God wants among His children

• I Peter 3:8-12
• Philippians 1:27; 2:2-4
• Ephesians 4:1-6
• John 14, 15, 17
  • Our unity and disunity tells the world something about God and Christ.
  • John 17:11, 22-23
  • We cannot sacrifice truth for the sake of unity.

Handling conflicting convictions

Acts 15

• Conflicting convictions
  • Must keep Law of Moses; must be circumcised vs. No need for these under the new covenant in Christ
• What did they do?
  • Acts 15:2 - Paul and Barnabas have “great dissension and debate” with them.
  • Acts 15:6 - In Jerusalem, apostles and elders coome together to look into the matter.
  • Acts 15:7-11 - Paul presents evidence and arguments.
  • Acts 15:12 - Barnabas and Paul speak of what God had done through them.
  • Acts 15:13-21 - James reasons from scripture.
  • Acts 15:19 - James: “Therefore it is my judgment that …”
  • Acts 15:22 - “Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church to …”

Romans 14:1-15:7

• Romans 14:3-4 - Don’t be focused on making distinctions about who belongs to God.
• Romans 14:10-13 - Ultimately, God is the judge. Focus on your own accountability.
• Romans 14:13, 19; 15:1-2 - Focus on promoting peace and building others up in following Christ.
• Romans 14:16-21 - Be willing to sacrifice your liberty (right) for the good of others
• Romans 14:5, 22-23 - Operate within your understanding of God’s will and your conscience
• Romans 14:22; 15:5-7 - Humbly walk with God

I Corinthians 8-10

• I Corinthians 8:1-2; 9:19-23; 10:23-24 - Focus on the good of others. Do what is best for them.
• I Corinthians 8:9-10; 10:28-33 - Pay attention to the influence your practice of your faith has on others.
• I Corinthians 8:13; 9:15, 18 - Be willing to sacrifice your liberty (right) for the good of others
• I Corinthians 9:24-27 - Act with the end in mind: receiving God’s reward TOGETHER

Apollos, Aquila, and Priscilla (Acts 18:24-28)

• Aquila and Priscilla - take Apollos aside privately to teach him.
• Apollos - Open to teaching from others

Conclusion

• When we have differing interpretations of scritpure, differing understandings of God’s will
  • We never surrender the pursuit of truth, the pursuit of God’s will.
  • We conduct that pursuit with humility.
  • Recognizing that our understanding is imperfect, that God is gracious and patient and we must be also, and God expects His children to be unified as they walk with Him.

I Samuel 8 - Israel demands a king

I Samuel 8:1-5

• Samuel’s sons become judges
• But their corruption leads to the people rejecting them
• The people demand a king
• Judges 2:16 - God raises up the judges
• Deuteronomy 16:18-20 - appointment of judges
  • They shall …
    • use just judgment
    • shall not pervert justice
    • shall not take a bribe

I Samuel 8:4-7

• Elders of Israel come to Samuel - give us a king
• Samuel feels insulted, like they are rejecting his leadership
• God tells him, they are rejecting me and not you
• I Samuel 4:5-8
• I Samuel 6:5-6 - The Philistines knew God ruled over Israel and they feared Him.
• Was this part of God’s plan all along?
  • Deuteronomy 17:14-20 - written about 400 years before I Samuel 8.
    • Principles governing kings of Israel:
      • God will choose
      • He shall not do business with Egypt
      • He shall not take multiple wives
      • He shall not be greedy
      • Write his own copy of the law, and he shall read it
      • He shall not think of himself as better than the people

I Samuel 9 - Saul chosen to be king

Who is Saul?

• Tribe of Benjamin
  • Genesis 49:27 - ravenous wolf
  • Judges 19-21 - civil war
  • Paul also came out of the tribe of Benjamin
• Young, handsome, taller than everyone

Humility of Saul

• I Samuel 9:6-7
• I Samuel 9:19-21
• I Samuel 10:20-22 - Saul hid when it was time for him to be anointed.

I Samuel 10 - Saul anointed as king

• I Samuel 10:25-27 - Some rebels were not happy with God’s choice of king.
  • Even with God making the best possible decision, some people will be unhappy.

Introduction

• Ephesians 5:15-17

Be a good evaluator.

• Proverbs 14:16
• Proverbs 6:18
• Proverbs 14:12-13
• Proverbs 22:3
• Acts 17:11 - The Bereans were good evaluators! Don’t believe everything you hear from preachers or anyone else.
• Colossians 2:8

Build the strongest faith you’ve ever had.

• Timothy: II Timothy 1:5; 3:14
  • Timothy was raised knowing God and the scriptures.
• Josiah: II Chronicles 33:1-2, 21-24; 34:1-3
  • Josiah’s father and grandfather did evil in God’s eyes, but Josiah built his own faith.
• It is up to you to develop your own faith, regardless of your upbringing.

Develop joy in Christ!

• Galatians 5:22
• Philippians 1:3, 18, 25; 2:2, 17-18, 28; 3:1; 4:1, 4, 10 - Paul wrote about joy while he was sitting in prison!
• Christians should have joy and a lasting contentment.
• Be a good identifier in recognizing your blessings!
• John 15:11
• Don’t aim to make college the four happiest years of your life. Aim to make it the time when you discover true joy in Christ.