I Corinthians 15:2: "By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain."
Salvation is more than mere assent to the reality of God, or the awareness of Jesus' death for our sins, or even a genuine feeling of remorse for our sins. To receive the gift of God's forgiveness and adoption into His eternal kingdom necessitates a response of surrender from us.
In effect, our response to Christ is to yield ourselves fully to Him as our Master, Savior, and Lord. This is seeing ourselves as a humble servant of the Living Lord, and desiring to follow Him in obedience by abiding by His commands as recorded in Scripture. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we hold firmly to the truth of the gospel and we consider our Lord so worthy of our allegiance, that we have an "I'm all in" mentality for the will of God. There is no room for duplicity here. We surrender to the yoke of Christ, which is not laborious . . . rather it is a delight (Matthew 11:30).
Therefore, this offering by Christ of redemption requires a response from us. Are we willing to relinquish our presumed right for our own glory and happiness? Will we renounce the exaltation of our wills to the will of God? Can we see ourselves as servants of the One True Lord? Truly, we were created for such purposes of surrender.
Jesus declares that the man who does not fall away in view of His Lordship will be blessed. Today, each of us is faced with a decision. Either we can capitulate ourselves to His rightful reign in our lives, or we can continue to perpetuate our selfish quest for lordship. Only the one who will profess and live a life yielded to the Lord will be saved (Romans 10:9). God's offering has been afforded to us through the death and resurrection of His Son. He now extends His grace to each of us who would receive it.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Being a Slave to All
I Corinthians 9:19: "Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible."
The book of I Corinthians was written by the Apostle Paul in part to defend his calling by the Lord to be an apostle, whose responsibility was to herald the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the Mediterranean world. Paul had served with the church at Corinth for more than a year, but he had been apart from them for more than three years. These Corinthians began to despise Paul's simplistic message in favor of their newly acquired spiritual wisdom and their impressive display of spiritual gifts that they liked to showcase in public. They too were forming cliques and quarrelling with one another as to who was more spiritually refined.
In chapter nine, Paul reminds the church that he had been called by the Lord to be an apostle; in fact, he shares that he had actually seen the risen Lord . . . something that none of them could use as evidence for boasting. Paul was not using this argument to regain recognition for himself; it was not as if he were feeling insecure at the church's rejection of him and wanted to blast them for not venerating him in his position. Instead, Paul was reminding his hearers that he had been called as a messenger of the Lord and that their rejection of his word was a rejection of the Lord's commands to them.
What is so telling in this chapter is Paul's understanding of himself as a slave to everyone for their salvation and edification (9:20-23). Paul didn't want to use his position to vaunt himself above others and demand their praise and adulation; rather, Paul was willing to humble himself and assume the role of a slave so that they might be drawn closer to Jesus Christ. Though Paul could have asserted certain rights in being an apostle (see 9:14), he refrained from doing so in order to bless others. This is Christianity at its finest! This is the role that all of us in Christ should assume, no matter what position we find ourselves in the church.
Sadly, we find in our churches those who use their positions of power, status, and influence to draw attention to themselves. They work to secure the praise and respect of others, and they push their personal agendas for their own veneration. This is not the role that Christ expects of His true followers.
Let us re-examine ourselves in view of this example given to us by Paul. Let us strive to be slaves to each other, striving to minister to others before ourselves. Let us take on a spirit of humility and bless others without expectation of praise or reward, for we know that God above is well pleased with such a disposition.
The book of I Corinthians was written by the Apostle Paul in part to defend his calling by the Lord to be an apostle, whose responsibility was to herald the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the Mediterranean world. Paul had served with the church at Corinth for more than a year, but he had been apart from them for more than three years. These Corinthians began to despise Paul's simplistic message in favor of their newly acquired spiritual wisdom and their impressive display of spiritual gifts that they liked to showcase in public. They too were forming cliques and quarrelling with one another as to who was more spiritually refined.
In chapter nine, Paul reminds the church that he had been called by the Lord to be an apostle; in fact, he shares that he had actually seen the risen Lord . . . something that none of them could use as evidence for boasting. Paul was not using this argument to regain recognition for himself; it was not as if he were feeling insecure at the church's rejection of him and wanted to blast them for not venerating him in his position. Instead, Paul was reminding his hearers that he had been called as a messenger of the Lord and that their rejection of his word was a rejection of the Lord's commands to them.
What is so telling in this chapter is Paul's understanding of himself as a slave to everyone for their salvation and edification (9:20-23). Paul didn't want to use his position to vaunt himself above others and demand their praise and adulation; rather, Paul was willing to humble himself and assume the role of a slave so that they might be drawn closer to Jesus Christ. Though Paul could have asserted certain rights in being an apostle (see 9:14), he refrained from doing so in order to bless others. This is Christianity at its finest! This is the role that all of us in Christ should assume, no matter what position we find ourselves in the church.
Sadly, we find in our churches those who use their positions of power, status, and influence to draw attention to themselves. They work to secure the praise and respect of others, and they push their personal agendas for their own veneration. This is not the role that Christ expects of His true followers.
Let us re-examine ourselves in view of this example given to us by Paul. Let us strive to be slaves to each other, striving to minister to others before ourselves. Let us take on a spirit of humility and bless others without expectation of praise or reward, for we know that God above is well pleased with such a disposition.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
How Can We Experience the Blessing of God in Such a Turbulent World?
Psalm 1:2-3: "Blessed is the man . . . . whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and on His law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields it fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers."
How can a person experience the blessed contentment in life when life is filled with such uncertainty, upheaval, and disappointment? How can a person have a focused, positive perspective when he loses a loved one to death or is himself diagnosed with a irrecoverable malady or is betrayed by his spouse, etc.?
I believe that the answer is found within these verses above; specifically, we find that the blessed man "delights" in the law of the LORD. The word used in the original language for "delight" means "chief desire." This is a person who is consumed with the choice morsels of God's WORD; he wants to feast frequently on the edifying, encouraging Words of God, from which the Holy Spirit enlivens the spirit of the reader as he stops to ponder its truths. This soul is strengthened in knowing that God is Sovereign and is in control. This man is reassured that God is working His purposes for His glory, which is always best . . . even though he may be going through a great tribulation and can't seem to make sense of his ordeal.
This man is like the tree that produces wonderful fruit, no matter the circumstances around him, for he is connected to the nourishing water of the adjacent stream. To be sure, this tree can have a dry, despondent desert around him, and yet he seems to radiate a beauty of produce because he does not permit his circumstances to dictate who he becomes. His perseverance and contentment is quite distinct from all other "trees" that seem to capitulate to the difficulties around them. This too is the man who because he is able to shine for the LORD in the midst of tribulation, is able to be an inspiration to those dying around him . . . possibly being catalytic in leading others to the "Living Water" (i.e. Jesus Christ).
So too his fruit is produced "in season." This is a man who through the power of the Holy Spirit is able to demonstrate constancy and dependability, both in good and bad times. When the time comes, his fruit bursts forth in a glorious display of beauty. He does not start to wither on the vine when the perilous times come his way. He does not become angry at life, or God, and renounce his allegiance to the Lord because things aren't going his way or because he doesn't seem to get the breaks/blessings that he sees others getting.
This is such a good Word for us to hear. In the uncertainty of this life, which is filled with pitfalls and heartaches and struggles, we need to tap into the nourishing strength of Christ. We need to move ourselves close to His life-giving water and rely on Him, even though we travail under the most abysmal circumstances. This is the only way that we will endure and press on with our lives. To fail to tap into Christ is to shrivel up and die, for we will lose heart and give in to our difficulties.
Let us press on, being dependable fruit bearers through the power of Christ working within us. Let us soak up the Water of Life within our veins and be transformed from within so that we can stand firm to that which is found around us.
How can a person experience the blessed contentment in life when life is filled with such uncertainty, upheaval, and disappointment? How can a person have a focused, positive perspective when he loses a loved one to death or is himself diagnosed with a irrecoverable malady or is betrayed by his spouse, etc.?
I believe that the answer is found within these verses above; specifically, we find that the blessed man "delights" in the law of the LORD. The word used in the original language for "delight" means "chief desire." This is a person who is consumed with the choice morsels of God's WORD; he wants to feast frequently on the edifying, encouraging Words of God, from which the Holy Spirit enlivens the spirit of the reader as he stops to ponder its truths. This soul is strengthened in knowing that God is Sovereign and is in control. This man is reassured that God is working His purposes for His glory, which is always best . . . even though he may be going through a great tribulation and can't seem to make sense of his ordeal.
This man is like the tree that produces wonderful fruit, no matter the circumstances around him, for he is connected to the nourishing water of the adjacent stream. To be sure, this tree can have a dry, despondent desert around him, and yet he seems to radiate a beauty of produce because he does not permit his circumstances to dictate who he becomes. His perseverance and contentment is quite distinct from all other "trees" that seem to capitulate to the difficulties around them. This too is the man who because he is able to shine for the LORD in the midst of tribulation, is able to be an inspiration to those dying around him . . . possibly being catalytic in leading others to the "Living Water" (i.e. Jesus Christ).
So too his fruit is produced "in season." This is a man who through the power of the Holy Spirit is able to demonstrate constancy and dependability, both in good and bad times. When the time comes, his fruit bursts forth in a glorious display of beauty. He does not start to wither on the vine when the perilous times come his way. He does not become angry at life, or God, and renounce his allegiance to the Lord because things aren't going his way or because he doesn't seem to get the breaks/blessings that he sees others getting.
This is such a good Word for us to hear. In the uncertainty of this life, which is filled with pitfalls and heartaches and struggles, we need to tap into the nourishing strength of Christ. We need to move ourselves close to His life-giving water and rely on Him, even though we travail under the most abysmal circumstances. This is the only way that we will endure and press on with our lives. To fail to tap into Christ is to shrivel up and die, for we will lose heart and give in to our difficulties.
Let us press on, being dependable fruit bearers through the power of Christ working within us. Let us soak up the Water of Life within our veins and be transformed from within so that we can stand firm to that which is found around us.
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