Thy mercy, my God, is the theme
of my song. Welcome, friends, to another
broadcast of the Mosheus for Zions 4. Gamaliel was a man raised up
by God and given earthly wisdom and the ability to be a teacher
of men in matters pertaining to the laws of the Jews. His
most famous pupil was one Saul of Tarsus. Under his instruction,
Saul gained a strong fundamental understanding of the law and
Jewish traditions which served him well in later times as the
Lord was pleased to remove the scales from his eyes that he
might more clearly see, in contrast, the damning nature of the law
and the freedom which is given to the sons of God in Christ
from that law. The Lord uses all sorts of men,
even those who have no love of Him or His way, to fulfill His
purpose. giving some great wisdom and
even a measure of understanding, which is useful in the deliverance
of those whom he loves from various dangers and snares which are
in their paths. The Jews would have killed Paul
numerous times were this not the case. One illustration of
this is when Claudius Lysias had Paul taken by cover of night
to Antipatrus to protect him from those intent upon his demise. In this we rejoice as we see
the controlling hand of God in all of men's affairs, and we
are made to reflect upon Paul's words, If God be for us, who
can be against us? Gamaliel calmed the more radical
elements of the Pharisees by telling them that the apostles
were no different than other rabble-rousers and seditious
men who had risen in time past to oppose the status quo, only
to be proven to be no threat to them at all. He was sure that
such men as these, that is, the apostles, would be proven to
be the same, and in the off chance that they were sent by God, then
they could not overturn it anyway. In Gamaliel's words, we see proven
the fact that even some who are not believers are given some
knowledge of the absolute nature of God's decrees, and therefore
such is no sign of true faith and desire to worship Him. Religions
of all sorts recognize certain facts about the Lord which may
be true, yet such knowledge is not the knowledge of Christ,
without which they shall surely perish, regardless of their doctrine
or sincerity in their own religion. In his words of warning, he made
mention of a man named Theodos, who was evidently the ringleader
of a sect who rose up only to be overthrown and slain. We are
not certain of the entire purpose for which the Lord raised Theodos
up, but it is obvious that he was fitted to be a ringleader
of malcontents. Nothing about Theodos is an example
of one who is following in the steps of Christ, but many who
claim to be the followers of Christ nonetheless emulate the
characteristics of Theodos. Paul warned the Ephesian elders
of the fact that in the near future in which they lived, the
very base nature of man would be demonstrated, and some of
them would start to divide themselves up into various sects and form
spheres of influence by promoting themselves rather than the gospel
of Christ. To do so in any fashion is to
speak perverse things. The spirit of Theodos is seen
in Diocletes, of whom John said, who loveth to have the preeminence.
Gamaliel described Judas as boasting himself to be somebody. This
very trait is completely opposite to the characteristics of any
who would be the follower of Christ. If Christ is all and
in all, then there is no room for any man to raise himself
up or to seek a place of higher esteem among the brethren. There
is no place for the sons of God to glory except in Him. The Lord has given various gifts
and offices to the church for her benefit. Men have corrupted
these offices and substituted learning for gifts or used gifts
to gain preeminence among the saints. Some disregard Paul's
exhortation to be examples to the flock as they gladly receive
titles and expect deferential treatment, salaries, and other
perks to be given to them because they have the particular gifts
of teaching or preaching. These gifts are given to equip
the saints to perform the work of the ministry, rather than
the ministry being that which is defined by preaching and limited
to those whom the Lord has given these particular gifts. The spirit
of Theodosius is seen when men desire recognition or status
among the saints. To think of ourselves as we ought
to think is to confess that we are all unworthy sinners, blessed
just to eat of the crumbs which fall from the Master's table.
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