Thursday, January 5, 2017, 8:45 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song “A Believer’s Prayer.” Speak, Lord, your
words to my heart. I read 1 Corinthians
15:12-58 (Select vv. NASB).
Summary (vv.
12-31)
There were people in Paul’s
day, even within the church, apparently, who objected to the idea of the
resurrection of the dead. So, Paul delivered a discourse on the subject of the
resurrection of the dead in order to explain to them what that would mean if
there was no resurrection of the dead. It would mean that Jesus Christ was not resurrected,
and if so, then the preaching of the gospel is useless (futile), and so is our
faith, for we are still in our sins. He said, “If only for this life we have
hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.” Yet, Christ has indeed
been raised from the dead, Paul said. Thus, “For as in Adam all die, so in
Christ all will be made alive.”
Do Not Be Deceived (vv. 32b-34)
If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink, for
tomorrow we die. Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.” Become
sober-minded as you ought, and stop sinning; for some have no knowledge of God.
I speak this to your shame.
There are always going to be
people within the church, or within the institutional church who will try to
get us to believe what is contrary to the Word of God. They will try to instill
doubts in our minds by twisting the Word of Truth, or by diluting the gospel
message to make it more appealing and acceptable to the flesh of humans. They
will pull scriptures out of context to support their beliefs, too, while they
ignore the bulk of teaching on the same subject. So, this is why scripture
teaches us that we are to test everything we hear against the Word of Truth so
we are not deceived by those who would try to lead us astray. We may even utilize
Paul’s manner of examining a subject by comparing it to truth, thus showing the
fallacy of the false logic being promoted by those who would attempt to deceive
us. And, of course, all of this must be done under the direction of the Holy
Spirit of God.
The Last Trumpet (vv. 50-57)
Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot
inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be
changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the
trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be
changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must
put on immortality. But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable,
and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying
that is written, “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your
victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the
power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through
our Lord Jesus Christ.
As followers of Jesus Christ,
this is what we have to look forward to one day. One day Jesus Christ - who is
alive, because he was resurrected from the dead - is going to return for those
of us who have put our faith and trust in him. He will return for us who have
walked with him in truth; who have walked by the Spirit and no longer according
to our sinful flesh. We will no longer be subject to temptation, sin, sickness,
sadness or pain, because we will no longer live in these earthly and fleshly
bodies. We will be resurrected to immortal (undying) bodies, for death will be no
more. Amen!
And, yet, while we wait for
that day to come, we can still experience victory over sin because Jesus put
sin to death, and because he rose back to life, victorious over sin, and since
we believe in him as our Savior from slavery to sin. We will still be tempted
to sin, and that is bad enough, yet we can live life free from the control of
sin and of Satan because of what Jesus did for us, and that is GOOD NEWS! Sin
no longer is our master, because Jesus set us free. We are now, instead, to be
slaves (servants) to his righteousness.
Be Steadfast
(v. 58)
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast,
immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is
not in vain in the Lord.
So, what should our lives
look like while we wait for Jesus’ return? Is God’s grace merely forgiveness of
sins so that we can escape hell and have the promise of heaven when we die? NO!
God’s grace, which brings salvation, teaches us to say “No!” to ungodliness and
worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives while we
wait for Christ’s return. Jesus Christ “gave Himself for us to redeem us
from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for
good deeds” (Tit. 2:11-14). We are not our own. We were bought with a price –
the blood of Jesus Christ shed on a cross for our sins. Thus, Jesus is not only
our Savior, but he is our Lord (owner-master), and we are his slaves. He died
that we might die to sin and live to righteousness (1 Pet. 2:24).
Therefore, as his
bond-servants, we are to honor God with our lives. We are to be steadfast (unwavering)
in faith, hope and in love for God, and for one another. We should never give
up on God or on people just because stuff in our lives might not be going so
well, at times. We should follow Jesus in obedience to his Word in good times
and in bad times, always believing that in all things he works for the good of
them who love him, who have been called according to his purposes (Ro. 8:28).
And, the “good” he works is not according to our standards, but according to
God’s. It will be what is truly in our best interest, i.e. what is best for us,
not necessarily what we want.
When we are working for the
Lord, walking in the Spirit, and in the power of God’s Spirit within us, and we
are fulfilling God’s purpose for our lives, things won’t always go the way we
would like or hope. There will be bumps in the road, and storms, and roadblocks
which we must overcome in the power of God’s Spirit within us. Not everyone is
going to fall madly in love with us, either. Some people will hate us. Some
will persecute us and say all manner of evil against us. They will reject us,
and even close friends will abandon us. The closer we are in our walks of
faith, and the more we are separated in lifestyle from this sinful world, the
more people will distance themselves from us, because they won’t be comfortable
being around us.
If we are those who share the
gospel of Jesus Christ with others, even those within the church may distance
themselves from us because they won’t like the message. It may be similar to
what Jesus experienced when many people who had been following him deserted
him, never to return, because they said his teaching was too hard. It was too
hard because Jesus required that his followers die with him to sin and that
they be resurrected with him to new life in Christ, to be lived to his
righteousness. There was no middle ground with Jesus. If we would not die with
him to sin, then we would have no part with him (Jn. 6:35-66; 13:8; Lu.
9:23-25; 14:25-35).
So,
when they reject us, which they will, then we have to take it to the Lord in
prayer, and give it over to him. Then, we must keep loving, and keep believing,
and keep sharing the truth about Christ and his gospel of salvation, because
many need to know Jesus and to have the assurance of salvation from sin and the
hope of eternal life with God in glory. We are not here on this earth to please
ourselves or so people will all love us. We are here to love God, and to love
others, even if we are hated in return. So, never give up hope. His Word will
not return to Him empty, but will accomplish what He desires and achieve the
purpose for which He sent it (Is. 55:11). So, keep on keeping on. Remember that
our labor in the Lord is not in vain (it is not hopeless or futile). On that,
we can rest our hope. Amen!
A Believer’s Prayer / An
Original Work / July 31, 2012
With my whole heart, Lord, I pray
To be Yours, and Yours always.
Lead me in Your truth today.
May I love You, and obey.
Lead me in Your righteousness.
When I sin, may I confess;
Bow before You when I pray;
Live for You and You always.
Love You, Jesus, You’re my friend.
Life with You will never end.
You are with me through each day,
Giving love and peace always.
You will ne’er abandon me.
From my sin You set me free.
You died on that cruel tree,
So I’d live eternally.
Soon You’re coming back for me;
From this world to set me free;
Live with You eternally.
Oh, what joy that brings to me.
I will walk with You in white;
A pure bride, I’ve been made right
By the blood of Jesus Christ;
Pardoned by His sacrifice.
No comments:
Post a Comment