The Bulletin
of the
Church of Christ at
New Georgia
Tim Johnson, editor
March 4, 2007
In
This Issue:
Our
Mediator with God
by
S. Scott Richardson
It
is Time to Wake Up!
by
Randy Cavender
Our Mediator with God
In our society, as in most, when two parties are at odds with one another, a third party is often called in to assist in rectifying the difficulties between the two parties. This third party is called a mediator. This word comes from mesos, middle, and eimi, to go; the term mediator then means literally "to go in the middle" or as we might more com-monly say a "go-between." One of the char-acteristics of a mediator is that they must be respected by both parties or have things in common with both parties. This is necessary so that the mediator might more fully un-derstand the needs and desires of each party, and then be able to communicate them. A mediator also must "make sure" or guarantee any agreements between the par-ties.
Man and God are at odds with one an-other. This is because man sins. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." God is sinless perfection, the very definition and embodiment of righteousness. So there are two diametrically opposed forces at work - that of righteousness and that of sin. How can man be reconciled to God? There must be a mediator, someone to bring peace be-tween man and God. Someone to "make sure" the better wonderful covenant of Cod. That mediator is Christ Jesus.
Jesus Christ is the only mediator that there could be between man and God. He is the only one who meets the qualifications. He is God (divinity). He, the Father, and the Holy Spirit are one in purpose; He has the knowledge of all that pertains to divinity. He also came to this earth. He gave himself as a sacrifice for mankind by dying on the cross, but he also gave of himself by coming to this earth and living as a man so that he would be uniquely qualified to understand the physical, spiritual, and emotional limita-tions of man. Paul reminded Timothy in his first letter to him in chapter 2 verse 5, "For there is one God, one mediator also between God and men, himself a man, Christ Jesus."
We can think of Christ as the ultimate mediator. Not only is he capable of under-standing the provisions of God and the needs of man, but he was willing to do what-ever it took to guarantee salvation for those who would abide by God's terms. What it took was the shedding of his own blood to seal the covenant. He died for all men of every age and became their mediator of this new and better covenant or testament. He-brews 9:15 states, "And for this cause he is the mediator of a new covenant, that a death having taken place for the redemption of transgressions that were under the first covenant, they that have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. "
Without a mediator man would be lost with no hope. We have a mediator who can understand. We have a mediator who guar-antees a new covenant. We have Christ Jesus-man's hope for reconciliation, man's hope for salvation, and man's hope for eter-nal life with God in heaven!
--
S. Scott Richardson Via The Challenger, Vol. 38, No. 7, July 1992
In Romans 13:11 Paul exhorts the Romans, "And do this, knowing the time, that now {it is} high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed." Those who are Christians sometimes leave things undone they shouldn't. Many find time to do everything they want in this life but seem to close their eyes to the Lord's work. As you know, if you leave your eyes closed long enough you will go to sleep. This apparently is what happened to the Roman Christians. The church at Rome was not alone, for the church at Cor-inth slept also. Paul charged the Corinthians to, "Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God. I speak {this} to your shame." (1 Cor. 15:34). It is easy to see why Paul would speak to the Corinthians in this manner after reading the letter he sent to them. You will notice these brethren closed their eyes to divisions, fornica-tion, discipline, taking brethren to court of law, marriage, divorce & remarriage, and abusing the Lord's Supper. These were just a few of the problems they had. These brethren needed to wake up to what was right and stop sinning against the God and themselves.
With all that is going on in the church today, I believe these words should serve as a warning to all Christians. We need to wake up and do the things the Lord would have us do. We need to heed the words that Paul penned to these two local churches at Rome and Corinth and "Awake to righteousness&ldots;" Brethren, it is now time to awake out of our spiritual sleep and live for God. Let us notice a few things Paul said do.
In Romans 13:13, Paul instructs us to "walk properly." How are you walking? Are you walking by faith or sight? (2 Cor. 5:7) Are you walking in the truth, which is the word of God? (3 John 4) Are you walking in the light as He is in the light? (I John 1:7) Brethren, if we are sleeping, there is no way we could be walking. Granted, some might be sleep-walking, but they have either fallen into the ditch, or they will if they continue (Matt. 15:14). That is not walking properly. We must live holy lives, basing every thing we do on the word of truth, and living righteous upright lives in the sight of God, our Savior.
Paul also teaches us, "make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts" (Romans 13:14). In Galatians 5:16, the same apostle teaches us how to make no provisions for the flesh by "walking in the Spirit." Worldliness among the people of God is the cause of much heartache, and it grieves the Holy Spirit of God. I know those who profess to be Christians who drink socially, dance, curse, dress immodestly, divorce and remarry without scriptural cause. Congregations of "God's people" engage in such sin to the point that it is increasingly difficult to tell any difference in them and the ungodly world around us. Many have closed their eyes to such sins to the extent that they have fallen asleep and do not care. They need to heed the command of Paul to wake up and "do not sin" (1 Cor. 15:34).
Brother and sister in Christ, are you sleeping? If so, you need to wake up and live for God in all things always. Let us never close our eyes to the "&ldots;sin which so easily ensnares us&ldots;" (Heb. 12:1).
-- Randy Cavender, Via Pathfinder, Vol. 27, No. 4, October 15, 1993