The first day of the week happens each week

by Barrett Vanlandingham

January 31, 2017

          The question of when and how often to partake of the Lord’s Supper is often debated. But for New Testament Christians, the answer is clear about when we are authorized to “break bread” or participate in the Lord’s Supper (unleavened bread and grape juice to remember the death of our Savior Jesus Christ).

          In Acts 20:7, Luke says, “On the first day of the week we came together to break bread.”

          When we look at the context of this occasion in the city of Troas, we find that Paul talked until midnight because he was leaving the next day (Monday). But one other important find is in the previous verse (Acts 20:6) where Luke says that Paul stayed there in Troas seven days (leading up to the first day of the week). By staying seven days, Paul would be able to address new Christians there, and partake in the Lord’s Supper with them.

           Sunday was the day Paul and everyone else in Troas knew the church would be meeting to take the Lord’s Supper. This might also be the reason Paul instructed Christians to set aside money “on the first day of every week” (1 Cor. 16:2), since they already met on that day.

          In 1 Corinthians 11:18-34, Paul scolded some of the wealthy Corinthian Christians for dishonoring the Lord’s Supper when they met “as a church”. They were eating all the bread and wine they brought, even to the point of drunkenness. They didn’t even save any for the hungry and poor Christians who were also part of the church family.

          Sunday is the only day New Testament writers point out specifically as the day Christians came together for the purpose of breaking bread. In the book of Hebrews 10:25, the writer tells Christians to “not give up meeting together”.  For first century Christians, the first day of the week was that special day of meeting together. It still is, and it comes around each week. All Christians, regardless of race or social status, there for the purpose of encouraging one another, honoring God, giving to the work of the church, and remembering the Lord’s death “until He comes”.

          Have a great day!

It really matters what the Bible says (part 2)

January 24, 2017

by Barrett Vanlandingham

          It really matters what the Bible says about the identity of Jesus, that He is our Creator, our Savior, our only hope, and our example of how to live a selfless life of service and a life of obedience and submission to God. The reason it matters is because the words of the Bible are true.

          Geographically, the Bible is always right. The Pool of Siloam (John 9:7) and the Pool of Bethesda (John 5:1-15) are places that actually exist as described in God’s word. Archaeology confirms the accuracy of John’s writings right down to the five columns (aka: porticoes or colonnades) at the Pool of Bethesda. There’s more.

          On a map, Jericho is northeast of Jerusalem. But Luke 10:30 quotes Jesus as saying, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho”?  Well, just check the elevation. Jerusalem is 2582 feet above sea level while Jericho is 846 feet below sea level. Therefore, a traveler would have to go down from Jerusalem to get to Jericho even though Jericho is up from Jerusalem on a map. 

          As for the question of “Did Jesus Christ really live?”  Yes. We know this not only from the Bible. The Babylonian Talmud was a collection of writings by Jewish rabbis from 70-200 A.D. Here is one excerpt:

          “On the eve of the Passover, YESHU (Hebrew spelling of Jesus) was hanged. For 40 days before the execution took place, a herald went forth and cried, ‘He is going forth to be stoned because he practiced sorcery and enticed Israel to apostasy. Anyone who can say anything in his favor, let him come forward and plead on his behalf.’ But since nothing was brought forth in his favor, he was hanged on the eve of the Passover.”

          This was obviously written from a Jewish point of view. But at least Jesus WAS accused by the Jews of sorcery (Matthew 9:34). Jesus was also mentioned in the writings of ancient historians and officials. Josephus (37-101 A.D.), Tacitus (55-117 A.D.), Pliny the Younger (61-113 A.D.) and Lucian (120-180 A.D.) were not all fans of Jesus, but they still wrote about him as a legitimate historical figure.

          The study of Christian evidences is a deep well.  Have a blessed week!

It really matters what the Bible says

by Barrett Vanlandingham

January 17, 2017

          When it comes to matters of faith and doctrine, most people would likely argue that it’s just whatever anyone wants it to be. It was that way in the first century as well as today. But for all this time, the Bible has remained unchanged. That’s important.

          It matters that the Bible says Jesus, the Son of God, was given a mock trial, but a very real beating, and was then crucified for the sins of the world. It matters that the Bible says Jesus rose on the third day, and spent the next forty days visiting and eating with His disciples and 500 others before ascending to His Father in heaven. The Bible says Thomas even got to feel Jesus’ scars from the crucifixion. It matters that the Bible says Jesus did all of this because He loved us, and that God knows we love Him when we obey Him. 

          It matters that the Bible says those who are faithful will be saved because of the grace of Jesus Christ. It matters that the Bible says those who believe in Jesus Christ and are baptized into Him, have been clothed in Him, and can live a new life now, a life that continually points to God in everything we do. It matters that that the Bible says Jesus has gone to prepare a place for those who do the will of the Father.

          You see, if none of these things were true, it would not matter at all what the Bible says about Jesus or how we should live our lives. But the evidence we have today proving the credibility of the Bible is overwhelming, making God’s word difficult to ignore and impossible to disprove.

          The New Testament has been preserved more than any other ancient work. There are about 5800 Greek NT manuscripts (ancient handwritten partial copies). The oldest fragment (John 18.31-33; 37-38) dates back to about 125 A.D. which is no more than 50 years after John originally penned the original. Even if there were no fragments, the NT could be re-created (minus 11 verses) using only the writings of non-Bible authors who quoted it extensively between 100-300 A.D.  More next week.

          Have a blessed day!