Episode 189 - "Love God and Love Others" 1 Corinthians 8:1-3

1Cor. 8:1 Now concerning food offered to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” This “knowledge” puffs up, but love builds up. 2 If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. 3 But if anyone loves God, he is known by God.

Were there ever a few Bible verses that were more confusing than this? Paul has been writing about sexual purity and dedication to the Lord, and “remaining as you are.” All of a sudden, he switches over to “food offered to idols” and something about knowledge. What is going on? To be honest with you, I had to check out what the experts had to say about this because it wasn’t immediately clear to me. It turns out that if I’d followed my often repeated advice to you to read the context, it’s not all that confusing. Here’s what is going on.

When he says, “Now concerning . . .,” he recognizes a question they asked about. Back in 1 Corinthians 7:1, Paul wrote, “Now concerning the matters about which you wrote . . .” They had written him a letter with a list of questions and concerns they had. So the switch in the topic is just Paul moving to the next question.

But, what’s up with the statement about all of us possessing knowledge? What does that have to do with food sacrificed to idols? The English transition gives us a clue. Notice the quotation marks about the statement “all of us possess knowledge.” Paul is quoting some of those at Corinth who are extolling the value of knowledge. Perhaps they were gnostics who elevated themselves above others and were imposing dietary rules on others within the church. Paul is diplomatically conceding that “all of us” have some knowledge. But notice what he says about it. He says, “This ‘knowledge’ puffs up, but love builds up.

Therein is the principle that we need to get from this passage. Love is superior to human knowledge because it actually helps others grow, but the so-called knowledge people in Corinth are claiming to have is being used to control others and not truly help them. The people who claim to have this knowledge are puffed up in their pride and self-importance. It doesn’t have any significant value from God’s perspective.

Paul adds, “If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know.” (v. 2) What does that mean? It means that the knowledge they claim to have is not from God and is not in line with God’s thoughts and divine knowledge that God alone gives.

Now we come to the next important principle of these three verses. “But if anyone loves God, he is known by God.” (v. 3) It sounds to me, that in this short passage, we have some solid principles in which to live our lives and walk a walk of faith. Our focus and priority in life should be to love God and love others instead of imagining how much smarter or wiser we are than others. When we love God, we are known by God. The One who has true knowledge knows us. Wow!

As we continue in this chapter, this principle will be more evident as Paul addresses their concern about the issue of meat sacrificed to idols.

Prayer: Lord - Help us love you. Let us be thankful that you know us.

Episode 180 - What to do about sexual immorality in the church - 1 Corinthians 5:1-5

1 Cor.5:1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father’s wife. 2 And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you.

1Cor. 5:3 For though absent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing. 4 When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, 5 you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.

I would recommend reading 1 Corinthians 5:1-13 this week to better understand what is going on and what Paul is and is not saying. To begin with, he says there is “sexual immorality” among the believers at Corinth. Scripture like this is not well received in a culture like ours today, where sex and sexuality are marketed. It’s treated like a commodity. The primary marketing slogan of a dentistry chain is “We make sexy teeth.” Really? Pornography is a huge market in western society, and smut romance books are right there with it. People want to do what they want to do. They want their “rights” to live, think, and act any way they want. But, sexual immorality and idolatry are two big “hot points” with the early Christian leaders for new Christians. (See Acts 15:29)

Paul doesn’t just tell them there’s immorality among them. He says what is happening is that it is the kind “not tolerated even among pagans.” Wow! Can you hear the incredulity in his voice? “Someone among these believers is living and acting worse than the unbelievers. Then he calls it out, “a man has his father’s wife.” Wow! But Paul isn’t finished calling out the sin in their camp. Not only is this man in a relationship that he should not be as a Christian, but the church also isn’t doing anything about it. They are arrogant. Their arrogant pride has not only created divisions among them but has also calloused them against correcting their “brother” in Christ. Paul asks them rhetorically, “Ought you not rather to mourn?” The obvious answer is yes. They should be grieved that one of their own is living in a manner that is in contrast with Scripture, but even against the moral code of society.

So, what should they do? Paul says that he should be removed from the fellowship of the church. Now, this may seem at first a bit harsh. But I don’t think Paul is recommending an action contrary to Jesus’ teaching. In Matthew 18:15-17 Jesus taught, “If a brother sins, talk to him about it. Hopefully, he’ll listen. If he doesn’t, take one or two others and try to make sure that everyone is clear on the facts, and he’ll repent. If he still doesn’t, take it to the church, and if the brother won’t listen to the whole church, he is acting like an outsider to the church and should be treated as such. He shouldn’t participate in the benefits of church fellowship when he is making a mockery of it through his decisions.” (My paraphrase) This is not mean or vindictive. It’s seeking to correct the brother and create a harmonious fellowship and collective testimony within the church that should stand out as something different and hopefully attractive to those who are oppressed by the culture around them.

This man has not failed. He is failing and choosing to continue with his lifestyle choice. Paul’s instruction to the Corinthians is not “forget what Jesus said.” It is “If this person is insistent upon sleeping with his father’s wife, he is mocking God and the church and should not participate in church.” Why? Because if they ignore what he’s doing, they, as a group, are condoning his lifestyle choice that is in opposition to God’s specific will.

Are you ready for the next hard part? Paul instructs them that when they all meet together, they must act as though he is there with them. I think what he advises is what we might consider today as a “vote by proxy.” They are to confront this person and probably say, “Paul has said . . . and we concur that if you do not stop this relationship, you cannot be a part of our fellowship.” Paul says they are to “deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh.” What?! Does Paul wish this man go to Hell? No. Quite the opposite. Paul believes that this man who defiantly rebels against God, as does Satan, will experience the consequences of that and come to his senses. That’s the explanation he follows with, “so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.”

If someone wants to become a citizen of our country, they must pledge an oath to our country and obey its laws. People who don’t want to do that can still live and work here under certain conditions. We don’t hunt them down and throw them in prison for not wanting to be a citizen of our country. But it is reasonable that they are not allowed the privileges afforded to those who are loyal citizens. How much more true would this be in God’s kingdom where, we believe, the Law Giver is perfect in every way?

Paul’s instruction to confront and, ideally, correct this man is consistent with Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 18. Christian discipline is always intended to correct the actions and restore that person to good standing within the community of faith. Many churches have gained a reputation for “shooting their wounded.” That should not happen. On the other hand, the church must not compromise on the holiness of God and strive to be an example of that. We will look at this more in the next episode as we work through verse 13 next week.

Prayer: Lord - Help us to live in a way that is honoring to you. Help us mourn the sin of our family in Christ and lovingly strive to correct and restore them in our fellowship.

Episode 177 - "Don't deceive yourself" - 1 Corinthians 3:18-23

18 Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their craftiness,” 20 and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.” 21 So let no one boast in men. For all things are yours, 22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, 23 and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.

I hope that by now, we are getting the picture that Paul doesn’t rapidly shift subjects only to return to a previous one as quickly as he left it. By now, we should understand that up to this point, a priority in Paul’s instruction to the believers at Corinth is for them to abandon their egos and pride and strive for unity with other believers.

Verse 18 does not lead us to a different subject. Paul gives a very specific command: “Let no one deceive himself.” That sounds like good advice. How is it that we deceive ourselves? Paul’s answer is by letting our pride think we are wise in comparison to the people around us. This comes when we get consumed by trying to impress others and being impressed with ourselves. It’s a subtle way of fracturing unity within a group of people by setting ourselves on a different level in our own minds. When we do this, it causes us to not only think of ourselves as more important but it also causes us to think of others as less important.

As Paul explains, wisdom according to the world’s standards is incongruous with God’s wisdom. People equate education, fame, power/authority, financial status, race, ethnicity, and who knows what other criteria as evidence of or justification for thinking of themselves or others as wiser people. In our own North American culture, for example, many will listen to the opinions of musicians, actors, or other famous people and take whatever they say as absolute truth even though there is no particular evidence they really know what they’re talking about. They just accept that status assigned to them by their following. Quite frankly, this is a fear I have as a pastor. Because I’m the one standing in the pulpit reading and explaining God’s word, people will listen and accept what I have to say. Occasionally, I remind people that an interpretation I’m sharing is just that, an interpretation. It doesn’t mean that it’s the right or best interpretation. I encourage them to search the Scriptures to assess whether they think that interpretation is consistent with God’s word. I encourage them to ask other Christian leaders to ensure my interpretation is not novel and has merit with other respected Christian leaders. The same principle applies to this blog and podcast.

Paul says that according to God, the wisdom of this world is “folly.” It’s foolish compared to God’s wisdom. We need to stop trying to make something of ourselves according to the world’s standards. That doesn’t mean we should not pursue education and learning. It means that we should not let the status that comes with our accomplishments go to our heads. Nothing “gets past” God. Seeking and following the wisdom of this world comes to nothing in the end. The old saying, “You can fool all the people some of the time and some of the people all the time, but you can’t fool all the people all the time,” might best be changed to conclude with “You can fool God at no time.”

Verse 21 begins with “So . . .” Paul is about to explain something. The explanation begins with a command, “Let no one boast in men.” He follows that with the reasoning why they shouldn’t or, rather, why it’s pointless to “boast in men.” The explanation is stated at the end of verse 21 and repeated for emphasis at the end of verse 22. He says, “all things are yours.” What does that mean? He says, “whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death of the present or the future.” (v. 22) His point is that all these things in this life, whether it be people or the universal experience of life, death, and what happens during our life, do not elevate or degrade us with respect to each other. The fact that someone received Paul’s teaching and another more of Apollo's teaching provides no merit that elevates one person over another. Putting it in terms of our own culture, a person who attends an Ivy League school is no better than a person who attends a junior college. They are both going to live and die.

Then he says, “and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.” (v. 23) This really puts things in perspective. This tells us two important things. The first is that no one has reason to boast because everything ultimately belongs to God. The second, for believers, is that belonging to Christ and God is what truly gives us identity and value. We are possessed and valued by God.

Prayer: Father in Heaven - Help us not to find our value through the estimation of people around us. Help us not think, speak, or act in a way to demean others in order to elevate our self-worth. Remind us that we are a valued possession of God.

Episode 175 - "Motives in Ministry" - 1 Corinthians 3:10-15

1Cor. 3:10 According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. 11 For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— 13 each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. 14 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

Paul had previously used an agricultural illustration and described himself and Apollos as fellow laborers in a field. His point is that each person has a role and responsibility given by God. No one is more important than another. This work is important. But the results are produced exclusively by God. Paul wants the Corinthian believers to view themselves in the same way, with each person doing what they can for the ministry and not thinking and acting as though anyone is more or less important. How do we know that? First of all, in the preceding verses, he accused them of having “jealousy and strife” among them. (v. 3)

If we return to verse nine, he switches imagery from an agricultural illustration to a construction illustration. He says, “You are God’s field. You are God’s building.” He adds in verse 10, “According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation . . . “ (v. 10a) Paul is not bragging here. Notice that God gets the credit again. Paul understood the value of his ministry to them. It’s like he’s saying, “I sought to not only do what the Lord wanted me to do, but how the Lord wanted it done.”

Now he adds, “Let each one take care how he builds upon it.” Who is he talking about? He talking about them. He’s telling them that “jealousy and strife” cannot exist in this building where the foundation is Jesus Christ. They cannot minister from their egos and fight with each other. Indirectly, it speaks to us as well, doesn’t it? We need to “take care” of how we build upon the foundation of Christ.

Those who serve to minister to others need to take this work seriously. They first need to know that they aren’t building their own building. These believers at Corinth and we today are building upon the same foundation laid by Paul and the apostles. That foundation is Jesus Christ. (v. 11)

The second thing is the quality of the materials in this building. If we were building an actual physical building, we would want it to be strong and beautiful. We wouldn’t want something trashy and flimsy. Why should we want the “building” of the spiritual church to be any different? Jesus Christ must be foundational to who we are and what we are about. If we are trying to build our own “building,” it will not last. If we bring our egos into our ministry and fight with each other all the time, it’s like poor building materials.

Paul says, “Each one’s work will become manifest” (v. 13a) People who build physical buildings today can often hide poor workmanship and cheap materials and it never becomes noticed. But Paul says that is not true of our service in the church. It will be revealed. How?

Paul explains that “the Day will disclose it . . .” (v. 13b) What is that? Paul speaks of a coming “Day” often referred to in the Old and New Testaments as the “Day of the Lord.” This is a time of judgment by God. An additional passage about this day I find particularly helpful is 2 Peter 3:10, “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.” This is a future prophetic day at the end of time as we know it. Notice how similar Peter’s description of it reflects how Paul describes it in the rest of verse 13 through verse 15. This judgment is like a fire that destroys the less valuable and weak things. Most people have seen how quickly things like straw and wood go up in smoke. In the spiritual sense, works done from our egos and sense of self-importance are the most “combustable” and will be destroyed.

A final thing to notice from verse 15 regarding this Day is that while those things we did out of selfish motives will be destroyed, the believer is saved from that destruction. The thought of such a day is somewhat awesome. But the point of it is not for God to destroy us but to purify us by removing those things that were done from our flesh and not from the Spirit whom the Lord has given us. As I reflect on this whole concept, I find that it makes me think about how often my ego wants to take control or get credit for something I’m doing. Perhaps I just want my way in a particular service. I need to “take care” and bring this all to Jesus. At the same time, I find this encouraging because this day of the Lord is not about God punishing me. It’s about God purifying me. It’s God making us fit for eternity with him.

How do we apply this? We must keep our minds focused on Christ and pray the Holy Spirit will cause us to consider why we are doing something. Are we seeking to garner praise, popularity, or power for ourselves, or are we building on the foundation of Christ?

Prayer: Heavenly Father - May your Spirit lead us to think of Christ and serve others as you would intend and equip us as you did Paul, Apollos, and others.

Episode 161 - Your life is like a vapor - James 4:13-17

James 4:13   Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

In our last episode, James called out brothers in the church who judged others. Essentially, they were putting themselves in place of God, James argued. What is at the root of that attitude? Pride. 

One might think that James is moving to a different issue in verse 13. He is no longer talking about judging others. Yet, you don’t have to read much further to discover that he’s still addressing the issue of pride. It’s just expressed in a different way.

James' hypothetical statement apparently reflects an attitude among some of the believers to whom he’s writing whose pride leads them to think they are on top of life, that they are the master of their own lives and nothing can stop them. James deftly exposes the reality that we are finite, mortal creatures. The first “silver bullet” in this errant and arrogant attitude is “you do not know what tomorrow brings.” (14a) None of us are omniscient. We should not act like we have absolute knowledge or control over what happens in our life when it’s clear that we don’t. 

James follows that with a rhetorical question that he answers. “What is your life?” This is an important question for us today. If we have the attitude that we can make plans to increase our own sense of security or success, it reveals an unrealistic expectation that we are going to be around indefinitely as the “king of the hill.” It’s a little more subtle than playing judge to those around us. But, fundamentally, we’re still acting like we’re our own god through this kind of thinking. Jesus addressed a similar kind of attitude by telling people not to be anxious about their earthly needs. “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these (earthly) things will be added to you.” (Matt. 6:25-33)

James' answer to his question is, “For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.” (14b) Compared to eternity, this earthly life is like a vapor that quickly disappears. All of our efforts to serve ourselves and our pride are pointless and with no eternal value. 

James’ antidote to this arrogant attitude is not to simply be passive and allow whatever might happen to happen. Rather, make plans for intentional activity but submit to God’s direction and authority over the turns our life may take that are outside of our control. James says of their attitudes that they are boasting, which reveals their arrogance. “All such boasting is evil,” James asserts. (16b)

This section and chapter conclude with James’ statement, “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.” (v. 17)

Let’s consider this for a moment. Someone might ask, “How do I know what is the right thing to do?” How do you think James would answer that question? I think he would answer, “Ask God for wisdom. He will give it to you.” It’s important to realize that the God of the Bible is not some supernatural force with a “dark side” that seeks to deceive us and lead us astray. Our God has revealed his character within the Scriptures and, most clearly, through the Incarnation of his Son Jesus. He has also given us the Holy Spirit to guide us in truth and wisdom. 

Prayer: Heavenly Father, lead us in wisdom and humility that in this short life you’ve given us, we may seek what is of your eternal kingdom that is to come. Thank you for providing everything I need today.

Episode 148 - "Be quick to hear! Be slow to speak and become angry!" James 1:19-21

James 1:19   Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; 20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. 21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. (ESV)

I sure hope this study is encouraging or otherwise helpful to you. In the nearly three years I’ve been writing this blog and podcast, it has been my desire to share with you what I’m learning and getting out of the Scriptures. Making an effort to produce this once a week is a means to keep me accountable for working through a short passage and discovering or awakening a perspective that I’ve forgotten or let wane. James has a way of being direct and mincing no words. This section of his letter is no exception and I must confess that I need to embody the truth of this more than ever. Let’s break this down and meditate upon it for a little while.

First, we have what I understand is an imperative. He says, “Know (this)!” It is his way of getting our attention and implying, “I’m telling you something important for you to understand and value so that you will do it.” He qualifies his audience as “My beloved brothers” (v. 19) What he wants them to know is out of his love for these believers. It’s not a warning to his enemies or unbelievers but a passionate imploring for the spiritual benefit of other believers. Let’s accept that this applies to us as well.

The imperative has three elements. The first is “be quick to hear.” What does that mean? I suspect it means what we call active listening. It seems to me that it suggests that we turn our focus from off ourselves and toward others. In the age of social media that we’re in today, everybody has a soapbox. People have opportunities to share their mind and their opinions. But that’s not being quick to hear. That is being quick to speak. James is telling us that we need to be the opposite. 

While the immediate context seems to indicate that “being quick to hear” is speaking of our willingness and effort to listen to others, I cannot help but consider that the “speaker” in the preceding verse 18 is none other than God. James says, “Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth.” (v. 18) Perhaps James wants us to consider that we also need to be listening to God’s word of truth in order for it to accomplish what God wills for our lives.

While we are to be quick to hear, the other two elements are something in which we should be slow. We should be slow to speak and slow to anger. How interesting it is that nearly 2000 years later, we know exactly why these are paired together. If we don’t like what we hear, perhaps we aren’t actively listening and seeking to understand the perspective of the speaker. If we take offense to it and become angry, what are we inclined to do? We quickly offer our retort or argument. Being quick to anger and being quick to speak often go hand-in-hand. 

Verse 20 is what I suspect is James’ chief concern in this instruction. It is God’s righteousness being displayed through our actions of humility by being quick to hear but slow to speak and slow to anger. I don’t think about that enough. Too often, it’s easy to listen and carefully speak when the conversation is going agreeably. But what if it’s not? What if the message or the tone of the message was offensive to me? It is very easy to become angry and speak back quickly. James says that’s not demonstrating God’s righteousness, and that’s what we should really be about as Christians.

Verse 21 begins with “Therefore.” At seminary, we are taught that whenever we see the word “therefore,” we should go back and read the preceding text to see what it’s there for. In other words, James is about to continue giving more imperatives on how these believers should live and the reasoning or justification for doing this is in light of what he said earlier. 

James tells them to “put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness.” (v. 21) Why? Because God wants us to reflect or manifest His righteousness through our actions. It seems to me that James is suggesting that if our pride manifests a lack of self-control regarding our tongue, then it’s likely that we have little self-control over other areas in our life. Our priority is to take inventory of what in our life is counter to God’s righteousness and seek the Lord to help us turn from those things.

How can we do that? I think James points us in the right direction when he says, “receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.” (v. 21) The instruction to “receive with meekness” speaks of humility which is the antithesis of pride. To do this, we must be quick to hear and slow to speak. What are we to receive? “The implanted word.” What is that? At the very least, it is the message about Jesus and the cross. That is a message of the Son of God humbling himself to enter into the world of his own creation as a human without sin and laying down his life for the sin of others. Is there any greater manifestation of humility in the history of the world? Nothing comes close to it. Through God’s eternal plan, He chose to do this and hand it to us. The idea of God implanting this word speaks of the extent God goes to in order to make this truth and this hope available to humanity. Here he instructs us to “receive it.” His humility was a significant component in this act. Our humility is required to receive this implanted word. We cannot think of ourselves as being “good enough” on our own. We cannot think of ourselves as being “too bad for God to forgive.” Both of those concepts demonstrate a form of pride. One says, “I’m good enough. I don’t need Jesus to die for me.” The other says, “God isn’t really that loving or that powerful to forgive what I’ve done.” 

James says, that implanted word is “able to save your souls.” That begins with our conversion and salvation, but also speaks of how God’s word working in our life delivers us from troubles that pride and sin lead us into.

Let’s boil this all down into a prayer for this week.

Heavenly Father - Make your implanted word confront the pride in my life. Allow your will and your word to produce your righteousness in my life so that others will see Jesus and not me.