FROM THE PEN OF AARON
JESUS, THE HERETICK
Was Jesus a heretic during his time on Earth? Let's do what we always do: go to the Bible to answer this question. In the scriptures, the word heresies are mentioned three times (1st Corinthians 11:19, Galatians 5:20, and 2nd Peter 2:1). In contrast, the word heretick is mentioned once (Titus 3:10). Both words come from the Greek language and carry the same meaning. Strong concordance G141 indicates that the meaning of the word here "ick is "fitted or able to take or choose "thing," schismatic, factious, a follower of a false "doctrine." The dictionary states that here "es are "opinion or doctrine at variance with the orthodox or accepted doctrine, especially of a church or religious system, the maintaining of such an opinion or doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church, the willful and persistent rejection of any article of faith by a baptized member of the church, any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs, customs, etc.". The keyword from the muscular concordance definition is schismatic. To be schismatic is to be a person with a schism (to be divisive). Therefore, to be a heretic, a person must stray away from a specific doctrine or belief of a religious order or sect.
YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN
Many protestant Christian movements today based their belief system on one central expression. This expression is “You must be born again.” Therefore, what does the expression “being born again” mean? This movement tells us that “being born again” restores a person to a righteous relationship with God and gives them the ability to be a witness for Him. The concept of this movement is centered around the presence of sin and how we must manage it daily. From my research, I have found several movements based on this expression following Saint Augustus's third-century doctrine of the original sin. Also, a mixture of John Calvin’s sixteenth-century doctrine is known as the “TULIP.”
APOLOGETICS
According to the dictionary, apologetics is the theology concerned with the defense of Christianity. It is a Greek word that means speaking in defense of something. However, there is a misunderstanding of this word among many Christians. The problem with apologetics is that it is not a biblical text. However, indications indicate that a faith defense is essential. In Jude 1:3, he states, "Belov" d when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that you should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints." Apo" logistics is often confused with an apology (which means to regret, have remorse, or feel sorrowful) for an action. But, the use of this word within the Christian community is to have an answer to those who have a question concerning your hope in Christianity. For many Christians, it is a verbal defense of Jesus to those who are unbelievers (antichrists). The purpose is to persuade them to change their minds and the direction of their life. In other words, to become followers of Jesus. This understanding comes from the teaching that Christians are soul winners for the Lord. However, to be an apologist within Christian theology is to reason with the unlearned or unbeliever. The primary emphasis is to help them understand the nature of good and evil. Then, the listener must choose based on their relationship with God at that moment. The choice at that moment is to pick between Christ or the antichrist, day or night, light or darkness, good or evil, etc.
CONFLICT IN THE CHURCH
As mentioned in another place, there have been conflicts in the Christian Church. Then, over the last few years, conflicts have been created to a point where the Christian Church has begun to eat its own. Today, there are conflicts as to what to do with the LGBTQ community, the relationship between the races, and the understanding of what Jesus is. However, many Reformed leaders are now weighing in on the right of women to be pastors. For many on the reform side, just saying a woman is a pastor (with or without ordination) is a sin against God. This topic has recently come to the forefront when a long-standing member of the Southern Baptist Convention membership was revolted because the congregation ordained several women as pastors within the church structure. The SBC leaders cited the 2000 Baptist Faith and Message as their authority for revolting the membership of this church. It is hard for me to understand how the membership of a church could be revolted by the Southern Baptist Convention, which states it is not a confessional body and that all membered churches are sovereign and autonomous. This led me to look closer into how this could happen in the body of Christ in 2023. Below is my research on the 2000 Baptist Faith and Message concerning women as pastors.
The following is the section of the 2000 Baptist Faith and Message concerning church leadership as outlined in section VI. This section is identified as THE CHURCH.
https://bfm.sbc.net/bfm2000/ is the website from which this information comes.
COVENANTALISM AND THE COVENANTS
Covenantalism is a theological framework emphasizing covenants as a central organizing principle in understanding God's relationship with hGod'sty. It views the biblical narrative as a series of covenants God established with various individuals and groups throughout history. This perspective significantly impacts New Testament theology by shaping the understanding of God's redemptive plan, the natGod'sf salvation, and the relationship between the Old and New Testaments.
WHO IS PAUL?
Now, other than Jesus, the most influential apologist was the Apostle Paul. The Apostle Paul was a Greco/Roman Hebrew Pharisee from the city of Tarsus in Cilicia, present-day Turkey. During the biblical times, Paul would have been known as a Hellenistic Jewish Pharisee. It must be understood that there was a lot of conflict between the Hebrew Jews and the Hellenistic Jews, as indicated in Acts 6. Paul entered the broader picture of believers in Acts 7 when he witnessed the stoning of Stephen. His influence within the greater believer's narrative expanded when Barnabas, a Lebeliever's Saul (Paul) after his Damasus experience, introduced him to the apostle,e and spoke up for him as a true believer of Jesus in Acts 9:26-31. Later, Barnabas was sent to Antioch by the Church in Jerusalem to investigate a Church that Hellenistic Jews and Gentiles ran. After confirming the faithfulness of the believers in Antioch, the Holy Spirit led Barnabas to Tarsus to get Paul to assist in teaching the Church at Antioch, Acts 11:25-26. Since Antioch was a city in southern Turkey, many Jews there spoke what is known as Koine Greek, a language Paul was fluent in because he was from a Koine Greek-speaking city in Turkey. Also, he could go into the synagogues and teach by being a certified and qualified Jewish pharisee. It must be noted that none of the other Apostles were identified as Pharisees. Therefore, they could not teach in the synagogues. Finally, how Paul viewed himself must be emphasized. In Philippians 3:5- 6, he states that he was circumcised on the eighth day of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; regarding the law, he was a Pharisee. Paul never stopped being a Pharisee but became one whose eyes had been opened by the Lord to the true meaning of the Law and Prophets, which was that Jesus of Nazareth was the long-awaited Messiah. Now that we have identified who Paul is and where he came from let us look into his value to the Lord as an interpreter of the Law and the Prophets to the Greek-speaking Jewish and gentile communities within the Roman Empire.
THE FORGOTTEN FOUNDATION: REDISCOVERING THE HEBREW ROOTS OF CHRISTIAN FAITH
The early days of Christianity stand as a testament to its vitality and simplicity. Its foundations were not rooted in the abstract philosophical speculations of the Greco-Roman world but in the covenantal and relational truths revealed by Yahweh in the Hebrew Scriptures. Jesus—Yahweh's anointed one—walked among His people, fulfilling the Law anYahweh'sophets and revealing the Father's will with unparalleled clarity. Yet, as the years passed and Father's Prayer became enmeshed with Roman authority and Greco-Roman philosophies, the essence of this original faith began to shift. The decentralization that marked the church's earliest and purest expression gave way to a hierarchical church, and with it came theological constructs that distanced believers from the Hebrew worldview that Jesus and the apostles lived and taught. This narrative explores how these shifts occurred and what it means to return to the simplicity and power of the faith as it was once delivered to the saints.
THE SEAMLESS NATURE OF CHRIST AND THE GODHEAD
The story of Jesus and the Godhead weaves through time and eternity, a masterpiece reflecting divine intent and human interaction. It begins not in the manger but in the eternal councils of God, where the creative plan for all creation was set in motion. In Genesis 1:26, the scriptures proclaim, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness," revealing a plurality within God. This is the earliest glimpse of the Godhead: Father, Son, and Spirit, working as one harmonious essence yet distinct in roles. Within this perfect unity, creation began, and humanity was given its unique place.
Jesus, the Messiah, did not emerge as an afterthought but was present from the beginning. John’s gospel echoes this truth, stating, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1). The Word, identified as Christ, was both God and with God, highlighting a mystery that theologians have pondered for centuries. The Godhead is not a hierarchy but a unity where roles intersect seamlessly. The Father’s creative will, the Son’s expression as the Word, and the Spirit’s life-giving power are all interwoven, manifesting a single purpose.
The Fulfillment of Adam: A Scriptural Journey from Creation to Resurrection
This narrative reflects the theological perspective of Aaron Standberry, Founder and CEO of NewDawn Media Network, a faith-based 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to exploring and disseminating scriptural truths. The discussion centers on the belief that Jesus, as the last Adam, fulfilled and completed what Adam initiated. This fulfillment was realized not through His resurrection, where He became Emmanuel, the fullness of the Godhead bodily, "God with us."
Adam, the first man, was uniquely created by God as the only living soul, as stated in Genesis 2:7, "Then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living soul." This direct act of creation set Adam apart as the only living soul imbued with the breath of Yahweh and established as the ruler of all creation. Genesis 1:26-28 further clarifies this role: "Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’"