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The Apostle Paul, in Romans 6 says that we who have put our faith in Christ Jesus, have been united with Christ in his death on the cross, and have been raised with him to a new life, made alive to God, so now we can bear fruit of holy character for God. But sometimes I find that we Christians misunderstand what Paul meant by our death to sin.

“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17)

“So”, there is one message of salvation and one way of being saved. The message – Christ died and rose again, on behalf of sinners. The way – believe in your heart that God who raised Jesus from the dead, and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord.

Imagine, a child acting as if his or her sibling was not part of the family - ignoring, not talking to, avoiding the other...and etc. That would be cruel, and unacceptable. And that is what was happening in the church at Corinth.

Ecclesiastes 7:16a

English Standard Version - "Be not overly righteous, and do not make yourself too wise. Why should you destroy yourself?"

King James Version - "Be not righteous over much; neither make thyself over wise: why shouldest thou destroy thyself ?"

Here are some of the faithful commentators of the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries.

"He who looks at his own character and position from a legal point of view, will not only despair when he comes to the end of his reckoning, but if he be a wise man he will despair at the beginning; for if we are to be judged on the footing of the law, there shall no flesh living be justified.

Yesterday God was clearly revealing to me that I am a sinner.

I need not, I must not change that, or hide it, from myself, God or others, because Jesus is the friend of sinners. It's not the righteous, but sinners he came to call to himself - to love them, to save them, to change them from within.

Dear brother/sister, just a few words of encouragement about the healing of the body in the Christian life. As we with chronic pain tend to get easily discouraged at times.

I don't think it is always a fault, or the lack of faith, or an un-confessed and un-repented sin that a believer is not healed.

Some passages in the NT would indicate the same -

"...I left Trophimus, who was ill, at Miletus". 2 Timothy 4:20b

The text of Hebrews 11-12 is full of suggestive thoughts like - the life of faith/dependence, being in the race, surrounded by many witnesses. These witnesses have passed on to be in the presence of God, and have arrived at the finishing line, and are waiting for us to complete the race with them, that they may receive with us even something better that was promised them. "...since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect." (Hebrews 11:40)

"Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; today I declare that I will restore to you double". Zechariah 9:12

Though God's people of Israel have been back in their homeland from Babylonian captivity for some time, it seems that the people have been discouraged in their hearts and doubting if God will actually do what he's promised and restore the blessings of his covenant to them. The times looked hopeless.

We must let go of our secret ideas of God’s acceptance of us because of our performance. Because, " if righteousness were through the law [by what I do for God], then Christ died for no purpose [than he died in vain]".

It’s true of us that, if we compare ourselves with others in our church and reason out something like this - 'I used to be where they are and now I'm not', so, subconsciously I might think, ‘either I get to where they are or I can’t face them'.