1 Corinthians 5:1-13, Ignorance is not bliss

 I also received a report of scandalous sex within your church family, a kind that wouldn’t be tolerated even outside the church: One of your men is sleeping with his stepmother. And you’re so above it all that it doesn’t even faze you! Shouldn’t this break your hearts? Shouldn’t it bring you to your knees in tears? Shouldn’t this person and his conduct be confronted and dealt with?

 I’ll tell you what I would do. Even though I’m not there in person, consider me right there with you, because I can fully see what’s going on. I’m telling you that this is wrong. You must not simply look the other way and hope it goes away on its own. Bring it out in the open and deal with it in the authority of Jesus our Master. Assemble the community—I’ll be present in spirit with you and our Master Jesus will be present in power. Hold this man’s conduct up to public scrutiny. Let him defend it if he can! But if he can’t, then out with him! It will be totally devastating to him, of course, and embarrassing to you. But better devastation and embarrassment than damnation. You want him on his feet and forgiven before the Master on the Day of Judgment. – The Message -

Of course, wouldn’t it be nice if the biggest problems we had were disagreements? Unfortunately, we encounter problems that nobody wants to touch…with a ten foot pole.

What should we do?

1.      Don’t look the other way! “Bad news doesn’t get better with age”.
2.      Bring it out in the open and deal with it…in the authority of Christ.
3.      Give the principle parties an opportunity to speak.
4.      If their defense is insufficient (don’t forget “pistos”) remove them from the church.
5.      Trust your faithful leadership will result in true repentance.

Paul gives us a couple of important reminders. We bring these concerns to our common Father and we evaluate the situation using leadership principles (reliability and accurate [Biblical] knowledge). Sometimes the issues get so contentious and emotional that we want to depend on “how we feel” or “what’s least embarrassing” or “what seems less judgmental”. We can’t let that happen. Our sole source and authority is God’s Word.

He cautions, in verse 10, I didn’t mean that you should have nothing at all to do with outsiders of that sort…you’d have to leave the world entirely to do that! But I am saying that you shouldn’t act as if everything is just fine when a friend who claims to be a Christian is promiscuous or crooked”. That’s all the excuse we need to do nothing. Most people hate conflict. It’s human nature. Devout believers will say “it’s no big deal”. Paul says this is so unbelievably arrogant that he’s embarrassed with them, more than the guilty party. I understand we all just want to get along but…not at the expense of truth.

 I need to ask this: Is there anything going on in our congregations that God simply would not tolerate? Well, why do we?

Live boldly out there today…

1 Corinthians 4:14-21, Listen to your Father!

I’m not writing all this as a neighborhood scold just to make you feel rotten. I’m writing as a father to you, my children. I love you and want you to grow up well, not spoiled. There are a lot of people around who can’t wait to tell you what you’ve done wrong, but there aren’t many fathers willing to take the time and effort to help you grow up. It was as Jesus helped me proclaim God’s Message to you that I became your father. I’m not, you know, asking you to do anything I’m not already doing myself.

 This is why I sent Timothy to you earlier. He is also my dear son, and true to the Master. He will refresh your memory on the instructions I regularly give all the churches on the way of Christ.

 I know there are some among you who are so full of themselves they never listen to anyone, let alone me. They don’t think I’ll ever show up in person. But I’ll be there sooner than you think, God willing, and then we’ll see if they’re full of anything but hot air. God’s Way is not a matter of mere talk; it’s an empowered life.

 So how should I prepare to come to you? As a severe disciplinarian who makes you toe the mark? Or as a good friend and counselor who wants to share heart-to-heart with you? You decide.  - The Message –

Who’s your father?

The Apostle rejected any notion of divisions in the church…following preferred leaders. His words, up to this point, have been pretty direct. He takes a moment to let his readers know he’s not attempting to shame them. He only wants to see them grow up. And that is Paul’s responsibility.

But…why should they believe Paul’s words if they would rather follow Apollos? Or Peter? Paul says it simple: LISTEN TO YOUR FATHER!

Who was it who led you to Christ? That’s your spiritual father. That’s who you should follow. In the case of the Corinthians…Paul was father to every one of them. Of course, the father of us all is God, Himself.

The Corinthians would have had far less trouble if they had simply done what dad said…

We can find unity and harmony if we follow Paul’s advice. Our earthly father (or mother) is the person who led us to Christ. In this world, that is the person we should trust. After all, we know they are faithful (“pistos”) leaders because we are their fruit. If, in the course of our lives, we find this divides us from other believers, we should “run it up the chain” to our common “grandfather”, God himself. At that point there can be no disagreement or division. It’s brilliant.

And…I’m really blessed. My father is Billy Graham (1963, Minneapolis Crusade). So, I have about a gazillion brothers and sisters. Even better, for those of you who are my cousins…we’re just a generation removed from Our Heavenly Father. If we have a problem, let’s go speak with Him.

Live boldly out there today…

1 Corinthians 4:1-4, Follow the Leader

Don’t imagine us leaders to be something we aren’t. We are servants of Christ, not his masters. We are guides into God’s most sublime secrets, not security guards posted to protect them. The requirements for a good guide are reliability and accurate knowledge. It matters very little to me what you think of me, even less where I rank in popular opinion. I don’t even rank myself. Comparisons in these matters are pointless. I’m not aware of anything that would disqualify me from being a good guide for you, but that doesn’t mean much. The Master makes that judgment.
-The Message -

Every person needs a leader…even good people.

We can’t all be a bunch of “free agents” roaming around the planet doing our own thing. The church would have no coherent message or cohesive strength. Actually, too many Christians do exactly that…and the results are sadly evident in the church worldwide.

Should God call us to leadership in the church…or entrust us with the responsibility to choose a leader, the requirements for good guides are reliability and accurate knowledge. The original language specifically says “pistos” (faithful). Reliability and accuracy are trustworthy synonyms.

Reliability: In the New Testament the word “pistos” refers to one who is convinced Jesus has been raised from the dead and He is the Messiah…the author of salvation. Reliability means every believer in the Body of Christ can have confidence their leaders are faithful. Reliability also implies doctrinal hegemony. This conviction is supreme. There is no room for freedom of interpretation or variance. If we get wobbly on this point we lose the ability to follow our leaders with confidence.

 Accurate Knowledge: There are many points of theology that allow for freedom of practice and this is one of the wonderful consequences of denominationalism. We can choose to reject alcohol. We can choose to dance. We can choose to worship on Saturday. We can choose to speak in tongues. Things like these should not dominate our relationships with other Christians.

When we begin to make these “Christian Lifestyle” choices we need to trust our leaders to offer ACCURATE counsel. How do we measure accuracy? We measure it against an objective standard.

 Mali bakes. When we lived in Europe she was constantly converting milliliters to teaspoons. She knows the recipe means what it says. “Five milliliters” doesn’t actually mean a “teaspoon”. A teaspoon is precisely 4.92892 milliliters. It’s generally close enough but…is “close enough” a good standard for evaluating our eternal destiny?

Martin Luther said “Sola Scriptura”. Our objective measure is the Bible…nothing else. So…we want to choose a leader? Is our candidate willing to reject every measure of spiritual knowledge except God’s Holy Word? If they even hesitate…reject them

 Live boldly out there today…

1 Corinthians 3:16-23, Sprucing up the Place

You realize, don’t you, that you are the temple of God, and God himself is present in you? No one will get by with vandalizing God’s temple, you can be sure of that. God’s temple is sacred—and you, remember, are the temple.

Don’t fool yourself. Don’t think that you can be wise merely by being up-to-date with the times. Be God’s fool—that’s the path to true wisdom. What the world calls smart, God calls stupid. It’s written in Scripture,

He exposes the chicanery of the chic. The Master sees through the smoke screens of the know-it-alls.

I don’t want to hear any of you bragging about yourself or anyone else. Everything is already yours as a gift—Paul, Apollos, Peter, the world, life, death, the present, the future—all of it is yours, and you are privileged to be in union with Christ, who is in union with God.  – The Message -

We sometimes forget the “Church” is not some congregation down the block. It’s me…and you. We are the lowest common denominator in “cultivating a life in common” as Paul commanded in the first chapter.

I am actually one of the rooms in God’s house. OK, maybe one of the closets…

As a room in God’s house I exist to host the Holy Spirit. This is actually a brilliant model for evangelism. Since I live and breathe in a world that needs Christ, God’s Spirit has the opportunity to move around and “mingle” in the world with me…in palpable flesh and bone.

This is why M. Scott Peck wrote, “A Christian is a comfortable place for God to dwell”. If we intend for God to travel with us…influencing the world around us for Christ…we should understand our primary responsibility is to keep God comfortable.

This is critical. If we forget we are a residence for God we soon lose sight of God’s strategic objectives for us. We begin thinking life is about us rather than God…and that attitude quickly shows in an inexplicable desire to renovate. We add a little worldly philosophy here…a little social justice there…and before we know it, the room is unrecognizable…and most likely has become uncomfortable for our prime resident.

It’s what led to division in the Corinthian church and will lead to trouble in our own lives and congregations. We think redecorating would be nice: But, when we travel this world, the Holy Spirit will be embarrassed. He will in the dark with the shades pulled. Nobody will even notice He’s around.

What seems pretty smart in earthly terms turns out to be pretty foolish…

What does your room look like today? Is it ready for the Holy God to take up residence? Would he feel comfortable…or out of place? Recently my friend Joe stopped my in the hallway and thanked me for my "Godly leadership". Don't misunderstand me...I'm not bragging. I'm only suggesting that, at least yesterday, I must have cleaned up my room.

Live boldly out there today…

1 Corinthians 3:9-15, ”Just Another Room on the House”

Or, to put it another way, you are God’s house. Using the gift God gave me as a good architect, I designed blueprints; Apollos is putting up the walls. Let each carpenter who comes on the job take care to build on the foundation! Remember, there is only one foundation, the one already laid: Jesus Christ. Take particular care in picking out your building materials. Eventually there is going to be an inspection. If you use cheap or inferior materials, you’ll be found out. The inspection will be thorough and rigorous. You won’t get by with a thing. If your work passes inspection, fine; if it doesn’t, your part of the building will be torn out and started over. But you won’t be torn out; you’ll survive—but just barely. – The Message -

This is a powerful metaphor to combat our human tendency for division. “House”.

Actually…just one house…with one foundation…Jesus Christ

The church in Corinth was simply a room in the house. Martin Luther’s followers were another room in the same house. My congregation is a room in that house. So is yours. Rooms can look distinct but the commonality is they all rest on the same foundation.

But there’s always some Christian saying “that’s not MY house!”

Bill Hybels developed a new and unique model for evangelizing at Willow Creek in the early 1970’s. By 2000, 15,000 people were worshipping weekly. The model was designed to attract “seekers”. Programs (such as daycare, sports programs, classes, and contemporary music and worship) were created which attract people from the community to the church. He was roundly criticized by the traditional church.

Just another room on the house…but the traditionalists said he’d moved out of the neighborhood.

I hear Christians condemn Joel Osteen..at Lakewood Church in Houston. Too much “prosperity gospel!” Really? What else could Philippians 4:19 mean?

Just another room on the house…

Rick Warren founded Saddleback in 1980. They now have 20,000 worshippers. It’s different. Rick Warren advocates building people not churches. But, 20,000 people means 20,000 building projects. It might not be quite as precise as my church.

Just another room on the house…

When we criticize these builders we sound like the Corinthians. I suggest we quit looking at the walls, or the ceiling. Forget about the paint or the colors. LOOK AT THE FOUNDATION.  Is it Christ?

Remember, it’s not “them” we’re criticizing. Those people are “us”.

Live boldly out there today…

1 Corinthians 3:1-8, "Who and What"

But for right now, friends, I’m completely frustrated by your unspiritual dealings with each other and with God. You’re acting like infants in relation to Christ, capable of nothing much more than nursing at the breast. Well, then, I’ll nurse you since you don’t seem capable of anything more. As long as you grab for what makes you feel good or makes you look important, are you really much different than a babe at the breast, content only when everything’s going your way? When one of you says, “I’m on Paul’s side,” and another says, “I’m for Apollos,” aren’t you being totally infantile?

“I’m taking my ball and I’m going home…”Now we get to the point. Paul is thankful for what God has done in the lives of the Corinthian Christians…confident that God will continue working in their lives. But, the divisions among them are immature and selfish. What. On earth, could have been the distinction between Paul and Apollos and Peter that could lead to this division?

Since Apollos hailed from Alexandria, he is thought to have been well-versed in the arts of eloquence and argument. As a learned man, he would be the sort of leader a cultured, wealthy individual might want to follow. Peter was traditionally aligned with the Jewish Christians and could have been the preference for those who were unwilling to totally depart from their Jewish heritage. Paul, while making himself "all things to everyone," was likely favored by the gentiles.  (biblewise.com)

Things didn’t appreciably change…

Religionfacts.com reminds us the first major division within Christendom came in 1054 with the "Great Schism" between the Western Church and the Eastern Church. From that point forward, there were two large branches of Christianity, which came to be known as the Catholic Church (in the West) and the Orthodox Church (in the East). The doctrinal debate centered on the nature of the Holy Spirit.

In the 16th century the Protestant Reformation was sparked when Martin Luther quarreled with Rome over Justification by grace, through faith alone. Protestants emphasized individual interpretation of scripture and demanded that believers be allowed to read the Scriptures for themselves and act in accordance with their conscience.

So we had two divisions in the first 1500 years based on critical doctrinal question. Today we identify 43,000 distinct denominations world-wide. The vast majority have no unique doctrinal distinctions. They just want to have things their own way.

We may try to tell ourselves this is important…to keep the MESSAGE pure. The Apostle Paul  might suggest it’s more important to keep it simple. “Who and what” is pretty difficult to divide that many ways.

Oh, and…Paul says its “infantile”.

Live boldly out there today…

1 Corinthians 2:1-16, K.I.S.S.

You’ll remember, friends, that when I first came to you to let you in on God’s master stroke, I didn’t try to impress you with polished speeches and the latest philosophy. I deliberately kept it plain and simple: first Jesus and who he is; then Jesus and what he did—Jesus crucified.

So…my life should be a sermon, or a finely tuned instrument that plays only God’s perfect melody. These are two great metaphors from chapter one. Still, there is a didactic element to the whole thing. We can’t just “BE”.

My experience tells me this is where things break down. We have difficulty agreeing about the exact content of the MESSAGE. Paul says the Message of Christ is most likely to fail when we make it too complicated. I tend to drone on and on about the Old Testament offerings, and how they are a “type” of Christ. I dive into Hebrews to ensure my listener will understand the Blood will never lose its power. By the time I’m done…their eyes are glazed over.

Paul reminds us to keep it simple. Unbelievers have neither the spiritual sophistication nor the benefit of the Holy Spirit to make things clear. We must focus on these two basics: Who Christ is and…What Christ did. If we do this, we find the Message (will come) through anyway. God’s Spirit and God’s power (will do) it.

All the finer nuances of doctrine can wait until new believers get their feet on the ground. We all know that God’s wisdom is deep and mysterious. We know it because we haven’t fully figured it out ourselves yet. Why should we burden new believers with it? (We’ve) seen and heard it because God by his Spirit has brought it all out into the open before (us).When Paul tells us to  distill it down to “Who and What” he also confirms the truth that salvation is through Christ alone. It’s not through modes of baptism or days of worship or anything else. These are all important things but…that’s why we have Sunday School.

And, Paul says The Spirit, not content to flit around on the surface, dives into the depths of God, and brings out what God planned all along. We can “keep it simple” because we can trust the Holy Spirit to activate the learning. I am a participant in the process. I should work to cultivate an environment for learning but nothing I say, or do, will ultimately make the difference. I am a partner with the Holy Spirit…a very subordinate partner.

But, remember, nearly all the time it begins with us. It’s the melody of our lives that attract an unbeliever’s interest. We can’t afford to take a day off. Then again, how hard can it be, when God gave us the simple part?

Live boldly out there today…