Saved in Childbearing

Hello!

These past couple months in Venezuela have been awesome, and Alejandra and I feel that people are receptive to the gospel.  This last week we took a short visit back to Duitama along with our Cucuta leader friends Vivi and Hammer (with their baby son Elias), and now we're in Bogota visiting our families as well as Parkway Church, which is also our family.

While we were in Duitama we received a special visit from Christian Missions in Many Lands representatives Jim and Sharon Fleming, and it was nice to catch up with them and have them speak at a missions meeting we put on in Refuge Church.

Certainly, fulfilling the great commission is something that we're completely in favor of, and it's awesome to hear of many more believers around the world who are giving up their lives in taking the good news of Jesus to every tribe, tongue, and nation; even as we try to do that in Venezuela.

Within the past couple months, as Alejandra and I have been evaluating the mission field of San Cristobal, we have definitely been burdened by the sick idolatry that has permeated every aspect of society... Even the terrible syncretistic religion of Santería creeps us out and fills us with sadness and indignation, as we think of anyone that is being led astray by it.

The idolatry in San Cristobal is so noticeable in fact, that when we went to a soccer match of Deportivo Tachira, I was shocked to see a huge sign in the front of the stadium that said, "no somos 11 somos 13" (we are not 11 we are 13) with huge pictures of Jesus and Mary on either side of the sign... According to Wikipedia, the name of this stadium is popularly known as, "El Templo Sagrado del Fútbol Venezolano" (The Sacred Temple of Venezuelan Soccer).

I honestly can't think of a more sacrilegious or idolatrous thing to say than that Mary and Jesus both play for Deportivo Tachira... Unsurprisingly, Tachira lost the game that night, and so everyone who was rooting for San Cristobal's team must affirm that Mary and Jesus aren't very good soccer players (if they really believe that Jesus and Mary play for Deportivo Tachira).

...But this reminds me of Alejandra's and my trip to Ephesus a while back, which gave us a small glimpse into the huge threat of idolatry that was permeating the Christian church that Paul had started, and was later pastored by Timothy and Priscilla and Aquila in this very important port city in the Greco Roman World in the first century.

The false goddess Artemis was no small deity in Ephesus. She was worshipped in her own temple which was considered one of the 7 wonders of the world. According to my good friend Michael Huffman's book Untie the Cords of Silence, he explains that in Greek mythology Artemis was the twin sister of Apollos that was born right before he was, and as soon as she was born, she turned around and helped as a midwife in providing support to her mother Leto as she gave birth to Apollos... 

While other cities in the Greco Roman world worshipped Apollos or other gods - Ephesus boasted in their worship of Artemis because she was born before her brother, and because she could help women in getting pregnant and in safely delivering their children at birth...

All of that is pure malarkey, and so it's no wonder, that one of Paul's intentions in writing his beloved disciple was that Timothy "may command certain people not to teach false doctrines any longer or to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. (1 Timothy 1:3)." Likewise 1 Timothy 4:7 says, "Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly."  ...What really matters is what the Bible says, and the truth is that, "there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people (v.5-6A). That's it. One God and one mediator - Jesus Christ - nothing else and nothing more. No Artemis or Apollos or even the Virgin Mary.

All of this becomes extra interesting when, at the end of 1 Tothy 2 Pauls says, "But women will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety" (v.15). Why is childbearing mentioned like that right out of the blue? I think it's because what Paul was dealing with was a specific false teaching that had to be confronted which had to do with Artimas and her ability, supposedly, to help women in labor... See, instead of thinking that Artamis can help women get pregnant, or save women from death when they are giving birth to their children, or even save the life of the child who is about to be born - women are saved in a far greater sense than anyone believing in Artimas can ever imagine, just like men are, if they believe in the only mediator between God and man - the man Christ Jesus (v.5-6A), and continue in faith in Him, with love, and holiness with propriety. 

...All of this is worth taking into consideration in our interpretation of 1 Timothy 2 when we consider what was happening in the church in Ephesus, and how that applies to us today. For Alejandra and I in San Cristobal for instance - if we start a church in this city - one thing we have to emphasize (as crazy as it might sound) is that we shouldn't let people in the congregation teach or have authority who believe that Jesus and Mary play on Deportivo Tachira's soccer team. It's as simple as that. San Cristobal's soccer team isn't going to be saved from defeat by praying to Jesus and Mary - but any soccer player who believes exclusively in Jesus will be saved spiritually and eternally, which is what really matters (and that was always Paul's main message), and so that's what we need to be about.     ...In about 7 months Lord willing, my wife Alejandra is going to be giving birth to our first child. One thing that I can guarantee you, is that we won't be praying to Artemis so that our baby or Alejandra will be saved in the process. We will be praying to God in Jesus' name, and Alejandra and I will do our best to continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety in the process.

Alejandra and I found out that Ale is pregnant on resurrection Sunday... A few days later, I bought her some flowers, as well as some flowers for our potential daughter, and also some broccoli for our potential son (because I haven't met the first Killins boy that doesn't like his broccoli). -Sam, Alejandra, and ?