My dearly beloved in Christ, I believe that you all must have read, analyzed, meditated on the previous Bible verses. I am happy in the Lord that each one of you who has read and meditated on these verses would have surely seen a new change, growth and strength in your souls given by our Lord Jesus Christ.

Today we will see the third verse –

3. Uphold the weak

Who are weak? Those weak in faith

As in Titus 1: 16 - They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work.

Titus 1: 12 says - One of them, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.”

Titus 1: 13, 14 says - This testimony is true. Therefore, rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith, not giving heed to Jewish fables and commandments of men who turn from the truth.

(What do we understand from this. People speaking lies, those doing evil deeds which God hates, people listening to fables, people who obey the commandments of man are those without faith). (The just shall live by faith)

Titus 1: 15 - To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled.

When we do such evil things, we become weak in faith. We cannot grow in faith. They are the weak. We have to uphold such people who are weak with God’s word and among ourselves give them instruction. We need to come forward to strengthen such people in Christ.

The flesh is weak. The spiritual thoughts are strong in faith.

Why are these people weak in faith?

I Corinthians 15:35 - But someone will say, “How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come?”

I Corinthians 15:36 - Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies.

God gives the seed its body as He pleases.

I Corinthians 15: 38 - But God gives it a body as He pleases, and to each seed its own body

God is showing the differences between the different bodies. Depending on how we submit our body, soul and spirit completely our old body gets sown and our new body raises up. New body is spiritual body – is Christ who came from heaven. During Baptism itself such things happen within us. Our old life dies and we rise up as new life. In this raising up, God raises and shows us in I Corinthians 15: 40 – 44 - There are also celestial bodies and terrestrial bodies; but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.

There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory.

So also is the resurrection of the dead.

The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.

If we don’t humble ourselves and submit to God, and die to all our sins and if our sinful man (body) does not get buried along with Christ on the cross through Baptism, when we raise up, we do so along with our natural fleshly characters (fleshly body). They are the weak in faith.

People who are weak in faith become weak hearted during temptations and fall down in their spiritual walk and they will backslide. We have to uphold them with God’s word. Then God’s word will uphold them (the weak). Not only that, it will uphold us also we will also be made holy.

James 3: 11, 12 - Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening?

Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh.

My dearly beloved in Christ, I trust that you would have understood the verses written above. From a soul which wants to do good, evil should not come out.

Strong in Faith

James 3: 17, 18 - But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.

Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. (These are the spiritual deeds)

Hebrews 7:28 - For the law appoints as high priests men who have weakness, but the word of the oath, which came after the law, appoints the Son who has been perfected forever.

Now our priest and High priest is our Lord Jesus Christ.

Why do we fall down in faith?

I Peter 2: 7, 8 - Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, “The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone,”

And “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.” They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed.

Those who are strong in faith, God says regarding them in I Peter 2:9 - But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

When the fullness of the Son manifests is us – Hebrews 8: 1, 2 - Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens,

a Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man. (That is our Lord Jesus Christ)

Let us pray.

                                                       - To be continued