Suffering, Holiness, and the Grace of God.

 By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher

 

Text: 2 Corinthians 6:1-18

 

Philippians 4:11-13

Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: ¹² I know how to ^[a]be abased, and I know how to ^[b]abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. ¹³ I can do all things through ^[c]Christ who strengthens me.

(NKJV)

 

The Apostle Paul had familiarity with the grace of God, suffering, and holiness and learned contentment in all situations (Philippians 4:11-13). In 2 Corinthians 6:1-18, Paul teaches the Corinthians not to take the grace of God in vain, letting them know there will be suffering, and to be holy when suffering. This text, written almost two thousand years ago, has application in the Church today which faces persecution and suffering on many fronts.

 

Paul begins this text by pleading with the Corinthians not to take the grace of God in vain (2 Corinthians 6:1). The next verse provides some clarification as to what Paul means by taking the grace of God in vain by quoting Isaiah 49:8. The Lord has an acceptable time to hear us, helping us in the day of salvation telling us that now is the acceptable time and now is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2). It is vanity to hear of the grace of God and his gift of Salvation and say no.

 

The ministry of Paul does not offend anything, or anyone, so as not to bring blame upon the ministry (2 Corinthians 6:3). Paul commends himself as a minister of God through patience, tribulations, needs, distresses, stripes, imprisonments, tumults, labors, sleeplessness, and fastings (2 Corinthians 6:4-5). The ministry of Paul is with purity, knowledge, longsuffering, kindness, through the Holy Spirit with sincere love (2 Corinthians 6:6). Paul ministers with the word of truth, the word of God with the armor of righteousness on his right hand and left (2 Corinthians 6:7). The circumstances under which Paul ministers are times of honor and dishonor, under both evil and good reports, seen as a deceiver while remaining true to the word of God (2 Corinthians 6:8). Paul and those with him are unknown yet well known, seen as dying yet very much alive, chastened but not killed, sorrowful yet rejoicing, poor while making many rich, and seen as having nothing yet having all things (2 Corinthians 6:9-10).

 

Paul’s heart is open to the Corinthians with any restriction to their spiritual growth the result of their affections and not from what Paul teaches, urging the Corinthians to have open hearts  (2 Corinthians 6:11-13). Paul calls for holiness among the Corinthians by not joining with unbelievers for they are the temple of God in which God dwells (2 Corinthians 6:14-16). Paul challenges the Corinthians to come out from the world so God can be a Father to them with the Corinthians living as sons and daughters of God (2 Corinthians 6:17-18).

 

Paul begins by speaking of the grace of God not taken in vain through any delay in acceptance of God’s gift of grace. Paul considers it vanity to hear of God’s gift of grace (Ephesians 2:8-9) and not immediately accept it. However, this acceptance of God’s grace will come with suffering, as it did with him and those ministering with him. While this suffering was painful, Jesus told his followers there would be suffering in this world with the reminder that He overcame the world through His resurrection (John 16:33). Paul then urges the Corinthians to endure suffering in holiness as children of God (2 Corinthians 6:17). Paul and those ministering with him considered it an honor to suffer in ministry with Christ in light of the extent to which Christ suffered for us, extending to us His grace (Philippians 3:8). Paul considered holiness as not a burden but his reaction in love to what Christ did for him.

 

As believers living almost two thousand years after the Corinthians, we still must receive the gift of God’s grace quickly, knowing there will be suffering and that we must remain holy in suffering. As a means of a self-checkup in our relationship with God, believers must ask themselves,

 

1. Am I genuine in my belief in Christ – Believing in Christ through knowledge that He existed is not sufficient belief to bring salvation for even demons believe and tremble (James 2:19). Romans 10:9-10 speaks of belief in the heart, not just belief based on knowledge. Genuine belief in Christ is a belief based on experiencing a personal relationship with Christ. This is a belief based on grace that is not in vain for it seeks a relationship with Christ.
2. Am I growing in my relationship with Christ – Romans 12:2 urges genuine believers not to conform to the world but to experience transformation through the renewing of their minds. A genuine believer seeking a relationship with God will seek to grow that relationship by spending time in the word of God and in prayer to grow their relationship with Christ.
3. Do I give of my time and money in service to Christ – When we genuinely love someone, we want to give to them our time and resources in an expression of that love.
4. Do I live for Christ in all circumstances – A genuine believer in Christ serves Christ in all circumstances and places. We are to emulate Paul who served Christ in good and bad times, even in jail (2 Corinthians 6:3-5). We should not just serve Christ in Church but at work, school, home, the marketplace, and everywhere we go, allowing the Word of God to guide us (Psalm 119:105).
5. Do I live to glorify Christ – Woe to the minister that ministers to bring attention to themselves for believers are to do all for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31).

 

If you are reading this post and have not prayed for forgiveness of sins and to have a personal relationship with Christ, I urge you to do so now by praying with me.

 

Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans 3:23) and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans 6:23).  I ask you to forgive me of my sin and cleanse me as you promise in your Word (1 John 1:9).  I believe you died, spent three days in the grave, and resurrected from the dead and now declare you Lord of my life.

 

May God challenge, convict, and bless everyone reading his post, and may every reader genuinely accept God’s gift of grace and endure suffering in holiness. 

The Consequences of Spiritual Harlotry

 By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher

 

Text: Ezekiel 16:35-43

 

Romans 6:23

 For the wages of sin is death, but the ^[a]gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

(NKJV)

 

One definition of insanity is continuing to make the same mistake over and over expecting a different result. The tumultuous history of the nation of Israel due to their continuous disobedience to God is such a form of insanity for God has sent numerous warnings that they repeatedly ignored. This continuous disobedience to God and its consequences are in scripture as a warning to the Church, reminding the Church to remain faithful to God or suffer dire consequences.

 

The word of the Lord in this text begins with the Lord calling the people of Jerusalem harlots for their continued disobedience (Ezekiel 16:35). The Lord then reminds them of the vileness of their disobedience for they uncovered themselves in worship to abominable idols and even offered their children as sacrifices to them (Ezekiel 16:36). Therefore, the Lord will gather all the nations Jerusalem played the harlot with against them (Ezekiel 16:37). God will judge Jerusalem like a woman who breaks wedlock or one shedding blood; bringing blood upon them in fury and jealousy (Ezekiel 16:38). The Lord will give Jerusalem into the hands of the ones they played the harlot with and they will destroy their shrines and high places, strip them of their clothes and jewelry, leaving them naked and bare (Ezekiel 16:39).

 

Jerusalem’s lovers will also bring an assembly against Jerusalem, stoning them and thrusting them through with swords (Ezekiel 16:40). They will burn the houses of the people of Jerusalem and execute judgments upon them, making Jerusalem cease from playing the harlot (Ezekiel 16:41). Then, the Lord will rest His fury against the people of Jerusalem with the Lord being quiet and angry no more (Ezekiel 16:42). The Lord concludes this text by reminding the people of Jerusalem that all this has occurred due to them not remembering the days of their youth but instead agitating the Lord to wrath. The Lord has prevented Jerusalem from committing lewdness in addition to their abominations (Ezekiel 16:43).

 

The unrepentant attitude of Jerusalem towards its spiritual harlotry has dire consequences. It is not as though the people of Jerusalem did not receive a warning from God for even before entering the “Promised Land” they were warned of the consequences of disobedience to God (Deuteronomy 28:15-68). These curses were an inversion of the blessings promised in Deuteronomy 28:1-14 with Israel losing its divine protection from God and falling prey to the plagues of Egypt (Deuteronomy 28:27-42). The worst curse, however, would be carrying off the people to a foreign nation where they would lose their freedom and sovereignty as a nation (Deuteronomy 28:47-68). While this should have been warning enough to turn Jerusalem to repentance, it did not so God sent prophets like Ezekiel, Jeremiah, and Isaiah to warn them (Ezekiel 16:35-43; Isaiah 1:21-25; Jeremiah 3:1-5), but they still did not come to repentance until seventy years of exile (Jeremiah 25:11-12).

 

There are dire consequences as well for the Church if it plays the harlot by compromising with sin in the world. These include,

 

1)      Cheap grace – While we are saved and justified by the grace of God (Ephesians 2:8-9) we must not use God’s grace as an excuse to continue in sin (Romans 6:1). God’s grace justifies and rescues us from the death penalty of sin (Romans 6:23) but believers are then to continue losing conformity to the world and experience transformation as their minds are renewed by the Word of God (Romans 12:1-2). This is the process of sanctification, experienced by a believer through the Holy Spirit and the Word of God (1 Thessalonians 5:23). This leads to our glorification when we will be saved from the presence of sin (Philippians 3:20-21). The Church must not abuse God’s grace, using it as justification for sin.

2)      Moralism – The Pharisees were the moralists of Jesus time and instead of lifting them up for their high moral standards, Jesus called them snakes (Matthew 3:7, 12:34, 23:33). Only Jesus could take the high moral road but instead took the path of the cross, extending God’s grace to all humanity so they can be justified (2 Corinthians 5:21). Moralism is sin for it is prideful with people taking pride in their high moral standard, forgetting that all, including themselves, have sinned (Romans 3:23). Moralism is a compromise with the sin of pride, justifying it because it involves adopting a high moral standard.

3)      Lukewarmness – The Church in Laodicea was a prideful Church caught up in the pride of its wealth and prosperity (Revelation 3:14-22), totally forgetting that all things belong to God and that it is God who gives us the power to acquire wealth (Deuteronomy 8:18; Psalm 50:10).  Instead of an open door like the Church in Philadelphia (Revelation 3:8) the Laodiceans are behind a closed door with Jesus knocking to come in (Revelation 3:20). Do not become prideful over what God has given but be thankful for it.

 

If you are reading this and have not experienced the first phase of salvation, justification from sin, I encourage you to pray with me now,

 

Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans 3:23) and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans 6:23).  I ask you to forgive me of my sin and cleanse me as you promise in your Word (1 John 1:9).  I believe you died, spent three days in the grave, and resurrected from the dead and now declare you Lord of my life.

 

May God challenge, convict, and bless everyone reading this as we continue to grow in sanctification until the day of glorification and living for eternity in the presence of God.

Reconciled to God

 By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher

 

Text: 2 Corinthians 5:9-21

 

2 Corinthians 5:21

 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

(NKJV)

 

Reconciliation with God means one lives in alignment with God’s laws. The narrative of the Bible shows this is not possible through one’s efforts and why God sent his Son, Jesus, to die on the cross for humanity’s sins even though he did not sin (2 Corinthians 5:21). While there is a death penalty for sin and all have sinned (Romans 3:23, 6:23), one has a choice by accepting the gift of God, of receiving forgiveness of sins through God’s grace and not one’s efforts (Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 6:23b, 10:9-10).

 

Paul’s objective in ministry to the Corinthians is to please God, whether present or absent from them (2 Corinthians 5:9). The reason for this is that all believers will sit at the Judgment seat of Christ where believers are rewarded for the things done in their lives as believers, whether good or bad (2 Corinthians 5:10). Out of his fear of the Lord, Paul views his ministry as one persuading men to come to Christ, something well known to God and Paul hopes well known to the consciences of the Corinthians (2 Corinthians 5:11).

 

Paul’s persuasion of men is that they receive reconciliation with God. Paul has no intention of commending himself again but desires to have the Corinthians boast on his behalf, having an answer for those that boast in appearance and not in heart (2 Corinthians 5:12). Paul and those with him are beside themselves for God and of sound mind for the Corinthians (2 Corinthians 5:13). Paul and those with him are compelled by the love of Christ who died for all so that those who live would no longer live for self but for Jesus who died and rose again (2 Corinthians 5:14-15).

 

From this point forward, Paul and those with him will no longer regard anyone according to the flesh, because while they once knew Christ in the flesh, they no longer know Him that way (2 Corinthians 5:16). When we know Christ, we become a new creation in spirit and not according to the flesh through new birth in the spirit (2 Corinthians 5:17; John 3:3-8). All things are now of God because God has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, giving us the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18). Jesus was God (John 1:1) and reconciled humanity to Himself through His death, giving humanity the word of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:19).

 

Although reconciled to God, we still live in fleshly bodies as ambassadors for Christ who plead for others to experience reconciliation with God (2 Corinthians 5:20). Jesus, who is God and knew no sin, became sin for humanity on the cross, giving all the opportunity for reconciliation with God, becoming the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21). Humanity now has a choice of reconciliation with God, or separation from God (John 3:16-18).

 

All who believe in Jesus as his or her savior will face the judgement seat of Christ where they receive rewards for their works for Christ. All believers have reconciliation with God through Christ, but we must not mistake the judgment seat of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:9-11) with the Great White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20:11-15). The Judgement Seat of Christ is a judgment of deeds not the doer of the deeds. The Great White Throne Judgment is the judgment of individuals with those whose names are in the Book of Life spending eternity with God through reconciliation through Christ and those not found cast into the lake of fire. On the cross Jesus took the judgment of the doer, giving them a choice to escape the penalty of death for sin through acceptance of the gift of God’s grace (Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 6:23) or spend eternity separated from God through rejection of reconciliation with God through the cross (John 3:18).

 

Believers in Jesus as Savior serve as ambassadors for Christ on the earth with the mission of telling people about reconciliation with God through Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20; Matthew 28:19-20). The rewards received at the judgment seat of Christ are in accordance with how well one served as an ambassador for Christ. To accomplish this, the Church must come out of its present lukewarm and self-centered state and return to its mission as ambassadors for Christ in a foreign and evil world. Jesus told His followers that in this world they would experience persecution and not freedom from problems and struggle with the promise that Jesus overcame the world and death through His resurrection (John 16:33). Believers in Jesus as Savior serve as ambassadors for Christ in the earth with the mission of telling people to receive reconciliation with God. The rewards received at the judgment seat of Christ are in accordance with how well we served as ambassadors for Christ. The Church needs an infusion of the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8) to go from lukewarm to on fire for Christ as Peter experienced at Pentecost (Acts 2:14-39).

 

Join me in praying for an infusion of the power of the Holy Spirit in your life so the Church can once again turn this evil world upside down for Christ (Acts 17:6). To receive this infusion of power, one must first pray for forgiveness of sins in their lives and to make Jesus Christ the Lord of their lives. If you have never done so, I invite you to pray with me now,

 

Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans 3:23) and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans 6:23).  I ask you to forgive me of my sin and cleanse me as you promise in your Word (1 John 1:9).  I believe you died, spent three days in the grave, and resurrected from the dead and now declare you Lord of my life.

 

May God challenge, convict, and bless everyone reading this post. 

Jerusalem’s Harlotry and Adultery

 By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher

 

Text: Ezekiel 16:15-34

 

Matthew 5:16

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

(NKJV)

 

When walking in the house at night we need light to see our way around, so we do not run into things, like walls, or worse yet, trip or fall, injuring ourselves. The modern convenience of electricity makes it possible for us to simply flip a switch to turn on the power source for an electric light to light up the room. However, if the power source of electricity were not there, the light would remain dark. We live in very dark times that need the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ but sadly, the light of the Gospel in the Church is either dim or nonexistent due to lack of power. It is time for the Church to plug into the power source of the Holy Spirit.

 

Jerusalem has played the harlot by trusting in its beauty and fame instead of the Lord (Ezekiel 16:15). Jerusalem is guilty of taking the things God has provided and using them to make idols and set them up in multicolored high places of worship (Ezekiel 16:16-19). Jerusalem has played the harlot with the God they entered into a covenant relationship with (Isaiah 54:5-8).

 

Their harlotry even went to the point that they sacrificed the sons and daughters God gave them in worship of their false gods (Ezekiel 16:20-22). The modern equivalent of this is the aborting of babies in worship of promiscuous and immoral behavior. Jerusalem had no regret for all their abominations and wickedness for they even built shrines to themselves and high places on every street (Ezekiel 16:23-24). This caused the beauty Jerusalem was proud of to be abhorred (Ezekiel 16:25). They even provoked God to anger by committing harlotry with the Egyptians, the ones from whom God delivered Israel (Ezekiel 16:26).

 

With His anger stirred, the Lord stretched out His hand against Jerusalem by diminishing their allotment and giving them up to those hating them, the daughters of the Philistines (Ezekiel 16:27). Adding fuel to God’s anger, they even committed Harlotry with the Assyrians and those in Chaldea (Ezekiel 16:28-29). Seeing the people of Jerusalem committing all these abominations, the Lord declares they have a degenerate heart doing the deeds of a brazen harlot (Ezekiel 16:30).

 

While the people of Jerusalem are committing the acts of a brazen harlot, unlike a harlot they scorn payment, instead acting as an adulterous wife taking strangers in place of her husband (Ezekiel 16:31-32). Instead of taking payment from men like a harlot, these people make payments to their lovers, hiring them from all around to engage in their harlotry (Ezekiel 16:33). The people of Jerusalem are the opposite of a harlot, giving payment instead of receiving it (Ezekiel 16:34).

 

A word from the Lord through Ezekiel compares the lewd acts of Jerusalem to those of a harlot and adulterer (Ezekiel 16:15-34). When God entered into a covenant relationship with Israel, they became the bride of the Lord (Isaiah 54:5-8). Like the vows one makes at a wedding, they were commanded to remain faithful to the bridegroom (Exodus 20:1-6). In this text, Ezekiel uses strong language and imagery comparing the acts of Jerusalem worshipping other gods to acts of harlotry and adultery. However, the acts of Jerusalem are unlike the typical acts of harlotry and adultery for instead of accepting payment, they make offerings to those they commit harlotry and adultery with (Ezekiel 16:31). Jerusalem is self-absorbed in its fame and wealth, no longer worshipping God with their heart.

 

The Church is also in the position of a bride, a bride awaiting the return of the bridegroom who is away preparing a place for the bride (John 14:2-3; Matthew 25:1-13). However, as the Lord tarries so all have a chance for salvation, the Church has become impatient like the unwise virgins (2 Peter 3:9). Like Jerusalem, the Church has also become lukewarm towards its bridegroom and self-absorbed in its wealth and prosperity (Revelation 3:14-22). In this state the oil of the Holy Spirit has gone low, making the Church unprepared for the return of the bridegroom.

 

Jesus told his disciples to remain in Jerusalem until they would receive power from the Holy Spirit for ministry (Acts 1:8). Jesus also commanded believers to let their light shine in the presence of men so they could experience the glory of God through their lives (Matthew 5:16). The power of the Holy Spirit is the oil that causes the light to shine in the lamp of our lives but sadly many in the Church have let the oil in their lamps run low, dimming, or even extinguishing the light of the God’s glory in their lives. In the last days, as the return of the Lord, the bridegroom draws closer, the Church must seek a fresh filling of the oil of the Holy Spirit so the light of the Gospel can shine brightly in a dark world. Please join me in praying for the oil of the Holy Spirit to fill our lives.

 

If you are reading this and have not prayed for the forgiveness of sin in your life and to make Jesus the Lord of your life, I invite you to pray with me now,

 

Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans 3:23) and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans 6:23).  I ask you to forgive me of my sin and cleanse me as you promise in your Word (1 John 1:9).  I believe you died, spent three days in the grave, and resurrected from the dead and now declare you Lord of my life.

 

May God challenge, convict, and bless everyone reading this post. 

Assurance of the Resurrection

 By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher

 

Text: 2 Corinthians 5:1-8

 

1 Corinthians 15:51-53

Behold, I tell you a ^[a]mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— ⁵² in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. ⁵³ For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

(NKJV)

 

1 Corinthians 15:51-53 along with 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18 are passages of scripture that bring hope to all believers in Christ. They bring hope that is not just wishful thinking but hope with confidence for it comes from the word of God and God cannot lie (Numbers 23:19). As we age and these earthly bodies begin to fail, the assurance of the resurrection and our new glorified bodies gives even more comfort.

 

The text begins with Paul comparing our earthly tent or body with the heavenly house God has prepared for us that is eternal in the heavens (2 Corinthians 5:1). As a tent maker by trade, Paul was familiar with how tents made with his hands would fall into destruction when exposed to the elements. While our bodies are not made by human hands, they have become corrupt due to the fall of man in the Garden (Genesis 3). We groan while in these corrupt earthly bodies, earnestly wanting to be clothed with our incorruptible heavenly bodies (2 Corinthians 5:2-3). It is not our desire to exit our earthly bodies and be naked but instead to put off the clothing of mortality and be clothed with the immortality of eternity with Christ (2 Corinthians 5:4). We have assurance in this hope of immortality because it is from God with God giving us the Holy Spirit as a guarantee of its fulfillment (2 Corinthians 5:5).

 

The confidence and hope of a believer in Christ is the assurance of knowing that living in their earthly bodies with their corruption, aches, and pains is only a temporary situation (2 Corinthians 5:6). This is because a believer in Jesus Christ does not walk by what is seen, the corruption, aches, and pains, but by faith in what is unseen, their resurrected and glorified bodies (2 Corinthians 5:7; Hebrews 11:1). The confidence of a believer is knowing that when they exit this earthly and corruptible body, they will be in the presence of the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8).

 

There was an ongoing conflict between the Sadducees who did not believe in the resurrection and the Pharisees who believed in the resurrection during the time of the Apostle Paul (Acts 23:6-10). Sadducees and Pharisees may have approached the believers in Corinth leading to confusion in an already troubled Church. This text brings clarification on the topic of the resurrection, something the Apostle Paul, a Pharisee believed in even before becoming a believer in Jesus as His Lord. Paul would later write to the Romans that for one to experience Salvation, they must confess and believe in their heart that Jesus died, was buried, and resurrected from the dead (Romans 10:9-10). Paul also earlier taught the believers in Corinth that those who have fallen asleep in death will rise at the rapture of the Church (1 Corinthians 15:51-53). To deny the existence of the resurrection would, therefore, be a denial of eternal hope for those in Christ.

 

The most quoted and memorized portion of Scripture is John 3:16, giving the promise of not perishing but having everlasting life. However, in the nearly two thousand years of Church history, many believers have perished in death. Does this mean the promise of everlasting life is untrue? The answer is no for even though these individuals have perished in death, the resurrection occurring at the last trumpet will bring them eternal life (1 Corinthians 15:51-53; 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18).

 

Easter Sunday, or as some call it, Resurrection Sunday, is a time when we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus from the grave after his brutal death by crucifixion on Good Friday. With Jesus representing the first fruits of those resurrected from the dead, I encourage everyone to find hope in knowing that we will share in the resurrection of Christ at the last trumpet with no need to fear. If you are reading this and do not have the hope of eternal life with the assurance of the resurrection of the dead to spend eternity with Jesus Christ, I invite you to pray with me now,

 

Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans 3:23) and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans 6:23).  I ask you to forgive me of my sin and cleanse me as you promise in your Word (1 John 1:9).  I believe you died, spent three days in the grave, and resurrected from the dead and now declare you Lord of my life.

 

May God challenge, convict, and encourage everyone reading this post.