Living in Light of the Resurrection

May 2, 2025

Our faith and our salvation are built upon the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  The historical fact of His resurrection cannot be over emphasized.  There is no way in which we could speak of it too often, for it is the critical component to everything we believe.  As Paul writes to the church at Corinth (who were doubting the resurrection of the dead), “But if there is no resurrection from the dead, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain… and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.  Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.  If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.” (1 Corinthians 15:13-14, 17-19 NASB95) Without the resurrection of Christ, our faith is meaningless, we are still in our sins, and we have no hope for the future.

But the fact is, “Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.” (1 Corinthians 15:20, NASB95) This is the glorious fact!  Jesus was raised!  There are many powerful and convincing proofs of this fact.  There are many eyewitness accounts of this fact.  We can be assured that His resurrection is real, and our faith can rest solidly in this reality.  And because He is alive, we too are alive!  Because He is risen, we have been raised with Him and seated with Him in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 2:6) Because He is risen, we are now dead to sin and alive to God.  Because He is risen, one day we too will be raised with a glorious new body.   Because He is risen, we have hope of seeing our loved ones who have died in the Lord again.

Jesus is alive!  And we have been made alive with Him!  Shouldn’t this truth have a major impact on our lives?  How should we now live?  As Paul writes, “Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.  For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:1-3 NASB95).  We should now continue to seek the things above, setting our mind on heavenly things rather than earthly things. 

How should we now live?  We should continue to put to death our earthly ways. (Colossians 3:5) Immorality, greed, anger, slander, lying, and the like should all be rooted out of our lives with the help of God’s Spirit. 

How should we now live?  By putting on the qualities of the resurrected life: Compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness, and love. (Colossians 3:12-14)

Let’s rejoice on this day!  Jesus is alive, and we live with Him!  Let us now walk as those who are alive from the dead!

—Scott Colvin

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Posted by Scott Colvin

The Purpose of Parables

December 3, 2024

Why did Jesus speak in parables?  This is a good question and one that the disciples of Jesus also pondered.  “The disciples came and said to Him, ‘Why do you speak to them in parables?” (Matthew 13:10 NASB95) Jesus’ answer is very interesting.  “Jesus answered them, ‘To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted.  For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.’” (Matthew 13:11-12 NASB95)  Luke reports Jesus’ answer in this way: “…To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is in parables, so that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.” (Luke 8:10 NASB95)

Most people think that Jesus spoke in parables in order to make things clearer for the listeners.  This is only part of the reason.  It is true that the parables help us, as disciples of Jesus, to more clearly understand and retain His teaching.  When we think about the parable of the sower, or the parable of the talents, or the parable of the prodigal son, we immediately remember the deep spiritual meaning that lies beneath the simple stories.

But there is another important reason that Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables.  It wasn’t so that the message would be clarified but obscured!  Read the passages above again.  Jesus said that some have been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom, and some have not.  Therefore, He spoke in parables so that while seeing and hearing, they will not be able to understand.  This leads us to another important question:  To whom does God grant understanding, and from whom does He withhold it?  And why? 

There is a warning here from Jesus that we all need to heed today.  Jesus goes on in Luke 8 to say this: “So take care how you listen; for whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has shall be taken away.” (Luke 8:18 NASB95) Take care how you listen!  Some will encounter the word of God and care little about it.  They will hear the words of God, but they do not care to really listen carefully.  These will not progress any farther in their spiritual journey.  In fact, it is these who will go backwards spiritually, for whatever he thinks he has shall be taken away.  But to those who love the word of God, who want to know more, who want to apply it to their lives—to them God will grant more spiritual understanding.  They will move forward with God because they take care how they listen!  May each of us approach God today with a heart to hear His word.

—Scott Colvin

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Posted by Scott Colvin

Time for Repentance

November 19, 2024

Repentance is an extremely important concept all throughout the scriptures.  To repent is to turn away from sin.  There can be no salvation without it.  Repentance leads to life (Acts 11:18).  Our God is rich in kindness, and His kindness leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4).  God does not wish for anyone to perish, but for all to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).  Because God is rich in mercy and kindness, He gives all people, everywhere, time to repent.

But that time is not unlimited.  God has proven again and again that He is very longsuffering, but He has also proven again and again that eventually He will bring judgment on the unrepentant, even among His own people.  God punished His own people many times in the Old Testament because of their hardened, unrepentant hearts.  God punished people within the church in New Testament times as well.  The self-proclaimed prophetess in the church at Thyatira, Jezebel, comes to mind.  Jezebel was teaching and leading the servants of Christ into immorality and idolatry, and therefore Jesus says of her, “I gave her time to repent, and she does not want to repent of her immorality.  Behold, I will throw her on a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her deeds.” (Revelation 2:21-22 NASB95) Jesus gave her time! But time was up.  She made it clear that she did not want to repent, and so the judgment of Christ was coming.  Judgment was also imminent for those who joined her in sin, but Jesus, in His great patience and mercy, gave them a little more time for repentance.

You and I need to take the lesson to heart.  Let us never think lightly of God’s kindness, patience, and tolerance.  Let us not test God, nor harden our hearts and stiffen our necks toward His word.  Rather, let us be thankful for His mercy, listen to His word, and turn away from sin.  God desires for all people to come to repentance.  Thanks be to God for providing the way to complete forgiveness and abundant life through His beloved Son.  Let us not delay in coming to Him!

—Scott Colvin

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Posted by Scott Colvin

Aspiring to be an Elder

November 12, 2024

This article is a call for our younger men to begin preparing themselves to serve as elders in the church.  Elders (also referred to as shepherds, pastors, bishops, or overseers) have a very critical role to play in the life and health of the church.  And since becoming an elder takes years of spiritual preparation, the church should always be looking ahead and thinking about how to prepare faithful men for this role.

We can read about the qualifications of elders in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1.  Let’s take a look at some of the qualifications and consider how a man might prepare himself to fulfill them.  First, it is important to note that aspiring to be an elder is a good thing.  Paul wrote, “It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do.” (1 Timothy 3:1 NASB95) The work of an overseer is often difficult and comes with very weighty responsibilities.  In light of this, it is important that there is a desire to take on this work.  Elders need to serve willingly and eagerly, not under compulsion. (1 Peter 5:2)

Second, an elder must be able to teach (1 Timothy 3:2). He must hold fast to the faithful word and be able to encourage sound teaching and refute false teaching (Titus 1:9).  An elder, then, must be a man who is deeply rooted in the truth.  An aspiring elder must prepare himself through serious, ongoing study of the word of God.  People’s souls will depend on you faithfully holding fast to the teaching.

An elder must be one who “manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity (but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?) (1 Timothy 3:4-5 NASB95) The training ground for an elder is the family.  The one who aspires to be an elder must aspire to lead his family in the ways of God.

Finally, an elder must be a man who is himself walking with God.  Looking through the lists of qualities in 1 Timothy and Titus we see many descriptors of the kind of man he should be:  temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, gentle, peaceable, a lover of what is good, free from the love of money, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not addicted to wine, not a bully (pugnacious).  In short, he must be a man who is being led by the Spirit of God.  He should be a man who has been walking with the Lord for many years; a man whose character has been transformed by the Lord.

It is a good thing for our men to aspire to this work.  If you feel the desire to serve as an elder one day, I encourage you to begin preparing now.  And if you do not desire this work, I still encourage you to strive for these qualities, for they are wonderful qualities for each of us to pursue.  May God raise up godly men among us to serve our congregation in this way.      

—Scott Colvin

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Posted by Scott Colvin

Seeking God

November 12, 2024

In his sermon in Acts chapter 17, Paul reveals some magnificent things about the true God of heaven to a group of Athenian philosophers who did not know God.  Paul tells them that God made the world and all things in it.  He tells them that God does not need to be served by humans as if He needed anything.  No, God is the one who serves mankind by giving us everything we need—life and breath and all things.  He tells them that it is God who made all mankind and determined where they would live.

But why has God been so kind and generous to all people in these ways?  This brings Paul to his central point.  He said it was so “that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us…” (Acts 17:27 NASB95) God has poured out His blessings on all so that we would seek Him!  What a profound truth it is that God wants all to search for Him, and He wants all to find Him!

And what a profound truth it is that God does require that we search, that we grope for Him, feeling our way toward Him to discover who He is.  God does not reveal the wonders of Himself to just anyone.  He only reveals Himself to those who will seek Him.  God has been very clear about this throughout scripture.  Take this verse, for example: “How blessed are those who observe His testimonies, Who seek Him with all their heart.” (Psalm 119:2 NASB95) Or take the words of Jesus as another example: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7 NASB95) Or consider this verse, where Paul explains that in Jesus “… are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” (Colossians 2:3 NASB95) You see, the treasures of God’s wisdom and knowledge are not available to just anyone.  They are hidden in Christ.  God desires that we do some digging before He will allow access to these blessings. 

But the beautiful thing is that God will allow us to find Him.  He wants to be found.  He wants a relationship with you and me.  The question for us is, are we still searching for Him?  Even if we have already found Him, there is still more to be found.  We must continue to dig deeper to explore even more of the beauty and the delight that is found in God and in His beloved Son.  May God lead us ever deeper into Himself!    

—Scott Colvin

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Posted by Scott Colvin

Words that Will Save

October 15, 2024

“I would rather see a sermon than hear one.”

I have heard this statement many times in various forms.  I can agree with the sentiment expressed.  It is very important that we live out the gospel—not just saying the right things but living in a right way.  A life lived for God shows the beauty of Jesus to those around us.

But we must remember that being a “living sermon” is not the entirety of the church’s responsibility.  The word must also be spoken.  As the angel said to Cornelius in Acts chapter 11, “Send to Joppa and have Simon, who is also called Peter, brought here; and he will speak words to you by which you will be saved, you and all your household.” (Acts 11:13b-14 NASB95) Peter was going to speak words that would save Cornelius and his household.  If anyone is going to be saved, they must hear the words of the gospel of Christ.  They must hear who Jesus is.  They must hear the words about Jesus dying and being raised for us.  They must hear what to do to accept His gracious offer of forgiveness of sin.

I do encourage you to continue to be a living sermon.  I encourage you to continue living a life that adorns the doctrine of God (Titus 2:10).  I encourage you to continue walking in wisdom toward outsiders, letting your speech around them be with grace (Colossians 4:5-6), and while you do these things, be looking for open doors to also speak the word of God. 

It’s very interesting to me that God, if He wanted, could announce the saving message to the lost through angels or through personal visions or dreams, but He has not seen fit to do so.  We see over and over again in the scriptures that God sends people (like you and me) to speak the words that lead to salvation. 

Are there people in your life that need to hear the message?  Perhaps they have seen your way of life and felt your love and concern for them.  And perhaps because of that, their heart is ready to hear.  May God prepare you and direct you to those who need to hear the words by which they can be saved. 

—Scott Colvin

Leave a Comment » | Acts 11:13-14, Cornelius, evangelism, gospel, sharing the gospel | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Scott Colvin

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