The Saints Have Been Refreshed Through You

“Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, to Philemon our beloved fellow worker and Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier, and the church in your house: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

“I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers, because I hear of your love and of the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints, and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ. For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you.” (Philemon 1:1-7 ESV)

Paul wrote this letter as he was carried along by the Holy Spirit, but the letter came from both him and Timothy. And it was addressed to three specific people and to the church that met in their house, of which they were a part. And the church was a gathering of those who believed in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of their lives who, if their faith was genuine, had been crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as servants of God.

From what I understand of the New Testament church gatherings, they were not in huge buildings with all “bells and whistles” (trimmings and attractive additional features) that so many gatherings of what are called “churches” meet together in now. Prior to the destruction of the temple in 70 A.D. they would meet in the temple courts, which were open to the Gentiles, and they would meet in people’s homes, or perhaps in the marketplace or wherever people normally gathered together in that culture in that day and time.

And the church in a specific city was all the Christians who lived in that city, and it did not necessarily mean that they all gathered together in one specific location. I believe the Scriptures talk about how they went from house to house, and so these could not have been very large gatherings. But smaller gatherings provide for closer intimacy and fellowship and for greater opportunity for all Christians to encourage one another in the faith. For we are all parts of the body and each one of us has a part to share.

[Romans 12:1-8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31; 1 Corinthians 14:1-5; Galatians 6:1; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:1-16; Ephesians 5:15-21; Ephesians 6:10-20; Philippians 2:1-8; Colossians 3:12-16; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:13; Hebrews 10:23-25; James 5:19-20]

Under the guidance and direction of the Holy Spirit, I just completed a series of 58 devotions from my studies of 1st and 2nd Corinthians. Again, this was the whole body of Christ in the entire city so they did not necessarily all meet together at one location, but they most likely met from house to house or wherever they could find a place to gather. And the church in that city was dealing with all sorts of sinful addictive behaviors among its people and false accusations against Paul and the entertaining of false teachers.

So, it is refreshing to read a letter from Paul where he is not having to deal with false teachers and false gospels and sinful practices among those who professed faith in Jesus Christ. It is encouraging to hear of church congregations which are following the Lord Jesus and his word, who are walking in holiness and in righteousness and in faithfulness to the Lord Jesus and to his gospel message. It is wonderful to learn of Christians who agape love one another and who are not fighting and sinning against each other.

Especially in the times in which we live when so many professing Christians are following after an altered gospel and a false grace and a different Jesus Christ than the one of the Scriptures, it is heartwarming to hear of a gathering of Christians who truly love God and one another, and who are living according to biblical faith which comes from God, is authored by God, is gifted to us by God, is persuaded of God, and is not of our own doing – not of the will nor of the flesh of humans. We don’t define faith. God does!

I love to hear good news, and good news is not just the feel-good stuff that so many are passing off today as the full gospel message. For much of the feel-good stuff is based in lies, manipulations, trickery, cunning, and craftiness of humans in their deceitful scheming. So they alter the character of God/Christ and of his church and of his gospel in order to appeal to the flesh of humans and so as not to offend the ungodly of this world. So for it to be good it needs to be the truth and not the lies so many are spreading.

So, I love to hear of Christians loving one another with agape love which prefers what God prefers and which is based in moral preference and in moral purity, uprightness, godliness, righteousness, truthfulness, faithfulness, and in obedience to our Lord and to his commands. So this love doesn’t lie to people to make them feel good. And it doesn’t alter or withhold the truth so as not to offend people, and so they will like us. But sometimes it involves speaking the hard truths of the Scriptures, and that, too, is love.

And I love to hear and to read Christians sharing the truth of the gospel, that Jesus died that we might die to sin and live to righteousness, and that we might no longer live in deliberate and habitual sin, but in holiness and godliness, and in moral purity, and in walks of obedience to our Lord and to his commands. And it saddens me when I read and hear people diluting the gospel so as not to offend the ungodly and so as to make room for “Christians” to continue living in sin, believing God’s grace covers it all.

For Jesus said that if anyone would come after him, he must deny self, die daily to sin, and follow him in obedience to his commands. For if we hold on to our sinful practices, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if for Jesus’ sake we deny self, die daily to sin, and follow him in obedience to his commands, then we have eternal life in him. For he also said that not everyone calling him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING God’s will. And so many will be told to depart from Jesus because of their lawlessness.

So, if I am going to derive much joy and comfort from the love of the saints of God so that I am refreshed spiritually by their love in action, it will be because they are true followers of Jesus Christ who are denying self and dying to sin and walking in obedience to the Lord in practice, by the grace of God, in the power of God, though not necessarily in absolute perfection. And it will be because they are sharing the truth of the gospel and they are encouraging one another to walk by faith in holiness and obedience to God.

[Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 9:23-26; Romans 6:1-23; Titus 2:11-14; Acts 26:18; Ephesians 4:17-24]

Songs in the Night  

An Original Work / December 18, 2013

“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.” Acts 16:25 NIV ‘84

Lord, I praise You forevermore.

You, my Savior, I now adore.

Hope in heaven awaiting me,

Because You died at Calvary.

I have been forgiven,

And I’m bound for heaven.

Jesus set me free from

All my sin, I say.

I will praise Him always!

Lord, I love You for all You’ve done:

Overcame death, my vict’ry won!

Jesus saved me, and now I’m free!

I rejoice in His love for me.

I will walk in vict’ry!

My sin is but hist’ry!

I am free to please Him

With my life today.

I will love Him always!

Lord, I thank You for giving me

A new life bought at Calvary.

Loving Jesus, I meet with Him.

Tender mercies now flow within.

Lord, I am so thankful;

Through my Lord, I’m able

To sit at His table;

Fellowship with Him.

I will thank Him always!

https://vimeo.com/379484387