Pastor's Column 4/18/21

PASTOR’S COLUMN

“Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain… Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm, let noting move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” I Corinthians 15:1-2; 58, NIV

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3rd Sunday - “This Is Not The Time to Give Up!”

Recently, there has been a deluge of information highlighting the fact that Church attendance in America, in recent years, has fallen below fifty percent. The pundits of this news often forget that the power of our faith is in what we believe, and how we live in accordance to those beliefs. While numbers are important, they never have the last word. Speaking of the last word, the Apostle Paul provided us with the most remarkable defense for our faith when he addressed the Christians in Corinth. Paul is writing these giftedly diverse believers, close to 25 years after Christ’s Resurrection. Doubt and despair have invaded the ranks of the saints, and critics have questioned whether their faith is valid. Some have denounced the notion of the Resurrection as a hoax. In one of his most eloquent and fervent responses, Paul defended the truth of the Gospel, and told the church they must “hold firmly” to what they have been taught. Paul says what we have come to learn and accept of our faith is all we need to survive in a hostile world. Paul is also saying it is not someone else’s perception of what they think we believe, but it is what we’ve come to know what we believe! Paul visited and remained in Corinth for 18 months. When he arrived in that port city, there was much confusion and moral decay. The southside of the market place attracted the vilest persons. But it was to this motley group of souls that Paul preached the Gospel, and led many to faith in Jesus Christ. When Paul wrote them this letter, he told them, “This is not the time to give up.”