Category Archives: 1 Corinthians

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Preparation For The Really Big Stuff

Read I Corinthians 6

If any of you has a dispute with another, dare he take it before the
ungodly for judgment instead of before the saints? Do you not
know that the saints will judge the world? And if you are to
judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial
cases? Do you not know that we will judge angels?
How much more the things of this life!
(I Corinthians 6:1-3)

Food For Thought… Do you realize that how you deal with life now is simply warm-up for your life to come in eternity? How you handle crises, resolve disputes, overcome temptation, steward your resources, serve in a ministry, treat your spouse, love your neighbor, control your tongue, forgive those who have offended you, get along with fellow believers, and so on, is in truth, preparation for a life of purpose in the eternal world awaiting beyond this one.

That puts everything you do now in a whole new and much more important light. Earth is getting you ready for heaven—hopefully! Life is kindergarten, and you are about to enter the first grade—but you first have to attain a certain mastery of reading, writing, and arithmetic…and oh yes, playground etiquette, too!

Heaven will not be about sitting beside a crystal stream, strumming your golden harp and watching the angels dance like sugar plum fairies. Your eternity is going to be purposeful. You will have a job to do. You will be on mission for God, ruling over his unending and ever-expanding creation. You are going to reign with Jesus Christ.

Therefore, you must learn how to rule and reign now! And the little corner of God’s kingdom that is represented in the church to which you belong is your proving ground. That is why serving in a ministry and faithfully attending and financially supporting and preserving the harmony of your fellowship now is so important in light of what is coming next.

That is the point of Paul’s stinging rebuke to the Corinthians who decided to take an unresolved dispute with other believers to a worldly court. He reminds them if they can’t even handle playground stuff like resolving conflicts with each other, how can they be expected to judge the world and administrate angels. Likewise, if they can’t learn to control their bodies and refrain from sexual sin now, how can they be expected to exercise control over God’s uncontained universe.

Do you get the point? We must master life now in all of its dimensions—big and small, because it is preparation for the really big stuff that God has waiting for us in the next life.

The school year is coming to an end; kindergarten is almost over. Are you ready for what’s next?

Prayer… Lord, remind me that how I handle the details, big and small, in my life today is critical preparation for what is to come.

One More Thing… “To enter Heaven a man must take it with him.” —Henry Drummond

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Our Desperate Need For Tough Love

Read I Corinthians 5

“Hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be
destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord.”
(I Corinthians 5:5)

Food For Thought… In case you haven’t noticed lately, we now live in a culture that openly worships at the altar of tolerance and political correctness. And anyone who dares violate those values is labeled hateful, shunned as a bigot, mocked in the court of public opinion and increasingly, sued in a court of law. As a result, it is now high risk for a church to desecrate culture’s value-gods by tackling moral issues. Even worse, these value-gods, masquerading as angels of enlightenment, have crept into the church, compromising its moral integrity and corroding its very reason for being.

I wonder what would Paul think of the spiritual condition of the American church today? What kinds of immoral behavior would he find being tolerated in far too many congregations? What would he have to say to spiritual leaders who refuse to carry out church discipline and resist holding people accountable for fear of losing members to the church down the street? How would he react to the pride we take at being so inclusive and tolerant that we hardly even mention the “s” word anymore from our pulpits—you know, “s-i-n”?

My older daughter was in Chicago last week setting up her apartment as she prepares for grad school in the fall. I ask her if she had found any churches close by, and she said she had discovered one that was close by whose outdoor sign read, “people of all races, genders, and sexual preferences welcome here.” Hmmm! That is fine if they are accepting the sinner but not the sin, but I doubt that is what they have in mind.

The sharp demands of Paul is this chapter need to be heeded by the modern church! The Corinthians were proud of their tolerance of a man who was sexually involved with his father’s wife (technically, his step-mother). Paul rebukes their misguided acceptance and calls for a can of tough love to be opened up on this man. He was to be put out of their fellowship, and thus, out from under the spiritual covering of their church.

In so doing, a number of painful but helpful things would happen: For one, verse 5 says this man would be handed over to Satan, where he would experience the awful pain of life apart from God’s protective presence. Perhaps in allowing his flesh to be battered by Satanic forces, he would come to his senses, repent, and thus his spirit would be saved.

For another, in putting the sinner out of the church, the church would be preserved from this kind of sin taking root and spreading to other believers, according to verse 6. Yet another result Paul talks about in verses 9-12 is that keeping sexual impurity out of their church would keep them distinct from and attractive to a world that was fundamentally sick with sexual sin and thus slated for Divine judgment.

The lesson here is that when churches refuse to execute spiritual discipline in cases of clear and blatant immorality, they lose their very reason for being (see Revelation 2-3). Thinking they are being loving, they are really being loveless. In thinking they are being tolerant, they are really opening their body up to spiritual disease. In thinking they will be more attractive to the world, they are tacitly approving the world’s godless behavior and in reality, allowing the lost to plunge headlong toward eternal punishment.

So what are you to do with all of this information? I would suggest you talk with your spiritual leaders and insist, even demand, that they never shy away from their calling to execute church discipline—even if that means they have to open up a can of tough love on you.

Wouldn’t you agree: We have a desperate need for some tough love these days?

Prayer… Lord, restore discipline to the church. Give us bold leaders who will not fear the consequences of tough love.

One More Thing… “The opposite of bravery is not cowardice, but conformity.” —Robert Anthony

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A Culture of Christian Celebrity

Read I Corinthians 4

“‘Do not go beyond what is written.’ Then you will not
take pride in one man over against another.”
(I Corinthians 4:6)

Food For Thought… In a stern but fatherly way, Paul is taking the believers in Corinth to task for their reckless immaturity in choosing preachers based on popular appeal. He points out that when they engage in this sort of thinking, it is not only a sure sign of persistent spiritual infancy, but clear indication that they have entered into a realm reserved only for the Lord himself:

“Don’t get ahead of the Master and jump to conclusions with your judgments before all the evidence is in. When he comes, he will bring out in the open and place in evidence all kinds of things we never even dreamed of—inner motives and purposes and prayers. Only then will any one of us get to hear the ‘Well done!’ of God.” (I Corinthians 4:5, The Message)

That same sort of preacher-by-popularity mentality is just as persistent a spiritual immaturity in the modern church as it was among the Corinthians. We are particularly susceptible to it because of our ability to see and hear so many different spiritual communicators via religious television, teaching tapes, radio ministry, books and magazines, and cyber ministries, just to name a few. As beneficial as these modern media are to the spread of the Gospel around the world, it has also created a culture of Christian celebrity that has not been good for the church.

People now choose churches based on the charisma of the pastor, or the cool factor of the church’s architecture, or what kind of need meeting ministries are offered, or if the church has a happening band and a Starbucks located in the lobby. We have fallen prey to the Corinthian syndrome. We evaluate our church experience on everything other than what the Lord of the church thinks. And in so doing, we have exposed our own persistent spiritual immaturity.

The American church would do well to listen to Pastor Paul’s fatherly counsel. In fact, it would be healthy for us if someone of Paul’s spiritual stature would walk into the church, so to speak, whack us upside the head and tell us to knock it off. That’s exactly what Paul threatened to do to the Corinthians:

“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.” (I Corinthians 4:18-21, The Message)

Don’t you think God is just as serious about this sort of persistent immaturity today as he was then? We had better listen up, or God just may send someone like Paul or something like he was threatening to do to get us back on the right track.

What say we reject this culture of Christian celebrity and get back to seeing things as God does? We would show some real spiritual maturity if we did!

Prayer… Lord, deliver us from evil—that is, the culture of Christian celebrity!

One More Thing… “Character is always lost when a high ideal is sacrificed on the altar of conformity and popularity.” —Charles Spurgeon

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Eternally Valuable or Immediately Flammable

Read I Corinthians 3

“But on the judgment day, the fire will reveal what kind of work
each builder has done—if the worker’s work has any value. If
the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. But
if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great
loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone
barely escaping through a wall of flames.”
(I Corinthians 3:13-15)

Food For Thought… When I was a little kid, we sang a little song in Sunday School that now, upon reflection, was pretty sobering. If I had truly understood it’s message at the time, it would have scared the willies out of me. It went something like this:

“Oh be careful little hands what you do.
Oh be careful little hands what you do.
There’s a Father up above, looking down from heaven with love,
So be careful little hands what you do.”

The song had several verses: “Oh be careful little feet where you go… Eyes what you see… Ears what you here…” and so on. It was cute and catchy in a way that made it unforgettable, but it also contained a not-so-subtle threat that served as the song’s underpinning: Be very careful—God is watching you! And if you mess up…

Obviously, that was back in the days when parents didn’t think a whole lot about damaging little Johnny’s self-esteem. At least they didn’t in my home, and my church. They didn’t mind talking about things like offending God and its consequences, judgment and hell, and all kinds of other things that would make most church people squirm today.

However, squirming is sometimes good for us. And Paul is taking us through a “squirm session” in this section of I Corinthians. He has been addressing some of the divisions that have developed in the church at Corinth. The people have been choosing up sides as to who their favorite preacher was. Some said, “Oh, I got saved under Peter’s ministry.” Others said, “Well, I have grown the most under Apollos’ fine expository preaching.” Still others shot back, “Yes, but I have been spiritually grounded in Paul’s deep theology.” Then the really spiritual people would top them all: “Oh yah, we follow Christ!”

It’s not all that different today, is it? I hear people say, “Oh, I get so blessed by Joel Osteen. He’s so positive and I like that smile.” And then others says, “Well, I like John MacArthur. He teaches verse-by-verse, you know! That’s the only way to study the Word!” And there are those who say, “Dude, Rick Warren’s the man! He’s so funny and easy to follow. That purpose driven stuff is really cool.”

Paul delivers a needful blow to this preacher-by-popularity mentality when he reminds the Corinthian believers that they have missed the fundamental point: The church has but one leader, Jesus Christ. We are not under Paul’s or Peter’s or Rick’s or Joel’s lordship, we are under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

The Apostle then reminds them that the church is like a seed, and the seed is from God, and no matter who waters that seed, God is the one who makes it grow. Switching analogies, Paul then talks about the church being built on the foundation, and that foundation is Jesus Christ. And anyone who builds on it—whether Paul, or Apollos or Peter…or for that matter Brother Jones or Sister Bertha, or you or me—needs to remember that we are building on a foundation that is Jesus Christ. So let us be careful then how we build.

Now he’s the clincher: One day each of us will stand before God to give an account as to how we added to that foundation. And by the way, we all add to the foundation. No matter who you are or what you do, if you are a Christian, you are a part of building the church, either adding to it and beautifying it, or taking away from it and diminishing its value. And on that final day, our works—what we have done with Christ’s church—will pass through the fire. Then the truth about our work will be exposed for what it is: Eternally valuable or immediately flammable.

So Paul’s warning is very important:

“Oh be careful little hands how you build!
There’s a Father up above looking down from heaven with love,
So be careful little hands how you build.”

Notice what Paul goes on to say in verses 16-17: “Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you? God will destroy anyone who destroys this temple. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.”

We often hear that our physical body is the temple of God, and to be sure that is true. We need to pay more strict attention to that. But we also need to be aware that the church we belong to is the temple of God, and it is the dwelling place of God the Holy Spirit. And if the Spirit of God dwells in our church, we, both worshippers and workers, laity and leaders—all of us—need to be very aware of what we’re doing with that temple.

Paul’s advice: Don’t trash the temple—either by wrongful attitudes or by inappropriate actions. There’s a Father up above looking down from heaven with love, so be very, very careful what you do. Love the church, serve the church, build the church—and do it all in a way that brings glory to the Lord of the church and pleases the Spirit of the church, and honors the God of the church.

Prayer… Lord, thank you for the reminder of how precious the church, your bride, is to you. Forgive any attitude that I’ve had that lessens the value you place upon my community of faith. I pray that you would give me a new energy and zeal to love, serve and build your church in a way that glorifies and pleases you. And on that final day, I pray that the work I’ve done will pass through the fire as eternally valuable.

One More Thing… “The apostles were made evangelists to us by the Lord Christ; Jesus Christ was sent by God. Thus, Christ is from God, and the apostles from Christ…The Church is built on them as a foundation.” —Clement of Alexandria

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Ground Rules For Knowing God

Read I Corinthians

“Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know
him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish
preaching to save those who believe.”
(I Corinthians 1:21)

Food For Thought… God, the creator of all that is, is knowable. He has made it so that we can know him—not just about him, but know him—deeply, intimately, and personally. We can know who he is, what he is like, what he likes, what he wants from us, and what his plans are.

The question is, how do we get to know God? Paul indicates in this verse that getting intimately acquainted with the Creator of the universe will not happen through human wisdom alone—what we might refer to as the pursuit of knowledge or research or reason or intellect. God has set the rules for getting to know him and he has declared that the avenue to knowledge is by way of faith.

That’s an infinitely critical point, by the way, since in the last several hundred years, man has elevated reason over revelation as the way to enlightenment. This has been especially true in western societies where we are willing to put faith only in that which can be demonstrated empirically. In our world, reason is king and faith is optional.

But for the Christian, everything starts with God. Reason is based on sensory data—what a person can see, hear, smell, touch, and taste. Reason is not bad; don’t misunderstand what Paul is saying. I think Paul would quickly point out that reason is God-given, and that God expects us to exercise it. It is not antithetical to faith, but while reason can lead to knowledge or an acknowledgment of God, only revelation can lead to a knowledge of who God truly is—the God of the Scriptures who has revealed himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Revelation is based on something other, something more. Revelation is based on the truth that God took the initiative to make himself knowable, that he has revealed himself to us through his Word and by his Son. Now reason and revelation will not contradict each other, because both are from God. But reason alone will not suffice.

The brilliant Thomas Aquinas, who live in the 13th century and is arguably the preeminent theologian of the church in the last thousand years, if not longer, said it this way: “In order that men might have knowledge of God, free of doubt and uncertainty, it is necessary for divine truth to be delivered to them by way of faith, being told to them as it were, by God himself who cannot lie.”

Someone can observe the universe (sensory data) and discern (reason) that God exists. They can also reason that he is orderly and intelligent, and discover several other attributes of this deity. But they would have no certain knowledge that he is good, loving, and purposeful. Likewise, this person can practice certain moral virtues apart from a faith-based relationship with God, but they cannot practice authentic faith, they will not have the hope of eternity, and they will never know and practice divine love.

A couple hundred years before Thomas, St. Anselm argued that faith is the precondition of knowledge: “I believe in order that I may understand.” (credo ut intelligam). In other words, knowledge cannot lead to faith. It might get you close, but it won’t get you there. Faith is a gift from God, and when faith is experienced, true knowledge flows. Any knowledge gained outside of faith will be incomplete and untrustworthy.

What he was saying was eloquently stated in the 4th century by another pillar of the Christian faith, St. Augustine. Augustine taught that, “faith is to believe what we do not see; and the reward of this faith is to see what we believe.” Faith first, then knowledge flows.

All of that is simply to say that God is the creator of all that exists. He is knowable—by his design. He furthermore, has set the rules for getting to know him. Although he has granted the gift of reason that man uses for amazing purposes, reason alone, or call it what you will—observation, research, knowledge, intellect—will never lead to a relationship with God. It may lead to knowing about God, but never truly knowing God. That requires faith. And faith comes only as the result of God’s initiative to reveal himself—to make himself knowable. Responding to his revelation is the faith that is required to unlock knowledge, a saving knowledge, of the Almighty.

So what does that have to do with what you are facing in your life today? Plenty! This God who has taken the initiative to reveal himself and who is discernable and knowable through the exercise of your faith, is a personal God—he wants to be involved in the daily details of your life—and a loving God—will wants to take care of you and favor you and pour out his love on you.

Perhaps you don’t see evidence of that right at this moment, but let me challenge you to believe what you don’t see, exercise faith in this loving God, and the reward will be that you will see, sooner or later, what you believe.

Prayer… Gracious Father, I believe. Help any unbelief I may have. I don’t see everything I’d like to see, but I believe. Now I pray that you would reveal yourself in my life today in tangible ways. Reveal to me your love, your care, and your favor. In the name of your Son, Jesus Christ, the revealed Word, I pray. Amen.

One More Thing… “Reason’s last step is the recognition that there are an infinite number of things that are beyond it. The heart has its reasons, which reason does not know at all.” –Blaise Pascal

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The Great Finisher

Read I Corinthians 1

He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless
on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God, who has
called you into fellowship with his Son
Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.
(I Corinthians 1:8-9)

Food For Thought… Where do you stand on eternal security? The security of the believer has been hotly debated for hundreds of years by theologians much smarter than me, so it’s not likely that I will persuade you one way or the other.

Maybe you are of the camp that believes you cannot lose your salvation—once you’re saved you’re always saved. Or it could be you have joined doctrinal sides with those who’ve found Biblical support that it is indeed possible to “backslide” and fall away from God. I grew up in a theological tradition that supported the latter. As I like to say, we believed in backsliding—and practiced it regularly.

All kidding aside, the older I get and the longer I’ve been a Christian, honestly, the less secure I am on this issue. Frankly, there are compelling arguments for both sides. I sometimes wonder if there is a third alternative that will be revealed when we get to heaven. Wouldn’t that be something!

But one thing I am increasingly secure about, and that is, if it is possible to lose your salvation—and that is a big “if”—it must be exceedingly difficult to walk away from your relationship with God and into a life of sin for the very simple fact of the truth revealed in these verses—I Corinthians 1:8-9. You see, you are not alone; your salvation is not resting on your shoulders. In fact very little of it is up to you. That is not to say that you don’t have a part to play—you do. In verse 9, Paul says it is a partnership that you were called into with Jesus Christ at the moment of your salvation. Your part is to believe, obey, love and serve God.

Even then, God is helping you to do that. According to verse 8, God is giving you the strength, and he will continue to supply the strength to fulfill your end of the partnership until the day Jesus returns and finds you blameless. Isn’t that great news? You are not alone in your spiritual journey; Someone greater than you is at your side helping you each step of the way.

He is the Great Finisher, and he is committed to finishing what he started in you. Paul says it this way in Philippians 1:6, “Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

Now here’s the deal, when God starts a good work, he always finishes it. He doesn’t have a workshop full of half finished projects. He completes them all—each and every one. And since you are one of his good works, you can be fully confident that he will complete his work in you. God will take you from the starting line to the finish line of your salvation marathon.

Jude says the same thing, “Now to him who is able to keep you from falling and present you before his throne without fault and with great joy…” (Jude 24) God is able. You may feel weak and incapable in your spiritual walk at times; you may worry if there might be a time in the future where you would walk away from God. But let me tell you this: You are not alone. Your salvation is not all up to you. God is able to keep you from falling. God is able to take you from start to finish and present you in the winner’s circle without fault (Jude 24), complete (Philippians 1:6) and blameless (I Corinthians 1:8).

You are not alone. Your salvation is not all up to you. If you can lose your salvation—if—then it must be the most difficult thing in all creation, since you will singlehandedly have to overcome the greatest force in the universe: God’s saving, sustaining, completing grace.

You are not alone. Your salvation is not all up to you. God is able! You now belong to the Great Finisher!

I hope that makes you more secure in your salvation!

Prayer… Father, how blessed I am to be the recipient of your saving, sustaining, completing grace. In your love you saved me and brought me into a lopsided partnership; a partnership where you do all the heavy lifting, and what little I have to do, even that, you help me to do. Thank you for the promise of completing in me what you began, for keeping me from falling and presenting me before your glorious throne without fault on that great and glorious day that Jesus Christ returns. Thank you that I am as secure in my salvation as secure can be. I love you, and praise you, and will joyfully serve you all the days of my life.

One More Thing… “If the Lord be with us, we have no cause of fear. His eye is upon us, his arm over us, his ear open to our prayer—his grace sufficient, his promises unchangeable.” –John Newton

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Good Grief!

“I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.” (I Corinthians 15:50)

Thoughts… I suppose I have conducted close to a hundred funerals as a pastor. I have another one today. And you have been to your fair share of them as well—or you will by the time you reach the end of your journey. Death is simply a part of life. It has been ever since the fall of Adam and Eve when sin entered the human race, and along with it, death.

And the fact of the matter is, you and I will die someday, too, because the last time I checked, the death rate was still hovering around 100%.

But I’ve got to tell you, there is an amazing difference between funerals I’ve conducted for non-believers and memorial services that I’ve led for Christians (I use “funeral” and “memorial” as a very purposeful distinction between the two). And I can sum up the difference in three words: hope, joy and peace.

Funerals don’t have much hope; unbelievers didn’t leave a lot of deep and lasting joy their loved ones that comes out at their death; people don’t leave a funeral service for a non-Christian with much peace—if any at all. I am not saying that a non-Christian didn’t leave good memories. In many cases, they did. They just didn’t leave eternal hope, joy and peace.

To be sure, in a memorial service, there is grief at the loss of a Christian loved-one who has passed on. But there is an amazing and undeniable sense of hope that pervades the atmosphere and sustains those who are grieving. It is the hope that Paul describes in I Corinthians 15 that at the death of a Christian, that dead body is transformed into an eternal, spiritual body. As the wife of the great preacher R. A. Torrey said at the death of their 12 year-old daughter, “I’m so glad Elisabeth is with the Lord, and not in that box.”

There is also a special kind of joy that just doesn’t make sense in the natural. I have often sat in amazement at such a service as songs of praise and gratitude are lifted to the God of all comfort. I’m telling you from a lot of experience, that doesn’t happen at the funeral of a non-Christian. Wailing, not worship fills the air. But at a Christian’s memorial, it is not untypical for worship and wonder to drown out the sounds of death.

And there is a peace that passes all understanding. It is the kind of peace that guards the hearts and minds of those whose lives have been touched by loss. It is peace that is a gift from God, and it makes such a loss endurable. It is the kind of peace that comes from knowing that our gracious God is in control—even in the death of a loved one—and that our God does all things well, and will bring good out of loss and glory out of grief. It is peace that the world cannot give and the world cannot take away. It is the peace of Christ that was purchased through his death and resurrection, deposited by the indwelling Holy Spirit, and will be finally and fully cashed in at our own resurrection.

Yes, there is grief at the loss of a Christian loved one—but it is a good grief. How can that be? One word: Jesus. Sin and death entered the human race because of Adam, Paul says in I Corinthians 15:45-48, but through Jesus’ death and resurrection, life by the Spirit neutralized the power of sin and the sting of death. Thanks be to God for our crucified Lord and resurrected Savior, Jesus. Through him, this Scripture is fulfilled,

“Death is swallowed up in victory.
O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?
Prayer… Thanks you God, you have given me victory power sin and victory over death through my Lord Jesus Christ.

One More Thing… “Death stung himself to death when he stung Christ.” —William Romaine