15July2019

Such Were Some of You

Written By robfaircloth

If you grasp for that comfort to which you are not entitled, you will forfeit the kingdom that you might have inherited.

God has granted a precious and unimaginably rich kingdom to those who come to him through Jesus Christ. But the way to him is narrow, and everything extraneous is too wide to fit through it. We must shed everything unrelated to the kingdom in order to enter the kingdom.

If we opt for the broad way to accommodate our earthly stuff, or try to squeeze through the narrow gate with a backpack full of earthly stuff, we won’t make it into the kingdom. Try to pull your hand, full of cookies, back out of a Mason jar. Or clutch a book and try to pull your arm through your shirt sleeve. You get the picture.

After all, it is Jesus who tells us to pluck out our eye, and cut off our hand, if such is necessary to enter the kingdom.

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1July2019

Don’t Serve Spiritual Mold to Celebrate Christ

Written By robfaircloth

Most people love a celebration. At this time of year, many of us have celebrated graduations. Others have celebrated births, retirements, employments, recoveries. And, many will be celebrating Independence Day this week.

The term “celebration” itself reminds us of times that are festive, joyful, happy. The LORD has graciously revealed about himself that he wants his people to celebrate, to be a people characterized by festivity, joy, and happiness. As someone has said, “Christians should have the most parties.”

But celebrations can be hollow and shallow. You might have had the experience of being present for a celebration, of even going through the motions of celebrating, yourself, but having a sense that you shouldn’t be celebrating, that it is not lasting, it is not true, it is not real.

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27June2019

How to Party with Christ

Written By robfaircloth

Life in Christ is a celebration of the highest order. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 5:6-8 what spiritual party planning looks like:

  1. Stop Your Boasting
  2. Recognize Your Leavening
  3. Start Your Cleansing
  4. Know Your Calling
  5. Trust Your Covering
  6. Commence Your Celebrating

For real celebration of the sacrifice of Christ, we must faithfully remove corruption from the body of Christ.

19June2019

Nine Ways You Might Be Arrogant Toward Sin

Written By robfaircloth

In today’s cultural environment, we might need to stop and define sin before addressing arrogant attitudes toward it.

But that is a subject for a different post. Today we want to take to heart Paul’s admonition to the church at Corinth. He said “and you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn?” (1Co 5:2). They had permitted one of their members to “have his father’s wife” without a word from the congregation, but with many “words” from the community: Paul had heard through the proverbial grapevine that the church tolerated behavior that even the unbelieving world despised.

How can a believer determine whether he is acting on a biblical attitude toward sin in a brother, and in the believing community? How can she know that she is properly mourning the sin, rather than tolerating it? Here are several examples of improper attitudes toward sin, that will prevent properly mourning and will undermine the purity of the church.

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17June2019

For Unity, Let Leaders Minister

Written By robfaircloth

When there is disagreement about what church leaders ought to do, there will certainly be division in the congregation.

In 1 Corinthians 3 & 4, Paul addresses how disunity at Corinth was related to their view of ministers and members. He first identified the cause of disunity: behaving as “mere humans” (1Co 3:1-4), when immature Christians ate the spiritual junk food of jealousy and strife, which had stunted their spiritual growth. Then he identified five areas in which a congregation can either mature toward unity or digress in disunity:

  • Their view of ministers: God’s agents with assigned roles
  • Their view of ministry: built on the foundation of Christ and according to God’s blueprints
  • Their view of self: not deceived with pride or worldly wisdom
  • Their view of ministerial success: judged by God for faithfulness, not results
  • Their view of ministerial faithfulness: defined by God’s standard

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12June2019

For Unity, Build for Fireproof Ministry

Written By robfaircloth

If farmers with different ideas for what to plant, how to till, and the best fertilizer to use are all charged with cultivated the same field, there will be discord, and probably no crop.

If architects with different blueprints, contrasting styles, and favorite materials all try to build on the same foundation, there will be discord, and either no building at all, one that is hideous, or one that collapses.

Paul uses these images to address the church at Corinth regarding their problems with unity, and divisions over leaders and with leaders. For there to be unity in a congregation, it must be building according to the Lord’s blueprints for ministry. In 1 Corinthians 3:9-17, Paul uses the metaphor of workers and buildings to illustrate his point about unity.

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11June2019

For Church Unity, Ministers answer to God

Written By robfaircloth

A fractured congregation is a paralyzed, neutralized congregation.

Many times what fractures the congregation is unbiblical loyalty to particular human ministers on the basis of worldly wisdom: standards of personality, communication, style, community influence, and charisma that are not the minister’s duty or responsibility in Scripture.

Paul addressed just this situation in his first letter to the church at Corinth.

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