Category: Bible studies

A man in love doesn’t always seem logical. He knew he loved her – more than he loved his own life. As he awaited the day of their wedding, he knew he would give anything for her. She was in his thoughts from the first moment he awoke until the last thought slipped into the darkness of sleep. He couldn’t get her out of his mind…her soft smile…her pleasing voice. He couldn’t imagine anything he wanted more than spending time with her. It was an added blessing that his father loved her, and knew she was perfect for him. When it came time to protect her, he saw his life as nothing compared to hers. He was ready to give his life, and when the time came, he did. The dark man came out of nowhere, but he came to steal, rape and destroy. He didn’t hesitate. Though not yet at the altar of marriage, he knew the way to save her life was to sacrifice his own. There was no doubt in his mind it was the right thing to do – so he did.

The story you just heard wasn’t about a wild-eyed couple on a walk through a park in the night – it was another retelling of the story of Jesus and His love for His church, a motley band of people rescued from brokenness. You see, the world sees the church as an institution – in the same childlike way a son or daughter sees their mother or father. To most children, mom is not a person as much as she is a resource, a housekeeper, an ever ready servant, a provider, a means to get nourishment, clean clothing and a safe, warm bed. Most think little of her feelings, and don’t really yet see her as a complete person – only as what she does for them. They are children, and that is the way simplicity sees complexity. In that same flattened state, the lost world sees God’s church as an organization that does (we hope) some good in the community. They see it as buildings, budgets, gatherings, publishing houses, soup kitchens, sponsors of schools, seminaries, hospitals and orphanages. They see what the church DOES – not what she is. She is a bride awaiting her Bridegroom. He loves her, and He has given all He has to her.

The world’s view may be immature, but that is really fine. The real problem is that many of the church don’t understand what she is to Jesus. He LOVED her and GAVE HIMSELF for her – according to Ephesians 5. He sees her worth when she doesn’t believe it about herself. I believe in the church – but not because of what it DOES, rather because my Savior believes in what He is doing in her. His is an optimistic and uncommon love. I must admit I didn’t see it at first, and I further concede that many of my fellow believers don’t really get His love for His church very well.

I have watched people hop around from place to place, with little regard for how that affects the body of believers. I have noted a number that criticize freely every aspect of what the church does – especially when they aren’t involved in the working of it. It’s easy to criticize the bucket brigade’s spillage when you are sitting under a tree as an observer. Bench warmers invariably become critics. Yet, Paul speaks of the church as something God loves.

Let me be very open with you. This teaching is offered by a Pastor, so to some it may sound self-serving – that is not my intention. This is a call from Paul’s letter to Corinth to open up and see the church the way Jesus sees it.

Key Principle: We must remember how the Savior responds to casual disdain for His church.

For a brief moment, remember where Paul has journeyed in the letter so far. In chapter one, we saw four reasons that church bodies divide that were NOT good reasons:

• They had confused the STANDARD of truth – the Eternal Word of God properly and carefully interpreted.
• They confused the CENTRAL TRUTH of the church – the work and Word of Jesus our Lord.
• They confused the importance of the WORKER with the importance of the transforming work of God’s Spirit.
• They confused POPULAR thinking for RIGHT thinking. There are many ways to get people to respond emotionally that are not spiritually sound approaches.

Yet, the fact that churches get it wrong and divide doesn’t make God walk away – and we shouldn’t either. Keep looking, a chapter two reminds us the church is unique, and needs to be considered different that the world’s conventions and structures.

We noted:

1. Our MESSAGE should drive methods in the church – not the other way around.

2. PERSONALITIES need to remain in the background, with Jesus placed in front.

3. We must not DUMB DOWN – trying to require very little of the hearers of the Word.

4. God’s Word must be TAUGHT but never adjusted to embrace the desires of a lost world – no matter how that sounds to them.

By chapter three, Paul turned back to the Corinthian division issue with a new approach: People criticize, mock and play with the Church of Jesus Christ because they do not truly comprehend how God feels about their casual attitude toward His “bride to be”.

To really grasp the TRUTH of God’s church:

We need a different kind of DISCERNMENT:

1 Corinthians 3:1 And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ.

God’s truth is spiritually discerned, and the Spirit’s work is based on surrender. Un-surrendered Christians are selfish and flesh-oriented Christians – and we ALL have been that at one time or another. When we are, our comprehension of God’s meaning is diminished, as He pulls back. In that state we trade the ability to really grasp the things of the Spirit for our hunger in this physical world. Believers in Corinth did so, and Paul couldn’t take them to a higher level while they balked in the level they were already on.

We need different APPETITES:

1 Corinthians 3:2 I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, 3 for you are still fleshly….

The problem with continually disobedient believers isn’t usually that God’s Word hasn’t been taught to them – but that they have refused to grow out of personal resistance and they cannot endure the tough truth of surrender. Where does it often first show? In attitude and relationship – in personal deportment and strife with others:

1 Corinthians 3:3b “…For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men? 4 For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not mere men?

One obvious manifestation of selfishness and willful rebellion toward God is the inability to get along with one another. Unity comes from surrender, and rebellion leads to division. When we truly all kneel before the Cross, we find a friend kneeling beside. When we look at what Jesus did for OUR SIN, we don’t puff ourselves up – because we see the light of God’s goodness in stark contrast to our own former darkness. Paul called lost men “mere men” for they had no sense of spiritual things. Divided people are living earth centered lives, not Heaven centered ones.

As the Apostle James said, battles between us come from battles within us. Refusing to be healed by God will eventually spill over into wounds we will give another – it is inevitable. Either I can take my wounds to the Cross and have them healed there – or I will wound others with my stubborn and failed self-reliance. This church was divided, because people in this church refused to grow up in Christ and yield to Him. Many a church conflict can be summarized in that same way.

We need to new DEFINITIONS:

The world doesn’t define words the way God does, and the church must resist defining them according to the world. Paul wrote:

1 Corinthians 3:5 What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one. 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. 7 So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. 8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. 9 For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.

The world called Paul a LEADER, but God called him a SERVANT. We need to re-work a flawed definition of leadership given to us by a world that believes the term means DOMINATION. The Bible teaches leadership is influence of an intentional SERVANT. Don’t misunderstand… Paul had a proper and healthy self-image. He knew he was one that Jesus gave His precious blood to save – so he did not feel worthless. At the same time, he did not inflate himself with visions that his gifts made him more valuable than others with other gifts. He saw himself as we should see ourselves – those who serve Jesus by serving one another. He saw himself as one who labored alongside others who had differing roles – but the same goal – to be used by God to honor Him through the growth of His kingdom.

When he said that “neither the planter nor the water bearer were anything” – he meant ANYTHING APART FROM THE PURPOSE FOR WHICH WERE CREATED. Our work means something, but only because it reflects our Savior Who means EVERYTHING. God may use us, but could just as easily use another. We are not indispensable, irreplaceable or the key to the future of the Kingdom – Jesus is. Following a man is fine if he is following Christ. If not, he is leading you away from God’s direction – because Christ is always on the right path.

Paul finished the argument with a simple acknowledgement that both the planter and the water bearer were on the SAME TEAM and therefore must not be the rallying point for separation. People who serve Jesus well aren’t pulling people to THEM – but they are pulling people to JESUS. At the same time, they are excited when a person is following Jesus well even if they are being led by another godly person. Competition in churches is often an ego battle of immature people masquerading as godly leaders. We must be MORE and MORE careful to uphold our brothers in Christ – to speak well or simply refuse to speak at all. My brothers in ministry deserve my love, encouragement and help – with as little criticism as I can possibly offer. The exception to that is when someone wants to deliberately corrupt the truth of the Gospel – but that, in my experience, is quite rare. It happens, but not nearly as much as gossip and criticism about other men of the Word occurs – sadly.

I love that Paul saw the people of the church at Corinth to be a field of labor and a building that was under construction. He KNEW that working with people was neither easy nor short term. Agriculture is about endurance, construction about planning – both are essential in a longer view of ministry. We need to be careful to always build sustainable ministry. If we start something, we need to look at how it can continue – or we should question why we spend our energies in that way. Short term thinking isn’t the right approach to real ministry with people.

We need a better MEMORY:

We must remember the appropriate JUDGE of the church is the Bridegroom that is betrothed to her:

1 Corinthians 3:10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. 11 For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work.

In a moment of self-reflection, Paul recognized that God’s grace was the operative power behind his accomplishments in ministry. Who among us can say differently? He recognized that he was in need of a constant flow of grace from the time of his salvation through the whole process of honoring God in ministry. He also openly acknowledged the difference between a good plan for establishing a ministry, and a BAD plan. He said he was a WISE master builder when he placed the foundation stones. Others built upon his work, but Paul outlined the whole building with a foundation of Jesus Christ.

When Paul said there was “no other foundation” he was indicating that there was no other PROPER foundation. Men build ministry on many things that are not Christ and His work.

Look around. You will find denominations building on the foundation of SATURDAY as the day of worship. You will see others building on the foundation of a FOUNDING TEACHER. You will find others that are building on the KING JAMES BIBLE, or some other version of the same argument. The foundation must be the Person and work of Jesus the Messiah as the One Who brought justification and replaced atonement.

Back in 1923, nearly one hundred years ago, a leadership of the Presbyterian church called the General Assembly desperately tried to hold the church back from embracing the rising modernist and relativist waves. The drafted “Five Fundamentals of the Faith” in order to make clear what orthodoxy was, as well as seeking every candidate seeking to be ordained in the Presbyterian Church to affirm and align with their historic positions. These five were:

• Inerrancy of the Scriptures
• The virgin birth (and the deity of Jesus)
• The doctrine of substitutionary atonement
• The bodily resurrection of Jesus
• The authenticity of Christ’s miracles

In response, a number of well-known seminary professors of the time constructed the Auburn Affirmation. In it they outlined that:

• The Bible was not without error, and individual conscience led by God should determine what was true and what was not.
• None of the five “fundamentals” should be considered essential to ordaining men for ministry.
• There were other valid alternative theories to the meaning of Jesus’ work – Jesus didn’t necessarily come to save sinners in a substitutionary way.

Having set aside the Word and its claims on the Person and work of Jesus as a requirement, they defined a liberal Christian base that has all but killed the churches that embraced it. If you look for where churches are dying en mass, you will find them among the churches that have been reduced to saying much that is not mimicking the culture. The numbers among the “born again” church ranks are growing – while main line denominational churches are sinking fast. Why? Because the storm of culture hit the structure of a church not attached to the right foundation.

Some churches build on EGO (believing that only their denomination alone can bring the truth), others on FAME (using methods that draw crowds by their stunning approach, but are not directed by the Spirit of God). These may result in churches, but at their core they are not about knowing and serving Jesus Christ. The day will come when that will be clear – either at the judgment seat of Christ, or even before that time.

1 Corinthians 3:14 If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. 15 If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.

The real test of ministry is not its temporal popularity, but its spiritual endurance at the scrutiny of the Master. If Jesus doesn’t deem it correct and healthy – than it simply isn’t – no matter how much an earthly sensation it appeared to be. Heaven isn’t a place where a vote will be cast by the members of a theological academy or angelic choir. We serve a committee of ONE – a Master Who will inspect all of the work that we have done. There is NO OTHER treasure higher than HIS SATISFACTION. At the same time, His satisfaction is often paired by the satisfaction of other godly men and women. People who have a healthy walk with God can “sniff out” teaching and leadership that is healthy – because we have the selfsame Spirit within.

Someday Jesus will take all of my labor and place it between us. He and I will look at the number of hours I have labored to know and teach His Word. We will look at the way I communicated that Word to people. He will examine the time I have spent caring for people – and He will give the TRUE and PERFECT evaluation of me. If I have done well in His estimation – the trial of my work before His fiery eyes of scrutiny will survive. If I have not done well – that work will evaporate – with no opportunity to relive my life on earth.

When I stand before Jesus – seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months and years will evaporate into the smoke as the fire of His eyes burn through my life’s work. What is left after all the selfish, ego-driven, stubborn, hard-hearted, gossip-laden, flesh colored work is gone – is what Jesus can BEGIN to celebrate. Mature believers keep that day in their minds eye – and never lose sight of it. Brethren, some of us seem to be content wasting our only opportunity to please Him!

Before we move on, it is worth asking: “What does it mean for a believer to “SUFFER LOSS”?” In the text it is clear that there is no issue of salvation or eternal destiny at stake in the argument – this is a judgment in the life of a believer. Everyone is judged TWICE by God – once for sin, and once for performance of work. The sin judgment determines one’s destiny. The performance judgment, measured strictly against what God has made us capable to complete – is about REWARD. Heaven is the HOME of the believer – but some level of REWARD before the Savior is a conditional blessing to those who live their lives for His glory. Beloved, I fear that many of us spend much of our lives on ourselves, and not on His honor and glory – can that be? May we see it now and avoid the sadness of loss later…

We need a new GRASP:

We need to recognize GOD’S COMMITMENT to the church is not something fleeting or small:

1 Corinthians 3:16 Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 17 If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.

God doesn’t use the term TEMPLE to mean church very often, but here is an exception. It is clear in the passage that God wanted men to understand that the church of Jesus Christ is not just another organization to be criticized, gossiped about, and slammed at will. This organism is a living body created by a Victorious Savior. It has His fingerprints, His DNA and was founded on His blood. It not only COST Him plenty to create, it was created with a God ordained DEFENSE system. Criticize it lightly, and God will censure your life’s work easily. Be careful, when you speak of the church… you speak of GOD’S CHURCH.

• Did not God’s church reach into the sin sick lives of men and women of the Roman Empire at the expense of being thrown to lions, being crucified or beheaded? It was NOT to win a theological argument – for the early Christians were really trying to offer hope to hopeless people.

• Did not God’s church reach the poor in many nations long before ever being considered by the rich among them? It was not to become WEALTHY – for even today there are many who handle the broken in skid row and hungry in India’s streets for no other reason than to show their love for and obedience to their Savior.

• Did not God’s church begin some of the great universities of our world? It was not to become ERUDITE – for though they shudder at the idea, the great schools of Princeton and Yale were begun to train men to share Jesus and His Word with accuracy and scholarship.

• Did not God’s church open hospitals in many cities of our world? It was not to gain control of health care legislation – but because they saw the sick as needy and the needy as open to Christ.

• Did not God’s church feed the poor in many places, offer addiction counseling and group meetings, help single parents with support, care for elderly and widows? Yes, sure it has… and it is just beginning its work. There is much MORE to do. We have not been perfect, but we have not been FILLED WITH EMPTY WORDS EITHER – there is a track record and a history… and it isn’t all bad no matter what you have heard.

Where we have failed, we will seek to have God renew us. Where we have resisted, we will learn to submit to the Gentle Chief Shepherd…. But know this… this is God’s church in many places, under many names – and He has promised to be her defense when she is attacked – so tread lightly. Hold back quick words about the intent of others –even if their denomination or fellowship doesn’t completely agree with yours.

We live in a polarized America – and it is affecting even the church. Never have so many believed so much the same thing and disagreed on so little – but made such a big deal about it. We cannot afford to criticize freely what God loves greatly and paid for richly.

1 Corinthians 3:18 Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you thinks that he is wise in this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God. For it is written, “He is THE ONE WHO CATCHES THE WISE IN THEIR CRAFTINESS”; 20 and again, “THE LORD KNOWS THE REASONINGS of the wise, THAT THEY ARE USELESS.” 21 So then let no one boast in men. For all things belong to you, 22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come; all things belong to you, 23 and you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God.

Great men and women of God think differently. They are made from a different stuff and cut from a different cloth – and God loves it that way. One who comes to Christ is made alive from death. He must learn to speak of the Spirit. He must learn to share in unity. He must learn to love and laugh and joy with the body… He does not know for his past – for he was dead.

Paul concluded the section in a simple and straightforward way – STOP BOASTING IN MEN. Don’t divide along party lines based on personalities – STOP. Men may be helpful and gifted, but they aren’t Divine. They may possess the Spirit – but they AREN’T the Spirit. Men are just lumps of clay empowered by a Good God. They are not to be abused, but nor are they to be revered in themselves.

His big finish is a bit strange. He repeated twice that “all things belong to you”. I suspect this refers to a specific part of what people were saying about the movements based on individuals at Corinth– specifically that those who followed a more GIFTED LEADER had some special measure of God’s sanction and God’s honor. Watch out for believers that try to convince you their group has something more than you have by following Jesus.

Watch your criticism of Jesus’ bride – He takes it all quite personally! I suspect this text was given to us because so few comprehend how Jesus feels about our casual attitude toward His betrothed. He loves His bride, and that includes all who know Him. Don’t forget! The body makes the difference…

In 1857, there was a 46 year old man named Jeremiah Lamphere who lived in New York City. Jeremiah loved the Lord tremendously, but he didn’t feel that he could do much for the Lord until he began to feel a burden for the lost and accepted an invitation from his church to be an inner city missionary. So in July of 1857 he started walking up and down the streets of New York passing out tracts and talking to people about Jesus, but he wasn’t having any success. Then God put it on his heart to try prayer. So he printed up a bunch of tracts, and he passed them out to anyone and everyone met. He invited anyone who wanted to come to the 3rd floor of the Old North Dutch Reform Church on Fulton St. in New York City from 12 to 1 on Wednesday to pray. He passed out hundreds and hundreds of fliers and put up posters everywhere he could. Wednesday came and at noon nobody showed up. So Jeremiah got on his knees and started praying. For 30 minutes he prayed by himself when finally five other people walked in. The next week 20 people came. The next week between 30 and 40 people came. They then decided to meet every day from 12:00 to 1:00 to pray for the city. Before long a few ministers started coming and they said, “We need to start this at our churches.” Within six months there were over 5000 prayer groups meeting everyday in N.Y. Soon the word spread all over the country. Prayer meetings were started in Philadelphia, Detroit, and Washington D.C. In fact President Franklin Pierce started going almost every day to a noonday prayer meeting. By 1859 some 15,000 cities in America were having downtown prayer meetings every day at noon, and thousands were brought to Christ. The great thing about this revival is that there is not a famous preacher associated with it. It was all started by one man wanting to pray. – (Sermon Central, From a sermon by Rich Anderson, Seeking The Face Of Jesus Christ 2/18/2011).

Felix Unger and Oscar Madison were two men, tossed out of their respective houses by their wives, and they ended up sharing expenses in a two bedroom apartment. Based on a play from Broadway, the two were featured in a weekly TV comedy sitcom back in the seventies, and showed America that two people – a neat freak and an unmitigated slob – could live together if it became an absolute necessity. The two men could not have been more completely opposite one another. Oscar wrote a sports column and never met a vacuum cleaner. Felix was a surgeon who couldn’t get things truly clean enough to suit him. Each episode began with a classic prologue:

“On November 13, Felix Unger was asked to remove himself from his place of residence. (Unger’s unseen wife slams door, only to reopen it and angrily hand Felix his saucepan) That request came from his wife. Deep down, he knew she was right, but he also knew that someday, he would return to her. With nowhere else to go, he appeared at the home of his childhood friend, Oscar Madison. Sometime earlier, Madison’s wife had thrown him out, requesting that he never return. Can two divorced men share an apartment without driving each other crazy?“

Over the next five years, the two showed that it was not only possible for them to live together; it was unusually funny. They made it work against all odds. Odd couples can work – but it takes extraordinary effort. I mention this because all of you who follow Jesus in this world find yourself in an “odd couple” situation. Your value system, one that came from being instructed in God’s Spirit, has made you very different from the others you work with and are surrounded by in life. Believers think, feel and act in unique ways – and that makes them stick out. In fact, the odd couple scenario plays out every time a believer is place in the world and paired off with a team of non-believers. Every church in our community that seeks to follow Jesus is increasingly showing the odd nature they have, called to live in the same period and place, but by distinct rules. Let’s say it this way: God has distinct standards for believers that He doesn’t expect from the world… and that makes following Jesus look costly to some who are outside the faith. Often the church is better at articulating the standard than how extraordinary a relationship with God truly is.

This series of lessons is entitled “Confident Christianity”, and – though it is based on the Corinthian church – it is not a joke. It could SEEM like one if you have ever read much about the church of Corinth in the New Testament. That church was FILLED with sin. I wish I could say it was unique, but it was not at all – every generation of the church was a sinful one being slowly transformed by God. Corinth didn’t represent the best in their time, but Paul did – and he wrote the letter. Why then, should we call this “Confident Christianity” at all? Because the confidence we have as the church is not IN the church – but in the God Who regenerates and His message. Just because some people, even prominent ones, don’t yield themselves to God doesn’t mean that God cannot and does not change people through the power of the Word and His Spirit – He does and He IS.

God’s church is a unique organism. It is not a committee, but it engages people together. It is not a club, but its members draw encouragement and strength from one another. It is not primarily an organization, though it has rules and commitments. It is the living body of Christ – His hands and feet – to touch a lost world with a message of hope. The way it is to do this is unique as well. It is, in some clear ways, ODD. Here is the truth…

Key Principle: God made specific and clear guidelines for the church’s actions that are unique to her operation.

There is nothing like the church of Jesus Christ. We had a Divine initiation, and the rules of how we do what we do are set in fences that are unique to this work. Things that work in the world to attract and engage people are not necessarily allowed in the church. Consider the first letter Paul wrote to the Corinthians where Paul noted there were four reasons that church bodies divide that were NOT good reasons:

1. They confuse the STANDARD of truth – the Eternal Word of God properly and carefully interpreted. No one gets to overrule God on what is important – and He has spoken. The church must stand for systematic, careful instruction of God’s Holy Word. If we do nothing else well, we must do this well. If we do everything else well and not this – our work is near meaningless in eternal value.

2. They confuse the CENTRAL TRUTH of the church – the work and Word of Jesus our Lord. We aren’t a social agency or a social justice agency – our work eclipses those needs. The church must emphasize at every turn the importance of surrender to Jesus Christ, because He alone can save a man or woman, and He alone can change what is broken within them.

3. They confuse the importance of the WORKER with the importance of the transforming work of God’s Spirit. It isn’t primarily Christians that make the church a place where successful life changing happens – they play a secondary role. Men and women of God are not the source of change, but can be an example of the open and free flow of the transforming power of God through His Word.

4. They confuse POPULAR thinking for RIGHT thinking. There are many ways to get people to respond emotionally that are not spiritually correct approaches. The church cannot be simple pragmatists – believing that if it works it must be good. We must test every method and approach with the Word to be sure it is real and lasting in its quality.

As Paul continued his letter into what is now known as the second chapter, he went back in time to the way he approached the beginnings of ministry at Corinth. He offered several important insights based on his experience:

Some churches underestimate MESSAGE and emphasize METHOD:

Paul argued, the basis of the conversion of lost people and foundation of that ministry was NOT simply or even primarily based on TECHNIQUE. There is much written today about the way the church should appeal to people. I don’t want to overstate the case – there certainly IS a point to having a clean and neat environment to our church home and a creative presentation of God’s truths. There is a reason we want the environment to reflect order and personal care – just as our homes should. At the same time, message should drive method in the church – not the other way around. Paul says it this way:

1 Corinthians 2:1 And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God.

Paul wasn’t arguing that he came unprepared or in mediocrity of presentation – simply that it wasn’t his impressive pyrotechnic display that drew people to Christ. The CENTER of the ministry is the MESSAGE, not the METHOD. Creativity is not only FINE, it is even REQUIRED in thinking through our public deportment and presentation of the Gospel – but this is much more than a local talent show – and we need to remember that.

Look closely at the verse again. Paul made clear that he took pains to balance creativity against distraction from the message and persuasive presentation of the simple truth of man’s lost-ness and need for a Savior. Primary attention needs to be placed on the TRUTHS we are communicating. After that, and only after that, do we need to be open to using methods that enhance the delivery of the message. We need to be careful not to codify old methods as sacred. Even experts can’t see forward well. I read some of these and they made me realize the weakness of expert forecasting in this regard:

“This ’telephone’ has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us.” –Western Union internal memo, 1876.

“Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible.” – Lord Kelvin, president, Royal Society, 1895.

“The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?” –David Sarnoff’s associates in response to his urgings for investment in the radio in the 1920s.

“Who the heck wants to hear actors talk?” –H.M. Warner, Warner Brothers, 1927.

“Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5 tons.” –Popular Mechanics, forecasting the relentless march of science, 1949

“I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.” –Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943

“I’m just glad it’ll be Clark Gable who’s falling on his face and not Gary Cooper.” –Gary Cooper on his decision not to take the leading role in “Gone with the Wind.”

“I have traveled the length and breadth of this country and talked with the best people, and I can assure you that data processing is a fad that won’t last out the year.” –The editor in charge of business books for Prentice Hall, 1957

“We don’t like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out.” –Decca Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles, 1962.

“There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.” –Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977

“So we went to Atari and said, ’Hey, we’ve got this amazing thing, even built with some of your parts, and what do you think about funding us? Or we’ll give it to you. We just want to do it. Pay our salary; we’ll come work for you.’ And they said, ’No.’ So then we went to Hewlett-Packard, and they said, ’Hey, we don’t need you. You haven’t got through college yet.’” –Apple Computer Inc. founder Steve Jobs on attempts to get Atari and H-P interested in he and Steve Wozniak’s personal computer.” (From sermon central illustrations).

We live in times when substance seems reduced and replaced with creative presentation. In entertainment that makes sense – in education it doesn’t. Math, science, reading – all of these skills require commitment to learning basic facts and a steadiness of logic – along with a lot of drills to ensure methods are sound. The church is primarily and education and information organization that houses a Divine transformation service offered by God’s empowering work. Our education must be sound – and drilled. Catchy sayings don’t replace solid truth – and people need the clear and concise teaching of the principles of God’s Word put in a way that will help them apply the right principles at the right time to the right problem.

Conventional corporate logic in America makes it perfectly acceptable in the world to consider the packaging of a product more than the product itself – but not in the church. The church must move TECHNIQUE behind the message – or it could easily be caught up in just another show.

Some churches overemphasize PERSONALITY and distract from the Headship of Christ:

Paul purposed to put his PERSONALITY in the background, and tried with all that he was to put the person and work of Jesus out in front. The stronger the personality, the more tempted we become as leaders to drive what is happening around us. Someone said to me one time: “That man is too talented for his own good!” I knew what they meant. They LOVED the man, but his talents and natural abilities left you knowing HIM and not Jesus. Paul said it this way:

1 Corinthians 2:2 … For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.

Look at the two things Paul emphasized in his own life – Paul wanted to really KNOW Christ while he was in their midst, and Paul wanted to really know the work that Christ did on the Cross. On first glance, Paul’s words seem wrong. After all, didn’t Paul already KNOW Jesus when he arrived on that second mission journey? Surely he was aware of all that Jesus had done – he already planted numerous churches across Asia Minor and Macedonia. So what was he saying?

Andrew Murray wrote these words, and I believe they will help set up exactly what Paul was communicating to the Corinthians: “God is ready to assume full responsibility for the life wholly yielded to Him.” When Paul arrived in Corinth, he had recently been physically beaten and imprisoned in Philippi, had his family attacked in Thessaloniki, been singled out in Berea as the problem member of the team, and lost his footing on the presentation he made in Athens – basing it on relevant poems without Biblical text. He was dragged out, and he was alone. He didn’t feel strong – and he didn’t know feel like he could put much into the “flash” of his speaking. He simply fell into the arms of Jesus, who met him in a dream and promised him:

Acts 18:9 And the Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, “Do not be afraid any longer, but go on speaking and do not be silent; 10 for I am with you, and no man will attack you in order to harm you, for I have many people in this city.” 11 And he settled there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

It was because of this history that Paul went on to remind the Corinthians of the early days of the ministry by saying: 1 Corinthians 2:3 I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, 4 and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.

In the world, it is perfectly acceptable to build celebrities and let them mark brands with their identity – but not in the church. We are a BODY, and the trend toward Christian celebrity is a dangerous one that will yield “prima donnas for Christ” and allow us to elevate men beyond the truth – but we are ALL SINNERS. I am not arguing to demean men and women of God – just not sacrifice truth to keep them happy.

Yet, the problem isn’t only the presenters and leaders. Some of the problems reside in the hearers…

Some churches emphasize THE SPEAKER but do not remind people of the responsibility of the HEARERS:

Paul knew it would always be TEMPTING to put every truth in the simplest terms for the least mature believers – trying to require very little of the hearers of the Word. The message of real surrender to Jesus and committed study of God’s Word would not be as easily accepted. Many ministries are deliberately cutting content so that they can be more appealing – as are our school systems. Over time, the slow “dumbing down” of the nation and its believers are leaving an anemic church in an immoral generation. Paul said it this way:

1 Corinthians 2:6 Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; 7 but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; 8 the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory; 9 but just as it is written, “THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD, AND which HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN, ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM.” 10 For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. 11 For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, 13 which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.

Look very carefully at the way Paul described his ministry.

First, Paul spoke in a godly and discerned WISDOM (Gk: “sophia”), in a way that required a level of spiritual discernment and growth to grasp (2:6a). The message of God’s Word isn’t supposed to be dressed in excessively hard words, but it truly requires people to THINK. The point of ministry isn’t simply the number that come to church, but the number that become like Christ in the daily practices of their life. Trying to always make it simpler isn’t always the right thing. Hearers need to learn to carefully scrutinize teachers – even if it doesn’t seem kind – because people are gullible, and can be tricked. Poor logic well delivered is merely an entertaining side show – Christian or not. We must present answers, or leave people drift toward those who won’t hesitate to offer critique. It is one reason we lose so many of our children to the world – they didn’t get substantive answers here. Our youth may need games to attract them, but they will need a diet of solid truth to sustain them.

Second, the grasping and discernment was not simply based on education in this world, but real engagement with the things of the SPIRIT – “not of this age” (2:6b). People who don’t have the Spirit at work in them will be bored to tears with what a good church is doing. Some movements in the church therefore conclude that the church is not as RELEVANT as it should be – and force it to change what it is doing. That may be justified in some cases when the presentation has become sterile or stale, but often it is a reflection of a culture that is increasingly led to do what is popular in the short run over what will solve problems in the long run. We cannot run the country based on dramas that replace the floor speeches of the Congress, but increasingly we are being told to replace the pulpit education with “more effective” communication methods. Truth must be logically presented, defended and argued – and entertaining the church won’t get the job done.

Third, note the words were spoken “in a mystery” – that is, in conjunction with revealed truths of God that He alone could truly direct and explain through His Spirit within (2:7-8).

1 Corinthians 2:7 “…but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; 8 the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”

The study of the Bible and its truths cannot simply be an academic exercise based on intelligence and human reasoning. It must be consistent in the hermeneutic (the method of study) and not contradictory – but it requires a spiritual component to a man or woman’s thinking. God must energize them – and that happens through their surrender to His will. Smart people who do not possess the Spirit of God, or perhaps are resisting Him will fail to grasp the counsel of God when reading the very same passage. That doesn’t necessarily mean our message is too hard – it may mean their surrender is too soft.

Fourth, the message is spiritual and goes well beyond the experience of the lost man (2:9-16). People can’t conceive in the natural the powerful, optimistic, uplifting, exciting truths revealed by God’s Word concerning those who surrender their heart to Jesus. God has some incredible things He wants to show man – but they must first yield themselves to Christ for salvation and to the Spirit for dominance and depth.

Paul knew that many would clamor to have the teaching of God’s Word to ever adjust to the language and desires of a lost world. Paul wrote:

1 Corinthians 2:14 But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. 15 But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. 16 For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE WILL INSTRUCT HIM? But we have the mind of Christ.

Look at the words and note how they close out his argument. Paul made clear:

People without the Spirit don’t understand the Word of God properly, nor do they respect it – it seems stupid to them. They cannot understand what the text is driving at. This is the reason we must be careful not to “Bible bomb” people in social media and think our Bible verse trumps their argument… They don’t care what an ancient book says, and apart from the Spirit the Word seems like a simple record of a dusty past.

Don’t overplay verse 14. Paul isn’t saying that until you believe you will have no interest in the Word. Often people nibble truth before they bite it. They put their toe in the pool but aren’t sure if they want to jump in yet. Let them. Speak God’s Word and celebrate what it does to you. The bottom line of Paul’s words in 2:14 are this: People will use the Bible, quotes pithy Bible sayings and even use Bible logic – but the surrender part makes no real sense to someone who is not prepared to follow Jesus with their whole life. Poetically speaking, it takes the Spirit of God and surrender to His will to offer you the “glasses” through which the Word will really make sense.

In the end, the entire passage presses us to recognize that ministry is not about the world most people desire to live in. People hunger for success in THIS world, happiness in THIS world, fulfillment in the things of THIS world – but we preach a Crucified Savior, and selfless Christian and a servant’s heart. He stands as God above all – in direct opposition to the gods of FORTUNE, FAME, POWER AND PLEASURE – the gods of our age to which men pay homage. Surrendering this life to God is not the STUFF of popular worldly thinkers. That’s why we cannot use the world’s measures and methods as our drivers. We aren’t driven – we are led by the Spirit as expressed in the Word.

Experience Jesus, surrender your future to Him the way He surrendered His life for you – and you will discover a life waiting for you that you never knew you could have. Your values will change. Your perspective will change. What you find fulfilling will change – as you yield to the Spirit. The world around you will look different. You will see life in a whole new way…

A tourist was admiring the necklace worn by a local Indian. “What is it made of?” she asked. “Alligator’s teeth,” the Indian replied. “I suppose,” She said patronizingly, “they mean as much to you as pearls would mean to us.” “Oh no,” he objected. “That isn’t true. We know that anybody can open an oyster!”

There is nothing like seeing the world through new eyes. There is nothing like the call of Jesus Christ. When you enter His family, you begin to understand the rules change for you – and the world looks more and more ODD. That is the reason that what we do are set in fences that are unique to this work.

We live in a broken world with broken people; but we have good news. Can you imagine trying to present the Gospel to unbelievers in your city if you were a tiny group of less than a hundred, and the city had tens of thousands of residents and a port that trafficked thousands more daily? Imagine it was a city famous as a sin-sick, sensuality soaked slime pit of moral degradation. Imagine nightly bar fights, streets lined with immoral statues of acts too lewd to describe in a decent home, and prostitution that was not only legal – it was the basis of the tax system. If you can, welcome to Corinth! What happened in Corinth didn’t stay there – because such diseases have a way of getting around. Athens was up the road, but was stuffy and academic by comparison. Delphi was north – but that was far too mystical and religious a city. Sparta was south – but that was an austere camp for the athletic and fit. This was Corinth, the Roman sailor’s sensual playground – a city with an imagination for evil.

The Apostle Paul showed up here on his second mission journey, and labored for eighteen months to reach people for Christ. After he was gone, he wanted the church to keep growing – but the enemy saw the tiny number of believers as a threat, and pounced from within upon them. He fanned the flames to keep the body divided any way he could. Yet, God wanted to reach the people of that city, and He didn’t give up on the church, even when it was so much a mess you would be forced to blush at their casual sinfulness. Paul left, but he wrote to help them move ahead, and to engage some who were hostile to his direction over the church. In the process of healing their rift, Paul left us a pattern to deal with broken churches – and there have been many since the first century. Here is the truth of the first part of the letter…

Key Principle: When God’s people aren’t walking correctly, God provides a way to deal with sin issues with both clarity and compassion.

If I could boil the letter down to the barest of bones, the letter would sound something like this:

Dear Ones at Corinth, You have placed your affections on your church leaders over the message of God they brought you (1-4) – and that is a mistake. You have confused the preeminence of truth over love (5) – and that showed up in your immoral church members and their boasting. You have placed the world’s standard over the body instead of Messiah’s holy standards (6) – and you are being embarrassed publicly. On the other hand, thanks for sending me your questions! I would like to address the answers concerning your six areas: marriage, divorce and remarriage (7), use of doubtful things (8-10), church symbolic behaviors (11), order and the use of spiritual gifts (12-14), the Resurrection of Jesus (15) and giving – the collection of aid funds (16).

For a few minutes, let’s begin our walk though the book (in coming studies) by dropping into the first issue and see what was at the heart of this broken church to see if God offered us some ways we can avoid becoming them, and some tips to help those who are already in that trap. If you carefully read all of the first four chapters, you will easily see that they were guilty of misplaced affection – loving their leaders more than the message of God’s Word. Take a look at the opening chapter of the letter:

I Corinthians 1:10 Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. 11 For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you. 12 Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, “I am of Paul,” and “I of Apollos,” and “I of Cephas,” and “I of Christ.”

There it is. Surrounded by unbelievers and sitting in the swamp of the sensual, they were infighting instead of pulling together to bring the light into the darkness of that city. Sadly, that is far more common than you may realize! Look at what Paul did to help them get back on track through the words and guiding of the Spirit of God. He offered in chapter one some rules of engagement in conflicts between believers that are hindering God’s work – caught up in sin.

Rule #1: Establish God’s call and a track record of following Him before you speak.

Just because you have insight into a situation, doesn’t mean you have earned the trust of the hurting people within it, so we must be careful! If we don’t, we can hurt them – and ourselves. Look at the first verse:

1 Corinthians 1:1 Paul, called as an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother…

Paul opened with what seems like his standard greeting, so we don’t want to squeeze it too hard. He calls himself an Apostle, as was common – but especially important in sharing tough issues with the Corinthian believers. The term means “sent by God”, and would catch the attention of some of that time.

Stop and consider something for a moment. Think of the most important Christian in the world today. Picture them. We may not all have the same person in mind, but consider this… What if you got a letter from that very well-known and influential Christian in the mail. Maybe the letter is about the ministry you are involved in within the community. Wouldn’t you share it with the rest of those in that study group, that prison ministry, that women’s shelter worker group or whatever you are involved in? Wouldn’t you be excited? I imagine the beat up and divided group of believers at Corinth had some that felt that way about seeing a letter from the Apostle Paul.

At the same time, though Paul is the author, Sosthenes (Gk: “safe in strength”) was probably the man who carried this letter back to Corinth to see that it arrived safely in the hands of the church’s leadership. One by that name was the chief ruler of the synagogue at Corinth, seized and beaten by the mob in the presence of Gallio, the Roman governor, when he refused to proceed against Paul at the instigation of the Jews (Acts 18:12-17). Could it be that he was later saved? My mind imagines some outreach to him by Paul after he was wounded. It wouldn’t be hard to imagine how he lost power in the religious community when he proved ineffective in persuading the governor. Did Paul step in and help him to lead him to Jesus – it would make a great novel! Some have thought that Sosthenes began to use another name (not an uncommon practice) after his beating and change – that of Crispus (Acts 18:8; 1 Corinthians 1:14) – but that is speculation as well.

Here is something that isn’t speculation…Mature believers are willing to get dirty to help others get clean.

It is worth remembering here that men and women who KNOW GOD and WALK WITH GOD are the ones God wants to use to deal with sin – but we must always do it cautiously. Treat one overtaken in sin as one caught in the trap – but ALWAYS have respect for the strength of the trap! We are not to get holy so that we can get INSULTED by the deeds of men. Their DEEDS of lost men signal their spiritual NEEDS. We are to roll up our sleeves and get dirty outside while not drawing the dirt inside. Mother Theresa did with a leper what all of us were called to do with sinners – LOVE THEM without trying to join them.

If that is true, then I must be diligent to learn God’s Word, and become accustomed to God’s moves – so that when He draws me into the path of a hurting person – encaged in sin and enraged against God – I can release what I have stored up in treasure and truth. The great monastic movements offered some very wonderful and positive results – like copies of important ancient documents. One of the terrible products of that movement was it left us with a self-centered Christianity – as though I should spend years of life trying to purify my mind and heart APART FROM THE WORLD. I am NOT called to leave the world, just not JOIN the world.

We are called to use time, talent and treasure to reach lost men and pull back slipping believers from falling into an unusable and ineligible state. We are given much to DO much for the Father. We will want be tempted to hoard what God has given for us to sow.

Watchman Nee quoted the verse: “if any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:15). When he did, he followed it with this comment: “Ultimately, when we touch the things of the world, the question we must ask ourselves always is: “How is this thing affecting my relationship with the Father?“

Dr. Paul Brand, a well known doctor and author, in his book, titled In His Image,” wrote about his mother. … He wrote that when his mother was 75 years old, she was still walking miles every day, visiting the villages in the southern part of India, teaching the people about Jesus. One day, at age 75, she was traveling alone and fell and broke her hip. After two days of just lying there in pain, some workers found her and put her on a makeshift cot and loaded her into their jeep and drove 150 miles over deep rutted roads to find a doctor who could set the broken bones. But the very bumpy ride damaged her bones so badly that her hip never completely healed. He said, “I visited my mother in her mud covered hut several weeks after all of this happened. I watched as she took two bamboo crutches that she had made herself, and moved from one place to another with her feet just dragging behind because she had lost all feeling in them.” He wrote, “At age 75, with a broken hip, unable to stand on her own two legs, I thought that I made a pretty intelligent suggestion. I suggested that she retire. She turned around and looked at me and said, “Of what value is that? If we try to preserve this body just a few more years and it is not being used for God, of what value is that?” So she kept on working. She kept on riding her donkey to villages until she was 93 years old. At age 93 she couldn’t stay on her donkey anymore. She kept falling off. But she didn’t stop teaching. Indian men would carry her in hammocks from one village to another. And she continued to tell people about Jesus until she died at age 95. Paul writes, “My most vivid memory of my mother is of her propped up against a stone wall as people are coming to her from their homes, schools, and places of work. I can still see the wrinkles in her face, and her skin so tanned by the weather and the heat. “I saw her speaking to those people. I looked at them and saw the sparkle in their eyes, and the smiles on their faces. And I saw them deeply moved by the message of God’s love, spoken by this old woman. I knew what they saw was not an old woman who had passed her prime, but a beautiful person bringing tidings of love straight from heaven.“

Let me say it plainly – we are mature in Christ to become more useful to Christ. Babies can’t solve problems of other babies. We don’t need to run from the world – we need to have more of the WORD in our lives to challenge the WORLD in our lives. When we are maturing, we will be drawn into correction of those behind us – that is the way it has always worked in the body.

Rule #2: Let them know they are loved brothers and sisters; a vital part of the whole body of Christ.

Paul addressed the church as those sanctified in Christ by God’s calling and responding to God by calling back to Him as all believers around the growing Christian world were doing.

1:2 To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours…

People are desperate to be a part of something bigger than themselves. They hunger to belong – to a family, gang, tribe or club. The body of Christ is knitted together by the Spirit and meets a need in the life of the believer. Alone, the world is a cold place…

In an April 1988 Edition of Sports Illustrated, there appeared a story titled “Ali and His Entourage”. Sports writer Gary Smith went to Ali’s farmhouse to interview the three-time world champion. On the floor leaning against the walls, were mementos of Ali in his prime. Photos and portraits of the champ punching and dancing. Sculpted body. Fist punching the air. Championship belt held high in triumph. “The thrilla in Manila.” But on the pictures were white streaks – bird droppings. Ali looked into the rafters at the pigeons who had made his gym their home. And then he did something significant. Perhaps it was a gesture of closure. Maybe it was a statement of despair. Whatever the reason, he walked over to the row of pictures and turned them, one by one, toward the wall. He then walked to the door, stared at the countryside, and mumbled something so low that Smith had to ask him to repeat it. Ali did. “I had the world,” he said, “and it wasn’t nothin’. Look now.”

New believers think they know what they have LOST – the world cannot wait to remind them of that. How often do we carefully take the time to remind them of what they have gained? Brothers and sisters in Christ have to be MORE than finger wagers and judges – they have to be COMFORTERS. They need to offer HOPE to the slipping believer.

The end of verse two placed the believers in the struggling city side by side with Paul. He reminded the believers that needed correction that they can have HOPE because they have Jesus before them, the Spirit within and the Body around them – then he SHOWED THEM he would be there! If we follow suit – wanderers may listen to correction. If we don’t –they probably won’t.

Rule #3: Treat them with love and respect.

Notice as you read that the people at Corinth were not a project, they were brothers and sisters in Christ, worth every effort (1:4). After the “grace and peace” greeting (1:3), Paul got personal with them and thanked God for their part in his life. He let them know that he was happy they were a part of the family of God.

1:3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 4 I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus.

When we feel the need to pull someone aside and confront them because of sin, does the person under correction really see evidence that we LOVE them? If that is the first time we have taken time to talk with them – this is going to go badly. If we are dreading each opportunity to spend time with them or find ourselves THANKFUL when they leave – we cannot say they are IN our lives, nor can we claim we are properly in theirs. I suspect that most people can tell if they are a problem or a blessing to us.

One of my colleagues in ministry wrote this about the most amazing thing that happened at their church:

“His name is Bill. He has wild hair, wears a T-shirt with holes in it, jeans and no shoes. This was literally his wardrobe for his entire four years of college. He is intelligent. Kind of esoteric and very, very bright. He became a Christian while attending college. Across the street from the campus is a well-dressed, very conservative church. They want to develop a ministry to the students, but are not sure how to go about it. One day Bill decides to go there. He walks in with no shoes, jeans, his T-shirt, and wild hair. The service has already started, so Bill starts down the aisle looking for a seat. The church is completely packed and he can’t find a seat. By now people are really looking a bit uncomfortable, but no one says anything. Bill gets closer to the pulpit, and when he realizes there are no seats, he just squats down right on the carpet. (Although perfectly acceptable behavior at a college fellowship, this had never happened in this church before!) By now the people are really uptight, and the tension in the air is thick. About this time, the minister realizes that from way at the back of the church, a deacon is slowly making his way toward Bill. Now the deacon is in his eighties, has silver-gray hair, and a three-piece suit. A godly man, very elegant, very dignified, very courtly. He walks with a cane and, as he starts walking toward this young man, everyone is saying to themselves that you can’t blame him for what he’s going to do. How can you expect a man of his age and of his background to understand some college kid on the floor? It takes a long time for the deacon to reach the young man, and then he turned to Bill and sat beside him, and smiled. The deacon turned to Bill and said, “Nice to have you here with us today!”

Welcoming isn’t a moment in the service, it is the impression people have after the meeting is over. Did they feel warmth or did they feel outcast? Many people don’t face God and deal with sin because they are snugly hidden behind some offense they had from another of God’s children.

Rule #4: Tell them the positive first.

Paul is going to get tough in this letter. By the time we are finished, Paul will have battled them. Yet he began on a welcome note in a loving tone. Was he unaware at how BAD this church had become? Not at all…People need to hear the good to be encouraged before they need to hear the correction – it sets the relationship in the right tone. (1:5-7). Paul wrote:

1 Corinthians 1:5 “…that in everything you were enriched in Him, in all speech and all knowledge, 6 even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you, 7 so that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ…”

Watch the letter as Paul is in the “thanking God” process. He articulated what he saw in the believers at Corinth. He told them they were changed (enriched) by God in their speech and thinking, and that change generated a testimony! He saw them as a local church filled with people of differing gifts – well rounded in Spiritual gifting. He saw them as people eagerly anticipating the Lord’s return and even their own time in Jesus’ presence. People are getting kicked DOWN all the time. Often, encouraging a believer is like offering oxygen to a drowning man! We HAVE to remember how much every person counts to our mission to reach a lost world!

I’m sure you’ve heard the classic story about the faithful pastor who was told by his superior that something was wrong with his work. The supervisor told him, “Only one person has been added to your church this year, and he is only a boy.” Later that day, heavy of heart, the pastor was praying when someone walked up behind him. Turning around, he saw the same boy—his only convert that year. The boy said, “Pastor, do you think I could become a preacher or missionary some day?” The Pastor encouraged him to pray and seek God about it. The lad was Robert Moffit who was destined to open Africa to the Gospel of Christ. Years later when Moffit spoke in London, a young doctor heard him say, “I have seen in the morning sun the smoke of a thousand villages where no missionary has ever been.” The young doctor, deeply moved by Moffit’s message, was none other than David Livingstone. In 1840, he sailed for Africa where he labored for Jesus for more than three decades—all of this happened because a faithful pastor encouraged his “one convert.”

Be careful not to think you can see everything clearly. Watch your criticisms, because you may not know what God is doing, and you may hinder Him where He is working strongest!

Rule #5: Remember that Jesus is still very much at work in them.

We can never fall back into a “victim mode” as if the Spirit is responsible for our surrender – He is not. At the same time, remember that people cannot become what pleases God on their own – but God is able to keep transforming them. The same God that brought them from darkness to light and death to life is able to transform them from carnal to spiritual. He is FAITHFUL even when I am not faithful. Read on:

1 Corinthians 1:8 “…who will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”

The principle was nowhere better exhibited that in Philippians 1:3 “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, 4 always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all, 5in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now. 6 For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.”

Rule #6: Use specific examples.

It is never appropriate to judge motives, or say “You really think…” It is totally appropriate to raise specific examples of the infractions. Paul did it in the verses about divisions we read a few minutes ago…

I Corinthians 1:10 Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. 11 For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you. 12 Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, “I am of Paul,” and “I of Apollos,” and “I of Cephas,” and “I of Christ.”

The Apostle was both direct and clear – you are wrongfully divided. I know because one among you made it clear. The divisions are sin, and you must drop this now. It didn’t matter WHY you started it, only that you promptly and completely end it. One teacher noted: “No matter how much a local church has going for it, division can negate it’s vision.”

The story is told of two congregations that were located only a few blocks from each other in a small community. They thought it might be better if they would merge and become one united, larger, and more effective body rather than two struggling churches. Good idea … but they were not able to pull it off. The problem? They could not agree on how they would recite “The Lord’s Prayer.” One group preferred “forgive us our trespasses,” while the other group demanded “forgive us our debts.” So, as the local newspaper reported, “One church went back to its trespasses while the other returned to its debts.” (From a sermon by Bob Joyce, It’s About the Kingdom, 8/4/2011)

Rule #7: Connect their actions to specific violations of Scripture.

You are not the judge of right and wrong – the Word reveals right and wrong.

First, Paul knew some were following leaders like him because they had STANDING in the work. He personalized the argument as though they followed him and Apollos, but in fact they were following others that Paul did not name. The leaders of the various factions probably demonstrated a similar style of teaching to Paul’s Jewish line of plain argumentation and Apollos’ more eloquent philosophical approach. Paul stated that he is personalizing the reference and not offering a literal argument in 1 Corinthians 4:6.

He wrote: 1 Corinthians 1:13 “Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so that no one would say you were baptized in my name. 16 Now I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized any other. 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void.”

Second, Paul knew some were following leaders because of their SKILL in the work. These were attracted to the wisdom and eloquence of leaders like Apollos because his argumentation drew new people to Messiah.

He wrote: 18 For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written, “I WILL DESTROY THE WISDOM OF THE WISE, AND THE CLEVERNESS OF THE CLEVER I WILL SET ASIDE.” 20 Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. 22 For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; 23 but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness…”

Most church divisions in history have divided along the same two lines. Some follow people because of their STANDING in the church. Maybe they are charter members, or maybe they have been historically the most active family or most financially supportive family. The challenge to that group is one who comes in with great SKILL, and through eloquence of talent pulls the hearts of many with them. Paul knew the two parties and the problem:

You have misplaced your loyalty. The issue of the Gospel is not the preacher, but the One preached! The believer should glory in the Lord, not the messenger of the Lord. We don’t follow talent, eloquence, tradition or treasures – we follow God’s message found in His Word. Believers need to follow God for real – and follow His Word for real.

Ivan IV was the first Czar of all Russia. He was such a cruel man that they called him “Ivan The Terrible.” He married seven wives and abused them all. He was immoral and routinely violent. He used to throw animals off the surrounding city walls just to watch them die. But when he died in 1584, historians record that they shaved his head & dressed him for burial in the robes of a monk, hoping that God would think that Ivan the Terrible was a monk, and thus allow him into Heaven.

Is that how you get into heaven – by disguising yourself & hoping God will think you are someone else? When God’s people aren’t walking correctly, God provides a way to deal with sin issues with both clarity and compassion – but it isn’t sneaky.