Acts 24:14
“But I admit that
I follow the Way, which they call a cult.
I worship the God of our ancestors, and
I firmly believe the Jewish law and everything
written in the prophets.
Many believers have lost their belief to the
men of this world.
They believe more in serving men than serving the
God that created them.
1. Galatians 1:6-10 I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God,
who called you to himself through the loving mercy of Christ.
You are following a different way that
pretends to be the
Good News but is not the Good News at all
You are being fooled
by those who deliberately twist the
truth concerning Christ
Let God’s curse fall on anyone,
including us or even an angel from heaven,
who preaches a different kind
of
Good News
than the one
we preached to you
I say again what we have said before: If anyone preaches any other Good News than the one you welcomed, let that person be cursed. Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant.
2. Matthew 7:14-18
But the gateway to life is very narrow and
the road is difficult,
and
only a few ever find it
"Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit.
1 John 4:1-4
Dear friends, do not believe everyone
who claims to speak by the Spirit.
You must test them to see if the spirit they have
comes from God.
For there are many false prophets in the world.
This is how we know if they have the Spirit of God:
If a person claiming to be a prophet
acknowledges that
Jesus Christ came in a real body,
that person has the
Spirit of God
But if someone claims to be a prophet and does
not acknowledge the truth about Jesus,
that person is not from God.
Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here. But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.
Romans 16:17-20
And now I make one more appeal, my dear brothers and sisters.
Watch out for people who
cause divisions and upset people’s faith
by teaching things contrary to what
you have been taught.
Stay away from them.
Such people are not serving
Christ our Lord;
they are serving their
own personal interests
By smooth talk and glowing words they deceive innocent people. But everyone knows that you are obedient to the Lord. This makes me very happy.
I want you to be wise in
doing right
and to stay innocent of any wrong.
The God of peace will soon crush
Satan under your feet.
May the grace of our Lord Jesus
be with you
Matthew 24:3-5
Later, Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives. His disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will all this happen? What sign will signal your return and the end of the world? Jesus told them, “Don’t let anyone mislead you, for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah.’ They will deceive many.
Matthew 24:23-26
Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand. So, if they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it.
1 Timothy 4:1-2
Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons. These people are hypocrites and liars, and their consciences are dead
Jesus is God in the flesh and He is the only way into Heaven. Never let anyone tell you something different. Your good works will not save you. The sinless lamb of God paid the price in full and said it is finished. You can’t add anything to the finished work of Christ. No baptism, giving, traditions, or other legalistic things will save you only Jesus saves you.
John 14:5-7
Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
1 John 2:22-26
Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist—denying the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also. As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. And this is what he promised us—eternal life. I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray.
John 19:30
When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.”
With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
Colossians 2:19-23
They have lost connection with the head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow. Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules: “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.
Acts 15:23-29
With them they sent the following letter: The apostles and elders, your brothers, To the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia: Greetings. We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said. So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul— men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing. It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things.
Mark 7:6-8
And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”
1 John 2:19
They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.
Ephesians 2:8-10
God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
Revelation 22:18-19
For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
Proverbs 30:5-6
“Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar.
Leviticus 20:27
A man or woman who is a medium or spiritist among you must be put to death. You are to stone them; their blood will be on their own heads.’”
Deuteronomy 18:10-14
For example, never sacrifice your son or daughter as a burnt offering. And do not let your people practice fortune-telling, or use sorcery, or interpret omens, or engage in witchcraft, or cast spells, or function as mediums or psychics, or call forth the spirits of the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD. It is because the other nations have done these detestable things that the LORD your God will drive them out ahead of you. But you must be blameless before the LORD your God. The nations you are about to displace consult sorcerers and fortune-tellers, but the LORD your God forbids you to do such things.”
Leviticus 19:31
"‘Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for
you will be defiled by them.
I am the LORD your God.
2 Timothy 2:15
Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved,
a worker who does not need to be ashamed and
who correctly handles the word of truth.
If my people, who are called by my name,
will humble
themselves and pray and
seek my face
and turn from their wicked ways,
then I will hear from heaven, and
I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
Lord I ask for the grace to humble myself before you;
my flesh is proud but I purpose
to die to pride each hour of every day.
Lord God, I ask by the Power of Your
Holy Spirit,
to help me to be disciplined in my prayer life.
Forgive me for not being faithful in praying without ceasing.
Father God, unless I come into Your presence,
nothing else matters. I commit to seek Your face,
Your real presence by taking personal time to wait for
You and listen to You.
Stir in me a hunger and thirst
to seek Your face
God I ask You to forgive me for my sins of thoughts,
words and deeds. I repent of those things before
You now; I ask for a fresh impartation of Your righteousness.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen!
Paul's Defense to Felix
Nor can they prove
to you
any of their charges against me
I do confess to you, however, that I worship the God of our fathers
according to the Way, which they call a sect.
I believe everything that is laid down by the
Law and written in the Prophets,
I have the same hope
in God that they themselves cherish,
that there will be a resurrection of both the
righteous and the wicked.…
Acts 3:13
The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His servant Jesus. You handed Him over and rejected Him before Pilate, even though he had decided to release Him.
Acts 9:2
and requested letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any men or women belonging to the Way, he could bring them as prisoners to Jerusalem.
Acts 15:5
But some believers from the party of the Pharisees stood up and declared, "The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses."
Acts 24:5
We have found this man to be a pestilence, stirring up dissension among the Jews all over the world. He is a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes,
Acts 24:22
Then Felix, who was well informed about the Way, adjourned the hearing and said, "When Lysias the commander comes, I will decide your case."
Acts 25:8
Then Paul made his defense: "I have committed no offense against the law of the Jews or against the temple or against Caesar."
Acts 26:4
Surely all the Jews know how I have lived from the earliest days of my youth, among my own people and in Jerusalem.
Psalm 119:46
I will speak of thy testimonies also before kings, and will not be ashamed.
Matthew 10:32
Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.
Acts 9:2
And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.
Acts 19:9,23
But when divers were hardened, and believed not, but spake evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus…
Amos 8:14
They that swear by the sin of Samaria, and say, Thy god, O Dan, liveth; and, The manner of Beersheba liveth; even they shall fall, and never rise up again.
heresy.
Acts 24:5
For we have found this man a pestilent fellow, and a mover of sedition among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes:
1 Corinthians 11:19
For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.
Galatians 5:20
Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
Micah 4:2
And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
Acts 3:13
The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate,
when he was determined to let him go.
Acts 5:30
The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree.
Acts 7:32
Saying, I am the God of thy fathers, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Then Moses trembled, and durst not behold.
Acts 3:22-24
For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you…
Acts 10:43
To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.
In Rom 10:13, to
"Call on the Name of the Lord”
(ἐπικαλεῖν τὸ ὄνομα κυρίου)
involves more than simply invoking the Lord,
but expresses a
prayer for deliverance with cultic connotations,
The immediate context of Romans 10:13
reveals that this question is not inconsequential.
In Romans 10:12–14, Paul uses the verb ἐπικαλέω three times to
articulate the proper human response to God/Jesus.
In 10:12, Paul argues that
the same Lord who is over both Jews and Greeks
richly blesses all who call upon him
(ἐπικαλέω). To support this claim he quotes Joel 3:5 LXX (2:32 ET)
All who call upon (ἐπικαλέω)
the name of the Lord will be saved
The same verb then serves as a linguistic springboard in v. 14a to introduce the chain–like sequence (sorites)3 in vv. 14–15 that leads to one calling upon the Lord. The three–fold repetition of ἐπικαλέω in vv. 12–14, and its location at the head (or the end result)
of the chain in vv. 14–15 (preceding even πιστεύω)
indicates its prime importance for Paul. It is vital, therefore,
to consider carefully what this term conveys.
In Rom 10:13, to “call on the name of the Lord” (ἐπικαλεῖν τὸ ὄνομα κυρίου) means more than to invoke the Lord,
but expresses a prayer for deliverance with cultic connotations,
that is,
“to worship Jesus as Lord.”
In particular, Paul’s usage of ἐπικαλέω in this passage resonates with strong liturgical overtones, it draws on a long OT tradition of employing such language in cultic settings, it parallels closely other NT texts that are cultic in orientation, and it coheres with our earliest evidence about the worship practices of the early church.
Finally, the observation that ἐπικαλέω carries the nuance of worship is significant,
since it suggests a tighter thematic relationship between this chapter and
Paul’s description of humanity’s fundamental predicament
as false worship
in chapter 1, his exhortation for renewed spiritual worship in chapter 12,
and
his vision for unified Jew/Gentile worship in chapter 15.
Indeed, the connection between the phrase
“confess with your mouth that
Jesus is Lord”
(ὁμολογήσῃς ἐν τῷ στόματί σου κύριον Ἰησοῦν, v. 9)
“call upon [the name of the Lord]”(ἐπικαλέω [τὸ ὄνομα κυρίου]
suggests that the two expressions mutually inform one another
Such evidence suggests that
“the confession ‘Jesus is Lord’ (κύριον Ἰησοῦν) …
was rather well-fixed within early Christianity” and that “it
arose not in light of persecution but most likely to
meet the liturgical needs in the church.”
For the church at Rome, these needs included Paul’s ardent desire for
Jews and Gentiles together to worship Jesus as Lord (cf. 15:5–6).
That a liturgical need for unity lies behind this passage is underscored by Paul’s deliberate addition of πᾶς to his citation of Isa 28:16 in 10:11, a
word that Paul features again in vv. 12 and 13 and that highlights
the universal horizon of his mission
Rom 3:22 ‘there is no distinction’
(οὐ γάρ ἐστιν διαστολὴ),
Paul substitutes for his earlier indictment that
all humans are under sin the
good news that all humans have the same Lord
who deals generously with all
who call on him
.
Significantly, Paul appropriates an OT text whose original referent was
YHWH and applies it to Jesus,
thereby identifying Jesus closely with the God of Israel.
"It would be hard to overestimate the theological potency of this use of Joel 3:5a,” and he argues that “we are to hear the echoes of this sentence in its original context,
but now
with a christological transformation that has the
profoundest implications for Paul’s ‘doctrine’ of God
and,
as such, for the salvation of Israel.”
Joel 3:5a originally appears at the climax of
an apocalyptic vision
concerning the restoration of all Israel,
which is
grounded in the theological singularity of YHWH (Joel 2:27 LXX).
Paul modulates this vision in two crucial ways.
First, whereas the πᾶς of Joel refers to all Israel (excluding the Gentiles; cf. Joel 2:27b LXX),
Paul expands the meaning of πᾶς in Rom 10:13 to embrace both Jews and Gentiles (10:12).
Second, while the κύριος in Joel is YHWH, in 10:13, the κύριος is clearly Jesus, as indicated by
(a) the confession κύριος Ἰησοῦς (10:9),
(b) the identification of ἐπ᾿ αὐτῷ(10:11), ὁ αὐτὸς κύριος (10:12), and αὐτόν (10:12) with Jesus, and
(c) the evidence of 10:14, where the κύριοςmust refer to Jesus and not YHWH, since Paul’s concern is that his fellow Israelites call on one in whom they have not yet believed.
Thus, Paul now reimagines the restoration envisioned by Joel for
God’s people to include not only Israel
but all humanity ,and to be enacted by the
Lord Jesus Christ
This restoration not only entails eschatological deliverance but also worship.
The bond Paul has forged between Isaiah 28:16 and Joel 3:5through
the addition of πᾶς in 10:11 invites the reader to
recall how the “shame” language in
Isa 28:16 (οὐ μὴ καταισχυνθῇ)
echoes the two-fold repetition of identical wording in Joel 2:26–27,
in which God’s deliverance
prompts his people
'praise the name of the Lord [their] God”
(αἰνέσετε τὸ ὄνομα κυρίου τοῦ θεοῦ, Joel 2:26 LXX).
The link between 2:26 and 3:5 consists also in the fact that these are the only two passages in LXX Joel that employ the phrase “name of the Lord” (τὸ ὄνομα κυρίου).
These linguistic connections, then, summon us to read these texts together and
to allow them to interpret one another.
The recurrence of the “name of the Lord” in these verses suggests a possible link between the verbs αἰνέω and ἐπικαλέω, so that, for Joel,
“to call on the name of the Lord” is associated with the notion,
“to praise the name of the Lord.”
Joel 3:5 extends to Romans, so that Paul’s citation in Rom 10:13 not only articulates a prayer for deliverance but at the same time expresses an act of worship.
Romans 10:13 not only stands as the climax of Romans 9:30–10:21, but its immediate context also evinces strong liturgical overtones. Confessional language permeates the passage, including the specific invocation of Jesus as Lord,
which serves to identify Jesus with the
God of Israel.
That this radically christocentric rereading of Joel 3:5 takes place within the thoroughly theocentric framework of Romans 9–11, forces us “to reckon with a very early inclusion of Jesus in the identity of the Lord YHWH that integrated Jesus also into the worship of YHWH.”29 This identification, in turn, serves the liturgical purpose in Romans of uniting Jews and Gentiles in worship of the same Lord (Rom 10:12; 15:6–7), whose salvation extends to all who call on him.
Where Jehovah Rapha Appears in Scripture
We first discover the name of Jehovah Rapha in
Exodus 15:26. Prior to this verse, we see instances of
"rapha,”
even in regards to something God can do for people
(Genesis 20:17),
but this is the first instance in which
God reveals Healer as part of
his identity
Scripture also uses the name Jehovah Rapha in verses such as
Jeremiah 30:17, Isaiah 30:26, Isaiah 61:1, and Psalm 103:3.
Jehovah Rapha Found in Scripture
It should come as no surprise that people in Scripture call
God Jehovah Rapha
when they face something a little more detrimental than a stomach ache or the common cold. Let’s dive into each of the verses mentioned above and discuss the context of
what’s happening in each.
Exodus 15:26
The Israelites have just escaped
the clutches of Egypt and 400+ years of slavery
Right after they lift praises to God in the first part of this chapter,
the Israelites start to grumble
(one of the first of many cases of them grumbling in the desert)
They’ve reached a bitter spring and
can’t drink the water
Through a piece of wood, God makes the
water drinkable
He reminds them that he heals and restores those who
follow him,
and that he
preserved them from the 10 plagues in Egypt.
Jeremiah 30:17
After Jeremiah witnesses the destruction of Jerusalem,
thanks to a siege from the Babylonians, and
watches his friends and loved ones get
taken into captivity,
God reminds him that he
will restore Israel
He’ll mend their wounds and bring
them back home
Isaiah 30:26
Similar to the case with Jeremiah, Israel has turned their
backs on God,
and Now they’re facing a siege from a foreign enemy
who will take them captive.
Nevertheless,
God heals and restores
Psalm 103:3
Don’t let this uplifting Psalm of David
fool you
David had undergone a number
of
awful trials before
He became King of Israel
He ran from the previous king who tried to kill him, lost his best friend to battle, and later in his kingship years, had an affair and massive problems with his offspring.
He has, as this commentary said, a keener sense of his past sin because he’s reached an older and more reflective age. In this verse alone, David declares that not only does God heal us from our physical ailments, but our spiritual ones as well.
In all of these verses, we see that healing itself has many facets. God not only restores us physically, but also spiritually. We often witness this same idea in the miracles of Jesus(Mark 2:1-12).
We may ask God to take away physical pain, and he reminds us that restoration
doesn’t just happen at the skin-deep level.
God, our Healer, heals intensively, immersively, and extensively.
The prophet Joel delivers a warning to the people of Judah, but his message transcends his time to speak to people of all time—past, current, and future. He tells of God’s looming judgment of sin and urges people everywhere to repent and return to God. Joel foresees the day when God’s Spirit becomes available to every believer: “I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days. . . . And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved” (Joel 2:28–32).
The apostle Peter quotes this entire passage from Joel in Acts 2:14–21 to illustrate the manifestation of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost: “Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them” (Acts 2:2–4).
Peter sees this post-resurrection outpouring of the Spirit as part of the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy. With its breathtaking signs and wonders in the heavens and on earth, the complete prophecy will not be fulfilled until the last days. But God’s Spirit was poured out on Pentecost in a fresh way and remains available to all who call on the name of the Lord.
Calling on the name of the Lord expresses familiarity and connection, as in knowing God by name. The phrase signifies identification as a member of God’s family. Whoever calls on the name of the Lord claims Yahweh as one’s own God. This concept goes back to the beginning of time when “people began to call on the name of the Lord” (Genesis 4:26; see also Genesis 12:8). God has always sought a people, including representatives from all nations, to devote themselves to Him.
The apostle Paul cites Joel to back his claim that the message of salvation in Jesus Christ is for all people: “For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for,
‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord
will be saved’”
(Romans 10:12–13).
Jews and Gentiles and people from every nation receive
God’s promise of salvation
on the same basis—through faith in Jesus Christ.
No one is excluded. Everyone has an opportunity to call on the name of the Lord and be delivered from sin, forgiven, and saved (Acts 10:43).
Paul emphasizes calling on the name of the Lord out loud but also in one’s heart: “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). Calling on the name of the Lord involves admitting our own powerlessness and need for God, believing in His power to save us, and desperately crying out to God from the heart for His salvation (Isaiah 43:11; Acts 4:12; Hebrews 12:14; Romans 3:10–18, 23). Those who call on the name of the Lord put their “hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe” (1 Timothy 4:10). God’s children cry out from a sense of inadequacy, dependence, and the genuine conviction that only He can be relied on to save.
Whoever trusts
in
Jesus Christ
by
believing in Him shall be saved
(Acts 16:31).
There’s nothing complicated about the
plan of salvation:
"For God so loved the world that he
gave his one and only Son,
that whoever believes in him shall not perish but
have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world
to
condemn the world,
but to
save the world through him”
(John 3:16–17).
The Bible plainly teaches that we don’t have to do any work to be saved
(Ephesians 2:8–9).
Calling on the name of the Lord is not
an act that saves us.
God’s grace saves us
through faith.
We can’t earn salvation by any means.
The grace of God is the source of our salvation,
but it is our faith that makes this possible.
We only have to call on God in faith to receive His salvation
(Romans 5:1).
From then on, we will call on
the name of our
Lord and Savior as long as we live
(Psalm 116:2).
RSS Feed
