SAVAGE WOLVES: ACTS 20:17-32

It is essential that we note that at this present moment our culture is in a crisis mode—and the Church of Jesus Christ is entangled right in the middle. We are confronted with apostasy as a result of the massive infiltration of false teachings. The present apostasy didn’t begin in our century—it started in the 1^st Century. At that time, the apostle Paul was deeply concerned with the potential destruction this would have to the churches he had founded during his missionary journeys. It was for this reason that he requested a meeting with the elders from Ephesus (Acts 20:17) to convey a dire warning and to remind them of their solemn responsibility:

Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. (Acts 20:28)

They needed to fully understand that it was by the divine appointment of the Holy Spirit that they were placed in their position of shepherds (elder) of the church of God. Therefore, Paul commands them to be on their guard, watchful and alert, to ensure the protection of their flock against false teaching.

Why should Paul be concerned with protecting these churches of Ephesus? Because he knew that a great opposition to his ministry was coming. He characterizes them as savage wolves:

I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. (Acts 20:29)

Paul had the perceptive ability to know there was a crisis on the horizon. Having experienced plenty of the trials and testing along the way, he instinctively knows what is coming—trouble is brewing.

Note three things about these savage wolves: First, they are cowards since they are waiting until Paul has departed. They know they are no match for the apostle Paul. Second, they will come among them, meaning they will be right in their midst, without any disguises. Thirdly, they will not spare the flock. Real wolves rip their prey wide open and scatter those that they do not catch. Here, these wolves will shred the truths which Paul has taught and scatter away those who are weak of faith, as borne out in this next verse.

And from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. (Acts 20:30)

The work of these savage wolves will entail the leading astray of believers within the Ephesus churches. They will be trained to rise up against the elders twisting and distorting Paul’s sound teachings.

Over 1900 years ago Paul predicted that these wolves would come and they are still coming even today. Over the centuries they have come in many manifestations: the Gnostics, the Church of Rome, the Charismatics, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Emerging Church—to name just a few. The evil machination of the savage wolves has metastasized into many Christian denominations today. They have mesmerized, hypnotized and lulled to sleep believers, convincing them that whichever way the cultural winds blow, it must be acceptable. This is evidenced by their twisting and distorting of Scripture. They do this by the syncretization of the Bible with the cultural dictates of infanticide, euthanasia, same sex marriage, and gender manipulations, in order to fit their narrative, usually one that espouses ‘love’ or ‘truly committed’ in their attempt to outmaneuver those who maintain Biblical Christianity.

Today the true believer is not only contending with the culture but also with perverse forces within Christendom. But the good news is that we have a strategy laid out for us in Scripture. Just as Paul commanded these elders, we are to “be on the alert” (v.31), aware of the impending advance of these savage wolves. But not only are we to be alert, he explains exactly what our strategy should be:

And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. (Acts 20:32)

 Paul is telling us that the word of His grace—Scripture—is able to build you up.1  What does he mean to build you up? The word in the original Greek, as Paul is using it, means “to build up in the faith, to edify, to cause to advance in the divine light.”2 In other words, the sound doctrine contained in Scripture will provide us with the defense we need to resist and prevail over the savage wolves. Paul states elsewhere that this conflict we are embroiled in is not on the physical level. These spiritual forces are led by none other than Satan:

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12)

Paul also outlines the nature of this struggle:

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. (2 Corinthians 10:3–4)

And this weapon he speaks of is the “sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17). And since the word of God is able to build us up in our faith, Paul instructs that we should be “taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one” (Ephesians 6:16).

R.C.H. Lenski underscores the necessity for the believer to be built up or edified by sound doctrine from God’s Word:

When we call this building up “edification” we do so only in the New Testament sense of the word. Edification is by no means the arousing of pleasant religious sensations but an increase, an unfolding of the whole spiritual life, including more and better knowledge, but especially centering the will and the character more deeply in Christ and in His Word. Men who are thus built up are proof [resistant/immune] against wolves and errors.3 [Emphasis mine]

This building ourselves up is a means of enlightening ourselves with the pertinent doctrine of Scripture that will fortify our spiritual defenses.4 This is not an isolated principle of Scripture, Jude also writes concerning false teachers, providing the same directive as Paul:

These [savage wolves/false teachers] are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit. But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. (Jude 19–21)

In conclusion, we believers in Jesus Christ must also be on our guard against the savage wolves. We must be able to identify the wolves and recognize that their ‘end game’ is to disrupt and scatter the flock of God. They will ridicule and mock us for our adherence to Biblical truth—this is evidence of the “last days” forewarned by Peter and Jude (2 Peter 3:3; Jude 18). Our vigilance requires the consistent study of God’s Word5 and persistent praying6 for God’s intercession and victory over these savage wolves.

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[1] cf. Hebrews 4:12

[2] Zodhiates, S. (2000). The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (electronic ed.). Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, G3618.

[3] Lenski, R.C.H. (2001) Commentary on the New Testament, Peabody, MA: Hedrickson Publishers, 5.853-854.

[4] cf. 1 Thessalonians 2:13; 1 Timothy 4:6; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; Matthew 4:4

[5] 2 Timothy 2:15; Isaiah 28:13

[6] 1 Thessalonians 5:17

 

© 2022 David M. Rossi

WHO HAS DESPISED THE DAY OF SMALL THINGS?

Beginning in 605 B.C. with the fall of the northern tribes of Israel to Assyria and culminating with the events of 586 B.C., the entire Jewish nation is now under divine discipline—in captivity to a foreign nation which will last for 70 years. The Lord had forewarned this through His prophet Jeremiah:

 This whole land will be a desolation and a horror, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years. (Jeremiah 25:11)

At the conclusion of the 70 years, the Jews were permitted by Cyrus, the king of Persia, to return to their land to “rebuild the house of the Lord” (Ezra 1:1-5). The construction began with the laying of the foundation in 535 B.C. only to be halted in 530 B.C. by the Samaritan inhabitants of the land contesting the legal right of the Jews to rebuild the temple. This was resolved and construction resumed in 520 B.C. and completed in 515 B.C.

The New Temple

You would expect that there would be universal appreciation for this new temple as it represented a new beginning for the Jewish people after their 70 years of foreign captivity. Yet not all were enthusiastic about this new edifice—and the discontent began even at the laying of the foundation.

Yet many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers’ households, the old men who had seen the first temple, wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, while many shouted aloud for joy, so that the people could not distinguish the sound of the shout of joy from the sound of the weeping of the people, for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the sound was heard far away. (Ezra 3:12–13)

The Lord reassured Zechariah of the temple’s completion and of those who would be dissatisfied:

The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house, and his hands will finish it. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. For who has despised the day of small things? (Zechariah 4:9–10a)

Despising the Day of Small Things

The intention of this study is to focus on this phrase: ‘despising the day of small things,’ and to ask the question: What does the Lord mean by this?

But first, two things need to be clarified at this point:

First, the answer to this question is found in the Ezra 3:12 (noted above).

Ryrie notes that at the day the foundation was laid “[M]any older men who remembered the grandeur of Solomon's Temple (destroyed about 50 years before) wept because this Temple was smaller and less magnificent.”1

The Lord, speaking through His prophet Haggai, knew the sentiment of those who despised the new temple as “nothing in comparison” to the former temple (Haggai 2:3).

Secondly, a fuller sense is needed of the word ‘despise’. With additional illumination from the Hebrew lexicon, the term is defined as showing contempt “to the point of rejection.”2 The thrust of this verb within this context describes the status quo—the state of being—of those who had returned from captivity. This emphasizes that their mentality is fixed upon demonstrating contempt towards this new temple.

Why, after 70 years of captivity and having been brought back to the land, would they now have contempt for this new temple edifice? Because their faith in the Lord was shallow. They are more concerned with architecture than in the faithfulness of God and His promises, even ignoring the Lords promise proclaimed through His prophet Haggai while the temple was being constructed:

“I will shake all the nations; and they will come with the wealth of all nations, and I will fill this house with glory,” says the Lord of hosts. “The silver is Mine and the gold is Mine,” declares the Lord of hosts. “The latter glory of this house will be greater than the former,” says the Lord of hosts, “and in this place I will give peace,” declares the Lord of hosts. (Haggai 2:7–9)

The Application for Us Today

Are there any despised matters in our Christian life today? Do we fret that our church building is not a magnificent structure with all the bells and whistles (Jumbotrons, escalators, music, baristas, etc.) in order to appeal, entice and satisfy those in padded pews, like the church down the street? How about our personal status? Do we despise the fact that our standing is smaller than and not as prominent as another Christian worker: preacher, Sunday school teacher, missionary or professor?

The feeling of having a small church building or being a small and insignificant person is tantamount to contempt for God’s plan for our lives. Francis Schaeffer succinctly puts this issue into perspective:

The Scripture emphasized that much can come from little if the little is truly consecrated to God. There are no little people and no big people in the true spiritual sense, but only consecrated and unconsecrated people...as there are no little people in God’s sight, so there are no little places. To be wholly committed to God in the place where God wants him—this is the creature glorified. In my writing and lecturing I put much emphasis on God’s being the infinite reference point...but He must be the reference point not only in our thinking, but in our living. This means being what He wants me to be, where He wants me to be.3

What Schaeffer means by consecrated is that of a Christian who is dedicated to serving God by being led by the Holy Spirit. The solution to this is to stop fixating on people and things and instead to seek our directive from Scripture. This despising and contempt is a violation of the commands which we have been given to be content in what we have:

Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5)

And to be content with our position in God’s plan, just as the apostle Paul learned to be:

Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. (Philippians 4:11-12)

And what gave Paul the resolve to be content? When he realized that he needed the Lord’s enabling:

I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13)

Transformation and Renovation Needed

We should never despise or disparage what may seem to be a "small" place in God's plan. Instead we should rely upon Christ’s strength to help us adjust to whatever situation He places us. Paul tells us that this adjustment can be obtained by the renovating work of His word:

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2)

What Paul is implying by the command—do not be conformed to this world—is that we should not think as the world (i.e. the culture) does with human viewpoint reasoning. We should always defer to Divine viewpoint contained in Scripture. Therefore, it is imperative that we renew our mind and this necessitates a daily regimen of studying His Word. Its importance to our lives is just as Our Lord stated while refuting Satan:

But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4:4)

Only by this approach can we be contented with our position in His plan and to become a fully enabled witness of the gospel, glorifying Christ.

 

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[1] Ryrie, C.C. (1995). Ryrie Study Bible, Chicago, IL: Moody, p. 726 Note, Ezra 3:12.

[2] Martens, E. A. (1999). R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed.). Chicago: Moody Press, [213 בּוּז] p. 95.

[3] Schaeffer, Francis A. (1985). “No Little People,” The Complete Works of Francis Schaeffer, Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 3.8-9

 

© 2022 David M. Rossi

A PERFECT MAN: JAMES 3:1-4

Verses 1-4: Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment. For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well. Now if we put the bits into the horses’ mouths so that they will obey us, we direct their entire body as well. Look at the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, are still directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot desires.

James returns to a theme threaded through chapters 1 and 2: “quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger” (1:19); the bridling of the tongue (1:26); the disingenuous idle words (2:16).

He begins with the command that not many should become teachers—specifically, teachers of Bible doctrine. Apparently in the Church’s early days, there were those who wished to aspire to teach without the proper foundations of the faith, possibly emphasizing Jewish customs or introducing false doctrines. Since Christianity was in its infancy, doctrines of the Christian faith hadn’t been fully disseminated until the inspired writing of James then Paul (c. 52 AD), Peter (c. 64-67 AD) and John (c. 90 AD). James’ cautionary note was to those who had begun to teach without being qualified or even comprehending the doctrines of the Christian faith.

 However, James implies that it is right for some to consider becoming teachers. The apostle Paul stated that becoming a teacher is divinely motivated seeing that God appointed them in the Church:

And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues. (1 Corinthians 12:28f)

And that He has done so with a specific purpose:

And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. (Ephesians 4:11–13)

We should be mindful of James’ cautionary note because it applies even to the church today. For those who are motivated to become teachers by blatant arrogance or blind ambition (cf. Matthew 23:5–7; Philippians 1:17), they will receive a stricter judgment for misguiding believers especially if they are teaching false doctrine (Jude 11-16). R.C.H. Lenski aptly observes:

God will look more closely at all teachers when he judges them. Teachers undertake to convey God’s Word in the way in which God wants it conveyed; God will judge them on that score.[1]

James admits in verse 2 the fact that we all stumble, that we all slip up or commit sin. The emphasis in the Greek is on the phrase many ways, so there is no foundation for the false doctrine of sinless perfection. I believe the phrase does not stumble in what he says means ‘does not aspire to teach when unqualified to teach.’ Controlling the impulse to be a teacher is the important point that he is making—the mature (perfect) person has control of the content of what proceeds from his mouth. And by doing so, this individual will be able to control (bridle) the whole body as well.

Next,  two illustrations are presented to support his argument: First, a person’s ability to control a horse by placing the bridle (the bits) into the horses’ mouth, the rider is able to direct the horses’ entire body (vs. 3); Second, by using a very small rudder the ship’s pilot can direct the ship wherever he wishes it to sail (vs. 4). These examples indicate two different hindrances that must be overcome in order to control the horse that they will obey and the ship that is large and driven by strong winds. It follows that since a person can control a horse or a ship that he can certainly control what he says and thus become a mature person. Exactly how a person overcomes that which hinders his ability to control what he says, James will explain at length later in this chapter.

The essence of what James is telling us, is that it takes a mature individual to understand that teaching God’s Word is by divine appointment and not to be recklessly grasped; and that the content of what is taught must be consistent with what God has revealed—His divine viewpoint—and not interpreted by human viewpoint.

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[1] Lenski, R.C.H. (2001). Commentary on the New Testament, Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 10.600.

© 2023 David M. Rossi

Is There Absolute Truth?

In this age we live, there is a substantial flow of information, ranging from various issues: political, science, social, morality. How can a person discern which statements are factual and which are deception? There must be a methodology to determine the truth from all the information that is daily thrust upon us.

It is a basic premise of logic that two diametrically opposing views cannot both be true at the same time. This is the reason that Dr. Francis Schaeffer maintained “that there are such things as absolutes.”[1] Norman Geisler defines an absolute as that “Which is true for everyone, everywhere, always.”[2] If someone were to dispute this by stating that there are no absolutes, they would have contradicted themselves in doing so by stating an absolute: there are no absolutes. Francis Schaeffer aptly pointed out how the deviation from this logical premise has affected our culture:

In morality, if one thing was right, its opposite was wrong. This little formula, “A is A” and “If you have A it is not non-A,” is the first move in classical logic. If you understand the extent to which this no longer holds sway, you will understand our present situation.[3]

In the ‘present situation’ within our culture, there has been a departure from the concept of absolute truth to the advancement of the notion of ‘relative truth’—whatever I choose to believe depending upon the circumstances or the context at the moment. This thinking has given rise to the idea that there are not just black or white issues in choices of right and wrong, but there are gray areas of choice in deciding right or wrong, or for that matter, what is true or false.

Because of the negation of the concept of absolute truth within our culture today, it makes it nearly impossible to determine the truthfulness of whatever is published or communicated by authority figures or broadcasted by the news media—whether it encompasses politics, science or societal issues and especially in the areas of faith and morality. Much of what is reported is viewed through the prism of what is desired to be true—and many times lacking objective and/or supportive facts.

However, when it comes to faith and issues of morality, believers in Jesus Christ do have a basis for absolute truth. For God has revealed to us His truth in the person of His Son Jesus Christ (“the truth,” John 14:6) and His Word (“Your Word is truth” John 17:17). Dr. Lewis Sperry Chafer amplifies these two passages:

When Christ declared, “I am…the truth” (John 14:6), He alleged far more than the incontrovertible fact that He is Himself truthful. He declared Himself to be the Truth and in the sense that He is the central theme of the Scriptures of Truth. He is the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness (Revelation 1:5; 3:14. Cf. Isaiah 55:4). He said concerning Himself, “To this end was I born, and to this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth” (John 18:37)—not merely a witness to the moral value of truth, but a witness to the Word of God. “Thy word is truth” (John 17:17).[4]

What is being implied here is that believers can be confident that the Bible contains absolute truth about God, His universe and man. We are assured by the Lord Jesus Himself that “Thy word is truth”—this is supported by the writer of Hebrews who stated that “it is impossible for God to lie” (Hebrews 6:18; cf. Numbers 23:19; Psalm 119:160; Titus 1:2). And since the Bible has as its foundation absolute truth, it is not surprising that the Scriptures provide believers with considerable instructions to highly regard the truth that it contains. Note some of these directives:

“And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32)

Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness. (Ephesians 6:14)

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15)

But note also how the Scripture views dismissive attitudes towards God’s truth:

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. (Romans 1:18)

Always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. (2 Timothy 3:7)

 And will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. (2 Timothy 4:4)

 And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. (2 Peter 2:2)

Christians today are being besieged by a culture that is advocating the concept of pluralism—that everything is acceptable—relative truth. That “there is no right or wrong; it is just a matter of your personal preference.”[5] This mind-set has infiltrated many Christian denominations today. That in spite of clear Scripture teachings on various issues (i.e. same-sex marriage, sexuality, women in the clergy), there is a push to do what we think is best, or worse yet, how we can appeal to the desires and dictates of the secular culture.

This is contrary to how we are to handle God’s truth. The Word of God is intended to be the believer’s standard for verifying the facticity of cultural claims and endorsements and to determine if they are contradictory to God’s revealed truth. Compromising the truth to accommodate cultural trends is nothing less than a denial of the authority of the Word and the short-circuiting of the work of the Holy Spirit.

There is a great divide in Christianity today. A real chasm as described by Francis Schaeffer:

The real chasm is not between Presbyterians and everyone else, or Lutherans and everyone else, or Anglicans and everyone else, or Baptists and everyone else. The real chasm is between those who have bowed to the living God and thus also to the verbal, propositional communication of God’s inerrant Word, the Scriptures, and those who have not.[6]

To stand on the side of the chasm that rejects the absolute truth of God’s Word is a failure to be a faithful witness of Jesus Christ to this lost generation.

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[1] Schaeffer, Francis A. (1985). The Complete Works of Francis A. Schaeffer, Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1.6

[2] Geisler, Norman (2002). Systematic Theology, Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House, 1.109.

[3] Ibid, Schaeffer, 1.6

[4] Chafer, Lewis Sperry (1976). Systematic Theology, Dallas, TX: Dallas Seminary Press 1.97

[5] Ibid, Schaeffer, 5.440

[6] Ibid, Schaeffer, 4.353