What Does It Mean to Be ‘Above Reproach’?

Kuvaus

Click here to read the full article at RENEW.org: https://renew.org/what-does-it-mean-to-be-above-reproach/ [https://renew.org/what-does-it-mean-to-be-above-reproach/] This is an audio version of a written Article from RENEW.org * Check out other great articles on RENEW.org here: https://renew.org/articles/ [https://renew.org/articles/] Have you seen the movie Hoodwinked? It’s an animated movie in which the story of Little Red Riding Hood is told from four different-but-complementary perspectives. (If the hour is late and you need a quick illustration for how the Four Gospels tell the same basic story from different perspectives, it’ll do.) One interesting facet of Hoodwinked—that may or may not be significant by the end of the movie—is that a bunny rabbit keeps making random appearances throughout the movie. You wouldn’t think much of the quiet, unassuming rabbit except that he keeps popping up at important parts of the movie. And so it goes with the phrase “above reproach” in the New Testament (also translated “blameless” or having “nothing against them”). We might miss the phrase altogether—except that it keeps popping up in important parts of the New Testament. It’s the first qualification of an elder that he be “above reproach” (1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:6). It’s a criterion for being a deacon (1 Timothy 3:10) as well as a charge from Paul to the evangelist Timothy (1 Timothy 6:14). Perhaps most importantly of all, it’s what we need to be true of us “on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 1:8). Listen for more... Join RENEW.org's Newsletter: https://renew.org/resources/newsletter-sign-up/ [https://renew.org/resources/newsletter-sign-up/] Join RENEW.org at one of our upcoming events: https://renew.org/resources/events/ [https://renew.org/resources/events/] Get the RENEW.org App -- https://renew-app-page.bolt.host/ [https://renew-app-page.bolt.host/] Be sure to like, subscribe and follow on social media! You can find us on: Instagram: @the.renew.network Facebook: Renew.org Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@RENEWnetwork [https://www.youtube.com/@RENEWnetwork] Twitter: @therenewnetwork TikTok: the.renew.network Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/RENEW [https://rumble.com/c/RENEW]

Peter on the Hot Seat | Brian Brophy

Click here to read the full article at RENEW.org: https://renew.org/peter-on-the-hot-seat/ [https://renew.org/peter-on-the-hot-seat/] This is an audio version of a written Article from RENEW.org * Check out other great articles on RENEW.org here: https://renew.org/articles/ [https://renew.org/articles/] If you ever find yourself in Rome, wander about a half mile northeast from the Colosseum along the Via De Fori Imperiali, and you will find yourself about a stone’s throw from the Mammertine Prison. One of Rome’s most infamous dungeons, it was originally carved into the bedrock 700 years before Christ as a subterranean water cistern. It’s a cold, damp, circular room just over 20 feet in diameter and no more than 6-7 feet from floor to ceiling. Prisoners were lowered in by ropes through a hole in the ceiling and left there to shiver through the cold Roman winters. Some Christian traditions suggest that both Peter and Paul were eventually held here awaiting their executions. It is unlikely that Peter was in Mammertine when he wrote his first epistle, but he was in Rome, and he would have been well aware of the horror stories of those who had dared to stand against the Roman imperial machine. Against this backdrop, Peter writes his letter, knowing that every word could become evidence against him in Rome’s quest to stamp out the new “Christian” movement. We should not take Peter’s words lightly, “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened. But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” (1 Peter 3:14b-15a, NIV) If you ever find yourself in Rome, wander about a half mile northeast from the Colosseum along the Via De Fori Imperiali, and you will find yourself about a stone’s throw from the Mammertine Prison. One of Rome’s most infamous dungeons, it was originally carved into the bedrock 700 years before Christ as a subterranean water cistern. It’s a cold, damp, circular room just over 20 feet in diameter and no more than 6-7 feet from floor to ceiling. Prisoners were lowered in by ropes through a hole in the ceiling and left there to shiver through the cold Roman winters. Some Christian traditions suggest that both Peter and Paul were eventually held here awaiting their executions. It is unlikely that Peter was in Mammertine when he wrote his first epistle, but he was in Rome, and he would have been well aware of the horror stories of those who had dared to stand against the Roman imperial machine. Against this backdrop, Peter writes his letter, knowing that every word could become evidence against him in Rome’s quest to stamp out the new “Christian” movement. We should not take Peter’s words lightly, “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened. But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” (1 Peter 3:14b-15a, NIV) Listen for more... Join RENEW.org's Newsletter: https://renew.org/resources/newsletter-sign-up/ [https://renew.org/resources/newsletter-sign-up/] Join RENEW.org at one of our upcoming events: https://renew.org/resources/events/ [https://renew.org/resources/events/] Get the RENEW.org App -- https://renew.org/app-download/ [https://renew.org/app-download/] Be sure to like, subscribe and follow on social media! You can find us on: Instagram: @the.renew.network Facebook: Renew.org Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@RENEWnetwork [https://www.youtube.com/@RENEWnetwork] Twitter: @therenewnetwork TikTok: the.renew.network Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/RENEW [https://rumble.com/c/RENEW]

27. kesä 202610 min

What Does It Mean to Be ‘Above Reproach’? | Daniel McCoy

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