Dr Paul Allen

We have the New Testament largely because of the theological diseases that infected and afflicted the first-generation churches. The apostles wrote to clarify and remind early believers of things they had been taught and to correct false doctrines that were springing up. All of church history resembles the New Testament: remarkable outpourings of the Holy Spirit , gospel advances, churches planted, outbreaks of persecution and martyrdoms, doctrinal distortions and leadership abuses and all manner of sin causing churches to be, as the old hymn says , “by schisms rent asunder, by heresies distressed,” followed by Holy Spirit-empowered revival and reformation movements. Best to Know Your Bible To have knowledge of church history is good — really good. It helps us keep perspective. It helps us keep from being too euphoric and triumphalist in revival, too depressed and defeatist in tribulation, and too enamored of The Next Big Thing, the new method, strategy, or movement that promi...

If you can’t remember, you may have reason to be concerned. Sometimes the most loving thing someone can do for us is point out an error or inconsistency in the way we think or live. The reality that we have remaining sin still inside of us means that we  will  be wrong.  And  it means we will inevitably be blind to some of the ways we are wrong. Therefore, God often gives us the perspective we desperately need on ourselves through someone else’s eyes, heart, and words. They see something that needs to change or be corrected, and they lovingly tell us the truth. They rebuke us. Love  will  rebuke us. Paul had to rebuke Peter once. “When Cephas came to Antioch , I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned” ( Galatians   2:11 ). Why? Because Peter (a Jew ) caved to pressure from his peers, and refused to eat with Gentile believers. Peter had pioneered the reconciliation of the Jews and Gentiles through Jesus (Acts 15:11 ). He had seen an...

We must avoid the idea, however, that in our Christian life our chief object is to perfect ourselves. We actually achieve more growth while in service. The saint (dedicated, consecrated one) is not the one who spends all his time in study, prayer, and devotion, important as that is.  The holy vessels in the tabernacle could not be used for ordinary purposes, but their separation from ordinary use is not what made them holy. They were not holy until they were actually used in the service of God. So the saint is the one who is not only separated from evil, but separated to God, sanctified and anointed for the Master’s use. This was symbolized in the Old Testament by the fact that the blood was first applied and the oil over the blood. Cleansing was thus followed by a symbolic anointing that represented the Spirit’s work in preparing for service. So we too are anointed, as were the prophets, kings, and priests of old (2 Corinthians 1:21; 1 John 2:20).2 The means and power for s...

The story of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5 lets us know that despite the explosion of growth in the early church , they had moments of weakness, even gross sin . I believe that their deaths serve as a warning to the Church today, and that God has a lot to teach us—if we are willing to hear: 1. In the church, there are both genuine believers and non-genuine. On the outside, Ananias and Sapphira look just like another church member named Barnabas (introduced in Acts 4 ). Barnabas had just sold his property and brought the money to the apostles, and to the casual observer, Ananias and Sapphira were doing the same thing. But deep in their heart lingered a love of money and a desire for people’s praise. So they conspired together to present a portion of their money while passing it off as the entire amount. This is worlds apart from the attitude of Barnabas, but looks very similar. We may be able to get away with this sort of duplicity for a while, but if someone looks closely,...