Date Posted:19:20:52 10/21/04 Thu Author: Bob Subject: Re: Acts 5:29? In reply to:
Brian Karcher
's message, "Re: Acts 5:29?" on 14:29:18 10/20/04 Wed
Hello Brain,
You said:
>I agree with the definition of the word "men". I was
>not challenging the definition of the word, but the
>understanding of the context.
Understanding the context of this verse does not change the meaning of the word "men". The meaning is still "all mankind" and it applies to both men in the minisrty or men out of the ministry.
You said:
>Not necessarily... My point is that when I consider
>the context of the passage, other Bible verses, the
>author's intention and the grammar of the verse, I do
>not come to the conclusions you are apparently making.
You also need to consider the meaning of the words in a verse. In this case "men" means "all mankind", and this little fact changes your whole intrpretation of the verse.
I said:
>>We can only serve one Master. We cannot obey God and
>>man at the same time.
You said:
>Where are these statements in the Bible? They sound
>good and seem like a verse I know about.
Check Matthew 6:24
I said:
>>We submit to and obey our
>>leaders only because God tells us too, when we do
>>this, we are actually obeying God and not man.
You Said:
>"Only because God tells us too"? That's not what I
>read in Romans 13. There we are directed to obey "not
>only because of possible punishment but also because
>of conscience."
Please note that Romans 13 is not speaking of spiritual leaders, but of goverment officials and authorities.
The Bible clearly teaches us to obey God with all of our heart. No where in the Bible are we told to obey our spiritual leaders in the same way.
