In this episode, trace the footsteps of Apostle Paul through Corinth, a remarkable city of antiquity. Experience the lessons drawn from the scriptures as we discuss the iconic Erastus inscription and its profound implications, reinforcing the truth of the Gospel. Along with historical discoveries, find spiritual motivation through the metaphor of competing in life’s race, inspired by Corinthian athletic ideals.
It was the Apostle Paul who said, Be followers of me as I am of Christ. Let’s follow Paul, friends. Pack your bags and let’s visit Corinth today via International Gospel Hour Radio Travel. Travel with us in just a moment.
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Hi, this is Jay Webb for International Gospel Hour. Welcome to our broadcast today. For over 90 years, churches of Christ have proclaimed God’s word through our broadcasts. Just ahead is another Bible-based lesson with Jeff Archie of International Gospel Hour. Let’s begin.
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Well, thank you to our J-Web for his kind words and greetings to all of you. You know, some time back, my wife, or as I still call her, my beloved bride, we joined a number of fellow Christians on a trip throughout the Aegean Sea. We visited the cities where the Apostle Paul walked about teaching others of Jesus Christ, the salvation that is only in Christ, and about the church of Christ that Jesus himself promised to build, Matthew 16, 18, and he purchased it with his shed blood, Acts 20, verse 28. It is amazing to walk the steps of Paul and see the scriptures that guide us. And we arrived at the ancient city of Corinth, and oh, what an exhilarating visit it was. So for our broadcast today, please join me on that journey. Now, pictures of our journey today are located at our Facebook social media page. Just look for International Gospel Hour on Facebook. So friends, let’s get checked in for our journey to Corinth via IGH Radio Travel. And we will leave in just a moment.
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Please download the International Gospel Hour app on your iPhone or Android. A free download awaits you at the App Store or Google Play. Just search International Gospel Hour and download our app free and have access to all our work. It is all there through the IGH app.
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As we are walking through ancient Corinth, yes, friends, we are looking at ruins. And with many ancient biblical cities, probably 10 to 15 percent has been properly excavated through the years. Now, also keep in mind as well that from Bible times until now, we’ve had world wars, earthquakes. I mean, we’re talking 2,000 years. Whereas Corinth was once a city right on the sea, we note how that has changed. You can see the sea, but it is now from a distance. our journey has us arriving on the Lord’s Day. Standing among the residences, the houses, we think about the church assembling in their houses as they did in many places in the New Testament. From 1 Corinthians 16 and verse 15, the household of Stephanas and Achaia, and from verse 19, Aquila and Priscilla greeted them heartily in the Lord with the church that is in their house in Ephesus. On that Lord’s Day and every day, they partook of the Lord’s Supper. For in 1 Corinthians 11, 23-26, Paul said to them, For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, Take, eat, this is my body, which is broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me. In the same manner he also took the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant of my blood. This do as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till he comes. And we recall 1 Corinthians 16, 1 and 2. Now, concerning the collection for the saints. As I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, so you must do also. On the first day of the week, let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come. Friends, the Lord’s church simply assembles the same way today. Friend, are you part of the church that observes the Lord’s supper every first day of the week? You know, I know a number that makes certain the plate is passed or the contribution is given every Sunday. But to remember the Lord’s death each and every Sunday, as they did here in Corinth, and we note the pattern in Acts 20 and verse 7, such examples that we have that are commanded, well, friend, that is a journey we must continue therein. For the church to assemble and remember the death of Christ as they did then, Friends, the Church of Christ does the same now. Now let’s continue our journey. I want you to think with me about a spot that was actually uncovered in 1980. It’s a starting block or the starting line for all of the Olympic-type athletic events that history even records there in Corinth. You can see the places cut out where one would put their feet in the starting block. And oh, how through inspiration Paul speaks of that in 1 Corinthians 9, 24-27. Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate or in self-control in all things. Now, they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus, not with uncertainty. Thus I fight, not as one who beats the air, but I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified. Yes, friends, such beautiful words penned by inspiration to those in Corinth who fully understood the concept of running a race. It is this same Paul that near the end of his life, he said in 2 Timothy 4, 7 and 8, I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that day, and not to me only, but also to all who have loved his appearing. You know, Paul mentioned back in 1 Corinthians 9, 25 of the imperishable crown. In other words, the crown that they would receive would eventually fade away. How it was used, it wasn’t to last forever. Matter of fact, we were even told that some of those crowns were made out of celery. That’s interesting. But however, friends, we understand of the crown of righteousness. You see, folks in Corinth understood running that race and how that there would be an imperishable crown, if you will. Those other crowns would perish. They would not last. And you know, friends, we too are running the race of life, are we not? So the question that I would ask at this point in our journey, how are you running the race of life? Friends, we want to help you in that journey of running the race of life. We do so when we are able to have the tools, the word of God to fight the good fight of faith. I’m going to pause here on our journey. Let’s take a break from our travels and listen to our J-Web with another free offer for you here from International Gospel Hour.
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Maybe you’d like an online study of the Bible. The World Bible School has a free online Bible study available. Just go to worldbibleschool.org and register. That’s worldbibleschool.org And get this, a study helper is provided for your lessons. That’s the free online study at worldbibleschool.org Sign up today. Tell them the International Gospel Hour sent you.
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Now let’s bring our journey to a close, but first we’re going to stop near the ancient theater in Corinth and see a most interesting discovery called the Erastus inscription, and it’s written in Latin. It was found in 1929, and it presents Erastus as an appointed leader among those in Corinth. When you look at that inscription, it refers to Erastus’s idol ship. Now, that is spelled A-E-D-I-L-E-S-H-I-P. And that is referring to a high ranking position in Well, friends, when we study further the Scripture, Paul penned to the Romans, and it’s believed that Paul penned those words from Corinth when he says in Romans 16, 23, Now, let me stop there. That would go back to the church meeting in homes that we mentioned earlier as we talked about how the church assembled in houses. But also note the rest of this verse of Romans 16, 23. Erastus, the treasurer of the city, greets you. Look at that. Look at how that blends perfectly with Erastus’ idol ship, if you will. Wow. Wow. Now, Erastus is also mentioned in Acts 19, 22 and 2 Timothy 4, verse 20. He was a fellow Christian to Paul. Erastus greets you. He greets Rome from Corinth. Now friends, this is amazing because now what we see in the Bible is affirmed once again through our journey. And we see these discoveries that are made that affirms, yes, the Word of God is true. That was probably one of the most thrilling things to see on our journey. And friends, I want to add a bonus here. We are returning from our trip with Paul. But before we do, I want to share with you that if you’ll go to our Facebook page at International Gospel Hour. You will see a link there on our Facebook page from the Erastus inscription, and it’s a link to our friends at World Video Bible School and Bible Land Passages, where our friend, matter of fact, our leader of the trip, John Moore and his wife Carla, But John is going to tell us more about Erastus. It is a fantastic brief video about the discovery of the Erastus inscription, and it’s available on YouTube. We’ll provide that link on our Facebook page with the picture. Well, friends, I know I’ve shared a lot with you today on a journey. It’s hard to kind of go on a journey when you’re on a radio broadcast, but I hope I’ve done it justice. And I look forward to further broadcast as well of places we’ve journeyed. A special thanks to John and Carla Moore and their work at BiblePassages.net. So check out their future trips at BiblePassages.net. It was a joy to visit with you, and I’m so glad you joined me today on our journey to Corinth. And in future broadcasts, we’re going to take a journey, well, we’ll go to Ephesus and Philippi and others as well. I really appreciate you joining me today. And again, as a bonus for our trip, as Jay mentioned earlier, please download the International Gospel Hour app on your iPhone or Android and let us share with you the online material from the World Video Bible School, or rather the World Bible School, and study the Word of God with us. We really appreciate you joining us today for our journey. Rest well. We’ll continue at another time. And thank you for joining me today on the International Gospel Hour. I’m Jeff Archie, and friends, keep listening.
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God be with you till we meet again.
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Thank you for listening to our broadcast today, and we hope you continue onward with your search and study of God’s Word. Please join us next time and visit our website at internationalgospelhour.com God be with you till we meet again
