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Category: Epistles – Is his letter to our church?

Epistle of Paul to the Romans 1 - the Apostles sends a church letter to Rome and the local saints of area churches
Epistle of Paul to the Romans

Epistles ἐπιστολή or Letters

I charge you by the Lord that this epistle be read to all the holy brethren.

Paul’s First Letter to the Thessalonians 

Don’t  miss our recent FEATURED SERIES

JUNE 2024 – 2025 —

1 CORINTHIANS 

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Letters – Is he writing to me?
The short answer: YES.

In their epistles or 1st century church letters the Apostles and other men sent out by Jesus build up the saints [small – ‘s’] or members of local first century churches.

A Disciple or other witness of JESUS would write it. Messengers then delivered these church letters to many isolated worshipers.

Followers of Jesus Christ receive these letters as a major encouragement to their personal faith. Then leaders read them to worshipers of their church.

Although the Epistles 0r Letters to the Church were originally written to churches of the first century,

Romans through Jude will seem like letters to your 21st century church.

  • What do Peter, Paul, John and others tell us we must do?
  • Is he talking about an issue in your 21st c. church as well?
  • How does the writer’s advice, warning, or encouragement to the 1st c. believers apply to you as well
  • Is the writer of this letter talking about something you need to address in your 21st century ‘christian’ life?

Contemporary Application of the Letters (Epistles)

Most New Testament writers take on specific issues confronting faithful followers of Jesus Christ. These same issues continue to confront believers until the Lord’s coming again in these last days.

Certainly Christ our Lord will come again to those God has chosen for eternal life.

Believers currently suffer more than most of you who know Christ in your local church can imagine.

In other lands Christians continue to suffer by the hand of the ungodly.
Go into all the world

A 21st century Common Era church can see and hear nearly any atrocity of man or artificial imagination of sinful man’s mind, yet ‘christians‘ dare not speak of any absolute truth of the Lord God or talk of JESUS CHRIST.

Will YOU comment on Scripture and share the Gospel?

I invite you to read the inspired word of Scripture written in these LETTERS TO THE CHURCH.

YES, He IS writing to YOU.

Beloved brother or sister in Christ Jesus,

Will you read this ‘CHURCH LETTER’ and talk of JESUS through your comment, sharing and email to me about this ‘Letter to you?”

Roger@talkofJesus.com

  • Some Shall Stumble Before the Finish

    The Race of our Days

    1 Corinthians 9:24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize?

    So run that you may obtain it. 25 Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. 27 But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

    2016 Olympic Gold Medal
    2016 Olympic Gold Medal

    ‘A gold medal for the winner’ we think as we watch the Olympics. One winner, two receive more also receive a medal from only a few qualify for the final race.

    Many more have come to the great race with hopes of victory, yet most will return home in obscurity with only a brief memory of coming up short of the prize, the gold medal of victory.

    From Rome Apostle Paul wrote back to believers in Corinth, a city just 131 miles [211 km] from Olympia. The Greeks, or Hellenists as they were called for centuries after defeat and domination under Rome, understood the imagery of the race – the race of life, even the race of eternity with distance we cannot see and a finish line known only to God.

    olympia457A thousand years before Paul the powerful King Solomon of the empire of the the United Kingdom of Israel had written:

    Ecclesiastes 9:

    11 Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all. 12 For man does not know his time.

    “..time and chance happen to them all. For man does not know his time. – Ecc. 9:11b-12

    Perhaps you believe your life will be a marathon, even a marathon of drudgery or pain or defeat. Maybe you think your finish line is far distant. Perhaps. Yet think once more of what you know.

    Do you know one who raced in life’s briefest of sprints? Were you startled at their sudden finish when they were no more?

    The Race Toward Heaven

    If you believe in the Lord God Almighty; if you believe that you were created for a purpose; then you seek the Kingdom of Heaven – the finish of life which ends in eternal reward.

    Jesus was asked about about Heaven, about the course of our race of  this life. What glimpse of the finish has our Lord given us? What course has God laid before us until we breathe our last with some hope of gold?

    If you could ask the Messiah of God, Christ Jesus a question about who God is going to save for eternal life wouldn’t it probably be something like this?

    “Lord, will those who are saved be few?”

    I’m not sure about you, but that’s what I think. I believe I am pretty special. (Maybe you do too.) Of course not everyone will be saved – most don’t want to be anywhere near God; but I do. You probably do too, as one of the few I believe Jesus will save.

    So the man asks about the finals thinking, ‘How do we get to heaven?’ Jesus gives us a glance at the eternal finish.

    Parable of the Narrow Door

    Luke 13:

    And he said to them, 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.

    I would wonder: Lord, do you mean it’s a door at the end of life – a finish where I cannot see what is on the other side?

    25 When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’

    Shocking! I ‘go to church’ and work for charities. We give money to causes. Good people like us hope Jesus will save us… And Jesus answers, ‘I do not know you?’

    26 Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’

    27 But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from.

    Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’,

    I thought all the good I was doing would get me the Gold medal… Hell! Not Heaven, Hell – I have had enough of that in this life and Jesus calls me a worker of evil. How does a sinner like me escape Hell and be welcomed in Heaven?

    I have run the race…

    Did I mention that Paul, the former Saul of Tarsus was a great sinner?

    All of the Apostles including Paul preached repentance, true repentance and turning from what we were toward the sinless soul God wants us to be.

    The grace of God’s mercy overflows in forgiveness found only in Christ Jesus.

    You must be born again, sinless, in the Lord Jesus Christ.

    Have you had a false start in this life? Do you truly desire another chance though our Lord Christ, Living and resurrected Son of God our Father? Here the encouragement of the writer of the letter to the Hebrews:

    Hebrews 12:

    … let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.- Heb 12:1b-2

    6 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
    and chastises every son whom he receives.”

    7 It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?

    For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. – Heb 12:11

    So the great sinner who once persecuted and murdered follower of Jesus repented. Paul sought to live his new life in Christ Jesus in purity and sinlessness to his highest ability; yet humbly acknowledged the sinful nature of his own – the sinful nature of you as well… even the most sinful tendencies from which my own flesh must turn daily.

    Paul states near the end of his life in a second letter to his successor Timothy, before being executed for his witness for Jesus Christ:

    2 Timothy 4:

    5 As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. 6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.

    “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. – 2 Tim 4:7

    8 Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.

    The Gold Medal of Faith

    Paul is telling Timothy about the gold medal, the crown given only to one who wins the race.

    Do you stumble in the race of eternity?

    Lay all of your earthly crowns at the feet of Jesus. He IS Lord; Who IS and was and will be the keeper of the door beyond the narrow gate?

    Christ Jesus came into this world to crown sinners with grace – eternal life, His rich reward of God’s eternal love.

    Beloved of Jesus, do not stumble; for He stands at the door with His crown of righteousness.

     

     

  • Abraham, Prince of a Promise

    Genesis 12:

    6 Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land.

    ElonMoreh
    Moreh – excellent research, additional photos & insight linked to this photo

    7 Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.”

    Abram is no longer a Sheik of Ur. He is no longer a Sheik of the land between the rivers or of Haran. Abram is now a Prince only of promise. Yet the promise is from the Lord. Repeatedly, Abram worships the Lord. Consistently, Abram follows the command of the Lord by faith.

    7b So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.

    8 From there he moved to the hill country on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east.

    And there he built an altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord.

    9 And Abram journeyed on, still going toward the Negeb.

    —–

    I ask you now, who are you following? Abram is no longer following his father. He is no longer following his family ways. Who are you following by faith? The Lord? Or perhaps some idol or false god in your life?

    Though Abraham lived thousands of years ago, One Is before him, after him, and among us.

    John 8:

    56 “.. Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.”

    57 So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?”

    58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”

    God IS! The Lord after Abraham identified Himself to Moses and the Hebrew descendants of Abraham as “I AM.” Jesus, the Lord makes this same true claim!

    Hebrews 6:

    The Certainty of God’s Promise

    13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, 14 saying, “Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” 15 And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise.

    16 For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. 17 So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, 18 so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.

    19 We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, 20 where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

    A letter to the church reminds us of the promise of Abraham. Hebrews mentions Melchizedek, to whose story we will return in our next journey in Genesis. Jesus also points the focus of the Jews back to the faith of Abraham, in witness to His own identity. For Jesus clearly states, ‘Before Abraham was, I am.”

    We cannot read of a life like Abraham or Jesus and imagine that it does not impact us personally, even today. The Jews looked to Abraham as example of God’s chosen forefather. Yet in Christ we look to God Incarnate, who was before Abraham, who is even now and who will be forever. We are not finished with our look back at Abraham or our look forward at Jesus.

    To be continued…

    NEXT: A tribute to Melchizedek

  • Follow After Me 8 – Carnal Ones

    And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; for you are still carnal.

    For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? – 1 Cor 3:1-3 NKJV

    How we would put ourselves above others. How we make comparison to another saying, “I am a Christian and you are a sinner,” while church-goers sometimes remain as carnal as anyone else.

    Outline of Biblical Usage

    1. fleshly, carnal

      1. having the nature of flesh, i.e. under the control of the animal appetites

        1. governed by mere human nature not by the Spirit of God

        2. having its seat in the animal nature or aroused by the animal nature

        3. human: with the included idea of depravity

      2. pertaining to the flesh

        1. to the body: related to birth, linage, etc
    Strong’s Definitions (Strong’s Definitions Legend)
    σαρκικός sarkikós, sar-kee-kos’; from G4561; pertaining to flesh, i.e. (by extension) bodily, temporal, or (by implication) animal, unregenerate:—carnal, fleshly.

    Yet the Apostle cautions us that we do not know as much as we might think. We do not act as if we are mature in Christ Jesus, who set before us a perfect example and within us a desire for the spirit and not the flesh.

    We are torn in our new faith: young in the spirit, yet mature in the flesh as were we before. Our guilt now burdens us, though carnal things continue to do, sin which formerly did not bother our distracted minds. And seemingly to make our guilt worse, sermon after sermon convicts us of our continued love of the flesh.

    Romans 7:

    14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. 15 For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. 16 If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good.

    crushed by guiltGUILT! I do not want to commit the sin I do.

    19 For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice…

    Along come former friends, family who claim to care for me and co-workers of different belief and they say, “See, you are just like us.”

    Listen to our wisdom learned of this world. Why should you feel guilty to a Law written thousands of years ago? Why not just be moral like most of us? You are smart enough and good enough to decide what is right and what is wrong. Why not return to our religions of tolerance? Why not choose to be as good as me?

    Then you return to the argument of the preacher for repentance, the plea of one who loves you in Christ for righteousness.

    Romans 8:

    5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.

    6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

    What will it be then? Carnality? The constant cravings of the flesh?

    • Is it a reward in this life I seek?
    • Or do I look to the hope of the resurrection and eternal joy?

    Is the lasting reward of the love of God in Christ Jesus not worth some suffering at the hands of the wise of this perishing world?

    +

    12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God…

    18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us…

    +

    Are you the prey of Satan? Or are you his bait for the snare of the Pit?

    Jesus Christ has saved you! He has all authority over sin and death.

    Let us look to Him who IS now looking over us, Christ who suffered and died for the very sins which burden us before the watchful eyes of the worldly.

    Let us follow after Him, who not only set forth the way, the truth and the life for all who willingly bear the weight of his Cross, but Christ Jesus our Lord who has called us in love in the beginning before time and conception.

    Our Lord has loved us before the knitting of our flesh in the womb and the spirit of life flowed though our beating heart for Him.

    “This woman is a sinner,” you say. “That man is a carnal man,” you say.

    And with the smile of Christ’s love you hear in the answer of a beloved of the Lord,

    “I know. That was once me. But now I am saved in Christ Jesus, my Lord.”