Skip to main content

Love Them Enough Not To Give Up

Over the past several weeks I have been reading through the book of 1 Corinthians as my morning devotional time. The church at Corinth was unique to say the least, in fact there is no one word that I can use to describe this book of the Bible. As the book unfolds Paul has the task of addressing the issues there at the church. Many of the congregation are disagreeing over which minister they should follow - Paul, Apollos, Cephas or Christ. In other words they are divided when they should be united. Then we get to chapter five and Paul is amazed that there is a form of sexual immorality taking place in the church and no one is trying to deal with it. That is, they are united where they should be divided.

But the thing that amazes me most about this letter is this; Paul refuses to give up on the church at Corinth. They had heard the gospel, made a declaration of faith and were baptized. Sin, however, is a hard beast to fall. Paul knows this and refuses to give up on them. So he takes decisive action. He gives them very strong rebukes for their sin, he reminds them of the gospel, and he continues to teach them the truth of God's word.

The reason that I point this out to me and you as well is this; I do not want any of us to ever think that the gospel has lost its power. The gospel is very powerful, but the battle against sin will be intense. So let us as a church continue to pray for each other. In love, earnestly pray that they gospel will be at work and effective in our lives and in the lives of those around us. Don't give up on anybody! Instead, love them enough to rebuke them of their sin, love them enough to remind them of Christ's sacrifice for their sin, and love them enough to teach them what the truth is.

Wanting to see the power of the cross on display in all of us,

Pastor Mitch

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Generation of Mark 13:30

At the beginning of Mark chapter thirteen Jesus is leaving the temple area and one of his disciples points out the grandure of the temple buildings. Jesus' remark to that disciple concerns the fact that these buildings will one day be torn down. The disciples question Him further as to the times of these events, and so begins an extended teaching from Jesus on the end times.As Jesus' remarks are drawing to a close, He makes this comment in Mark 13:30: "Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place." (NASB) So the reader is left to wonder the meaning of this statement. Either our understanding of generation is wrong, or we are understanding what Jesus meant by "these things" wrong. I think there are at least two solutions. The word for generation (genea: Greek) could mean, as some side column reference Bibles note, "the human race". This is possible, since the events have not all happened and the human race...
15 comments
Read more

Children, Forgive Your Parents

Originally written on August 7, 2005 I remember the first time my father spoke to me as an adult. I was thirty. I had always looked up to my dad because he has many characteristics that are larger than life. Our relationship had always been that of a father and child. It did not change as I became a teenager and as I entered adulthood this unchanging relationship was the cause of much strain. So I was caught off guard as my dad began to speak to me over lunch one day at Chik-fil-a. As he spoke to me he began to confess the things that he had done wrong in raising my brother and me. It was a remarkable moment. Mainly because I noticed very few of his mistakes. He always worked to provide for us, loved my mother with all his heart, gave us plenty of hugs and kisses, and told us that he loved us everyday. So why would he admit to making mistakes in raising his children? After all, he had done a pretty exceptional job. The truth of the matter is that no matter how good we do as parents and...
1 comment
Read more

Confession: An Old Principle Revisited

Originally written on July 24, 2005 On Tuesday The Oprah Winfrey Show aired an episode devoted to people who had suffered tremendous loss at the hands of other individuals. These parties were brought together under the pressure of extreme emotional scaring and anger. When these individuals were in front of each other they were asked to retell their side of the story, recall all of their feelings, admit their wrong doing, and ultimately ask for forgiveness from the individual that they had harmed. This so-called new approach has been labeled as "restorative justice." Oprah called it a radical new approach to emotional healing and was in awe at the success people found who took part in the exercise. What was not brought to the light was the fact that this approach is radical, but it is by no means new. In the New Testament James understood this principle very well. In James 5:16 he states "Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you m...
2 comments
Read more