What Profit?

Because all men die, the writer of Ecclesiastes laments: What profit hath a man of all his labor...? (Ec 1: 3) Noting that the eyes of man are never satisfied (Ec 1:8; Pr 27:20), he concludes that all is vanity.
How are the eyes "never satisfied"? First Jn 2:15-17 states:
Love not the world...For all that is in the world...the lust of the eyes...is not of the Father, but of the world...And the world passeth away.
Outside of God's redeeming grace, humans will lust after whatever their eyes see that is appealing. Eve lusted after the fruit that appeared attractive to her. Earthly possessions pass away. Mark 8:36 asks:
For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
Solomon in Ecclesiastes 1-2 reflects on the meaninglessness of life when viewed without an eternal perspective. He concludes that even the profitable life and the life of pleasure is vanity and of no real enduring profit. Love of the world is not of the Father. Solomon did great works and "whatever mine eyes desired I kept not from them" (Ec 2:10). He had everything anyone could want, but he found life without God was meaningless.
How many individuals today are too busy (or just unwilling)to recognize the meaninglessness of their efforts aimed at satisfying the "lust of the eyes," which can never be satisfied? Solomon calls it vexation of spirit or grasping for the wind. The Lord has an answer to the meaningless life, but the individual has to recognize the meaninglessness of his efforts first.

An Appointed Time To Die

During my mother's last days the Lord comforted me with Ecclesiastes 3: To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven. A time to be born, and a time to die... ( Ec 3:1-2). The word season can be viewed as an appointed occasion. God has an appointed time, an occasion, for each one of us to die.
Four days before she died, my mother lay in her hospital bed with her sitter, my husband and me in the room. She spontaneously started praying: "Father, forgive me of my sins. Thine be the kingdom and the power and the glory." She was clearly not talking to us or for our benefit.
Believing the Gospel, that Jesus is Savior and God and the means to salvation, is not equivalent to being saved. Even the devils believe the facts about salvation (Jm 2:19). The Lord in His mercy let me see my mother's humble request for forgiveness, which He will not deny (See Matthew 7:7-11).

Philippians--Joy in Knowing Christ

Paul rejoiced whenever he thought of the Philippians believers. This group of Christians shared his missionary zeal and supported his ministry. Paul viewed them as fellow-laborers in the Gospel. Unlike other churches he had founded, Paul did not need to correct them for doctrinal errors or for blatant sin in the church. Paul loved the Philippian believers and longed to see them.

Paul noted that joy was a part of the normal Christian life, experienced, for example, in the following cases:
1. Whenever Paul thought about his beloved Philippians (1:4);
2. Whenever the Gospel of Christ was preached (1:18);
3. Whenever Paul was able to reunite with the Philippians (1:25-25);
4. Whenever the Philippians were like-minded with Paul (2:2);
5. In the event the Philippians were steadfast until the day of Christ (2:16);
6. As Paul's life was being poured out in his service to the Philippians as an offering to God (2:17);
7. When Epaphroditus, a brother in Christ, would be reunited with the Philippians (2:25-28);
8. When believers worship God in the Spirit, they rejoice in Christ Jesus (3:3);
9. When Jesus returns and Paul receives a crown for his work with the Philippians (3:20-4:1);
10. When the Philippians support his ministry (4:10); and
11. Always rejoicing because of being in the Lord (4:4).

Paul had learned how to be content, whether he had abundance or was in need (4:11-13). He rejoiced when the Philippians sent him support, not so much for the support itself, but for the expression of their love for him. Like Paul, the Christian today, being saved from sin and damnation and being indwelt by the Holy Spirit, can live in peace and contentment, with the joy of the Lord ever-present. Paul is the example to follow (3:17).

Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice (4:4)!

We Are Your Rejoicing (11 Co 1--2:4)

The theme of this section is found in verse 1:14: "...we are your rejoicing even as you also are ours...." Paul rejoiced that God had empowered his ministry team to witness to the Corinthians that Jesus was the Son of God, with the result that they had believed and had become brothers and sisters in Christ with Paul.

Paul explained that the persecution his ministry endured caused them to trust not in themselves, but in God, and enabled them to share God's comfort with the Corinthians when they went through times of similar suffering.

Paul assured them of his love and explained his delay in returning to them: he was waiting to see if they had accepted his previous chastisement and if they had followed his instruction, so that when he came again, he would not have to chastise them further. He wanted their next meeting together to be a joyous one.

Chastisement by Paul is a form of accountability for the Corinthians and a means of instruction. In 1 Corinthians 5 he had chastised the church for tolerating incest by a member. He had instructed the church to chastise the member who was in sin. Paul's love for the Corinthians was evidenced by his willingness to rebuke them and help them to grow in their understanding of the Christian life.

It is clear that the Lord Jesus enables His followers to rejoice and to be joyful as each believer contemplates the love of Jesus (seen through salvation) and the love of the brethren. This joy is not diminished by persecution or suffering. Being a part of the family of the Lord Jesus, whether or not in times of trouble, is reason to rejoice.

The Believer in a Time of National Judgment

Habakkuk prays, asking God: Why do You show me iniquity--plundering, violence, strife, contention; the law being powerless and justice being corrupted in the nation of God's people? God answers that He will raise up a wicked nation to invade and destroy the nation of God's people because of their wickedness.

Habakkuk asks why would God use a people more wicked than they were to invade them and have victory over them. God answered that the wicked invaders, after they had brought judgment on God's people, would then themselves be judged of God for their pride, idolatry, and blasphemy.

Habakkuk then responds with intercessory prayer: "O Lord, I have heard thy speech and was afraid: O Lord, revive thy work...in wrath remember mercy (Ha 3:2)." Habakkuk notes that though he trembled (at what God had shown him), he was able to "rest in the day of trouble (3:16)."

Not only could he rest, he could rejoice: "Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold and there shall be no herd in the stalls; yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation (3:17-18)."

How can Habakkuk rejoice as he sees God's judgment bring foreign invasion, destruction, famine and poverty to his land? Habakkuk understands that after judgment, God's people will repent and return to faith in Him. He also knows that God protects the righteous: "The Lord is my strength and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places (3:19)."

For personal application, one must ask himself: Am I one of the "just;" i.e., one who has been justified, or made righteous in the sight of God by means of His plan of salvation through His Son Christ?

And secondly, ask: Do I live by faith; i.e., Christ in control of me, living out His life in me through moment-by-moment surrender of my will (my plans, my agenda, my desires) to His will?

The just, who are living by faith (Ha 2:4), can rejoice with Habakkuk in the midst of God's refining fire of judgment as it comes on this nation.

John 1-5: Exciting Conversions

The first five chapters of John's Gospel give exciting accounts of individual conversion experiences. Jesus begins His public ministry after baptism by John the Baptist. Andrew, Peter, Philip and Nathanael become His disciples. At first Nathanael expresses disbelief that anything good (as the Messiah) could come out of Nazareth. Then he actually meets Jesus, and within the context of a brief conversation, he exclaims, "Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel!"

In Chapter 2 Jesus performs His first miracle--changing water to wine--at a wedding in Cana of Galilee. Those who are serving the water/wine (and know that it was originally water) have an opportunity to think about who Jesus really is and to come to faith in Him.

In Chapter 3 Nicodemus, a man hardly thought to be a candidate for conversion (because he is a pharisee, a member of a group that is hostile to Jesus) has an encounter with the Lord that brings him to truth and salvation.

In Chapter 4, Jesus goes to Samaria, a place and a people hated by the Jews, and He brings salvation to an entire city. Then He returns to Cana and brings salvation to a nobleman and his household.

In Chapter 5, Jesus brings salvation (and physical healing) to a man who has been incapacitated and hopeless for 38 years.

In these first five chapters, John tells his audience by example that Jesus saves the rich and honorable (Nicodemus and the nobleman), the working class (fishermen), the poor (lame man), the dishonorable (Samaritan woman); the skeptic (Nathanael), the ultra religious (a pharisee), and the foreigner (Samarians). Is there any class or category that Jesus will not save? No! So why art thou cast down, O my soul?...hope thou in God (Psalm 42:11). And Believer, be reinvigorated to pray for that lost one!

Halloween for Believers?

Ephesians 4 and 5 give instruction to the believer in regard to his behavior. He is told to quit following after the dictates of the culture around him and, rather, to behave in a righteous and holy manner.

A casual reading of these chapters may look like nothing more than a list of "do's and don't's" but the admonition as a whole is telling the believer that his behavior should be startlingly different from that of the world around him. The believer has a new nature--one that constantly should be seeking to please the Lord.

The unredeemed nature of man is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9.) Most people in any culture are not believers (Matthew 7: 13-14, the narrow way) and the popular traditions and customs will rarely be Christian. The culture of the unredeemed man will be based upon lies and deception because the unredeemed people (the majority) follow Satan, who is the father of lies, rather than following the Lord Jesus, Who is the Truth (John 14:6).

In practical application the question arises: how can a true believer participate in any way in the occult, the dark practices identified with Satan? The most obvious practice this month (October) is the pagan holiday of Halloween.

Why do Christians try to find a way to celebrate this occult holiday and somehow make their actions Biblically acceptable? Some may respond that they only do the "fun" things and not the scary things. What then is the lesson of First Corinthians 8 and 10, where Paul advises believers not to participate in eating meat sacrificed to idols? The admonition there does not stem from the meat itself being tainted, but from the affiliation with pagans in a practice of idol-worship (which is demon-worship).

A similar lesson is reflected in the Old Testament, where syncretistic ( mixed) worship led to forsaking God altogether. In Numbers 25 (and 31:16) Balaam, a wicked prophet, advises a foreign king in a scheme to overcome the Hebrews: have the foreign, pagan women entice the Hebrew men to engage in sexual immorality with them; then the men, in order to please the women, joined them in their idolatrous practices. This effort at mixing paganism with true worship failed (as it always does) and soon the men had forsaken their own God completely.

Compromise in the area of purity, righteousness, holiness and truth constitutes "friendship with the world" and puts a person at "enmity" with God (James 4:4). If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him (1 John 2:15). Rather than looking for loopholes that seem to permit the Christian to have "fun" with the pagans, why doesn't the Christian seek to behave in a manner that glorifies God?

Just what is "love of the world?" Is it just a phrase in the Bible with no meaning to it? Cannot the Christian community even take a stand against Halloween, an obviously occultic holiday? Imagine having to answer to the Lord Jesus about taking part in an event that is known as the biggest day of the year for worshiping Satan!

Ezekiel 34--Shepherds Eating The Flock!

This chapter begins with the Word of the Lord coming to Ezekiel in order for him to give a warning to the priests and other religious (church) leaders of the day: judgment from God is coming to you who should be taking care of God's "flock" of people, but instead of seeing to their needs, all you are doing is taking care of yourselves. And worse yet, you are ceaselessly enriching yourselves at the expense of the poor, especially those who are unable to take care of themselves and who are looking to you for assistance. Instead of taking care of the flock, you are actually eating the flock (Ez 34:1-8).

Ezekiel uses these analogies: Not only do you eat up the good pasture for yourselves, you trod down the gleanings underfoot so that the rest of the people cannot even eat decent gleanings. You also drink your fill from deep waters, but you foul the drinking water for the rest of the people with your feet (Ez 34:18-19).You are the fat cattle and you use your weight and your horns to push out the lean cattle from the herd (Ez 34:20-21).

Then the Lord gives a Word of hope to the oppressed: "Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle (i.e. the fat cattle and the lean cattle)."

Further, the Lord promises to send David as their shepherd and to raise up a "plant of renown" (Messiah) so that they will no longer be consumed with hunger or bear the shame of the heathen. The Lord reiterates His covenant with His people that He will be their God and they will be His people.

What can be learned from this chapter?
1. The heart of man is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9).
2. Sometimes the enemy is from within. Just because a person is an esteemed religious leader does not mean that he cannot be selfish and cruel.
3. God will help His people: be they poor, weak and defenseless, even God Himself will come to their aid.
4. Sometimes God's people go through hard times and it is not their fault and is not due to their own sin.
5. Even in the most harsh condemnation and indictment, God has a Word of hope.
6. All of God's Word is important and should be studied, even the uncomfortable passages about His judgment (2 Timothy 2:15; 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21).

John 4--Samaritan Woman at the Well

Jesus, a Jew, violated social prohibitions by speaking to a Samaritan woman. The Jews condemned the Samaritans as "half-breeds" because they had intermarried with foreigners and had adopted their idolatrous practices. For a man, especially a rabbi, to speak to a woman on the street, especially one of ill-repute, was socially unacceptable. For a Jew to speak to a Samaritan was equally unacceptable.

Jesus asked the woman for a drink of water. Instead of giving Him a drink, she responded merely by saying that He was a Jew--revealing her own prejudice. Jesus spoke to her about "living water" and a "well of water springing up into everlasting life." She perceived He was talking to her about spiritual matters and that He was claiming to be Someone greater than their ancestor Jacob.

He then talked with her about cohabiting with a man that was not her husband. She perceived that , if He knew this information, He must be a prophet . She then asked Him about spiritual matters: where God was located in so far as worshiping Him was concerned--in Samaria or in Jerusalem? She also said that she knew the Messiah was coming. Jesus revealed plainly to this woman that the Messiah of whom she spoke was none other than He Himself.

She believed Him and ran into the city to tell others that she had found the Messiah. Many believed in Jesus because of her testimony; others, who came to investigate the matter, believed in Jesus because of their personal encounter with Him.

Then Jesus began His return to Cana of Galilee, where He had performed His first miracle (turning water into wine.) A nobleman from Capernaum approached Him about healing his sick son. Jesus accused him of miracle-seeking. The nobleman pleaded with Him for the life of his son. Jesus spoke and said the boy was healed. The nobleman believed Him and then his whole household came to believe in Jesus.

John 4 gives accounts of the salvation experience of an immoral woman of low social standing who was not even fully Jewish and that of a nobleman. It is clear that the way to salvation is not through any man-made schemes of works, morality, or social order, but solely through belief in Jesus as the Son of God. Both these individuals had to reject their own pride and come to Him humbly admitting their need. He did not turn either away. In John 6:37 Jesus said, "...and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." What is better to have--one's pride or the Son of God?

1 Corinthians 16--Final Instructions

The Corinthian believers had agreed to take up a collection to help the impoverished believers in Jerusalem. The Apostle Paul instructs them to donate each week to this fund so that when he came to get it, no special collection would be necessary.

Paul also instructs them to receive Timothy as a Christian minister the same as Paul. (Timothy was younger, but he was a teacher and preacher and was like Paul's own son.) Similarly, Paul tells them that Stephanas and his household were in ministry the same as Paul's and that the Corinthians should follow their teaching.

In his farewell, Paul sends them greetings from Aquila and Priscilla and the church that met in their house in Ephesus.

And finally, Paul tells them for anyone who does not love the Lord Jesus--"let them be accursed."

What can be learned from this final chapter of First Corinthians?

1. Paul is taking up a collection for Jerusalem. He is not telling believers in general to take up a collection every week if they did not have a specific purpose for the collection.

2. Paul commends certain men in ministry as being sound in the faith so that their teaching should be followed. This commendation would help the Corinthians understand that not everyone teaches sound doctrine but these men are trustworthy because their teaching is the same as Paul's. Every doctrine expounded among the assembly of believers or from house to house ought to be examined to see if it agrees with Scripture.

3. Paul curses those that do not love the Lord Jesus. The implication is that there are both teachers and other church members who profess to trust Christ, but who do not really know the Lord or follow Him. This idea of being cursed shows the seriousness of professing Christ insincerely and the urgent need to examine those who profess to be Christians, especially if they are teachers, for the reality of their faith.

1 Corinthians 15--Resurrection: His and Ours

Over 500 people at the same time saw Jesus after He resurrected from the dead. This proof, along with many others, demonstrates the indisputability of His Resurrection.

Similarly, those that believe in Jesus, that belong to Him, shall also be resurrected to everlasting life with the Lord Jesus and will also receive glorified bodies that are not subject to corruption, decay, or death.

Jesus, the Christ/Messiah, will return to earth again and will reign in His kingdom on earth. When He returns, believers, both dead and alive, will meet Him in the air and will receive their glorified bodies. (See also 1 Thessalonians 4:16.)

In view of these spiritual realities, the believer is called upon to be "stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord" (1 Co 15:58).

Hallelujah!! What an inheritance! What encouragement to persevere!

1 Corinthians 14--Tongues, Prophecy, & Women

After being admonished to exercise their spiritual gifts in the love and power of God, believers are told that in their church meetings the gift of prophecy is to prevail over the gift of tongues. Prophecy entails explaining the Scripture in view of past and present history, rather than foretelling some event unrelated to Scripture. Tongues entails speaking in a language not understood by the audience.

Speaking in tongues is highly regulated: at any given meeting, only one, two, or at most three people may speak in tongues and then only if they take turns at it and only if an interpreter is present. Prophecy is also regulated: only two or three and then only one at a time; and the speaker must sit down if another rises to speak.

The problem being addressed is confusion and disorder in the church. The women were responsible, at least in part, for the confusion. They are told to be quiet and if they had any questions to ask, to ask them of their husbands at home. In 1 Peter 3:12 wives are instructed to dress modestly and to have a "meek and quiet spirit." (See also 1 Timothy 2:9-12.)

The women were seeking to draw attention to themselves by their dress and by their mouths. And the men were satisfied to sit back and watch them, if not encourage them. The men also allowed the women to usurp leadership authority from them.

Is the foregoing a picture of the modern church? If so, where is the fear of God? This God is the same God that told His people in the Old Testament that He hated their religious services and He would not accept their offerings because of their hypocrisy and lack of reverence. (See Isaiah 1: 11-15; Malachi 1:6-14; Jeremiah 6:19-20.) In the New Testament Paul warned the church: "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap..." (Galatians 6: 7-8).

If men and women in the church are more interested in looking at each other than in seeking God and at the same time are calling their meeting together "worship," this behavior constitutes "mocking God" and is a serious matter.

1 Corinthians 12 Spiritual Gifts & Unity

Paul warns believers to beware of following after spiritual experiences that do not honor the Lord. He explains that the Spirit of God should be evident when individual believers exercise their individual spiritual gifts.

The gifts of the Spirit are listed: word of wisdom (wise counsel); word of knowledge (knowing the facts); faith (in addition to the saving faith that every believer has); gifts of healing; working of miracles; prophecy (proclaiming prophetic Scripture and its fulfillment); discerning of Spirits (identifying erroneous doctrine); tongues (speaking in foreign languages); interpretation of tongues (understanding/translating foreign languages).

Believers are instructed to use their gifts working together with other believers in unity, rather than allowing themselves to covet each others' gifts and thereby allowing division because of their pride.

The Corinthian church was divided rather than unified: they followed various preachers based on their style of preaching rather than on any relevant doctrinal issue (Chapters 1-3); they elevated the wealthy over the poor (chapter 11); and they honored the church members who appeared to be more talented over those whose gifts were less glamorous. In a word, they were worldly.

The pride of life ( 1 John 2:16) is not of God but of the world's system. The world's system presents a form of "wisdom" that is not true wisdom at all (James 3:13-18). Worldliness causes division in the church. Believers who follow Christ will not (and cannot) be unified with persons who are following the world system ( these worldly ones are probably not true believers--see James 4:4 and 1 John 2:15-16).

Arrogance, envy, and love of worldly success negate any chance of unity of the church in regard to exercising spiritual gifts in a meaningful way. "(W)hosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God" (Jm 4:4). Believers must courageously identify, confront, and eliminate worldliness in the church before they will see the ministry of the Spirit in power.

1 Corinthians 11--Church Behavior

Paul explains to the Corinthian believers that God created men and women equally, but with different roles: the men are ordained to be leaders; e.g., to lead the congregation when they come together to pray or prophesy. (See Ephesians 5:22-23 for the husband's headship over the wife.)

Men and women are told to distinguish themselves from each other in their hair and headdress. Even by nature, it can be seen that women should have longer hair than men. When praying or prophesying in public, women are to cover their heads as a sign of their willful submission to the leadership of their husbands.

Does Scripture demand the custom of head-covering for women in prayer meetings? The real issue is whether the women are too arrogant and rebellious to accept men as the God-ordained leaders in the home, in the church, and (by extension) in the society. Even if the men lack the courage to assume and fulfill their calling to leadership, the women are not instructed to assert themselves and usurp the position ordained to the men.

(See also 1 Timothy 2:8-3:16 for instructions for women's dress while praying and for men's calling to be bishops and deacons.)

Paul then chastises the church for their conduct when having group meals--the rich were shunning and demeaning the poor and some of the diners were getting drunk. The meals were a mockery of the communion (the Lord's Supper) prescribed by the Lord. This behavior, once again, was style over substance; empty tradition. The Lord's name was being proclaimed, but only in lip-service.

This chapter in First Corinthians calls the believer to ask himself: Are the men performing their roles as leaders? Are the women supporting them in their efforts to lead? Is the church practicing empty and disdainful rituals? Is the Lord Jesus present in power at the Christian fellowship meals or is His name merely proclaimed in lip-service?

On an individual level: Am I obedient to the role God has assigned to me (as a man, or as a woman)? Do I practice ritual (or, tradition) without meaning? Am I a glutton, drunkard, social snob, or hypocrite?

1 Corinthians 1-10 Theme of Self-sacrifice

After Paul distinguishes between God's wisdom and man's wisdom in 1 Corinthians 1-4, he gives some instructions that involve self-sacrifice.

In Chapter 6 the believer is told to give up his right to sue a brother in a pagan court; in Chapter 7, to give up his right to divorce an unbelieving spouse and, in marriage, to give up his right to his own body; in Chapters 8 and 10, to give up his right to eat and drink whatever he wants, and to give up his right to patronize pagan establishments; and in Chapter 9, to be willing to give up his right to remuneration for work done.

In 1 Co 9: 27, Paul says: "But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway." Paul is demonstrating by example both a physical and mental discipline that has enabled him to be an effective witness for Christ.

Romans 12:1 beseeches the believer to "present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service."

The believer is said to have freedom in Christ (John 8:36). This freedom has two aspects: freedom from the sin nature with which he was born, and freedom from condemnation for failure to be able to keep all the laws, rules and regulations of the Old Testament moral code. This freedom is a freedom that allows the believer to serve Christ. Free from bondage to sin and the law, the believer is now in bondage to Christ. He is not free to sin with impunity.

Paul compares the need for the believer to have a disciplined life to that of an athlete who is running a race to obtain a prize (1 Co 9:24). Instead of selfishly seeking comfort, wealth, or worldly goals for himself, the believer is to give himself as a living sacrifice in order to bring others to a saving knowledge of Christ. Rather than feeling he has been cheated out of some of the luxuries of life, the surrendered believer, with all his discipline and self-sacrifice, finds the power and joy of the Lord in fulfilling God's purpose for his life.

1 Corinthians 10--Lust Not After Evil Things

Under the leadership of Moses, the Israelites had many spiritual blessings, yet they continued to lust after evil things. Paul warns the Corinthian believers that the judgment of God fell on their ancestors because of their lust and that the judgment of God will fall on them, too, if they continue in lust.

Paul pointed out the sins of their ancestors were set out in Scripture as a warning to them. Many were sexual, such as fornication and idolatry (which included sexual sins as a part of their religion.)

Then Paul explains that the act of partaking of communion is a symbol of the unification of the partakers with each other and with Christ. Similarly, eating meat sacrificed to idols unifies the believers who partake with the pagans, who are actually worshiping demons.

Paul advises the believers that they should feel free to eat this meat if no one has made an issue of it being sacrificed to idols; but otherwise, they should avoid it because they will be unifying themselves with the pagans who are sacrificing this meat to demons."Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table and of the table of devils" (1 Co 10:21).

How to make application for today? Believers may go along with certain practices that are really religious in nature, such as evolution; certain environmentalism beliefs (worshiping Mother Earth); certain meditation techniques, as in yoga; astrology, karma and numerous other Eastern mystic beliefs; the power of positive thinking, and others too many to list. "Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of devils...." It is impossible to be unified and in fellowship with God if a person is unified and in fellowship with demons.

1 Corinthians 9--Preaching For Pay

Paul explains to the Corinthian church that as a teacher and preacher of the Gospel, he is entitled to remuneration, as the saying goes: "Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn" (1 Co 9:9).

However, Paul and his co-worker Barnabas, supported themselves with secular jobs and did not ask to be paid for preaching. Paul gives the following reasons for preaching without pay:

1. He was able to preach truth fully without compromise because he was not obligated to anyone for wages;

2. He was not preaching for a reward--the Lord had instilled in him such a desire to preach that he could not stop preaching;

3. Without having a salary, he would not be in a position to abuse his right to income; i.e., he would not be preaching just for the money;

4. Paul would be free to be a Jew with the Jews and a Gentile with the Gentiles and to change his style of preaching to fit his audience without anyone having a right to say anything about it ( 1Co 9: 20-22).

Paul also gave cautions to the Corinthians to keep their physical bodies under control, as an athlete in training, that they might serve the Lord better.

A believer might ask himself: Why don't I have the energy or enthusiasm necessary to complete the calling from God on my life? Am I too tired or too sick because I lack the discipline to eat, sleep, and exercise properly? Do I spend too much time pursuing recreation and indulging myself?

A believer who excuses himself from a service to the Lord because he has allowed himself to get in such a poor physical condition that he cannot do certain labor might consider confession and repentance (1 John 1:9).

1 Corinthians 8--The Appearance of Impropriety

The second question posed to Paul in this letter concerns whether or not believers should eat meat sacrificed to idols. Paul explained that idols are not really gods and the food sacrificed to them is not tainted.

However, if a believer enters an idol's temple to eat this meat and is seen by a Christian brother, this brother may be encouraged to enter the same temple, but then he would feel guilty about eating meat sacrificed to some pagan idol and, all-in-all, his walk with the Lord would be damaged.

In today's society a comparison would be the instance of a believer entering a gambling establishment just to eat the food--eating the food may not be wrong in and of itself, but it looks wrong; i.e., it has the appearance of impropriety, and another believer who followed the example of the first may feel that he has dishonored God.

With all the above said, however, it must be noted that in the tenth chapter of First Corinthians, Paul tells the believers there is a time to stay away from meat sacrificed to idols because this meat, while not sacrificed to real gods, is being sacrificed to real demons, and believers (Christians) ought to have no part in this activity.

One might conclude from this chapter that Christians should be aware that others are watching them to see if their behavior is as righteous as their talk, or if their religion is just lip-service. It is important for believers to show self-restraint and be willing to forego the indulgences of their culture in order to demonstrate their faith and obedience to the one true God.

1 Corinthians 7--Trust God in Marital Issues

In this chapter Paul begins a series of answers to questions posed to him by the Corinthian church. He gives these instructions:

1. Husbands and wives ought to share their bodies freely with each other and not deny sex to their mate;

2. Believers married to unbelievers should stay in the marriage in hopes of his or her spouse and children coming to know the Lord;

3. If the unbelieving spouse insists on leaving the marriage, the believing spouse should let him or her go and then the believing spouse is free to remarry;

4. Becoming a Christian does not mean a slave must seek freedom, or a person must be circumcised, or a person must change his marital status;

5. An unmarried person has more opportunity to serve the Lord than does a married person and singleness is a gift from God; widows should not be in a hurry to remarry;

6. A believer who wants to get married is free to marry as long as it is to another believer.

The emphasis is on serving the Lord in singleness or in marriage. Paul reminds the believer that he has been purchased with a price (the substitutionary death of Christ) and that now, as a bond-servant to the Lord Jesus, his aim in life is to serve and to please his Master.

A person who is single should find strength from the Lord to be at peace with his circumstance of singleness. A person in a bad marriage should find peace from the Lord in his circumstance as well. In both circumstances the believer should accept his circumstances as from the Lord and focus on serving the Lord fully and with joy.

From the foregoing, one could conclude that a believer who is dissatisfied, frustrated, or unhappy with his circumstances is not surrendered to the Lord. He is not obeying the Lord and he is not grateful to the Lord. Most of all, he does not trust the Lord to be in charge of his life. It is a matter of faith.

Whatever is not of faith is sin (Ro 14:23). Without faith it is impossible to please him (God) (He 11:6).

Accepting one's circumstances and living at peace with God (instead of being angry with Him) is not optional with believers. This acceptance is surrender and it is necessary in order for a believer to live by faith, trusting God.

1 Corinthians 6--Wisdom to Judge Yourselves

Paul continues to give instruction on church members (presumably, believers) having the wisdom of God to judge themselves. In the previous chapter he told them to judge the member who was committing incest and to excommunicate him if he did not repent.

Now he tells them to select a wise church member to judge disputes among themselves rather than any believer having to go to a pagan (non-Christian) court for legal relief. He told them their behavior in defrauding each other was shameful. Paul asks them: "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate (homosexuals), nor abusers of themselves with mankind (sodomites), Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Co 6: 9-10).

The sins enumerated repeat those listed in the previous chapter where Paul was telling them to judge each other in the church for these sins. In this chapter he clarifies that these sins are reflective of non-believers and that those who habitually, and unrepentantly, practice these sins (including church members) will not be a part of God's kingdom; i.e., they are not true believers. True believers, even if they were engaging in these sins prior to salvation, have been cleansed and set apart from these former things in order to serve Christ.

Paul emphasizes that they must "flee fornication" because in this sin, a person sins against his own body and someone with the indwelling Spirit should not be uniting his body (and by extension, uniting Christ) with a harlot or prostitute. He reminds them that their physical bodies are not their own, "For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's" (1 Co 6:20).

Righteousness is not optional for the believer.