"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because
you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me." They were to be a nation of priests, just as
Peter said we are to be. Lack of
knowledge is deadly. We ignore the word
of the Lord at our own peril. Too many
Christians spend absolutely no time in the word for themselves, content to have a second-hand
relationship with both God and His Word.
The role of clergy relates to the exposition of the word but that
exposition should produce a hunger for the word in the hearer. They should want to know more for themselves,
not decide that the Bible is so complicated it is best left to experts like the
preacher. In Deuteronomy Moses said,
"For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for
you, neither is it far off. " If
you have the Spirit of God, you can read, mark, learn and inwardly digest the
Scripture for yourself. It is that
personal knowledge, ownership of the Word, that keeps us safe and out of
heresy. We are all to abide in the Word
that we might drive away erroneous teaching and remain in Him. Ignorance of the law is no defense for sin.
Luke tells us that this man is full of leprosy. He isn't mildly afflicted, he is eaten up
with whatever leprosy meant and when Jesus touches him we should be in
awe. That he rises completely healed is
beyond his imagining. Asking him to tell
no one but to go and show himself to the priest to certify the cleansing must
surely have brought a smile to the man's face.
What was he going to do, keep this a secret? Can you imagine the conversation with the
priest when he presented himself?
"What has happened?" "I can't say. I promised not to tell." Right.
The paralytic is brought before Jesus and the press of those who have
come for healing and to hear Him teach is great when suddenly the roof is
opened and a litter bearing the man comes down and Jesus' response is to
forgive his sins. He knew what was necessary
in all healings and did the important bit first. He had real knowledge.
I love the little description Luke gives us in verse 8,
Philip the evangelist, one of the seven.
One of the seven? Philip was one
of the seven deacons chosen in the early days of the church to take care of the
food distribution and here we see him described as the evangelist. We know that during the persecution in
Jerusalem that broke out after Stephen's death by stoning Philip went to Samaria
and found a great harvest of new believers.
Apparently he had left behind the work of waiting tables and overseeing
the dole, and has become known as the evangelist. All of us are to be prepared in and out of season
to do the work of evangelists, not just the professionals. Everywhere they go, people seem to know it
won't go well in Jerusalem for Paul and attempt to deter him but Paul isn't
afraid of suffering, he knows what likely awaits him there as well as Jesus had
done. The temptation is always present to avoid suffering but Paul, like Jesus,
knew that sometimes you have to go head on into the storm.
"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because
you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me." They were to be a nation of priests, just as
Peter said we are to be. Lack of
knowledge is deadly. We ignore the word
of the Lord at our own peril. Too many
Christians spend absolutely no time in the word for themselves, content to have a second-hand
relationship with both God and His Word.
The role of clergy relates to the exposition of the word but that
exposition should produce a hunger for the word in the hearer. They should want to know more for themselves,
not decide that the Bible is so complicated it is best left to experts like the
preacher. In Deuteronomy Moses said,
"For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for
you, neither is it far off. " If
you have the Spirit of God, you can read, mark, learn and inwardly digest the
Scripture for yourself. It is that
personal knowledge, ownership of the Word, that keeps us safe and out of
heresy. We are all to abide in the Word
that we might drive away erroneous teaching and remain in Him. Ignorance of the law is no defense for sin.
Luke tells us that this man is full of leprosy. He isn't mildly afflicted, he is eaten up
with whatever leprosy meant and when Jesus touches him we should be in
awe. That he rises completely healed is
beyond his imagining. Asking him to tell
no one but to go and show himself to the priest to certify the cleansing must
surely have brought a smile to the man's face.
What was he going to do, keep this a secret? Can you imagine the conversation with the
priest when he presented himself?
"What has happened?" "I can't say. I promised not to tell." Right.
The paralytic is brought before Jesus and the press of those who have
come for healing and to hear Him teach is great when suddenly the roof is
opened and a litter bearing the man comes down and Jesus' response is to
forgive his sins. He knew what was necessary
in all healings and did the important bit first. He had real knowledge.
I love the little description Luke gives us in verse 8,
Philip the evangelist, one of the seven.
One of the seven? Philip was one
of the seven deacons chosen in the early days of the church to take care of the
food distribution and here we see him described as the evangelist. We know that during the persecution in
Jerusalem that broke out after Stephen's death by stoning Philip went to Samaria
and found a great harvest of new believers.
Apparently he had left behind the work of waiting tables and overseeing
the dole, and has become known as the evangelist. All of us are to be prepared in and out of season
to do the work of evangelists, not just the professionals. Everywhere they go, people seem to know it
won't go well in Jerusalem for Paul and attempt to deter him but Paul isn't
afraid of suffering, he knows what likely awaits him there as well as Jesus had
done. The temptation is always present to avoid suffering but Paul, like Jesus,
knew that sometimes you have to go head on into the storm.
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