In our message, RUNNING TO WIN (1 Cor. 9:20-10:11), Paul continued responding to the Corinthian church’s question on Christian freedom with respect to foods in the marketplace of their day (1 Cor. 8:1, 4). Paul held himself up as an example of a person who possessed certain freedoms but willingly set some of them aside in Corinth to have a more effective gospel witness (1 Cor. 9:1-2; Rom. 1:16, etc.).… Continue reading
In our message, LOOKING TO BUILD OTHERS UP (1 Cor. 8:1-13), we left the subject of marriage and continued to look at a new question asked of the Apostle Paul by the local church in Corinth: “Now concerning…” (1 Cor. 8:1; see also 1 Cor. 7:1, 25, etc.) “things offered to idols” (1 Cor. 8:1a).
Specifically, believers were asking, “Can Christians eat meats that may have been offered to idols sold in the agora/marketplace of that day?”… Continue reading
In our message, LIVE AS YOU ARE CALLED (1 Cor. 7:17-40), Paul continued to respond to specific questions asked of him now by the church at Corinth. The first series of questions given to the apostle was on the delicate subject of marriage in an immoral culture (1 Cor. 7:1, 25; 2 Tim. 3:16-17, etc.). Last week the Holy Spirit went back to the creation account, as did Jesus, citing the design and sanctity of marriage (1 Cor.… Continue reading
In our message, FAITHFUL WHERE YOU ARE AT (1 Cor. 7:1-16), after dealing with issues made known to him by Chloe’s household (1 Cor. 1:11f), Paul now begins to answer questions sent to him from the church in Corinth. The Greek phrase ‘peri de’ translated “Now concerning” in the NKJV is used throughout the rest of the book of 1 Corinthians as the Holy Spirit addresses specific challenges facing the local church in Corinth, and also churches in our day (1 Cor.… Continue reading
In our message, HELPFUL THINGS (1 Cor. 6:12-20), after addressing dealing with an immoral brother in their midst and handling disputes in a godly manner, the Lord then spoke to the issue of sexual purity for the church as a whole.
“All things are lawful for me” was a popular phrase in Corinth which some in the church were using to justify a false view of Christian liberty (1 Cor.… Continue reading
In our message, LIVING LIKE HIS CITIZENS NOW (1 Cor. 6:1-11) after a discussion on the need for church discipline of brothers within the fellowship who are living immorally, the Lord turns to resolving conflicts over resources in a godly manner. Just like it is the church’s job to “judge those who are inside” its fellowship when they walk contrary to clear teaching of the Bible, it is also the church’s job to help resolve personal disputes among the brethren (1 Cor.… Continue reading
In our message, ANYONE NAMED A BROTHER (1 Cor. 5:9-13) we finished God’s directions to Christians to exercise church discipline when dealing with persistent, unconfessed immorality within their fellowship (1 Cor. 5:1, 2, 5, 7, etc.). At this point, Paul references a letter he wrote to them before the book of 1 Corinthians was penned, in which he also addressed this problem telling them “not to keep company with sexually immoral people” (1 Cor.… Continue reading
In last Sunday’s message, GOD’S KINGDOM IS IN POWER (1 Cor. 4:6-21) we looked at Paul’s conclusion to the first major problem addressed in the Corinthian church- namely party factions and divisions which had their source in pride. When a church acts like the culture it is in, our ability as Christians is hindered to effectively share the gospel, and, if uncorrected, it can even threaten the very existence of a local church itself (1 Cor.… Continue reading
In our message, MANAGERS ARE CALLED TO BE FAITHFUL (1 Cor. 4:1-5) we continued to look at the Bible’s discussion of Christian accountability today, and also at the judgment seat of Christ.
Paul starts this section of Scripture saying, “Let a man so consider us…” referring to himself, Apollos, and any other human authority the Christians looked up to at that time (1 Cor. 4:1). They and we should simply think of them as “servants” of God and “stewards” of all that the Lord has given them (1 Cor.… Continue reading
In Sunday’s message, OUR LEGACY- TESTED BY FIRE (1 Cor. 3:1-15), the Bible directly addressed the difficult issue of a Christian who is not maturing because of unconfessed sin.
The first key point to realize in chapter 3 is the Lord is still speaking to Christians and not to unsaved people. This does not fit with many people’s theological systems, but Paul states here he is speaking to, “brethren,” that is, to both brothers and sisters in the family of God (1 Cor.… Continue reading
