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

Observation: the money was sent directly to the preacher (continued)

• Wayne Goforth: “Why I Left the Institutional Position”
• If the principle is wrong, the scale doesn’t matter.
• Let’s not stray beyond the simple NT pattern (“Herald of Truth,” “One Nation Under God” campaign, etc.).
• Sponsoring church arrangement
  • First, there is no authoring for churches to pool money together for evangelism.
  • Second, local churches - which should have independent local function and local oversight - give away control of the money they send.

Observation: the gospel was taught

• I Corinthians 9:14
• II Corinthians 11:7
• Philippians 4:15
• I Corinthians 15:1-8
• II Thessalonians 1:8
• The gospel is more than just the facts of Jesus’ life, death, burial, and resurrection - it’s the whole body of teaching in the New Testament.
• Mark 16:15-16
• Matthew 28:19-20
• What a wonderful thing we are tasked with teaching! Romans 1:16
• We also cannot go beyond the gospel to teach other things.

Observation: Encouragement of preachers was important (not just money).

• Acts 13:3; 14:26

I Samuel 11

• I Samuel 11:1-3 - Although it is not mentioned here, we know from later passages that Nahash is the king of the Ammonites. The elders didn’t seem to have confidence in either Saul or God.
• I Samuel 11:4 - The people also show complete lack of confidence in God and Saul.
• I Samuel 11:5 - Saul seems to have not been recognized in his official capacity yet.
• I Samuel 11:7 - Saul ties himself to Samuel’s authority.
• I Samuel 11:15 - Saul is again anointed king and there is great rejoicing. Saul was doing a great job as king so far. He showed faith and courage and handled problems quickly and decisively. He was still humble at this point.

I Samuel 12

• I Samuel 12:1-5 - Samuel had a good reputation. He reminds the people that he had done a good job and they had no good reason to demand a king.
• I Samuel 12:7-13 - Samuel reminded them of all the righteous deeds God had done for them as further indictment for their decision to ask for a king.
• I Samuel 12:14-15 - The nation would have run fine under judges if they had obeyed God.
• I Samuel 12:23 - Samuel considered it sin for him to not pray for Israel.
• I Samuel 12:25 - It is interesting to compare the state of Israel with the founding of America. See the book Forged in Faith by Rod Gragg.

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.
• Galatians 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.