Looking Forward

1 Cor 6:9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.12 All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. 13 Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods, but God will destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.14 And God both raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by His power.

Seeing the future has a lot to do with how you conduct your present. One of the reasons the economy continues to struggle is no one knows the kind of investments to make because the future at this point is so UN-certain. How is health-care going to be worked out? How is the cap-and-trade bill going to effect companies? How are the global finance markets going to respond to the political turmoil present in the world? Once even a little bit of certainty re-enters the picture, all the people who are holding the wealth will probably flood the markets with investments. But it is still a ‘chicken-or-the-egg’ thing at this moment, and so the uncertainty continues to drive a down or hesitant market.

As Bible-believing Christians, our view of the future should also shape our present investment behavior. What you are investing looks different than what the world has to invest, but everything else is basically the same.

We, unlike the world, have a very certain future, based on the Word of God. If anything, the uncertainty present in the world today produces an even greater certainty about the Word of God - since the Word of God predicted the uncertainty and unbelief in the world today. All this political upheaval caused by insidious global alliances? The Bible said so in Ezekiel 38. All this unbelief and lack of faith in the return of Jesus Christ for His Church? (The Rapture.) The Bible said so in 2 Peter 3.

Over and over again we see the exact occurrences playing out on the world today exactly described from 2,000 or more years ago in God’s Word. Where then do you place your faith?

This is why Paul says to the Corinthians, as a result of where they had, (or should have,) placed their faith – “Why would you join yourself to a harlot, when you know Jesus is coming back soon – or at the very least – you are going to meet Jesus soon?” With this kind of eternal certainty, why would you invest your flesh, your very life, in wickedness and sin?” It is one thing for someone who doesn’t know any better, but for the one who KNOWS Christ died for their eternal future – how could you forget to look forward?

- Pastor Bill

Make Mine Unleavened

1 Cor 5:7 Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. 8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Leviticus 23:4 'These are the feasts of the Lord, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times. 5 On the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight is the Lord's Passover. 6 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord; seven days you must eat unleavened bread.7 On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no customary work on it.

In order to correctly grasp the gravity of what Paul is expressing about sin, you have to understand what the Bible declares about leaven. Leaven is a seemingly innocuous, yet critical ingredient in bread-making. What does leaven have to do with sin? Well, nothing really, except in the typical Biblical fashion of colorful illustration.

You see, leaven is a “type” of sin, a representation of sin we can understand. (Leprosy is another “type” for sin spoken of in God’s Word.)

God wants everyone to understand the critical and often unseen, (until it is too late,) effects of sin - and so He employs leaven to illustrate the point in a way everyone, regardless of age, or education, or culture can fully comprehend.

The point Paul is making is the same point God makes. Keep the leaven out of the church – and out of your personal lives as well. Leaven is an insidious unseen ingredient that brings about decomposition and causes a complete change in the molecular make-up of the bread, which is visibly apparent to anyone who looks on. When ‘leaven’ enters the church, the church is forever changed in a way that is observable to anyone who looks. This must not happen. When it becomes apparent ‘leaven’ (sin,) is present in the church, it must be dealt with swiftly and drastically. It must be purged before it can do any more harm than it has already done, and it must be purged even before it becomes apparent – as once it is apparent, it may be too late. Jesus said, “If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off...”

Here we see why. Christ is OUR Passover. He is our Lamb Who was slain. He is the One who cleanses our house of sin (leaven) that once was present in such abundance. Can we look upon the Lamb Who was slain and then invite leaven back into our hearts? Can we look upon His great sacrifice for sin, and prevent those who may come to Christ from coming by the presence of unrepentant sin in the House of the Lord? Paul urges, “Once the leaven is gone – keep it out,” and by all means necessary.

- Pastor Bill

Instructed by God

1 Cor 2:14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15 But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. 16 For "who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?" But we have the mind of Christ.

There is little doubt about whose mind you may desire to have if only you could…right?

Not many of us, (as admirable as our sense of our own intelligence may be,) would desire to keep the limited, finite perspective we have instead of the awesome, infinite, graceful, Creator-mind offered to us by God.

No. Wait a minute. That statement is not true. It seems MOST people would rather keep their own cramped little perspective of life rather than the expansive, loving, wonderful perspective offered by God.

Why is that? Why would anyone turn down the opportunity to have God’s perspective of life?

The answer is: these things are “spiritually discerned.” (You have no idea until you have an idea, in other words. You cannot perceive God apart from the Spirit of God, Who is God.)

Does this sound like circular reasoning?

Here’s the thing – and it’s a big one. You have to change your mind about God in order to perceive God. Unless and until you do, your idea about God will always be the same vague ego-centric idea of God the rest of the world has. Simply put, you are worldly until you make the decision not to be. God extends the grace to you to allow you to make that decision, and He chooses not to violate what you decide.

I am worldly until I choose not to be? Yes. And in that worldly condition, you have no idea about God; because you do not have the Spirit of God Who knows the mind of God. In that worldly condition, you reject God, because all of His ways are “foolishness” to you because you do not understand them because you cannot understand them. Your wisdom is only worldly.

But God loves you so much He demonstrates His love for you. And if you will change your mind and receive the love He freely offers, then He will come into your heart and you will receive not just the love of Christ, but the mind of Christ as well. You will never know this until you know this.

- Pastor Bill

A Person of Influence

1 Corinthians1:1 Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, 2 To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours: 3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 4 I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus, 5 that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge, 6 even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, 7 so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8 who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

‘Sosthenes’ is one of those names that rolls off the tongue in an interesting way. A name you can practically taste as it winds its way out of the mouth. Soss-The-knees. Did his friends call him “Sossy?” Sure.

Don’t know much about him, but this: At one point in his life he hated Paul so much he had him arrested and dragged before the proconsul Gallio in the Courthouse at Corinth. The charge: “This fellow persuades men to worship God contrary to the law.” (Acts 18:13.)

That could be a serious charge based on who may be listening. Corinth, like Jerusalem, was a Roman-controlled city, and laws about worship could be life-threatening to break, especially if the charge was misconstrued to be heard as a charge against Roman governance. (Eventually, first-century Christians would be put to death for refusing to call Caesar, “god.”)

You could say that Sosthenes was seeking to have Paul put to death; certainly flogged or imprisoned. I don’t think Sosthenes would have lost any sleep if Paul had been put to death.

But Gallio, the proconsul, was in no mood to listen to the Jews’ charges that day, and he summarily threw the case out of court. (It is interesting how the New Testament routinely portrays the Roman government as somewhat sympathetic, or at least helpful, to the cause of Christians, in this case, Paul.) The Jews were unhappy about the outcome of the case, and the implied ineffectiveness of Sosthenes, so they beat him up instead, right in front of the judgment seat and Gallio. (Acts 18:17.)

Now, as Paul addresses the church of God at Corinth, he sends greetings on behalf of himself, and Sosthenes, “our brother.” What happened? What could change the hard heart of even the ruler of the synagogue? A man you would have thought would be the last to convert to Christ? Sosthenes is one of those shining examples of the power of the gospel. Never give up when sharing it.

- Pastor Bill