*updated* MODERN DAY-APOSTLES? BY STEVE FINNELL

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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Update: Mr. Finnell adds a new post about apostleship where he asks, 

"If there were apostles after the ones mentioned in the new testament and if there are apostles living today, why are their writings not included in the Bible? The apostles that Jesus selected wrote Scriptures."

Answer: No, most of them did not write Scripture. The writings of Andrew, Thomas, James the Lesser, Philip, Thaddeus, Simon, and Bartholomew are not included in the Bible, because they did not write Scripture.

Mr. Finnell persists in a false understanding of not only apostleship, but also the prophetic. He thinks that all revelation belongs in the Bible, but a junior high Bible student knows this isn't true. 

For example, John closes his gospel with this: Jn. 21:25 "Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written." So not even the entirety of Jesus' miraculous deeds are considered Scripture, yet Mr. Finnell seems to believe that contemporary prophetic utterances should be made Scripture. 

And he never seems to get around to telling us why pastors' sermons aren't included in the Holy Writ. After all, they're new revelation as well.

Now, on the to original post.

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Mr. Finnell Repeats many of the same things as his prior post here, including the title. He does raise some new points which we shall address.

When Mr. Finnell talks about apostles, he's referring to a very specific class of people, chosen by Jesus. So that conveniently excludes anyone else, thus Mr. Finnell can mock and denigrate the idea of modern-day apostles.

Scripturally, this is superficial and base. There are different categories of those who are called apostles. Thayer's Greek Lexicon:

STRONGS NT 652: ἀπόστολοςἀπόστολος, ἀποστόλου, ὁ;
1. a delegate, messenger, one sent forth with orders (Herodotus 1, 21; 5, 38; for שָׁלוּחַ in 1 Kings 14:6 (Alex.); rabbinical שְׁלִיחַ): John 13:16 (where ὁ ἀπόστολος and ὁ πέμψαςαὐτόν are contrasted); followed by a genitive, as τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν, 2 Corinthians 8:23;Philippians 2:25; ἀπόστολον ... τῆςὁμολογίας ἡμῶν the apostle whom we confess, of Christ, God's chief messenger, who has brought the κλῆσις ἀπουρανιος, as compared with Moses, whom the Jews confess, Hebrews 3:1.

2. Specially applied to the twelve disciples whom Christ selected, out of the multitude of his adherents, to be his constant companions and the heralds to proclaim to men the kingdom of God: Matthew 10:1-4; Luke 6:13; Acts 1:26;Revelation 21:14, and often, but nowhere in the Gospel and Epistles of John; ("the wordἀπόστολος occurs 79 times in the N. T., and of these 68 instances are in St. Luke and St. Paul." Lightfoot). With these apostles Paul claimed equality, because through a heavenly intervention he had been appointed by the ascended Christ himself to preach the gospel among the Gentiles, and owed his knowledge of the way of salvation not to man's instruction but to direct revelation from Christ himself, and moreover had evinced his apostolic qualifications by many signal proofs: Galatians 1:1, 11;Galatians 2:8; 1 Corinthians 1:17; 1 Corinthians 9:1; 1 Corinthians 15:8-10; 2 Corinthians 3:2ff; 12:12; 1 Timothy 2:7; 2 Timothy 1:11, cf. Acts 26:12-20. According to Paul, apostles surpassed as well the various other orders of Christian teachers (cf. διδάσκαλος, εὐαγγελιστής,προφήτης), as also the rest of those on whom the special gifts (cf. χάρισμα) of the Holy Spirit had been bestowed, by receiving a richer and more copious conferment of the Spirit: 1 Corinthians 12:28; Ephesians 4:11. Certain false teachers are rated sharply for arrogating to themselves the name and authority of apostles of Christ: 2 Corinthians 11:5, 13; Revelation 2:2.

3. In a broader sense the name is transferred to other eminent Christian teachers; as Barnabas,Acts 14:14, and perhaps also Timothy and Silvanus, 1 Thessalonians 2:7 (6), cf. too Romans 16:7 (?). But in Luke 11:49; Ephesians 3:5; Revelation 18:20, 'apostles' is to be taken in the narrower sense. (On the application of the term see especially Lightfoot on Galatians, pp. 92-101; Harnack, on 'Teaching etc. 11, 3 [ET]; cf.BB. DD. under the word)

Given this we will see the superficial nature of Mr. Finnell's analysis, based on a faulty construct of what constitutes an apostle.

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Some claim that there are apostles alive and well, living among us. Is that fact or fiction?

QUESTION: What purpose would modern day apostles serve? (Mr. Finnell only needs to read his Bible: Ep. 4:11-12 "It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up...")

QUESTION: If there are apostles today, why do they not mirror the acts of the apostles of the first century? (Our response is two questions: Why should they? And, how does he know they don't?)

Acts 2:43 Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles.

Are people being filled with awe by the so-called modern day apostles? (Yes.) 

If that were true it would be on every TV network. It would dominate the cable TV channels. (Not true, especially given the media hostility to all things Christian. And also, it's not relevant.)

The Internet would flooded with accounts of these so-called modern day apostles. (The internet is indeed flooded with these kinds of accounts, but that also not relevant.)

ACTS OF THE FIRST CENTURY APOSTLES

The apostle Paul cause the magician Elymas to be temporarily blinded.(Acts 13:8-12)

Are the so-called contemporary apostles causing men to go blind? No. (How does he know this? Maybe he should look at the internet himself.)

The apostle Peter brought Tabitha back from the dead. (Acts 9:36-41)

Are the 21 century pretend-apostles bring people back from the dead? No. If they could bring men back from the dead they would invite TV crews into funeral homes, to witness their miracles. (Again, since Mr. Finnell so values the internet, he would find videos like these. Mr. Finnell will probably move the goal posts by doubting the veracity of these videos, but remember his point: There is nothing on the internet about miraculous happenings.

He claims they would invite TV crews into funeral homes? Whaaa? Is that what Paul did, called in a crowd of Scribes to get some publicity? This borders on puerile, Mr. Finnell.)

The apostle Peter predicted the immediate death of Sapphira. (Acts 5:1-11)

Can the false modern day apostles predict the immediate death of people who lie to God? Of course they cannot. (They can't? Proof, please.)

The apostle Peter immediately healed a lame man who had been lame from birth. (Acts 3:1-10)

If these so-call modern day apostles could heal men who were lame from birth it would on every, nightly, TV news broadcast. (No, it wouldn't. See, this is easy. Mr. Finnell makes a bare assertion, we make a bare dismissal.)

And by the way, if indeed these miracles aren't happening, it doesn't prove they shouldn't be.)

THE SIGNS OF AN APOSTLE

2 Corinthians 12:12 The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with all perseverance, by signs and wonders and miracles.

The so-called modern day apostles are missing the signs of a true apostle. (Another bare assertion.)

Be careful not to get detoured down the wrong road by following false sign makers.

WE DO NOT NEED SO-CALLED MODERN DAY APOSTLES!

We have the completed Bible. We have all the information we need for salvation and living the Christian life. God's word was confirmed by Jesus and the apostles of the first century. (Mr. Finnell is now confusing prophets with apostles.)

2 Timothy 3:15-17 and from childhood you have know the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

By A.D. 100 men had all the Scripture they needed for salvation and living the Christian life.

WE HAVE THE RECORDED WORD OF GOD. THE BIBLE.

WE DO NOT NEED SO-CALLED MODERN DAY APOSTLES! (The two propositions do not come to bear on each other. The need to "...prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up..." is ongoing and dare we say even more crucial in these days. What happens regarding the prophetic is a separate issue.

Mr. Finnell is confused, and has a demonstrated ignorance of the things he tries to criticize. He doesn't understand what his opponents believe or why. So, his critiques come off as ridiculous and nonsensical, because he's refuting a straw man.

With certainty he proclaims his positions, woefully unaware of even the most rudimentary features of what he is criticizing. With bellicose, pompous statements, he proclaims his "facts" like they were self-evident. 

Well sir, they're not.)