The Word of God and Administration

Now, good afternoon, everyone. It's nice to see everyone here. I trust God will help us this afternoon, both the speaker and listeners, and that we'll all be blessed from the consideration of Holy Scripture.

But we do need God's help, so we will now turn to him and speak to him in prayer. Our Father, we're thankful that as we gather together today on this beautiful Saturday here in Garnevillo, that we can give thanks. We've come to know the Lord Jesus, and we appreciate who he is.

He was truly a man of the word of God. His delight was in the law of the Lord, and in his law doth he meditate day and night. We know that the scriptures filled his mind, saturated his soul, and so we see the clear connection as the man who never stepped out of the will of God, a man who was never uncertain as to the will of God for him.

We're thankful for his example, and we know that this was costly because it was thy will that took him to the cross, but even there he became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. So we rejoice that we have a Savior, and we would love to have more of his attitude towards the Bible and more of his obedience. Help us to consider this passage and the other messages to follow.

Lord, we truly need the help of the Spirit of God, and ask that the word of God will impact our thinking and our hearts this afternoon. We pause to pray for those in need, for our two sisters, Linda and Shirley, and their different health concerns, and the families that are related to them who suffer or share in the trials and uncertainties and the burdens with them. There are likely others who are in trials who are present in this building, and perhaps no one here on earth knows what they're going through, what struggles they may face, but there is no lack of information in heaven.

Let us know all and pray that even today there will be encouragement and help for each one here. We look to thee for the gospel this evening, praying that tonight will be a night of salvation as we commit ourselves into thy good care and the worthy and precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ, amen. Now I would ask you to turn with me to 1 Timothy chapter three.

1 Timothy chapter three. This morning, we try to look at the subject of the word of God, the Bible, the scriptures, and how they should guide us in the formation of our conviction, the word of God and our conviction. Now we want to look at the word of God and administration in the local church.

And it just has impressed me in reading through the New Testament, the number of statements where you have the leaders in a local church, elders, and along with mentions of them, you have mentions of the word of God. And I want to just have a little scattered reading of some of these passages, and hopefully you'll be able to pick up in each one the mention of the scriptures, the word of God. We'll just start in chapter three, 1 Timothy chapter three, verse one.

This is a true saying. If a man desire the office of a bishop, if a man desires the work, the role of an overseer, he desires a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behavior, given to hospitality.

And this is one word in Greek, apt to teach, apt to teach. Now go over to chapter five. And again, there's some teaching given about elders, the Bible, one of the Bible names for church leaders.

Verse 17, chapter five, verse 17, let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially they who labor in the word and doctrine. Then turn, if you would, please, to the book of Titus. 2 Timothy follows, and then Titus chapter one.

And you'll notice that in verse seven, again, Paul is writing to Titus now, who's in the island of Crete. Before it was Timothy, who was in Ephesus, now it's Titus in Crete. And he says in verse seven, for a bishop, an elder, a local church leader, a bishop in the Bible, just to remind us, is not somebody who is over a number of churches.

It is somebody who is sharing responsibility for the leadership of one local church. And we have requirements for a bishop. Verse seven, for a bishop must be, and there are requirements that follow.

Look at verse nine, holding fast the faithful word, as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers, or the people who are in opposition or contradicting the truth. Now go to the book of Hebrews, if you would, please, chapter 13. And here we'll have another mention of local church leaders.

Hebrews chapter 13, and verse seven. Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God, whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation, their conduct, their manner of life. And they have spoken unto you the word of God.

And the last reading for right now will be in Acts chapter 20, please. Acts chapter 20, Acts 20, verse 17. And from Miletus to he sent Paul, sent to Ephesus and called the elders.

And you will notice, often pointed out, it's always plural, the elders, the bishops, the overseers, the shepherds, three words that are commonly used, three of the words that are commonly used to describe these men and their role here, they're called elders, plural of the church. There's a number of leaders with a responsibility for one church. Paul talks to them.

We'll break into his discussion with them. Verse 28, take heed therefore unto yourselves and to all the flock, over the wits the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. For I know this, that after my departure shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.

Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after them, after themselves. Therefore, watch and remember, by the space of three years, I cease not to warn everyone night and day with tears. And now brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all them, which are sanctified.

And soon he, just a few verses more, he ends this discourse to the elders. I would like to read one more place in a few minutes. But first of all, I would like to continue and think about the word of God and the administration and a church.

Looking at the word of God and our conviction, the simple conclusion was that, remember the question that I was asked and that I have asked? The question is, can local church leaders, can they make up rules? Often they are called, said that they're making up rules. Can they make up rules? The point of the first message was, there's no need to make up rules. The word of God is sufficient.

And when we gather together the principles and the precepts and the patterns are in the word of God, we have sufficient. We may not know what's in the word of God. We may have to do more investigating, more study, go to work on it all, but we can find the answers, the biblical basis to guide us in our convictions and for direction for the assembly in the word of God.

But now, we're going to look at this because I want to begin by looking at what the Bible says about elders and the Bible. Now, I want to begin with the idea of the commitment of elders to the word of God, the commitment of elders to the word of God. And what I want you to notice is that, first of all, you'll pick up that it's the Bible, the word of God becomes their default, their default.

I know that in the list of the requirements, they're not ideals, requirements in 1 Timothy 3 for elders, one of them is that they be apt to teach. I found it interesting comparing biblical lexicons, dictionaries, to try and see what is the definition of this one word, apt to teach. And it's interesting that Mr. Thayer, he gives a definition where he says it is the virtue that one has, which renders one teachable.

Now, that's different than what we would normally think. We would normally think that it's the idea that it's what makes someone the ability to teach, they're apt, they're able to teach. Some dictionaries do give the definition of skillful in teaching.

So you get the idea that there is, there's something about the word of God here. I take it that it's his default. When it comes to learning and forming convictions and making decision, his default, his go-to is, it is not to a previous generation, it is not going to commentaries as valuable as they are, and there's plenty of fantastic ones back there, highly recommended, the go-to has to be the word of God.

For his own formation of character and for his own, and for the giving out and for the direction, he is apt to go to the teaching. He is teachable and he is teaching. That is his default mode.

And I think you can see that that's what Paul says when he writes to Timothy, holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught. You have the same thing. He has the word of God, he teaches the word of God, but he has received the word of God, he is teachable.

You know, I'm looking out at this audience today and I think some of you are thinking, I think maybe young men are thinking, well, you know, I think this would be a perfect time to do the snooze. You know, you got armrests here, bad for preachers. That's what you hold your head up with.

And then if you're a sister, you pull the covering down a little bit and you act sort of like you're praying. Some of you look like you know what I'm talking about. When I'm speaking about the administration of assembly, my real interest is not a changing current it's administrations.

What would be the value of the Garnavillo Conference if some young people got the idea, some young men got the burden and they had the desire for the up? Not a desire for power, for a name tag, but they were desiring, they were stretching out. Stretching out for what? These characteristics that are here. And one of them is that you become a teachable person now, to become a sponge, to get all the word of God in you and to develop this default mode that when there is something, I will go to the Bible because I know I can find it.

And that will be the defining truth for me as what the word of God says. You know, I realized that I was very, very fortunate as a young person. I was raised in attending the assembly in Stark Road.

And there were two men who did much of the teaching there, Mr. Alec Joyce and Mr. Jim Valance. And I owe a tremendous amount to them. Some ways I'm ashamed to admit that I'm from there because I learned so little, I have so little excuse.

But Mr. Joyce was, especially with me personally, he was of the mindset that there is always a reason for why we do something. And so he taught us to ask questions, ask why. And so I took advantage of that.

I thought at some point he would get mad at me, but I did ask a lot of whys. And he would always answer, well, what does the Bible say? So I was almost to the point where I was going to say, what does the, why do we do this? What does the Bible say? I knew the first part of the answer, but often he would flip it around and he would come up to me and say, so why don't we have one loaf of bread on the table? Well, I don't know that. You've always had one on the table here.

I would never work with him. He was always getting mad, why? There's gotta be a biblical basis. Why? We have nothing to fear.

Why? The answer is there. I might not know it. It might scare me that I might find that it's there, but why? That default mode.

You see, that was the default mode of the Lord Jesus. I hope you caught what we read. Remember the first temptation? Why the first temptation was? Here he is, he's hungry, very hungry, a very natural, a very God-given appetite that we all have.

And yet when that, with all of that need and all of that appetite, the Lord Jesus says, there is something that, this is such a bad word to use anymore, I'm sorry, but there's something that trumps personal need and desire. What is it? It is written. That will take precedence over impulses and desires and needs.

The word of God is the default. Then you come to the second temptation. What was that? Well, you remember, he took him up on the, there in Matthew's gospel, he took him up to the pinnacle of the temple, and he told him to leap off.

And he quoted that from Psalm 91, those two verses. Well, sort of quoted, he left out a part of it. What was he there? He says, now, listen, I'm not going to appeal to your emotions, and I'm not, your desires and your needs.

What I'm going to appeal to is your logic. So follow the logic now. Since you are the Son of God, that the Father supposedly just declared there at the baptism, since you are the Son of God, and since you are the Son of God, you can command angels, and God has angels under his control.

So we're following the logic now. And since the Bible says in Psalm 91, that the angels will, so why don't you then, therefore, you get the logic now, because this, because that, therefore, jump! What trumps logic? No, that's wrong. What trumps reasoning? That's the better choice of the word.

Because God is the most logical being there is. What trumps arguments and reasoning? It is written. That was his default.

You see, so often in our world, if I can include myself among the younger people here, under a hundred, we are all trained logic, rationality, and it has to make sense. And that's where we start. That's our default.

I'll give you an example. One man, wow, there's lots of research out there. One man, one person standing in front of an audience just talking is the least effective way of communicating, right? It's like, makes sense.

Just one man preaching a gospel message? That doesn't make sense. Like he should have something going on up there, something visual, shouldn't he? You see, are we going to start with, it is written, go ye unto all the world and preach the gospel? Or are we going to go through logical steps? Now, mind you, hey, stick around for the hymn singing. You might see some kind of illustration.

I'm not doing a drama, don't worry. You might see something. But when it comes to the preaching of the gospel, are we going to set that aside? Because you say, well, it doesn't make sense.

Is it, do we go to the book, first of all, and then analyze our reasoning? Sometimes the fault is in our reasoning or in our research. The Lord Jesus, the default, when it came, more important than need, more important than argument, the default was, and last of all, it was opportunity and emotion. Opportunity and emotion.

You can be the king of the universe. I'll give you all the kingdoms. He's going to have them one day.

Just skip the cross, just a small thing there. Just skip the cross and have the kingdom. Who wouldn't want to be king of the world if any other human being would take it like that? Thank God, our Lord Jesus, his default was not opportunities and his default was not emotion.

His default was, it is written. You see, that's the go-to, that is the discipline, the default discipline in the commitment of overseer, apt to teach. And then you'll notice the devotion in this commitment.

It says, holding fast the word. Holding fast the word. Now, when it says holding fast, that's, one Bible dictionary gives that as an attachment.

Holding fast. I can't help but think of that. I always forget the man's name.

I just remember his father's name. What was the man's name? His father's name was Dodo. What was his, Eleazar or something like that? Holding on, clinging to, unwilling to let go of the grip.

Now, this is not holding on to just some custom and some practice and something we've always, this is holding on to the truth, the doctrine, the word of God. Holding fast, holding fast the word of life. Now, I think you and I can understand this, that as he has been taught, I am very grateful because I am fifth generation Christian and I am a fourth generation that's in the assembly, a local assembly.

So you could say then in the Denison family, the only thing we've ever known is local assembly. Another thing about a Denison is we're not given the change too easily. I kind of like things the way they are.

So now do I hold on to things because, well, could I say this carefully now with all due respect? The value in anything that I have been taught is the measure in which it agrees with the word of God. The value in any example through generations that I have received is in the measure that it is the carrying out of the word of God. As you have been holding fast the faithful word, this word that is ongoing, that is faithful and true, that is trustworthy, this word, you can trust it.

You have been taught that. How devoted are they to the word of God? Paul writes to Tim and then he says, listen, elders can be worthy of double honor. I take it that that includes potentially some financial honor.

That's my own point of view. Likely not necessary too much our day, but there in other cultures, it is absolutely essential. It is very something to keep in mind.

But put that aside. He says, which one? What kind? Those that are laboring. The idea is they're working to exhaustion.

What are they working into exhaustion in? Visiting. Oh, thank God, we need more that we can visit. We need more visitation.

Praying. Yes, we need to pray. We need to pray far more than we do.

But what is recognized there is that they are laboring in the word of God, in the word and the teaching. The word and the teaching. It could be actually the word of God and the presentation of it.

It could be preaching and teaching as some versions give. It could be even the preparation, the word as it's being delivered. The point is that they are investing themselves in the word.

This is their default mode. And they go to the book. They invest in the book.

They study the book. That kind of devotion to the book. Young man here today, if you want to be helpful in God's assembly, if you would like to one day be a great help to the assembly and be a true leader, start laboring in the book.

Give up time. Put your energy into the book, the word of God. But then you'll notice as well that what he says there, holding fast the word, faithful word as he has been taught.

Notice their dependence that he may be able, that he may be able to exhort and to convince the gainsayers. Now, try and picture this. There are men coming around and everything that has been practiced and everything that has been taught by the apostles that are coming around and they're questioning it.

And they're putting it into doubt. And they're opposing it. And they're contradicting it all.

How do you deal with that? Titus, hold fast the faithful word. You get that word of God, get the word of God. And then when you go to face them, you will have to, why? There's going to be some people discouraged by that.

You're going to have to come alongside. You're gonna have to come alongside and you're going to have to comfort the discouraged. And you're going to have to confront the difficulty.

You're gonna, how will you do that? He says, you take by sound doctrine. You get the healthy doctrine that's in this book. That's what you'll use when you put that out.

That's what will give spiritual health to an assembly. Depending on the word of God. What does the writer to the Hebrews say? Remember them that have the rule over you.

What have they done? Why, they have distributed the funds of the assembly regularly. Thank God for that. They have looked after the stewardship of the hall and the chairs and the care of it.

Thank God for that. They have developed gift by getting people involved. Again, we can give thanks to the Lord.

But what they have done, those leaders that you are remembering is they have spoken unto you the word of God. The main role of leadership in an assembly is the communication and the passing on of truth that is found in the book. That's the main goal.

That's the main rule. They have spoken. And not only that, he says, you imitate their faith.

And so I appeal to young men here today. The wonderful thing of young men who are going to be elders in God's assembly one day, that you understand I have got to get to know the book before I can speak the book. And not only do I have to get to know it so I can speak it, I've got to live it, whose faith follow.

You consider the end of their conduct. Look at how it's living out in their lives. Look at what it's done for the assembly, the way that you pick up on that, the values of those, and you carry it on.

You depend on the word of God as you look out on the future. The commitment that's all wrapped down, their default, their devotion, and their dependence upon the word of God. But then we read in Acts chapter 20 there, Paul calls those elders down.

And I want to just gather some thoughts from there. Acts chapter 20, there you have a situation that's really a bit difficult. I think they maybe thought that everything was going well in Ephesus.

But Paul calls them down and he says, after he speaks to them, goes over the history of the work and the assembly there. He says to them, take heed therefore unto yourselves and all the flock over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers. Here's what you're supposed to be doing now.

Remember what you're supposed to be doing, to feed. You recall the Lord Jesus said to Peter, remember the question, do you love me? Peter said, you know that I love you. What did the Lord say? Twice he said, feed.

Once he said, tend. Feed my sheep, tend my sheep, feed my lambs. I just take the simple mathematics of it all.

Tending and caring for things is very important. But giving spiritual food, that is the critical part. But what I want you to notice here is the completeness of the word of God for overseers.

The completeness of the word of God. I know I'm circling back over this, but I just want to remind them, because here they are and Paul says, I've got some, don't you love it when people give you great news? I'd like to tell you something. I'd like to tell you about the future of the assembly in Ephesus.

Can you imagine them all? This is gonna be good. I wonder how, are we gonna be seeing souls saved? This is gonna be a prophet experience now. This is actually, yeah.

He says, there's going to be some coming around you. After, as soon as I leave, after my departing, grievous wolves. I don't know why you have wolves here, but I learned last night you have coyotes.

And that's not a hockey team in Arizona. Those are real animals that do a lot of damage. He says, grievous wolves are coming in.

These men who are, almost sounds like a devouring lion, almost of that kind of character, doesn't it? They're certainly doing his kind of work. He says, grievous wolves are going to come in. They're going to enter in among you, not sparing the flock.

He said, you men are gonna have to be unguarded looking around and watch the influences from the outside of men who are going to come. Could I just say, men who are going to come without a letter of commendation and with a letter of commendation. They're going to come and they're going to enter in among you.

They're going to come right into the assembly and they are not going to spare the flock. You can picture these men, okay, back to back. We'll have our Bibles ready.

We'll be looking out for these men. And then he says something else. He says, and not only that, also he says of your own selves.

Can you imagine those men sitting there? I wonder if any of them went, told you you were going to do that. Were any of them looking among you? Among the church? No, he says among you. He says there's going to be among you are going to be some that are going to rise up speaking perverse things, speaking things that are not the sound healthy thing.

There are things that they're going to be turning away, turning aside from the right path. I don't know whether this impresses those of us who are with local responsibility, but it hit me this week again. What could ruin the assembly in West Phoenix? What would be the easiest way to destroy the assembly in West Phoenix? Who could do the best job of destroying the assembly in West Phoenix? Me.

He says, take heed unto yourselves. We're all capable. You can get caught up in movements and ideas and new ideas.

And here he says, now he says, take heed yourselves. But look, he says personal preservation and collective preservation. How will the assembly be preserved? How will you be preserved to not get eaten up by a grievous wolf? How will you get preserved to not get drawn away after somebody who's charismatic, somebody who is fun to be with, somebody who's got ideas? How will you not be caught up in that? What will preserve you? Paul says, I know.

He says, I am going to commend you to God. He said, I knew God was my resource. But how will God help me? He says, I commend you to God and to the word of his grace.

The preservation of the assembly, the preservation of you individually, because being, by the way, I hope we're all praying for those who are leaders in the assemblies, because they are very vulnerable to attacks. Very vulnerable. We are very vulnerable.

It's not the most encouraging activity all the time. But here you have, he says, now listen, the word of grace, the word of God and the word of his grace. This book will give you enough to preserve the assembly.

It's not new ideas necessarily. Not that we don't need to rethink how we might do some things, but what we need to do is the word, believe in the word of God. That's the preservation.

That is the complete word of God that God has given to preserve the assembly. But I want to just break away from this for a moment. And I want to go to Acts chapter 15.

It'll just give you a chance if you've now completed your siesta. I'd ask you to despiertate and we're going to read in Acts chapter 15. Let's either read the scriptures or throw water.

So I decided I'd read scripture. Acts chapter 15, because I want you to see an example here, a real live example of elders in action and notice the role of the word of God and their experience. Verse one, and certain men, which came down from Judea, taught the brethren and said, except you be circumcised after the manner of Moses, you cannot be saved.

So there were people who went from Judea, where Jerusalem is, and they went down to Antioch and they were giving this teaching that you had to be circumcised and to be saved. Likely it was okay to believe in the Lord Jesus, but you also had to be circumcised. Verse two, when therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain other of them should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question.

Now we won't read the whole thing. Verse six, and the apostles and elders came together for to consider this matter. And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up and said unto them, men and brethren, ye know that how a good while ago, God made choice among us.

Remember that vision up on the rooftop and there and when Peter with a sheet that came down, God made a choice among us that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel and believe. Verse 11, but we believe that through the grace of the Lord, Jesus Christ, we shall be saved, we Jews, even as they Gentiles. Then all the multitude kept silence and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them.

After they had held their peace, notice this, James answered saying, men and brethren, hearken unto me. Simeon had declared how God at first did visit the Gentiles to take out of them a people for his name. And to this agree the words of the prophets as it is written.

He quotes from the scriptures here and now look down at the end of his message. Verse 19, wherefore my sentence is that we trouble not them which among the Gentiles are turned to God, but that we write unto them that they abstain from pollutions of idols, from sacrifices to idols and from fornication and from things strangled and from blood. For Moses old time in every city, half in every city, them that preach him being read in the synagogue every Sabbath day.

Now, what happens then verse 22, then pleased the apostles and elders with the whole church to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, namely Judas named Barsabas and Silas chief men among the brethren. And they wrote letters by them after this manner. And you can read the letter later, the letter lays out exactly recounting of what took place and that conference with the elders and apostles in Jerusalem.

Now, this example, I think learning from patterns in scripture is not just a narrative that we can look back and say, well, that's what they did. This is a guide that God has put in his word that can help us in situations of crisis as leaders, how we can deal with things. Remember the question is, what about rules? Well, we don't need them.

And yet, did you notice what happened here? First of all, notice how they got their conviction from scripture. The mention of apostles being present, the mention of apostles being present and Peter as an apostle saying, I got a vision from God and he got revelation because that's what the apostles did. They gave us our new Testament, received it.

So they represent the new Testament very clearly. Peter gives the new Testament revelation. Paul and Barnabas give their, Paul who had received revelation as well, he gives their practice.

And then James gives up, gets up. What does James do? James turns to the book of Amos. And what does he find in the book of Amos? There he finds scripture, principles in scripture and the plan of God that the Gentiles should also be reached with the gospel.

So how did they form their conviction? Well, just by the way, let me just notice something with you. It was the very trial they were facing with this ugly situation of people going out from them and a group of Pharisees among them and all this confusion and conflict. You say, why do we have confusion and conflict? Why do people have to know? Why can't they just leave us alone? I wish they would sometimes, but that's just a personal thing.

Have you ever noticed, just to follow on, our brother Sandy was talking about that in trial we get to know God? Is it not when problems come that we often are driven to the word of God? And so it is the trial, the trial that motivate them to go back and consider this issue. But it was the truth that united them. It was the truth of new Testament revelation that agreed with old Testament, and the personal revelation that Paul experienced, and that was the truth that unite them.

It says, we came together being assembled of one accord. I don't know if Iowan children are different than them. Arizonan children born in Michigan.

But what I've observed in my little life is children are experts at dividing leadership. And all the people said, amen. Because a divided leadership, mom said, dad said.

Divided leadership, elder one said, elder two said. And you got them. What is the uniting factor when it comes to an oversight? Is it personality? Lord help the brethren that have to deal with mine.

Is it friendship that we all like fly fishing? I don't know how you do that. How do you fish for flies? I didn't get that. Do we all like hunting? Are we all loving the same truth? What's the basis of a new Testament assembly? That we're all in the body of Christ? We're all saved? I clearly see it in the Bible.

It's based on a common doctrine. The apostles doctrine. The revelation of God.

It's truth that will unite us. That's where we get the conviction from Scripture. But now, I want you to think with me about counsel from Scripture.

Because, all of a sudden, James says at the very end, and so our conclusion is, and basically what he says is, yes, it is true that Jews are saved the same way Gentiles without circumcision. It's like, this is great, this is good stuff. Bible-based.

But then he goes on to say, but now, four things here. No fornication. Nothing over to idols.

Nothing strangled. Lays it all out for them very clearly. He says to them, now listen, you can't eat or drink blood either.

So what did the New Testament believers say there in Jerusalem? I wish I could say it in Greek. Wish I could say it in Hebrew. Maybe Jason could say it in Hebrew for us.

Rule! You're making rules, James! Was he? Was he adding to the word of God? Remember I said that when it comes to precepts and principles, the tough part is when the application takes place. What spoke to me was, he says, now listen, this is the unique situation where Gentiles and Jews are being saved and they're in the same church, and there's actually a synagogue in every city with Jews. So we'll say, what does the Bible say about that? Paul eventually wrote it down.

He wrote down in 1 Corinthians 8 about how you need to show care about others' conscience. James is just saying, listen now, there's two issues with Gentiles. Gentiles have no problem with fornication.

That was done in all the religious services. And Gentiles, they offered animals to idols. It's nothing.

Jews? Oh, no, no, no, no. Anything offered to an idol, no, no, no, no. No.

You see the conflict? Drinking of blood, Jews are saying, no, we can't have blood pudding, blood sausage. No, no, no. Gentiles are saying, why not? God made the blood as well as He made the pot roast, didn't He? Why, what's? See, they just listen, shh, just listen.

We're going to apply some very basic biblical principle of consideration one to another. See, is He making a rule or is He applying truth? And so as the elders, they apply, and when they sat down, they said, you know, like, what we need is a couple of good rules here. Just put your Bibles away, man.

Let's come up with something. What we're going to come up with is, notice what he says, don't commit fornication. That's a command from the Bible.

The others were principles in the Bible, statements in the Bible, and now He's going to come up with principles and precepts and He gathers it all together. He says, this will help keep unity and promote, principles of unity in the Bible. Is that anywhere in the Bible? Behold, how good and how pleasant it is that brethren dwell together.

Could we counsel from Scripture? Counsel from Scripture. You see, counsel comes in actually teaching. They've spoken unto you the word of God, but as leaders, elders must apply Scripture and their default will be this situation here with these two brothers, this situation over here.

What's the, what can we get from the word of God? What can we bring from the Bible to bear, to play on this whole issue? With prayer, with study sometimes, sometimes with patience because it takes a while for everyone to get on the same page and the word of God unites in oversight and then they give counsel. Let me just give a couple of practical examples in the couple of minutes that are left. These are real examples that I've experienced.

So, you tell me whether somebody was making up rules or whether this was the wise application of biblical truth. So, I was in a place and, the decision of the oversight was, they decided that no one should, like at a Sunday school program or at any other time, act out or play the role of the Lord Jesus. Okay, let me give you a little context.

In the assembly, almost all the people there in the assembly had come out of Roman Catholicism and they had struggled long and hard with the idea of their idols and their images and when the truth of God dawned on their souls that they were worshiping something that was false and that God should not be made into any kind of an image and they destroyed with hammers some of them, what they had paid extreme amounts of money for because they realized, I don't even wanna give this to anyone and they were convinced that nothing and no one should represent God. I walk in and I wanna put up, it's not that I did, I'm just imagining this now, a picture of Jesus. Rule are applied principles and teaching of the Word of God to that situation.

I thought that was perfectly reasonable application of the Word of God out of consideration to them and to their families to whom they're trying to show that all images of God and they all got rid of their last supper, not because anyone told them, it was the Word of God that convinced them. So another example, long way from here, I was in a place and question was, what do I wear as the speaker? Now we're touching a hot button and everybody's awake. Just to describe what it was like, it was somewhere around felt like somewhere between 400 and 450 degrees and about 120% humidity and they said to me, we think we want you to wear a shirt and a tie.

Like I thought I should almost write out my last will and testament. It was so hot. Soon as the meeting was over, I was ready, I was wanting to take my shirt off, I was so hot, but I wanted, I was just, I was boiling hot, sweating like crazy and I took my tie off and they called me over.

Said, tomorrow night, keep the tie on. You tempted to call them legalist? Was that what your temptation was? You were wrong. Because see, they came from a culture.

It was a long way from here in a culture where in the culture, a person who is a teacher is often identified by dressing more formally than those, the rest of them and because I was to be answering questions while I was, they said, you are missing an opportunity because they won't respect you in the culture. No, that's not our culture here, but they were applying the concept of being all things to all men and they got a hold of that and they were applying it. What am I going to say? Bunch of rule-making legalists.

The last time I'll visit you. I asked them how they came up with that. What time they spent on it? And I was amazed.

And I came to the conclusion, I may not apply that in our situation, but when I am in their situation, they are doing exactly what they did in Acts chapter 15. They are taking the word of God, applying it to the best for good motives, for the good reason, and that is the counsel that elders give. Now, what happens if you don't like what the elders decide and you don't agree with it? Come back tomorrow afternoon.

We'll have a look at that subject tomorrow, subject of submission and the word of God. Thank you very much.