Is He writing to you?

“To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 1:7

When you write an email or letter, you usually are writing it to an individual or group of people you know. When you are pouring out your heart, it is usually to someone you know very well. The Apostle Paul wrote 13 letters in the New Testament. Four of the letters were to individuals, and nine were to the churches. I want you to understand that in all nine letters to the churches, he begins His letter the same; he addresses the Church in each one of those cities and, in 7 of those letters, he addresses it to the saints of the Church.

Why is this important? I submit to you that what Paul wrote was for the children of God, those who had made Jesus Lord and Savior of their lives. We know that every Word in the       original letters that Paul wrote was God-breathed, inerrant,   and infallible (“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.”   2 Timothy 3:16). So, God has given us Paul’s letters in the New Testament so we can live lives that are holy and pleasing to Him. They are meant to feed the sheep and not the goats.

While God uses His Word to bring people to saving faith, its primary purpose is for the sanctification of believers. Our       responsibility as members of His Church is to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We spread the seed, and God determines the quality of the soil. When an individual comes to Christ, they become part of the universal Church, the body of Christ, and the local Church where they serve God and their fellow saints.

So, is Paul writing to you? Are you a faithful member of Grace Harvest or another local Bible-believing church?  Are you one of the sheep that belong to Jesus, or are you a goat trying to blend in. Is the Church just something you do or something that you are?

“Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it” (1 Corinthians 12:27).

Your shepherd,

Pastor Mark