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Psalm 56

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Apollos

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2/24/97 by Tim Works

Here is a message from Sunday a.m., preached February 24, 1997 by Tim Works, pastor of the Grace Landmark Baptist Church, Graham, WA

How to Serve God and Please Him

Philippians 2:5-11 Jesus is set before us an example, how to serve God and please Him. Vs. 7 Jesus emptied himself Vs. 8 Jesus humbled himself Vs. 8 Jesus was obedient

B. Empty ourselves of self, old man, worldly ambition, etc.

C. To be filled with his Spirit, Eph. 5:18

B. Have a broken and contrite spirit, Psm. 51:17, Isa. 57:15

C. God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace, James 4:6

D. God's grace is sufficient for all our insufficiencies, II. Cor. 12:9

B. His Spirit is in us, I Thess. 5:19, Eph. 4:3

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Notes on "Certain Disciples" and Apollos Acts 18:24 - 19:7

By Curtis Pugh

1. Whether Apollos immersed these 12 men or not is not absolutely clear. It is probable that he did. However, what is absolutely clear is that the Holy Ghost in inspiring the Scripture saw fit to place these two incidents in immediate juxtaposition. The chapter division, it is admitted by all, was not made by Luke, but by a later man. In reading these 12 verses without a break there are certain resemblances and parallels which ought not to be ignored. That we are intended to consider each incident in light of the other is certain if we would study Scripture in its context.

2. Apollos, "born in Alexandria" (18:24) which was in Egypt would no doubt have traveled through Judea on his journey to Ephesus. Sailing vessels were small and visited many ports as they sailed round the coast of the Mediterranean, not venturing directly across that body of water.

3. Being himself a Jew (18:24) it is unthinkable that Apollos would have not taken the opportunity to visit the land of his fathers on such a trip. We may rightly suppose that he may have remained in Judea for one or more of the religious festivals commanded by the Lord in the Old Testament.

4. These 12 men at Ephesus had an imperfect knowledge of the "way of God" in some sense similar to the imperfect understanding which Apollos had. (18:25, 26)

5. It is certainly possible that these 12 men had never heard John preach for they were separated from John by many hundreds of miles and perhaps 25 years.

6. These 12 men cannot have heard John preach for they had not even heard of the Holy Ghost (19:2), while John's preaching included the work of the Holy Spirit (John 1:33). These 12 were ignorant even of the full content of John's preaching.

7. That the Holy Ghost intends that we understand these men to be regenerate seems clear for they are called "disciples" a term reserved for "Christians" or true believers in the Acts and epistles Acts 11:26; 26:28; 1 Pet. 4:16). In the gospels the term "disciples" is used in a broader sense of all who were partakers of the Lord's personal teaching ministry, even those who were unsaved and who later fell away. However, after the ascension of the Lord, no person than those truly regenerated by the Holy Spirit can rightly be said to be personally taught by the Master, hence the use of the word is from that time and circumstance limited to truly saved persons.

8. We cannot suppose that these were unbelievers for Paul acknowledges that they were believers when he inquired of their receiving the Spirit "since" or "upon" their believing (19:2). If Paul accounted them believers we must understand them to be regenerated persons.

9. That these men were "rebaptized" - rather baptized "anew" by Paul seems clear since the grammar indicates it though a few have suggested that the "they" in verse 5 refers to John's hearers and the "them" and the "they" in verse 6 refers to the 12 men in Ephesus. The "they" in verse 5 MUST refer to the 12 men at Ephesus for the were "baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus" - a thing which John never did! John baptized with his own authority directly given him by God (John 1:33) NOT with Christ's authority. This is obvious when it is remembered that John was actively baptizing before he was made to know who the Messiah actually was (see John chapter 1 and elsewhere).

10. That these men were baptized anew by Paul is clear from the fact that the subject under question is the matter of baptism. Paul uses the word "baptized" in his questioning them and remarked about John's work using the word "baptized" and "baptism" thus including the word 3 times in his speech to them. The question is not "were hands laid on you?" but "unto what then were ye baptized?" (19:3). This question was raised because Paul did not observe any of the outward sign gifts of the Sprit unique to that time period when such signs were given as a confirmation of the work of God, the Scriptures being yet incomplete. Paul perceived that these Christians were lacking something in their understanding and lives, though he did not immediately know what it was that was missing. He did not question whether or not they were believers: what he determined was that they did not have the Holy Spirit for the temporary signs and evidences which at that particular time were necessary were missing. (I am told that EW Bullinger in "The Giver and His Gifts" indicates that when the definite article is missing before the terms the reference is to the gifts rather than the person of the Holy Spirit. The meaning here is that Paul questioned them due to the absence of the gifts.) That this whole incident is unique to the time period in which it occurred must be granted. Since the temporary sign gifts are no longer present in the earth today, and since the scripture has been completed it is not possible that this situation develop in our day.

11. Paul did not baptize anew these 12 men because there was anything wrong with John's baptism. Apollos had John's baptism (18:25) and he was not "rebaptized". John's baptism was all that Christ and His apostles had and they were not required to be baptized anew. Sound Baptists oday continue John's baptism which is administered "for repentance" i.e. because of repentance, looking toward the One John identified as "the Lamb of God" (John 1:36). (Baptism "for" repentance does not mean in order to bring about repentance! A wise parent will sometimes spank his child "for" disobedience - not in order to bring about disobedience, but because of disobedience!)

12. Paul did not baptize anew these 12 men because they were not immersed in the name of the Trinity. Baptism in the name of the Trinity is not necessary to Scriptural baptism. In fact, the idea of ritualistic words being required is a Romish one and not a Scriptural one at all! To do something "in the name of" means "with the authority of" so that whether baptism is administered "in the authority of" Christ or "in the authority of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit" it is the same. Baptism does not depend on the words uttered, but in the authority under which the administrator acts. In fact, it is here stated (19:5) that these 12 men were immersed anew "in the name of the Lord Jesus" - no mention being made of the other two persons in the Godhood.

13. These 12 men were not said to have John's baptism. Apollos was said to have John's baptism (18:25). These 12 were immersed by someone (Apollos?) "Unto John's baptism" (19:3). They were looking to John as the authority for their baptism. While John, in fulfilling his inistry had authority to baptize, he had no authority to delegate that authority to others. Nowhere do we read that John's disciples ever rightly administered baptism. Repentant sinners went to John for

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12/29/96 by Jim Miller.

Send your comments to him at: jmmiller@preferred.com

Spurgeon"s

Morning 12/29/96

"Hitherto hath the Lord helped us." · 1 Samuel 7:12

Morning, January 16
Morning, January 19
Morning, January 23 Spurgeon's Morning and Evening
February 11, Spurgeon's Morning & Evening Devotions for Today,
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Miracles Of The Cross #2 The Rending Of The Temple Veil
February 23, 1997 Ronnie Wolfe
Matthew 27:51 - And behold, the veil of the temple was
rent in twain from the top to the bottom.

I. A SIGNIFICANT WITNESS

A. "And Behold" B. Jesus was dying on the cross, and this was the most important event taking place in the entire universe or even in Heaven. C. But the inspired writer here tells us to take our eyes and minds off Jesus for an instant and take a look at the Temple. D. With one eye of the cross and the other eye on the Temple, we notice that at the same time that Jesus died, the veil in the temple was rent in twain (or split in half). E. The word "Behold" also indicates that there was sufficient witness to the happening here in the Temple. F. This happened at 3:00 in the afternoon, and this was the regular time for the evening sacrifice. G. You can believe that the priests were present when this incredible miracle took place. H. The worshippers stood in the Temple court, the priests stood in the Holy Place, and the veil was between the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place. J. The priests who were in the Holy Place were always looking toward the veil of the Temple. K. When this veil split in half, the priests were there. This was a tremendous witness to the priests of the Temple that something miraculous had taken place. L. Later we hear that many priests believed (Ac 6:7 And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.) M. For 1500 years this curtain had been undistrubed. Now, all at a sudden, the curtain splits in half.

II. A SEPARATION IN THE TEMPLE

A. "The veil of the temple" B. As we have stated, this veil had been there for 1500 years. C. What was the reason for this veil? Ex 26:31 And thou shalt make a vail of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen of cunning work: with cherubims shall it be made: Ex 26:32 And thou shalt hang it upon four pillars of shittim wood overlaid with gold: their hooks shall be of gold, upon the four sockets of silver. Ex 26:33 And thou shalt hang up the vail under the taches, that thou mayest bring in thither within the vail the ark of the testimony: and the vail shall divide unto you between the holy place and the most holy. Ex 26:34 And thou shalt put the mercy seat upon the ark of the testimony in the most holy place. Ex 26:35 And thou shalt set the table without the vail, and the candlestick over against the table on the side of the tabernacle toward the south: and thou shalt put the table on the north side. Ex 26:36 And thou shalt make an hanging for the door of the tent, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, wrought with needlework. Ex 26:37 And thou shalt make for the hanging five pillars of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold, and their hooks shall be of gold: and thou shalt cast five sockets of brass for them. Mt 27:51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; Mr 15:38 And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom. Lu 23:45 And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst. Heb 6:19 Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; Heb 9:3 And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all; Heb 10:20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;

III. A STOPPED WORK

A. "Was rent in twain ..." B. The priests were at work when this great miracle took place C. They had their very eyes on the veil when it split in half D. What were they to do when the veil split? E. They had no job left. This veil was a precious symbol to them. F. The job of the priest had been illiminated by the priestly work of the Lord, Jesus Christ on the cross. G. Heb. 10:19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; 21 And having an high priest over the house of God; 22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. H. The work that Jesus did ended forever the work of the earthly priests.

IV. A SEPARATE ECONOMY

A. "Was rent in twain ..." B. God had only two economies: the Old Testament and the New Testament. C. The O. T. economy was one of pictures, types and symbols. D. The N. T. economy is the reality of the types of the Old Testament. E. The rending of the veil was the event that evidenced the parting of the two economies. F. The death of Christ was the event that actually parted the two economies. G. This veil did not gradually tatter until it wore away. It was miraculously split from top to bottom.

V. A SUPERNATURAL EVENT

A. "From top to bottom." B. This splitting of the veil was not done from beneath. No group of people could have ripped this veil in two. C. This ripping was done from the top to the bottom. This designates that this was a work from above. D. This depicts the Lord's miraculous work on Calvary E. Jesus did not just die; he bore our sins on the cross. He opened the way for us to enter into the holiest of all in Heaven. F. It pleased God to bruise him. God did the work of the cross. He bruised his own Son that we might have eternal life. G. Just as the veil was split in two miraculously by God, so Christ was bruised miraculously.

VI. A SURPRISING UNITY

A. 14 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; 15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; 16 And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:

e-mail us if you have any questions, Ron.

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PROTESTANT PRAISE

The New Testament Church #4 By Pastor Ronnie Wolfe - May 9, 1997

     I am simply amazed at the Baptists today who praise the Protestant reformers to high heaven. I gasp
     almost every time I read Baptist writers who give homage to people such as Augustine, Luther,
     Calvin and other reformers. Don't get me wrong. I do believe that many of these writers have much
     to give by way of their intelligence and their adeptness to write down what they know. That I accept
     with all due honor. But I cannot see how Baptists can give credit for their finding truth that these
     Protestants say had been in darkness for hundreds of years. I have attended many conferences and
     heard influential Baptist pastors refer to reformers as the heroes of our religion. Such references are
     unwarranted and should be considered under stringent scrutiny. The Protestants themselves do a
     sufficient job of praising their Protestant forefathers. Such references as:

     It has been nearly 500 years since Martin Luther recovered the Gospel in Europe. Once again, in the
     sixteenth century, the light of justification by faith alone dispelled the spiritual, intellectual, and moral
     darkness of the medieval Rome. The resulting civilization owed its salient features to the Gospel of
     Jesus Christ--to the first Christians and the Reformers--but for the past century the proclamation of
     that Gospel--and civilization--has been waning.

     Now this is to be expected by people who are themselves Protestants. They have the mistaken idea
     that the Gospel had died or was severely darkened by the Roman Church; and that was true to an
     extent because of the vast influence of the Church of Rome. But we must remember that a witness of
     the true Gospel of Jesus Christ has existed in every age since the public ministry of Jesus Christ.
     These people, known in different generations by different names, were know by the Roman Church
     and were hated by that church. During the Dark Ages, the Roman Church so persecuted these
     blessed believers in Christ that several writers talk about the blood flowing as rivers. So, when
     Protestant or Baptist writers praise the Protestant Reformation for finding the Gospel after many
     centuries, they miss the point of the truth that that witness has existed in every generation without
     exception.

     SOME PROTESTANT QUOTES
          Notice the following quotes from Protestants praising the Protestant Reformation.
          "A new conscience was born, and with a new conscience came new life and power.
                 Nothing had been seen like this since the ages of the apostles."

     Bonar continues to say "The long-needed, long-missing truth had been found; and eurhka [Eureka!]
     was the cry of gladness announcing the discovery." Then Bonar makes the statement: "But is it that
     which sprang up, after centuries of darkness, among our fathers in Europe? ..." and "Men with their
     feet firmly set on Luther's rock." Now, I appreciate the writings of Horatius Bonar. He has much
     good to say (not all with which I agree). But the mistake of mistakes among these Protestant
     influentials was the praise they give to the Protestant Reformation. They think it was a reviving of the
     Spirit of God in men found in different parts of Europe who by that Spirit found and revived truths
     that had been either dead or waning for at least 500 years. If they had listened to the "heretics" of
     their day and had given them a little more attention and had heard a little closer their message, they
     would have known that the message of these small groups of believers was the very truth that they
     were supposedly finding in the halls of their monasteries and seminaries.

UNWARRANTED PRAISE

     These men of the Reformation became victims of their own cultic thought. When they seceded from
     the Roman Church, they brought with them their own brand of Romish religion. Every one of these
     men, without exception, brought with him ideas engrained in them by the Romish Church. They did
     not ever completely depart from the Romish Church. A Protestant, then, is a person or an
     establishment which has protested many of the pertinent doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church; but
     it must be remembered that none of them has completed left behind all the taints of the Roman
     Church. Error can come for a mishandling of the truth, but truth comes from truth, not from error. It is
     likely, then, that anyone who begins with error to find his way to the truth will almost always retain
     certain elements of that original error in which he was entrenched. The Reformers had a pious logic,
     and that was to deny their original error and believe only what the Bible says. They called this Sola
     Scriptura. But among the reformers are a host of Pedobaptists, men and organizations who believe in
     baptizing babies. This doctrine of pedobaptism is an error that was clutched deep in their tradition,
     and they found it could not be easily rejected. John Quincy Adams, a former Pedobaptist who lived
     in the last century, says, "If men have been accustomed to error, they love it on account of its
     antiquity." Adams continues with, "Here was one radical defect of the Reformation of the sixteenth
     century. The civil arm was invoked, and the State was united with the Church, a political element was
     infused, and carnal weapons were used as freely by the Reformed Churches in enforcing their
     dogmas as by the Papacy in maintaining its heresies." [Page 44]. Adams also says, "No Pedobaptist
     can consistently oppose Romanism. There is no consistent position between the Romish and the
     Baptist church. Tradition leads to the one--the Word of God to the other." [Page 64]. Why would
     anyone who believes in salvation by grace through the blood of Jesus Christ want to praise men who
     believe in baptizing babies? Yet, many of the men who are quoted and praised for their quotes are
     among the Pedobaptists. These men do not believe necessarily that the babies are saved by way of
     baptism, but they cannot let go of their demonic tradition. Not only did Reformers believe in
     pedobaptism; they also demanded its application to all churches and made laws against any other
     kind of baptism. These laws demanded the lives of many of our Baptist forefathers.

EFFECT ON RELIGIOUS LIBERTY

     The Protestant Reformation had a definite effect on religious liberty in the world. No Pedobaptist
     believed in religious liberty. Every one of them thought that doctrine was to be legislated and those
     laws executed upon society with severe punishment upon denial of them. Many Anabaptists lost their
     lives for denying these incumbent laws. Our Baptist forefathers were prisoners at the hands of
     Protestants as well as Romanists. They were burned to death. They were placed in theaters with wild
     animals to cater to the entertainment of thousands of spectators. Their pious doctrine was trampled,
     denied, scorned and blasphemed; but it could not die. That doctrine has lived and flourished in every
     generation from the time of Christ until our present day. A great difference lies between religious
     freedom and religious tolerance. Pedobaptists sometimes would extend religious tolerance, meaning
     that they would allow certain things that they may not completely condone. But religious tolerance
     presupposes an authority of a certain human element, be that a man or a church. In the Dark Ages
     that authority was assumed to be the Roman Church. No church or human being has the authority to
     lord over God's heritage. This Baptists have always believed. That is the reason that Baptists were
     persistent in legislating religious freedom in America. The Pedobaptists wanted authority for their own
     church, but Baptists knew that religious freedom was the biblical way. Even in their church practice,
     there is no real religious freedom. Pedobaptism in its very practice precludes religious freedom. The
     church baptizes the baby, and thus brings the baby into membership of the church. They teach that a
     person is not to be baptized but once. When the baby matures, he may want to be immersed, but he
     cannot be, because he cannot be baptized but once. So, even if he wants, he cannot be baptized any
     other way. This is not religious liberty. Because toleration and oppression are one and the same,
     many of our forefathers died at the hands of the reformers. Many of them died because of their belief
     in freedom of worship and of conscience. Balthazar Hubmeyer of Friedburgh, Switzerland, died in
     1528 at the hands of Protestant Reformers simply because he was a Baptist. Ulrich Zwingle wrote
     against his theological thoughts and brought many Baptists into prison and cruel punishments, so much
     so that even the populace complained of the cruelty. Adams says, "No matter whether Romanists or
     Protestants gained the ascendancy--the Baptists were persecuted by both alike." [Page 96]. In 1644
     a law was passed in Massachusetts against Baptists that if they condemned or opposed the baptism
     of infants they would be banished from the state. Under this law, Obadiah Holmes, John Clark, and
     John Crandall, Baptist preachers, were arrested near Lynn, Mass. They were sent to the Boston jail
     and then fined for their crime. Obadiah Holmes was kept in jail and eventually publicly whipped with
     30 lashes. He was so badly beaten that he could rest only upon his hands and knees for several
     weeks. Even Roger Williams was banished from Boston, Mass., and in 1644 he obtained a charter
     for the colony of Rhode Island and established the first government in history to grant full religious
     liberty. In Virginia Baptist preachers were arrested and imprisoned as vagrants. They were pulled
     down from their pulpits, publicly whipped and sent to jail. Many of them carried their scars to their
     graves.

THE REAL CHOICE

     So, if a Protestant really wants to get away from Rome and wants to practice religion the Bible way
     and desires to be in fellowship with God's people and to obey his word, the thing for him to do is to
     become a Baptist. He can be a Baptist as long as he wants; and if he ever wants to quit the Baptist
     church and go elsewhere, he has the right to do so. The Protestant Reformation has caused great
     confusion among the civilizations of this world. The Augustines, the Luthers, the Zwingles, the
     Calvins, the Knoxes have all left the Romish Church, but they have brought with them errors that
     abound in the Protestant camp. The true churches of the Lord Jesus Christ have been alive and well
     in every generation. They have never held hands with Rome nor have they adhered to her doctrines.
     They have hated her traditions and rather have adhered to the word of God. These churches today
     are found among those called Baptist. A perpetual link exists between this church and the first church
     of the New Testament at Jerusalem. We may not be able to see it physically, but we can know it
     spiritually. It does exist, and it is not Protestant. Why should we give honor to a scheme that has
     brought so much heartache to the lives of so many pious believers? Why should we join hands with
     doctrine that is linked with Rome? Truly Baptists are the true proponents of the Sola Scriptura
     taunted so by the Protestants. If the Bible speaks, let us speak; if the Bible is silent, let us be silent.
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PSALM 56

"David's Precious Secret" May 14, 1997 -- Ronnie Wolfe

          The reason I am calling this "David's Precious Secret" is because of the word Michtam in the
          heading of this Psalm. Taking together the meanings given in John Gill's Commentary, Charles
          Spurgeon's Treasure of David and the Hebrew Concordance; I have decided that this would
          make a good title. The word Michtam means mystery, inscription, secret, precious. David has
          a secret that his enemies knows nothing about. It is the secret of God's help. The word
          "Jonathelemrechokim" means "the silent dove of far off places." This is David's secret. He
          speaks to the "dove" (God) at a distance, who is silent but who is powerful to help David in
          this matter.
     I. COMPLAINT (1-2)
          A. Man's Purpose -- "swallow me up"
          B. Man's Perseverance -- "fighting daily"
          C. Man's Plight -- "swallow me up"
     II. CONFIDENCE (3-4)
          A. Commensurate With Fear (3)
               1. Fear and faith can abide together
               2. The more trouble we have, the louder we cry to God for help
          B. Completed in God (4), notice past tense
     III. COMPLAINT (5-6)
          A. The Art of Deceitful Words (5) -- 2 Peter 3:16
          B. The Attitude of Negativity (6) -- The world thinks negative thoughts about God's people.
     IV. CONFIDENCE (7-9)
          A. Prayer For Disabling The Enemy (imprecatory)
          B. Plea For Remembering His Tears (Malachi 3:16)
               1. The "lachrymatory" was a tear bottle (or animal skin)
          C. Power In Knowing God (9) -- Romans 8:31
     V. CRY OF GRATITUDE (10-13)
          A. Two Things David Will Do
               1. He will not be afraid
               2. He will render praise to God
          B. One Thing God Has Done (13) -- Delivered
          C. One Thing God Will Do (13) -- Deliver

Hope you enjoy this one ... Bro. Ronnie Wolfe
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