For I am the least of
the apostles,
who am not worthy to
be called an apostle,
because I persecuted
the church of God.
But by the grace of
God I am what I am,
and His grace toward
me was not in vain;
but I labored more
abundantly than they all,
yet not I, but the
grace of God
which was with me.
1 Corinthians 15: 9
-- 10
Have you
ever had that same feeling that Paul had, that you feel unworthy to be called a Christian? Maybe as Paul
persecuted the church by sending some into prison and having others arrested as
well, is not what you have actually done, but you have persecuted Christianity
by your words and your actions, even sometimes being Atheistic. I am not saying that you are Atheistic, but
sometimes our actions are so similar to those who are actually Atheistic than
it is hard to tell the difference. Here
is the greatest of good news that can be ever given to a person: "By
the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain." And, as you can see; you have done nothing
to warrant what God is willing to give freely and that is His grace to those
who He has chosen. Paul was definitely
a recipient of the grace of God, and so are all of His children. The apostle Paul was highly favored by God
yet always had a mean opinion of himself and he expressed it. Remember this, and remember yourself, formerly you did know him or have not followed the Lord even though others in your
family may have. Paul, and maybe yourself,
do not feel as though, due to your past, you have the right to be used openly
in the church, as Paul felt unworthy to be called an apostle. By God's grace we are what we are! By the divine grace of God He has turned you
into one of His saints. Yes, we
remember our past and our failure to follow or even no God, and that remembrance
of our former sins should make us humble, diligent, and faithful. Yes, we would love to have that past of ours removed from our memory, and if so, then, we probably would not be a
humble, faithful, servant of God, rather we would find ways in some attempt to
make us godly. This the Corinthian
church seem to be doing and needed to be reprimanded and brought back to the
truth by Paul. By God's grace we are
what we are and by our humble spirit is a gracious one that can be used by God
and that use is to bring the Gospel to our world. When we look back at some of the prminent men of the Bible and of
our Christian faith we find that there is a common denominator and that common
denominator is humbleness. Paul has
already instructed us that the most excellent thing for us to desire, the most
excellent way, is love, and that love is the principle of love of God and that
is the love we bring to our world. We
should earnestly desire that the grace that God bestows upon us may not be in
vain, and we should aim to redeem the time that we have formerly lost, and to
remember to ascribe any good that we do, is by the grace of God in us. And by that grace and by our humbleness and
willingness to be used by God we can speak as Paul did:
"Therefore, whether it was by or they, so we preach and so you
believed" (1 Corinthians 15:11).
Let us not fall into the error that has befallen among many Christian
churches and by the practice of so many Christians who believe that what they
do is of God and yet God has never called us to do those things or to preach the
sermons that are very liberal and often simply contradict Scripture. We need to live life, the life that God has
given us, and we do this by following the commands of God. One of those commands is for us to be a
witness for Him, not looking for some simple "sloppy agape."
Not simply just some feelings of love that make us feel worthy even
though sometimes we count that we are not as though that makes us to be
somewhat more worthy because we recognize our sinfulness and speak of that to
others as though that makes us Christian.
It is the Gospel that is our foundation for everything we do whether it
is painting the house, mowing the lawn, cleaning our house, washing your car,
doing things with our children, and with our husband. What ever it is that you do we are the representatives of our Just and Loving God who graciously saved us, therefore, we are willing and ready to
not only show the Gospel but to tell others the Gospel.
Among the Christian churches was a group
of people who while claiming to be Christian did not teach or believe in the
resurrection of the dead and especially in the resurrection of Jesus
Christ. This false theology was
affecting the church and Paul had to speak in regard to that false doctrine:
"Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do
some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead,
then Christ is not risen. And if Christ
is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty" (1
Corinthians 15: 12 -- 14). Paul has
previously confirmed the truth of our Savior's resurrection and now refutes
those who says that there would be no resurrection. Remember, Paul has mentioned more than 500 people had seen the
resurrected Jesus Christ and if Paul had spoke that which they had not seen
they would have openly rebuked Paul and this they did not do. Let me ask you these questions and don't
answer it quickly: "do you really believe that Jesus Christ died on the
cross, was buried in a tomb for three days, and then by Himself resurrected
Himself, and then ascended into heaven bodily?" Do you just hope that this is true or do you really believe that
it is true? Are you being a Christian
and doing what you think are Christian things so that God would resurrect you
in case that it is true? Are you truly
completely converted to Jesus Christ?
The answer to those questions are important and if you do truly believe
in the resurrected in Bosnia since the Jesus Christ and that He is both Man and
God. And that His death paid for your
sin and you truly desire to follow Him; then study his word and live by his
word and be ready to defend your faith in anyone who may ask you.
Like an apple tree
among the trees of the woods,
so is my beloved among the sons,
I sat down in his
shade with great delight,
and his fruit was sweet to my taste.
Song
of Solomon 2: 3
You have the free
grace of God
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