Watch Out!

I Corinthians 16:13 14 "Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. Do everything in love." The city of Corinth was a port city in Greece (the area was then called Macedonia). It was certainly a sin city. Morality was about nonexistent. Idol worship was big business. Sin of every variety was imported and exported to and from there. To become a Christian in Corinth was a big step. In such a situation as this there is a danger of erring in two extremes. One of course is to never get your feet entirely out of the world and try to play both sides. The other is to do what the Corinthian church did and go so far overboard in Spiritual gifts that it became a circus, and no one heard the Gospel in a language they could understand. While a city was going to hell; the church was playing parlor games with their gifts. The Spiritual gifts were given to be used to enhance and further His kingdom, not merely fondled as an end in themselves. The gifts allow us to offer acceptable worship to God; to bring God's message to His people; to minister to the needs of His children; to prepare as an army to go out to a lost world. In a nut shell these verses are God's instructions through Paul to a church preparing to go into trenches of a lost and dying city. "Be on your guard" test everything that comes along according to the prime directive. "Time is short and people need to be reached for Christ." (That includes our own families). Question: How does what we are about fit the directive? "Stand firm in the faith". Know what you believe, and why you believe it. Let your walk match your talk. Call upon God often He's always there.