What It Means to Be a True Christian

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith. As you test yourselves, I hope you will recognise that we have not failed the test of apostolic authority.”
2 Corinthians 13:5-6 NLT

Something here in our verses today will bring us up short and cause us to pause our lives while we ask ourselves a question. Am I a Christian with genuine faith? But before we can answer it, we have to define what it means to be a Christian. Many think being a Christian is all about following Christian morals and being a “good” person. Such people can go to a church on a Sunday, listen to the sermon, sing the hymns, and say the prayers, but somehow there is a lack of any connection with God. No relationship there, in the way that we pilgrims know God. Occasionally, a crisis will drive them to their knees, but for most of the time, they live their lives as they always have, sinful and unchanged. But being a Christian is more than that, as we shall see.

Paul asked the Corinthians to “examine themselves to see if [their] faith is genuine”. He went on to define genuine faith by saying that if they fail to understand that Jesus is among them, then they “have failed the test of genuine faith”. It’s all about Jesus. Paul implied that it was all about knowing Him and sensing His presence with them day by day. 

So, back to our question. Who or what is a Christian in the way that Paul was implying? From our verses today, Paul used the word “faith” twice, and that is a central principle in answering the question for ourselves. Unfortunately, the word “faith” has become corrupted today because it is used to define a number of different religions, by calling them “faiths”. So, according to the authorities, we live in a “multi-faith” society that includes Muslims, Hindus, and others, as well as Christians. There have even been ”multi-faith” services held in our churches, and our current King in the UK considers that he is the defender of “faiths” rather than being the traditional head of the Christian church, the defender of the faith. The University of Edinburgh goes further and offers not only “multi-faith” support for students but also offers seminars in fringe topics unfamiliar to us pilgrims, such as Yoga, mindfulness, and Tai Chi. Confusion reigns, therefore, over the use of the word “faith”. 

A Christian is someone who belongs to Jesus Christ, by trusting in Him, following Him, and being transformed by Him. So straight away, the Corinthians had a measure for their belief. 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”. Is that something the Corinthians were doing, or had done? We don’t know, but we can apply this to ourselves. Jesus said that true believers in Him are “born again”. John 3:5, 7, “Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. … So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again’”. This is a divisive verse amongst Christian communities today, because many fail to understand what this really means about their faith. The wording “being born again” even causes offence to some people because it implies a radical experience of salvation. But it is a spiritual process, sometimes rapid, as it was with Paul on the Damascus road, or gradual over a period of time, as it was with C S Lewis. Regardless of the way we pilgrims came to believe in Jesus, the reality of our faith in Him prevails. 

For the Christians in Corinth, it appears that some subversive elements had crept in, something that was probably not unheard of in those days. The Apostle John wrote, “Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world. This is how we know if they have the Spirit of God: If a person claiming to be a prophet acknowledges that Jesus Christ came in a real body, that person has the Spirit of God. But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here” (1 John 4:1-3). These verses from John complement the verses that Paul wrote to the Corinthians, and again the word “test” appears. And straight away, we can think of churches today that fail this test. For example, I can think of a cult that only believes that Jesus was a prophet, and yet they call themselves “Christian”. 

There are other characteristics of Christianity that we must continue at another time, but in the meantime, we declare that Jesus is our Lord and Saviour. We love Him and worship Him because of who He is and what He has done for us.

Dear Heavenly Father. We thank You for Jesus and His sacrificial death on Calvary’s Cross. We fall on our knees before Him today, in love and adoration. Amen.

Paul’s Third Visit: Testimony and Warning

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“This is the third time I am coming to visit you (and as the Scriptures say, “The facts of every case must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses”). I have already warned those who had been sinning when I was there on my second visit. Now I again warn them and all others, just as I did before, that next time I will not spare them.”
2 Corinthians 13:1-2 NLT

We begin the last chapter of 2 Corinthians considering what Paul is intending to do in this, his third visit to the church in Corinth. The sinning amongst the believers will be his focus when he arrives, and he issued a warning in advance, probably in the hope that all would be sorted out by the time he gets to Corinth. Paul had obviously heard things about the goings-on in the church and reassured them that he wouldn’t act just on one person’s testimony. Paul quoted Deuteronomy 19:15, “You must not convict anyone of a crime on the testimony of only one witness. The facts of the case must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses”. This common-sense principle still underpins our legal system today, and the prosecution of anyone in the “dock” accused of a crime will need evidence that is backed up by a variety of factors, one of which is the importance of multi-witness testimony.

There were twelve men who spent three years of so in the company of Jesus, and in that time they were convinced that Jesus was who He said He was, the Son of God. And they continued through the rest of their lives suffering greatly for their testimony about who he was. Before the Sanhedrin, Peter said, “Let me clearly state to all of you and to all the people of Israel that he was healed by the powerful name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, the man you crucified but whom God raised from the dead” (Acts 4:10). This was a testimony that silenced the High Council, and we read, “But since they could see the man who had been healed standing right there among them, there was nothing the council could say” (Acts 4:14). In this case, Peter was the witness and his testimony was boldly proclaimed and backed up by the miracle that had taken place. We can just imagine the religious hierarchy staring at Peter open-mouthed, for once silenced by such indisputable evidence. There was nothing in their law book that could cope with this. And Acts 4:33 recorded “The apostles testified powerfully to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God’s great blessing was upon them all”. 

The Gospels are full of the works and sayings of Jesus, and they were witnessed by His disciples and many others at the time. 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” (1 Corinthians 15:3-7). Lawyers today have examined the available evidence for the death and resurrection of Jesus and have concluded that there was sufficient to meet the threshold of achieving a positive confirmation of the truth of it. So why is it that people still won’t believe in Jesus? Evidence from far more than the required “two or three” exists.

People don’t believe in Jesus because it is a deliberate act of their will to deny the truth. They know that if they do believe in the evidence, then they will have to make some changes in their lives. Big changes for some, if not most, and in the verses we are considering today, the biggest issue is that of sin. Sin is defined as rebellion against God and His ways, but mis- and disinformation conspires to cover it up, or call it something else. Blame for sinful behaviour is apportioned to a number of factors, such as upbringing, social circumstances, or a popular one today – mental health. These are all valid to a greater or lesser degree, and they play a big part in defining who a person is, but they only mask the fundamental problem. I met a man the other day with a bright yellow sweatshirt emblazoned with the strap line “ADHD is not a lifestyle choice”. It probably isn’t – I’m not qualified to express even an opinion – but I worship a God who is bigger than any human condition, and we pilgrims know that He can take the weakest human being and turn them into a mighty man or woman of God. Paul wrote, “But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong” (1 Corinthians 1:27). God uses people who are weak, powerless, inadequate, uneducated, even sick, physically or mentally, to witness for Him. I have a dear friend who was hospitalised for some weeks recently with a heart condition, but even in his distress, he made sure that all the doctors and nurses knew about his faith in Jesus.

We pilgrims are counted amongst the “two or three” swelling the numbers who witness for Jesus into an uncountable multitude. And yet there are many more who do not know Him, and we have to tell them that they will perish in their sins unless they make the right choice to follow and believe in Jesus. What else can we do, other than tell people about God’s love and grace, about how he sent His Son, Jesus, to die for everyone, taking on their sins and taking on Himself the punishment for what was legally ours? 

Dear Heavenly Father. We understand that we are Your witnesses here in this sad and dying world, and we pray that we will get opportunities to declare “the resurrection of the Lord Jesus” whenever we can. In Your precious name we pray. Amen.

Confronting Sin in the Corinthian Church

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“Perhaps you think we’re saying these things just to defend ourselves. No, we tell you this as Christ’s servants, and with God as our witness. Everything we do, dear friends, is to strengthen you. For I am afraid that when I come I won’t like what I find, and you won’t like my response. I am afraid that I will find quarrelling, jealousy, anger, selfishness, slander, gossip, arrogance, and disorderly behaviour. Yes, I am afraid that when I come again, God will humble me in your presence. And I will be grieved because many of you have not given up your old sins. You have not repented of your impurity, sexual immorality, and eagerness for lustful pleasure.”
2 Corinthians 12:19-21 NLT

The Corinthians must have been a rowdy lot, if Paul’s fears were realised. In fact, it is a surprise that there was a church there at all. Perhaps they were trying to realise the best of both worlds, the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of the world, but as we know, the two are incompatible. Earlier in this letter, Paul wrote, “Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever?” (2 Corinthians 6:14-15). Perhaps they had heard about the Laodiceans, suffering from the same apostasy, and we read what Jesus said about them, “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). The same incompatibility was in Jesus’ mind, I’m sure, when he said, “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money” (Matthew 6:24). If the Corinthians were in fact trying to still live in their old, sinful ways, as well as pursue the things of God, then they were in for a shock, because Paul would have to confront it when he arrived for his third visit. 

Of course, in our churches today, the people would not have the same dichotomy, being “nice” people not guilty of any of the “crimes” Paul wrote about, such as “quarrelling, jealousy, anger, selfishness, slander, gossip, arrogance, and disorderly behaviour”. I’m sure the believers in Corinth knew that such behaviour was wrong and sinful, just the same as we would, but there it was bubbling away in the background, under the surface, but still visible to the Spirit-led gaze of Paul and his colleagues. One of the behavioural problems Paul wrote about was sexual immorality. In those days, without access to pornographic material, either in print form or internet-based, sexual sins would have been very visible, although largely accepted, or even encouraged, by the pagan societies in Greece. Today, the same sin exists, even within men of God, either in leadership or in the pews, who act out their secret lives, hoping that they will never be caught. So on a Sunday, the “nice” people worship together, but terrible things can happen when no one else is around. 

Another sin Paul mentioned was gossip. The sin of talking negatively about another person, criticising them, and even making up things about them that aren’t true. And gossip is not just a thing between people who know each other. It also takes place on social media, with sad people hiding behind a keyboard and the relative anonymity offered by pseudonyms and hidden accounts. 

So, in a nutshell, the problems Paul feared in the Corinthian church were no different from the problems that lie beneath the surface in our modern churches today. I have been in a public meeting when sinful behaviour was called out from the pulpit, but it is a rare occasion today. 

Paul’s complaint was that many of the Corinthians “[had] not given up [their] old sins. [They] [had] not repented of [their] impurity, sexual immorality, and eagerness for lustful pleasure”. As believers in Jesus, there was a time when we came to the foot of the Cross and repented of our sins. So started a journey we call sanctification, as we gradually, and painfully slowly at times, cleaned up our lives with the help of the Holy Spirit, and under God’s Fatherly gaze. It was the same with the Corinthians, but it seemed that their journey was having a problem getting off the starting blocks. I’m sure that this was not a universal problem with the Corinthians, but there was still a worldly element in the church there. 

Today, there are some denominations that have allowed worldliness to enter their churches, as they preach a liberal doctrine that, in some cases, even denies the truth of Scripture. We pilgrims all know what that is and how it is leading to the decline of once-proud and effective beacons of light for the Gospel and our wonderful Jesus, with worldly doctrines that are dividing and destroying fellowship and subverting the purity of the Word and the Good News about Jesus. 

Paul had no choice other than to confront the sinful behaviour of the Corinthians, and through the Holy Spirit gifts that he had access to (as we all do), he would have been able to put his finger on those who were the culprits, not with a view to putting them out of the church (even though that had happened before), but with a view to restoring them back into the fellowship of believers. Paul’s advice to the Corinthians in his first letter was in fact to evict a blatant sinner from their midst: “Then you must throw this man out and hand him over to Satan so that his sinful nature will be destroyed and he himself will be saved on the day the Lord returns. … God will judge those on the outside; but as the Scriptures say, ‘You must remove the evil person from among you’” (1 Corinthians 5:5, 13). But Paul was after restoration and repentance, so that the church could be strengthened and able to continue in the way of the Lord. 

Today we pilgrims must always try to align our lives to that of Jesus, adopting the Biblical truths that set out God’s ways rather than man’s. There is no other way. Liberal doctrines and worldly practices have no place in our churches and fellowships; all that matters is God’s truth.

Dear Father God. We proclaim Your Gospel message of repentance in a world of sin and evil. We want to be pure and holy in Your sight, now and forever. Amen.

Understanding Paul’s Thorn: Lessons in Humility

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“If I wanted to boast, I would be no fool in doing so, because I would be telling the truth. But I won’t do it, because I don’t want anyone to give me credit beyond what they can see in my life or hear in my message, even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God. So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away.”
2 Corinthians 12:6-8 NLT

I wonder what Paul saw and heard in Heaven. We don’t really have a clue about what is there, although Jesus called it Paradise. Revelation gives us a few glimpses of what John saw there, with a door opening for him to reveal a throne with the One sitting on it, appearing as brilliant as gemstones. There was a sea of glass, an emerald rainbow, flashes of lightning and rumbles of thunder. Elders, 24 of them, wore gold crowns and white robes. Living creatures were there constantly singing a hymn of praise to God. But this was all that John could describe in a brief glimpse of Heaven. Paul had a similar experience, being “ … caught up to paradise and [where he] heard things so astounding that they cannot be expressed in words, things no human is allowed to tell” (2 Corinthians 12:4). John was told to write down his experience, but Paul was commanded not to. It’s possible that Paul saw what eternity would be like and now knew things the rest of humanity could never know. Such an immeasurable gift would have given Paul seemingly limitless confidence to keep preaching, despite terrible suffering. It also gave him the perspective that such suffering in this life was not worth comparing to the glory of eternity. 

A lesser person than Paul would have become puffed up with pride and would have gone through his life boasting about his experiences. After all, if someone today meets a special person, such as a royal, or a famous actor or actress, they make sure everyone knows about their experience. So just in case, Paul “… was given a thorn in [his] flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment [him] and keep [him] from becoming proud” (2 Corinthians 12:7). What would this have been? The imagery Paul creates here is that of a sharp object, like a sharp piece of wood, stabbed into his body, unable to be removed, bringing chronic pain and discomfort. Paul attributed it to it being a “messenger of satan”, and we read that he begged the Lord to take it away from him. It was something that he was constantly aware of, but it was not so debilitating that his ministry was affected. 

There has been much speculation by scholars and theologians about what Paul’s thorn was, with suggestions that it was his eyesight. We know from Galatians 6:11 that his writing had to be enlarged to make it visible to him. We also know from Acts 23 that Paul had a problem in trying to discern who the high priest was amongst the gathered members of the Sanhedrin, perhaps due to his poor eyesight. Then there are some who think he might have had a tremor of some kind, such as a friend of mine has. 1 Corinthians 2:3, “I came to you in weakness—timid and trembling”. Perhaps Paul had a problem articulating his words in a way that could be easy to listen to or understand. 2 Corinthians 10:10, “For some say, ‘Paul’s letters are demanding and forceful, but in person he is weak, and his speeches are worthless!’”. But this is all speculation, and we won’t know what his “thorn” was until we can ask him ourselves one day. 

But whatever the cause, Paul had a physical condition that kept him from becoming proud about his wonderful experience in the Third Heaven, a place he referred to as paradise. Paul was therefore continually in a state of humility, knowing that God had allowed something to happen to him for a purpose. We should also note that Paul attributed his condition to satan, meaning that God had given him permission to cause him some distress. We know that this can happen, because of the story of Job. We read in Job 1:10-12 the account of a conversation between satan and God about Job, and satan complained, “You have always put a wall of protection around him and his home and his property. You have made him prosper in everything he does. Look how rich he is! But reach out and take away everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face!” “All right, you may test him,” the Lord said to Satan. “Do whatever you want with everything he possesses, but don’t harm him physically.” So Satan left the Lord’s presence”. Nothing happened to Paul by the devil without God’s permission, and we can assume the same. Why would God allow such an attack from the enemy? If it were against us, we could assume it was for our higher good, as it was with Paul. In Hebrews 12:6 we read, “For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child”. It is possible that the devil would be allowed to assist in this process.

If any of us pilgrims are living with a physical condition that is debilitating or unwelcome, we must never assume that it is a “thorn in our flesh” as it was in the case of Paul, or given to us by satan. We live in a fallen world, and sin will sometimes be manifested through illness or disease. But whatever the situation, we learn to look up rather than inward, because it is only as we see God and perhaps catch a glimpse of the Third Heaven that we can find the strength to continue in our lives here on Planet Earth. 

Dear Father God. We confess our sins before You today. Please forgive us for our moaning and complaining. Instead, we pray for a glimpse of Heaven to sustain us through Your Spirit, in our years ahead. Thank You. Amen.

Receiving Credit: God’s Perspective vs. Worldly Views

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“But I do know that I was caught up to paradise and heard things so astounding that they cannot be expressed in words, things no human is allowed to tell. That experience is worth boasting about, but I’m not going to do it. I will boast only about my weaknesses. If I wanted to boast, I would be no fool in doing so, because I would be telling the truth. But I won’t do it, because I don’t want anyone to give me credit beyond what they can see in my life or hear in my message,”
2 Corinthians 12:4-6 NLT

What do we pilgrims get credit for? It starts with our goals and aims in life, so a student will get credit for passing an exam, or an athlete for winning a medal. Someone with an unblemished payment record will be assigned a good credit score and, similarly, will be eligible for a credit card. In our employment, a good worker will be credited with a pay rise. A good preacher will receive credit for their oratorical skills or perhaps for their knowledge of the Bible. Receiving credit for something brings with it a glow of self-importance or self-satisfaction. But these are all worldly examples, and they do not apply in God’s Kingdom, where self-promotion is never valued. It is only God who gets the glory. 

In Genesis 15, we can read the story of Abraham and the covenant God made with him. It started with a vision which we can read about in Genesis 15:1, “Some time later, the Lord spoke to Abram in a vision and said to him, ‘Do not be afraid, Abram, for I will protect you, and your reward will be great’”. But this was a problem for Abraham because he had no heir to his wealth, and he was concerned that it might instead go to one of his servants. But there then came the promise, “Then the Lord said to him, ‘No, your servant will not be your heir, for you will have a son of your own who will be your heir’” (Genesis 15:4). And just to confirm His promise, “… the Lord took Abram outside and said to him, ‘Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!’”. How would we have responded in such a scenario? Here was Abraham getting close to 100 years old, with a wife not far behind, barren as well,  and yet God was promising a son? I would think it would have been a miracle if the old couple were having sexual relations at that age, let alone seeing the fruit of it with a child. And yet we read in verse 6, “Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness”. 

There are many spiritual blessings that we are credited with, not the least our salvation. And we mustn’t forget the physical blessings we receive as well, all credited to anyone created by God. So we have the environment around us, in a world just right to sustain the lives God has populated this planet with. We have our life, our health, our families, food on our tables, homes and clothing. God has credited us with many blessings. And all these things are there for us through God’s love and grace.

But back to Paul. He had much to boast about, with his vision of being taken up into the Third Heaven. Not many people, if any, can boast about such a thing. However, Paul wasn’t going there, and instead, he only wanted credit for the things he was doing for God and what God had done in his life. He didn’t even want to make claims about this, preferring to let people see it in the way he lived and acted, and through what he said. So it should be the same for us pilgrims. Self-promotion may be the way of those living a worldly life, but it is not the way for Christians. Paul was a very humble man, and he encouraged believers to be the same. He wrote, “Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had” (Philippians 2:3-5). Jesus said to His disciples, “… You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave” (Matthew 20:25-27). 

We pilgrims, to our credit, believe in God. The Apostles creed starts with “I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth”. But it doesn’t stop there. A bit further down we read, “I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord”. And it finishes, “I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting”. Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Our Trinitarian God, the One we worship. And every time we speak out that creed, believing what we are saying in our hearts, then our faith brings us credit with God. 

Dear Heavenly Father. We do believe, but please forgive us for the times when we have doubts and waver in our faith. Thank You for Your many blessings and provision, Your love and grace. And Your patience with us. Amen.

Understanding Paul’s Vision of the Third Heaven

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“This boasting will do no good, but I must go on. I will reluctantly tell about visions and revelations from the Lord. I was caught up to the third heaven fourteen years ago. Whether I was in my body or out of my body, I don’t know—only God knows. Yes, only God knows whether I was in my body or outside my body. But I do know that I was caught up to paradise and heard things so astounding that they cannot be expressed in words, things no human is allowed to tell.”
2 Corinthians 12:1-4 NLT

What an incredible vision Paul must have had. He spared us the details, but such a vision of the place we call Heaven obviously made a profound impact on his life. Paul was a very humble man, and it did not come easily to him to brag or boast about anything. In fact, regarding verse 2 of our passage today, other translations refer to “a man in Christ” other than Paul himself, so keen was he not to promote himself. The NIV reads, “I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know – God knows”. Paul seemed fully committed to not receiving any personal credit for this experience. He emphasised that only God knows whether he physically travelled to the third heaven in his body or whether it was an out-of-body experience. 

But what is the “third Heaven”? The general thought amongst the scholars is that the first heaven is the sky above our heads, the second is where the celestial bodies, such as the sun, moon, and stars reside, and the third Heaven is where we find God and His angels. Another school of thought holds that the first heaven is the sky above us, together with all the celestial bodies, galaxies, and so on that are visible, and the third Heaven is God’s domain, the Paradise that Jesus promised to the penitent thief. But the second heaven is the place where the devil and his demonic angels have their base, and from which the world we know is impacted by his evil ways. But whatever, Paul had a wonderful experience in the Third Heaven, and it was something that he could boast about.

Why was Paul forced to boast at all? Perhaps it was because the “super-apostles”, the leaders who seemed to have muscled into leadership roles within the Corinthian church, and who were perhaps bragging about their supernatural experiences, were criticising Paul, calling him something of a lightweight apostle not worthy of the name. But whatever was happening, Paul had to elevate himself out of his comfort zone and share his experience. 

Paul said this happened fourteen years previously. Why did this happen at all? Because I think we can agree, it is not a normal experience to be able to pay a visit to heaven and return to tell the tale. Perhaps God, knowing that Paul had missed out on all the teaching the twelve apostles had received during their time spent with Jesus, gave him a crash course to bring him up to speed. Or perhaps it was just an occasion that empowered him for the rest of his life, providing him with an extraordinary ministry so fruitful in establishing churches and making converts. Paul didn’t know if this was a physical or spiritual experience, but it was real to him, whatever.

Paul said that he heard “things so astounding that they cannot be expressed in words”. We can only speculate about what these things were because Paul wasn’t allowed to tell anyone about them. Perhaps it was similar to John’s revelation, as we read in Revelation 10:4, “When the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write. But I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Keep secret what the seven thunders said, and do not write it down””. What the words Paul and John heard we cannot even try to understand, but one day we will hear them, I’m sure. But one thing we know for sure, Paul told us about in 2 Corinthians 4:17-18, “For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever”. 

We pilgrims march ever onward, through a life strewn with boulders and other obstacles, all designed to trip us up and divert us away from the path that leads to the Place where we too will hear “things so astounding that they cannot be expressed in words”. Sometimes we think we cannot wait, but then we realise that we are here on this earth at just this time for a purpose: to be Christ’s ambassadors amongst the people in our sad and dying world. We are the only ones able to communicate Jesus’ message of hope, and we cannot shirk our responsibilities.

Father God. Please lead us to encounters that will enable us to share Your Good News. The words of eternal life You gave us are too precious to keep to ourselves. Amen. 

Suffering for a Little While

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“If I must boast, I would rather boast about the things that show how weak I am. God, the Father of our Lord Jesus, who is worthy of eternal praise, knows I am not lying. When I was in Damascus, the governor under King Aretas kept guards at the city gates to catch me. I had to be lowered in a basket through a window in the city wall to escape from him.”
2 Corinthians 11:30-33 NLT

An extraordinary tale from Paul, having to escape from the civil authorities in that way, but it provides yet another indication of how difficult it was in those days to be a Christian and preach the Gospel. If any believer has any doubts today about their faith, they must consider what others have gone through to protect it. If the story of Jesus, His ministry, His trial, death, burial, and subsequent resurrection is disbelieved by our fellow Christians, then perhaps the people involved should think about how many people have suffered so much to protect their faith in God. Lies never prevail over truth.

Are Christians generally weak, as Paul said he was? Surely that can’t be true, because we read verses such as “For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13). We also have Psalm 18:29, “In your strength I can crush an army; with my God I can scale any wall”. And another favourite of mine, Isaiah 40:29-31, “He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint”. Reading the verses, we can perhaps discover that, through God, we are, in fact, invincible and even indestructible. But we pause, and on reflection understand that all these things are in God’s strength, not in our own. Humans are frail beings, and ever since Jesus walked the highways and byways of Palestine, Christians have suffered greatly for their faith, their strength in God failing to materialise into a physical and human strength able to overcome the beatings, stonings, torture and other abuse that have been their lot under hostile and misguided regimes. And such is still the case today in some parts of the world. 

Christians take the long view because the time spent in this world is infinitesimally short compared to an eternity spent in God’s company. A different spirit was present when Peter and John were punished for speaking about Jesus. They were arrested to stand trial before the Sanhedrin, and we read their punishment in Acts 5:40-41, “The others accepted his advice. They called in the apostles and had them flogged. Then they ordered them never again to speak in the name of Jesus, and they let them go. The apostles left the high council rejoicing that God had counted them worthy to suffer disgrace for the name of Jesus”. Because Jesus suffered so much, Peter and John rejoiced that they too were suffering, and all because they could see what was coming their way. Perhaps they remembered what Jesus had said to them right back at the beginning, “But beware! For you will be handed over to the courts and will be flogged with whips in the synagogues” (Matthew 10:17). Later in the same discourse, Jesus said, “Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28). However, in 2 Corinthians 4:17-18, Paul wrote, “For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever”. The early Apostles, in all their distress, stayed the course because they knew what was coming one day soon.

We pilgrims here in the West have little to fear from the authorities for our faith. We will not receive a beating for sharing our faith, well, not yet anyway. But we will suffer more subtle forms of abuse, through being ostracised, or marginalised, in our society that only favours those who do not challenge the sin and evil that prevail. But as Paul said, what we suffer now is of no consequence from the perspective of eternity. We have a loving Heavenly Father who one day will call us home.

Dear Father God. Thank You for all that You have done for us and will continue to do until the day of glory that will come before we know it. Thank You for Jesus, who has made it all possible. Amen.

The Dangers in Living for Christ

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“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.

Understanding God’s Commendation: Our True Worth

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“Nor do we boast and claim credit for the work someone else has done. Instead, we hope that your faith will grow so that the boundaries of our work among you will be extended. Then we will be able to go and preach the Good News in other places far beyond you, where no one else is working. Then there will be no question of our boasting about work done in someone else’s territory. As the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord.” When people commend themselves, it doesn’t count for much. The important thing is for the Lord to commend them.”
2 Corinthians 10:15-18 NLT

What does God think about us, and whatever it is, how do we know? Paul wrote that it is no good “commend[ing] ourselves” because “it doesn’t count for much”. “The important thing is for the Lord to commend [us]”, he wrote. But the question is still there: if the Lord is commending us, how would we know, and what is He commending us for? 

The Bible is full of encouraging verses answering this question, such as Ephesians 2:10, “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago”. The picture behind this verse portrays our Master Creator God seeing us and our lives through the corridor of time and planning out our lives of service to Him. He could see if we would marry and who the spouse would be. He could see our giftings and how they would be used in our jobs or in our leisure. He would even have known about the church we would attend, the date of our decision to believe in Jesus and so on. The picture continues with our lives being created just as He intended. But the fact emerges that even though God created everyone in the miracle of birth, He could also see many who would reject Him, and it must have broken His heart. Through His grace, He ordained the creation and provided the opportunities for created beings full of potential yet riven by sin, and He loved them all. God’s plans for human beings continue today, as new births are announced all the time. But for us pilgrims, each one of us is “God’s masterpiece”; can we boast about this? 

Another verse worthy of note is Ephesians 8:38, “And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love”. God loves us and He always will, because nothing can ever come between us. In all our thoughts and deeds, in our lives, in what we do and don’t do, His love and grace is always there for us, unstoppable, unmovable, and inviolable. But for us pilgrims, each one of us loved by God, can we boast about this? 

We have a hope for the future. Jeremiah 9:11, “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope”. The plans God has for us are not just limited to our school years or perhaps our employment. His plans apply to the whole of our lives and, here’s the thing, our lives in eternity. God created us body, soul and spirit, and we know that when we pilgrims come to the end of our physical lives, our spirits will live on forever. Beyond the grave, God will still continue to love us and have good things for us to do. Heaven won’t be a time of drudgery and boredom. It will be a place where our spirits will experience “good things” beyond our wildest dreams. But for us pilgrims, each one of us loved by God, can we boast about this? 

We pilgrims have much to thank God for, if we stop to think about it, even for a moment. God has commended us, and we are always before Him, in His thoughts. Isaiah 49:16a, “See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands …”. God also considers us precious, as His own eyes. Psalm 17:8, “Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings”. These verses must surely cause us to rush out and stop every passerby, telling them of what we mean to God, and what He thinks of us. We surely must shout it out from every rooftop so that the world knows and understands the way in which the Lord has commended us. There is a line in the hymn “Praise, my soul, the King of Heaven” which reads, “ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven”. That’s who we are. The world out there will not consider this anything to boast about, but we surely do.

Father God. We praise and worship You today, secure in the knowledge that You love us and care for us, each and every day of our lives and beyond in the place where we will be with You. Thank You. Amen.

Understanding Spiritual Authority in Christianity

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“I do not want to seem to be trying to frighten you with my letters. For some say, ‘His letters are weighty and forceful, but in person he is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing.’ Such people should realise that what we are in our letters when we are absent, we will be in our actions when we are present.”
2 Corinthians 10:9-11 NIVUK

In Corinth, it appears that some leaders had emerged who were preaching a different Gospel, one at variance with what Paul had taught the church there. Perhaps there was some confusion in these leaders’ minds concerning God’s grace, something that emerged when Paul wrote to the Romans, “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning, so that grace may increase?” (Romans 6:1). But the same leaders were trying to exclude Paul as far as possible, and were undermining his letters and teaching in the process. So they were spreading the thought that Paul wrote “weighty and forceful” letters, but when he was with them in person, he was “unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing”. A personal attack that perhaps revealed the immaturity and wrong motives of his critics. However, Paul was the Apostle who established the Corinthian church, and he felt personally responsible for their spiritual well-being. 

In a way, we pilgrims today are very grateful that these issues have ended up recorded in Paul’s letters, because they have shaped the theology of our faith. Today, the same issues have emerged, exposing problems with spiritual authority within some denominations. This was different in Paul’s day, when the Christian faith was new and dependent on the Apostles for its authenticity and theological accuracy. Today, we have the Bible, but issues still come to light because sometimes a difference of opinion emerges among church leaders, with human and sinful factors creeping in, and, as a result, a church divides. As I have said before, in the city where I live, 14 churches were established in the 18th and 19th centuries, most of them Presbyterian by persuasion. Church splits sometimes come when a charismatic leader attracts a group of followers and moves away with them to a new location. Sometimes this is necessary, when the original leadership were unable to reconcile different beliefs and interpretations of the Bible. One example of this is between the liberal and traditional wings of one denomination I can think of. 

But spiritual authority is something that all believers must settle in their own minds. Far too often, a believer will follow a leader rather than follow Jesus, because it is sometimes easier that way. They don’t have to think about the rights and wrongs, the nuances and emphases, that emerge from the pulpit and instead rely on someone else to work all that out. That is fine when the leader is a sincere man or woman of integrity, well-versed in the Scriptures and preaching the truth of the Gospel. But what happens when he or she moves on to heed another call somewhere else? Do they leave behind a congregation of dependent people who fall apart and end up with a shipwrecked faith? And then we think of sects such as the JW’s and see how error can creep in and result in the people following a different god than the God of the Bible. 

Spiritual authority always starts with Jesus. We read in Matthew 28:18, “Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me”. James wrote, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. …” (James 4:7a). Our church leaders are themselves under God’s authority and are accountable to Him for what they preach and teach. Hebrews 13:17, “Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you”. In Luke 10, we read about the time when Jesus sent out 72 disciples, their authority in spiritual matters delegated to them by Jesus. He said, “I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you” (Luke 10:19). 

For us pilgrims everywhere, there is good advice in the first two verses of Hebrews 12, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honour beside God’s throne”. We fix our eyes on Jesus, because anywhere else will lead to disappointment and disillusionment. Yes, God will appoint men like Paul, or our church leaders, to help us along in our journey of faith, but ultimately we must look upwards to our Heavenly Champion, because there is no other Source of spiritual authority worth considering.

Dear Heavenly Father. We look to You this morning as the Source of all we need to live the Christian life. Thank You for Your grace and guidance. Amen.