God wants believers to serve Him in truth. In fact, it is this very issue that will determine “of what sort” our work is at the judgment seat of Christ.
The right kind of sorrow is often needful and brings with it certain benefits. Yet, it is in the joy of the LORD that God's people specifically find strength.
No man is to be respected above another person in a form of unrighteous judgment. However, does not infer nondiscrimination in every matter.
The character of the individual in authority affects everyone under his authority. People mourn when a nation, congregation, or family unit is ruled by one who is wicked. On the other hand, those same people would rejoice under the right authority of a righteous ruler. When Pharaoh ruled over God’s people in Egypt, their lives were made bitter with hard bondage (Exodus 1:8-14). Their days were filled with sorrow and affliction (Exodus 3:7). In contrast, when Solomon ruled over the people of God in Jerusalem, there was great rejoicing (1 Kings 1:40; 1 Kings 5:7). This truth not only applies to Israel, but to every nation, church, workplace, and family.
When true worship gets blended together with amusement, it yields varying types of worldliness and idolatry. In Exodus chapter 32, the children of Israel observed a “feast to the LORD” at the same time that they “rose up to play.” As men begin to grow increasingly cold and indifferent toward the Lord and His ways, they will seek ever more imaginative ways to make spiritual worship appeal to the flesh. This is often accomplished by uniting pleasure and worship. In an effort to keep people interested in the worship of God, churches add comedic relief, drama, carnal music, and a host of other worldly amusements. In doing so, the worship of God gets corrupted and becomes nothing more than idolatry or false worship.
The average believer when asked about his efforts to share the gospel may offer up several “reasons” why it is not feasible for him or her to tell others about their need for salvation. These reasons often seem spiritual in nature and are sometimes even accompanied by verses of scripture for support. However, the real truth is that believers who do not witness fail to do so because they are ashamed. Those believers who refuse to witness will be offended by this statement, but the apostle Paul confirms its validity. The reason Paul was “ready to preach the gospel” to those who were at Rome was because he was “not ashamed of the gospel of Christ.” Why was he not ashamed? Because he knew that it was “the power of God unto salvation.” Those who do not witness may offer excuses, but in reality they fail to believe in the power of God.
On the sabbath day, the Lord Jesus stood to read the scriptures. This was a common practice in New Testament times as the Jews would read the scriptures every sabbath day (Acts 13:27; Acts 15:21). Publick scripture reading was not uncommon and appears to have also been a practice of the Israelites in the Old Testament (Exodus 24:7; Deuteronomy 31:11; 2 Kings 23:2; Nehemiah 8:3). The Bible also records that publick reading was common in the early church. Unlike today, believers did not own personal copies of the scriptures. Believers learned the scripture from publick reading (1 Thessalonians 5:27; 1 Timothy 4:13). Even now, believers should make an effort to publickly read the scriptures.
As is common with church growth, problems arose very early in the church at Jerusalem. Acts chapter 6 tells us of the Grecians who began to murmur against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected (Acts 6:1). The apostles chose not to ignore the problem but to tackle it head on. Yet, they understood their primary responsibilities of not leaving their study of the word of God in order to focus on handling the strife. The apostles instructed the disciples in the church to choose seven men to deal with this particular issue and similar issues that might arise later (Acts 6:3). The Bible also points out that the apostles determined to give themselves “continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word” (Acts 6:4). They understood that their study and distribution of the word of God was to take the preeminence in their ministry.
