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I’ll admit that this post’s title sounds like a chapter out of some nebulous 20th century theology book, but although I could not come up with a cool title, the topic of God and Money is still a very interesting one.

I have been a fan of Mark Driscoll now for over a year or so, and I have been trying to show others in the community group I lead how interesting his ideas are. So I brought his confessions to a recent gathering. One of my friends was reading through it and exclaimed “why does he talk about money, why is money so important?” Interestingly the same question could be thrown toward Luke. In Acts 19:19, he tells a story of how there was a great awakening of the Ghost in Ephesus, and it led to the burning of many ocult books, valued at 50,000 pieces of silver, probably drachma. If this is the case and the New American Standard’s notes are correct in saying that one drachma equaled a days wages, than we can see this as a very large amount of money. Imagine what that would look like in our time. Lets say that a “days wage” today would be around $80($10 dollars an hour for eight hours). This would make the amount of property burned roughly equal to 4 Million dollars. Now I know that the economy of the ancient near-east was far different, but what I’m pointing out is that this sum was seen by Luke as important. It could be that it was the sheer amount that was burned in repentance to Jesus, that made Luke think it was important, but no matter why the inclusion, it was included.

Luke shows that, the city of Ephesus said with their wallets that reconciliation with God was worth more that 50,000 pieces of silver.
Today we can still talk our wallets. Are we saying that the Kingdom is worth more than that new car we wanted, or that cruise we took last year, or that flat screen tv that we have on our walls?

Maybe it is just me, but I sometimes find myself arguing with people about how I must cease for an activity because of a comparison between this activity and the eating meat sacrificed to idols.
This is especially brought up concerning the fact that I not only drink beer, but brew it. At other times it comes up when talking about the music I listen to and the films I watch. It even has come up concerning the fact that I have a tattoo.

This has been something I have been thinking about for a while, and after recently reading 1st Corinthians again, I decided that I need to practice those exegetical skills that I have received at seminary and try to examine the issue at a deeper level.
A number of questions are guiding my study, some easy to answer and others much more difficult.

Q1: Why does Paul address this topic so many times? (It is found in Romans 14; 1 Corinthians 8,10 and is spoken of in Acts 15)

A: It would follow that, in a culture where the church was the extreme minority, cultural practices contrary to the principles of Christianity would been seen at every turn. Therefore Paul’s cautiousness concerning meat sacrificed to idols holds an invaluable place in our modern theology, especially if we are in fact moving into a “post-christian” period of history, where the church will not be the one in the driver’s seat when it comes to culture(if we ever were).

These next questions will be addressed in later posts.

Q2: Whats the deal with Paul saying its ok to eat meat and the Jerusalem council forbidding it? I am not saying there is a contradiction, but I am saying there is an apparent one at the least. Just look at Acts 15:28-29; 1 Corinthians 10:25-27; and Romans 14:2-4 to see what I mean about the seemingly different attitudes taken. I have a feeling that Roland Allen might be referenced a few times, when dealing with this question.

Q3: Did Paul see meat sacrificed to idols in a typological sense, or is it a specific activity that is in its own category?

Q4: How do the answers to question 1-3 effect the way in which we do ministry? Can a Christian brew beer? Should Christians go out to dinner at an establishment that is not kosher? (don’t forget our messianic brothers) What are idol-meats are Christians eating today?

Sometimes I try to post articles that I hope will entice someone to read them. Well this is not one of them. Additionally, I’m notdoing this to take a jabs at any Christian tradition. Like I said before my lack of understanding on this issue has been bothering me recently and I felt that is was time to deal with it.

It is no secret that I am a big fan of Tim Keller and Mark Driscoll, but its going to sound a bit over the top when say that guys like Tim Keller and Mark Driscoll can be seen as reflecting men like Paul(the Apostle, not the Beatle). It might be noted that all three men(not the beatle) would dislike any praise in their direction, simply point to Jesus, the one who has given them what they have.

Whether the praise is accepted or not, its still true. In 1 Corinthians 9:20-23 Paul gives what pastors today might call his philosophy of ministry. Paul states that to “the Jews I became as a Jew”, and so on. This is a remarkable statement in the fact that with, the help of Acts, we can see what Paul saw as the acceptable way of ministering. In Acts 17:23-32 we see what Paul citing the pagan poets of the day and speaking about his analysis of the state of Athens, at the time.
It seems simple enough that what Paul lays down in 1 Corinthians 9 is a example of how one should speak to the culture around you.
Paul was simply using language and ideas that the Greeks could follow. When he preached in the synagogue he does the same thing.
Even today no Pastor would be in a church for very long if he could not use language and ideas that his people could follow.

So why say that Keller and Driscoll and other men are following in the footsteps of Paul? I say this because these men, just like Paul, are speaking to their audience in a manor that is fitting for that audience. But even more than just knowing who their audience is, like Paul these men seek to know as much about their audience as they can. These men, just like Paul, are diagnosis the audience before they speak. They are asking questions like: what do these people value above all else? What are their habits? How do they see themselves in the world? What do these people fear? This last question of fear is what Paul deals with at the Areopagus. Paul saw that these people were afraid of their gods, and that this fear had cause them to make sure they didn’t offend even a god that they did not know. Yet in the end Paul was not praised by everyone for his actions, infact Luke does not say that the whole crowd was converted, but simply that “some men joined him and believed”.

Call it what you will(knowing the audience, being relevant, exegeting the culture, being missional) Paul, did do these things, not to be praised among men, not to make sure his ministry legacy would last but for the sake of the gospel and so that he might “share with [the converts] in [the Gospel's] blessings.”

Let us Pray that more men are like Paul, and ultimately like the one Paul followed.