What part did local churches play in the Supreme Court's decision on gay marriage?
Have the people who claim to be Christians been for or against such action?
"For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?" 1 Peter 4:17
Can you believe how stupid some highly educated people are becoming? The Supreme Court of the United States takes it upon themselves to reverse nature. For 6000+ years marriage has been between a man and a woman. They are the only two beings that could obey God's commandment:
The revelation of the Mystery was given once Israel was judged Acts 28:28. The mystery forms the distinctive kernel of the economy of this age. But how does this relate to the foundation of the world?
Clearly Israel's history was of importance in showing God's displeasure at their disobedience and hence served as "tupoi" or "figures" and "examples" to help prevent a repeat of the nations indiscretions. In rehearsing this he reveals the nature of the time then present, and hence the importance of being careful in personal and collective deportment . The Corinthian believers were experiencing "τὰ τέλη τῶν αἰώνων, the ends of the ages".
The end of the book of Romans is often used as a "proof" that the mystery given to Paul the prisoner was known before the close of the book of Acts and that "the mystery" as revealed in Eph 3 is simply a revisitation of what was already dispensed in the acts period. This is a part of the mid-acts foundation, an assumption that is demonstrably wrong, upon which many false doctrines subsist.
Every religious survey in the past 20 years has shown a downward spiral in church attendance. Granted, there are some mega churches that have been started and are showing growth, but these are more due to population growth than leadership. The truth of the matter is that their growth has not kept up with the population growth. Others have grown, then plummeted when their "rock star" pastors were unmasked.
You show them the acts 28 boundary with patience and deliberation using all the evidence you can muster. But after all that - NO! They just will not accept the truth that is glaringly obvious to all who have come to see and appreciate the revelation of "the Mystery".
The apostle Paul had two ministries, one during the book of Acts and the other after Acts 28. Much confusion in the christian community results from a failure to rightly divide between these two ministries. For the Christian, that is for the person who knows the Lord Jesus Christ as saviour there is no issue more important than to have a clear appreciation of the two-fold ministry of Paul.
It was the apostle Paul who said:
KJV 1 Corinthians 11:1 Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.
TBT 1 Corinthians 11:1 μιμηταί μου γίνεσθε, καθὼς κἀγὼ Χριστοῦ.
KJV 1 Corinthians 11:2 Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances, as I delivered them to you.
TBT 1 Corinthians 11:2 Ἐπαινῶ δὲ ὑμᾶς, ἀδελφοί, ὅτι πάντα μου μέμνησθε, καὶ καθὼς παρέδωκα ὑμῖν τὰς παραδόσεις κατέχετε.
There are some who would like to tell us that the church of whom Christ is head began in the middle of the book of Acts. This is done by appealing to various assumptions - some will argue that the gospel is the mystery and then show that "the gospel" was preached by Paul in Acts and therefore this age began in Acts (say Acts 13, 17 etc). This is often stated with zeal (Rom. 10:2) but does it measure up to the knowledge that PAul prays the Colossians (Col. 1:9) and Ephesians (Eph. 1:16-18) posses? This spirit of wisdom and revelation is a gift of the Father and therefore we should not assume all Christians posses it.
