INTRODUCTION
• SLIDE #1
• Here we are again, today we are going to examine another one of the great complaints we find in the pages of the Bible.
• I have always been intrigued by those who for various reasons, feel they are not good enough to be I a church.
• I mean when you read the book of 1 Corinthians, which Pau; wrote to the Corinthian church, I believe one would no longer be able to feel that way.
• SLIDE #2 MAP CIRCLE=CORINTH: Diamond=Israel
• The church was expanding quickly and with the rapid growth came some huge problems.
• 1 Corinthians was written to the church at Corinth and the letter was apparently the second letter written to the church. We do not have the actual first one.
• Anyway, for folks to think that everyone is perfect in church, they will be shocked by what they read in 1 Corinthians.
• In the first 6 chapters, Paul deals with all the problems within the church. And the church was FULL of them!
• In the first for chapters, Paul addresses the issues of division and factions within the church.
• In Chapter 5, the issue of gross immorality within the church was addressed.
• In the first part of chapter 6 we see Paul deal with the issue of litigation between members in pagan courts.
• The last half of chapter 6 deals with more issues concerning sexual immorality (INAPPROPRIATE PHYSICAL BEHAVIOR).
• Given all that Paul would deal with in this letter, the theme is simple.: All believers belong to the Lord (1 Corinthians 1:2).
• So today we are going to examine the great complaint which is, you are not a part of my clique.
• What I want to do is take what they were dealing with and move it into what we deal with and what we need to guard against.
• The root problem from the letter is that people were losing sight of what was important, the unity we are to have in Christ. The people started to become the ME Church and were focusing on everything but what was important.
• So today, we will be in 2 Corinthians 1:10-17, let’s begin with verse 10
• SLIDE #3
• 1 Corinthians 1:10 (HCSB) Now I urge you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree in what you say, that there be no divisions among you, and that you be united with the same understanding and the same conviction.
• SLIDE #4
SERMON
I. The plea. (V10)
• I love verse 10 because there is so much to it.
• The verse begins with NOW, which tells us that Paul is transitioning from all the reasons as to why he is thankful, to heading to the land of reprimand.
• It is the Brightside, then dark side tactic.
• Paul does not drop the proverbial hammer on them in the sense of getting ugly with them, he chooses to use the word URGE along with brothers and sisters.
• This tactic shows he has the apostolic authority to address the issues with them, but that he is doing it from a heart of love, wanting them all to reach the heights of their potential in Christ.
• The main goal he is asking the Corinthian Church to strive for is UNITY, a unity based on who they belong to.
• This is an outright appeal to them to seek to be united under Jesus!
• They were baptized into no other name but Jesus, the Lord was the Lord of them all. In Him all were equal, there was no rivalry in Christ!
• They were not to let no other name surpass that of Jesus!
• The subject of unity is what the first four chapters of the book deal with.
• The encouragement is to agree in what they say versus allowing a spirit of dissension to build.
• They were to open doors versus building walls of separation between themselves.
• In verse 12 we see that the folks were building walls of separation based on who baptized them.
• The word agree does not mean they all thought like robots, but rather it implies they were to have the same sentiments on the subjects which divide them.
• SLIDE #5
• Philippians 2:2 (HCSB) fulfill my joy by thinking the same way, having the same love, sharing the same feelings, focusing on one goal.
• This is not about not having the freedom to think, it is about making sure that we are all heading in the same direction, that we are all putting our focus on Christ!
• The word AGREE was a word used of warring parties who reached a consensus and were working together and no longer at war.
• We are told there is to be no division among us. The word DIVISION is the word we get schism from.
• It was used in Matthew 9:16 to speak of a tear in a garment, how when the garment is torn part of it pulls away, and when that happens, the garment is damaged.
• When we allow division in the church, it is never a clean tear, it always leaves damage.
• Then Paul moves to encouraging us to have the same understanding and same conviction.
• That understanding and conviction has to be built on the truth of God’s word, and on the centrality of Christ.
• When we add or subtract from the teaching of the Bible, we encourage division and strife.
• So, the goal is to not let anything get in the way of the unity of the body. Everything else has to be secondary to unity.
• But now we get to our next observation.
• SLIDE #6
• 1 Corinthians 1:11–16 (HCSB) — 11 For it has been reported to me about you, my brothers, by members of Chloe’s household, that there is rivalry among you. 12 What I am saying is this: Each of you says, “I’m with Paul,” or “I’m with Apollos,” or “I’m with Cephas,” or “I’m with Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was it Paul who was crucified for you? Or were you baptized in Paul’s name? 14 I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so that no one can say you were baptized in my name. 16 I did, in fact, baptize the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t know if I baptized anyone else.
• SLIDE #7
II. The problem. (V11-16)
• We now see the problem Paul addresses the church was dividing into factions based on who was baptized by who.
• There appears to be four teams, or three depending on what one does with Team Christ.
• Before Paul digs into the problem, he wants everyone to know he KNOWS what is going on, and he reveals who gave him the information, not to get anyone in trouble, but rather to allow the focus to be on the issue at hand instead of WHO TOLD HIM.
• Ever been in a situation where someone outed you, and you got confronted and all you could think about is who ratted you out?
• When you walked away, instead of thinking about what you did, your entire focus is on who told on you.
• Paul fixes that up front, now he can get the folks to focus on the problem.
• Paul uses the PHRASE, IT HAS BEEN REPORTED to indicate he is not working tom rumor or speculation, but rather, he is dealing with first hand truth.
• Things were a mess and when church unity is messed up it is a bad witness to those in the area.
• Now today we probably are not getting into I was baptized by Jerry or I was baptized by Jeff, but we still can fall into the trap of spreading the seeds is discord.
• The church is full of opportunities for disunity to happen.
• I have heard it happen on church staffs when one staff member, usually a senior minister, with self-confidence issues, subtly takes swipes at other ministry staff whom he perceives is doing a better job than himself.
• I have seen people who want to turn the church into the ME Church and they will destroy anyone who is in their path.
• We had some potential for disunity when we switched from pews to chairs, and when we remodeled.
• I know some were not thrilled with the change, but they loved Jesus enough not to try to make those items areas of division in the church.
• We can subtly start down the path of disunity when we want something done our way and then we start gathering and recruiting forces to be on OUR side.
• I have seen this way too many times.
• Don’t try this, but it is truth, when you see a couple of friends having a good time, go into the mix and start complaining about something and being negative. Even with a smile on your face, you will find the group will start to get negative.
• When the group disperses, instead of being happy and joyful, they are upset and feel cheated in some way.
• Christians can be the worst at this when they want something changed in the church.
• Instead of first getting involved in the area the thing change is needed, they snipe for a distance and bring others into their fold.
• Listen, I am NOT against looking at change, I have made tons of changes in the 10 years plus I have been at FCC.
• But the way to positively incorporate change, is to get involved, see how things REALLY work behind the curtain, then offer ways to improve it.
• Sometimes what you think will work, will not, sometimes what you think needs to change the majority does not.
• The Church is the body of Christ, and we do not want to do anything that will bring division.
• When I was coaching ASA Softball, I would give a speech to the parents telling them instead of griping to the other parents about their kid’s playing time, position, or spot in the batting order, come talk to the coaches, because we make the decisions, no one in the stands does.
• Do you get what I am saying?
• For us this is not about who baptizes who, it is about what we see in verse 17.
• SLIDE #8
• 1 Corinthians 1:17 (HCSB) For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to evangelize—not with clever words, so that the cross of Christ will not be emptied of its effect.
• SLIDE #9
III. The priority. (V17)
• Paul is not discounting the importance of baptism, but rather who does it. The priority of each one of us should be the message of Jesus!
• He implies that the simplicity of Paul’s message is meant for his wisdom to not get in the way of the pure message of the gospel.
• The priority is Jesus. The priority of the church is not programs, or staff, or even buildings, it is Jesus.
• Sometimes before deciding to get upset because something is not the way we want it, we have to ask if the issues is important enough to stir disunity.
• If it is an issue what affects reaching people for Jesus and helping them to grow, then we need to deal with it.
• Think about this corning something as simple as the temperature in here. What do you do when some say it is too warm, some say it is too cold, and some say it is just right?
• Or if the music it too loud, not loud enough, or, just right?
• Sometimes you set the thermostat and you go with it.
• What I am trying to get across to all Christians is that what is most important is Jesus, not the color of the carpet or a song we sing or WHO baptizes us.
• All that we do has to come from the standpoint of putting Jesus and the Word first.
• Sometimes there will be things we are not thrilled about.
• Honestly, I go back and forth over greeting time, I love it but I know there are some who are not comfortable with it; however, so many others seem to like it that I have opted not to mess with it.
• Those who do not enjoy it kind of stay out of the movement, and I appreciate that no one makes an issue of it.
CONCLUSION
• We can get easily lost in the, I do not cause issues over who baptized me, and honestly, it seems like a silly thing to get upset about and to build walls over.
• I would imagine the folks in the Corinthian Church would think some of the things we tend to build up walls over is silly also.
• I PRAY that we all, myself included, keep Christ the priority.
• WE all serve the same Lord and were baptized in the name of Jesus.
• I am thankful for the wonderful folks God has blessed us with at FCC.
• I pray we always keep Jesus first!
