Recent Posts

READ:

James 4:16

¹⁶ But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.

EXHORTATION:

Certain kinds of rejoicing are sinful. James here particularly warns us against rejoicing in our boastings. Being happy and confident about tomorrow is a common desire of man. Whenever man feels good about his future, he tends to rejoice and even boast about it. Man rejoices to brag about his success. Such rejoicing, says the apostle James, is evil. It is foolish and hurtful.

The root problem of such rejoicing is pride. Boasting about one’s own plan, ability and confidence is not only a vain thing, but also an abominable and blasphemous act that steals the glory of God who graciously provides man with health, opportunity and success. Only God knows everything about tomorrow, and is therefore in control of tomorrow. When a man is inflated with self-confidence, he openly sets himself as superior to God. Such rejoicing that disregards God and His will is foul and disgraceful behaviour.

If one rejoices in his own vain confidence, he will become presumptuous about tomorrow. James has already warned against such arrogant boasting. He said, “Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that” (James 4:13-15).

Rejoicing in one’s self will also deprive one of faith in and submission to the Lord. So, everyone is exhorted: “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5). Selfbelief leads a man to walk irreverently and contemptuously. Such a person will disregard the Lord’s purposes and precepts, and will act in self-conceit.

Truly, Scripture continually warns us against delighting in our own abilities. Consider these divine warnings against vain confidence in oneself. Jeremiah 9:23 declares, “Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches”. In Proverbs 3:7, we are cautioned: “Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.” So, let us take heed and refrain from all forms of self-glorying.

READ:

James 4:10

¹⁰ Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

EXHORTATION:

The call to humble ourselves follows James’ admonition in the previous verse to mourn and weep before the Lord for our sins. “Be afflicted,” James 4:9 says, “and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.” When we stand in the presence of the Lord, let us humbly acknowledge our unworthiness to come before Him because of our many sins. Let us humbly admit that we have no merit of our own to be granted access to His holy presence. Our sins are odious in His sight. We have defied His righteousness and aggravated His just wrath by committing them against Him. We need to admit, like David, “Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight” (Psalm 51:4). When a person is truly awakened to a sense of his guilt and danger, he needs to beg for God’s mercy and forgiveness to turn away His wrath and deliver him from the guilt of his sin. He must pray like the prodigal son who, in returning to the father, said, “I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee” (Luke 15:18). Therefore, let us plead for the Lord’s pardon, because our sins are against Him who alone can pardon us. Let us humble ourselves before Him, confess our sins and seek His forgiveness.

To humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord means to recognise our spiritual poverty, as well as to acknowledge our desperate need of God’s help and to submit to do all His commands. This humility is beautifully exemplified in the tax collector of Jesus’ parable, who acknowledged that he was a sinner and unreservedly called out to God for mercy. Jesus said in response, “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted” (Luke 18:14).

Humility is the only appropriate and acceptable attitude we can have before the Lord. This truth is taught throughout Scripture. James mentioned earlier in verse 6 – “Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.” God will utterly reject the proud, but will lift up the lowly. When we exalt ourselves by relying on and relishing in our own abilities, status, or wealth, God will condemn us. But He will bestow His grace, forgiveness, redemption and glory upon all those who come with humility. He will lift up their sad and troubled souls and grant them joy, peace and His glorious presence.

READ:

James 4:8b

^8b Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

EXHORTATION:

Have you noticed that here James calls his readers “sinners” and “double minded”? Who are they?

Among those who are gathered in the churches of Jesus Christ, there are those who continue to entangle themselves with sin. Sinners are those who transgress the righteous laws of God, and conduct themselves in a manner that is displeasing to God. The word “double minded” refers to those who are fickle-minded and unstable in their faith and devotion to God. The double-minded are those who vacillate between God and the world. Here James calls them all to repentance.

He tells them to “cleanse your hands” and “purify your hearts”. Both “cleanse ”and “purify” are verbs that refer to ceremonial cleansing, a figure that spoke eloquently to Jewish as well as Gentile converts. Those words remind them of the need to put away their sins before they approach God, who is pure and holy. The words “hands” and “hearts” point them to their actions and affections. It is an indispensable requisite that we cease from our sinful actions and passions when we draw nigh unto God.

So David said, “I will wash mine hands in innocency; so will I compass thine altar, O LORD” (Psalm 26:6). The apostle Paul directs us in 1 Timothy 2:8, “I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.” We must cease from everything unjust or cruel, and be free from the defilement of sin. He who serves the Lord cannot be a servant of sin. The worshippers of God must be purehearted, i.e. sincere and single-minded to please God. They must cease from everything worldly, carnal and displeasing to God.

It is hypocrisy to come to God with hands and hearts that are impure. Jesus cited Isaiah in Matthew 15:8-9, “This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me”. In Matthew 23, Jesus repeatedly condemned the hypocrisy of the Jewish leaders. He did not mince His words: “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!” He then rebuked them sharply, “Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also” (Matthew 23:26). Let us serve Him in sincerity and holiness.

READ:

James 4:8a

^8a Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.

EXHORTATION:

The duty required of us here primarily entails our returning to God from our wandering away from Him. In Zechariah 1:3, the Lord declared unto Israel, “Turn ye unto me, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the LORD of hosts.” Again, the Lord said in Malachi 3:7, “Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts.”

He calls us to draw near to Him. Though He knows that we have turned away from Him, how lovingly and tenderly He calls us to stay near Him! Oh, the graciousness of this invitation! He is calling us to return to Him from our backsliding, cold indifference and meaningless formalism. He counsels us to live in His presence with ardent prayers and cheerful devotedness to Him, for “glory and honour are in his presence; strength and gladness are in his place” (1 Chronicles 16:27).

We must draw nigh to God with a firm resolution to seek Him. We must draw nigh unto Him with sincerity of heart to serve Him. We must desire close communion with our God that we may grow in our faith and knowledge of His goodness and His perfect will. We must stand by Him in obedience to do all His good pleasure.

If there is no close communion between God and you, it is your fault and not His. He is calling you to draw nigh unto Him. “Come,” He says. So, as Hebrews 10:22 says, “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.”

God gives you great encouragement to draw near unto Him, by assuring you that “he will draw nigh to you”. You are not asked to draw near to a God who is disinterested in you. He is most willing to have you and hold you close to Him. He will make you know His presence, His grace and His greatness. Turn to Him; He will meet you there. Call on Him in repentance and faith; He will answer you. He promises you that He will draw nigh unto you. If you seek Him, He will be found of you. As Hosea 6:1-2 says, “Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.” So, arise and return to the loving presence of your God. Say now, like the prodigal son, “I will arise and go to my father” (Luke 15:18).

(Excerpts from Pastor’s sermon during the Graduation Service of GBI, Vizag, on 26th April 2025, based on 2 Timothy 2:19–26)

Introduction

The Holy Spirit often used vivid images in Scripture to reveal spiritual truths. In 2 Timothy 2:19-21, Paul describes the church as a “great house” filled with vessels of gold, silver, wood, and clay. These vessels represent believers – some useful and honourable, others not. Through this imagery, Paul calls us to purify ourselves, that we might become vessels fit for the Master’s service.

1. Church, A Great House with a Divine Foundation that is Unshakable (v. 19)

“Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity” (v. 19).

In the previous verses (vv. 16–18), Paul warned Timothy about false teachers whose heresies were capable of overthrowing the faith of some within the church. Yet, despite the spread of error and ungodliness, Paul declares with confidence, “Nevertheless, the foundation of God standeth sure...” Amidst the chaos, the true church rests on an unchanging foundation laid by God Himself.

In his first letter to Timothy, Paul had already affirmed that “the house of God, which is the church of the living God”, is “the pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15). The church stands immovably upon the truths God has revealed in His Word. No matter how fiercely falsehood rages, God secures His people upon the solid ground of His truth. It is no surprise, then, that the church is pictured here as “a great house” (v. 20a).

Paul further emphasises this security by noting that the foundation of God has a seal — a mark of ownership and divine purpose: “The Lord knoweth them that are his.” Like a stone engraving on a grand building, God’s mark assures us that He knows and loves each true believer, and none will ever be lost. As Jesus prayed to the Father: “Of them which thou gavest me have I lost none” (John 18:9; cf. 17:12).

The seal also declares God’s purpose for His people: “Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.” God’s ownership is never passive; it leads to active sanctification. True believers will not abandon God to embrace sin—rather, they will continually depart from sin, as visible proof that they belong to Him.

2. Church, A Great House with Honourable and Dishonourable Vessels (v. 20)

“But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour” (v. 20).

Paul continues his household imagery of the church, describing it as a “great house” filled with different kinds of vessels. Some are crafted from precious metals like gold and silver; others are made from common materials like wood and clay. In any grand home, vessels of honour are displayed proudly, while vessels of dishonour — used for refuse or waste — are hidden away.

In the same way, within God’s great house, the church, there are faithful servants who bring honour to His name, and others who bring shame through unfaithfulness, laziness, cowardice, or discontent. We are called not merely to be part of the house, but to be vessels of honour — clean, useful, and ready for the Master’s service.

No institution on earth is greater in God’s sight than His church. Serving Him within it is both a high privilege and a sacred duty. To be a vessel of honour in the great house of God is not something to be taken lightly. It is a calling that demands our best, and rewards us with eternal significance.

3. Be Honourable Vessels Fit for the Master of the Great House (vv. 21-26)

Paul exhorts, “If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work” (v. 21). Every believer, especially those called to leadership (like Timothy), must cleanse himself from false doctrines and ungodly practices warned of earlier (vv. 16–18). Only by separating from sin and error can one become a vessel of honour, set apart and ready for the Master’s use.

The Lord uses only clean vessels. Talent, intelligence, or capability alone do not make one useful to God. The Lord requires purity of life. If we flee from sin and live for Him, we will become instruments that bring Him glory. Are you purging your life of sinful attitudes, worldly habits, and ungodly influences? If so, God will prepare you for every good work He has ordained for you to fulfil (cf. Ephesians 2:10).

Paul then gives three crucial instructions to maintain ourselves as honourable vessels:

Flee youthful lusts: “Flee also youthful lusts” (v. 22a). Youthful lusts include more than sexual sins; they also include pride, impatience, quarrelsomeness, ambition, and all kinds of selfish desires. God’s servant must actively flee these things.

Follow righteousness, faith, love and peace: “Follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart” (v. 22b). It’s not enough to flee from sin. We must also pursue godly virtues, alongside others who “call on the Lord out of a pure heart”. Running from sin must be matched by running towards righteousness with all the people of God.

Avoid foolish arguments and cultivate gentleness: “But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes. And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; and that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will” (vv. 23-26).

The servant of the Lord must not be argumentative and quarrelsome, but be “gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves”. Our goal is not to win debates, but to restore souls. With patience and prayer, we labour, trusting that God may grant repentance and rescue those ensnared by the devil. In your teaching and interactions, ask yourself: “Am I striving to win arguments, or working to restore hearts?” “Is my conduct and message drawing others towards Christ, or pushing them further away?”

To be a vessel of honour in God’s great house, we must flee from what corrupts, pursue what is godly, and serve others with gentleness. Then only can we reflect Christ, to the glory of God.

Sermon Text: Psalm 107:1–32
Speaker: Pastor Prabhudas Koshy
Date: 4th May 2025

READ:

James 4:7

⁷ Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

EXHORTATION:

Who can stand up against the Almighty? No, not one. No elaborate argument is needed to corroborate this truth. Is it then not a wise counsel to submit ourselves to God? Yet because of our foolishness, the text uses the word “therefore” (which points to what is said in the previous verse) to reinforce the reason for the command to submit to God, namely: “God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.” If our hearts are not taught to humbly submit to God, we will soon be resisted by God. Conversely, His grace is promised us if we walk in humility and submission.

Therefore, submission to God means that we live humbly before God and His people. We must be careful to maintain lowliness of mind always, not thinking highly of ourselves, for we are nothing without His grace and help. We must also be mindful not to exalt ourselves, but to give glory to God who freely bestows salvation and all good things upon us.

Submission to God also means obedience to all His revealed will in His Word. We must attend to His Word reverentially. We must hear His Word with eagerness and readiness to believe and obey. When the Spirit of God convicts and directs our hearts through His Word, we should immediately yield ourselves to do what He bids us to do.

Moreover, the wording of the verse, “Submit yourselves therefore to God”, seems to suggest that we must be willing to accept whatever God appoints unto us. If the providence of God places us under chastisements of trials, let us submit willingly and cheerfully to His will, knowing that all these things work together for our good (Romans 8:28). Let us not question or doubt the good purposes of our God. Let us not allow our hearts to grow weary or hold back ourselves from joyfully yielding to His providence. Rather, let us gird up the loins of our minds, and manifest a voluntary and active submission to our great Lord!

Submission to our Lord and Saviour will be demonstrated by immediate obedience; delays hint of insubordination, and neglects essentially reflect rebellion. While we desire to submit to God, the devil will come with his wicked suggestions and temptations to lure us away from obeying God. So, we must resist the devil by submitting ourselves to God’s Word. Then, and only then, shall the devil flee from us, and we shall have victory.

READ:

2 Thessalonians 2:17

¹⁷ Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work.

EXHORTATION:

This is a portion of Paul’s prayer for the believers in Thessalonica who were in the midst of persecution and trials. Paul’s prayer, which began in the previous verse, reads: “Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work” (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17). God can give His people comfort amidst the greatest tribulation. As long as we have God to stand by us and the blessed hope of eternal life that His grace bestows in our hearts, all troubles will be counterbalanced. Our God is the “the God of all comfort” (2 Corinthians 1:3). Since God is the source of all comfort, let us go to Him in prayer for it. Let us not expect men to provide it, though God may use His children to bring His comfort to us. If, by God’s grace, they be instrumental in God’s hands to comfort us, let us gladly accept it. However, we must ask God to send His comfort into our hearts.

It is important that we do not allow our troubled hearts to slip further into depression by thinking that there is no comfort for us. We must encourage our weary and sad hearts to hope in the Lord for our comfort. “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance” (Psalms 42:5, 11; 43:5).

The apostle also prayed for the Lord to “stablish” suffering believers “in every good word and work”. The word “stablish” means make firm and steadfast. When God by His grace comforts our hearts, He will also strengthen us in “good word and work”. The expression “good word” refers to the truths of God’s Word, while the phrase “good... work” relates to the performance of all His good will concerning us in His service.

Trials often compel the hearts of believers to question and distrust the truths of God’s Word, and even to refrain from serving and praising God. However, those who wait upon the Lord for their consolation shall receive His aid to grow in faith and in understanding of His Word, and thereby offer themselves in greater service to the Lord. We may find ourselves being shaken by our trials, but let us seek His strengthening grace in prayer. As Paul assured the believers later in 2 Thessalonians 3:3, “But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil.”

READ:

Galatians 2:20b

^20b And the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

EXHORTATION:

This is part of the apostle Paul’s joyful testimony of his new life in Christ. He testifies here of the reality of the newness of life that he has been experiencing since he had met Christ. Paul is not explaining an experience unique to himself, but to everyone who is a Christian.

The renewed life of every Christian is not some future, faraway experience. The new life is an everyday experience of Christians while they “live in the flesh”. Neither is it some kind of mystical, “out-of-body” experience. Paul did not want his readers to somehow misconstrue what he had said earlier in the verse – “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me” – as some kind of unrealistic or transcendental notion. It was while still living in his body (like every other man) that Paul delighted in his new life in Christ. The truth is: every Christian lives through Christ, who lives in him, while he is still exposed to the common experiences of temptations, cares and anxieties in his body.

In today’s portion of Galatians 2:20, Paul tells us that his new life in Christ is lived “by the faith of the Son of God”. It is his utter reliance on the Lord Jesus Christ that enables him to live a life that is in such a bond with Christ. He humbly and wholly trusts in Christ. Christ is the focus of his faith. It is through the channel of faith that he remains one with Christ and receives the strength to live as Christ wants him to live.

It is faith that instils within a Christian the passion to live according to Christ’s will, purpose and power. By means of his unshakable confidence in his Redeemer, he surrenders all to Him and lives for Him. He puts all his confidence and expectation in Christ, and lives in full affinity with Him.

Paul also tells us that his unwavering faith in Christ is motivated by the love of Christ: “I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” There is no higher sense of compulsion to put our trust in Christ than His love for us. Every genuine Christian, like Paul, yields his life to Christ in faith and consecration because of the consciousness that Christ loved him like no one ever did. He knows that Christ gave Himself on the cross for his salvation. The knowledge and the assurance that “Christ loves me” should stir every Christian to live for Christ above all other influences and motivations.

READ:

Galatians 2:20a

^20a I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; not I, but Christ liveth in me.

EXHORTATION:

Paul testifies here the reality of his salvation and its continuing influence in his life. This ought to be the testimony of every Christian. By the expression, “I am crucified with Christ”, Paul depicts the fact that when we are joined to Christ by faith, we die with Him. The curse of the law against our sins demanded our death. So Christ bore our sins and died on the cross on our behalf to take away the curse of the law against our sins. As Paul said in Colossians 2:14, “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross”.

Being then crucified with Him, we are freed from all the curse and guilt of the law. We are only delivered from the yoke of the law by becoming one with Christ by faith in Him. Now the curse of the law has no power over us. So we can live without the fear of the condemnation of the law.

Paul then said, “nevertheless I live”. Paul wanted us to know that though he was crucified with Christ, he was not lifeless, inactive and insensible of spiritual realities. Rather, he is alive, as never before, to the things of God. When one is crucified with Christ, one becomes dead to sin, the world and the curse of the law, and alive in Christ unto God and His righteousness.

Hence, Paul’s statement at the end of our text: “yet not I, but Christ liveth in me”. Now his life is not driven anymore by self-righteousness, violence, worldliness, etc., but by Christ who lives in him. He is now a new creature, and no longer lives as he did in his unregenerate state while still in Judaism. He is no more Saul the blasphemer, the persecutor, the dangerous person; neither is he now Saul the Pharisee, living a hypocritical life! His life of righteousness is no more of himself, but of Christ. Being made alive in Christ, he now lives by the principles of life and holiness implanted in him through the presence and power of Christ who lives in him. Paul is no more living for himself; he is moulded and led by Christ who lives in him. Christ is not only the author and maintainer of his new life, but He is also the life itself!

Christ dwells in His people, and their lives are united with Him. They are now one with Him, from whom all the vital principles and powers of their life flow. As Christ lives in them, their lives in turn manifest His glory.