PREACH THE GOSPEL!
Rev. Bernt P. Tweit
Old Testament Lesson; Isaiah 9:1-4
Gospel Lesson; Matthew 4:12-23
Sermon Text; 1 Corinthians 1:10-17
The church at Corinth had a problem. Quarrels had arisen, and divisions had begun. This brand new Christian church was becoming divided and it was happening rather quickly. Why? The members of the congregation were following different messengers.
The first group was those who were loyal to Paul, as the spiritual father of the church. This group consisted of the charter members of the church (remember, the church was only five or six years old at this point). They were most likely Gentile converts, so one of the emphases of their faith would center on the freedom they had in Jesus. They took great pride in the fact that they had been in the church from the beginning. They had been converted under the preaching of Paul himself, and those whom he had baptized wore that like a badge of honor.
The second group was loyal to Apollos. Apollos was a powerful, eloquent preacher. People, who were especially drawn to preaching, loved his style in the pulpit. He came from Alexandria, Egypt. We know from Paul's other letters that he was thrilled God gave the Corinthians that resource, after he left. With great skills in debate, Apollos would seem a natural leader for those who wanted to intellectualize Christianity. The Corinthian culture loved public speaking. And the church in Corinth included people who had been converted out of a background of Greek philosophy and academia. Naturally, they were drawn to Apollos.
The third group was loyal to Cephas or Peter. These were probably the traditionalists in the church. They were Jewish Christians who had deep roots in the faith of their fathers. Members of this group were probably not too comfortable with the Gentile members who had been converted out of paganism, who paid no attention to Jewish history, tradition or culture. Those who followed Peter probably embraced a much more conservative, legalistic approach to living the Christian life.
Now, we need to remember that these three men themselves agreed in their theology. Peter, Apollos and Paul weren’t competing with each other; they were in one accord. The problem was with the Corinthians who had rallied around one or another of these men because of his style, personality, or unique emphasis in Christianity.
The fourth group followed Christ. There was a self-righteous smugness about these folks. They might have said, "We don’t need human leaders at all. Jesus is the head of the church we will listen to him. They were unwilling to submit themselves even to the leaders that Jesus had established and put into place, within the church.
Now these kinds of cliques that existed in Corinth can exist here at Holy Cross. This is not just ancient history. I have been here for a little while and at times I have heard hints of generational competition. Some people would embrace the teaching and preaching style of one pastor or another. We could call those following Pastor Ylvisaker, Ylvisaker-ites. Others, following Pastor Orvick, could be called Orvick-ians. Still others who follow Pastor Petersen, we could call Petersen-ites. Others may be new in this congregation, only knowing Pastor Bartels and myself. Never having known those first generations at all, these folks might be a bit suspicious of them, because we’re the ones they know and appreciate.
We have a much longer history than the church in Corinth. But even now God has in place elders, pastors, teachers, and leaders in all different kinds of ministries. If we put the emphasis on the person, we can have a Corinthian Crisis. It is true we might tend to identify more with a spiritual leader whose ministries we understand, and whose vocabulary we are the most comfortable with. But if we emphasize the messengers and not the message, we can have a problem.
Instead of emphasizing the message of the word, the Corinthians emphasized the messengers. The Corinthians got their eyes off of the Cross-of-Christ and onto the messengers. That’s why Paul got a little sarcastic when he said, "Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul?"
As members of Holy Cross, we should take these words of Paul to heart. We should not focus on the messengers, but continue to focus on the message that God showed us His love, by sending His only begotten Son to be our Savior!
Why should we focus on God’s message?
I. It unites us.
As we have come to faith and have experienced God’s grace, we have received the gift of salvation, as Christians. We are not Paul-ians, Apollos-ites, or Peter-ians. We are Christians. God wants us, no matter how young or old we are; no matter what our ethnic background is; no matter how well educated we are; no matter if we are wealthy or poor, he wants us to consider ourselves and each other as believers of Jesus. We are part of one family and make one body.
One of the signs of Christian unity is that we have all been baptized in the name of Jesus. We have been baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And that is important to remember. We have not been baptized in the name of Paul, or Peter, or Apollos, or this pastor, or that pastor.
We are united, because Jesus has been preached to
us, and we believe. The Psalm says, "How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!" Psalm 133:1
II. It stops us from squabbling.
There was a church in Wales, England that was feuding while it was looking for a new pastor. A newspaper article read: "Yesterday the two opposition groups both sent ministers to the pulpit. Both spoke simultaneously, each trying to shout above the other. Both ministers called for hymns, and the congregation sang two-each trying to drown out the other. Then the groups started shouting at each other. Bibles were raised in anger. The Sunday morning service turned into a bedlam. Through it all, the two preachers continued trying to out shout the other, with their sermons. Eventually an elder called the police. Two came in and began shouting for the congregation to be quiet. They advised the people in the church to go home. The rivals filed out, still arguing. Last night one of the groups called a let’s-be-friends meeting. It broke up with an argument."
This story may be amusing, but it is also tragic. God does not like factions like this in the church.
If we focus on the messenger (like this church in Wales), we will be a divided congregation like them. But if we focus on the message, it will stop us from squabbling.
Paul in another letter said, "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility, consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interest of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus, who:
Who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross!"
Philippians 2:1-8
The sins that we have, from squabbling with one another, are great. There may be sins between the church and the school, and the children and the seniors. Thanks be to God that Jesus humbled himself, he was innocent and yet he endured our squabbling and our sin, for us!
III. It also guides us.
Following the message that God showed His love for us by sending Jesus to be our Savior, should guide us. Today I would like to close with a prayer, a prayer of guidance for Holy Cross. These words are not my own. They are words of Paul, from the book of Ephesians.
"I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
Ephesians 3:17-21
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