There seems to be a great deal of competition among church folks these days. Some of you might remember attending, or possibly even participating in a county fair. There would be contests to determine the best pickles and pies, and some had run-offs in about any kind of category. Oh, the rivalries in those events. Some were driven to try and take home the blue ribbon every year. Each season competitors would leave the fair dejected, vowing to do better next year, and to never speak again to the winner of their event.

Most of those who proudly brought their respective submission for judging, really failed to comprehend the major benefit of their efforts, it was to make the fair even more enjoyable. Those who attended benefited from the overall joyous atmosphere from all the events, grateful for all those who participated.

The work of the Lord is somewhat similar. Though we each play an individual role in the ministry, the part we play is integral to that of the whole. The voice of a member in the choir may not be discerned from that of all the others, but its addition greatly enhances the overall presentation. As each choir member does his or her part, the result is not attention given to them as a member, but on the blessing of the whole choir. Remembering that simple truth in each of our areas of service will make our churches much healthier.

Paul learned of some things that were causing divisions in the church at Corinth. Knowing how deadly schisms can be to a church body, he addressed his concerns in his letter. Paul wrote in…

1 Corinthians 3:6 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.
7 So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.
8 Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.

There were folks taking sides in the church in Corinth. Some were rallying behind Paul, choosing to believe that anything he said or did was preferable, and showing contempt on anyone not in their group. Others followed the words and works of Apollos the great orator. If Apollos said it, it must be right, therefore, anything else is wrong.

Paul wisely reminded them to remember the larger picture. The work is not theirs; it is of God. Both Paul and Apollos were in the work for the same cause, to promote Christ. While they are fighting over which group is ‘right,’ the real work was being derailed.

Paul and Apollos were one in their efforts. Each church member should be one with each other, focusing not on petty differences, but on the unified goal of reaching the lost for Christ, and building each other to be strong in Christ.

Let’s keep our eyes on Christ, and share His love for one another, not get into competition to see who can outdo the other. The work of Christ has sufficient room for all.

There has been so much confusion over the scope of the Old Testament Law of Moses. When God inscribed the Ten Commandments on the two tablets of stone, there on the top of Mt. Sinai, a new era was introduced to man. Before the Law, man was accountable to the moral law that God had written in the hearts of every man. Each and every person knew in their heart that lying, cheating, swearing, and murder were all sins. They felt a stab of their conscience, and simply knew that they had done wrong.

After the Law was given to Moses, no longer was man left to be judged simply by his conscience, there was now a written chronicle of those wrongs that offended a holy God. All of a sudden, man was made aware that he was guilty. He had already been breaking those commandments and often times didn’t even know it. Now, he stood condemned in the face of those commandments etched in stone.

Man set about trying to maintain a right relationship with his God by obeying God’s commandments. It wasn’t long, however, than man failed. It seemed the harder man tried, the worse he failed. The Law had become an oppressive reminder that he was a failure before God. Instead of relishing the gift God had given man in the Law, man instead despised it, and looked for ways to work around it.

Man quickly became adept at manipulating the Law to make it mean what He wanted it to mean. If he found himself at odds with a particular law, he could claim that it did not really apply to him. Man learned to justify his acts, even though they ran contrary to what was clearly implied by what God said.

If the law said, ‘Thou shalt not bear false witness,’ the offender could interpret his sin as just stretching the truth. He could just as easily dodge the issue by declaring that the hearer simply misunderstood what he said. We have become masterful at skirting around laws and directives until we really don’t recognize what the truth is any longer.

We have somehow come to believe that the law can be congealed into one philosophy; that is, as long as what I do doesn’t hurt anyone around me, it is ok to do. We have rewritten God’s Law to make it into something no longer resembling His original. It is what we have made so we can do whatever feels good without having any guilt or ramifications. Society now has become tolerant of most every deviant behavior; the only thing no longer tolerated is the original version of God’s Law.

Though by our humanistic reasoning, that logic tends to make sense; the problem is it runs contrary to what God says in His Word. The Bible says in…

Romans 3:20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

The only way man can become acceptable to God is through faith in the shed blood of His Son, Jesus. Man’s only hope is not his futile attempts at obedience; it is in trusting Christ.

Thank God for the Law of God, and thank God for Jesus fulfilling that Law in love.

The events following the ascension of Christ to Heaven are thrilling to read. Before He left, Jesus told His disciples to wait for the filling of the Holy Spirit in the upper room. After that, they would become His witnesses, telling all that Jesus Christ of Nazareth had been the true Messiah, the One prophesied who would come to redeem Israel and deliver them from their sins.

When ten days later, as the disciples had faithfully obeyed their Lord, and had passed the time praying and listening to preaching from God’s Word, the Spirit did come in great power. The first manifestation of His filling was a supernatural ability for the disciples to speak in foreign languages. They left that upper room and began intermingling with the great crowd, boldly declaring the ‘wonderful works of God.’

In amazement the people listened as men from many different nations and languages were represented in that crowd. Though the disciples had no grasp of the various languages, from their mouths came the message of Christ clearly heard by each person, regardless of their language. This demonstration of tongues was an obvious working of God, causing the crowd to split in their reactions.

Many who heard were spellbound, not fully understanding what was happening, but awestruck by what was happening. They were hearing the Gospel in their own native language. How could that be? A general cry went out through the crowd asking how such a thing could be happening.

One part of the crowd seemed eager to hear the message, and were hungrily digesting it as if starved for such truths. Others were not so positive. From the crowd came some who began shouting jeering words of unbelief. They even accused the disciples of being drunk with alcohol. The account is found in…

Acts 2:12 And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?
13 Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.

When the truth of Jesus and His sacrificial death for man’s sins reached their ears, there were many who received the truth gladly, for they longed for something to fill the empty void in their hearts. They willingly listened, comprehended, and believed.

Those who refused to believe reacted the way unbelievers always do, by mocking the truth. They were unable to deny the miracle they were witnessing, and could not prove that the message they were hearing was false, so they resorted to juvenile mocking.

When we share the Gospel, we should not be surprised in those who mock. It is not a signal that we are being unsuccessful, it means that the truth is causing a reaction. We are unable to control the response, only the delivery. Let us be faithful to give the truth, and let the Holy Spirit work on the hearts of the listeners, even those who mock, for they sometimes eventually allow the truth to take hold.

The gift we have in our salvation is so wonderful, and so multi-faceted. It is so concise and easy to understand, young children can believe it and receive it by faith. And yet, it is so rich and full of truth that we will be exploring its depths for all of eternity.

We often take our salvation for granted, especially those of us who grew up in Christian homes, having heard the gospel story since children. We seldom give a second thought to the facts of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection, and how they apply to us personally; we simply believe them, and are quite satisfied in that knowledge.

However, try to put yourself in the shoes of the Jews in the years following Christ’s resurrection. As faithful believers would share with them the Good News, they had a very difficult time justifying the fact that Jesus’ blood was that which the blood of every slain animal sacrifice represented since God first killed an animal for man’s sin in the Garden.

They were told that God could only be satisfied by faith in Jesus as the Lamb slain to pay for man’s sins. They presented an entirely new idea, that of faith instead of the works of keeping the Law. Their years of faithful observance of all the feasts, offerings, and requirements spelled out in the Law, were now to be replaced by faith in Jesus as the Son of God. That was a lot for them to take in.

There were some grappling with the concept who must have argued with Paul over the truth. They asked in…

Romans 3:3 For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?

The nation of Israel collectively rejected Jesus as their Messiah, refusing to believe that He was actually God’s Son. They, instead, crucified Him, choosing to wait for a Messiah who more closely fit into their perception of what He should be.

Recognizing the degree of unbelief among their people, someone trying to be considerate of their position asked what would happen to this new plan since they had not believed. The inquirer knew full well that he was referring to the majority of his people by his question.
In other words, since the people for whom Christ came refused to believe in Him, is His plan of salvation by faith therefore made useless?

Paul answered the question strongly in the next verse. He wrote in verse…

4 God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.

Paul did not care if every man refused to believe, God’s offer of salvation by faith would not, nor could not change. Jesus died to pay for man’s sins, and made it possible to fulfil His Father’s will that whosoever believed would be saved.