Friendship Evangelism Series

GOING PUBLIC

“Friendship Evangelism”

1st Corinthians 3:1-10

In our text, today, Paul is addressing the church in Corinth. This is a church that Paul started around AD 50. This letter appears to have been written about 5 years later. So this is a very young church, full of men and women who are very young in the faith. They were simple people. They didn’t come from a background of wealth or royalty. There were all kinds of people in Corinth and all kinds of people in this church. They had very little understanding of Christianity. In addition, there were basically two groups of people in the city---the rich and the poor. There was no middle class. And these two classes had little to do with each other. On top of all of this there were all kinds of “spiritual” problems:

• They abused the Lord’s Supper. There were those who came early for church and drank all the wine.

• They would constantly take each other to court … suing one another over various matters.

• There was a great deal of sexual abuse taking place. Adultery and prostitution.

So, Paul writes to call them to a higher standard. And to call us to a higher standard as well. There should be a difference in how we live and how the world lives. And Paul tells us this in a very strong manner by saying: “I had to talk to you as though you belonged to this world—as though you were spiritual infants. I had to feed you with milk: couldn’t give you solid food. Why? “Because you were not ready for anything stronger. And (guess what?) You still aren’t!” Because you are still controlled by your sin nature. And this is what he gives as an example.

v. 4. “Some of you say you are a follower of Paul; others say you’re a follower of Apollos. We pick up there at verse 5ff. So how does all of this speak to us today? In 2002 I am challenging you to go public with your faith. My challenge goes against what this pandemic tells us to do right now. Because the pandemic tells us to stay at home. Inside. Keep our distance. Stay out of public places. But listen, God’s word does not give believers a hall pass during Covid. (Hall pass). God’s word doesn’t tell us, in case of a pandemic, stop sharing your faith. In case of a pandemic, set your faith aside. God has not decided to put His work on hold. This is a difficult time, but not a time to quit.

Now in all of this, there is a process here that Paul gives to us---and this process gives us some comfort---some relief. Here are some things we need to understand.

Like Paul and like Apollos, we are only servants. We are diakonoi.

How is that word translated? We are all deacons, ministers, servants. This is a term used in the early church to describe those who served. This term was also used to describe Jesus. And Paul uses it here to describe our role in sharing the gospel. Like Paul, we are servants. Paul then says, now God has given all of us at least one task/job/purpose. Some plant; some water. God makes it all grow. Which brings us to our next question.

Which one is most important?

We will all be rewarded for our labor.

Here is how Paul answers this question. We will all be rewarded for our labor. And we can only assume that we will all be rewarded in the same way. Paul seems to imply that a crown will be given to those who help bring others to Christ. The OT says that He who wins soul is wise. The question that comes to me, is who is the actual soul winner? Is it the one who plants the seed, is it the one who waters or is it the one who is with them when they make the decision? And which one is the most important? If we think of this process as something like planting/farming; perhaps like planting an apple tree, we realize that all of the steps matter. For instance, to grow an apple tree, what matters the most?

• The one who puts the seed into the ground

• The one who waters the seed

• The one who prunes the tree when it starts to grow?

• The one who is there when the first apple appears?

Which matters the most? The answer is obvious; one does not matter more; they are all necessary. So who is more important? The one who shares his faith at the beginning, the one who encourages along the way or the one who is there when someone actually makes a decision to follow Christ? They are all necessary and one step cannot take place without the other.