Tag Archives: Paul

October 30, 2025 · 9:00 pm

Purity

1Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more. 2For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus. 3For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: 4that every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; 5not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God: 6that no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified. 7For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness. 8He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit. 9But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another. 10And indeed ye do it toward all the brethren which are in all Macedonia: but we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more; 11and that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you.

1Thessalonians 4:1-11

How can we remain pure in a world that is filled with perversity? Paul’s words to the church at Thessalonica are of great value as we pursue holiness in a fallen society. Consider the following commands……

**Hold to the Word of God

**Seek Sexual Purity

**Learn Self-Control

**Learn Thought-Control

**Realize that sexual sin is destructive

Resisting lustful temptations is not easy and simple. Our society is awash in temptations of every sort. Let us hold to God’s Word and pray for Holy Spirit empowerment to flee the sins that surround us. The price of sin is way too high to pay!

Tony French

Leave a comment

Filed under 1 Thessalonians

Tagged as , , , , ,

October 10, 2024 · 9:00 pm

Member Ministry

And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.    Ephesians 4:11-13

Pastors have a multifaceted calling. We are called upon to perform many tasks during the course of a week. Today, I would like to concentrate on one aspect of the pastoral task from Paul’s letter to the Ephesian church.

Mind you, what we will discuss in this article is not the only requirement of the pastorate. Many other duties are performed by those who lead in the church. But, what we will peruse in this post is the most central task of the pastor. What is that activity? The task of which we will speak is preparing the membership to minister to one another.

Paul speaks of this responsibility as a primary aspect of the pastoral calling. The “equipping of the saints”, as communicated in verse twelve, is central to work week of the minister. Pastors should teach and preach to prepare the Christian for ministry and to serve the body of Christ.

While the pastor should be involved in ministry and service to the membership, he should not be expected to do all of the ministry within the church. He is to raise up others and equip them through preaching, teaching, personal example, and training to do the work of the ministry as well.

Too often the pastor is expected to “do it all” as the church’s hired hand. This should not be! Ministers should train the membership and then release them to serve one another. The result of this service is spiritual growth, an increased knowledge of God, and Christian maturity.

As a believer, you have a calling to serve in the Church, the Body of Christ. Do not neglect that calling. Attend church, learn, and be equipped and encouraged to serve within the membership. From myself and pastors everywhere, let me make this closing statement. “We need you and we can’t do it without you. Help us!”

Tony French

2 Comments

Filed under Devotion

Tagged as , , , ,

August 24, 2023 · 9:00 pm

Sanctify

6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; 7 just as it is right for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers with me of grace .8 For God is my witness, how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ. 9 And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment ,10 that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, 11 being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

Philippians 1:6-11

Christians are also called to grow in sanctification. God began a good work in every Christian when He saved them and reconciled them through Christ Jesus. This fact led Paul to grow in love for the people of the Philippian church as He saw their spiritual growth and maturity.

God is working in us and through us to make us more like Jesus. The Holy Spirit is using our churches, the Bible, our circumstances, and many things unseen to grow us and mature us.  Our love for Christ and our love for others advances as we grow up into the fullness of Spiritual adulthood.

Ultimately, Paul instructs believers to be Spirit-filled. The Spirit of God lives in us and we belong to Him. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) Therefore, God’s people should be pursuing growth in love, in wisdom, and in Christlikeness each and every day.

We Christians can have joy no matter our circumstances. Christ is with us and will never leave us. We have the precious promises of God. If Paul can learn contentment in prison, we can apprehend contentment in our lives as well!

Tony French

1 Comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , ,

August 17, 2023 · 9:00 pm

Thankful

1 Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,4 always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy,5 for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now.

Philippians 1:1-5

The book of Philippians was written by Paul the Apostle around 61-63 AD. Paul seemed to have a very close and cordial relationship with the church at Philippi. We believe this letter was written while the Apostle was in prison. In light of that fact, the epistle encourages Christians to be thankful, sanctified, and Holy Spirit-filled no matter the circumstances one may face. Paul showed these characteristics even while in prison. God’s people can do the same as they live in hostile environments.

Paul first instructs Christians to be thankful. He does this by citing His example of thanksgiving for them. Paul prays for them with joy and gives thanks for their fellowship in the gospel work.

Let God’s people be thankful for all that God has done for us. Let us be thankful for those whom the Lord has placed in our lives. And may we show gratitude for the church where we worship and serve.

Tony French

2 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , ,

June 25, 2021 · 9:14 am

Our Faithful God

Know therefore that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His lovingkindness to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments; 

Deuteronomy 7:9

God is faithful. He is constant each day and there is no shadow of turning in Him. Here are three aspects of God’s faithfulness to His people.

God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.   1 Corinthians 1:9

Our Lord is faithful to call us, save us, and transform us. Christians have been brought into fellowship with God through Christ our Lord. His blood was shed in order to cleanse us and bring about the forgiveness of our sins. The Almighty is faithful to secure us forever through His power and might.

No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.   1 Corinthians 10:13

The Holy One is faithful to bring us through times of temptation and testing. He will give us strength to bear up under the temptation and give us a way to escape. Christ will enable us to endure in the time of testing because He is faithful. We can be sure of this promise of God!

But as God is faithful, our word to you is not yes and no.   2 Corinthians 1:18

God is faithful to keep His Word. In this passage, Paul pledged to keep his word to the church at Corinth because the Lord is faithful in completing His Word. We never have to wonder if God will come through for us. We know He will keep His promises because He is faithful and He cannot deny Himself.

Thanks be to God for His faithfulness that endures to His people!

Tony

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , ,