Men and women of faith — called to abound in the lord (part 1)

Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain.” 1 Corinthi­ans 15:58 (NIV)

BELOVED in the Lord, when Paul wrote this admonition to the Christians in Corinth, he was encouraging them to consider what a glorious heritage they had as believers. Their Lord, Jesus Christ had risen from the dead. It was a fact, undisputed – totally confirmed even by his enemies. Because of the resurrection, the Christian had hope – hope that they would not be overcome by Satan through death. On the contrary their own reservation and re-union with the Lord Jesus Christ was assured. For that reason, they were to be actively involved and engaged in the work of the Lord.

They were not to allow the world to draw them back through – false teachings and doctrines: persecution compromise to the worldly way of life, competition for the acclaim the world so read­ily gives fear of rejection, ostra­cisation, pressure from peers to conform.

The admonition was timely and relevant because those who turned to Christ in those days faced real pressures. But Paul reminded them that their decision to give their lives to Christ was the right one – it had been initiated and confirmed by God Himself through Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit.

Beloved, this exhortation is very timely and relevant to us also. Ours may not be such a hostile environment. In fact, it is quite fashionable to be a Christian these days – 69 per cent of the nation profess Chris­tianity. But please don’t let us get carried away. We too live in very dangerous times – subtly dangerous.

The signs of the dangers may not always be clear, especially to those who take everything for granted. But believe me, the times we live in are extremely dangerous.

• We are bombarded daily with false teachings and false doc­trines on radio, television and other media.
• We are drawn and even pushed into compromise because of prevailing social norms and cultural practices.
• We face persecution if we de­cide to stand for and do what is right. We get punished, ban­ished and sometimes lose our promotion in the workplace.
• We are sometimes rejected by family and friends because we want to follow Christ Jesus more closely and live for Him.

• By Rev. Dr Joyce Aryee, the author