Gospel Signs

The church in Corinth, which at first glance was doing well, had serious problems.  These problems stemmed from the fact that the members of that church had missed the point of the gospel.  They'd convinced themselves that their faith was only about spiritual things, and so they neglected physical things; they thought that as long as their souls were right with God, what they did with their bodies didn't matter.  Some had even fallen into sin, both in the things they did (e.g. engaging in sexual immorality and drunkeness, suing each other) and the things they did not do (e.g. not helping the poor and outcast, either in their congregation or elsewhere).  The apostle Paul reminded the Corinthians that they had to follow Jesus Christ with their bodies, as well as their souls--he called them to return to the gospel.

We, too, often need to return to the gospel.  We need to remember that our faith is not just about spiritual things--it is not just "pie in the sky, by and by".  God does not just love our souls, but our bodies as well.  Christ came to save our bodies, as well as our souls.  God is at work renewing the entire creation, and Christ's resurrection is a vital step in that process.  

The sacrements help us to return to the gospel.  In a mysterious way, they make Jesus Christ real to us, both in our bodies and our souls.

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