The Resurrection

Posted on by korgrocker

“So he went and preached to the spirits in prison— those who disobeyed God long ago when God waited patiently while Noah was building his boat. Only eight people were saved from drowning in that terrible flood. And that water is a picture of baptism, which now saves you, not by removing dirt from your body, but as a response to God from a clean conscience. It is effective because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”
1 Peter 3:19-21 NLT

To a Christian, the “resurrection of Jesus Christ” must be another of the most significant events in human history. Of course, many will dispute this, but in the context of eternity, few could argue otherwise. It is the foundation stone, the Cornerstone even, to the believer’s faith. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:13-14, “For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless”. Without the resurrection our “faith is useless”. 

Nearly two thousand years ago, Jesus, the Son of God, was crucified. A man innocent of any crime except that He dared to challenge the spiritual authority of the Jewish leaders. John wrote, “He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. He came to his own people, and even they rejected him” (John 1:10-11). It is astonishing that His life ended up in the way it did. But this was all part of God’s plan. He looked down from eternity at the world’s events and selected a time when His plan would come to fruition. Paul wrote in Romans 5:6, “When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners”.

So why is the resurrection so important to the faith of a believer? This act of God demonstrates that He is capable of raising a dead person, and not only that, giving Him a resurrected body with special powers. Because of that we can have confidence that through our faith in Him, we too will have a resurrected body one day. God’s power over life and death is absolute.

We should note that the evidence for the resurrection of Christ is indisputable. Paul wrote, “I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles. Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw him” (1 Corinthians 15:3-8). There have been reports of sceptical lawyers who have examined the evidence for the death and resurrection of Jesus, and have concluded that there is sufficient proof to stand in a court of law. 

Jesus knew what would happen to Him. He said to Martha just after Lazarus had died, “ … I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying” (John 11:25). Because we pilgrims believe in Him we too will live with Him after we die. The Apostle John wrote about the significance of Christ’s life. “And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life” (1 John 5:11-12).‭‭ Paul wrote that death has been conquered and the new bodies we will one day receive will never die. “Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”” (1 Corinthians 15:54-55).

‭‭We pilgrims are a favoured and God-valued people. We have stumbled on a priceless treasure, one without limit. One that can extend to all. Why won’t unbelievers become believers, grasping this priceless offer with both hands? Probably because they take the short term view, valuing a sinful life over the consequences of believing in Jesus. The devil blinds their eyes and silences the inner whisper that leads them to Christ. But their intransigence won’t stop us reaching out to them anyway. Jesus died and rose again for everyone, not just us.

Dear Lord. We pray today for our loved ones, that they too will come to know Your wonderful love and grace. Please help them we pray. Amen.

More Friends

Posted on by korgrocker

“Give my greetings to Mary, who has worked so hard for your benefit. Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow Jews, who were in prison with me. They are highly respected among the apostles and became followers of Christ before I did. Greet Ampliatus, my dear friend in the Lord. Greet Urbanus, our co-worker in Christ, and my dear friend Stachys. Greet Apelles, a good man whom Christ approves. And give my greetings to the believers from the household of Aristobulus. Greet Herodion, my fellow Jew. Greet the Lord’s people from the household of Narcissus. Give my greetings to Tryphena and Tryphosa, the Lord’s workers, and to dear Persis, who has worked so hard for the Lord. Greet Rufus, whom the Lord picked out to be his very own; and also his dear mother, who has been a mother to me. Give my greetings to Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers and sisters who meet with them. Give my greetings to Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and to Olympas and all the believers who meet with them.”
Romans‬ ‭16‬:‭6‬-‭15‬ ‭NLT‬‬

A long list of the names of Paul’s friends. There were 23 people that Paul commended in these verses; actually 25 because the mother of Rufus wasn’t named and neither was the sister of Nereus. But to be given a mention in a letter by the Apostle Paul was praise indeed, and this list of names has survived long after the owners of the names have. These people were all active church workers who were even, as Adronicus and Junia were, prepared to go to prison for their faith. A wonderful legacy of real and living Christians, and one day we will have the opportunity to ask them about how they got on with Paul, and about their faith in the First Century. But behind all these names there would have been many good church folks, working away for Jesus below the radar.

The message from these verses for us pilgrims can be summed up in the phrases such as “worked hard” and “highly respected”, “Christ approves”, “the Lord picked out” and so on. These are  believers who were sold out for Jesus. No wishy-washy Christians here! These dear folks built a solid foundation upon which the church was built. They were prepared to suffer for their faith, and by doing so they established the Church that Jesus spoke to Peter about in Matthew 16:18, “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“. These early Christians were bomb proof and nothing the devil hurled at them had any impact. That is the inspiration for the Church today. Forces have been unleashed against Christians here in the UK over recent years, and secularism and left wing and anti-God ideologies are emerging, intent on destroying Christians in any way they can. But like the dear people listed in Paul’s letter, we will stand firm and use the weapons that God has supplied for us, and as listed in Ephesians 6. There is no going back. 

There is an old hymn that I haven’t sung for many years, but the verse 3 lyrics are:
Stand up! stand up for Jesus!
Stand in His strength alone;
The arm of flesh will fail you;
Ye dare not trust your own.
Put on the Gospel armour,
And, watching unto prayer,
Where duty calls, or danger,
Be never wanting there.

We used to belt it out in church, never thinking that in the years coming, it would be so appropriate.

Father God. We pray for the same strength and single-mindedness that those early Christians had. Please help us in our battles against the evil one. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Practice Hospitality

Posted on by korgrocker

“When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.”
Romans 12:13 NLT

Paul’s pastoral heart emerges with the verse we are considering this morning. He was concerned with the social needs of his day, and, in particular, the needs of the early Christians. Note that he didn’t start this verse with an “if”, but rather with a “when”. It was a reality that in the early church there were some who were needy. But what was the “need” that Paul observed?

The counter-cultural faith of the early Christians was considered subversive by the Roman-orientated government and societies of their time. And there was a reaction to them, that made it difficult for the early believers to be in business, or be involved with the non-Christians around them. They were too different, with their Gospel that there is only one true God. Their sexual ethics were distinct, promoting chaste behaviour and monogamic relationships between husbands and wives. They were anti-abortionists.  They refused to worship the  gods of their neighbours, considering it idolatry. They promoted a faith that was based on a love relationship with God, and salvation through grace. They were a community. They were, in fact, so different to the peoples around them that they both attracted and repelled them, and the church growth at that time was dramatic. 

But the reaction against them in their societies resulted in their having “needs”. Social justice was a part of the early church ethos, so why did Paul have to remind them of their obligations? Don’t forget that the church in Rome was an amalgam of Jewish and Gentile Christians, and perhaps some of the rivalry, even dislike, prevailed. Also, within the growing nascent church, it would have been easy to overlook those particularly on the margins. Paul wasn’t specific about which needs should be helped. He was just encouraging the people to look out for them and help them in whatever way possible. The second half of today’s verse mentions “hospitality”. Be eager to practice it, he wrote. Perhaps he was saying to these early Christians, invite God’s people around for a meal. A coffee and chat. )pen up your homes and have a party, he was perhaps saying.

To provide a clue of how the early church started can be found in the last few verses of Acts 2, “And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity— all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved” (Acts 2:44-47). Counter-cultural? If that described our local churches today we would be living in a different society.

There are those today, concerned with social justice, who look to the state to provide for people’s needs. The response expected is one of finance. Increase the benefits and eliminate poverty, they demand. More universal credit and state pensions. More housing benefit and council tax concessions. The demands are strident and never seem to end. I should point out that I agree that needy people should be helped, but, sadly, we have become confused between what is a “need” and what is a “want”. The early church made sure that people were fed – Acts 6:1, “But as the believers rapidly multiplied, there were rumblings of discontent. The Greek-speaking believers complained about the Hebrew-speaking believers, saying that their widows were being discriminated against in the daily distribution of food”. Note that the need at the time was for feeding those who were unable to feed themselves because of their status in society – widows. And perhaps Paul knew that the same problem between different factions – Jews and Gentiles – in the Roman church was already present elsewhere. But they dealt with it. Needs were met.

So how does Romans 12:13 impact us today? How do we pilgrims respond? The main feature for me is that the early church was growing explosively because it was different. Their morals, their community, their focus on one God, who loved them, cared for them, and had saved them through His Son Jesus, were so counter-cultural that they polarised society. The early Christians upset the idol worshippers around them because they refused to accommodate and recognise their many goods. They were society confronters, and not afraid of the consequences, even being prepared to die for their faith in God. Perhaps we have an opportunity today to confront a new reincarnation of the Roman deities – the gender ideologies. We have to point out to society around us that their “need” is not the ability to change gender at whim but instead it is to embrace the one true God. We have the right and true message. How are we promoting it? Are we hunkered down with our heads below the parapet, hoping the problem will go away? or are we too, like those early believers, willing to face the consequences of being society-confronters.

But back to “When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them”. Peoples’ needs are many and often complex. We immediately think of the the basics of life such as food and drink, warmth and shelter. But most of the time in our societies there are many others. In the news this morning there are statistics reported that show a pandemic of mental health issues amongst the young people in the UK. In my community the biggest issue is not financial. It is loneliness. And the community of “God’s people” is not immune from these problems. We pilgrims need to be aware of people’s needs, and not be put off by the “fine” response at the church door. Thankfully, we have the Holy Spirit with us, and He is willing and able to empower us to discern the needs before us. Fulfilling Paul’s entreaty to “be ready” will cost us. Our time and money. OIur reputations and even our careers. Much prayer is needed. We probably won’t see any rewards in this life but one day we will near those precious words, “Well done …”.

Dear Father God. We worship You today. Thank You for Your loving kindness, and always being there for us in our times of need. Amen.