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Willing To Die That Some Might Live

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1 I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit— 2 that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. 4 They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. 5 To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen. – Romans 9:1-5 ESV

Paul was a proud, card-carrying Jew. His Damascus road experience had introduced him to his Messiah and justified him before God, but it had not eliminated or altered his ethnicity in any way. His identity as a descendant of Abraham remained unaltered, and his Hebrew heritage remained intact. In fact, Paul was proud of his background. He once described himself as having been “circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee” (Philippians 3:5 ESV).

After his Damascus Road encounter with the resurrected Jesus, Paul received a commission to take the gospel to the Gentiles. But Paul never abandoned his desire to share the good news about the Messiah with his fellow Jews. The book of Acts records that, virtually every place Paul traveled on his missionary journeys, the first place he went was to the local synagogue.

Paul and Barnabas traveled inland to Antioch of Pisidia. On the Sabbath they went to the synagogue for the services. – Acts 13:14 NLT

The same thing happened in Iconium. Paul and Barnabas went to the Jewish synagogue and preached with such power that a great number of both Jews and Greeks became believers. – Acts 14:1 NLT

While Paul’s assignment from God was to take the gospel to the Gentiles, he never lost his desire to see his fellow Jews come to faith.

Paul and Silas then traveled through the towns of Amphipolis and Apollonia and came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. As was Paul’s custom, he went to the synagogue service, and for three Sabbaths in a row he used the Scriptures to reason with the people. He explained the prophecies and proved that the Messiah must suffer and rise from the dead. He said, “This Jesus I’m telling you about is the Messiah.” – Acts 17:1-3 NLT

As a former Pharisee, Paul was highly knowledgeable of the Hebrew Scriptures and understood that the Jews were God’s chosen people. That’s why he wrote, “They are the people of Israel, chosen to be God’s adopted children. God revealed his glory to them. He made covenants with them and gave them his law. He gave them the privilege of worshiping him and receiving his wonderful promises. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are their ancestors, and Christ himself was an Israelite as far as his human nature is concerned” (Romans 9:4-5 NLT).

The Jewish nation was the divinely ordained conduit through which God’s grace and mercy were to flow to all mankind. God had sovereignly orchestrated that His Son was born into a Jewish household. Jesus was a Jew, but not only that, He was the fulfillment of God’s long-awaited promise for a Messiah or deliverer.

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. – Isaiah 7:14 ESV

And Jesus was the fulfillment of the promises made to Abraham, the father of the Jewish nation.

Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ. – Galatians 3:16 ESV

Paul knew that the church in Rome was likely comprised of a blend of both Jews and Gentiles, and it would be easy for the Jews to be seen in a negative light. After all, they had rejected the Messiah and were complicit in His death. Peter made that fact painfully clear when he addressed the Jews in his sermon on the day of Pentecost.

“The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses.” – Acts 3:13-15 ESV

But despite his harsh accusation, Peter was quick to offer them an opportunity to repent of their sin and accept Jesus as their Messiah.

“I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled. Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus.” – Acts 3:17-20 ESV

Both Peter and Paul longed to see their fellow Jews accept Jesus as their Savior. Paul has already stated in this letter that all men stand before God as guilty of sin and worthy of death. But he also made it clear that Jesus died so that all men, both Jews and Gentiles, might come to a saving knowledge of Jesus as their God-appointed deliverer.

Paul felt so strongly about his desire for the Jews to be saved that he was willing to be damned or cut off from Christ if it meant that his fellow Jews might come to faith.

I would be willing to be forever cursed—cut off from Christ!—if that would save them.  – Romans 9:3 NLT

The Greek word Paul used was anathema, and it refers to “a thing devoted to God without hope of being redeemed, and if an animal, to be slain; therefore a person or thing doomed to destruction” (Outline of Biblical Usage). In a sense, Paul was saying that he was willing to give up his salvation if it meant that more of his Jewish brothers and sisters would come to faith in Christ. Of course, Paul knew that sacrificing his salvation could not redeem anyone, but his statement expresses his deep longing for them to come to a saving knowledge of Jesus as their Messiah.

Despite the Jewish nation’s initial rejection of Jesus, there were many who had come to believe in Him, and their path to salvation was the same as everyone else’s. They had to come to Christ by faith alone; their Jewish heritage could not save them. When it came to God’s assessment of their sinfulness, their coveted position as Abraham’s descendants could not earn them special favor with God.

Remember, Paul started out this letter with his thesis that the gospel “is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16 ESV).

One of the hardest things for a Jew to do was to let go of his pride and trust in his own self-righteousness and accept the free gift of God’s grace offered through His Son’s death on the cross. Paul knew this firsthand, which led him to quote the words of God found in the book of Exodus.

For God said to Moses,

“I will show mercy to anyone I choose,
    and I will show compassion to anyone I choose.”

So it is God who decides to show mercy. We can neither choose it nor work for it. – Romans 9:15-16 NLT

Paul longed for Jews to come to faith in Christ; he deeply desired their salvation. But he knew that there was only one way for them to be saved, and he made that way known to Timothy, his son in the faith.

…there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus. He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. This is the message God gave to the world at just the right time. – 1 Timothy 2:5-6 NLT

Paul believed this message so strongly that he was willing to die that others might live, including his own people. He took his assignment as the apostle to the Gentiles seriously, but he never gave up his quest to reach his fellow Jews with the good news of the gospel.

To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. – 1 Corinthians 9:20-22 ESV

Father, Paul’s passion is both inspiring and convicting. He was so willing to share the gospel with his fellow Jews that he endured rejection, ridicule, and even the threat of death every time he entered a synagogue. His efforts to share Christ with his Jewish brothers and sisters were usually far from successful. He was repeatedly chased out of town and, on one occassion, even stoned and left for dead. But he kept on sharing. He persistenly and faithfully kept on calling his fellow Israelites to believe the wonderful news that their Messiah had come and His name was Jesus. I long to have that same kind of passion. As a Gentile, I have experienced the joy of being saved and sanctified by placing my faith in Christ, but I don’t share Paul’s passion and persistence to proclaim that good news to others. Light a fire within me that I too could say, “I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.”  Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.22

A Holy Calling

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8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, 9 who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, 10 and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, 11 for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, 12 which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me. – 2 Timothy 1:8-12 ESV

Paul’s letter to Timothy, while personal in nature, is global in its scope and impact. Originally written with Timothy in mind, Paul’s words are applicable and appropriate for any child of God who understands their calling as an ambassador and servant of Christ. The decision by the early church fathers to include this letter in the canon of Scripture is evidence of their belief that it was Spirit-inspired and, therefore, its message was intended for a larger audience than one.

In a way, Timothy serves as a model or representative for the rest of the body of Christ. He was a relatively new believer who was privileged to have the apostle Paul as his personal mentor and spiritual guide. And although it seems clear that Timothy was commissioned for the gospel ministry and had received spiritual gifts commensurate with that responsibility, the instructions he received from Paul apply to each and every Christ-follower.

If we read this letter with the perspective that we’re eavesdropping on a personal conversation between two close friends, we will the vital truths contained in it. Paul’s admonitions and instructions, while directed at Timothy, have a much broader application intended for a much larger audience. They span the boundaries of time and continue to speak to all those who share Timothy’s “sincere faith” (2 Timothy 1:5 ESV) and who desire to “fan into flame the gift of God” (2 Timothy 1:6 ESV).

Paul issued the same challenge to all Christ-followers: “imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.” (1 Corinthians 11:1 NLT). He intended his life to be a model of Christlikeness and he expected every believer to be mentored by his example. So, when Paul declares himself to be an ambassador for Christ entrusted with “the message of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:19 ESV), there is a sense in which he expects all followers of Christ to share in that responsibility. When he tells the Corinthian believers, “we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us” (2 Corinthians 5:20 ESV), he is including them as fellow ambassadors whom he expected to share the same divine invitation: “be reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 5:20 ESV).

There is a sense in which all believers are being mentored by Paul as they read his letters and allow the Holy Spirit to apply God’s truth to their hearts. We are to read Paul’s words to Timothy with an eager expectation that we will discover personal applications that will radically alter the spiritual trajectory of our lives.

So, when Paul tells Timothy, “do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord” (2 Timothy 1:8 ESV), his words apply to us. As believers, we should never find ourselves ashamed to tell others about God’s message of reconciliation made possible through faith in Christ. Paul knew that Timothy was having a difficult time reconciling the imprisonment of his mentor. He was probably having to field difficult questions from the believers in Ephesus who wondered what they could expect if the apostle Paul had been imprisoned for his faith. How could that be part of God’s divine plan? Would they be next? And Paul knew that Timothy was probably embarrassed by his mentor’s untimely and inexplicable confinement and struggling to explain what was going on.

But rather than making excuses for his predicament, Paul invited Timothy to “share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God” (2 Timothy 1:8 ESV). Paul wasn’t ashamed of his imprisonment. He viewed it as a privilege and something to be understood as good rather than bad.

I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong. – 2 Corinthians 12:10 NLT

And Paul saw his life as exemplary rather than as some kind of anomaly. He even pleaded with the believers in Corinth to see every aspect of his life as worthy of emulation – highlighting the good along with the seemingly bad.

…we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything. – 2 Corinthians 6:4-10 ESV

And, in his letter to the church at Philippi, Paul reminded them that suffering for Christ was to be expected because they were all caught up in a spiritual war.

For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have. – Philippians 1:29-30 ESV

And the apostle Peter shared Paul’s recognition that suffering was a non-negotiable aspect of the Christian life.

Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are.

In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation. – 1 Peter 5:8-10 NLT

So, Paul reminds Timothy (and by extension, us) that he had been saved and “to a holy calling” (2 Timothy 1:9 ESV). Timothy had been set apart by God for a divine purpose and, like Paul, had a responsibility to live up to his calling. Paul acknowledged his own appointment as “a preacher and apostle and teacher” (2 Timothy 1:11 ESV). And he knew that calling was the reason for his imprisonment. That’s why he could “take pleasure” in it. He knew he was doing exactly what he had been commissioned to do and if his faithful carrying out of his job resulted in suffering, he saw himself as sharing in the sufferings of Christ. He was simply getting a small taste of what His Savior endured on his behalf.

And Paul found no shame in his imprisonment. In fact, he boldly proclaimed, “I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me” (2 Timothy 1:12 ESV). Despite his less-than-ideal circumstances, Paul remained confident in the faith he had placed in Christ. The presence of difficulties had not caused his faith to waver or his trust in Jesus’ saving work to diminish. Paul was not looking for heaven on earth. He didn’t expect his belief in Christ to result in a trouble-free life marked by health, wealth, and prosperity.

He knew that the salvation Christ died to provide was eternal in nature, not temporal. Jesus had not sacrificed Himself so that Paul could live a comfortable, pain-free life in the here-and-now. He died so that Paul, Timothy, and every other individual who placed their faith in Him could one day experience an eternity free from sin, pain, suffering, and sorrow.  As Jesus Himself said, “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world” (John 16:33 NLT).

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

Resist Like It.

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 8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.11 To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.12 By Silvanus, a faithful brother as I regard him, I have written briefly to you, exhorting and declaring that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it.13 She who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings, and so does Mark, my son.14 Greet one another with the kiss of love.

Peace to all of you who are in Christ. – 1 Peter 5:8-14 ESV

As children of God, we will always find ourselves at odds with this world. As Peter reminded his readers, the status of each and every Christ-follower is that of a sojourner or exile in this world. We are citizens of another Kingdom, with allegiances to God that will create a constant source of conflict between ourselves and the citizens of this world. Even Jesus warned the disciples that the world would hate them.

“If the world hates you, be aware that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own. However, because you do not belong to the world, but I chose you out of the world, for this reason the world hates you.” – John 15:18-19 NLT

Not only that, but in John 10:10, Jesus alludes to the ongoing animosity we can expect from Satan: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.” He too, hates us, and is out to make our life on this earth as miserable as possible. His life’s mission is to distract and dissuade us from following the will of our heavenly Father, just as he did with Adam and Eve in the garden. He is a deceiver, the accuser of the brethren, and an angel of light, who subtly misleads the people of God with half-truths and convincing arguments that lead to nothing but spiritual death. So, Peter warns his readers to be sober-minded and watchful.

We live in dangerous times, and Satan, like a hungry lion, stalks the world looking for easy prey to devour. Like any predator, he will focus on the weak and defenseless first. But that doesn’t mean he will ignore the spiritually mature. He loves nothing more than destroying the witness of those who are in positions of spiritual authority, such as elders, pastors and teachers. He studies our habits and takes note of our spiritual flaws and weaknesses. It is when we think we are invulnerable, that we are the most susceptible to his attacks. Paul put it this way: “If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12 NLT). It’s why he told the Ephesians:

Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.– Ephesians 6:11-12 NLT

Peter encourages his readers to be sober-minded. The Greek word he used refers to a state of soberness, the opposite of drunkenness. Someone who is drunk cannot think clearly. They lack the capacity to make wise choices. They are incapable of defending themselves or from causing harm to themselves. To be sober-minded is to not allow ourselves to be “drunk” on the affairs of life. A sober-minded individual will not willingly allow their mind to come under the influence of someone or something else. And yet, how easy it is to become intoxicated by pleasure, materialism, popularity, money, entertainment, comfort, and any of a number of other distractions in this life. It was Blaise Pascal who wrote of the diversions that that the enemy uses to so easily distract us and tempt us off course.

Diversion. – Men are entrusted from infancy with the care of their honor, their property, their friends, and even with the property and the honor of their friends. They are overwhelmed with business, with the study of languages, and with physical exercise; and they are made to understand that they cannot be happy unless their health, their honor, their fortune and that of their friends be in good condition, and that a single thing wanting will make them unhappy. Thus they are given cares and business which make them bustle about from break of day. It is, you will exclaim, a strange way to make them happy! What more could be done to make them miserable?–Indeed! what could be done? We should only have to relieve them from all these cares; for then they would see themselves: they would reflect on what they are, whence they came, whither they go, and thus we cannot employ and divert them too much. And this is why, after having given them so much business, we advise them, if they have some time for relaxation, to employ it in amusement, in play, and to be always fully occupied. How hollow and full of ribaldry is the heart of man!

– Blaise Pascal, Thoughts

But Peter lets us know that we can resist the enemy, but only if we remain firm in our faith. We don’t do it in our own strength. That’s why the apostle Paul wrote: “Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power” (Ephesians 6:1 NLT).

We don’tt fight this battle alone. We do not suffer alone. Peter would have us recognize that this very same spiritual battle is taking  place all across the planet, impacting the lives of our brothers and sisters in Christ. Together, we must resist and stand firm. We must remain sober-minded and watchful. And we must constantly remind ourselves that this suffering will not last forever. Suffering has a purpose and it also has an end. There is a day coming, Peter states, when “after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation” (1 Peter 5:10 NLT).

Remember, this world is not our home. We are sojourners and exiles. One day, God will take us home to be with Him. The suffering will come to an end. The enemy will be defeated once and for all time. Sin will be eliminated and death will no longer loom over us. We can have hope, even in the midst of our suffering, because God is on our side. Peter started out his letter by reminding those to whom he was writing that God had chosen them. Their relationship with God had been His decision, not their own. Now, at the end of his letter, he states yet again, “In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus” (1 Peter 5:10 NLT).

He had chosen them. He had called them. And the end goal was for them to one day share in His eternal glory. So, with that in mind, they were to resist the enemy. They were to stay sober-minded and watchful. They were to stand firm in their faith. God’s choice and calling of them was secure and their future was set. There was no need to worry or doubt. Their faithful God had their future in His fully capable hands, so they were to resist like it. And the same is true today. All of us who “been born again,” can “live with great expectation,” because “God raised Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3 NLT).  And because of that reality, we can rest in the knowledge that “we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven…pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay” (1 Peter 1:4 NLT).

As a result, we can live with peace, confidence, security, contentment, joy, hope, and full assurance that our inheritance is secure and our future is unshakeable. Any suffering we endure in this life will be short-lived and incomparable to the glory to come.

So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation.All power to him forever! Amen. – 1 Peter 5:10-11 NLT

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

New English Translation (NET)NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.

A Gracious Thing.

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Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust. For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. – 1 Peter 2:18-25 ESV

Peter now turns his attention to those within the church who were servants. The actual Greek word he uses is οἰκέτης (oiketēs) and it refers to a household servant or domestic. In many, if not all, cases these people were actually slaves. Theirs was not a normal case of voluntary employment. Those for whom they worked were considered their masters. They were obligated by Roman law to obey their masters It is thought that as many as 1 in 3 of the population of Italy were slaves. In the rest of the Roman provinces it was as much as 1 in 5. So slaves were a major part of the Roman economy and social structure. The Ancient History Encyclopedia provides a glimpse into the Roman perspective on slavery.

Slavery, that is complete mastery (dominium) of one individual over another, was so embedded in Roman culture that slaves became almost invisible and there was certainly no feeling of injustice in this situation on the part of the rulers. Inequality in power, freedom and the control of resources was an accepted part of life and went right back to the mythology of Jupiter overthrowing Saturn. As K.Bradley eloquently puts it, ‘freedom…was not a general right but a select privilege’ (Potter, 627). Further, it was believed that the freedom of some was only possible because others were enslaved. Slavery, was, therefore, not considered an evil but a necessity by Roman citizens.(Mark Cartwright. “Slavery in the Roman World,” Ancient History Encyclopedia. Last modified November 01, 2013. http://www.ancient.eu /article/629/.)

Peter does not address the institution of slavery. Instead, he speaks directly to those within the church who happened to be slaves or servants. That is the amazing thing. The very fact that these individuals were part of the local body of Christ speaks volumes about the church’s view of them as individuals. They were considered equal members of the body of Christ and were addressed as individuals with both responsibilities and rights. So Peter talks directly to them, giving them very personalized and specific instructions regarding their behavior. They were to “be subject” to their masters. He repeats the phrase he used when speaking to the church as a whole about their relationship to governmental authorities. These slaves had another issue. They were under the authority of their masters. They were obligated by law to obey. But Peter gives them a new way of looking at their role. In fact, he says that they were to treat their masters with all respect, whether they were good and gentle or unjust. And in Peter’s estimation, if a slave was suffering because of his faith in Christ, it was a “gracious thing.” The word he used was χάρις (charis). Charis was used by the New Testament authors to refer to God’s good will, loving-kindness, and favor. It was “the merciful kindness by which God, exerting his holy influence upon souls, turns them to Christ, keeps, strengthens, increases them in Christian faith, knowledge, affection, and kindles them to the exercise of the Christian virtues” (“G5485 – charis (KJV) :: Strong’s Greek Lexicon.” Blue Letter Bible. http://www.blueletterbible.org).

They were to view their suffering as a sign of God’s grace and a reminder of His ongoing transformation of their lives into the likeness of His Son. He reminds them that enduring suffering for doing wrong accomplishes nothing. But enduring suffering for doing what is right and good “is a gracious thing in the sight of God” (1 Peter 2:20 ESV). When we endure suffering for the sake of Christ, our actions not only please God, but God is pleased to use those times of difficulty to mold us and make us more holy. Paul told the believers in Rome, “we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Romans 5:3-5 ESV). Suffering that comes as a result of our faith is to be expected. For a slave in Peter’s day, the ridicule and shame that would have accompanied their faith would have been great. They were not viewed as people. They were property. Their masters would have seen their new-found faith in Christ as a threat. They had no rights. A master seeing their slave mixing in with other individuals of other classes of society as part of the church would have infuriated them.

But Peter reminds the slaves “to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps” (1 Peter 2:21 ESV). Then Peter explains how the example of Christ applied to them. Throughout His suffering on this earth, Jesus “continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly” (1 Peter 2:23 ESV). He kept His faith in God. He knew that His heavenly Father was watching and would reward Him for His faithfulness. He never took His eyes off His calling. “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness” (1 Peter 2:24 ESV). And it was the suffering of Christ that provided the means of salvation for mankind. By his wounds we have been healed. It was His suffering and death that made it possible for slaves, servants, masters, men, women, children, Jews, Gentiles and people from all walks of life to return to the Shepherd and Overseer of their souls. Christ’s suffering had a purpose. So does ours. It produces endurance, character and hope. And it reveals the grace of God as He uses anything and everything in our lives to produce in us the image of His Son.

A Remnant.

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And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved,  for the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth fully and without delay.”  And as Isaiah predicted, “If the Lord of hosts had not left us offspring, we would have been like Sodom and become like Gomorrah.” – Romans 9:27-29 ESV

All mankind is deserving of God’s righteous judgment. From His holy perspective, “None is righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10 ESV). All are guilty of rebellion against Him and of breaking His holy commands. At no point in the history of mankind has there lived a man or woman who deserved God’s mercy or grace. No one has ever been able to live up to His righteous standards or fulfill His laws perfectly and completely. Abraham was not even a worshiper of God when he was called by God. Noah, while a good man who knew and worshiped God, was far from sinless. And yet God chose to spare him. Moses was a murderer, but God, in His sovereign will, chose Moses to deliver His people from captivity. And the very people Moses was chosen to set free from their captivity had long ago abandoned the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and were guilty of worshiping the gods of Egypt. But God chose to deliver them anyway. All throughout the history of the nation of Israel, we see God choosing to bless some and reject others. He rejected Saul as king of Israel because of his disobedience. He chose David and anointed him to be Saul’s replacement. David, while a man after God’s own heart, was far from perfect. He would end up allowing his passions to lead him to commit adultery, resulting in an illegitimate pregnancy and his attempt to cover it up resulting in the murder of the woman’s husband. But God graciously forgave David and continued to bless his reign.

The nation of Israel would prove to be unfaithful to God over and over again. Their disobedience and that of their king, Solomon, the son of David, would result in the split of the kingdom. Their continued rebellion would force God to send the northern nation of Israel into captivity at the hands of the Assyrians. Years later, the southern nation of Judah would suffer the same fate at the hands of the Babylonians. God had warned both nations to return to Him. He had sent His prophets to call the people back to Him or face His righteous wrath. They refused and God, in His justice, punished them for their rebellion. And yet, in spite of their sin, God chose to spare a remnant. While the entire nation of Israel had been God’s chosen people, they ended up split in two. The northern tribes would be exiled and never return to the land. The southern tribes would only see a small portion of their descendants return to Judah and Jerusalem. The prophet Isaiah predicted what would happen.

In that day the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no more lean on him who struck them, but will lean on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God. For though your people Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will return. Destruction is decreed, overflowing with righteousness. For the Lord God of hosts will make a full end, as decreed, in the midst of all the earth. – Isaiah 10:20-23 ESV

God had fulfilled His promise to Abraham and had made his descendants as numerous as the sand of the sea. But only a remnant would return. Not all of them would enjoy God’s grace and mercy. The Greek word Paul used is hypoleimma and it means “a remainder, a few.” The Hebrew word used by Isaiah is shĕ’ar and it means “residue, remainder.” Out of all the nation of Israel, only a handful were allowed to return to the land and enjoy God’s restoration of them as His people. Quoting from Isaiah, Paul writes, “If the Lord of Heaven’s Armies had not spared a few of our children, we would have been wiped out like Sodom, destroyed like Gomorrah” (Romans 9:29 NLT).

So what is Paul’s point in all of this? That unless God chooses to show mercy on some, none will ever experience it. All of Israel deserved to experience God’s full wrath and destructive powers, just as much as the people of Sodom and Gomorrah had. The people of Israel were no less guilty of sin and worthy of God’s wrath than the pagan and immoral people of those two wicked cities. This all goes back to Paul’s attempt to explain that no one, including God’s chosen people, the Jews, was worthy of receiving God’s mercy. God calls and men must respond. When God got ready to send the people of Israel back to Jerusalem from their captivity in Babylon, not everybody chose to return. Many had become comfortable in their new surroundings. They had acclimated themselves to living in Babylon. Only a relative handful returned.

Not all men will be saved. Not everyone will respond to God’s gracious offer of salvation made possible through faith in His Son. Compared to the mass of mankind who have ever lived, the number of those who place their faith in Christ will be a remnant, a few. And none of us who enjoy a right relationship with God because of our faith in Christ can ever brag about our position or boast in our righteous standing. Paul told the believers in Ephesus, “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it” (Ephesians 2:8-9 NLT). He said the same thing to Timothy. “For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time—to show us his grace through Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 1:9 NLT).

God saved us. We didn’t save ourselves. He chose us. We didn’t choose Him. According to Romans 8:30, He called us, He justified us, and one day He is going to glorify us. We are part of God’s remnant, the redeemed. We didn’t do anything to deserve His grace and mercy. We can’t brag about our position as His children. He adopted us. He made us His sons and daughters. He has declared us His heirs. All as a result of His grace and mercy made possible through the priceless gift of His Son.

Future-Focused Faith.

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What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? – Romans 8:31-35 ESV

There is no longer any condemnation hanging over the heads of those who are in Christ. We now live according to the law of the Spirit, not the law of sin and death. As a result, we are free to say no to sin and walk according to the Spirit, in newness of life. We our now sons and daughters of God, who have an inheritance awaiting us in heaven. And speaking of heaven, we have our future glorification awaiting us, which makes any suffering we go through in this life pale in comparison. So, Paul asks, “What then shall we say to these things?” What should be our response to these marvelous truths? If God is the one who called us, justified us and will one day glorify us, what do we have to fear? If He refused to spare His own Son, but sent Him to die on the cross in our place, why would we ever think He would abandon us or turn His back on us. We must constantly remind ourselves that “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8 ESV). We didn’t earn God’s love and we cannot behave our way out of it. We can’t lose it or have it taken away from us. Our circumstances, no matter how bad, are never an indication that God has fallen out of love with us. God has already justified us, declared us as righteous before Him, because of what Christ has done, not because of anything we have or have not done. So if someone brings a charge against us, God’s response will always be, “They’re righteous!” If anyone attempts to condemn us, God will simply respond, “Their debt has been paid!”

And the most amazing aspect of what Paul is trying to teach us is that nothing and no one can ever separate us from the love of God. No one can do anything to diminish or negate the love that Christ showed us by dying on the cross for us. There is nothing we will ever go through in this life that will ever diminish God’s love for us. And we should never let anything that happens in this life cause us to doubt God’s love for us. Paul asks the rhetorical question, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?” The New Living Translation puts verse 35 in words we can understand: “Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?” When we view our lives from a temporal perspective, we run the risk of misinterpreting God’s actions and involvement in our lives, which can lead us down the path of doubting His love for us. “After all,” we surmise, “if God really loved me, He would not have let this happen to me.” But if we keep out faith future-focused, and recognize that God’s will for our lives culminates on our future glorification, we will realize that His love for us is unstoppable. Present problems are no match for future-focused faith. Which is exactly what Paul meant when he wrote, “That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NLT).

Paul said, “I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us” (Philippians 3:14 NLT). He lived his life with the attitude, “I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me” (Philippians 3:12 NLT). So should we. Jesus died so that we might be saved, but also that we might be glorified. That is the culmination of God’s glorious plan for us. We should not spend out lives seeking to experience our best life now, but with our eyes set on the future reward that God has promised for us. God’s best is yet to come. And any pain and suffering we experience in this life only enhances the glory of what is waiting for us in the future. God loved us enough to send His Son to die for us. And one day He is sending His Son back to get us. His work is not yet done. God’s plan is not yet complete. Our glorification has not yet happened. But it will.

Called According To His Purpose.

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For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. – Romans 8:29-30 ESV

All things work together for good. That’s a promise given to us by Paul, but provided through him by the very Spirit of God. So we have God’s word of assurance that our circumstances will always, ultimately, work according to His divine plan for our lives. Paul writes, “all things work together for good,for those who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28 ESV). You see, God has a purpose, a plan, and a program that He is bringing about. This is not some fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants, make-it-up-as-you-go-along affair. It may feel that way at times. We may wonder if God has a plan in place or whether that plan has somehow left us out. But God would have us remember that He is in control – at all times. The message of these two verses is plain. God did not look down the corridors of time and somehow see who it was who would accept His Son as their Savior. This isn’t a case of God’s foreknowledge of what we would do, but of what He would do for us. He predetermined or pre-ordained our salvation through His Son long before any of us were even born. Even before the universe had been spoken into existence. And the divine purpose of God was not just for our salvation, but our transformation. His plan was and is complete. It has a beginning and an end. He foreknew us. He predestined us. He called us. He justified us. He glorified us. All of these words are in the past tense. They are as good as done. His plan is complete, even though His work is not yet done. As Paul has made clear, we do not yet have glorified, redeemed bodies. We still battle with our fallen flesh and our old sin nature. We endure suffering of all kinds in this life. But our ultimate outcome has been predetermined by God. We are being conformed to the image of His Son. “For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!” (2 Corinthians 4:17 NLT). We have been justified, made right with God. While at one time we were sinners, condemned and destined to an eternity separated from God, we have been declared innocent, sinless and righteous by God. We stand before Him completely forgiven and entirely covered by the righteousness of Christ. And our future, glorified bodies are as good as ours – right here, right now. That is part of God’s plan and God’s plan for us is unstoppable and unchangeable.

This whole process of our salvation is the work of God. He is the one who foreknew, predestined, called, justified and glorified. This was His plan, from beginning to end. And because it is His plan and not ours, it is without error and totally independent of our effort or input. That is why ALL THINGS work together for our good. His plan cannot be stopped, altered or ignored. He WILL conform us to the image of His Son. He will do for us all that He predetermined to do. He has an end in mind and He will not stop until His plan is completely fulfilled. That is why we must learn to look past our circumstances and focus our attention on the future promises of God. Paul tells us, “So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever” (2 Corinthians 4:18 NLT).

We must never forget that we have been called according to His purpose, not ours. He is out to accomplish His will for us, not ours. While we may suffer from tunnel-sightedness at times, we must constantly remind ourselves to see our circumstances through the lens of God’s full redemptive plan. He IS conforming us, whether we see it or not. He IS glorifying us, whether we feel like it or not. “And the Lord–who is the Spirit–makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image” (2 Corinthians 3:18 NLT). From “one degree of glory to another” as the English Standard Version translates it. God didn’t simply save us and leave us to somehow make it on our own. He didn’t redeem us and then leave us to fend for ourselves. His plan included sending His Son to die for our sins, as well as providing His Spirit to comfort, guide and empower us while we live out our days on this planet. Then one day He is going to send His Son again. He will complete the work His Father gave Him and finalize the plan of God. God promised it and we can count on it. 

And We Know…

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And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. – Romans 8:28 ESV

This is one of the most frequently quoted verses in the Bible; but, sadly, it is too often one of the most misquoted and misused verses in the Bible. It seems to be the one verse we all bring up when we encounter someone who is struggling or suffering. We reach into our Bible Band-aid Box and pull out what we hope will be something to soothe the pain of our brother or sister in Christ. The problem is that this verse can end up sounding hollow and empty when quoted to someone who is knee-deep in difficulty. What it says may be true, but that doesn’t mean that it will bring comfort to the individual who is smack-dab in the middle of a difficult situation. While we may mean well when we throw around this verse like some kind of secret elixir or cure-all, we can actually end up aggravating rather than alleviating someone’s pain and suffering. Our efforts can do more harm than good.

Part of the problem is that we lift this verse out of its context. Paul has been talking about “the sufferings of this present time” (Romans 8:18 ESV). He describes us as groaning inwardly “as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies” (Romans 8:24 ESV). He tells us we are weak and do not know what or how to pray. But he says, “The Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words” (Romans 8:26 ESV). We are surrounded by suffering. We have to constantly battle our own sin nature and “put to death the deeds of the body” (Romans 8:13 ESV). We have to remind ourselves daily that we are children of God and heirs with Christ (Romans 8:16). And our very existence as sons and daughters of God puts us at odds with this world and with Satan, the prince of this world. And while “the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Romans 8:18 ESV), they are still real and difficult to handle at times.

But as we suffer and pray, struggling with uncertainty and seeking to understand God’s will in all that is going on around us, Paul tells us “we know…” We know what? That “God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them” (Romans 8:28 NLT). This does not mean that everything works out perfectly. It does not mean that God removes all our pain, heals all our diseases, or eliminates all our suffering. It means that our pain, sickness and suffering have a divine purpose behind them, because God is in control. He is sovereign. This is not to say that He is the cause behind our pain, sickness and suffering, but that God is not thwarted by or somehow limited by them when it comes to accomplishing His good in our lives.

The phrase “all things work together” is all-encompassing. It means ALL things – the good, the bad and the ugly. We may not understand how good can come out of the bad experiences of life, but the Holy Spirit is there to remind us that God is sovereignly at work in our lives, using each and every moment of life to accomplish His divine will. There is a story in the Old Testament that speaks of this very truth. Joseph had been sold into slavery by his own brothers. They hated him and were jealous of him, so they pawned him off on some slave traders then told Joseph’s father that his son was dead. Joseph ended up as a slave in Egypt. His life is one of constant ups and downs. There are incredible highs followed by unbelievable lows. At one point he gets falsely accused and imprisoned. But the next thing he knows, he finds himself occupying the second-highest position in the land, subject only to Pharaoh himself. And when his brothers arrive in town and discover that their long-lost brother is not only alive, but in a position to punish them for all they did to him, they panic. But Joseph tells them, “now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life” (Genesis 45:5 ESV). He surprises them by saying, “it was not you who sent me here, but God” (Genesis 45:8 ESV). And then he drops the bombshell, “you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good” (Genesis 50:20 ESV).

God had worked “all things” together for good – not only for Joseph, but for the people of God. He took all the bad things that happened in Joseph’s life and used them to accomplish His divine will. God didn’t just turn Joseph’s apparent bad luck into good luck. He orchestrated the whole affair, having sent Joseph ahead of time into Egypt in order to preserve life. And everything that happened from the moment Joseph arrived in Egypt was part of God’s plan. But sometimes we don’t see His plan until we have the opportunity to look back in retrospect. It’s then that we perceive the sovereign hand of God in our lives.

You see, God had a bigger plan in store for Joseph and for the people of Israel. And He has a bigger plan in mind than just our own comfort and personal convenience. God is pushing all things toward the ultimate fulfillment of His divine plan for mankind. Yes, we must suffer for this present time. But there is a time coming when all our suffering will make sense to us. Yes, we have to live in these bodies of flesh, but there is a day coming when we will receive new bodies. Yes, we have a lot to cry about right now, but we have been promised an eternity with no more tears, sorrow or pain. Yes, we have to daily struggle against our sin nature, but there is a time coming when sin will be no more. All things will work together for good. If not in this life, in the one to come. There is a reason for our suffering. There is a purpose behind our pain. And if nothing else, it should drive us to Him for comfort and teach us to trust Him for a good and godly outcome.

1 Corinthians 1:18-31

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The Work of God.

1 Corinthians 1:18-31

God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin. – 1 Corinthians 1:30 NLT

After warning the Corinthians about the danger of division within the body of Christ, Paul reminded them that the work of salvation had nothing to do with man. Paul, Apollos and Peter were nothing more than messengers of the Good News. Their role was to tell what God had done through Christ on the cross. Paul made this point quite emphatically when he wrote, “Has Christ been divided into factions? Was I, Paul, crucified for you? Were any of you baptized in the name of Paul? Of course not!” (1 Corinthians 1:13 NLT). Salvation was not man’s idea, but God’s. In fact, left to their own devises, mankind had not been able to come up with a way to restore their relationship with God. No amount of good works, sacrifices, worship or religious rituals had ever fixed the problem created by the sin of mankind. So God had come up with His own plan, and it appeared as nothing less than foolish from man’s perspective. God chose to send His sinless Son to die on a cross for the sins of mankind. And to those who are lost, “The message of the cross is foolish” (1 Corinthians 1:18 NLT). It appears ridiculous. It sounds far-fetched, too hard to believe. To the philosophers, scholars and the brilliant debaters of this world, the message of the cross sounds like superstitious nonsense – the creation of pathetically simpleminded people.

“But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:24 NLT). To those who humbly accept the message of Christ’s substitionary death on the cross as real and life-transforming, the power of God is self-evident and non-debatable. It is clear that the work of salvation is the work of God – from beginning to end. Man has nothing to do with it. God chose us. God called us. God united us with Christ. And it was Christ who made us right with God. It was He who made us pure and holy. It was He who freed us from sin, not Paul, Apollos or Peter. So there is no reason for anyone to boast – either in themselves or any other human being. Salvation is God’s work and He accomplished it through the death of His own Son. The only role we played was that of the foolish, powerless, helpless, despised and sin-enslaved human being. We brought nothing of value to the table. We had no worth or merit in God’s eyes. God didn’t look down from heaven and select the best and the brightest. He didn’t choose the rich, famous or successful ones. He wasn’t impressed with anyone’s talents, efforts, resume or attempts at self-righteousness. Because in God’s eyes, all men were sinners. All men were separated from Him. All men were deserving of His wrath and destined to spend eternity being punished for their rebellion against Him. But God had a plan. He had a solution to man’s problem that didn’t involve man at all. It was His work. It required the death of His Son. It was His plan and “this foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human reason” (1 Corinthians 1:25 NLT). So there is nothing for us to boast about, except in the fact that God has chosen us. We need to boast about God. We need to brag about Him. We need to constantly remind one another that, without His plan of salvation – as foolish as it may sound – none of us would have any hope.

Father, thank You for Your incredible plan of salvation. Without it, I would have no hope. I would have no future. But because You sent Your Son to die on a cross in my place, and You chose to open my eyes so that I could see the futility of my situation and the reality of salvation made available through His death, I now stand as right and righteous before You. I have nothing to boast about, except You. Don’t ever allow me to make it about me again. Don’t allow me to make more of anyone than I do of you. Amen.

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org