Building on the Foundation

  Last time , in our examination of Mat. 18:18 and Mat. 16:19, we saw that those verses ought to read, as they do in most literal translations, "Whatever you bind on earth must already be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth must already be loosed in heaven." In other words, the congregations of God have no authority to overrule God or make judgments contrary to His. Any judgments they make must be within the bounds of God's Word, or else they are illegitimate. If, as we've previously noted , they tolerate wickedness and unrepentant sinners within the congregation, that judgment is contrary to God's and therefore illegitimate. If they expel people from their midst who have done no wrong, as defined by God's Word, then that judgment is contrary to God's and therefore illegitimate. These things should be self-evident. This time, let's explore the concept that God's church has authority to make judgments and decisions within the bounds of ...

 Matthew 18 contains an oft-abused passage of Scripture, stemming from a common and unfortunate mistranslation. In Mat. 18:18, according to the New King James Version , Jesus said, "Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." A nearly identical passage is found in Mat. 16:19. Does this mean "The Church" has authority to make binding judgments on earth, judgments which God Himself will enforce? Does this mean "The Church" has authority to make rulings on the Scriptures, and that its members are bound to obey whether they see Scriptural justification or not? Not so fast. Here's Mat. 18:18 according to Young's Literal Translation : " Verily I say to you, Whatever things ye may bind upon the earth shall be having been bound in the heavens, and whatever things ye may loose on the earth shall be having been loosed in the heavens."   Mat. 16:19 reads si...

  This post forms a sequel to my earlier post, The Flabbergasting Reason Women Should Be Deacons and Ministers . Both that article and this one lay out some things that I learned only a few months ago, when I began to deep-dive into what God’s Word really says about church government. As we saw in that first post, deacons, ministers, and servants are one and the same thing. There is no office or position of “deacon.” They hold no position of authority within the congregations, but are simply those who serve the congregation in some capacity. Both men and women may fill this role if they meet the qualifications and represent the congregation honorably. For example, women who help out with the sound system or filming, or who bring snacks for everyone to enjoy, or who serve the brethren in any other capacity, may be considered “deacons,” “ministers,” or servants to the congregation. In fact, all of God’s people are to be servants, that is, “deacons,” to one another. However, deacons, ...

Yes, this headline is a parody of Internet clickbait articles. Nevertheless, the Word of God is unmistakably clear that not only can women become deacons and ministers, but that they should do so! The English word "deacon" descends from the Greek diakonos  (Strong's #1249), which means, "one who executes the commands of another, especially of a master; a servant, attendant, minister…." In other words, a "deacon" or "minister" is not a position of authority, but a servant! Throughout the New Testament, diakonos is most commonly translated as “minister,” but also often as “servant.” The differences in translation are irrelevant, though, for a minister, a deacon, and a servant are all one and the same thing! Jesus Christ, Yeshua the Messiah, used diakonos several times to teach that if anyone desired to be great, he should become a deacon or minister, that is, a servant. For example, we read in Mark 9:35, "And He sat down, called the twel...