DEVOTION or DEPARTURE?

"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord" 1Cor.15.58.

Two main issues that confront us in contemporary assembly life today are spiritual commitment and shepherd care. What is my personal, individual responsibility in the assembly? We grieve at the passing of older saints who were stedfast and faithful. God will not bless us for old times’ sake. Do we blame the conditions on the elders? Do we leave the burden with others? Dear reader are you; "stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding", or are you a spectator? Many attend the meetings on Lord’s Day and are fairly often at the midweek meeting but manifest little spiritual exercise in the work of the Lord. Am I a real help in the assembly or merely a passenger? What are my responsibilities?

1Cor.1.10, Keep the Unity. "Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you". The first problem Paul dealt with at Corinth was strife. If the assembly is divided nothing else can be dealt with. The order in 1Corinthians is to deal with contentions, then conduct, then matters of conscience before dealing with matters which arose when they came together. "Speak the same thing" or else the confusion is like Babel. The verse goes on to say that they are to be "perfectly joined", knit together in perfect harmony. In 1.1-10 the name "Christ Jesus" occurs ten times. Where unity exists, my responsibility is to help to preserve it. Where trouble exists, make sure that you are not the source.

1Cor.3.16,17, Retain the Sanctity. "If any man defile [corrupt] the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are". My responsibility, whether male or female, is to maintain the purity, holiness and reverence of God’s sanctuary. There is a destructive casualness abroad today, which falls far short of the standard of holiness becoming the house of God.

1Cor.5.6, Maintain the Purity. "A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump". The Corinthians had gift but they had immorality. Leaven spreads, swells and sours. Individually, we all need to pray, "Preserve me, O God" Ps.16.1. Assembly rule and discipline have a three-fold purpose - to maintain purity, to uphold testimony and to effect recovery.

1Cor.11.3, Display Authority. "The head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God". Each of us, male or female has the personal privilege of manifesting Headship. The lesson of 1Corinthians chapter 11 is that if you are a man, be a man; if you are a woman, be a woman. Part of the local assembly testimony (on Lord’s Day and on Monday to Saturday: at the meeting and in the market, in the sanctuary and on the street) is to exalt Christ contrary to this so-called "gender equality" society. Heaven sets the style and angels look on.

1Cor.14.12, Seek to Edify. "Forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church". "Let all things be done unto edifying" v.26. In the use of gifts two principles apply: "edify" v.26; do you seek to build up the assembly?; "decently and in order" v.40; do you personally contribute to the godly order of the assembly? If not, do not complain about the deadness and dearth of the meetings.

1Cor.14.26, Attend Regularly.[/b]The expression "come together" occurs seven times in these chapters of 1Corinthians. Can your fellow-believers count on you as being a steady, reliable attendee at all the meetings if physically possible? Problems arise and need to be dealt with in a scriptural manner as at Corinth, but it is no answer to take offence and go on strike or cut and run somewhere else.

"In simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom". Delivered from the bondage of religious ritual, older generations of believers delighted at great cost to themselves to gather in simplicity to the Lord’s name. Human nature loves to organise. We become slaves to arrangement. Some make a ritual when partaking of the emblems. Others insist on a slavish procedure through the hymns. How blessed to simply, "shew the Lord’s death till He come".

[b]2Cor.3.17, Allow Liberty. "Where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty". Gifts given by the risen Head should be used in the liberty of the Spirit to the profit of the company then present in the meeting. The greater the departure from this principle the less power we experience.

2Cor.6.17, Separate Scripturally. "Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate ...". This is a calling out in love to Christ, not a driving out in a legal bondage. It therefore forbids the unequal yoke in the commercial, political, social, matrimonial and religious world.

2Cor.9.7, Give Liberally." God loveth a cheerful giver". This exhortation follows the statement of 8.9 "He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor". Can we hold anything back?

1Cor.15.52, Wait Expectantly."In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed".

More could be added but we return to our headline text:

1Cor.15.58, Labour Fervently."Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord". Spiritual commitment will not be in vain. The opportunity for faithful devotion will not be long. If we are constantly abounding in the work of the Lord, we will have neither the time nor the inclination to be involved in that which consumes the worldly person, such as ball games, parties, dancing etc.

To be continued (D.V.)