January 3, 2013
Matthew 3
Acts 5
Acts 6
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So, here's what hit me today...
In Matthew 3:8 when John the Baptist tells the religious leaders to prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. Our lives should be evident of God's work in our lives!
Matthew 3:8 PROVE by the way you live......that you have turned to God." Great verse regarding the desire to do good comes as a result of turning to God.
v12 Wheat gets the barn, Chaff gets never-ending fire. Ouch.
v15 First RED letters of Matthew
v16-17 An image of Dennis walking from the river after a baptism event immediately popped in my head. How cool is that!
Here is a question.....Why kill them, (Acts 5), why not make them mute or something along those lines? Were they going to cause problems later? I know they lied, and it wasn't about the money, what is the lesson to be learned or is there one? Mary and I will be reading this together later, she may ask, and if she doesn't I would still like to hear what other people think about this.
Ita, I have often wondered the same thing, particulary in those readings where - to my eyes - the punishment seems to outweigh the offense.
The fact that they lied is important, particularly as it was so unnecessary. The believers would have been content with whatever the couple chose to share with them.
But it wasn't just that they lied. They were intentionally trying to present themselves to the fellowship as more generous and giving than they actually were. I see the hypocrisy as the larger concern here. These men lived with Jesus in his ministry and heard Jesus teach on how destructive hypocrisy is, to our individual faith and to the body.
And perhaps so early in the life of the Church, it would have been important to very clearly establish what God expected in their interactions with one another, and that there would be consequences for violating those standards.
Thoughts?
All great observations! Good to see others taking the reading seriously.
Ita, great question, and Lor, great answer.
You have to think that even the embarrassment of public exposure would have been pretty devastating.
Death seems extreme to us. Every time I read this I am reminded of how serious sin is to God, and the lack of seriousness with which I take it. Many teachers these days re-label sins as mistakes or indiscretions. Sin is an offense against God. David said in Psalm 51:4, "Against You and You alone have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight." Sin isn't just a whoops.
This verse is so opposite of where we in American Church 2013. If we point out a sin or call something wrong we are labeled as judgmental or lacking in grace. How far have we fallen from Acts 5?
I suspect everyone lived a little more carefully after that church service.
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