Building bridges not walls

Introduction 

“And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.” Ezekiel 22:30

Dear Gentle reader,  

Imagine that you are a Christian. You have just moved to a new city, and are looking for a place of fellowship. Would you choose a Methodist Church socially liberal or conservative, or perhaps an Episcopalian or Anglican , do you prefer an high church or a low church? Should it be a Bible-preaching or a teaching church? What about a political active or a spiritually focused one? Should it have a social ministry or an active youth group. Should it be seeker sensitive or purpose driven fellowship? Active outreach program? And questions like this go on and on for those who are concern about such things. Pentecostal or Apostolic? Roman Catholic or Protestant?

 Now then imagine you are a 1st century Christian. Which is better the Ebonite (Christians who would be Jews) church or the Marcionite (Christians who spur all things Jewish), Gnostic or pre-orthodox. A church that believes in more that one God or more than one, A church that accepts the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Or perhaps the Gospels of Thomas, Barnabas, Mary or Nicodemus. Or perhaps you prefer the Book of Enoch or the acts of Peter and Paul. A church that adheres to the Jewish laws of Kashrut, or Sabbath observances. You see Gentle Reader, based on what you may want you can find some fellowship to serve up anything and call it Christian, something that may appeals to your desires.  

 I set out over 45 + years ago, to share as I was taught the wonderful message given to us by our Brother in the Lord, the Apostle Paul and what he taught about how to understand Scripture and the final massage “the Mystery” given to the “Church which is His Body”

 Paul told Timothy who told someone else and on down till someone told me.  

“Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift” (2 Cor. 9:15)  

Not even God a greater gift could give, 

 Nor heav’n itself a dearer boon impart;

When Christ came, and died that I might live,

God gave without reserve His very heart.

I have been called to teach and to preach the Word of God (Some call it the Bible). Based on 2 Timothy 2:2, “And the things you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”

And after 50+ years in the ministry, I have seen more confusion rather than less. What should have been a joy, proved to be a nightmare of political, personality cults, Mega-churches. I have seen men called pastors who were unprepared for the work of the ministry, giving out pronouncements from the pulpit to people asleep in the pew Christians who are not even aware that their faith is being stolen away by the pseudo- clergy, secular rationalism, apostasy and atheism. Ignorance abounds on every side from the pulpit to the pew. 

In a recent unofficial survey, I discovered that out of more than 1000 churches looking for a senior pastor when presented with a pastor/teacher whose strengths were in the very thing that God called the Apostle Paul to do, was rejected by these very churches for various reasons e.g. “We are going in a different direction”, “Your not the match we are looking for” etc. Churches in America have turned away men that God called and joined Madison Avenue to “reach out to build great buildings and cemetery's” Churches:

“Having a form of godliness, but denying the POWER thereof: from such turn away.” Paul wrote to Timothy in the third Chapter of his second personal letter, warning of what we see all around us. 

 What would a fellowship/church want as a leader/elder more than one who can understand the Word of God and to be able to teach the “truth of the Truth”? What would a Christian want other than to be able to articulate and practice his/her faith and to share in an intelligent way the Sacred truths of Scripture? “Now faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God”(Romans 10:17) .   

  A large group of concerned Bible Teachers, Pastors, Professors, Historians, Linguists, Scholars and everyday students of the Bible started Scripture Institute, based on the belief that what was need was serious teaching/study, not only from the platform but in the seminaries. The goal was simple. A no cost Bible Education for anyone who would be willing to spend the time in The Book of books.

There are more different churches (with understanding that is not only contrary to what Scripture clearly teaches but fighting among themselves), each vying with their own requirements of what one must do to “join” their Church, trying to get the average non believer, or for that matter a believer to leave one group to join another all the while claiming to be “THE TRUE CHURCH” or their having some corner on the “TRUTH”. Call them denominations or fellowships, in buildings or houses, all who claim to follow the Risen Savior Christ Jesus. We all seem to think that we have our, as it were, act together, but we seem to go in different directions. Why is that?

There seems to be more confusion than understanding, more hard feelings than Grace. More opinions, than as my Jewish friends would say, “Get 6 Jews together and you have 12 opinions”! 

 What I would like this book to do is at least for me and perhaps the few people fortunate to pick it up and read it with an open mind, is to set out to show where we have come from the first infant beginnings of the “Church” to today. How we got where we are and if need be, how to get back - or if we should).

Joseph Hart once wrote: 

“The scriptures and the Word

Bear one tremendous name, 

The Living and the Written Word

In all things are the same. “

There are so many areas in which we have moved away from our Lord Christ Jesus... modern methods, tricks, and contrivances. Instead of allowing God to speak to us through His Word. We would rather start some new means of converting people to our way of thinking rather that converting our thinking to God’s way. 

 For example, we have now in the United states about 1, 500 different groups that claim to have the “truth” and all one need to do is join their group, pay your money, and sit back and let the “paid clergy” tell them what they should (must?) believe.  

My goal, Gentle reader, is not to convince you that I have all of the ‘answers” which I don’t. In fact it’s rather like when I studied Korean Tae Kwon Do (Karate). I thought that when I made my “Black Belt” that I would be an expert! What I found out after making 1st Black was that I was now in a position of a student I could begin to learn. And learn I did! Now as a 6th black, I find that as an old acquaintance of mine said “A punch is just a punch and a kick is just a kick” -Bruce Lee.

 So Gentle reader, perhaps I will be able to “teach” a bit of Grace along the way as we look at where we were, where we came from and where we are going. 

The Principle that we espouse is called “rightly dividing” from 2 Timothy 2:15 "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” In the literal Greek, one would read, “You, yourself be diligent to stand approved a workman who needs not to be ashamed handling accurately the Word of the truth” or in another version, 

“Be diligent to present thyself approved to God -- a workman irreproachable, rightly dividing the word of the truth; 

spoudavzw Spoudazo where the word “study and has the meaning of a state of absorbed contemplation. It is, Gentle reader, up to us who claim the name that is above other names to stand in the Gap for the “Church which is His body” no longer to allow the whims of men to dictate the Word of God by their own understanding or groups that stand for nothing but budgets, buildings and body counts.

 dovkimo? Dokimos The Greek for “approved”, and is God’s own determination for what He wants for us all. 

 ejrgavth? Ergates The Greek word for workman. While it refers to the gaining of knowledge in the spiritual sense beyond that is the goal of handling accurately the Word of God that we may stand approved of God rather than disapproved for mis-handling the Word of The Truth.  

ojrqotomevw Orthotomeo “rightly dividing” to make straight and smooth, to handle aright, to teach the truth directly and correctly. 

 When we are finished , Gentle reader, you will have the evidence of who has been faithful and who has strayed from what God intended. May you follow the Lord of heaven with all your heart. The choice is yours. 

“That I may know Him.” Ah, I long to know

Not just a Christ of far-gone years ago;

Nor even reigning on a heavenly throne,

Too high and distant to be really known.

I long to know Him closely; this is how-

Alive-and in this ever-pressing “now”;

Communicating His all-conquering power,

A living One, within my heart this hour, 

Who now no longer lives from me apart,

But shares His resurrection in my heart.

-J. Sidlow Baxter

Dr. Denis Callaghan Ph.D. ,Th.D., D.D.

?2007