Saints with Struggles

March 17, 2026

When it is said that the church today should be more like the first century church, most people aren’t referring to the church at Corinth.  The church there had some very serious issues.  They were divided over their favorite preachers. There was jealousy and strife among them. Some were bringing lawsuits against their own brethren. Some arrogantly stood by while a man in the congregation had an ongoing incestuous relationship with his father’s wife. Some acted unlovingly toward one another. Some made a mockery of the Lord’s Supper with their unloving attitudes. Some of them even questioned the reality of a bodily resurrection. This is quite a list!

What would you say about a congregation with so many serious issues? Would you see them as brethren?  Would you associate with them?

What does the Lord say about them?

This may be a little bit shocking to our ears, but listen to the inspired words of Paul about the Corinthians: “To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours…” (1 Corinthians 1:2 NASB95)Listen to the words Paul uses to describe who these people are.  They have been sanctified (set apart, made holy) in Jesus.  They are saints (holy ones)!  They are a part of the universal church who call on the name of the Lord Jesus!

Paul goes on to describe not only who they are, but also what their future holds, reminding them that the Lord Jesus Christ “will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:8-9) Jesus will confirm and establish them.  They will stand before the Lord blameless!

In these words, we have a beautiful reminder about why the Corinthians, or you or I, or anyone else, can be in right standing with God.  It is because of Jesus Christ!  It is because of what He did!  It is because God called us through the gospel into a relationship with Him!  The blood of Jesus is what has sanctified us, not our own goodness.  Not our knowledge.  Not our doctrinal purity. Not our morality. None of these is what brought us into right standing with God. Everything is because of Christ!

Are we saying that the Corinthian brethren didn’t need to repent?  Are we saying that they could defiantly go on in their sinful ways and still be right with God? Of course not! The promises are for those who are walking in faith. As one author put it, “We’re not talking about open decadents, but struggling penitents.”1 For such people—people like you and me—we can be assured that God will be faithful to His promises to sanctify us, establish us, and make us able to stand in His presence without blame.

—Scott Colvin

1. Jim McGuiggan, 1 Corinthians.

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Posted by Scott Colvin

The Personal Indwelling of the Holy Spirit

December 19, 2023

One of the most amazing facts about the Christian life is that the Holy Spirit dwells within each one of us individually.  The scriptures are very clear about this.  For example, consider what Paul wrote to the Corinthian church: “But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him.  Flee immorality.  Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body.  Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?” (1 Corinthians 6:17-19 NAS95) This passage shows us that, for those who are in Christ, our bodies have become a dwelling place—a temple—of the Holy Spirit. What an amazing thought!  Just as God filled the temple with His presence in Old Testament times, so now God dwells in each one of us.  Each one of us are a temple of the living God!

These words of scripture are not figurative language, but a spiritual reality.  It is a reality that some of the members of the church at Corinth did not understand, and their lack of understanding had a terribly harmful impact on their walk with the Lord.  Some at Corinth had been practicing sexual immorality.  They didn’t realize that in so doing they were being joined in one body to prostitutes.  Paul had to rebuke them and remind them of who they were.  How could they sinfully join themselves in one body with another when they were one spirit with the Lord?  The spirit of God was living within them!  How then could they so casually engage in sin?

You see, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is a powerful incentive for holy living.  It is something that you and I need to understand about ourselves today.  An understanding of this reality will completely change the way we look at ourselves.  It will change the way that we live.  It will cause us to strive for holiness.  It will strengthen our walk with the Lord.

Brothers and sisters, have you come to realize that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who dwells within you?  You are not your own.  Let us glorify God with our bodies.

—Scott Colvin

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Posted by Scott Colvin

Keep Seeking, Keep Pursuing

June 13, 2022

“Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of
God.” (Colossians 3:1, NASB) When you and I were baptized into Jesus, we were raised up with Him. We were raised with Him to a new life. We became a new creation. We were made alive again. Haven’t we been blessed beyond measure in Christ?

Since all of this is true, what shall we do now? The verse above makes it clear. Keep seeking the things above! Keep on moving forward in His ways. Keep on striving to know Him more deeply. Keep on pursuing holiness in your life. We must never stop pursuing God. We must never think that we have arrived or that we have grown as much as we need to grow. We must never become complacent or stagnate in our walk with Him. God wants us to keep seeking Him with all our heart.

I am encouraged by these words of Paul concerning our ongoing pursuit of God: “Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” (2 Corinthians 7:1 NASB) Notice that he did not say “having perfected holiness”, but “perfecting holiness.” This carries the idea of pursuit, of continual striving, of growth over time. Perfecting holiness requires that we don’t get discouraged and quit in our struggles against sin. It requires that when we fall short, we confess our sins to Him, ask for His forgiveness, get up, and continue to pursue holiness, trusting in His promise to keep us continually cleansed by the blood of Christ.

God knows we’re all sinners. He knows we fall short. But He expects us to keep seeking and to keep perfecting. Don’t ever give up the pursuit!

—Scott Colvin

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Posted by Russell Holden