Solus Christus
I Corinthians 16:13–24
“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love. You know that the household of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia, and they have devoted themselves to the service of the Lord’s people. I urge you, brothers and sisters, to submit to such people and to everyone who joins in the work and labors at it. I was glad when Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus arrived, because they have supplied what was lacking from you. For they refreshed my spirit and yours also. Such men deserve recognition. The churches in the province of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Priscilla greet you warmly in the Lord, and so does the church that meets at their house. All the brothers and sisters here send you greetings. Greet one another with a holy kiss. I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand. If anyone does not love the Lord, let that person be cursed! Come, LORD! The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. My love to all of you in Christ Jesus. Amen.”
The Apostle Paul ends his first letter to the Corinthian church with some very important reminders. Matthew Henry writes, “a Christian is always in danger, and therefore should ever be on the watch; but the danger is greater at some times and under some circumstances. The Corinthians were in manifest danger upon many accounts: their feuds ran high, the irregularities among them were very great, there were deceivers among them, who endeavoured to corrupt their faith in the most important articles, those without which the practice of virtue and piety could never subsist.” This ‘danger’ has been true for centuries of the Christian faith and even now, we are still required by our love for God to keep watch and be vigilant. I feel this especially today, and I was reminded at church yesterday of the culture right here where we live, that seeks the grey conformity to its views, perhaps similar to being back in the first and second centuries of the early Church, our faith is being undermined from inside and out, now more than ever it seems we need to to be on guard against the world that seeks to infiltrate and assimilate the Church into its image and away from its foundations. St. James said, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world (Jam 1:27).” We need to remain pure and true to the Gospel of Jesus Christ that cleansed us of all sin and progressively fashions us back into the inage of God in Christ—Christlikeness. St. Paul advised the Corinthians to “stand fast in the faith, to keep their ground, adhere to the revelation of God, and not give it up for the wisdom of the world, nor suffer it to be corrupted by it—stand for the faith of the gospel, and maintain it even to death; and stand in it, so as to abide in the profession of it, and feel and yield to its influence”, says Matthew Henry. St. Paul asks the church to look at their steadfast pioneers in Achaia, their first converts (v. 15), and see their service and commitment to the Gospel, and to do everything in love (v. 14). We ought to be most loving of peoples, a love that is true, and that rejoices in the Way, the Truth, and the Life. The Muslim conception of God is inadequate to describe God as maximally excellent (although they similarly claim He is), because Allah does not love sinners but only those who love him. But Christ died for us while we were yet sinners (Rom 5:8), the pagan gods of this relativistic politically correct world, does not love, (although they similarly claim they do), but only seek to divide rather than unite humanity, and lead it far away from the truth by diluting it. Solus Christus — Christ alone knows us; the prophet Jeremiah remarked and asked, and God answered, “the heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” "I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind… (Jer 17:9–10), and Christ alone, is that great physician who correctly diagnoses and saves us. The favoured amongst all kinds of religion, the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw Jesus eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked His disciples: "Why does He eat with tax collectors and sinners?" On hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners (Mark 2:16–17).” Christ alone and His Gospel, and so we stand firm in our faith and we strive to live authentically on it. The Apostle Peter reminds us, “now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, "The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone," and, "A stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall." They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for. But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light (I Pet 2:7–9).”
“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love. You know that the household of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia, and they have devoted themselves to the service of the Lord’s people. I urge you, brothers and sisters, to submit to such people and to everyone who joins in the work and labors at it. I was glad when Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus arrived, because they have supplied what was lacking from you. For they refreshed my spirit and yours also. Such men deserve recognition. The churches in the province of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Priscilla greet you warmly in the Lord, and so does the church that meets at their house. All the brothers and sisters here send you greetings. Greet one another with a holy kiss. I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand. If anyone does not love the Lord, let that person be cursed! Come, LORD! The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. My love to all of you in Christ Jesus. Amen.”
The Apostle Paul ends his first letter to the Corinthian church with some very important reminders. Matthew Henry writes, “a Christian is always in danger, and therefore should ever be on the watch; but the danger is greater at some times and under some circumstances. The Corinthians were in manifest danger upon many accounts: their feuds ran high, the irregularities among them were very great, there were deceivers among them, who endeavoured to corrupt their faith in the most important articles, those without which the practice of virtue and piety could never subsist.” This ‘danger’ has been true for centuries of the Christian faith and even now, we are still required by our love for God to keep watch and be vigilant. I feel this especially today, and I was reminded at church yesterday of the culture right here where we live, that seeks the grey conformity to its views, perhaps similar to being back in the first and second centuries of the early Church, our faith is being undermined from inside and out, now more than ever it seems we need to to be on guard against the world that seeks to infiltrate and assimilate the Church into its image and away from its foundations. St. James said, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world (Jam 1:27).” We need to remain pure and true to the Gospel of Jesus Christ that cleansed us of all sin and progressively fashions us back into the inage of God in Christ—Christlikeness. St. Paul advised the Corinthians to “stand fast in the faith, to keep their ground, adhere to the revelation of God, and not give it up for the wisdom of the world, nor suffer it to be corrupted by it—stand for the faith of the gospel, and maintain it even to death; and stand in it, so as to abide in the profession of it, and feel and yield to its influence”, says Matthew Henry. St. Paul asks the church to look at their steadfast pioneers in Achaia, their first converts (v. 15), and see their service and commitment to the Gospel, and to do everything in love (v. 14). We ought to be most loving of peoples, a love that is true, and that rejoices in the Way, the Truth, and the Life. The Muslim conception of God is inadequate to describe God as maximally excellent (although they similarly claim He is), because Allah does not love sinners but only those who love him. But Christ died for us while we were yet sinners (Rom 5:8), the pagan gods of this relativistic politically correct world, does not love, (although they similarly claim they do), but only seek to divide rather than unite humanity, and lead it far away from the truth by diluting it. Solus Christus — Christ alone knows us; the prophet Jeremiah remarked and asked, and God answered, “the heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” "I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind… (Jer 17:9–10), and Christ alone, is that great physician who correctly diagnoses and saves us. The favoured amongst all kinds of religion, the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw Jesus eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked His disciples: "Why does He eat with tax collectors and sinners?" On hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners (Mark 2:16–17).” Christ alone and His Gospel, and so we stand firm in our faith and we strive to live authentically on it. The Apostle Peter reminds us, “now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, "The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone," and, "A stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall." They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for. But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light (I Pet 2:7–9).”
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