{"id":24708,"date":"2010-10-06T20:26:00","date_gmt":"2010-10-07T01:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=24708"},"modified":"2020-08-14T20:36:53","modified_gmt":"2020-08-15T01:36:53","slug":"it-isnt-christian-like-to-publish-negative-things-about-the-coptic-church","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/it-isnt-christian-like-to-publish-negative-things-about-the-coptic-church\/","title":{"rendered":"It isn’t Christian-like to publish negative things about the Coptic church"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t

Question:<\/h2>\n

A question on the Coptic church<\/a>\u00a0has your response being negative of the Coptic church and using Bible verses in the wrong context. That is not Christian-like at all. That verse in Peter stating everyone is a priest was only for the twelve disciples as they were the first twelve priests.<\/p>\n\t

Answer:<\/h2>\n

“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy<\/em>” (I Peter 2:9-10).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Your charge is that the “you” in this passage are the twelve disciples and not all Christians. That is simple enough to determine. The letter of I Peter was not addressed to the other eleven apostles. “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time<\/em>” (I Peter 1:1). This is a description of all Christians unless you wish to claim that only the twelve apostles are the only ones assured of salvation.<\/p>\n

As you approach chapter two, we see Peter saying, “Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious<\/em>” (I Peter 2:1-3). Once again, the instructions by Peter are to all Christians, not just the other eleven apostles.<\/p>\n

In the quoted passage, those who are being addressed are called “the people of God.” This isn’t a description of a few but of all of God’s people. And as you continue past the quoted passage, it continues with instructions that apply to all of God’s people.<\/p>\n

Therefore, it is clear that your contention is false. You have not proved your case.<\/p>\n

It has always been the duty of God’s people to make error plain so that those in error may change and so that others do not imitate their mistakes. “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them<\/em>” (Ephesians 5:11). As a preacher, it is my duty to rebuke those who practice falsehoods. “Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables<\/em>” (II Timothy 4:2-4). Such rebukes are very much Christ-like; it is what Jesus did when he confronted the Pharisees of his day with their own religious hypocrisy.<\/p>\n

Instead of complaining that your feelings are hurt, correct your practices so that they are in accord with the teachings of Jesus.<\/p>\n\t

Question:<\/h2>\n

Wow, are you sure you’re a minister? You are just rude to be a person of God and really put me off. If I wasn’t sure if I should be a Christian or not and spoke to you, you would convince me not to be a Christian. I’m sure not all your practices are right with the teachings of God, so don’t be so rude.<\/p>\n\t

Answer:<\/h2>\n

How absolutely funny! You initially write to state that I’m not behaving like a Christian. You then accuse me of lying about who I am and claim that I’m unable to do the job that I have. Yet, somehow, I’m the rude person. What merits such a designation? I documented that your religion doesn’t match the teachings of Christ and that you made mistakes in your reasoning. You call that rude. I call that being faithful to Christ. See\u00a0Jesus: Intolerant, Confrontational, and Exclusionary<\/a>\u00a0for the reasons why.<\/p>\n

Second, you dismiss your mistakes by saying “Well, you make mistakes too!” That isn’t a justification of wrongdoing. As Paul pointed out, “And why not say, “Let us do evil that good may come”? –as we are slanderously reported and as some affirm that we say. Their condemnation is just<\/em>” (Romans 3:8). If I find myself doing something wrong, I correct it. You should do the same.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Question: A question on the Coptic church\u00a0has your response being negative of the Coptic church and using Bible verses in the wrong context. That is not Christian-like at all. That verse in Peter stating everyone is a priest was only for the twelve disciples as they were the first twelve priests. Answer: “But you are…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[127,712,1598],"class_list":["post-24708","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-about-this-site","tag-coptic-orthodox-church","tag-rebukes"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4266,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-do-you-think-about-coptic-orthodoxy\/","url_meta":{"origin":24708,"position":0},"title":"What do you think about Coptic Orthodoxy?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 24, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi. I got your site from Google. I have a few questions that I hope you can answer: What is your statement of faith? What happened to the twelve apostles; for example, Mark started Coptic Orthodoxy in Egypt, Thomas in India, Paul in Rome, etc.? How did they die?\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":13755,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/doesnt-john-2023-say-that-priests-can-forgive-sins\/","url_meta":{"origin":24708,"position":1},"title":"Doesn’t John 20:23 say that priests can forgive sins?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 31, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: You commented on priests not being able to forgive sins. What about John 20:21-23? Answer: After Jesus' resurrection, he appeared to the apostles. \"Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":39638,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-many-disciples-were-there\/","url_meta":{"origin":24708,"position":2},"title":"How many disciples were there?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 8, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good Day, My question concerns the number of Jesus's disciples. I read your answer addressing 12 disciples, but isn't there additional biblical evidence that there were somewhere around 70 disciples? Please clarify. Thanks. Answer: The word \"disciple\" simply means a student or follower. When people talk about the twelve\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":34876,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/was-jesus-married\/","url_meta":{"origin":24708,"position":3},"title":"Was Jesus married?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 19, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Was Jesus married? Answer: \"Do not add to His words, lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar\" (Proverbs 30:6). Source:\u00a0\"Did Jesus have a wife?\"\u00a0The New York Times, September 19, 2012. Let's start with the evidence: There is a fragment, measuring 4 x 8 centimeters, that contains\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/JesusWifeScrap.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/JesusWifeScrap.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/JesusWifeScrap.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/JesusWifeScrap.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":45029,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-do-people-choose-the-priesthood-when-they-want-to-follow-jesus\/","url_meta":{"origin":24708,"position":4},"title":"Why do people choose the priesthood when they want to follow Jesus?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 6, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I was wondering if many people who accepted Jesus and decided to follow him joined the priesthood. My question is: Is becoming a priest the only way to follow Jesus and go to Heaven? Why do people choose the priesthood when they want to follow Jesus? And what is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":38003,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-cant-women-be-priests\/","url_meta":{"origin":24708,"position":5},"title":"Why can’t women be priests?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 24, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, I've got a question: Why can't women be priests? I've already asked my dad and he says it's just because of tradition. I've been wanting to know more about God and I'm a lot more curious about why things are. A thing I do believe is that there\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24708","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24708"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24708\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}