1 Corinthians 6:19-20 – “Ye are not your own, for ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
I spoke with a pastor yesterday who bemoaned the allurements of the world today on his church members. He said, “I get in the pulpit Sunday after Sunday and preach holy living, righteous judgment, soul-winning, and humility of spirit, and it seems the crowds are flocking to the mega-churches to be entertained rather than preached to. The Bible says the people ‘would heap to themselves teachers having itching ears.’ And that’s exactly what today’s churches have done. They’re neither cold nor hot, and God says He would spew them out of His mouth. The problem is in both the pew and the pulpit. Preachers today are more worried about their paycheck and their pension funds than about preaching the unadulterated truth of God’s Word.”
And it’s true – the modern-day church is filled with “saints” who go about their daily lives seeking only to please themselves. Taught by this humanistic society, they attempt to gratify self – to gain wealth – to satisfy the lusts of their flesh. They don’t accept the biblical teaching of self-denial and self-abasement. No wonder today’s churches show no similarity to the church of New Testament days. We need members who are sold out to God – who are committed to Christ – who are responsive to the Spirit. Any member who is not, is not a true saint.
And we’re not going to get members like that until we get some preachers like that. We need preachers who are committed to following God’s instructions in the Word – to submitting to the teachings of Christ – to listening to the leading of the Holy Spirit. They need to not be so concerned about their careers and be more concerned about their calling. If preachers would let God lead them instead of following their pocketbooks, they would preach the truth of God’s Word – that if we are saved we are not our own, but we are bought with a price – that we don’t control our own destiny, but we are controlled by the Spirit of God – that we don’t esteem ourselves, but we esteem others. Let’s follow Paul’s instructions and glorify Him by living a righteous and holy life for Him, by telling others about Him, and by living unto Him instead of unto ourselves. Man is not the ultimate, regardless of what Nietzsche says. Christ redeemed us from the slave-market of sin, so we are no longer our own – we are no longer the world’s – we are no longer the devil’s. So let’s act like it.
And it’s true – the modern-day church is filled with “saints” who go about their daily lives seeking only to please themselves. Taught by this humanistic society, they attempt to gratify self – to gain wealth – to satisfy the lusts of their flesh. They don’t accept the biblical teaching of self-denial and self-abasement. No wonder today’s churches show no similarity to the church of New Testament days. We need members who are sold out to God – who are committed to Christ – who are responsive to the Spirit. Any member who is not, is not a true saint.
And we’re not going to get members like that until we get some preachers like that. We need preachers who are committed to following God’s instructions in the Word – to submitting to the teachings of Christ – to listening to the leading of the Holy Spirit. They need to not be so concerned about their careers and be more concerned about their calling. If preachers would let God lead them instead of following their pocketbooks, they would preach the truth of God’s Word – that if we are saved we are not our own, but we are bought with a price – that we don’t control our own destiny, but we are controlled by the Spirit of God – that we don’t esteem ourselves, but we esteem others. Let’s follow Paul’s instructions and glorify Him by living a righteous and holy life for Him, by telling others about Him, and by living unto Him instead of unto ourselves. Man is not the ultimate, regardless of what Nietzsche says. Christ redeemed us from the slave-market of sin, so we are no longer our own – we are no longer the world’s – we are no longer the devil’s. So let’s act like it.
In His Name
In whose name do we come to pray?
In whose name do we come to pray?
We say the name of Jesus.
But when we’re done we rise to play,
But when we’re done we rise to play,
As if He never sees us.
We continually fill our lives
With things apart from Him.
His Holy Spirit with us strives,
His Holy Spirit with us strives,
Convicting us of sin.
And yet, we try to go each day,
And yet, we try to go each day,
As if He’s nowhere near,
And if indeed we stop to pray,
And if indeed we stop to pray,
It’s not with awe or fear.
We seek to pass each moment here
In our own strength alone.
He tries to make it very clear
He tries to make it very clear
That we’re not ours to own.
We ought to live for Him each day –
We ought to live for Him each day –
To Him we ought to come –
And in His Name to daily pray
And in His Name to daily pray
Until He takes us home.
© 2006 Paul Stultz
Quote – “If you have a fire-man in the pulpit, you’ll not have many snow-men in the pew.” – C. H. Spurgeon
© 2006 Paul Stultz
Quote – “If you have a fire-man in the pulpit, you’ll not have many snow-men in the pew.” – C. H. Spurgeon
