Maranatha

At the end of his first letter to the Corinthians Paul takes the stylus from the hand of his stenographer and starts writing himself. What does he say?

1 Cor 16:22 If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha.

Paul combines in one sentence the conviction of his heart about the people who reject his Jesus Christ. If anyone love not the Lord. That is the word for simple human affection. If any man or woman does not emotionally extend themselves to Jesus Christ, then there is nothing for that person in eternity, and their lack of love for the Lord proves their lostness.

Anathema is a Greek word that the James gang left untranslated. It was notorious. Infamous, even by 1611. It came to convey a special English meaning.

Appearing six times in your New Testament, it means to be set aside to God. Not consecrated to ministry because of his mercy, but offered in worship as an object of wrath. Like an animal brought to the temple, devoted to destruction.

If any man or woman in this city does not love Jesus Christ, there is no hope for them. His coming simply curses them. That man or woman will perish because they are devoted to destruction as a result of their decision about Jesus.

With the word Maranatha, Paul broke off into Aramaic. Aramaic was the language of Jesus and his homeboys. Aramaic was the childhood language of Paul studying under that great rebbe, rav Gamaliel in Jerusalem. When Paul wants to convey something intimate he slips into Aramaic. So what is Paul saying to end it all?

They will be accursed Maranatha. That brings us to this intimate Aramaic expression, "the Lord cometh." He has come; he is coming, and this man or woman will be accursed, devoted to destruction at his return coming. Anathema Maranatha. A word for the Jew and a word for the Gentile to remind us of what happens at his coming.

That's what we’ve forgotten in our community. That's why the churches aren't having the impact they could. We forget the negative consequences of Christ's coming. People walk by, and we forget they are devoted to destruction if they are lost.

This is what Paul underlines as the last-said and most-important idea for the church in the urban center. The secret of a successful Christian life is a passionate devotion to the Lord. If you do not have that passionate devotion to Christ, then you have nothing and will be reduced to nothing, because you stand Anathema Maranatha—condemned at his coming. We can’t do anything else for you. After all, he came. He died. Hell is no more than you deserve when this love is no less than God gave.

In the early days of the church, when the Roman Empire was hell-bent on stamping it out, Christians had a watchword. Whenever they met—in the catacombs, in secret meetings, in underground Bible studies, in prisons—they said it: maranatha. He is coming.

Those little groups of Christians, harried and harassed and chased like fugitives, were scattered by persecution. When a Roman Legionnaire caught up with them—when Imperial storm troopers finally found the rebel band and caught them—they encouraged each other with, Maranatha. “Hold on, bro’. Be brave, because the Lord is coming for us! Keep the faith, dog. Be bold, Maranatha man. We can't carry on without him, but we can't give in with him. Maranatha!”

The early churches triumphed in spreading the gospel across North Africa, wiping the Mediterranean basin, and throughout the emerging European world. Why can't we do it in Kansas City? It's only limited by what we can't do in your life. Ask God to light the flame in your heart. Give him your life and he’ll take care of the passion. Submit to God's word. Seek Christ's character. Surrender to the lover of your soul.

It is no fiction Jesus has come. It is no fable that he returns. Any day, any hour, Jesus may return. When he does he will heal every wound and dry every tear. But remember, he also wipes away every rebellion. He quarantines sin for eternity. He “cleans house,” and sanitizes it with fire. That is why rejection now results in condemnation then. Don't put off the lover of your soul.

Maranatha (but remember, anathema).