Building on the Foundation

  The world bulges at the seams with liars, con-artists, and crooks, and the religious world is no exception. In fact, the religious can be some of the worst offenders. So when it comes to pastors and preachers, how do we avoid getting swindled and deceived? How do we determine which ones are Godly, and which are not? 1 John 4:1 cautions us, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” 1 Thes. 5:21 adds, “Test [prove, scrutinize, examine] all things; hold fast what is good.” Our Savior Jesus Christ warned: “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit” (Mat. 7:15-18). “You will know them by...

  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, ...