“LIGHT YEARS AWAY”

“And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.”

Acts 2:43

Every church planting venture is unique, in a sense. It is an exhilarating experience to preach the Gospel to a community that has never heard of it before and start a church in that place. Thanks to the Apostles of the Lord Jesus, they have successfully laid the foundation of the church: the New Testament.

Each group that claims to be the church of Jesus is to pattern its teachings to Scripture; it does not have the liberty to come up with its own doctrines. Unfortunately, that’s not the case for every congregation. Some religious groups claim to use the Bible as the foundation of their teachings, but their beliefs are light years away from God’s inspired Word.

Let’s flip the pages to some two thousand years ago when the Church was still in its infancy. The Holy Spirit had just empowered the Apostles along with the others in the upper room (Acts 1:15). Peter preached a cut-to-the-heart sermon and 3,000 souls surrendered to Christ. Christianity began to be a serious threat to Judaism.

Luke records that every person was in awe of the apostle’s deeds, as God performed wonders (Greek “terata”), awe-inspiring acts. Signs (Greek “semeia”), are miracles that point people to divine truth. In other words, the people were in awe at what the Apostles were teaching, as evidenced by their supernatural acts powered by the Holy Spirit. Like Jesus, they also preached with authority.

This was nothing new to the Apostles, as they had performed miracles in the past when the Lord Jesus sent them out to heal, cast out demons and proclaim the gospel. They were unprepared and immature then, but they are ready and possess godly wisdom now. It was the Holy Spirit who gave them both the wisdom to speak and the signs to authenticate their message.

These men were handpicked by the Lord to become witnesses to His Resurrection. They were also empowered to perform miracles, signs, and wonders. They helped establish Christianity. These are the biblical marks of a person holding the office of an Apostle.

Today, countless men and women claim to possess the office of an Apostle. They assert themselves as receivers of “fresh revelations” from God. They are deemed untouchable, inerrant, and exempted from being questioned or challenged, leaving their followers scared and scarred. But who will validate their assertions? How do we know if they are true or false?

Thankfully, we have the Scriptures to help us determine the truth. God’s Word is the standard by which all claims and teachings are to be judged.

Pursue the Savior today!