1 Corinthians 1:26-31, "Musicians for God"

Take a good look, friends, at who you were when you got called into this life. I don’t see many of “the brightest and the best” among you, not many influential, not many from high-society families. Isn’t it obvious that God deliberately chose men and women that the culture overlooks and exploits and abuses, chose these “nobodies” to expose the hollow pretensions of the “somebodies”? – The Message -

Well, it’s not really a way to “win friends and influence people”.

I should mention here, that Paul isn’t saying Christians are never the “best and brightest”. He's just saying the Corinthian Christians weren’t. I’d probably have felt right at home in the Corinthian church.

I don’t know that we should make this generalization for the Church in general but the implication is clear: none of (us) can get by with blowing your own horn before God. Everything that we have—right thinking and right living, a clean slate and a fresh start—comes from God by way of Jesus Christ. That’s why we have the saying, “If you’re going to blow a horn, blow a trumpet for God.”

I like how “the Message” puts this: “If you’re going to blow a horn, blow a trumpet for God.” The advantage we have as an average person when we excel is…people have to ask “where did that come from?” After all, when my ability to reason exceeds that of anybody around me, it does beg the question. When my life is orderly, productive, framed by integrity and saturated with grace, people have to wonder “how does he do that”

And then…you know what? All we have to do is say “God did it!” Evangelism doesn’t get much more basic than that.

Or course, we can work hard to become the smartest person in the room…and may be successful. The problem is, people (including ourselves) will have a difficult time discerning exactly where our abilities end and God’s begin. That’s when our effectiveness for Christ begins to wane. Mostly, because we don’t mind people giving us credit for what God has done. It’s human nature.

I think we should try to excel…to be the best we can possibly be…only so we can give God credit. We need our lives to be musical instruments whose only melody sounds just like God.

Live boldly out there today…

[Chapter one synopsis: Paul is thankful for what God has done in the lives of the Corinthian Christians. He is also confident that God will continue working in their lives. He is frustrated by the divisions within their church and suggests they carefully cultivate the things they have in common as believers. This squabbling makes unbelievers skeptical that Christ is of any import. The conduct of our daily lives is the substance that will ultimately convince them. It’s possible to tune our lives in such perfect harmony with God that they cannot be ignored…as best evidence for the faith.]

1 Corinthians 1:18-21, The Great Mystery

The Message that points to Christ on the Cross seems like sheer silliness to those hell-bent on destruction, but for those on the way of salvation it makes perfect sense. This is the way God works, and most powerfully as it turns out. It’s written,
          “I’ll turn conventional wisdom on its head, I’ll expose so-called experts as crackpots.”
So where can you find someone truly wise, truly educated, truly intelligent in this day and age? Hasn’t God exposed it all as pretentious nonsense? Since the world in all its fancy wisdom never had a clue when it came to knowing God, God in his wisdom took delight in using what the world considered dumb—preaching (kerygma), of all things!—to bring those who trust him into the way of salvation. - The Message -

As people of faith, we understand, and accept the fact, that unbelievers think faith in Christ is “just silly”. What makes perfect sense to us seems stupid to them. We understand, as well, it seemed senseless to us until the Holy Spirit of God shook some sense into us. We take no credit for that gracious "shaking". On the other hand…stubborn unbelievers have to own their own decision to reject Christ along with the consequences of their decision.

And, God actually designed it this way…as a mystery.

Paul told Timothy (1 Tim 3:14-16) “This Christian life is a great mystery, far exceeding our understanding, but some things are clear enough.” Why would God design his plan so mysteriously when the stakes are so high? And why would God intend to use something as unconvincing as preaching to unravel that mystery?

We should know that “preaching” (Kerygma) in this case is not a verb…it’s a noun. Technically a gerund, I believe (verbs that function as nouns). As in…“preaching is my favorite pastime”.

When Paul says “God in his wisdom took delight in using what the world considered dumb—preaching, of all things!—to bring those who trust him into the way of salvation” We shouldn’t think in terms of our pastor, in the pulpit, on Sunday morning. We must think in terms of some mysterious presence that contains the message of Christ in such powerful form that it can actually bring people to faith. As Paul stated in the 1^st Chapter of Romans “I am not ashamed of the message because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes”.

So, what does this mean for us? St Francis of Assisi once said “Preach (be) the Gospel at all times, and when necessary, use words”. His implication is clear: We “are” sermons. If I am a believer, I am a preacher because the mysterious essence that is the message of salvation dwells in me. Every activity, then, ought to reflect the message of Christ. You and I are “Kerygma”. Sometimes it’s even expressed in words.

I understand…many evenings we have to say “today was a sermon I shouldn’t have preached”. There are times when we must admit we should have put in more time preparing. Mostly because, it is the sermon of my life that is going to bring people to salvation with, or without, words.

So the great mystery seems to be this: Our very presence with unbelievers is capable of turning them to Christ. I can’t explain it but I’ve experienced it. In fact, “the fewer words the better” is my experience. We’ve been told “actions speak louder than words”. I think this is because the authenticity of the presence of Christ in us is most clearly seen by a transformed life. Occasionally we may be asked to explain what it means.

What’s most exciting is by God’s design we are all soul-winners…simply by “being”. NOw that makes sense. Are we ready?

Live boldly out there today…

1 Corinthians 1:10-12, "A Common Life"

“I have a serious concern to bring up with you, my friends, using the authority of Jesus, our Master. I’ll put it as urgently as I can: You must get along with each other. You must learn to be considerate of one another, cultivating a life in common. I bring this up because some from Chloe’s family brought a most disturbing report to my attention—that you’re fighting among yourselves! I’ll tell you exactly what I was told: You’re all picking sides, going around saying, “I’m on Paul’s side,” or “I’m for Apollos,” or “Peter is my man,” or “I’m in the Messiah group.” – The Message –

History tells us division in the church is virtually always destructive…because it is nearly always man-made. It is destructive because it marginalizes our ability to convince a lost world it needs Jesus when we proclaim the lost world needs the Pope’s Jesus, or Luther’s Jesus, or Calvin’s Jesus, or Wesley’s Jesus, or Simpson’s Jesus, or…fill in the blank.

But…divided we are.

Of course, we can stand on our man-made plot of “holy ground” or we can stand on the sure foundation which is Christ the Lord. One destroys while one heals.  Paul’s response in this regard is for Christians to “cultivate a Common Life”. Failure to do so has dire consequences.

I recently watched the new documentary on Mitt Romney. I finished watching with a deep sense of sadness that he is not our president. His devotion to Godly values, his devotion to his family, his fervent prayer…all convince me he is the man we should have elected.

An undivided church would have delivered that result. But we aren’t…we didn’t.

This isn’t about candidates…only God can judge hearts. It is about the road down which any candidate wishes to take our country, and whether that road “cultivates a common life” with our most fervent desires to follow God. We evangelicals could have concentrated on the things that we have in common with the candidate whose personal values most closely reflective our own. After all, as voters we don’t elect “messiahs” we elect presidents.

This is not indistinguishable from saying we are “in communion” with any candidate like some believers claimed. Evangelicals are not “in communion” with Mormons any more than we are “in communion” with pro-abortionists.

Oops!

Joel Rosenberg (wordpress.com) says “It is stunning to think that more than 6 million self-described evangelical Christians would vote for a President who supports abortion on demand; supported the same-sex marriage ballot initiatives that succeeded in Maryland, Maine and Washington; and was on the cover of Newsweek as America’s “first gay president.” Did these self-professed believers surrender their Biblical convictions in the voting booth, or did they never really have deep Biblical convictions on the critical issues to begin with?”

It’s a fair question….

Erick Erickson (Red State) characterized evangelical voters this way: The thing to remember about religious voters is that unlike any other voting segment, they believe that history has already been written and they understand that even when someone terrible is elected, it is God’s will. This is a mindset that allows many people to sit out an election in a way that a union member or NRA supporter never could. They put their faith in God and that relieves them of certain responsibilities that other voters feel.

Except…our failure to vote is, in itself, a vote for the opposition. Those evangelicals who didn’t vote can glibly say the election turned out as God willed. I prefer to say the election, and all its moral consequences, turned out the way it did…with our implicit blessing.

Of course, none of this matters if you are satisfied with the road our country is travelling. An evangelical who subscribes to this notion proves Paul’s words true…we must “cultivate a common life”

We get lots of advice…from well-intentioned friends. Unfortunately, the closeness of the friendship does not always correlate directly to the value of the advice.  Advice that does not “cultivate a common life” with other believers is not to be heeded.

Live boldly out there today…

1 Corinthians 1:8-9, Blessed Assurance

“God, who got you started in this spiritual adventure, shares with us the life of his Son and our Master Jesus. He will never give up on you. Never forget that”. – The Message –

In the face of serious systemic problems with our churches and our personal lives its easy wonder whether God is as devoted to us as He once was…when He redeemed us through His Son. We wake up in the morning with no confidence that God wants to hear from us. If we aren’t careful we can fall into spiritual despair, believing we have made an irrevocable mess out of a wonderful thing.

Being the “all wise God”,  He knew He couldn’t leave such a precious treasure solely in our custody. The Corinthians had more problems than most of us yet…Paul reminds them…their relationship (and, ours) with God is a responsibility that God has taken upon Himself to preserve and maintain. It’s a message we need to hear, and appropriate, when we struggle with the addictive nature of sin.

Never forget that!

Live boldly out there today…

1 Corinthians 1:4-6, Encouraging Others

The apostle Paul was at Corinth nearly two years; where he preached with great success; and was the instrument of converting many persons, who by him were formed into a church consisting both of Jews and Gentiles. Quickly after his departure, false teachers got in among them. Bad principles and evil practices prevailed among them. They fell into factions and parties. Paul wrote this letter (First Corinthians) to address the several issues that plagued the church. It is thought to be written about the year of Christ 55, and in the first year of Nero, and was written from Ephesus.

Paul begins...
"Every time I think of you—and I think of you often!—I thank God for your lives of free and open access to God, given by Jesus. There’s no end to what has happened in you—it’s beyond speech, beyond knowledge. The evidence of Christ has been clearly verified in your lives". - The Message -

I receive several emails every day. Not so many letters...they seem to be a relic of bygone days. I confess that I've never received an email, or letter, containing anything like the encouragement Paul wrote to the Corinthian Christians.

• I thank God for your lives of free and open access to God, given by Jesus.
• There’s no end to what has happened in you—it’s beyond speech, beyond knowledge.
• The evidence of Christ has been clearly verified in your lives".

 Is it because the evidence of Christ is no longer all that clear? I sure hope not. Then again, I don't really send this kind of message to my friends who love Jesus. Shame on me. Regardless of the evidence in their lives I am responsible to encourage them in their spiritual journey. The Corinthians had many problems yet...Paul said he thanked God for what he knew was true, not what he witnessed in their daily struggle.

 

 This reminds me of Hebrews 11:1, "Faith means being sure of the things we hope for and knowing that something is real even if we do not see it". So, my pledge to myself...as a friend and pastor...is to be more encouraging in my communication with those who share my faith.

 

How about you?

 

"Live boldly out there today..."

Intercession

Talking to men for God is a great thing, but talking to God for men is greater still. He will never talk well and with real success to men for God who has not learned well how to talk to God for men.

- E.M. Bounds -

Love your neighbor

The Bible tells us to love our neighbors, and also to love our enemies; probably because generally they are the same people.

- G.K. Chesterton -