FIVE EXHORTATIONS (PART 3)

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“...be courageous.”

1 Corinthians 16:13c

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

“Be on your guard” and “stand firm in the faith”.

These were the first two of five exhortations given by the Apostle Paul as he wrapped up his first letter to the Christians in Corinth. Knowing the threat of persecution and attack was all too real, Paul urged the Corinthian believers to remain vigilant while maintaining and sustaining their trust in the Lord they placed their hope in, the Lord who had the power to protect them and help them against any enemy.

As a fledgling church among religious establishments that were far more established, the prospect of being on guard and standing firm in faith has to sound easier than it really was to put into practice. Like a small business trying to start up in the midst against already known competition, the Corinthian church had to have feelings of intimidation and fear, especially with their founder Paul distant from them. This is why we find Paul adding the third exhortation that we are looking at in today’s message, the urging to “be courageous”.

Surely in their studying of the scriptures, the Corinthian believers would have been aware of the Israelites and how God led them to the land He had promised to give them, a land that they would inhabit and establish themselves as a nation. Entering the land which was already inhabited and having to fight to gain it had to feel like a harrowing task for the Israelites, They had to have feelings of intimidation and fear but listen to these words spoken by Moses to the Israelites as he was about to hand over the reins of leadership to Joshua who would lead God’s people into Canaan:

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6

He then summons Joshua and says this to him directly in the presence of the Israelites:

“Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land that the Lord swore to their ancestors to give them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance. The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” Deuteronomy 31:7b-8

This exhortation to “be strong and courageous” is repeated in Deuteronomy 31:23, four times in the first chapter of Joshua in verses 6, 7, 9, and 18, and again in the tenth chapter of Joshua in verse 25. Later, King David would urge Solomon to “be strong and courageous” as he was about to take over ruling Israel as its new king (1 Chronicles 22:13, 28:20). Finally, Hezekiah, king of Judah, tells his military officers in the face of a threat by the Assyrians to “be strong and courageous” because the Lord was with them to fight their battles (2 Chronicles 32:7-8).

Of interest, the call to be strong and courageous doesn’t appear again in the scriptures until we get to here, this final chapter of 1 Corinthians. The Israelite people had faced many harrowing challenges and each and every time they made it through because they kept their faith that God was with them, a faith that brought them courage to stand strong against any adversity. Paul knew the Corinthian church would need that same kind of courage themselves to face the threats against their church and thus his exhortation to “be courageous”.

Today, the Christian church still faces a myriad of challenges and threats. Persecution is still rampant against believers and Satan is alive and well in trying to tear the church apart, often from the inside out. Therefore, Paul’s exhortation is just as important now as ever as the church faces its difficulties head on knowing the same God that delivered the Israelites will continue to deliver His people today.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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