Compelled by Christ’s Love: A Call to Faith

Posted on by korgrocker

“If we are ‘out of our mind,’ as some say, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.”
2 Corinthians 5:13-15 NIVUK

That was a bit harsh, calling Paul mad. Well, isn’t that what “out of your mind” means? Apparently, some in Corinth thought Paul was mad, and they were members of the Corinthian church. What must the unbelievers have thought? Those outside the church who knew Paul, perhaps the local Jews, were intent on doing him harm, as we read in the first chapter of Paul’s first letter, treating him as being mad because of his alleged blasphemy. Paul didn’t have much going for him in Corinth. But Paul certainly wasn’t mad. In fact, he was arguably more sane than any of them in Corinth, because he had discovered the truth. The truth about Jesus being the Son of God. The truth that Jesus left Heaven and came to this world to die on a cross so that mankind could be saved from the consequences of their sin. The truth that he shared at every opportunity with a passion that some considered irrational. Paul wrote that his apparent madness was proclaiming truth for the benefit of the Corinthian church, because if they hadn’t believed it, they were heading to a lost eternity. 

Today, we pilgrims might be considered a bit unhinged if we passionately promote the Good News about Jesus. Having strong opinions is something more associated with those on the fringes of society. Talking about Jesus is not the sort of conversation starter you find in a secular social gathering or in the office. The presence of a “dog collar” immediately puts someone in a box labelled “slightly mad”, but for those without ecclesiastical clothes, talking passionately about Jesus is not considered to be acceptable and good form. People will avoid us, talk disparagingly about us, even insult and abuse us, but as with Paul, we stand for the truth at every opportunity. 

Why was Paul so passionate and fanatical about the Gospel? Well, verse 14 in our reading today provides an explanation. “For Christ’s love compels us” is why. Paul wrote in Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us”. This can be difficult to fully understand because we are wired by sin for self-preservation, in a selfish way that puts our own safety and lives above those of others. And yet there are rare stories of people who, when faced with extreme danger, put aside their own lives to save another person. But we should note that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, chose to leave the comfort and glory of Heaven and become a human being, born into a peasant family. He became a man, although still God, and preached messages that opened the door into the Kingdom of Heaven for everyone. He provided the gift of salvation for all who believed in Him, through what was ultimately a humiliating and excruciatingly painful death. That’s love. That’s Christ’s love. We didn’t ask Him to die for us. In fact, in our sinful natures, we probably didn’t even give the Son of God any thought. He died for people who were shouting for His death. They abused Him, spat at Him, and rejected Him. And yet He still died for them. In Peter’s Acts 2 sermon, we see the people’s response as they finally understood the enormity of what they had done. We read, “When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’” (Acts 2:37). 

Paul was one of the Jews who actively tried to silence the new believers. Paul was there when Stephen became the first Christian martyr, holding the coats of those responsible for stoning Stephen to death. That obviously had a dramatic effect on Paul, because he next appears in Acts 9:1-2, “Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem”. But his encounter with the risen Jesus on the Damascus Road refocused his passion and fanaticism and we read, “At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God” (Acts 9:20). The present Labour government in the UK has been accused of many “U-turns” with regard to its policies, but Paul’s “U-turn” made them all pall into insignificance. So what caused Paul’s dramatic conversion? It was because Jesus loved and cared for him so much that He met Paul that day in an indisputable way. What else could Paul then do, other than be compelled and motivated to tell others about his Lord? This is not a guilt-driven ministry, pandering to an ego or a religious obligation. This was a ministry driven by love, God’s love, eternal love.

What about us pilgrims? Are we so sure and responsive to Jesus’ love that we, too, feel compelled to tell others what we have experienced? Or are we more blasé, paying lip service and no more? We need to remember that our pasts do not define us. Neither does our old life control us because we are no longer who we used to be. We may prove unpopular when we share our testimony and confront people with the truth about their future. But from the perspective of eternity, such fears are groundless and insignificant. The Lord loves us, and we love him. What more is there to consider?

Dear Lord Jesus. Thank You for Your love and grace. What else can we do other than share what You have done for us with others? Please help us, we pray. Amen.

The Urgency of Sharing the Gospel

Posted on by korgrocker

“For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body. Because we understand our fearful responsibility to the Lord, we work hard to persuade others. God knows we are sincere, and I hope you know this, too. Are we commending ourselves to you again? No, we are giving you a reason to be proud of us, so you can answer those who brag about having a spectacular ministry rather than having a sincere heart.”
2 Corinthians 5:10-12 NLT

The Bible is full of verses on many topics. There are those that we like to read because they give us that warm glow inside, that God loves us and is looking after us. Look at Psalm 121, for example. Some great verses there of God’s protection, and the Psalm ends with “The Lord keeps you from all harm and watches over your life. The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever”. And a Psalm much favoured for funerals ends with “Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever” (Psalm 23:6). I love this translation because it uses the word “pursue” rather than “follow”. Our God is far from being passive. But there are other verses that make us feel a bit less comfortable. In fact, they may even make us squirm a bit in our seats. James starts his Epistle with, “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow” (James 1:2-3). We hope and pray that our faith never has to be tested by “troubles of any kind“.

But in the verses we are looking at today, Paul wrote, “Because we understand our fearful responsibility to the Lord, we work hard to persuade others”. This is an action verse, one that demands that we do something. The word “fearful” doesn’t imply some form of terror but rather a great sense of awe about God, who He is, and what He has done for us. We do have a responsibility to Him because of Jesus, who took on the punishment we deserved on a cruel Roman cross at Calvary, and what He has asked us to do for Him since then. When we truly understand, we realise that our lives matter eternally and what we choose to do or how we live will have a spiritual impact. And as we recently considered, one day we will give an account of our lives before the Bema seat of Jesus. So the “fearful” bit must never paralyse us with fear, but rather it provides a reverence that mobilises us to do something for Jesus. 

Paul then wrote, “We work hard to persuade others”. Many Christians choose to keep their faith private. It’s their choice, of course, but that was never Jesus’ intention. Such people should be a bit worried about the third servant in the parable of the Talents. The servant who was given the one talent and didn’t put it to use. Instead, he buried it. He dug it up and gave it to the master when he returned from his journey, but received quite a rebuke. “But the master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy servant! If you knew I harvested crops I didn’t plant and gathered crops I didn’t cultivate, why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it’” (Matthew 25:26-27). Sadly, the parable ends, “Now throw this useless servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth”. Our faith has never been meant to stay private. Paul didn’t casually mention Jesus. He reasoned, explained, pleaded, and engaged hearts and minds. Paul was driven by a sense of loving urgency because the Gospel proclaims that eternity, either in Heaven or hell, is real. But because of Jesus, he knew that people have the opportunity to be reconciled to God through His grace and love. And because human lives are time-limited, urgency is required. Paul tried to persuade people because he had compassion for them. Why? Because Christ first loved him. 2 Corinthians 5:14a, “For Christ’s love compels us, …”. 

The next part of 2 Corinthians 5:10 is “God knows we are sincere”. Paul never considered human accolades. What mattered to him was God’s approval. He knew that God could see his motives, his struggles and his obedience. He wasn’t concerned about his reputation before men, but rather about doing God’s will. He knew that one day he would hear those marvellous words, “Well done, good and faithful servant”. As we emulate Paul’s mission, God too sees our hearts and motivations, and with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, even our stumbling, imperfect words can carry a weight far beyond their syllables. Paul goes on to write that he hopes the Corinthians could grasp that he was truly sincere. Paul’s life matched his words. He “walked the walk and talked the talk”. 

For us pilgrims, we must follow Paul’s example when it comes to sharing our faith. There are many people around us, not just our friends and families, who need to hear the life-saving words of the Gospel. Jesus did so much for each one of us, so how can we keep our testimonies to ourselves and not share them with others?

Thank You Lord for saving us from perishing in a place where we would never want to be. Please help us find opportunities to share the Good News about You and Your death and resurrection, to save mankind from the consequences of their sins. Amen.

Pressed on Every Side

Posted on by korgrocker

“We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies. Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies. So we live in the face of death, but this has resulted in eternal life for you.”
2 Corinthians 4:8-12 NLT

Paul described the persecution he and his travelling colleagues experienced, but always with a positive “spin”. He could have just written about the facts, the physical and verbal attacks, the beatings and stonings, but he always followed the description of his attacks with a positive comment. For example, he wrote, “We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God”. Paul was a man the world has never seen the like of again, although some have come close. Paul had a mission that never left his vision, and he was even prepared to give his life for Jesus, willingly if it were part of the furtherance of the Gospel. Why did he do it? Because after his encounter with Jesus, what else could he do? I have known several men who have had an encounter with Jesus that was so real that they were freed from drug addiction. Subsequently, they have been very committed to evangelism. One of them confided in me that “he who has been forgiven much will give much”. In other words, his encounter with Jesus totally turned his life around, and he dedicated the rest of his life to his Saviour. Paul’s encounter with Jesus on the Damascus Road was so real to him that it transformed his whole thinking and sent him on a journey that ended in his premature death, just for sharing his Jesus-experience with others. Has Jesus got hold of us to that extent? Are we so fired up with our mission for Jesus that we have put Him at the centre of all we do?

At the start of his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul described a situation that was life-threatening. “We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead” (2 Corinthians 1:8-9). Again, he used that word “crushed”. It’s a word that we normally associate with something like what we do to a clove of garlic to extract the flavour within. But crushing human beings points to an episode of physical torture and utter depravity. Paul’s experiences led him to expect to die, and that had the effect of crushing his spirit. A crushed spirit is a state of deep emotional, mental, and spiritual exhaustion, characterised by a loss of hope, passion, and the energy to face life. Often described as hitting rock bottom or a “dark night of the soul,” it represents a profound, oppressive pain that renders a person feeling broken or empty, frequently linked to severe stress, grief, or betrayal. To an unbeliever, such a state leads to hopelessness and a state of extreme mental anguish. But to Paul, there was a light that broke through into his dark place, the presence of God Himself. He knew that God could even raise the dead, and that sustained him and his colleagues. As we read on in the first chapter, we find that God did indeed rescue them from “mortal danger”, and he continued with “And you are helping us by praying for us. Then many people will give thanks because God has graciously answered so many prayers for our safety” (2 Corinthians 1:11). 

Paul and his colleagues faced many hardships during those missionary journeys because the enemy was not going to give up his territory without a fight. And how better to stop the Way, the early Christian movement, than by doing away with the ones responsible for its spread? But Paul reminded the Corinthians that because of the cost he was prepared to pay with his own life, they had the benefit of eternal life. 

We pilgrims also have the opportunity to tell others about Jesus. There may be some opposition, but here in the West, there would be nothing on the scale of what Paul experienced. We Western Christians do not really understand what persecution means. But we still have to look for opportunities to share our testimony about Jesus. Yesterday I met a man walking his daughter’s dog in the local park. In the conversation that followed, he admitted that he was glad that he was coming to the end of his life, because he was so depressed by the state of the world. Thankfully, I was able to share the hope of the Gospel with him, but it reminded me that many people walking our streets are almost overwhelmed by feelings of hopelessness. It may be inconvenient to stop and talk to people sometimes, but we must do so anyway. We may be resented or receive abuse in return, but it is only we pilgrims who have those precious words of eternal life, of God’s love and grace. And we pray for ourselves, for opportunities to share the Gospel, for our families and friends, all with the assurance that God hears our prayers and will work in hearts and minds to bring about His purposes.

Dear Heavenly Father. We thank You for all You have done for us, for our salvation and for Jesus. Regardless of what the world thinks of our faith, we share it anyway, thankful for Your strength helping us, and for giving us the words to say. We worship You today. Amen.

Causing Hurt

Posted on by korgrocker

I am not overstating it when I say that the man who caused all the trouble hurt all of you more than he hurt me. Most of you opposed him, and that was punishment enough. Now, however, it is time to forgive and comfort him. Otherwise he may be overcome by discouragement. So I urge you now to reaffirm your love for him.”
2 Corinthians 2:5-8 NLT

It seems that in the Corinthian church was a man who was a bit of a rebel, and caused Paul some pain. What was that all about? It doesn’t appear to be the man who was publicly sinning by his sexual relationship with his stepmother. So there was someone else causing trouble, perhaps by challenging Paul’s authority, as he confessed to having felt some hurt. Even though this man was opposed by most of the believers, it appears that he repented of his rebellion, and Paul encouraged them to forgive, comfort, love, and, I expect, move on. 

Perhaps there had been a bit of a power struggle in Corinth, with this individual trying to assert his authority and dispel Paul’s. But before we say this couldn’t happen in churches today, something occasionally disrupts a leader’s position and causes problems. The Church of Scotland seems prone to that. I know of two ministers who, in recent years, were put into a position by the actions of the church’s governing body, the presbytery, and were forced to leave their posts. The first was a man I much respected and who had been quite successful in building up the church in a village near where I lived, increasing the congregation’s size through the positive nature of his ministry. But he was a “born again” man who was open to the moving of the Holy Spirit in the church and people’s lives, and there were two or three “elders” in the presbytery who were very much against him for this. They undermined him at every opportunity and made his life very difficult. So he left and was appointed to another congregation elsewhere in Scotland. The second was a lady minister who is no longer practising in that role due to ill health, but, again, the presbytery was strongly opposed to change and to any attempts to bring the church closer to the Bible. 

The church I currently attend is better governed than the Church of Scotland, with the local pastor supported by a small local leadership team, and with the knowledge that he has a pastor himself who is a member of the national leadership team. Security and accountability strengthen the leaders and the congregation. 

The Bible describes rebellious people as those who defy authority and reject God’s word. In Old Testament times, there was a king who began well but ultimately disobeyed the Lord’s commands. That king was Saul, and he was instructed by Samuel to completely destroy the Amalekites together with their livestock (1 Samuel 15:3). But Saul didn’t do what he was asked to do, and he spared the Amalekite king and the best of the livestock. The outcome was severe, and we read in 1 Samuel 15:22-23, “But Samuel replied, “What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams. Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft, and stubbornness as bad as worshipping idols. So because you have rejected the command of the Lord, he has rejected you as king””. It was all downhill for Saul after that, and the chapter ends “… And the Lord was sorry He had ever made Saul king of Israel”. 

So now to us pilgrims. Are there any rebels amongst us? Are there times when we push back against the teaching we receive, or grumble about the pastor or minister in the company of other rebels and cause dissent and distress? Or perhaps it is a broader issue involving rebellion against our political leaders or other civil authorities. Paul wrote, “Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God. So anyone who rebels against authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and they will be punished” (Romans 13:1-2). The current UK government is turning out to be very unpopular amongst the electorate, and there is much grumbling going on, even amongst God’s people. We must be careful and remember that we are citizens of God’s Kingdom, and of a different spirit. 

It is not always possible to avoid hurting others, no matter how hard we try. There are times when we have to stand for the truth of the Gospel, and this will cause offence and hurt some people. But we leave such times in the hands of the Holy Spirit, who ultimately will bring conviction for sin. We must read the situation well and share the love and grace of Jesus. No one will surely be hurt by that.

Dear Father God. Please help us to share the Word, the Good News about Jesus, sensitively and lovingly, to those around us, never causing hurt unnecessarily. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Paul in Trouble

Posted on by korgrocker

“We are confident that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in the comfort God gives us. We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead.”
2 Corinthians 1:7-9 NLT

Paul and his companions seemed to be in trouble. In fact, the trouble was so devastating that they thought they “would never live through it”, and they “expected to die”. We don’t know what this trouble was, but in other Biblical accounts, we can find out the extent of Paul’s sufferings. 2 Corinthians 11:23b starts the list, “ …I have worked harder, been put in prison more often, been whipped times without number, and faced death again and again”. Why did Paul do it? Whereas today a preacher of the Gospel in the UK can expect to do so without fear of reprisal, it hasn’t always been so, and in some parts of the world, a missionary would be treated in the same way as Paul was. There is something about the Gospel that introduces a dichotomy into society, separating people into those who support the things of God and those who don’t. And the schism can become violent, on occasion. But sadly, the majority sit between the two extremes: people who are disinterested and uninvolved. Jesus had something to say that applies to this majority as well as the Laodiceans to whom it was addressed, “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!” (Revelation 3:15-16). 

For people with strong opinions on anything, there are always consequences, and that was true in Paul’s day as well as in 21st-century Britain, and the USA, from all accounts. Lifting our heads over the parapets of societal norms can put such people in the firing line for legal action or fear of arrest. Public preachers of the Gospel in the streets of our towns and cities are at the mercy of malicious accusations, and if they try to talk about Jesus near an abortion clinic, then they risk arrest for breaking a law designed to quash what should come under the heading of “free speech”. But the worst that can be expected is arrest, a court appearance, and a fine. Not so, however, in Paul’s day, where summary “justice” was the norm, with public whippings and beatings designed to keep order in a fractious society. 

But in all this, Paul never stopped trying to convince people of the truth about Jesus and all that He had done for human beings. Personal danger was something he ignored. But Paul put his finger on an important factor in all this: the need to rely on God. The threat of death was no barrier to Paul because his faith in God was unshakeable: God can raise the dead. Having experienced so much, Paul was uniquely positioned to help those facing the same persecution that he was. Paul’s suffering was so severe that it brought him and his companions to the end of themselves. They were helpless and forced to put all their hope in God. Suffering can do the same for any believer, removing whatever we falsely hope in and landing all our hope in the powerful God we trust. Earlier in 2 Corinthians, Paul wrote, “Even when we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your comfort and salvation! For when we ourselves are comforted, we will certainly comfort you. Then you can patiently endure the same things we suffer” (2 Corinthians 1:6). Paul wrote this to the Philippians while chained to soldiers in a Roman prison cell: “For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him. We are in this struggle together. You have seen my struggle in the past, and you know that I am still in the midst of it” (Philippians 1:29-30). 

“Preach the Gospel and if necessary use words.”
St Francis of Assisi

There is a cost to being a Christian. Jesus never wanted us to sit in a pew and be a passive Christian, never interacting with others in society. In my morning prayer walks and at other times whenever I can, I try to invade people’s personal space as inoffensively as possible because the message I have to share is too important to consider individual sensitivities. I may be rejected, but I always hope to plant a Gospel-seed that will ultimately lead to eternal life. A frosty reception sometimes needs to be endured for the sake of Jesus. Of course, not everyone has the opportunity to share their faith in this way, but we do what we can as the Holy Spirit leads. But whatever we do, I hope we never get into the trouble that Paul did.

Dear Lord Jesus. You commissioned us to make disciples wherever we are in this world. Please lead us and guide us through Your Spirit, so that we can introduce You and Your saving grace whenever possible. In Your precious name. Amen.

Risking Death

Posted on by korgrocker

“If the dead will not be raised, what point is there in people being baptised for those who are dead? Why do it unless the dead will someday rise again? And why should we ourselves risk our lives hour by hour? For I swear, dear brothers and sisters, that I face death daily. This is as certain as my pride in what Christ Jesus our Lord has done in you.”
1 Corinthians 15:29-31 NLT

There is no point, said Paul, to face into all the danger that being a Christian involved in those days, if there was to be no resurrection of the dead. Previously, in this chapter, in this his first letter to the Corinthians, he answered those in Corinth who were saying that there would be no resurrection of the dead. This was despite what Paul and his colleagues in ministry were teaching. And Paul made several points to them about what this would mean in practice. 

Jesus died and rose again
on the first Easter Sunday
morning

Firstly, he said, “For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either” (1 Corinthians 15:13). To deny that Jesus rose from the dead and appeared to so many witnesses was to do what some people do today. They were trying to rewrite history because it didn’t suit their particular worldview. We have those today who deny that the Holocaust actually took place, but just to deny that something ever happened doesn’t change the facts. Jesus died and rose again on the first Easter Sunday morning. Of course, we remember the Sadducees who were around between 200BC and about 70AD. They were a rich and powerful sect of mainly businessmen who denied that the dead would be raised, and they were also very prominent in the Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling council. Paul knew that they believed that there was no resurrection and he used this to good effect when he was brought before the Sanhedrin. Acts 23:6, “Paul realised that some members of the high council were Sadducees and some were Pharisees, so he shouted, ‘Brothers, I am a Pharisee, as were my ancestors! And I am on trial because my hope is in the resurrection of the dead!’” The Council was made up of Pharisees and Sadducees, and absolute mayhem resulted as they fought over their different beliefs about resurrection, to the extent that the local commander of the Roman forces had to send soldiers in to rescue Paul. 

Secondly, Paul made the simple statement, “And we apostles would all be lying about God—for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave. But that can’t be true if there is no resurrection of the dead” (1 Corinthians 15:15). It would be a sad place for Paul, if he had made up all the stories and facts about Christ’s resurrection. To find out that he was lying would have been a terrible place for him to be in, and totally contrary to the purity of the Good News that he preached. 

Thirdly, Paul pointed out that “ … if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins”(1 Corinthians 15:17). The fact of Christ’s resurrection is a fundamental cornerstone of our faith. Without it we are just a deluded set of fantasists believing in fairy stories and heading for an unknown post-death fate.

Paul said, “I face death daily“.

Fourthly, and in connection with the last point, Paul said that “ … why should we ourselves risk our lives hour by hour? For I swear, dear brothers and sisters, that I face death daily. This is as certain as my pride in what Christ Jesus our Lord has done in you” (1 Corinthians 15:30-31). It would be hard enough to live out a life of denial, but to be so convinced by that lie, involving facing death, as he was doing, every day,  beggars belief. In the first century, many martyrs died for their faith, and Paul was well aware that he was in danger himself. 

We pilgrims, believers in the resurrection, will never experience the danger of death in response to our faith. But we are increasingly experiencing persecution through the passing of secular laws and through ridicule and exclusion in various places in our society. But we know that this would happen because Jesus Himself warned us about it. So we stand strong in our faith, believing in our salvation and in the One who made it all happen.

Dear Lord Jesus. You came to this world proclaiming the words of eternal life. We have nowhere else to go, and we pray for the strength to hold firm in this, our hostile, lost and evil world. In Your precious name. Amen.

Baptising the Dead

Posted on by korgrocker

“If the dead will not be raised, what point is there in people being baptised for those who are dead? Why do it unless the dead will someday rise again?”
1 Corinthians 15:29 NLT

Here is a strange verse that has confused theologians over the years, theologians who would rather it were not there, but who have to try to explain it anyway. In addition, some religious groups have zoomed in on this verse and have used it, or are using it, as a means to give someone who has died a second chance in the afterlife. Their logic is quite simple. Referring to this verse, they believe that on behalf of a dead person, they can make a public confession of faith, essentially enabling the deceased to be baptised. They think that eternal life is unavailable for those who have not been baptised, so allowing themselves to be baptised on the dead person’s behalf opens Heaven’s doors to the soul that otherwise would not gain entry. Presumably, the aforesaid soul would have been hanging around the pearly gates, hoping that someone back on earth would have remembered them. Of the religious groups practising baptism for the dead, the Mormons are the most prominent, and the practice commenced with the heretical beliefs of Marcionism, which emerged in the second century AD.

We pilgrims know and understand that salvation is a personal matter. For example, we read Ephesians 2:8, “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God”. In Peter’s Acts 2 sermon, he said, “ …  Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit”. The “each” emphasises the personal nature of faith, and the fact that we cannot enter Heaven on someone else’s coattails, using their faith as a means of entry. 

“God saved you by his grace
when you believed“.

Is baptism essential to inherit eternal life? John 3:16 does not say ‘all who believe in Him and get baptised will not perish but have eternal life’. There have been many over the centuries who have died believing in Jesus, but because of one reason or another have not been baptised. The first was the penitent thief on the cross adjacent to Jesus’s. He had no opportunity for baptism or religious training. He had not taken Holy Communion or been to a Bible Study or prayer group. But Jesus, seeing the state of his heart, said, ‘Today you will be with me in Paradise’. And what about those from denominations that do not believe in full-immersion baptism? Without a proper full-immersion baptism, will they too be excluded from Heaven? 

So what did Paul mean when he wrote about people who were being baptised for the dead? Perhaps there was a distorted belief amongst the Corinthian Christians that there was such a possibility, and Paul was providing some correction with verse 29 of 1 Corinthians 15. We mustn’t forget that in those early days of the church, there was no Canon of Scripture as we enjoy today. In the febrile environment of spiritual gifts and the new life in Jesus, it was always possible that one or two believers became a little overenthusiastic in their beliefs. And of course, it would be natural for those still alive to worry about the whereabouts of the soul of a deceased loved one who had not been baptised. 

Regarding believers being baptised on behalf of those who are already dead, there is a theory that uses the analogy of an army, where a soldier steps up to take the place of a fallen comrade. In the first century, Christian martyrdom occurred, and there may have been a sense that another believer must step up and be baptised on behalf of the martyred Christian to maintain church numbers. Or perhaps Paul was being a bit tongue-in-cheek when he wrote that verse, presenting a view that was obviously incorrect.

We pilgrims cannot be baptised on behalf of another person; that much is clear. We will all one day have to stand before God to provide an account of our lives, and it will not be a valid position to claim salvation through someone else’s efforts. Romans 14:12, “Yes, each of us will give a personal account to God”.

Dear Father God. We know that salvation is a personal experience, and not one that we can adopt on behalf of someone else. But we pray for our loved ones, our friends and our families, that they too will embrace the wonderful Good News about Your Son, Jesus. In His precious name. Amen.

Preach the Message

Posted on by korgrocker

“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. But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out his special favour on me—and not without results. For I have worked harder than any of the other apostles; yet it was not I but God who was working through me by his grace. So it makes no difference whether I preach or they preach, for we all preach the same message you have already believed.”
1 Corinthians 15:9-11 NLT

“For I decided that while I was with you
I would forget everything except Jesus Christ,
the one who was crucified”
(1 Corinthians 2:2).

Paul reminded the Corinthians that he and the other Apostles all preached the same message, the one they “have already believed”. But what was this message? An important question, because if it was fundamental to the first Apostles, it must be fundamental to us pilgrims as well. The answer is the basis for Christianity and our faith. We preach Jesus and Him crucified. The Amplified version of 1 Corinthians 2:2 reads, “for I made the decision to know nothing [that is, to forego philosophical or theological discussions regarding inconsequential things and opinions while] among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified [and the meaning of His redemptive, substitutionary death and His resurrection]”. This verse puts a focus on something very important – the simplicity of the Gospel. Paul was an educated man, who was able to debate and witness before the most senior members of his world. There was not only the Greek philosophers of his day, “He also had a debate with some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. When he told them about Jesus and his resurrection, they said, “What’s this babbler trying to say with these strange ideas he’s picked up?” Others said, “He seems to be preaching about some foreign gods”” (Acts 17:18). He certainly grabbed their attention. They took him to the High Council, the Areopagus, to continue his message. On another occasion, he witnessed before King Agrippa (Acts 26). But Paul never forgot the ordinary man in the street, as we read in 1 Corinthians 9:22, “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”. 

“For the Son of Man came
to seek and save those
who are lost“
Luke 19:10

But regardless of all his learning, Paul shared a simple Gospel about “Jesus Christ and Him crucified” at every opportunity he found himself in. This message is one we pilgrims are also required to share. The Amplified version of 1 Corinthians 2:2 puts its finger on a problem that can so easily trip us up if we let it: we can get bogged down in “philosophical or theological discussions regarding inconsequential things and opinions” in conversations with others. I recently heard about a street evangelist who was bombarded with a whole list of questions by a young man he was trying to share the Gospel with, and the last question from the young man summed up the irrelevance of the conversation: “Did Adam have a belly button?” Whether Adam did or not, such questions can distract, divert, and dilute the simplicity of the Gospel message. Adam’s anatomy has no relevance to the serious matter of salvation. In His conversation with Zacchaeus, Jesus told him, and anyone else listening, “For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost” (Luke 19:10). In a section entitled “Salvation is for Everyone” in his Roman epistle, Paul wrote, “If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved” (Romans 10:9-10). There is nothing complicated about these verses, I think we fellow pilgrims will agree. But the main reason that people put up a smoke screen of questions and arguments is that they don’t want to face into the consequences of responding positively to the Gospel message. I was speaking to a man recently who claimed to be a Christian, but who had not been baptised. When gently challenged, he provided a whole list of excuses as to why he had not taken the next step in his faith. But in love we pilgrims persevere in sharing the simple Gospel message because that is what Jesus has asked us to do. Nothing complicated.

Dear Father God. Please lead us to the mission field that You want us to labour in. By the power of Your Spirit, please give us the words to say and the people You want us to share with, so that You will receive all the glory. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

As the Scriptures Said

Posted on by korgrocker

“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.”
1 Corinthians 15:3-5 NLT

“Christ died for our sins,
just as the Scriptures said”

Paul was a messenger who referred to Old Testament scriptures, the prophesies about Jesus, and also to fellow believers that Paul knew, people who had confirmed them. Isaiah wrote, “Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed” (Isaiah 53:4-5). Jesus took the punishment for our sins that we deserved, “just as the Scriptures said“. The punishment for sins that Paul and those in the Corinthian church deserved. The same punishment that everyone who has ever lived deserves. “Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said”, wrote Paul. Why did Jesus take on the punishment that we deserved? 1 Peter 3:18, “Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit“. And we know from John 3:16 that God gave His Son that we might receive the gift of eternal life. So how is that going to work? No believer has ever returned from Heaven with a testimony that all their sins committed in this life were forgiven through their faith in Jesus, something that they would only find out when they reached the “Pearly Gates”. Of course, we have no measurable evidence available to us. But we know what Jesus said, and we believe, O how we believe! That is what faith in Jesus is all about. Jesus said, “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). Paul wrote to the Corinthians that he had passed on to them some important things that had been passed on to him, and, although the Gospels were not available to him, Paul knew all about God’s grace and love, and, implicitly, the contents of John 3:16. As an aside, note that there are only two outcomes from this very well known verse – “perishing” or “eternal life”. In faith, we believers have made the right choice, but most in the world around us are defaulting to a place reserved for those who are “perishing”. So, Paul passed on to the Corinthians the Good News about Jesus, that He had “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”

Paul also wrote, “He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said”. There are several Old Testament prophetic Scriptures about this. We have Hosea 6:2, “After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence”. The Book of Jonah also has a reference to the third day: Jonah 1:17, “Now the Lord provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights”. This was a Scripture Jesus referenced in Matthew 12:40. Paul, being a devout Jew before he met Jesus on the Damascus Road, would have known these Scriptures well. We pilgrims are familiar with the story of the empty tomb. Psalm 16:10 is taken as a prophetic reference to Jesus’ resurrection. “For you will not leave my soul among the dead or allow your holy one to rot in the grave”. Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53 provide incredible details about Jesus’ death, and they include references to His life beyond it. The Old Testament is full of Scriptures about Jesus, because the central theme running through it is always about God, His love, His plan for the salvation of mankind, and the ultimate sacrifice of His Son, Jesus.

For us pilgrims, “just as the Scriptures said” is the bedrock of our faith. The Bible is a treasure trove of spiritual nuggets, and Paul described its worth in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realise what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work“. And so we pilgrims constantly read the Bible because it contains God’s Word to His children to keep them safe on their journey to be with Him in Paradise. We neglect the Scriptures at our peril.

Dear Father God. We thank You for the wonderful resource that You have provided for us. We pray that You open the Scriptures to us and reveal Your will and purposes today and every day. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Good News

Posted on by korgrocker

“Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in it. It is this Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you—unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place.”
1 Corinthians 15:1-2 NLT

Paul starts Chapter 15 of 1 Corinthians with a reminder about the Good News, the Gospel, that he had preached to Corinthians converts when he was with them. We should remember that in those early days of the church, there was no New Testament as we know it. That didn’t arrive in its current form until the New Testament canon was established in the 4th century, with councils in Rome (382), Hippo (393), and Carthage (397). However, there would have been one or two letters available for the Corinthians, and perhaps some early writings that we don’t know about. 1 Corinthians was written around 55 AD, but the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) didn’t appear until after 70 AD. So we pilgrims are a blessed people, having access to so much Holy Spirit-inspired literature that has primarily established the theology and doctrine we take as read and enjoy. 

The Gospel is all about Jesus

The Gospel of Mark starts, “This is the Good News about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God” (Mark 1:1). It is Good News, because the Gospel is all about Jesus, the true God-man, the Son of God, the second member of the Trinity, the One who came to this world, born as a baby in humble circumstances, living in a poor village until He was about thirty years old. At that point, He began preaching to His fellow Jews that He was the Messiah and had come to save His people from their sins. The first words of Jesus are recorded in Mark 1:15: ““The time promised by God has come at last!” he announced. “The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!””

Paul would have known all of this from Jesus Himself because of his salvation experience on the Damascus Road. Ananias, a man living in Damascus, was told to go and lay his hands on Paul, bringing healing, as we read 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””. But Paul didn’t hang around, wondering about the veracity of his experience. We read, “Afterward he ate some food and regained his strength. Saul stayed with the believers in Damascus for a few days. And immediately he began preaching about Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is indeed the Son of God!”” (Acts 9:19-20).

Paul needed no convincing about what the Good News was, and he needed no reminder. But apparently the Corinthians did, as otherwise he wouldn’t have needed to mention it at all. He encouraged them by reminding them that they had welcomed it and now stood firm in it, but there were obviously some niggling doubts in Paul’s mind that there were some who perhaps were not sure. But just in case, Paul reminded them that the Gospel, the Good News, would save them. 

It is sad that, for those Christians who have been on their journey for a while, they can sometimes lose the wonder of the Gospel message. Such believers can get tied up in other parts of the Bible or particular doctrines. They sometimes take issue with other denominations’ beliefs, pointing out doctrinal disagreements and losing sight of the Gospel’s common bond. But are we pilgrims clear about what the Gospel is and how we should never complicate it? 

“today you will be with me in paradise”

The Gospel refers to the clear and accessible message of salvation through Jesus Christ. It emphasises pure, uncomplicated devotion to Christ, rooted in grace, while warning against distorting this message with human traditions or legalism. The essence of the Gospel is to maintain focus on the core truths of faith, avoiding complications that can lead believers away from the simplicity found in Christ. Ultimately, it calls for a return to foundational truths, highlighting that knowing the truth is essential for spiritual freedom. Paul wrote in Romans 10:9-10, “If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved”. I always wonder about the thief on the cross next to Jesus. All he said to Jesus was, “ … Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom”. We read what Jesus, discerning what was really in the thief’s heart, said in the next verse, “ … I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise”. No complications. Just a simple response to a simple Gospel message. It had probably been many years since the poor man had been in a synagogue. He had perhaps never been to a Bible Study or prayer meeting and would have known nothing about liturgies and doctrines. All he did was believe in his heart. He experienced the fruit of the Good News in his dying moments.

“They stumble because
they do not obey God’s word“

Of course, the simplicity of the Gospel can be a stumbling block to many who always try to overcomplicate their approach to life. Such people perhaps refuse to believe that such a simple message would show them the path to Heaven. Referring to Jesus, Peter wrote, “Yes, you who trust him recognise the honour God has given him. But for those who reject him, “The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.” And, “He is the stone that makes people stumble, the rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they do not obey God’s word, and so they meet the fate that was planned for them” (1 Peter 2:7-8). There is nothing complicated about the Good News Jesus proclaimed in John 14:6, “ … “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me“. But for those of us who have accepted the Message of the Good News about Jesus, we stand firm in it, convinced that there is no other way to Heaven.

Dear Lord Jesus. You are the Way to Heaven, and we proclaim this message whenever we can. We worship You today. Amen.