INTRO:
Enjoyed watching “The Polar Express” DVD last December. Our kids are at the age where there is bit of doubt about the reality of Santa Claus. But after watching the movie – they were true believers once again! It just HAD to be real!
But we know a time will come when they will grow beyond the childhood belief in things like Santa Claus and the tooth fairy. It’s just part of growing up. It would be very unhealthy for an adult to still believe in Santa Claus!
In 1 Cor. 4, the Apostle Paul writes some things to the Corinthian church which challenge some of the ideas which are commonly held by Christians. And in so doing, he helps us to understand that certain ideas we might have about faith in Christ may need to be discarded as we grow to maturity in him – as surely as a belief in Santa Claus is discarded with age.
Let’s turn in our Bibles to 1 Corinthians 4:8.
CONTEXT: One of the problems Paul is addressing in the first 4 chapters of his letter is the problem of divisions in the church. Some claim allegiance to Paul, others to Apollos or Peter or others. Along with this divisiveness came a pride and arrogance that they had somehow “arrived” in their spiritual understanding. They evidently were enjoying prosperity, and were taking this as a sign from God that they were maturing spiritually far beyond where they really were.
To address this problem, Paul contrasts the way he and the other apostles are living with the way the Corinthians are living.
1 Corinthians 4:8-17 (NIV)
Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! You have become kings—and that without us! How I wish that you really had become kings so that we might be kings with you! 9For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like men condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to men. 10We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored! 11To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. 12We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; 13when we are slandered, we answer kindly. Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world.
14I am not writing this to shame you, but to warn you, as my dear children. 15Even though you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. 16Therefore I urge you to imitate me. 17For this reason I am sending to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.
Paul tells them, “From what I hear you are becoming arrogant in your prosperity. Some of you may even be saying that because of the poor conditions I endure that God must not be with me. But I urge you – ‘Imitate me!’ And the kind of ways we’re told to imitate Paul teaches us…
1. Real life Christianity is no “Hallmark” production! (1 Cor. 4:8-12)
You know what I’m talking about. Hallmark plays on your emotions in the cards they sell, the commercials they produce, and the movies they sponsor.
There is always some sort of tension, but by the end of the show or the commercial everything is right again. People are smiling. There are happy tears being shed once again. All is right with the world.
Take a look at the kind of things that mark the Apostles’ way of life:
• Considered foolish (v. 10).
• Weak (v. 10).
• Dishonored (v. 10).
• Hungry, thirsty (v. 11).
• Dressed in rags, homeless (v. 11).
• Brutally treated (v. 11).
• Hard manual work (v. 12).
• Blessing those who curse them (v. 12).
• Enduring persecution (v. 12).
• Answering slander with kindness (v. 12).
• Considered the “scum of the earth” (v. 13).
These are the sorts of things that make Paul write in verse 9 that it seems to him that God has “put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like men condemned to die in the arena”.
This is not the type of stuff people put into commercials to sell products. This is not the type of promotion that is ever going to gather a huge following among the masses.
No – the Christian life is no “Hallmark” production – all nice and flowery and full of blessing from morning to evening.
The reality of living the Christian life is you will endure hardship. Let’s be sure and get that straight.
There are plenty of people who write books and pastor large churches and speak at huge conferences who have built their following on the idea that the Christian life is a way to financial blessing and prosperity.
On a smaller scale there are thousands of individual Christians who continually feel like something is wrong with their faith because for some reason bad things continue to happen in their lives. They keep waiting for the “hallmark moment” when everything will be made right.
But Paul’s experience was almost exactly the opposite. Things often didn’t go right. Although he was filled with the power of the Holy Spirit and living a holy life – his plans were often interrupted with difficult persecution.
TRANS: But even though his life was filled with difficulty – he still says this amazing thing in verse 16: “Therefore I urge you to imitate me.” This teaches us that…
2. Real life Christianity means following Jesus even when it hurts. (1 Cor. 4:16)
As we’ll see next week, one of the problems of the Corinthian church was that they were so complacent and comfortable in their Christian walk that they didn’t even know how to handle sin problems anymore. They were so “strong” and so “wise” that they allowed people who were living in unbelievable sin to happily be a part of the church.
Something happened in the 2 years since Paul had been with them that made them spiritually arrogant.
And so Paul urges them to imitate his way of life – the way of sacrifice – the way of servanthood – the way of suffering.
Just like my children will one day finally put Santa Claus behind them – the church of Jesus Christ has to put the idea behind us that the Christian life is one where God will always deliver us from trials and remove all hardships from our lives.
What we have to understand is that Jesus is worthy of our complete allegiance and devotion EVEN IF HE NEVER DOES ONE MORE THING TO BLESS US. He is worthy of my complete devotion because of who He is – not because of what I can get out of the relationship with Him.
Think about Paul’s life for a minute. WHY would he live a life in which he was subjected so regularly to the kinds of suffering he experienced? What would make someone continue to teach others to follow this way of life when it obviously had the potential of bringing suffering into a person’s life? Two reasons…
1. PAUL WAS ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN THAT JESUS CHRIST HAD DIED AND WAS RESURRECTED, PROVING HIMSELF TO BE THE SON OF GOD AND THE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD.
I take comfort in this when at times doubting thoughts circle in my mind. When I start thinking about how we’re 2000 years away from the events surrounding Jesus’ death and all that was written about it and how maybe just maybe it might not be true, it is then that I remember the suffering and martyrdom of those who were his closest followers. Of the remaining 11 disciples after Judas’ defection, all of them suffered as a result of their preaching that Jesus was alive, and all but one were martyred because of their rock solid belief that Jesus Christ was alive.
And because of this certainty – it did not matter what the world did to them. They KNEW Jesus was the Son of God. They KNEW he had promised them eternal life and the constant presence of the Holy Spirit. They KNEW that no matter what happened to them – Jesus was still worthy of everything they had.
We need to get to this kind of relationship with Christ. The kind that is willing to suffer ridicule and the loss of reputation because of our unflinching devotion to Christ our King. The kind that says I’m not just in this for what I get out of it – I’m following Jesus because He is the way, the truth, and the life. The kind that says, “Though He slay me, yet will I praise Him.”
The other reason someone like Paul would tell people to imitate his way of life as a Christian is because HE KNEW THERE WAS JOY IN THE CHRISTIAN LIFE REGARDLESS OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES.
2Cor. 4:6-10 (NIV) For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.
2Cor. 4:16-18 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
CONCLUSION:
This week was a tough week in our home, as Ann’s mother has been hospitalized due to complications with her fight against Parkinsons and Diabetes. It has been a stark reminder that a woman of great devotion to God still must battle the real human experience of disease and aging.
I know that many of you are enduring trials in your life – and you may be tempted to wonder if something is wrong with you or with your faith.
Don’t go there. Keep your eyes on Jesus and remember that Real Life Christianity is not like a Hallmark production. There will be inexplicable pain at times. But Jesus is still worth our devotion. He is still true to his promises. He is still good. And someday, after all the suffering and testing and difficulties of this life are over, we will enjoy that “Hallmark” ending, where God will wipe away all tears from our eyes.
Until then – follow Jesus through the good days and the bad days – no matter what.
