HoHum:
A young Christian enlisted in the Army just after graduation from high school. His friends from church were concerned about his faithfulness to the Lord amidst all the military pressures. When the young soldier came home on leave from boot camp, his friends asked him, “Did the others ridicule you for being a Christian?” “Oh, no! That was never a problem,” was his answer. “They never even knew that I was a Christian.”
Do people around us know that we are a follower of Jesus Christ? It is easy in this culture to blend in with the crowd. No need to be obnoxious but if we are a follower of Jesus our faith should shine through and be obvious to others.
WBTU:
The apostle Paul hated to brag, but in the case of the Corinthians he felt like it was necessary. In Corinth, his credibility was undermined by false teachers who claimed to be superior to him. Paul felt like he had to establish his credibility. He felt uncomfortable talking about himself this way. It sounded like selfish ambition. He reluctantly did so- not to exalt himself, but to save the weak Corinthian Christians from being led into false teaching. Paul talks about them as servants of Satan in vs. 13-15. Paul wanted to save them so he begins in Vs. 16-19- read
Beginning here we see 3 credentials of a committed Christian. Last time looked at signs of carnal (unholy) Christians that we should avoid. Here are things for which we should aspire. Good to talk about things to avoid but what ideals to replace the bad. Stop doing this and that, but what are we to do? Christians, we should see these things increasing in our lives.
Thesis: 3 credentials of a committed Christian
For instances:
1. Integrity in relationships with people. Vs. 20-21
Read vs. 20- They enslave you. Take them captive by their selfish ambitions or dogmatic doctrines. Shallow people are inclined to follow somebody who is dogmatic. They are vulnerable to being enslaved by rules. This is the reason cults are so powerful. Believe this, do this, don’t do this, be more strict than everyone else because this is the only way to salvation.
Paul said they take advantage of people. The word here pictures a fish being caught on a hook. They bait the hook and it looks appealing. They promise prosperity, freedom and harmony but they are just being opportunistic. They want to hook us and destroy us. Why do some people give hundreds of dollars to an astrologer to predict their future, dictate their choices of behavior?
Pushes himself forward- Just want to promote their egos. Long to have followers and popularity
Slap you in the face- In the 1st century some teachers would slap their students to show their superiority and to keep the students under subjection. These “super” apostles were publicly embarrassing some of the Christians by hitting them or insulting them. See this in some cults
There are some “Christian” groups today who go to such extremes about the authority of the elder/ shepherd that they cannot do anything without the permission of their shepherd. They won’t move, change jobs, or even paint their homes without getting their decision approved by their shepherd. To be baptized must meet approval of shepherd- one such shepherd refused to approve a baptism until the shepherd’s whole house was cleaned by the family. I don’t think so...
One of Paul’s credentials as an apostle was that he had not manipulated his followers. Vs. 21- To my shame I admit that we were too weak for that! Paul did not take advantage or exploit them. A Credential of a committed Christian is to be a person of integrity, an integrity that is obvious to the world. We see the loss of values in the military, in government, in athletics, and even in the church. The motto seems to be, “Do unto others before they do it unto you.” People think that we have to lie, cheat, and steal to get ahead in this world. Wayne Smith told about a man who was applying for special insurance, and the insurance agent asked him. “How old is your mother?” He said, “She’s dead.” “How old was she when she died?” “She was 41.” What did she die of? Tuberculosis. How old is your father? He’s dead. How old was he when he died? 43. What did he die of? Heart attack The agent tore up the form and said, “You’re a terrible risk! There’s no way you can get this special insurance; your family medical history is horrible.”
So the man went to another agent, and the agent asked the same questions: How old is your father? He’s dead. How old was he when he died? 94. What did he die of? He fell off a horse, playing polo. Ok, how old is your mother? She’s dead. How old was she when she died? 91. What did she die of? Childbirth. Need to twist the truth to get ahead- tell the truth and do not exploit or take advantage of others.
2. Painful sacrifices: Vs. 22-27
Read vs. 22. The false teachers had evidently claimed to be superior to Paul in status. “If we are talking about a holy pedigree, I can stand up to any of them” Paul said. In another letter Paul said that he was “circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee;” Philippians 3:5. Education- Paul had been trained in Jerusalem, where he studied under Gamaliel, one of the most outstanding Jewish leaders of the day (Acts 22:3) and was “advancing in Judaism beyond many Jews of my own age and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers.” Galatians 1:14. These teachers who opposed Paul had nothing on him when it came to ancestry and education.
Next Paul flips the script and instead of giving his resume he talks about his resolve. When it came to really proving his credentials as a servant of Christ, Paul didn’t talk about his status, he talked about his scars. He listed all the sacrifices he made for Christ. Read vs. 23-27
One of the credentials of a committed Christian should be sacrifice. There ought to be scars. Paul’s experience is so foreign to us. So often we give things that cost us so little, the leftovers.
Many years ago a newspaper carried this one sentence filler. It was entitled “No Sacrifice Too Great”: Richmond Virginia- “Thomas Nelson, signer of the Declaration of Independence, ordered the state militia to bombard his own house because it was believed to be the headquarters of Lord Cornwallis, the British general.” During the Revolutionary War, a patriot ordered his own house destroyed- at a time when there was no insurance. He did that to advance the revolutionary cause. Today, we live in a free country because people sacrificed their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. Most of us sacrifice so little but we enjoy so many blessings
A missionary was raising money for a new church building. Some supporters of the mission came from the United States. The missionary took them to see some of the Christians in that area. Found a father and his 2 sons out in the fields with a plow. 2 sons in the yoke pulling the plow while the father was guiding it. Ones from the US asked what happened to their mules. They said, “We sold the mules and gave the money for the building of the church.” Sacrifice!
3. Concern for the church Vs. 28-29
There is a pressure when involved in ministry. When Christian people fail, when they fall short, church leaders feel responsible. We think, “If we had gotten them involved in Sunday school, or just taught them better, or done this or that, they wouldn’t have done that.” Was there something more we could have done? Paul felt pressure in his ministry because he was responsible not for just one church but for the many he had established. Many of those churches faced persecution and problems unlike any we have today. Paul loved the people in those churches. He agonized over their faithfulness. That’s why he said- read vs. 29. As we mature in Christ, we ought to have a deepening love for the church. Whatever happened to “his children” touched his heart and he had a holy jealousy for them to continue loving Christ. “I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him.” 2 Corinthians 11:2, NIV. One of the credentials of a mature, committed Christian is an unapologetic love for the church. Let me suggest 5 practical ways we can express our love for the church.
1) Attend the services regularly. “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Hebrews 10:25, NIV.
2) Minister to hurting people sympathetically- “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it” 1 Corinthians 12:26, NIV.
3) Esteem the church leaders highly. “Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other.” 1 Thessalonians 5:12, 13
4) Live up to the church’s principles consistently. “As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”” Romans 2:24, NIV.
5) Speak positively about it. The church is the bride of Christ. If we love the groom (Jesus), we will look for positive things to say about the bride (the church). Bob Russell tells a story about how years ago, when there were multiple party telephone lines, a preacher picked up the telephone to make a call but couldn’t get a dial tone. However, he could hear people talking in a normal conversation in their home. He recognized the 2 voices as faithful members of the church. They started talking about the church and then they started talking about the preacher. The preacher used this as an illustration a few Sunday later. He said, “I picked up the phone and I heard 2 church members on the other end talking about the church, and they were talking about me.” A hush came over the congregation like we wouldn’t believe! Then he said, “It was Chuck and JoAnn Peterman, and they were talking positively,” and the whole congregation breathed a sigh of relief!
If we bugged your home and taped your conversations about the church, would your speech given evidence of your love for the bride of Christ, or would it reveal ridicule and betrayal? If somehow a stranger were listening to the conversation around your dining room table, would it be obvious to that person that you were a Christian? “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”” John 13:35, NIV.
