Wednesday, May 4, 2016
FORGIVEN AND FORGIVING
"For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses" (Matt. 6:14, 15). God’s forgiveness is the essential ingredient for receiving salvation through Jesus Christ. Mankind is blessed because God does not care how evil or unrighteous our lives have been; He will forgive us. We may have in our past lives taken the Lord’s name in vain and committed all types of evil aimed at dishonoring God, however God holds no grudges. We ask, and He forgives us and wipes our slate clean. God returns us to a relationship with Him similar to that which Adam had before he sinned; we become sin free and holy through the blood of Jesus Christ. As the children of God, we are commanded by the Word to forgive all those who do evil and offend us. We must forgive as we have been forgiven. "Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good" (Rom. 12:19-21). It does not matter how often someone offends us or persecutes us, we must forgive them, not with our mouths only; it must be from the heart. The true witness of our forgiveness is whether we have the capacity to have the same fellowship and relationship that we had with them before the offense. We must show love through our actions rather than our words. "But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you" (Luke 6:27, 28). As you forgive and do good to all of your offenders, vengeance is in the hands of the Almighty—WAIT ON THE LORD.
Winning the Lost, Keeping the Found
The theme scripture for the General ABM this year is Matthew 18:14, "Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish." As I have prayed and thought about this year’s theme, I keep going back to what Jesus said in Luke chapter 15, "And he spake this parable unto them, saying, What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost. I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance" (vv. 3-7).
The United States Army has a military Soldier’s Creed. In that creed, there is a statement that says, "I will never leave a fallen comrade." It is taught to every United States soldier from the beginning of their service time in basic training. This is not just taught, it is drilled into them. It is ingrained into them. This is not a request or a suggestion. There will be NO soldier left behind. No matter what it takes! The United States Army Ranger statement goes even further. It says "I will never leave a fallen comrade to fall into the hands of the enemy."
How about you? Has it been ingrained in you that there will be no soul left behind in The Church of God? Are you willing to do whatever it takes to make sure that no soul is left behind? Are you willing to leave a fallen comrade in the hands of the enemy of their soul? Do you feel a commitment and a burden for those who are lost or those who are struggling? Jesus taught and understood "Leave no man behind" long before the United States Army did.
Keeping the found—I want to have the same commitment and burden for those who are found so that they will never be lost. At any given time, we have members who are struggling and on the brink of dying spiritually to become another one of the lost. Are we praying for discernment to know and see those who are dying before our very eyes? Do we care? The enemy of our souls has a tactic he has used for years and unfortunately he has been successful with it. It is very simple—divide and conquer.
If a tiger fights a lion, the tiger will win every time. If 10 tigers fight 10 lions, the lions will win every time. WHY? Because tigers fight as individuals and lions will battle together as a pride. How are you fighting? Are you fighting as an individual with individual goals and selfish ambitions, or as the lions—together? Satan wants to divide and conquer us. Can you think of someone who is lost? It didn’t take very long, did it? Now, can you think of someone who is "found" but is in current danger of being lost? We are in a war!
During the 50th anniversary of D-Day in 1994, one documentary featured a very unique sequence of interviews. The commentators spoke with two men who were a part of the Normandy Invasion in 1944. One was a soldier who fought on the ground. Reflecting back on that time he said, "I was convinced there was no way we could possibly win." The other interview involved a pilot who saw things much differently from his vantage point in the air. He said, "I was convinced there was no way we could possibly lose." It is very easy for us to become discouraged and tempted. We have a limited perception.
We need each other, and we need to fight as the lions fight—together. It is time to stop allowing our enemy to divide and conquer. "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another" (John 13:34, 35). Will we win the lost and keep the found, doing ALL that is necessary to accomplish that?
I was thinking about what happens when a soldier falls into the hands of the enemy. I have a husband and 3 sons who have served in the United States Army. This has been a very real question and concern for me. What happens when someone is lost or taken? There is a group called SAR. Search and Rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. There are military Search and Rescue teams as well as civilian teams. There are also spiritual Search and Rescue teams. "Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins" (James 5:19, 20).
Are you part of God’s Search and Rescue Team? It’s always an anxious moment, especially for families and friends, when someone is reported missing. Whether it’s a loved soldier or someone lost in the wilderness while hiking, Search and Rescue Teams spring into action. We wait expectantly for any word of locating the missing person. It’s a moment of great joy if they find the person alive and well, but a time of great sorrow when they’re too late.
Are YOU a member of God’s Search and Rescue Team? It is sad to know that many never respond to the call to go out into the storm and look for the lost. I am afraid that many are not concerned if a soul is left behind. Can you imagine being lost in the woods or in some desolate place, but no one came looking for you? When you finally find your way out to civilization, you will ask why no one came looking.
One member of the Search and Rescue Team may say, "It was really cold and stormy outside and there was a really good show on TV. So I just prayed for you to be okay." Another Team member may say, "I wanted to be sensitive to your feelings. I thought you might be embarrassed if we came looking for you." Another may say, "I wasn’t sure you were really lost. I thought it would be judgmental of me to imply that you actually were lost. Besides, it would be arrogant of me to say that I’m not lost. After all, we all have our own paths on the journey." That’s not the kind of Search and Rescue Team I would want if I were lost! If we are going to ensure that no soul is left behind, we must be the kind of Search and Rescue Team that will love souls enough to do whatever it takes!
No soul left behind! Winning the lost and keeping the found!
Loss Prevention
Loss prevention is the overall plan of action taken to prevent losses in inventory. It requires diligence and well executed programs that are designed to prevent losses and not just react when they occur. Successful retail companies will develop programs to prevent such losses because they know it affects their overall profits. Our Commander-in-Chief knew a little about loss prevention. "And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day" (John 6:39).
What is the loss prevention program of The Church of God? In short, it is the Assembly Band Movement when it is put into practice the proper way. Sometimes we experience losses of souls more often than we experience gains. This is a definite blow to our overall purpose. We, like the retail markets, are losing our inventory through three means: internal theft, external theft and human error.
INTERNAL THEFT
Internal theft is the largest contributor to loss for most retailing companies, regardless of size. Many have wondered why this would be the biggest category of loss, but surveys and studies have proven it to be true. Employee theft occurs through many different methods. It can be merchandise theft/misuse or even taking from open registers at cash sales.
The Scripture warns us about internal theft:"For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ" (Jude 1:4). "For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it" (1 Cor. 11:18). When it comes to internal theft of the spiritual nature, there is no way to insure potential theft doesn’t happen other than to keep diligent watch on the sheep in your care and do everything possible to encourage healthy relationships between each of them and the Lord. When we can disciple our people to love the Lord first and do everything He wants of them, the relationships with one another will always work and no discord will remain. Disagreements may form from time to time, but when both parties love the Lord first, a resolution is just around the corner. Forgiveness and reconciliation are the two best forms of preventative measure regarding internal theft. The enemy has always known this and he has devised means by which pride can easily take root in this brother or that sister. When this happens, they can destroy others.
The inventory will suffer its greatest lost in The Church of God when we haphazardly leave people to work things out on their own—or worse, require no accountability. This is not only a sign of poor discipleship, but also the characteristic which most represents lazy and uncaring leadership.
If you have problems within the local body of believers, it is time to take all involved to the Lord. Don’t try to use the world’s methods of conflict resolution. Let God’s Word be your only source of resolution. Teaching people to pray and study the Word of God and be faithful in fellowship will cause them to be close enough to the Lord that no conflict could push them from the Body of Christ. They will desire to please the Lord so much that careless words from a brother will not cause them to be lost or to run elsewhere. There should never be internal theft in a body of believers that loves with God’s love. There should never be losses when people are in love with the Lord more than themselves, their own ideologies or preferences. Loving God means more than shallow compliments or empty words; it means dedication to God’s ways in living and loving others. Teaching our people to be disciples and to love God above all else will always equip them to handle the divisions that can plague our families and churches.
EXTERNAL THEFT
External theft is often caused by shoplifting, robberies or other acts by outside sources. This may even include natural acts like floods or strong winds. Although
it does not cause as much loss overall compared to internal theft, shoplifting and external theft most certainly cause a
substantial amount of loss every year to the retail industry. This is the same with The Church of God. Often, the appeal of the outside world and what it packages seems stronger than the appeal of what God offers us within the Body of Christ.
Controlling external theft requires a commitment to keeping the membership spiritual as with internal theft, but it also requires awareness to the signs of a potential loss and how to best protect the individuals and entire church against external loss. In the retail world, this requires the establishment of procedures and training in areas such as shoplifting prevention, robbery awareness, safety, and how to handle various situations dealing with people. What security measures you have in place within your retail location can also greatly assist you in your efforts against external loss (although not always). This is where theocratic government is most effective in the Body of Christ. It is designed to stop this hemorrhage of souls. Many may hear "government" and be repulsed since so many associate it with regulations or unnecessary restrictions. Some may even equate it to one group lording over another. But, with theocratic government, there is only one LORD. No man or group of men makes laws or restrictions that are not already ordained of God. The beauty of the structure of The Church of God is her ability to allow God to use others to keep them secure and to watch for their souls. "Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you" (Heb 13:17).
It is often necessary to approach someone about their choices or with a warning about the effects these choices can have on their souls. It is not an easy
job to have, and it is also not easy to receive correction or instruction from time to time. It is profitable for the soul in danger, however, and it is very well what can prevent external theft. Storms of life can often bend us, but let it only bend our knees and not break us. When we break under the weight of the cares of life, we become a loss to the Body of Christ and therefore to our Lord. His grace is sufficient for every need, and He will help us not to be counted as a loss.
ERRORS
The last major area of loss in the retail environment is caused through errors. Sometimes these errors are in paperwork only, but have been calculated to equal up to 20% of the losses. In the retail world, this may be errors in shipping and receiving, errors in register sales, or in misinterpreting reports.
When we consider the whole package of The Church of God and her mission, it is necessary to truly take every action we make into account. Failure of members to report their needs to the band leader trickles down to the pastor. Failure of band leaders to report problems to the pastor is a good example of error that causes loss of precious souls. It is equally important that the pastor maintain clear and open communication with band leaders and all his appointed leaders to ensure there are no reporting errors. How much more the importance from pastor to the State/Regional Overseer and from the Overseer to General Headquarters? Why is reporting so important? It is not just unnecessary paperwork. "Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another; Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord" (Rom. 12:10, 11).
The discussions of the General Assembly in Acts 15 didn’t reach the business meeting because someone wanted to call Peter and Paul out to argue it out. I believe the reports came from the field and the need had arisen to address it in a godly manner that would benefit the
whole Body. Documentation of various situations and occurrences helped the early Church address issues that aided
in keeping as many people as possible. Nothing less will be required of us today. Keeping the paperwork and the details in check will help keep our numbers high and more importantly, our membership’s spiritual health high and productive.
Brother Roberto Jovel pastors two churches in California and one in Nevada and uses the ABM to assist him in keeping up with his members. The band leaders have weekly meetings and report to Brother Jovel who was in attendance and who wasn’t, and how the meeting went. He isn’t willing to lose one soul and if they are sick, he is there to minister to them. This is not because he wishes to be highly honored by them or you, the reader of this method he is using, but it is because he wants to keep every soul the Lord gives The Church of God. He is working to win new converts and keep the ones we already have.
What do you do on a regular basis to ensure the inventory of souls in your care is kept with minimal or no losses? Maybe you aren’t pastoring and your flock is your Sunday School class. What are you doing to keep their souls safe in the fold? "What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?" (Luke 15:4). Maybe your inventory is your home. Exactly what programs are you implementing to be able to present your inventory of sheep to the Lord? "And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up" (Deut. 6:7). Maybe you are completely alone, but your soul is your responsibility too. What steps are you currently taking to be sure you can be presented wholly and holy to our Lord? "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" (Mark 8:36). The ABM Department of The Church of God has the keys that help us secure the precious souls who belong to our Lord. Let us use these keys and not haphazardly lose the inventory of God.
Love One Another
"And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ; Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God" (Phil. 1:9-11).
"Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another" (1 John 4:7-11).
In these passages of Scripture we do not find any indication of an effort being made to provide a written definition for the word love. Love is a powerful word though it is used so loosely by people today. Multiple scholars and philosophers have tried to define it for ages. Musicians sing about love. Poets write about it. Valentine makers try to capture it in art, and merchants recommend we say it with chocolate candies and flowers. As it stands, nothing has ever nor will ever communicate the meaning of love better than God’s own Word and actions.
Love is one of the greatest factors in the life of a child of God. The love the Bible speaks of gives without expecting anything in return. It was God’s love for His creation that prompted Him to give His Son as the price for our redemption. It was the Son’s love that made it possible for Him to fulfill His part of the divine program which included His death on the Cross. Bible love is the demonstration of an intense feeling of deep affection clearly seen in a willingness to sacrifice. In the Bible, love is unconditional; love was GIVEN,
love DIED FOR US, love LAID DOWN for you and I and did not stand with its hand outstretched expecting something in return. This same unrestrained love must be expressed in the life of a Christian. It must be evidenced in our actions toward our fellow man.
What consequence will loving one another have? Jesus said, "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another" (John 13:35). This verse points out the importance of love and the impact it will have upon those around us—the message of God’s love to the world by a living demonstration, not by verbal proclamation. Someone said, "Your talk walks and your walk talks, but your walk talks further than your talk walks." It is necessary that love—the love of God, loving one another—be allowed to speak by our actions and not so much by our words. Nothing else will speak so loudly to the lost as our love for one another.
Where does love have its beginning? If we are to love we must go to the Fountain from which love springs forth. The Scriptures declare: "God is love" (1 John 4:8). The inquisitive lawyer asked Jesus, "Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment"
(Matt. 22:36- 38). This is considered the command of highest priority—to love God with the emotions, determination, intention, spiritual faculties, and the intellect. In other words, above everything else in this world, man is to love God with his entire being. Obedience, genuine obedience, begins with love. To obey without love is not to obey at all. If we obey just for the sake of saying we obeyed, but do it not in true love, then we are not much better than that little child who did what he was asked to do when his mother kept insisting he sit down in
his chair. When he finally unlocked his knees and plopped down into his seat, his glare told the real story, "I may be sitting down on the outside—but on the inside I’m still standing up!"
In the sight of God, what is not done in love is not accepted. When our love is first and foremost anchored in God, it is then that our entire lives are put into focus. Loyalty to God puts everything else in its right place. It has been said that genuine love is not something we put on and off as the situation may dictate, like politeness. Love is woven into the very fabric of the Christian man or woman and determines what and who we are.
Jesus continued with His response to the lawyer. "And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself" (Matt. 22:39). A person is capable of loving his or her neighbor when their love is directly connected to the Source and Fountain of true love. When Jesus said "is like unto it," He was saying it is "almost the same as" loving God. No person declaring to be Christian can rightfully and truthfully love God if they love not their brother. "If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?" (1 John 4:20). What significant and noteworthy words! One might even consider them harsh, but we didn’t pronounce them— they are found in your Bible! Doesn’t it seem like—nay, is it not clear that love to God is directly linked to our love for one another!? We can say we love God all we want, but if we don’t love our brother, then we lie.
None of us are exempt from obeying His following command, "And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also"
(1 John 4:21). We are to love one another in spite of offences, faults, or misunderstandings. In cases of offences and
misunderstandings, it is better to pray as one precious saint, "Lord, help me to bear a misunderstanding rightly, and to receive an unkind judgment in holy sweetness."
In God’s Word, we find the extent to which our love for one another must reach. It is a length of love, it is a breadth of love, it is a depth of love that Jesus Christ Himself demonstrated, established, and transmitted: "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another" (John 13:34). The command was not given as such without God first demonstrating the manner and degree in which this can and must be done. "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God" (1 John 3:1). "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13). "...I lay down my life for the sheep... Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself... This commandment have I received of my Father" (John 10:15, 17, 18). Special attention is here called to not only perceive through sight, but also to make an attempt to comprehend with our finite minds the way Christ loved us. Jesus expressed His love—which we did not deserve—and granted it to us through His sacrifice on the Cross. What we find in the gospel writings is Christ’s marvelous display of divine love; and by loving us in such a way, He became the model and standard for the love that was and is to be manifested among us. He said, "For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them" (John 13:15-17).
We find one of the most powerful (and challenging) statements ever made of the Christian faith in 1 Corinthians 13:1-3, "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing." We can give it all, believe it all, speak it all, have it all, and know it all, yet without love, nothing else in the Christian experience has any legitimacy. Why? Because what is done must be done in love—first love God, secondly love thy neighbor—"On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets" (Matt. 22:40). Paul informs us that love is the foundation upon which our lives must be built. Love is so crucial that no matter what we say, do or give, if it is not rooted in love then it profits us nothing—it’s all in vain! The inconsistency of some folks failing to demonstrate the love of God, while at the same time seemingly manifesting the gifts of the Spirit in power and purpose, will someday ultimately be settled in heaven. According to the above mentioned Scripture, one can speak the tongues of men and angels, have the gift of prophecy, understand mysteries, have all knowledge, faith, remove mountains; nevertheless, in the eyes of God, he is nothing!
Some may find out far too late that the most important part of our Christian life is not the exercising of spiritual gifts but the authenticity of the love of God in us. In John’s first letter, he points out that love is not about what you receive, but what you give—it isn’t something that happens to a person, love is something that a person does! "Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth" (1 John 3:16-18). Again, love is the demonstration of an intense feeling of deep affection and it is needful that it should "abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment" (Phil. 1:9).
Read 1 John 4:9-11 again in the text Scripture of this article. This is agape love. It is the love God gives and keeps on giving. He sends it out upon the deserving and undeserving and on the responsive and unresponsive. While we were yet sinners, God loved us and sent His only begotten Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Has anything more virtuous and glorious ever been written or done?
Dear reader, have you ever had a similar experience in your Christian walk where love spilled from your heart upon someone and they did not respond? Is there a person you considered undeserving? What did you do? Look to the example God has given you and ask yourself: "Is it too much for Him to require me to love the unresponsive and unlovely? Is it too much for Him to require me to have genuine love for my brother?" We are privileged to be a part of such a great family, it behooves us to remember that it is made up of people of different personalities and dispositions, nevertheless, the Lord Jesus Christ loves us, and we ought to be able to love one another.
Have we asked ourselves lately, "How much time do I spend in prayer for that brother or sister? Do I know about what troubles he or she has so I can effectively pray for them?" Are we truly loving one another and bearing one another’s burdens? If the answer to these questions is negative, we may be in need of reevaluating our spirit and compare it to the Spirit of Christ and making some changes.
Clement wrote to the Corinthian Church near the end of the first century: "Let him who has love in Christ perform the commandments of Christ. Who is able to explain the bond of love of God? Who is sufficient to tell the greatness of its beauty? The height to which love lifts us is not to be expressed. Love unites us to God. Love covereth a multitude of sins. Love beareth all things, is long-suffering in all things. There is nothing base, nothing haughty in love; love admits no schism, love makes no sedition, love does all things in concord…In love did the Master receive us; for the sake of the love which He had toward us did Jesus Christ our Lord give His blood by the will of God for us, and His flesh for our flesh, and His soul for our souls."
"LOVE NEVER ASKS HOW MUCH MUST I DO, BUT HOW MUCH CAN I DO."—Frederick A. Agar
Monday, March 7, 2016
My Brother is Alive!
The other, faithful brother, was bitter about his brother’s return. He would not celebrate with everyone else. “And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him” (v. 28). The father, in his abundant love for this son, came to him to bring him into the merriment. So disappointed was this son that he wouldn’t even refer to the prodigal as his brother. He said, “this thy son” rather than “my brother.” “And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found” (vv. 31-32). Do we ever take the attitude of the faithful son when there are returning prodigals? The father reminded him that this was his brother and that he would never neglect his faithfulness to him. Let us ever be ready to rejoice with those who were dead, but are resurrected by the power of salvation. You and I were lost, but by God’s amazing grace, we have been restored to the Father, just as the prodigal.
THAT THEY MAY
DO ALL TO THE GLORY OF GOD
“Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Matt. 22:37-39). This reminds us of the acrostic “J-O-Y”: Jesus first; Others second; Yourself last. “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man” (Eccl. 12:13).
DO NOT BE A STUMBLING-BLOCK
Much of the division in The Church of God was due to cultural differences of the Jewish and Gentile members. Paul taught them that if they were to be effective soul winners they must not offend one another because of differences in customs and traditions of men. They must have a mutual respect for one another in such matters. Earlier in the letter Paul had said, “And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law; To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law. To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some” (1 Cor. 9:20-22).
BE A STEPPING-STONE
Just avoiding offence is not enough; we must seek to please one another. If we are to be effective in soul winning we must not tear one another down, but rather build one another up. “Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification” (Rom. 15:2). This will require a conscious effort. “Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:3) .
Death, Burial & Resurrection
"Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures... Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive" (1 Cor. 15:1-4, 12-22).
Oh, what hope we have! The gospel of Jesus Christ gives us the great hope of a resurrection day! It is the gospel of the faith that was once delivered unto the saints, and not only was it delivered, but it was received according to the Son of God, "For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them..." (John 17:8), and we stand in it today. Every Christian should remain in it and not lose sight of it, but keep it in their hearts and minds, for in doing so they shall be saved!
Since we have taken the whole Bible rightly divided, we must point out that the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is a foundation of our Christian faith. During the time of the early Church there existed many different opinions in regard to the resurrection of the dead. The Pharisees taught the resurrection, and the Sadducees taught that there existed no such thing. Today, there are a range of religious groups of people, independent scholars, professors and authors, with diverse theories and opinions about this important Bible doctrine.
In 1 Corinthians we find strong evidence that both the early Church and the apostle Paul had no doubt in the fact that Jesus had died, been buried, and resurrected from the tomb where His dead body had been placed. When Paul spoke of the gospel of Jesus Christ in this portion of his writings, he pointed out three central truths about the end of Christ’s earthly visit "in the likeness of men" (Phil. 2:7).
The first is that Christ died for our sins according to Scripture. The death of the Lord may have come as a surprise to those closest to Him, but His death had been prophesied in the Old Testament. The early Church was reminded of the words Jesus had spoken previously (cf. John 2:19-22), and along with Paul now understood that His death was in order to fulfill prophecy (cf. Isa. 53:1-12; Psa. 22:1-21; Gen. 3:15).
Yes, Christ died at the hands of Herod, Pontius Pilate, the Gentiles and the people of Israel. The entire world rose up against the Son of God. Man was responsible and had his involvement. Nevertheless, this was preordained by God, "For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done" (Acts 4:28). This meant that the Divine was also responsible for the death of Jesus Christ to the extent that He allowed it to happen. "Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin..." (Isa. 53:10). "And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb..." (Gen. 22:8). "The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). (See also John 3:16; Romans 8:32). The Son of God made this statement in John 10:18, "No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again."
"For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him" (2 Cor. 5:21). Jesus Christ suffered death for us, not because He had sinned, but to pay the penalty of sin in our stead. It is easy to believe that His sufferings ended when He said, "It is finished" (John 19:30) or when He said, "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit" (Luke 23:46), but His actual physical death on the Cross was also part of the dishonor and humiliation He suffered. He whom life proceeds from, the only life-giving Fount, had now to experience and taste physical death in all of its aspects—the separation of the soul from the body. Also, in His momentary separation from God—that eternal death—Jesus cried out, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Matt. 27:46). He suffered death in all its agony and felt what He had never felt before—disconnection from God the Father—because He was suffering the castigation of our sins upon Him.
Paul’s statement clarifies quite clearly that His death was no accident. It was no surprise to God. Jesus was not the victim of an assassination, but it was the deliberate and willing plan of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost to be the propitiation for the sins of the whole world. By putting on mortality for immortality, and the earthly for the celestial, Jesus tasted death as all mortal men do when they leave this life. Hebrews 2:9 says, "But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, CROWNED WITH GLORY AND HONOUR; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man."
There is no reason to hang our heads low. Jesus Christ was no victim in His
death. He was victoriously and triumphantly on His path to the culmination of God’s redeeming plan for man.
Secondly, Paul points out that the burial of Jesus Christ was also according to Scripture. The Bible holds the record that His body was taken, wrapped, clothed with spices and laid in a new sepulcher in a garden near the place of the crucifixion. "And after this Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus. And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight. Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury. Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid. There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews’ preparation day; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand" (John 19:38-42; See also Luke 23:50-53). The critics, doubters and skeptics have said, "He was buried alive," and "Jesus recovered from a coma and departed Judea." The record of His burial demonstrates that He was truly dead, and that He was buried. The Pharisees and chief priests came to Pilate and said, "while he was yet alive" (Matt. 27:63), because now He was dead and had "poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors" (Isa. 53:12). The Pharisees and chief priest requested of Pilate, "Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead" (Matt. 27:64). If Christ had not died a true physical death, then why ask for keepers to secure the sepulcher for three days where His lifeless body laid? Why worry that His disciples would come and "steal Him away"? Why worry that His disciples would say, "He is risen from the dead"? Nicodemus, a Pharisee and ruler of the Jews; Joseph of Arimathea, a rich man and likely a member of the Sanhedrin; the soldiers who saw Him hanging on the cross; the one who pierced His side; and those who rushed to the sepulcher on the first day of the week were all convinced that He was dead.
We should not overlook this part of His suffering and shame, but acknowledge that the Holy One and Giver of Life also descended into the grave willingly on our behalf. This state of death was suffered for us just as much as His crucifixion and death. Although His body was laid in the place of corruption, He would not see corruption because Jesus Christ was holy and without sin. "For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption" (Psa. 16:10). "And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I WILL GIVE YOU THE SURE MERCIES OF DAVID. Wherefore he saith also in another psalm, THOU SHALT NOT SUFFER THINE HOLY ONE TO SEE CORRUPTION" (Acts 13:34, 35).
This takes us to Paul’s third point that the resurrection of Christ was also in fulfillment of the Scripture. The writings of the apostle Paul tell of Christ being raised from the dead "according to the working of [God’s]mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places" (Eph. 1:19, 20). While the skeptics say: "His body was removed by someone unconnected with Jesus;" "The body of Jesus was stolen by His disciples," or "The vacant tomb was not the one Jesus was laid in," the writer of the book of Acts wrote, "he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God" (Acts 1:3).
I believe the following excerpt from Fundamentals of the Faith says it well:
"It was validated by many infallible proofs. It has been argued by a few that the disciples engaged in a deliberate fraud to doctor evidence to show that He had been raised from the dead, though an extremely small number of critics have taken this position. Even the Jews could not make that one stick (Matt. 28:11-15). Anyone taking that position must explain how men so paralyzed by fear and loss of hope following the death of Jesus, could turn so quickly and with such firm conviction, that they proclaimed His resurrection as a central fact of their faith for the rest of their lives, knowing that because of such a claim their lives would be in peril. Yet all of the disciples died the martyr’s death for preaching that message, except John, and he suffered many things because of it. If it was a fraud, how is it that the zealous skeptics and devout Pharisee, Saul, who was completely converted from a life dedicated to stamping out the Christian faith and destroying the Church of God, was converted and spent his life preaching the resurrection of Christ as a central fact of the faith?
"Some have suggested that those who saw the resurrected Christ were suffering from hallucinations. But it takes an inordinate stretch of the imagination to believe that a great number of His followers who saw Him were all alike suffering from hallucinations, and that all saw the same things. We know of more than 514 who saw Him after His resurrection, and it is highly unlikely that so many would have been seeing precisely the same illusion. Even the doubting disciple Thomas upon seeing Him, exclaimed, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Furthermore, if it was all an illusion, how can we explain the tremendous impact His resurrection has had upon the world for twenty centuries?
"His resurrection was attested to by many witnesses, chief of whom were the apostles, and they were eminently qualified as reliable witnesses, being impeccable in character, competent and all agreed on the details. They had been eye-witnesses (Luke 24:33-36; John 20:19, 26; Acts 1:3, 21, 22), and were of a sufficient number to establish their testimony as being reliable (1 Cor. 15:3-8).
"The importance of His resurrection. It is the most essential doctrine of Christianity. Everything stands or falls on the fact or fallacy of the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 15:4, 12-19; 2 Tim. 2:8). If He be not raised, our preaching is vain, our faith is vain, we are yet in our sins, the dead perish
without hope, and the living Christians ‘are of all men most miserable,’ having no hope beyond the grave.
"It was of utmost importance that the resurrected Christ show Himself after He was raised, since everything depended on whether or not He actually came forth from the grave bodily in complete victory over death. He showed Himself to His disciples (John 21:1) for a number of reasons which had direct significance to the doctrines the Church would be presenting to the world regarding Him: (1) In doing so, He gave them assurance and established their hope (Luke 24:21). (2) He demonstrated that His purpose in coming to earth, to take on our humanity, had been fulfilled. On this point, Dr. William Paton writes, ‘The Resurrection fulfilled and completed what was done on the Cross, it did not annul it. The risen Lord is still a crucified one. The joy of the first Easter was not the joy of those who wake from a nightmare and thank God that after all it wasn’t true and didn’t happen. It did happen, and because it happened it was not possible that death should be the end.’ (3) He demonstrated His deity (John 20:23). (4) He assured immortality to those who put their trust in Him (1 Cor. 15:12-14; John 14:19; 11: 25, 26). And, (5) He prepared His Church for its launching on the mission for which He had commissioned it (cf. Mark 3:13-19; Matt. 28:19; John 20:21; Acts 1:8; etc)." (Fundamentals of the Faith, Raymond M. Pruitt, pp. 207, 209.)
The Bible tells us in 1 Peter 1:3-9, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls."
Although we were not privileged to see Him or touch Him, we have His Word, promises, and this one thing— FAITH. We believe that Christ did indeed come as the Lamb "which taketh away the sin of the world." The Bible teaches that He died, was buried, and resurrected from the dead. Because of that, we should not doubt that we will be raised in similar fashion.
Oscar Pimentel, General Overseer
The Church of God
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