Is the word "church" in Acts 7.38 correct here?
I think I can emphatically say certainly not, if the questioner is wondering whether the word denotes the Church universally or the church locally as unfolded variously in the epistles of Paul to the Corinthians, Ephesians and Colossians. The meaning is clearly the assembly of Israel in the wilderness. Hence "assembly" or "congregation" would be a better rendering, thus avoiding ambiguity and leaving the reader to infer from the context what assembly is meant. The word itself is capable of other applications, as for example in Acts 19.32 where it refers to a riotous mob at Ephesus. It is also used technically by Greek authors for the legislative assembly to which the citizens belonged.
Acts 7.22, where the word "church" is found in the AV, is a classic example of the importance of interpreting a word in the light of the context. This is always a golden rule. The word "ecclesia" basically means "a calling out of". The fact that it is used in the New Testament of both the Church which is Christ's Body, and a local church is interesting to say the least. Believers in a local assembly have been called out of this world in separation unto the Lord. It has been noted already that we read of the word "assembly" in Acts 19.32, 39, and 41. There are two contrasts at least between the unlawful meeting at Ephesus and the local assembly of believers. The crowd at Ephesus were gathered together without authority, but the local assembly is gathered together by and under the authority of the Lord Jesus. It is said of this lawless assembly at Ephesus that "the more part knew not wherefore they were come together" - there was confusion. This should not be true of believers. We should know why we gather as assemblies.
John J Stubbs
Have we not all been guilty of sinning wilfully (Heb 10.26)? Why, then, does the writer state that "there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins"?
"For", says the writer to the Hebrews, "if we sin wilfully…"; the verb "sin" is in the present continuous tense, signifying a condition and emphasising the habitual aspect of the sin - this is no temporary lapse. The adverb "wilfully" means "deliberately, with settled intention".
The awful sin here referred to is not moral sin; it is the sin of apostasy. Apostasy is the abandonment of truth and principles previously professed and owned. In the context it would be the abandonment of Christianity and a return to Judaism. A true believer in the Lord Jesus Christ cannot "sin wilfully" in the sense that the expression is used here.
The verse goes on to say: "…after that we have received the knowledge of the truth". Receiving the knowledge of the truth is quite different from receiving Christ by faith. The knowledge of the truth is simply the mental apprehension of the truths of the Christian faith. The Jew who committed this sin had been fully informed by the Holy Spirit of the issues involved between the old and new covenants.
For such "there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins". God had rejected the sacrifices of Judaism; the apostate had rejected the sacrifice of Christ. Christ could never be sacrificed again.
It is interesting to note the words "no more" in Hebrews chapter 10. As far as the believer is concerned he has "no more conscience of sins" (v.2). As far as Christ is concerned, "there is no more offering for sin" (v.18), but, as we have seen, for the apostate "there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins" (v.26).
Some earnest Christians are troubled when they read such passages especially in Hebrews chapter 6 and here in chapter 10. The enemy may use these verses to unsettle believers who are having physical, mental or emotional difficulties. They fear that they may have fallen away from Christ and that there is no hope of restoration. They worry that they have drifted beyond the point of redemption.
It should be emphasised that the fact that they are even concerned about it is conclusive evidence that they are not apostates. An apostate would not have any such qualms, but would brazenly repudiate Christ.
David E West
