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THE BODY OF DEATH

In the seventh chapter of Paul’s letter to the Romans, the Apostle alludes to a practice that the Romans of his time would have been familiar with.   It was a form of capital punishment that was extraordinarily cruel and ghastly.   The early Etruscans had used it and, later, so did certain Roman tyrants.   The practice involved binding the condemned individual to the dead corpse of the one that he/she had murdered.   The magistrate would have the criminal tied face-to-face, hand-to-hand, and body-to-body to their murder victim.   This forced them to live out the rest of their miserable existence in that state, enduring the horrible stench and decay of the dead body.   As the corpse rotted, it would become full of disease which would infect and eventually kill the person that was bound to it.     The Greek poet Virgil in The Aeneid , Book 8,  starting on line 485 describes this form of punishment as practiced by the Etruscan king ...
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IF YOU CAN BELIEVE

“But if You can do anything , have compassion on us and help us."  Jesus said to him, " If you can believe , all things are possible to him who believes."  Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, " Lord, I believe; help my un-belief! ” (Mark 9:22-24 NKJV).    Jesus and three of His disciples, Peter, James, and John, had just come down from a mountain where the Lord had been transfigured before them.  Jesus’ raiment had shined with the glory of God, and His heavenly Father had spoken from heaven saying, “This is My beloved Son: hear Him .”  When they came down to join the other disciples, they found them speaking with a crowd of people.  The scribes were questioning this group about something, and when the multitude saw Jesus, they ran to Him and greeted Him.    When the Lord then asked what was happening, a man came forward and said, “Master, I have brought unto Thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit; and w...
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THE STAGES OF CHRISTIAN MATURITY

“I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His [Jesus’] name’s sake.  I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known Him that is from the beginning.  I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one.  I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father.  I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known Him that is from the beginning.  I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the Word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.” (1 John 2:12-14).   The story of Joseph in the Old Testament has come up a lot in our fellowship meetings recently.   We have talked about many aspects of his life, including what a perfect example he was of faith, patience, and integrity.   I see also in Joseph’s story a pattern that we can follow in order to come into spiritual maturity in Christ.   In considering the various phases of Joseph’s deve...
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