March 6, 2024

The Church of the Chaldeans

Tigris and Euphrates Rivers

When we study “church” history, we are limited to what has been recorded in the past and preserved until the present. Because of this, there are religious groups from various times and places that we know little or nothing about. I recently learned about one of these groups while browsing Barton W. Stone’s journal, The Christian Messenger. An excerpt titled, A Christian Church among the Arabs, Turks & Persians, described a “Christian Church” in the Middle East.

“On the shores of the River Tigris, there exists a Christian Church, the members of which call themselves Chaldeans, and trace their origin to the time of the Apostles. It is supposed that they number 500,000 souls. But little is known of these people. The Papists attempted to make an impression on them some years ago, but failed, and that because of the Bible, of which they had many manuscript copies. Since it has been discovered that these Bible Christians have no printing establishments among them, and no books, the British & Foreign Bible Society, are making arrangements to provide them with printed copies of the Bible.” (Excerpt from The Christian Messenger, Volume 2)

The quote above was published in 1827. This “Christian Church” in the area of the Tigris River called themselves Chaldeans, numbered half a million people, and claimed to trace their origin to the apostles in the first century.Continue Reading

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June 21, 2023

The Time When They Will No Longer Endure Sound Doctrine

Megachurch

As Paul began to close his second letter to Timothy, he “solemnly” charged him (2 Timothy 4:1) to carry out his work as a preacher. He told the young evangelist, “Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction” (2 Timothy 4:2).

Timothy was not at liberty to teach any message that he or others might prefer. He was to proclaim the word of God, just as Paul and the other apostles taught (2 Timothy 1:13). He was not to deviate from this message in any way – just as we must not alter the message (cf. Galatians 1:8-9; Revelation 22:18-19). The charge for him to “be ready in season and out of season” to preach this pure, unadulterated message of the gospel required a willingness to proclaim it even if it was unpopular, inconvenient, and difficult for people to accept.

However, since the message of the gospel is sometimes unpopular, inconvenient, and difficult for people to accept, many turn away from it. Sadly, this even happens among Christians and in local churches. Paul warned Timothy that he would encounter this:

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths” (2 Timothy 4:3-4).

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January 24, 2022

Dangers on the Safe Side (Part 1): Avoiding Controversy

Dangers on the Safe Side

For many Christians, controversy is undesirable. Debates, which were common in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, are rare today. In some ways, this is understandable. As our society has become more polarized and heated debates can erupt over issues that seem to be largely insignificant, it is tempting to want to stay “on the safe side” and avoid anything controversial (we do not want to “rock the boat”) so we can continue to get along with our brethren. However, there are dangers that come with avoiding controversy on spiritual issues.

Consider the example of the apostle Peter (also called Cephas):Continue Reading

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December 2, 2020

Why People Do Not Receive Jesus

Scribes and Pharisees

“He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name” (John 1:11-12).

When Jesus came and preached to the Jews, many “did not receive Him.” What does this mean?

Some today might explain this as receiving Jesus as their Savior and inviting Him into their heart. Certainly, we must see Jesus as our Savior; however, this is about more than that. This is about receiving Jesus as the Son of God and obeying Him as Lord. John said, “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:36). To believe in the Son is to accept that Jesus is the Son of God. To obey the Son is to recognize Him as Lord – the one with the right to rule over us and expect us to do His will.

In his gospel account, John recorded certain events in Jesus’ life. The purpose of this record was to produce faith in us (John 20:30-31). Yet today, many are like “His own” who “did not receive Him.” Why? People today will often reject Jesus for the same reasons that people did during His time on earth. We will not be considering an exhaustive list of the reasons why people refuse to accept Jesus, but will notice some of the reasons recorded for us in the gospel of John.Continue Reading

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July 17, 2019

How to Silence False Teachers

Man with duct tape over mouth

When Paul wrote to Titus about the qualifications for elders, one of the requirements for these men was that they have an ability to deal with false teachers.

“Holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict. For there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach for the sake of sordid gain” (Titus 1:9-11).

Paul said these false teachers “must be silenced.” But how would this be done? No one expects the elders of a local church to kidnap a false teacher, put duct tape over his mouth, tie him up, and then lock him in a closet to prevent him from spreading his error. Since they cannot use physical force to silence false teachers, how are they to do it?Continue Reading

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April 11, 2018

Why Would Christians Follow Diotrephes?

Leader

“I wrote something to the church; but Diotrephes, who loves to be first among them, does not accept what we say. For this reason, if I come, I will call attention to his deeds which he does, unjustly accusing us with wicked words; and not satisfied with this, he himself does not receive the brethren, either, and he forbids those who desire to do so and puts them out of the church” (3 John 9-10).

In John’s third epistle, he warned about a man named Diotrephes. We often talk about this man and his desire for preeminence, his rule over the church, and the trouble he caused. However, we usually do not talk about his followers. In this article, we will consider the followers of Diotrephes and why they would follow him.Continue Reading

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January 31, 2018

Mark and Avoid

X-mark

“Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple” (Romans 16:17-18, KJV).

At the close of his letter to Rome, Paul told the brethren to “mark” and “avoid” certain people. In other words, he was urging them to observe these individuals and be aware of who they were so they could not keep company with them.

Why would the apostle tell these brethren to do this? What was this to accomplish? What would this look like in practice? It is important that we understand what Paul was teaching here. We can answer these questions from the word of God.Continue Reading

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