Friday’s Freelance: ACCREDITATION

So what accredits Anne Lang Bundy to minister the Word of God, anyway? As someone once challenged, "I’ve been to Bible college, Anne. You only read the Bible."

Fair enough. False prophets abound. What distinguishes a true minister?

"By the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established." (2 Corinthians 13:1, NKJV; More References)

The entirety of God’s Word and His Spirit must bear testimony to every message. If a ministry is not supported by divine witness, it lacks validity.

"Beware of false prophets ... You will know them by their fruits.... Every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit." (Matthew 7:15-17 NKJV; More References)

If a minister consistently exhibits the fruit of God’s Spirit in word and deed, God is exalted. If a minister exalts self, it is idolatry.

God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. (Galatians 6:14 NKJV; More References)

The Gospel preaches the death and resurrection of both Jesus Christ and the believer. If a ministry is built upon a doctrine, rather than upon the foundation of Christ and His blood, it is at best religion, at worst blasphemy.

Judge every ministry by its foundation. Evaluate every minister by fruit. Weigh every message against the testimony of God’s Word and Spirit.

A home-schooled Bible student, I do read authors presented in colleges, use the reference works of scholars, and rely on the Holy Spirit to guide my diligent study. But in the end, any human accreditation is you:

"Do we need, as some others, epistles of commendation to you or letters of commendation from you? You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart." (2 Corinthians 3:1-3 NKJV)

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Copyright 2008, Anne Lang Bundy