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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 

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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

  • 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?

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    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…

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    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.”

  • Perfectly Changed

    Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, think this way. If in anything you think otherwise, God will also reveal that to you. Philippians 3:15 HNV

    How can a sinner like me be perfect? Of course, I cannot. Our perfection is only in Christ Jesus.

    Once we are changed into a servant of our Lord Jesus Christ we are perfectly forgiven by His Perfect Sacrifice and love for us.

    He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

    – 1 John 2:2 ESV

    Paul says in his letter to the church at Philippi, “3:22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me.

    He also tells us through his letter to the church in Galatia what he considers to be “fruitful.”

    “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control… And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” – excerpt Gal. 5:22-24.

     What does the Spirit have to do with us?

    In Genesis 6, before the flood which destroyed all but Noah and his family: Then the LORD said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.”

    Genesis 6:5 goes on to state: The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

    Quite a contrast: the Spirit of the LORD and the wickedness of man. (We would do well to learn more of the full meaning of the Spirit of the LORD and to follow His leading.)

    The King James Version reads: My Spirit shall not strive with man forever… Gen. 6:4a An apt description of the chasm between a Holy God and evil mankind. Why would God strive with an evil man or woman like you or me?

    Answer: The Lord’s Perfect Love has redeemed the price of our sin by the Blood of His Son Jesus on the Cross.

    Once we are saved by His grace, we become acceptable to the LORD once more. Now that we are saved by Christ’s love and Sacrifice, we become Perfect in the eyes of God our heavenly Father.

    This chasm of strife between God and mere mortal souls like yours or mine, clothed merely in flesh and blood, is bridged by grace and covered in Christ’s holiness.

    Matthew 5:48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

    How do we become perfect?

    Only by justification through Christ Jesus.

    Once we have bowed down to Christ Jesus, it is the Lord who gives us the Holy Spirit to guide our own spirit reborn into eternity, that we may be found perfect before an eternal, holy and almighty God.

    Romans 5:

    Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

    6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—

    8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.

    The perfection of grace is a joyous thing.

    Let us praise our Lord, Jesus Christ, now and for ever.

    Amen.

    This is the seventh message in my Lenten series in preparation for Easter, 2016.

     

  • ..that he may encourage your hearts

    If Christians are known for nothing else, the world has witnessed the love of Christ through the way we stand by those in need. Christian friends show empathy for the real-life challenges and heart breaks of others. We show compassion. We are called to show the love of Jesus to all.

    Do you need encouragement? Does someone close to you also need your encouragement?

    Do you sometimes feel that you are in this life alone.. no one near to help you through these tough times? Have you ever been there?

    Why not reach out to encourage someone who needs help even more than you?

    Anyone who loves God will want to encourage the heart of another created in His image, a soul mirroring our own imperfections.

    Colossae Turkey mapWorshipers of the Lord at Colossae needed encouragement. The Apostle Paul had travelled to churches near them but never to Colossae. Yet Paul wrote a letter to believers (possibly worshiping in the home of Philemon) in Colossae just to encourage them in Christ Jesus.

    “Colossae, Laodicea, and Hierapolis were three closely-situated cities mentioned by Paul in the New Testament, each possessing Christians… Colossae was completely destroyed by the AD 60 earthquake. After that it survived only as a small village. Source

    Colossians 1:

    3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, 5 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, 6 which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, 7 just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf 8 and has made known to us your love in the Spirit.

    9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. 11 May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. 13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

    Paul encouraged others, both personally and by mail. Do you?

    Laodacea columnsHe trained Timothy in the faith just as Saul of Tarsus had been mentored by leading Jewish scholars. Paul, full of the Holy Spirit after his personal encounter with the risen Christ, met with Peter, James and the Apostles and others in Jerusalem and many cities throughout the Roman Empire. Epaphras from Colossae was one of those who sought out Paul and others to learn more about the truth and encouragement of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

    The people who walked in darkness
    have seen a great light;
    those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
    on them has light shone. Isaiah 9:2

    Colossians 2

    For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, 2 that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

    4 I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. 5 For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.

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    These are true servant believers who genuinely love and pray for those in Christ they know only by report.

    Hard times and good times come and go for all. Flesh and blood real families lose their home, their job, a loved one or perhaps even suffer the devastation of losing all of these earthly treasures.

    Do you not treasure a roof over your own head? Have you never suffered loss of income or death of a beloved family member?

    Hurting souls in Colossae, Laodicea, and Hierapolis would soon be devastated by an earthquake.

    (They did not know it.) Their day to day peace from the commerce and lifestyle of the Roman Empire would soon turn to shambles.

    Is life in this 21st century so different? Are refugees in Turkey, Greece, Yemen, the E.U. and many other places in this fallen world not souls in need of encouragement? Do these not long for food and need true hope from believers of the only Way to our own salvation? Is our life not meant to show Christ’s love in tangible ways to every soul we touch with His Truth of eternal life?

    Empires of these chaotic times will crumble and fall as well. The love of Christ is witness to those hearing false prophets, now as in the days of Paul.

    We must encourage not only believers of the Way, but the pagan of false belief.

    6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

    8 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.

    Colossians 3:

    2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.

    12 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.

    23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward.

    You are serving the Lord Christ. 25 For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality.

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    It is now as it was in the days of the early church, a time when Paul and others of the Way encouraged all the churches and the beloved saints in fellowship with the Spirit. The relationships of the saints of Christ’s church remain bonded in His love. Souls and lives of fellow believers await the pouring out of Christ’s love though your encouragement of others.

    Colossians 4:

    7 Tychicus will tell you all about my activities. He is a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord.

    8 I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts,

    9 and with him Onesimus, our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will tell you of everything that has taken place here. 10 Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, and Mark the cousin of Barnabas (concerning whom you have received instructions—if he comes to you, welcome him), 11 and Jesus who is called Justus.

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    • Could the church add your name to the eternal list of those who reach out to other believers with encouragement?
    • syria church damageDo the words of your mouth and works of your hand overflow in the love of God, the compassion of Christ and the building up of others in the Holy Spirit?
    • Will the list of faithful include my name as a soul who encourages others?
    • Will you be remembered by others for your encouragement in the Lord?

    Be encouraged in the Lord by encouraging others.

    We give thanks to God our Father, Jesus Christ our Lord and the Holy Spirit for the grace of this day and the joy of eternity in His unsurpassing love. Amen.

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    This is the fifth message in a Lenten series in preparation for Easter, 2016.