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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

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