Religion, in the Biblical sense, is defined as the Jewish faith and worship. It is also known as Judaism. Saul was well known for his zeal. Before he came to his own personal faith in Christ, he thought people who followed Jesus should be stamped out. He actively chased them down:
Acts 9:1-2 And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest,
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.
Paul addressed the message of salvation, not only to Israel, but to anyone else that feared God:
Acts 13:16 Then Paul stood up, and beckoning with his hand said, Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, give audience.
Acts 13:26 Men and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever among you feareth God, to you is the word of this salvation sent.
People who followed ‘the old time religion’ needed to move to faith in Christ:
Acts 13:42-47 And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next sabbath.
43 Now when the congregation was broken up,
many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas:
who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.
44 And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God.
Those who didn’t believe on Christ felt contentious rivalry:
45 But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming.
46 Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you (Jews): but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.
God charged Paul and Barnabas with an old testament quote from Isa 49:6:
47 For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.
After Saul/Paul’s conversion, the Jews hunted him with intent to kill him because they thought he was preaching against their OLD testament religion:
Acts 21:27-31 And when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews which were of Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the people, and laid hands on him,
28 Crying out, Men of Israel, help: This is the man, that teacheth all men every where against the people, and the law, and this place: and further brought Greeks also into the temple, and hath polluted this holy place.
29 (For they had seen before with him in the city Trophimus an Ephesian, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.)
30 And all the city was moved, and the people ran together: and they took Paul, and drew him out of the temple: and forthwith the doors were shut.
31 And as they went about to kill him, tidings came unto the chief captain of the band, that all Jerusalem was in an uproar.
When Paul was allowed to defend himself before them, and they heard him speak in the Hebrew tongue, they got silent and listened:
Acts 22:3-5 I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day.
4 And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women.
5 As also the high priest doth bear me witness, and all the estate of the elders: from whom also I received letters unto the brethren, and went to Damascus, to bring them which were there bound unto Jerusalem, for to be punished.
Paul told king Agrippa that he observed the strictest, most precise precepts of the Mosiac laws and traditions:
Acts 26:2-5 I think myself happy, king Agrippa, because I shall answer for myself this day before thee touching all the things whereof I am accused of the Jews:
3 Especially because I know thee to be expert in all customs and questions which are among the Jews: wherefore I beseech thee to hear me patiently.
4 My manner of life from my youth, which was at the first among mine own nation at Jerusalem, know all the Jews;
5 Which knew me from the beginning, if they would testify, that after the most straitest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee.
Jesus indicated that those who felt righteous needed to see themselves as sinners, and not trust in their heritage (John 8:33,37,39):
Luke 5:29-32 And Levi made him a great feast in his own house: and there was a great company of publicans and of others that sat down with them.
30 But their scribes and Pharisees murmured against his disciples, saying, Why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners?
31 And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick.
32 I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
Jesus gave an example of a Pharisee and a publican. Pharisees recognized a standard of belief and life in oral tradition, who sought for distinction and praise by outward observance of external rites and forms of piety, such as ceremonial washings, fastings, public prayers, and alms giving. They were a faction of a larger group and possessed great influence with the common people. Publicans were tax collectors, ill-regarded of the Jews:
Luke 18:9-14 And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:
10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
Paul was also a Pharisee .... who had been confident in his flesh:
Phil 3:4-7 Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more:
5 Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee;
6 Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.
But he had to repent (change his mind) about those things and trust Christ:
7 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.
When Saul was on the warpath against believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, he even chased them when they fled his persecution:
Acts 26:9-11 I verily thought with myself, that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. ('Mid-Acts-ers' make that 'another Jesus'.)
10 Which thing I also did in Jerusalem: and many of the saints did I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when
they were put to death, I gave my voice against them.
11 And I punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities.
Paul did not sugar-coat his personal history. He acknowledged what he had done against the disciples of the Lord. When he was a part of the Jew’s religion, he excelled more than anyone else, like we would think of a valedictorian at the very top of his class:
Gal 1:13-14 For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews' religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it:
14 And profited in the Jews' religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers.
Even ‘mid-Acts-ers’ acknowledge, that God gave only one religion, which was for the Jews. However, ‘mid-Acts-ers’ make a point to say that they (the 'mid-Acts-ers') "are not religious" .... as if religion was some awful thing. The Jews’ religion was their OLD testament, which was good:
Rom 7:12 Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.
The law is spiritual (Rom 7:14), and we become dead to it when we believe the gospel of Jesus Christ (Rom 7:4). The law does not 'cease' from being good; it is just that the believer is no longer under it (Rom 6:14):
1 Tim 1:8-11 But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully;
9 Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,
10 For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;
11 According to the glorious gospel [euaggelion] of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.
When announcing the birth of Christ, the angel of the Lord told the shepherds that the joyous gospel would be for everyone:
Luke 2:10-11 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings [euaggelizo] of great joy, which shall be to all people. (not just the Jews)
11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
The ‘old time religion’ was to show men their sinfulness, until Christ came, Who is the end of the law to every one that believeth (Rom 10:4):
Gal 3:19 Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed (that is, Christ, in Gal 3:16) should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.
The law pointed the way to faith in Christ:
Gal 3:24-25 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. (just like Abraham our father, Rom 4:11,16)
25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
Now that Christ has come and taken away the law for the believer (Col 2:14) .... we serve God in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter (Rom 7:6).
The ‘old time religion’ has been changed into ‘the new time religion’ which is pure and, before God, undefiled. We are able ministers of the new testament (2 Cor 3:6) because of Christ's blood (1 Cor 11:25, Heb 9:15). We have the inheritance now (Gal 3:29):
James 1:27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction (also 1 Tim 5:3), and to keep himself unspotted from the world (also Eph 5:27, 1 Tim 6:14, 2 Pet 3:14).
‘Mid-Acts-ers’ don’t want to be religious? Frankly, I’m not surprised.
When I observed the ‘mid-Acts-ers’ haughtiness toward what-GOD-called ‘a good work’ .... that is, ‘the office of a bishop’ (1 Tim 3:1) .... the title of the very ministers they claim to be .... written by God through the very apostle they claim is THEIR apostle, whom they claim to follow .... in the very KJV Bible they claim is the final authority, as preserved in the English language .... when I saw that pride excercised against a plain, straight-forward verse of scripture .... it cracked the door and light came in. They substituted The Living Bible’s word ‘pastor’ for the KJV word ‘bishop’. Then I realized they WOULD be unfaithful to God’s word, and though it discouraged me to discover their unfaithfulness, it encouraged me to look closer to see what other verses they may be changing. It saddens me to say that I found many. So very many, in fact, that I am no longer a ‘mid-Acts-er’. My desire is to stand against that, and help others before they fall into that trap. I am a Bible-believing, grace preacher, with no influence from any 'isms' or other theology. All my studies come from the KJV, and the only study tools I use are a dictionary and a lexicon. Do you know what I mean? "Maranatha!" Next Sunday’s message will expose some of their false doctrines, and I will continue to do so in the future.
Those 'mid-Acts' preachers, who claim to be KJV, cannot claim 2 Tim 2:2 with honesty and faithfulness. My desire is to be faithful and to gladly take all of God's word. I am truly KJV.
2 Tim 2:2 And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.
How many times must one cheat on their spouse to be an adulterer? Every time they substitute 'pastor' for 'bishop' they are unfaithful to the KJV. You can read it all over their websites. Substituting 'teaching elder' or 'brother' for the office does not cut it either. They gave sorry excuses, saying they did not want to use 'bishop' because of 'false religions' that use it, and because of demographics - those 'false religions' that are in their local area - and they did not want to be associated with them. The 'mid-Acts-ers' have tried to make this a personal issue of mine instead of a KJV issue, to try to divert attention away from their lack of faithfulness. One of the men they look up to (now saying he is a 'teaching elder') said from the pulpit at the conference in Tennessee, that 'bishop' was correct. Then he said something different when he went back up north, and he even went so far as to say that "the apostles and prophets today .... are your Bible" (from Eph 4:11). I wish the 'mid-Acts-ers' were as faithful with the word 'bishop' as they are with the word 'dispensation' in the KJV 4 times (1 Cor 9:17; Eph 1:10, 3:2; Col 1:25) .... even though the same Greek word [oikonomia] is translated 'stewardship' in the KJV 3 times (Luke 16:2,3,4).
'Mid-Acts-ers' who claim to be KJV are constantly striking at mainline denominations (although I do not agree with their teaching either) .... however, those denominations call themselves SHEEP, unlike 'so-called KJV mid-Acts-ers'. Sheep have pastors/shepherds.
This is David Dowell, saying, "Think about it!"
