The Dangers in Living for Christ

Posted on by korgrocker

“I’m ashamed to say that we’ve been too “weak” to do that! But whatever they dare to boast about—I’m talking like a fool again—I dare to boast about it, too. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I. Are they servants of Christ? I know I sound like a madman, but I have served him far more! I have worked harder, been put in prison more often, been whipped times without number, and faced death again and again. Five different times the Jewish leaders gave me thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea. I have travelled on many long journeys. I have faced danger from rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers but are not. I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm.”
2 Corinthians 11:21-27 NLT

A longer passage of Scripture than usual today, but it has been difficult to consider in anything other than its whole. The first-century world to the east of the Mediterranean and associated lands was fiercely resistant to the preaching of the Gospel, even to the point that Paul and the rest of the Apostles suffered much for its message. The original Apostles, with the exception of John, all suffered violent deaths at the hands of their enemies, but while alive, they willingly put up with the privations and abuse that came their way. Why? Because they considered it all worthwhile because of their love for Jesus. In modern parlance, what Paul suffered came with the territory.

In a way, Paul’s suffering confirms the authenticity of the Gospel. Here is a quote from Charles Colson, a lawyer caught up, and eventually imprisoned, for his role in the Watergate scandal, although he subsequently became a Christian. “I know the resurrection is a fact, and Watergate proved it to me. How? Because 12 men testified they had seen Jesus raised from the dead, then they proclaimed that truth for 40 years, never once denying it. Every one was beaten, tortured, stoned and put in prison. They would not have endured that if it weren’t true. Watergate embroiled 12 of the most powerful men in the world, and they couldn’t keep a lie for three weeks. You’re telling me 12 apostles could keep a lie for 40 years? Absolutely impossible”. 

What do we pilgrims think when we read our verses from 2 Corinthians today? Personally, it strengthens my faith because I know that although Paul suffered much, he did so for Jesus. So why should I complain if living for Jesus denies me the pleasures of the world around me and becomes inconvenient at times? I have never suffered for Christ as Paul did. Would I be willing to? It is a difficult question to answer, but I believe God would give me the grace and fortitude should that be needed, but I pray that I won’t have to.

Jesus is all to me. There is no one else in my life who could replace Him. There is no worldly possession that is more important. And I’m sure that this is the case for those reading this today. Jesus said, “…  ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind’” (Matthew 22:37). Paul was a living example of another of Jesus’ sayings, “Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it” (Luke 9:23-24). And finally, from Paul, “And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him” (Romans 12:1). Paul was a man who “walked the walk and talked the talk”. There was no hypocrisy with Paul, and there shouldn’t be with us either.

Dear Heavenly Father. We thank You for Your servant Paul and his willingness to suffer for spreading the Gospel. It may have even been instrumental in my faith today. Thank You for Your grace and love, and all that You have done for us. Amen.

Paul’s Ministry: Humility and Financial Integrity

Posted on by korgrocker

“Was I wrong when I humbled myself and honoured you by preaching God’s Good News to you without expecting anything in return? I “robbed” other churches by accepting their contributions so I could serve you at no cost. And when I was with you and didn’t have enough to live on, I did not become a financial burden to anyone. For the brothers who came from Macedonia brought me all that I needed. I have never been a burden to you, and I never will be. As surely as the truth of Christ is in me, no one in all of Greece will ever stop me from boasting about this. Why? Because I don’t love you? God knows that I do.”
2 Corinthians 11:7-11 NLT

While Paul was establishing the church in Corinth, he initially met up with a couple called Aquila and Priscilla, Jews who were expelled from Rome by Emperor Claudius just a few years before. “Paul lived and worked with them, for they were tentmakers just as he was” (Acts 18:3). But Paul didn’t just spend his time making tents, the next verse reads, “Each Sabbath found Paul at the synagogue, trying to convince the Jews and Greeks alike”. When he was rejected by most of the Jews, “… he left and went to the home of Titius Justus, a Gentile who worshipped God and lived next door to the synagogue” (Acts 18:7). So in those early days, Paul never asked for money from the embryonic church and instead supported himself with his work. Perhaps this became a point of contention among the early Christians in Corinth, because tent-making was not exactly up there with the more respected forms of employment, and they may have been a bit ashamed of him. Did Paul sin in their eyes by not asking for money or some other reward for his preaching? In those days, a visiting rabbi or some other man of God would be expected to be supported by the congregation he was speaking to. As in many other places, Paul challenged the status quo and introduced a new order in more ways than one.

In this situation, we see a bit of sarcasm from Paul when he said he “robbed” other churches. Of course, he didn’t do that literally, but he made the point that through his tent-making and donations from other churches, he was able to avoid being a burden to the Corinthians. In it all, Paul was not intent on making a living from the Corinthian congregation; rather, he wanted to avoid being a burden to them. Earlier in the chapter, Paul referred to men who called themselves apostles – he referred to them as “super apostles” – and who he was sure were seeking reward for their service from the believers, but perhaps Paul was pointing out that he was prepared to preach the word of the Gospel without reward, because by doing so it was reward enough. There was, and still is, no material value that can be placed on the Gospel. It is priceless, eternal and life-changing. Paul’s motivation was to do God’s work in leading unbelievers to faith in Christ. Since taking money from those unbelievers may have raised questions about Paul’s motives and the truthfulness of his message, he refused to do so.

Paul wrote that “the brothers who came from Macedonia brought me all that [he] needed”. We know that the Macedonian churches of Thessalonica, Berea, and Philippi were quite poor, and it was very humbling for Paul to accept money from them. He knew that those donations would have been given sacrificially by the congregations there. But while he was establishing the Corinthian church, he was preaching the Gospel, and he wasn’t prepared to take any reward for doing so. He never wanted to cloud the purity of the Gospel message with any niggling thoughts in the hearers’ minds that he was doing it for money. 

What can we pilgrims learn from this message from Paul today? One thing is the importance of transparency in financial matters. In our established churches, the congregation supports their leader or leaders through the tithes and offerings collected every Sunday. Today, innovative ways of giving have emerged, including bank transfers, standing orders, and even phone apps that can transfer funds to the right place. One church I know displays a QR code on the screen at the front, and congregants can scan it to open a giving app where they make their offering. But regardless of the way money is collected, and in his first letter, Paul wrote, “In the same way, the Lord ordered that those who preach the Good News should be supported by those who benefit from it” (1 Corinthians 9:14). 

So we pilgrims pray for and financially support our church leaders. We read in Hebrews 13:17, “Obey your spiritual leaders, and do what they say. Their work is to watch over your souls, and they are accountable to God. Give them reason to do this with joy and not with sorrow. That would certainly not be for your benefit”. The joy they experience may perhaps be linked to the meal on their tables. 

Dear Heavenly Father. Please bless our leaders in all that they do and help us to do our part to support them in their work. For Jesus’ sake. Amen. 

Wholesome Thinking

Posted on by korgrocker

“This is my second letter to you, dear friends, and in both of them I have tried to stimulate your wholesome thinking and refresh your memory. I want you to remember what the holy prophets said long ago and what our Lord and Saviour commanded through your apostles.”
2 Peter 3:1-2 NLT

This is Peter starting to wrap up his letter, reminding his readers in Asia Minor what the purposes of his letter were. In fact, his first letter had the same purpose as his second – making and encouraging disciples. He wanted to strengthen their faith so that they could stand on their own spiritual feet by themselves. If there was anyone qualified to write this letter, with its encouragements and wisdom, its warnings and scope, it was Peter. The fisherman from Galilee, impetuous, outspoken, but with a special place in church history. Jesus said to him, “Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it” (Matthew 16:18). So as a trusted disciple with a trusted mission in the future of Jesus’ church, the local representation of this church in the five provinces of what is now modern Turkey was important both to him and to God. In fact he referred to his readers as “dear friends” perhaps indicating that he knew them all personally. 

In Peter’s day there was no New Testament as we know it. The Apostle’s teaching was the gold standard for those early believers and it was only through the letters written by them, or by personal visits, that the Gospel message was propagated. Peter was executed about 68 AD and his second letter was probably written a year or two before that. The Gospels may have been written just after this, though we can’t be sure. So those early believers were particularly vulnerable to false teaching and error. But Peter carefully “tried to stimulate [their] wholesome thinking and refresh [their] memory“.

What did Peter therefore wish to remind the early believers of? A disciple of Jesus Christ builds his faith on the foundational truths of the Gospel, truths laid down by the Apostles, the men who had been with Jesus. The men who stood up in the Sanhedrin and confounded the Jewish leaders with their boldness and wisdom. Acts 4:13, “The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus.” What a tremendous accolade – being noticed as having been with Jesus. Do those around us make the same connection? Hmm..

Jesus’ first disciples were giants of the faith. They had experienced the tongues of fire at Pentecost. They were men driven by their love of Jesus and the Holy Spirit within them. The words of Jesus never forgotten, words still ringing in their ears. And words they now repeated over and over again to anyone who would listen and who would embrace the Saviour as they had done. Words of eternal life, of the Kingdom of God, of Jesus Himself. 

What is the “wholesome thinking” that Peter referred to? Paul’s words might help us with an answer, because he reminded his readers of how they should align and renew their thoughts. We read in Ephesians 4:21-24, “Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy“. Those early believers weren’t on their own because they had the Holy Spirit within them, bringing to their remembrance what they had been taught. Bringing to their minds “wholesome thinking” from the teachings of Jesus.

What do we pilgrims think about such a reminder from Peter’s letter? Don’t need to hear it? Or something we take on board and remind ourselves to once again open the Bible, perhaps to a section we have neglected.  There are many distractions in our world and our thoughts can quickly rush off to irrelevancies and even untruths. We are constantly exposed to information, most of which is unwholesome and can even draw us away into wrong thinking. We, like those early Christians, need to “refresh [our] memories”. Regularly, and frequently. And against the timeless truths of Scripture, the things of the world grow strangely dim. We need to become, and stay, close to Jesus – only He has the words of eternal life.

Dear Lord and Father of mankind, forgive our foolish ways; reclothe us in our rightful mind, in purer lives thy service find, in deeper reverence, praise. Amen.

Roman Fruit

Posted on by korgrocker

“I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, that I planned many times to visit you, but I was prevented until now. I want to work among you and see spiritual fruit, just as I have seen among other Gentiles.”
Romans‬ ‭1‬:‭13‬ ‭NLT

Paul was a worker. He laboured unceasingly in doing what God, through Jesus, had asked him to do, ever since that encounter on the Damascus Road. His desire was to disciple, to teach, to encourage, all to build up the Christians in Rome and see the spiritual fruit that comes from the Holy Spirit start to ripen and mature in their lives. Paul knew it was possible, because he had seen other Gentile Christians blossom in the light and presence of the Holy Spirit.

What spiritual fruit would Paul have expected to see? In several places in his letters, Paul takes on misdemeanours manifesting themselves in the local congregation. For example, in the Corinthian church Paul was concerned about disunity. We read in 1 Corinthians 1:10, “I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose”. In the same church, sexual misconduct was also his concern. We read in 1 Corinthians 5:1, “I can hardly believe the report about the sexual immorality going on among you—something that even pagans don’t do. I am told that a man in your church is living in sin with his stepmother”. So there was probably some basic “spiritual fruit” potential at the back or Paul’s mind, dealing with issues that he had heard about on the early church grapevine.

The early Christian church everywhere suffered persecution, and Paul would have encouraged the Christians to respond in a way that amplified the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Gifts such as wisdom, helping them to deal with difficult situations. Or discernment, enabling them to change course perhaps in the face of societal difficulties. But they found out something about persecution that may be foreign to us Western pilgrims. It refines our faith and commitment. There are no half-hearted, lukewarm Christians around when persecution is present. 

So, on arrival in Rome, Paul would have immediately been able to put his spiritual finger on the issues of immaturity that perhaps were present in the Roman church, and he would have encouraged growth in those areas that needed his support and teaching. Also, if anyone knew how to live with persecution it was Paul. Paul’s work amongst the Christians in Rome would have been invaluable and life changing to those in the congregation.

Have we ever noticed our human tendencies to rationalise or fail to focus on the right issues? Where even our pastors teach one thing but, really, we need teaching or guidance on something else? That is where an apostolic visitation can sometimes help; an external prophetic voice is often able to put his or her finger on the important issues affecting a local church and bring a new perspective, turning the church, and all those within it, around and back on track. We pilgrims must always pray that we stay on the narrow path, and don’t get diverted into dead ends or, worse, back onto the broad way that leads to destruction. But we must also be thankful for the men and women of God, who He sends our way to help us grow, to bring us the spiritual fruit so beloved by Paul.

Dear Father God. You are so faithful. You lead us into green pastures as we follow our Heavenly Shepherd. We are so grateful. Amen.

The Gifts (2)

Posted on by korgrocker

“Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do His work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭4:11-13‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Who or what is an Apostle? One thing for sure – it is not a stone effigy located in a dusty corner in a church building somewhere. Or a memorial encased in a reliquary containing a piece of bone or cloth, reputed to have at one time come from one of the original Apostles that we read about in the New Testament. Somewhere in a drawer I have some “apostle spoons” – spoons with a figure engraved or cast into the handle – an apostle isn’t that either. The apostles Christ gave to the church are alive and well and walking amongst us Christian pilgrims. According to Mr Google, the definition of the word “apostle” is “someone who is sent out”. So perhaps an apostle is sent out for the purpose of planting a new church. Or as a missionary to another land. Perhaps an apostle is responsible for the spiritual oversight of a number of independent churches, being each pastor’s pastor. And according to our verse today, apostles are a gift to the church. 

Similarly, the word “pastor” refers to someone who is in overall charge of a body of believers, a church somewhere. In some denominations they are referred to as “ministers”. A pastor cares for his congregation, listens to their problems, offers advice, visits and prays for the sick. A pastor usually combines his caring role with that of a teacher, and is responsibility for weekly sermons or messages, and perhaps Bible studies. A pastor administers the other church requirements such as taking funerals, or officiating at weddings. He looks after his “flock”, a role Christ knew would be needed as He builds His church.

We also have the prophets. We perhaps have a mental picture of an elderly man, stooping over a staff, dressed in something that resembles a sack with holes, and with a beard reaching his waist. But this can’t be further from the truth. Prophets are people who have a gift of bringing a message from God to His people. They dispense God-truths. They bring guidance and correction. They often disturb the status quo and bring fresh spiritual insights. Some even can see into the future, warning of world or church events to come. Sadly the prophet is often resented or misunderstood, because he or she advocates change, disturbing people who would prefer to stay in a place of spiritual comfort. 

The evangelist. Another important role mentioned by Paul in this Epistle. An evangelist brings good news. He or she preaches the Gospel at every opportunity. But in this role to the church, they train and enthuse others to join them. As Christians, we all have our messages. Our testimonies. Our stories of all that God has done for us. Evangelists help and encourage us to share what we have with others.

So in these “gifts”, often called the “five-fold ministries”, we see a picture of why Christ gave such gifts to the church. Where would we be without the men and women who perform these roles? No doubt, an undisciplined group of people who would soon stray to a place of spiritual danger. We thank God for these people, grateful for their diligence in helping us “be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.”

But what do these “gifts” matter to us, in our pilgrimage through life? Surely, we might think, we could do just as well sat at home. Watching the God Channel or TBN. Looking up YouTube videos uploaded by famous preachers. Logging into Sunday church livestreams. We might even think that we don’t need input from such people, telling ourselves that we just need the Holy Spirit and our Bibles. It is true that there are Christians who try to live out their faith in this way. There are even Christians who have no choice, being imprisoned for being Christians in countries such as North Korea, without even a Bible. But none of this is God’s model for His church. If that wasn’t the case, Christ would not have needed to give these gifts to His church. In these verses there is the implicit message that God’s people were being equipped as a people together, a church or fellowship. 

There is a verse relevant to today’s theme in Hebrews 10:25. “And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of His return is drawing near”. Oh, by the way, we must be obedient to our “gifts”. It says in Hebrews 13:17 that we must, “Obey your spiritual leaders, and do what they say. Their work is to watch over your souls, and they are accountable to God. Give them reason to do this with joy and not with sorrow…”. Hmmm…

The Gifts (1)

Posted on by korgrocker

“Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do His work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭4:11-13‬ ‭NLT‬‬

This is an important part of Paul’s letter, both to his readers in Ephesus and to Christians today. The first thing is that Christ, through His love and concern for His followers, gave important “gifts” to resource His future Bride, the church. These “gifts” for the Ephesian church were Spirit-filled men who each had a specific job to do in building up the church. The job titles listed – apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers – dovetailed together to form a support and training function, not just a leadership structure, for the health and development of this body of believers. But these “gifts” are timeless. They were not just for the early Church but instead portrayed a model for all the churches that were to follow in the ages to come. And so we Christians, regardless of where we are in our spiritual pilgrimage, should prick up our spiritual ears. We should look out for these special people, who Christ, in His divine wisdom, could see would be required. And while we are looking around us, we should take careful note of verse 12. These five “gifts” – the men and women who were and are apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers – were not supposed to do the work of the church themselves while the punters sat in the pews. Their role was to train up the church members to do the work God was asking them to do. You see, we each have a role to play in building up the church, “the body of Christ”. We cannot abdicate our own responsibilities and expect the minister to do everything.

So what is our role in building up the church? It is the same for us today as it was for the Ephesian church all those years ago. We all have a job description, which involves outward-looking responsibilities for evangelism and making disciples (Matthew 28:19), and also involves being unified with our fellow believers and the Christian community as a whole, as we can see from several verses in this Epistle. We must spend time reading the Word and praying, for our own spiritual health. Spending time with our wonderful Heavenly Father, sharing and communicating. Enjoying His presence in our lives.

But why do we need these “gifts” of men and women, the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers? Paul suggested they are there for “equipping” and “building”. Their individual Holy Spirit – led giftings are necessary to train us well for our roles. These men and women are pilgrims with a specific calling. Men and women who are further down the road of life than us, and who have many things to share for our benefit. We’ll look at their particular roles on another day. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people by giving them the tools and training they need “to do His work”. Our responsibility is to gain, through them, maturity, measuring up to Christ’s standards.

It is sad that after two years of lockdowns and social restrictions, many churches, at least in the UK, have become much smaller, dwindling in membership. Some people in these congregations have become used to attending virtual meetings on-line, or have decided that they prefer to spend their Sabbaths doing something else. But we cannot be Christians in splendid isolation; Jesus’ plan was for His followers to meet together. “They worshipped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity—” (Acts 2:46). Two key words here in this verse are “together” and “shared”. Through meeting together we encourage one another, but we can also enjoy the input from Christ’s “gifts”, training and helping us. Cheering us on as Christ’s representatives for the work of His service.

God in His love and wisdom gave gifts to the church. We need them to equip and encourage us in our spiritual pilgrimage. And as we do God’s work in this sad, sinful and war-torn world we bring our messages of hope to the hopeless, communicating Christ’s concern for the lost all the better because of His gifts. Worth a big “thank You, Jesus”?