The Carpenter's Chapel

"Well pleasing to Him."

Can you imagine if every thought and every action among believers was guided by that simple principle?

 

Roger: that was a quick response!
And that response is a very noteworthy one. If every thought and action were well pleasing to Him, there would be a lot less trouble in the Churches, in life, and yes, on this board!

 

Thank you Watchman - just got caught up with the devotionals - had a very busy weekend!

Dan

 

The problem is definition. When you preach on being "pleasing to Him", the listener will immediately try to define that, and soon ALL things become pleasing to Him.

We are marvellous word stretchers, I fear.

Cheers,

Jim

 

Monday, May 3, 2004

I Corinthians

“Now this I say , that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Appolos; and I
of Cephas; and I of Christ.....Is Christ divided?...”

The church at Corinth was the most divisive and troubled church in the New
Testament, and perhaps the perfect picture of the churches to-day. Paul loved this
church, but was greatly upset by its divisions. It was mainly the erroneous doctrines
of the Judaizers. As Spurgeon says, “It had more talent than grace, and no pastor
was raised up to conduct its affairs.” Much like a ship without a rudder, that steams
on to its own perils.

Look around and we see this in the modern church. Leaderless organizations, bent
on designing its own purpose, and setting its own goals, and lifting up the talents of
men. Oh, it is busy doing many things. It has out organized the purpose of the
church which was built on a sure foundation by the Lord Himself. You are Peter
(the pebble) and on this foundation (the rock) I will build my church. Peter is not
the foundation. He is just a pebble by comparison. Christ is the Rock! If we build
the church on any other foundation, then we build in vain, even though we may
attract many. I would rather have a godly church of 12 than a mere organization of
400.

Some are of Paul; some of Appollos; some of Peter; and some of Christ. Some are
built on men and their pet doctrines, and some are claiming to be of Christ. Paul
does not separate any of these and says they are equally wrong. We may claim
Christ is the foundation, and proceed to follow our own ways. Paul goes on to ask
the vital question: Is Christ divided? Oh how we must learn this lesson, and learn it
well.

The next thing we notice here is Paul’s concern for the church at Corinth. It has
multiple problems, but still Paul says, “Grace be unto you....I thank my God always
on your behalf.....Paul praises the people for the gifts they do have. He is
acknowledging what these people do have. Before Paul offers words of correction,
he offers words of commendation. A great lesson. What a wonderful handsome
figure you are. By the way, what is that growth on the tip of your nose. We praise
the individual for what they have before we dilineate their faults.

Next time, I shall look at the simplicity of preaching the gospel.

Lord, help us to re-examine the foundation of the church to be sure that we have a
sure foundation that is in Christ alone.

Cheers,

Jim

 

Christ and Christ alone - thanks Jim!

 

Great thoughts Jim - thanks!

 

Jim,

Thank you and God Bless

Sheila

 

Tuesday, 4th May, 2004

We now see in detail Christian’s encounter with Apollyon. There are lessons for all our us to learn. Satan is as alive and real as he ever has been. We can often forget that Satan is still a very real enemy today. It is interesting to note the interchange that takes place and I think we can all identify with what Christian experiences.

A couple of thoughts here for today. Do we, like Christian, like the service, wages, servants, government, company, and country better than what we left behind? Or do we find ourselves in those idle moments longing after what “might have been?” When our service for our new Master gets difficult, do we still love those things mentioned above?

Next look at Christian’s commitment – “I am his servant and I will follow Him.” Such simple words, and yet at times they can be so difficult to do.

Romans 6v16 “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?” We indicate who our master is by whom we obey. Who do you serve today? Are you serving Christ, or serving “destroying Apollyon”? Even more probing, are you content with serving the one you serve today?

Finally the simple words “I will follow Him.” John 12v26 “If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.” Following Christ is a New Testament call repeated over and over again. “My sheep hear my voice,” Jesus said, “and they follow me.” (John 10v27)

Do we truly follow Christ today? Can you say with the traditional old chorus, “I have decided to follow Jesus…no turning back?”

When the blessing come – follow Jesus. When the trials come – follow Jesus.

How about it? Can we, and will we say with Christian – “I am His servant and I will follow Him?”

 

Thanks Roger,
What I can't get out of my mind now is Christian saying, "...I came of age..." This has nothing to do with chronological age, but with spiritual maturity. A mature Christian is close enough to his Lord, and rooted and grounded in His word to the point where he knows Apollyon's work and error when he sees it.

"That we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting," Eph. 4:14

 

Jim,
(Catching up on the posts here.)
When I think of Corinth I think of trouble!
Would not have envied Paul in dealing with them back then!
I look forward to this study.

 

Christian was right - there's no path like the path to glory!

 

Roger,

Thank you. In HIS strength not mine.

God Bless

Sheila

 

"I've found the pearl of greatest price,
My heart doth sing for joy;
And, sing I must, for Christ I have-
Oh, what a Christ have I."

The essence of reality is embodied in the truth of Christ in our lives.

Cheers, and thank you,

Jim

 

(My apologies for being a little late this morning. We had to rush wife's mother to hospital.)

Wednesday, May 5, 2004

1 Corinthians 1

“For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which
are saved it is the power of God.” 1:18

“But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God
hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty.”
1:27

Corinth was the capital of a Roman Province and an important seaport. People from
all over the Roman Empire came to Corinth and brought with them their own
peculiar problems; immorality, drunkenness, licence and all manner of debauchery.
This is the backdrop that Paul faced in evangelizing these people. There was also a
strong synagogue in Corinth. Most of the Christians came out of this scenario, and
brought with them many of their former lives, which they incorporated into the
local churches.

One of the principles in understanding Corinthians has to do with culture. If we
ignore culture, then we ignore the principal teachings of Paul. In fact, the main
thrust of Paul’s writing to the church at Corinth, is to counter the false beliefs and
practices that had entered into the church through the Gentile influence upon the
Christians. Keep this forefront as you read Corinthians, and you will rightly
understand what Paul is saying when he speaks on marriage, on separation, on hair
styles, on marriage, on communion. Separate this thought, and you will develop all
kinds of wild imaginative concepts. Some of which people to-day adhere to and
preach so strongly.

Some scholars advocated that there were no elders or pastors at Corinth, and the
primary reason why Paul speaks of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. I am sure there were
officers in the church, but again, influenced by the Gentile culture. We see this
to-day when a young minister has been so influenced by one man. He often
becomes more vociferous than his mentor, and wrongly guides his people in the
same path. This was not the first letter Paul wrote to the Corinthians, but the only
ones we have retained in the Bible. Paul mentions prior writings in 1 Cor 5:9. In
fact, he clarifies something he had written about dealings with fornicators, and
makes it clear that we are to be separate from the world.


“For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness.” Paul is not being
anti-intellectual, as some suppose, but he is saying, the gospel appears foolish to the
unsaved. Think back to before your conversion. How foolish is this teaching that
one man dying on a cross can bring about my redemption. I must work out my own
salvation; I believe in God. Paul says it is not enough to just believe. There is a head
knowledge and a soul knowledge, commonly called a heart knowledge. The former
is at best a good philosophy, the latter the essence of redemption. The simplicity of
the gospel is greatly neglected and we want to submerse everyone in theology and
ecclesiology to bring about redemption. Now we don’t always say this outright, but
on examination, we present it. The truth is that the gospel is quite simple. Believe
on the Lord Jesus and thou SHALT be saved. Nothing in my hands I bring, simply
to Thy cross I cling.

Once we have experienced this we find, “But unto us which are saved it is the
power of God.” Upon salvation we are rightly joint heirs in the power of God. Like
any gift, if we don’t exercise it, we fall by the wayside of lethargy and impotence.
We become as sounding brass. Now the simplicity of the gospel is profound: “But
God hath chosen the foolish things of this world to confound the wise: and God
hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things that are mighty.”

Lord, help us to understand the simple things, and the profound things will fall into
place. Never let me complicate the gospel, but always afford them opportunity to
perceive God in the light of the simple gospel.

Cheers,

Jim

 

Amen.

Thank you Jim,

God Bless,

Sheila

 

Thursday, 6th May, 2004

When we last saw Christian he had just encountered wicked Apollyon who attempts to draw him back to his old master. Christian rejects him, saying that he has chosen to follow and serve his new Master.

Apollyon is not about to give up so easily.

Apollyon next attacks Christian by pointing out how unfaithful he has already been to his new Master along the road. It is amazing how often Satan will use this same trick today to try and dissuade us from following our Master. Every defeat and every fall is magnified. If we allow ourselves to dwell on that we will never be able to serve. Apollyon attacks Christian for his unfaithfulness, his laziness, his fear, and his pride.

Note now the noble words of Christian, “All this is true; and much more which thou hast left out: but the Prince whom I serve and honour is merciful and ready to forgive. But besides, these infirmities possessed me in thy country; for there I sucked them in, and I have groaned under them, been sorry for them, and have obtained pardon of my Prince.”

He first points out that Apollyon hasn’t even told of all of his flaws in his service for the new Master. He then turns things around and points out that the Prince he now serves “is merciful and ready to forgive.” He then tells how he received that forgiveness, “I groaned under my sin and have been sorry for them.” As a result he has received pardon from the Prince.

How blessed we are to serve a Prince who is merciful and ready to forgive! A couple of Old Testament verse remind us of this aspect of our Blessed Lord’s nature.

Psalm 86v5 For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.
Daniel 9v9 To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him;

Praise the Lord for these truths and for the New Testament application in 1 John 1v9 – “If we confess (homologeo - say the same thing as) our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Homolegeo describes what Christian did about his sin, “he groaned under them and was sorry for them.”

Our question for today is this. How do we view our own sin? Do we groan under it and are we sorry for it? Do we say the same thing God does about it? We must learn to take the same view of sin that God does. Only then can we defeat Apollyon when he tries to defeat us by reminding us of our sin.

 

Roger,

Thank you. Yes, satan does like to remind us of our sins and failings. Praise God we have a Lord who not only forgives, when we repent of our wrongdoings,HE forgets too.

God Bless

Sheila

 

Wednesday and Thursday devotionals - both excellent. Thanks Jim and Roger!

 

Yes, thanks very much guys!