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Spiritual Seed

Posted on by korgrocker

“Since we have planted spiritual seed among you, aren’t we entitled to a harvest of physical food and drink? If you support others who preach to you, shouldn’t we have an even greater right to be supported? But we have never used this right. We would rather put up with anything than be an obstacle to the Good News about Christ.”
1 Corinthians 9:11-12 NLT

Paul was a seed planter. Not seeds that would grow into a cereal crop or a vegetable, but spiritual seeds, those that are the Words of God, that grow within a believer to produce spiritual fruit. Although Paul expected “a harvest of physical food and drink”, he never let a lack of this get in the way of his seed-planting mission, which was spreading “the Good News about Christ”. We know that Paul sometimes went hungry. He wrote to the Philippians, “I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:12-13). 

There was a time when Jesus taught a large crowd of people, as He sat in a boat just offshore. He used the analogy of a farmer engaged in his husbandry, sowing seeds, an analogy that would resonate with the occupations of many of those present listening to Him. And they would have known exactly what Jesus was talking about, as He developed a picture of the different types of soils, and the effect these would have on the seeds planted in them. Jesus told His disciples that there were two types of listeners, as He explained in Matthew 13:12, “To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them”. And Jesus went on to repeat the writings of Isaiah 6, “This fulfils the prophecy of Isaiah that says, ‘When you hear what I say, you will not understand. When you see what I do, you will not comprehend. For the hearts of these people are hardened, and their ears cannot hear, and they have closed their eyes— so their eyes cannot see, and their ears cannot hear, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to me and let me heal them’” (Matthew 13:14-15). But we pilgrims will know this parable very well.

There are two questions about the seed that apply to us pilgrims. The first is, are we listening? The Bible is full of “spiritual seed”, and to supplement it are the words from our leaders and preachers, as they expound God’s Word for our benefit, highlighting verses and passages as the Holy Spirit leads them. Unfortunately, sometimes we read a difficult verse and gloss over it, hoping it is meant for someone else. Sometimes, we sit uncomfortably in our pews, wishing the preacher had chosen another topic. And it is in these circumstances that we can perhaps relate to the poorer soils in Jesus’ parable, as we even allow the devil to snatch away what the Holy Spirit is trying to plant within our hearts. Thankfully, God never gives up on us, and He will try again when we are perhaps a bit more receptive. 

The second question about “spiritual seed” concerns our mission of planting and sowing. Are we pilgrims sowing seeds in the hearts and minds of those living amongst us? When did we last share the Gospel with someone we know, or even with someone we don’t? All my friends and family know about my Christian faith, and I always try to keep before them the importance of believing in Jesus. We understand why Jesus came to this world, as He said in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”. Jesus made it clear that there are two choices before a human being, and that is to “perish” or to “have eternal life”. That is the seed that we must sow, and keep on sowing. Yes, it will often fall on stony ground, or it will founder in ears that have suddenly become deaf, but we keep on sowing. We must also not miss the opportunity to share the Gospel with someone that we don’t know, looking out for a random or chance encounter with a stranger. God will often bring people together in an apparently unplanned way, and we can sometimes look back and see His hand in the meeting. There is a man I know who collects trolleys from the car park of a local Tesco. He makes no secret of his faith and regularly and persistently shares the Good News about Jesus with staff in the store and even customers if he finds an opportunity. His job is to collect trolleys, but his mission is to sow “spiritual seeds”.

We sow “spiritual seeds” because God has asked us to. I always carry a few tracts in my pocket when on my morning prayer walks, and sometimes get the opportunity to share with someone about the love of God. Some mornings, the weather is inclement, but there are always dog-walkers or joggers, someone out and about. We can also encounter people in the local shops or cafes, in a bus queue or on a train. There are always social interactions available, and as we reach out to our fellow members of society, we will find people burdened down by loneliness, worry, family problems, the state of the world, and more. These people desperately need to hear about the love of God and receive a good dose of hope to brighten their lives and help them to make the right choice. Eternal life or eternal death. There is no other possibility.

Dear Lord Jesus. Thank You for coming to this world to save sinners like us. We pray for opportunities to sow seeds in the lives around us, and we pray for receptive soils that will produce the fruit of eternal life. In Your precious name. Amen.

The Apostle’s Pay

Posted on by korgrocker

“Or is it only Barnabas and I who have to work to support ourselves? What soldier has to pay his own expenses? What farmer plants a vineyard and doesn’t have the right to eat some of its fruit? What shepherd cares for a flock of sheep and isn’t allowed to drink some of the milk? Am I expressing merely a human opinion, or does the law say the same thing? For the law of Moses says, “You must not muzzle an ox to keep it from eating as it treads out the grain.” Was God thinking only about oxen when he said this? Wasn’t he actually speaking to us? Yes, it was written for us, so that the one who ploughs and the one who threshes the grain might both expect a share of the harvest.”
1 Corinthians 9:6-10 NLT

Paul is setting out a strict and comprehensive defence of what he believes is the right of a worker in the Kingdom of God. Paul used three secular professions to emphasise his point. He argued, Is the role of an apostle different to that of a soldier, farmer and shepherd? After all, a job of work was performed by all of them, and there are many other examples. Paul even quotes something Moses wrote in Deuteronomy 25:4, about muzzling an ox while it was threshing out the grain. There is a general principle that applies to work, whether by animals or humans, and that is the expectation that work is rewarded. In our modern societies, workers are paid with wages earned by applying their expertise to a task associated with their employer, who pays them in return from the profits of the employer’s business. At a more basic level, the reward can come from eating some of the fruits of the worker’s labour, perhaps to supplement some other form of payment. 

There was a time when Jesus chose seventy-two disciples and sent them out in pairs to prepare the way for His upcoming visit. They were to go out in the expectation that they would be rewarded for their labours. Jesus said to them, “Don’t take any money with you, nor a traveller’s bag, nor an extra pair of sandals. And don’t stop to greet anyone on the road” (Luke 10:4). Let us stop and pause for a moment. Was what Jesus saying a bit foolish? Should the disciples have been prepared just in case there was no hospitality offered to them? But in Luke 10:7, Jesus provided more details, “Don’t move around from home to home. Stay in one place, eating and drinking what they provide. Don’t hesitate to accept hospitality, because those who work deserve their pay“. Jesus went on to say, “If you enter a town and it welcomes you, eat whatever is set before you. Heal the sick, and tell them, ‘The Kingdom of God is near you now.’ But if a town refuses to welcome you, go out into its streets and say, ‘We wipe even the dust of your town from our feet to show that we have abandoned you to your fate. And know this—the Kingdom of God is near!’” (Luke 10:8-11). Finally Jesus ” … said to the disciples, “Anyone who accepts your message is also accepting me. And anyone who rejects you is rejecting me. And anyone who rejects me is rejecting God, who sent me”” (Luke 10:16). These seventy-two disciples had a God-given mandate and they proceeded to work it out faithfully, because we read in the next verse, “When the seventy-two disciples returned, they joyfully reported to him, “Lord, even the demons obey us when we use your name!””

The principle here is one that so many churches over the ages have ignored, and that is the right of a worker in God’s kingdom to be rewarded for their ministry. There has been much confusion over how this should be applied, and even today, there is an expectation that the ministers and pastors leading a congregation should be paid by someone other than themselves. The Old Testament established the principle of tithing, the practice of giving ten per cent, and the priests and Levites were provided for through instructions given by Moses. In the New Testament, tithing is not explicitly mentioned, but Paul reminded the Corinthian church of the importance of giving in his second letter. 2 Corinthians 9:7, “You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully””. ‭‭Such “offerings” were commonplace in Paul’s day, and are collected even today in our churches.

So, we pilgrims ask ourselves the question – are we and the congregation of which we are a part, providing for our ministers and pastors? Paul expected the Corinthians congregation to meet his needs, but I expect they didn’t because otherwise he wouldn’t have needed to bring up the subject. But the principle is that workers in God’s Kingdom are to be rewarded for all they do for His people. 

Dear Father God. Thank You for Your willing servants who tirelessly work for the benefit of our congregations and fellowships. They devote their lives to preaching, teaching, comforting, and many other tasks, all the while helping Your people journey towards their ultimate home. We pray for our leaders, and ask that You bless them and encourage them in their labours, day by day. Amen.

The Apostle’s Rights

Posted on by korgrocker

“This is my answer to those who question my authority. Don’t we have the right to live in your homes and share your meals? Don’t we have the right to bring a believing wife with us as the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers do, and as Peter does? Or is it only Barnabas and I who have to work to support ourselves?”
1 Corinthians 9:3-6 NLT

Paul declared that he was an Apostle, as he wrote previously, “Am I not an Apostle”? And he argued that even if some didn’t consider him as such, he certainly was to the Corinthians, holding them up as the proof for his apostleship. Consequently, Paul also declared that because he was an Apostle, he was due certain benefits, such as accommodation and food, because such was included as a “right” for this man, who was working for the benefit of the Corinthian church. But Paul also reminded them that he was prepared to work at a different kind of job to support himself if necessary. 

The issue of “rights” is a thorny one, much used and abused. It seems everyone today has a “right” to something. So in the UK, we have a free Health Service, paid for by general taxation, and everyone has a “right” to free medical care. We have a right to travel anywhere in the British Isles. We have a right to certain social benefits, which are means-tested in most cases, so that only the needy receive them. The UK has a Bill of Rights, which was established in 1689. The Bill firmly established the principles of frequent parliaments, free elections and freedom of speech within Parliament – known today as Parliamentary Privilege. It also includes no right of taxation without Parliament’s agreement, freedom from government interference, the right of petition and just treatment of people by courts. But that’s just a summary of its intentions. Since then, there have been many laws passed that clarify and occasionally restrict the rights of individuals. Recently, laws were passed that limit the rights of individuals to demonstrate and even pray outside abortion clinics. And there is much discussion going on about the rights of people in the “free speech” debates, where people who disagree with other people’s ideologies are prevented from doing so. The issue of the rights of an individual is a mess, and society seems to have lost its way, instead embarking on a course of “it’s all about me”, selfishly declaring that only my rights matter, and other people’s don’t. There is a quote from a rather belligerent ghost in C.S. Lewis’s “The Great Divorce” who had just attacked a fellow ghost, and after he had done this, he said, “I’m a plain man that’s what I am and I got to have my rights same as anyone else, see?” A bit later in the book, we meet up with him again, arguing with a friend whom he had previously known in life, and who was now a citizen of Heaven. He said on this occasion, “I’m asking for nothing but my rights. You may think you can put me down because you’re dressed up like that (which you weren’t when you worked under me), and I’m only a poor man. But I got to have my rights, same as you, see?” The poor man’s view of his “rights” had survived his death, and here he was still presenting his selfish demands in Heaven itself. A fictional story I know, but it illustrates the fact that some people develop an egocentric view of themselves and feel that the world around them must recognise and accept their view because it is their “right”. 

But back to Paul. His demands were simple and limited to his basic needs for shelter, food and drink, extended if necessary to the family members of a visiting Apostle, or even anyone who had come to minister to the church in Corinth. This was something that Paul considered was his “right”.

Do we, pilgrims, have any rights? In a spiritual sense, we don’t. Here’s a quotation from John C Lennox, in his book “God, AI and the End of History: Understanding the Book of Revelation”. He wrote, “The fact that the Lord Jesus has paid an incalculable price for our sins gives him the right to expect something from us, does it not? He therefore has the right to criticise us and discipline us, not to destroy us because he hates us, but to bring meaning and value into our lives because he loves us“. There is a sense in which a Christian has no “rights” of his own, because he has surrendered his life to Christ, who “owns” the believer. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, “Don’t you realise that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honour God with your body“.

However, in our natural lives, a person has certain fundamental human rights, and of the Ten Commandments, five of them promote the ethical treatment of our fellow man. So, everyone has a “right” to be treated in accordance with the ethical standards laid out in God’s laws. We are all equal before God, and He shows no favouritism. Paul wrote in Galatians 3:28, “There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus”. We could add to this list other suggestions, such as “black or white, race, gender, cultural background, or social standing”. Sadly, there are many human rights abuses taking place around the world, and it often falls to Christians to correct the injustices. According to a recent survey, it has been found that 60 per cent of all faith-based charities working in overseas aid are Christian, and Christian charities lead the way in working in human rights, with 43 per cent of all faith-based charities working in this area being Christian. So, we pilgrims look for opportunities to stand up for the oppressed at every opportunity.

The Apostle James wrote, “What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless” (James 2:14-17).

In all that we do, we pray that God will lead and direct us through the whole issue of “rights”. We may not be an Apostle, expecting to be fed, followed by access to a bed, but we look for opportunities to help others. We may not receive a reward in this life, but Jesus will one day say to us, “Well done …” as we live our lives of service to Him.

Dear God. We thank You for Your presence in our lives, filling us with love and kindness for those around us. Please help us to correct what we can in our societies, and leave what we can’t to You, as we pray for those in need. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Apostle’s Freedom

Posted on by korgrocker

“Am I not as free as anyone else? Am I not an apostle? Haven’t I seen Jesus our Lord with my own eyes? Isn’t it because of my work that you belong to the Lord? Even if others think I am not an apostle, I certainly am to you. You yourselves are proof that I am the Lord’s apostle.”
1 Corinthians 9:1-2 NLT

Paul is still referring to the issue about meat offered to idols, even though we have started a new chapter in 1 Corinthians. He now refers to his authority, rights, and freedom as an Apostle. He suggests that he is no one special, even though he has “seen Jesus our Lord with [his] own eyes”. However, Paul claims that he is just as “free” as anyone else, implying that with such freedom, he can make the right choices. Paul also makes the point that the Corinthians are living proof of his status as “the Lord’s Apostle”, even if he isn’t to other churches that someone else founded. Perhaps he detected that there were some, even in the Corinthian church, who perhaps thought that, as he wasn’t one of Jesus’ original disciples, then he wasn’t a “proper” apostle, but from the Acts 9 account, we know that this wasn’t true. Paul was very aware of his origins, as he wrote later in 1 Corinthians 15:9, “For I am the least of all the apostles. In fact, I’m not even worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted God’s church“. What a memory this must have been for Paul to carry for the rest of his life. Those times when he arranged for the arrest of the new believers in Jesus, tearing families apart, putting people in jail, sowing despair and anguish everywhere he went. Thankfully, Jesus intervened directly in his life and commissioned him to take the Gospel to the Gentiles. There was a man called Ananias in Damascus, and he received a word from Jesus about Saul, who was blind and probably suffering from shock after the encounter with Jesus just a few days before. We read what Jesus said to Ananias in Acts 9:15-16, “But the Lord said, “Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel. And I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake””. Suffer Paul did, but he remained firm in his faith and ministry right until the executioner’s axe descended, ending his life. 

Paul claimed, rightfully, that through Jesus he had been set free from the shackles of sin and death. He knew that it didn’t matter what happened to him, because one day, sooner or later, he would leave this life and be with the Lord. In fact, he wrote to the Philippians, saying, “I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me” (Philippians 1:23). But while present on this earth, Paul highlighted that through the freedom he had, he could make right choices, and one of them was that he would never eat meat again if it made a fellow believer stumble in their faith. 

We pilgrims, too, are in a position of freedom, but not freedom as the secular world around us believes. If we asked a random person in the street if they were free, they would probably look at us very strangely, and if we received a response at all, it would be something along the lines of “Of course I am”. However, an unbeliever often fails to understand what real freedom truly means. In Paul’s day, slavery was common, and the slaves were owned by someone, with no freedom to do what they wanted. They would be at the beck and call of their master or mistress, with severe penalties for those who disobeyed. 

There were some Pharisees present one day when Jesus was teaching the people. He had just made the claim that He was the Light of the World, and during His teaching we read what He said: “Then many who heard him say these things believed in him” (John 8:30). Then we read in the next two verses, “Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free””. The Pharisees objected to this statement because they claimed that they were free because they were descendants of Abraham. Still, Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free” (John 8:34-36). A sinful person is not truly free because they are constrained by their sinful nature and therefore cannot make the right choices. 

In this life, our physical freedom is taken for granted because we have not been locked up in a prison somewhere with our liberty restricted. But Paul was not talking about this kind of freedom because he was referring to freedom in the spirit, the sort of freedom that can only be received through Jesus. One day, everyone will leave this life and will lose the opportunity to be free from the clutches of sin and death. Unless we believe in Jesus, we face a disastrous future, because one day our freedom will be taken away from us, and we will find that the reality of a life spent in sin will bring about a situation from which we will have no choice. Paul wrote in Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord”. 

So Paul lived his life of freedom, making right choices, and the one he referred to in his letter to the Corinthians concerned his freedom to decide not to cause a fellow believer to stumble and fall into sin. We pilgrims have the same choice, and we prefer the needs of those around us over our own. In 1 Corinthians 9:22, Paul wrote, “When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some”. Sound advice from the Apostle, and advice that we would do well to follow.

Dear Lord Jesus, we thank You that You have set us free from the spectre and consequences of sin and death. Please lead us in Your ways because we have chosen to follow You forever. Amen.

“Superior Knowledge”

Posted on by korgrocker

“Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling-block to the weak. For if someone with a weak conscience sees you, with all your knowledge, eating in an idol’s temple, won’t that person be emboldened to eat what is sacrificed to idols? So this weak brother or sister, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. When you sin against them in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall.”
1 Corinthians 8:9-13 NLT

There was a significant problem in Corinth, as idol worship was deeply ingrained in every aspect of their society. No one could go anywhere or do anything without bumping into something to do with an idol. According to the historians, a temple might be no more than a large room which doubled up as a meeting place or social venue, so those early believers somehow had to reconcile meetings that took place in these centres of idol worship with their Christian beliefs. Inevitably, some believers still retained some vestiges of idol worship, not being fully and irrevocably convinced that the idols and “gods” concerned were just useless and dead lumps of stone. They knew that there was only one real God, but on the other hand, there were little niggles in their minds. These were therefore the Christians with weaker consciences. But some of their fellow believers had settled the matter in their own minds and had a strong faith in God to the extent that they were pretty happy to join in the meals with the idol worshippers. These were the ones with what Paul called “superior knowledge”, which had set them free from the shackles of idol worship. Presumably, they sat down at one of these meals, giving thanks to God for the food and drink, and proceeded to enjoy a good feed without thinking about the idol in whose name it was being held.. 

Paul’s instruction to the firm believers was to back off and remember the weaker believers with sensitive consciences that would have been terminally offended by the actions of their stronger brethren. Paul has agreed that idol food, in and of itself, is not evil, just as the false gods are not real. He does not disagree with the Corinthians with “superior knowledge”, but he does disagree with the application of their knowledge, because of its effect on their weaker brethren. 

In Matthew 18, Jesus was asked who the greatest is in the Kingdom of Heaven. In reply, He called a child to join Him, and there in the middle of His group of disciples, “ … He said: ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3). But Jesus didn’t leave it there. We read in the next verse, “Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven”. We must pause at this point and reflect on who a small child is and how they behave and think. The one thing that strikes me, after many years of fostering, is the innocence of these children and how easily it can be corrupted by those in authority, particularly their parents. My wife and I have been deeply saddened by children whose innocence has been taken away or violated, leaving them damaged, with a life skewed and even destroyed by the actions of those entrusted to bring them up. Of course, we did our best to repair what we could, but in those early years, a small life is formed and developed into either something good and fully equipped to face their life ahead, or corrupted with a future damaged almost beyond hope. Jesus warned those who failed one of the little ones in Matthew 18:6-7, “If anyone causes one of these little ones – those who believe in me – to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung round their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come!” 

We must remember that a new believer has just been born, born again, and that therefore puts them in the same position as the little child standing amongst Jesus’ disciples. The more mature believers around the “little children” in our churches and fellowships have a responsibility to be careful not to do anything that would make them stumble and even fall. We pilgrims may have strong consciences that will carry us through worldly situations, but if a new believer happens to see what we are doing, it might even, in extreme circumstances, cause them to leave the faith. Jesus said in Matthew 18:10, “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven”. In one church I attended, the leadership decided that they would refrain from drinking any alcoholic beverages because of an alcohol-related sensitivity amongst some in the congregation. That was an application of exactly what Paul was encouraging the Corinthians to consider.

But we pilgrims, with our faith and sensitivity to the ways of God, know all of this, and we pray for the new believers amongst us, as we help them in their early years, discipling them when we have the opportunity, and all the while being careful in how we behave. And we must always be aware that it is not only the new believers who are watching us. There are those in the world around us who observe the behaviour of Christians and who are quick to condemn if they find an opportunity.

Father God. A sobering message today, but one in which Your desires for Your children come to the fore. We pray for our fellow believers and ourselves as well, that Your Spirit within us will lead and guide us in Your ways. Please help us to guard our tongues so that we will never cause anyone to question their faith in You. Please also direct our steps away from anywhere that would lead to places where You don’t want us to go. We praise and worship You today, deeply thankful for Jesus and all He has done for us. Amen.

A Weak Conscience

Posted on by korgrocker

“However, not all believers know this. Some are accustomed to thinking of idols as being real, so when they eat food that has been offered to idols, they think of it as the worship of real gods, and their weak consciences are violated. It’s true that we can’t win God’s approval by what we eat. We don’t lose anything if we don’t eat it, and we don’t gain anything if we do.”
1 Corinthians 8:7-8 NLT

Some actions that Christians take can be perceived as offensive to other believers. These are generally things on the margins that would not be included in a list of essential “dos and don’ts” or would count as behaviour to be frowned upon. So in Victorian times, playing cards and attending dance halls were definitely not pastimes fit for a Christian. And the list of “dodgy” behaviour can be quite a long one, even extending to clothes that are worn or not worn, in some cases. In the office space, the use of bad language and expletives can be ubiquitous. Lumped in with smutty jokes or risqué behaviour, they present a problem for believers, who become shunned and excluded from social gatherings because of their attitude to worldliness. In Corinth, the believers had a problem with food offered to idols because “Some are accustomed to thinking of idols as being real, so when they eat food that has been offered to idols, they think of it as the worship of real gods, and their weak consciences are violated“. So what is a conscience?

“The conscience is defined as that part of the human psyche that induces mental anguish and feelings of guilt when we violate it and feelings of pleasure and well-being when our actions, thoughts and words are in conformity to our value systems … The conscience reacts when one’s actions, thoughts, and words conform to, or are contrary to, a standard of right and wrong“. (quote from gotquestions.org). We have concluded before that human beings, made in God’s image, must have a built-in moral understanding which we refer to as a conscience, a moral compass that will guide us through this sad world, riddled as it is by evil and wickedness. No surgeon could ever dissect a human being to find such a thing because it is a part of our thinking, and as such, is something intangible. But there is no doubt that a person’s conscience exists, and how we act or think is governed initially by the remarkable fact that we are made in God’s image. So we are wired to have a Godly standard of right and wrong, well, that is, until the devil gets hold of us, and sin creeps in to corrupt and sear the perfection that God intended. Thankfully, through Jesus, our consciences are going through a repairing process, particularly as more and more we “Put on [our] new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy” (Ephesians 4:24). Two words apply to the spiritual growth of a Christian – salvation and sanctification – both ongoing processes that one day will be completed as we enter God’s presence, and within those processes there are references made to our morals and standards, driven by our redeemed consciences.

So what does all this mean for a Christian? Firstly, we must have a conscience that is aligned with God’s standards. There is no place in God’s Kingdom for a believer with a conscience that is worldly and corrupted. On a number of occasions the Apostle Paul referred to his conscience as being clear, such as in Acts 23:1, “Gazing intently at the high council, Paul began: “Brothers, I have always lived before God with a clear conscience!””. Over the page in our Bibles, he said, “Because of this, I always try to maintain a clear conscience before God and all people” (Acts 24:16). In Romans 2:14-15, Paul addressed the situation of lawless Gentiles. He wrote, “Even Gentiles, who do not have God’s written law, show that they know his law when they instinctively obey it, even without having heard it. They demonstrate that God’s law is written in their hearts, for their own conscience and thoughts either accuse them or tell them they are doing right“. And Paul even referred to his conscience in matters connected to his teaching. Romans 9:1, “With Christ as my witness, I speak with utter truthfulness. My conscience and the Holy Spirit confirm it“. 

But so far, we have connected our consciences to our own behaviour. This is important, of course, but the issue that Paul was addressing in his Corinthian letter concerned the problem with the consciences of others, and how our behaviour might violate their consciences. So, one Christian in Corinth might have no problem with his conscience when he joins in with a feast with food offered to a particular local god. This is because they have reached a position in their thinking that tells them the “god” is just an idolatrous lump of stone without any life or significance to them. But their next-door neighbour, a new believer, might be appalled that they are doing such a thing because they are still very sensitive to their previous life, where they had devoted much time to the worship of this particular idol. In this specific case, the neighbour has a “weak conscience”. 

I’m sure today we can find similar cases. Consider a hypothetical family where the father was an alcoholic and gave his wife and children a terrible time until his early death. Then one of the children becomes a Christian, but has been so sensitised by the problems caused by alcohol that they will not even drink the alcoholic communion wine. In such a case as this, the “wine” should perhaps be of the non-alcoholic variety, to avoid violating a “weak conscience”. 

A last word from “gotquestions.org”, “As Christians, we are to keep our consciences clear by obeying God and keeping our relationship with Him in good standing. We do this by applying His Word, renewing and softening our hearts continually. We consider those whose consciences are weak, treating them with Christian love and compassion”.

Dear Lord God. We know that as we grow in our faith, You will help us fine-tune our consciences so that they are aligned with Your standards. We praise and worship You today. Amen.

One Lord, Jesus Christ (2)

Posted on by korgrocker

“So, what about eating meat that has been offered to idols? Well, we all know that an idol is not really a god and that there is only one God. There may be so-called gods both in heaven and on earth, and some people actually worship many gods and many Lords. But for us, There is one God, the Father, by whom all things were created, and for whom we live. And there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things were created, and through whom we live.”
1 Corinthians 8:4-6 NLT

We pilgrims know that Jesus Christ is Lord. He is our Lord and someone special to us, because our faith is founded on His sacrificial death at Calvary, a hill just outside Jerusalem. A death experienced by the Son of God as He took on the punishment deserved by sinful men and women so that they could stand cloaked with righteousness before Father God. And so we refer to Jesus as Lord.

But what does it mean to say that Jesus is Lord? In those days when Jesus walked around the Palestinian countryside, the title “lord” was commonplace because it was a recognition of a leader or a person with some importance. It was not initially a reference to Jesus’ deity because that came later. In fact, we recall the incident with Thomas after Jesus’ resurrection, when Jesus suddenly appeared through a locked door and stood among His disciples. We pick up the account in John 20:24-25, “One of the twelve disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), was not with the others when Jesus came. They told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side””. At this stage, “We have seen the Lord” was a respectful reference to Jesus, and something He referred to in John 13:13, “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am“. But this all changed when Thomas encountered the risen Jesus. Back to John 20:26-28, where we read, “Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!” “My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed“. Thomas added the divine to the word “Lord”, transforming the meaning to something that equates to “Jesus is God”. 

As an aside, in the UK today, we have a “House of Lords”, an unelected body of politicians who have many similar functions to the House of Commons, the elected part of our government. It scrutinises legislation, holds the government to account, and considers and reports upon public policy. This “House” of “Lords” (and “Ladies” as well) consists of religious leaders (bishops and the like), hereditary peers and political appointees. But there is nothing anywhere near “divine” about them. They are merely a hangover from Britain’s feudal history, and of no relevance to the “Lord” we are referring to, but worth mentioning to avoid confusion.

Generally speaking, a lord is someone with authority, control, or power over others; to say that someone is “lord” is to consider that person a master or ruler of some kind. However, when we apply this definition divinely to Jesus, we discover something awe-inspiring and special. By saying “Jesus is Lord,” we are acknowledging that we must live our lives in complete obedience to Him. In Luke 6:46, Jesus said, “So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say?”, and that is the issue. We sing the song “Jesus is Lord” with great enthusiasm, but do we really know the implications of what we are singing? If we are not in complete obedience to Him, would it not be more honest to sit this particular song out and not sing it at all? A person who says, “Jesus is Lord,” with a complete understanding of what that means (Jesus is God and has supreme authority over all things) has been divinely enlightened, as we read in 1 Corinthians 12:3, “So I want you to know that no one speaking by the Spirit of God will curse Jesus, and no one can say Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit“. We need that Holy Spirit revelation about Jesus being Lord to really understand what it means.

And so we come to Matthew 28:18-19, the Great Commission, “Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit”. Because Jesus is Lord, He is God, and He has the authority to command us to do something. I have met some Christians who say that they are unsure of their role as believers, but if nothing else, the fact that they acknowledge Jesus as Lord means that they are commissioned and authorised to share the Good News of God’s plan of salvation with those people around them. But that is only part of it. As we read through the Bible, we find other ways in which the Lordship of Jesus needs to be recognised and applied in our societies, workplaces, schools, universities, neighbourhoods, and families. In our relationships with one another. In fact, our lives are the very medium in which God has chosen to make Himself known to the world around us. Are we shining like a beacon for God, or are we unrecognisable as a Christian? 

We must, of course, remember that one day the Lordship of Jesus will have to be recognised by everyone, believer or not. Philippians 2:9-11, “Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honour and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father”. 

And so back to where we started today. Jesus is Lord. If He isn’t, then He’s not Lord at all. There is no halfway house. We can’t allow Jesus to be Lord of only a part of our lives, while we retain ownership of the rest. A sobering thought, because our sinful nature, our “old man”, wants to hang onto the bits of our lives that we enjoy. But thankfully, God is gracious and patient. The Holy Spirit will gently lead us through the process of sanctification, bringing more and more of ourselves under the Lordship of Jesus. It is a lifetime process, and one that won’t be complete until we stand before God in Heaven. 

Dear Lord Jesus. Please forgive us for our sins and our rebellion against Your Lordship. Amen.

One Lord, Jesus Christ (1)

Posted on by korgrocker

“So, what about eating meat that has been offered to idols? Well, we all know that an idol is not really a god and that there is only one God. There may be so-called gods both in heaven and on earth, and some people actually worship many gods and many Lords. But for us, There is one God, the Father, by whom all things were created, and for whom we live. And there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things were created, and through whom we live.”
1 Corinthians 8:4-6 NLT

Paul made two unambiguous statements about God and Christ in the last verse of our reading today. He said we live for God the Father, but through Jesus Christ. They identify two separate roles for God the Father and God the Son, in that all things were created by the Father, but through Jesus. These statements are foundational to the Christian faith, and there is no alternative way of life for any pilgrim. We considered the Father yesterday, and now we turn to Jesus, “through whom we live”. 

All the way back in Genesis 1, we see that God “spoke” the heavens and the earth into being. Genesis 1:3, “Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light”“. But if we now turn to John 1, we find out about what was said. John 1:1-3, “In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him“. So we find the Trinitarian relationship between the Father and Son, because God spoke and Jesus was the Word, a partnership that has always existed. In Genesis, we read that humanity was created in God’s image (Genesis 1:26f), and we must consider what that truly means. God had already created the angels – we don’t know exactly when, but this probably occurred before the world was created – and He then created human beings, populating both the spiritual realm and the natural world. Two separate kingdoms have existed, one eternal and one bounded by time, but it was God’s desire that He brought them both together under the authority of His Son, Jesus, as we read in Ephesians 1:9-10, “God has now revealed to us his mysterious will regarding Christ—which is to fulfil his own good plan. And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth”. 

The mind-boggling truth is that through the Word, the logos, we find the God-man Jesus walking this world, bringing God’s love and grace to people dying in their sins. Jesus was, and is, the Logos, as described by John, who went to great lengths to explain and correct false beliefs and ideas about God, and to provide us with the proper and correct facts about Him. In discussions with the JW’s, we will find that they do not believe that Jesus is God, a member of the Trinity with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Their version of John 1:1 (New World Translation) reads, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god”, and that identifies the JW’s as a sect that denies the divinity of Jesus as He went about Palestine showing His love and grace for the people. There are other differences, but we need to beware of a religion claiming to be Christian but one which has been infiltrated by the devil.

One of the first things that Jesus said when He started His public ministry was, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). We are all very familiar with this verse but the word “perish” is often overlooked. We go for the “love” bit and how we must believe in God’s Son, but the consequences for people who don’t are that they will perish. Back to Genesis 1:26. Being created in God’s image means that with the package came free choice, a huge responsibility that is avoided by most of the people in our unbelieving society. It is a responsibility because those who don’t believe will “perish”and we know what that means if we read Revelation 20. And to those who claim a God of love would never send anyone to hell, we have to respond with the message that He would not overrule their right to free choice and turn them into an automaton. Instead, He sent His Son, full of unlimited love and grace, to take on the punishment they deserve and by His sacrifice ensure that they will never perish. 

There was a time in Galilee when Jesus addressed a couple of local news reports, brought to Him by the people there. The first was concerning Pilate, who had murdered some people in the Temple while they were offering sacrifices, and the second was when eighteen people died after a tower in Siloam fell on them. But Jesus turned the emphasis around, ““Do you think those Galileans were worse sinners than all the other people from Galilee?” Jesus asked. “Is that why they suffered? Not at all! And you will perish, too, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God. And what about the eighteen people who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them? Were they the worst sinners in Jerusalem? No, and I tell you again that unless you repent, you will perish, too” (Luke 13:2-5). Jesus’ response was clear. Don’t get caught up with temporal matters and neglect the reality that unless we believe in Him, repenting of our sins, then we will “perish”. 

We pilgrims live our lives through the lens of the Cross, where we lay our burdens down and believe that Jesus died for our sins. Paul reminded the Corinthians of that, and, with a sober and realistic perspective, we too take on board what it means to live through Jesus, the Son of God.

Dear Father God. Thank You for Your Son Jesus and all He has done for us at Calvary. Thank You that through Your plan for salvation You have saved us from perishing in a terrible place. Amen.

One God, the Father

Posted on by korgrocker

“So, what about eating meat that has been offered to idols? Well, we all know that an idol is not really a god and that there is only one God. There may be so-called gods both in heaven and on earth, and some people actually worship many gods and many Lords. But for us, There is one God, the Father, by whom all things were created, and for whom we live. And there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things were created, and through whom we live.”
1 Corinthians 8:4-6 NLT

I met a lady the other day, standing outside Dunfermline Abbey. She was listening to the organ being played, the soft tones carrying through a quiet but rather autumnal day. We started a conversation, during which I mentioned the God worshipped by the congregation that met in this ancient building, probing for an opportunity to share the Gospel. She mentioned that she believed in God but expanded on what she meant, explaining her understanding of a “god” who was in all world religions, and who was embedded in the very fabric of nature. She explained that to her, the adjacent tree was also “god”. Where do people get such weird ideas, ideas impregnated with a false understanding of God that has become so skewed and wrong? As we discovered yesterday, within every human being there is a “God-shaped” void that only He can fill, but without a voice declaring who God is, people create their own “god” in the hope that the empty ache inside will be somehow filled. In Paul’s day, created gods were called idols, and they obviously still exist today.

People have always created their own gods because something within them needs a spiritual being, a god, and it is far less hassle for most to worship a “god” that makes no demands of them. A “god” within them rather than a deity outside. And if they can include the possibility of pandering to their many human lusts, then even better. So, a popular “god” in ancient Greek days was Aphrodite, the goddess of love and procreation, but there were others in the Greek and Roman pantheons of deities. We won’t find temples dedicated to such deities in our towns and cities today. However, their influence lives on in the sinful practices of those in our societies, and we even still use words derived from their names, used to describe lustful acts associated with them and their ancient worship. But Paul wrote to the Corinthians saying that, even though there were so many idols, there is only “one God, the Father”.

The Jews were commanded to worship the one and only God. Exodus 20:3, “You must not have any other god but me“. And then we have the Shema prayer from Deuteronomy 6:4-5, “Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength“. These verses establish the foundational belief in the absolute oneness and uniqueness of God, refuting the polytheistic beliefs of surrounding cultures and affirming that only the Lord (Yahweh) is the true and singular God. 

Paul expanded on God the Father as being the One “by whom all things were created”, something we know from Genesis 1. However, there is another sad religion, which has emerged in our schools and places of learning, and that is evolution. The high priests of this religion are people such as the prominent atheist Richard Dawkins, who say they believe in no god at all, and they have spent much of their lives promoting their beliefs, rubbishing the one true God in the process. But the evolutionists believe that given the right mix of chemicals, a flash of lightning, and billions of years, a living entity will emerge from the sea somehow, and then stand up on two legs and walk the land. Someone once described to me that the beliefs of an evolutionist are like putting all the constituent parts of an old-fashioned clockwork wrist watch, cogs and all, into a bag and then shaking it, and keep shaking it, because eventually, given enough time, a watch will emerge intact and fully functional. Really? There is much more that can be said, but what these people forget is that at some time all the chemicals and other matter had to be created, something they conveniently ignore. Many years ago, my teenage daughter, well-versed in the church’s Sunday school teachings, challenged her biology teacher about the evolutionary “facts” being promoted and got him to admit that the Theory of Evolution was just that —a theory.

Paul finally described God as not just a Creating God, but One “for whom we live”. Now there’s a challenge! Do we live for God or do we live to satisfy our own desires, and in the process, live for the god of this world, the devil. Jesus was asked by a Pharisaical religious legal expert the question, “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” (Matthew 22:36). We read what Jesus said in return, “ …  “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments”” (Matthew 22:37-40). That was what Paul was meaning when he gently reminded the Corinthian believers that they must live only for God. There is no middle way for a pilgrim, then or now. We are either totally for God or totally against Him. Yes, in our daily lives we will occasionally lapse back into the human world of “the lusts of our flesh”, but through Jesus we have forgiveness and the resources we need to continue our journey. 

Jesus said to the Laodicean church, “I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth! You say, ‘I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realise that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked” (Revelation 3:15-17). Do we pilgrims need the same wake-up call, or are we on fire for God, “hot” in all the things that we do? A little later, Jesus said to the Laodiceans, “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends” (Revelation 3:20). Can we hear a gentle knock at the door of our hearts this morning? Can we feel a hunger in our souls? Then all we have to do is allow Jesus to enter into our lives, our hearts, so that once again we can feast on His love, grace, and presence. He has done so much for us. Don’t let us ever lock Him out of our lives. We live for God and only God, this day and forever.

Dear Lord Jesus. Thank You for all You have done for us. We thank You too for this rich life we have found as we live for God. Please help us through the hard and difficult times, and show us the way so that we don’t take a wrong turning and lose heart. In Your precious name. Amen.

Idolatry

Posted on by korgrocker

So, what about eating meat that has been offered to idols? Well, we all know that an idol is not really a god and that there is only one God. There may be so-called gods both in heaven and on earth, and some people actually worship many gods and many Lords. But for us, There is one God, the Father, by whom all things were created, and for whom we live. And there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things were created, and through whom we live.”
1 Corinthians 8:4-6 NLT

What is an idol? In our minds, an image immediately appears before us of a figurine, perhaps beautifully crafted by a skilled sculptor. We remember the problem Paul had in Ephesus, where a silversmith called Demetrius had a successful and lucrative business manufacturing shrines of the Greek goddess Artemis, for resale to tourists. He stirred up trouble, saying, “But as you have seen and heard, this man Paul has persuaded many people that handmade gods aren’t really gods at all. And he’s done this not only here in Ephesus but throughout the entire province!” (Acts 19:26). He continued in the next verse, “Of course, I’m not just talking about the loss of public respect for our business. I’m also concerned that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will lose its influence and that Artemis—this magnificent goddess worshiped throughout the province of Asia and all around the world—will be robbed of her great prestige!” In the Greek society there were many gods and goddesses all represented with idols which the people worshipped and revered, and in some cases they brought before these “gods” offerings of food. Food offered to idols was typically meat from animal sacrifices, but could also include fruits, flowers, or other items, depending on the tradition. After a deity was thought to have consumed or been blessed by the offering, the food was often eaten at temple banquets, resold in the market, or given to priests. The practice served various purposes, including honouring a deity, seeking blessings, or participating in worship feasts that could also be associated with sexual immorality. 

So, the Corinthians believers must have had the opportunity to acquire this meat from animal sacrifices, and they were wondering if this was the correct thing to do. Paul’s first response was that these idols weren’t really gods at all, because “there is only one God”. Perhaps the logical answer to the believers in Corinth was that idols were nothing more than lumps of decorative metal, with no ability to do anything or be anything. Therefore if they were “nothing” then what was the problem if the meat had been offered to “nothing”. Paul wrote to the Galatian believers, “Before you Gentiles knew God, you were slaves to so-called gods that do not even exist” (Galatians 4:8), a verse that sums up the futility of the cults of idol worship. 

In Western societies today, the pendulum seems to have swung to the other extreme, where a secular people fail to recognise any sort of “god”, even the God we pilgrims worship, or so it would seem. Inbuilt within human beings is a god-shaped hole that has to be filled by something. To the Greeks, they filled their need for something spiritual by making lots of idols, and they then intertwined their sinful natures with idol worship. But today, mankind is still born with this god-shaped hole within them, a spiritual need that has to be filled in some way, be it by the use of various substances such as drugs, or by sexual misbehaviour, or by the person building their own “idols” for the purposes of worship. We find a mother idolising her children, or a pop fan idolising a singer. We see men worshipping the cult of golf, local football team, or some other sport, so there are probably even more “idols” present in our society today than there were in Greek societies. 

So what is an “idol”? To a Christian, an idol is anything or anyone that replaces God as the ultimate focus of their heart, thoughts, and reliance. While it can refer to a physical object, such as a statue or image, it extends to anything — a person, a system, a desire, or a possession — that is loved more than God or is relied upon for blessings, help, or guidance in place of Him. The core issue is a shift in loyalty and trust away from the one true God to something lesser. So, by now, I’m sure we have worked out that an idol is something or someone who takes the place of the one and only true God, but the problem originates in our own hearts. Back in Genesis, we read that God made man in His own image, and it therefore makes sense that the only valid and effective way of filling our need for a god is with the only God who exists. No matter how hard people try, they can never replace their need for a relationship with God with anything that is man-made or false.

Do we pilgrims have any idols in our lives? We may indeed have some. Take, for example, a St. Christopher medallion hung on a necklace. Some people, even Christians, superstitiously believe that this will protect them from danger. Then there is the phrase “retail therapy”. Isn’t this just another way some people replace God with “stuff”? Or how about the weight some people place on their “stars”, even being drawn to horoscopes? Then there are various superstitions, such as touching wood, that some people believe will ward off bad luck or will prevent good fortune from being taken away after making a favourable prediction or boasting about something. While the precise origins are debated, possible explanations include ancient pagan beliefs about tree spirits. Another idol? And we mustn’t forget that the very word “luck” is derived from lucifer, the devil himself. 

So, how do we discern if we are being surreptitiously drawn into idolatry? There is only one effective way, and that is to ask God for His guidance and then be obedient to what He says through His Spirit. A quotation from gotquestions.org, “idolatry is a matter of the heart—pride, self-centeredness, greed, gluttony, a love for possessions and ultimately rebellion against God. Is it any wonder that God hates it?” Proverbs 4:23, “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life”. Our enemy, the devil, knows that if he can get control of our hearts, then we will lose our effectiveness in our relationship with God, and we mustn’t under any circumstances allow that to happen.

O Lord. Please forgive us, we pray, for the times when we try to replace You with something that is so inferior. We confess our waywardness and pray for Your forgiveness. In Jesus’ name. Amen.