The Bible clearly states that causing divisions in the church is an abomination to the Lord. Christ did not die for only one person, He died for His bride i.e His Church (true believers in this world). Therefore He expects us to maintain peace, unity and harmony in the church. The problem is that we’re sinful beings, so there is always a tendency to create discord among believers either for selfish gains or because of spiritual pride. In this passage, we learn how to avoid causing divisions within the church.
In our Indian culture, to correct a leader or provide a constructive feedback to a Pastor in the church is considered offensive, and sadly many leaders in our churches are allowed to hold an unquestionable authority. In other words, people often treat Pastors like God. In this passage, the apostle Paul reminds us to not idolize pastors, leaders and deacons of the church because they cannot give life or growth to anybody, only God can!
Just as it is necessary for us to exercise regularly to remain fit and healthy, so it is with our spiritual lives. We need to exercise our faith in Christ through many spiritual disciplines that would help us grow from spiritual infancy to spiritual maturity. This also means that with spiritual growth comes greater spiritual responsibilities in our lives. In this Passage, Paul teaches us how to cultivate spiritual maturity.
The doctrine of predestination is not meant to make you proud or look down upon others, but rather, it is meant to humble you and be grateful to God. Election does not depend on your goodness or sincerity but on God’s kindness towards you. The Bible makes it very clear that man is sinful and there is nothing desirable in him. In this passage, we learn how God mercifully choosing us has many blessings attached to it.
In this passage, we learn the duties of a Christian Preacher. This is not just applicable to seminary students, pastors and scholars, but this is applicable to lay Christians as well. It’s applicable to Christians, because they’re called to protect themselves and others in the church from false teaching or even teachings that may not be related to the message of salvation. Christians are called to evaluate a Preacher’s preaching, because it’s only through proclaiming Jesus Christ and Him crucified can a person be saved, and this is the only way can a Christian grow spiritually. Gospel must be at the center of every faithful preaching.
One of the problems in Corinthian church was division, because everybody wanted to follow a public figure in order to enhance their social status and therefore people started boasting about their allegiance to different “celebrities” and causing great disunity in the church. This is when the Apostle Paul puts people in their place by reminding them of how their redemption, sanctification, wisdom and many other spiritual blessings were only found in Christ and that’s because of God’s grace alone. In this sermon, we’re reminded of how to boast (and be humble) only in Christ.
Christianity doesn’t demand us to perform many rituals and sacrifice to Idols or become a monk, but it demands us to forsake our selfishness and pride; only then are we able to believe that Christ is the only Savior of our lives because we couldn’t save ourselves from God’s righteous judgment. In this passage we learn how God chooses unintelligent people, people with low social status, people who are not very influential, demonstrating His grace to those who are helpless and crushing the pride of those who believe they are self-sufficient, wise and powerful enough.
Mahatma Gandhi did not accept Christ’s death on the cross to be a penalty for the sins of the whole world; likewise many leaders, scientists and philosophers find it hard to accept Jesus Christ as the Messiah. Cross of Christ is the only hope for the world, because Jesus is the only God-Man who has the ability to take the sins of the world upon Himself and save sinners. This Gospel is foolishness to those who are already on their way to eternal destruction, but this Gospel is also life-giving to those who are seeking to be forgiven of their sins. This sermon shows us how the Cross is ultimately the Power of God to bring us unto life of joy and hope.
Jesus commanded his people to make disciples of all nations. The prerequisite for making disciples is sharing and preaching the gospel wherever they are, that’s the starting point. God doesn’t require His followers to have great eloquence in their speech, they just need to share the gospel – that Christ died as substitute for sinners on the cross and therefore offered the forgiveness for their sins. This is a simple message of hope we’re asked to share and allow God the Holy Spirit to work wonders, because the gospel is the power of God. In this message, we learn how the gospel proclamation is a community project and not one man’s show from the pulpit. Sharing the gospel unashamedly is the only way to see the nations and cultures redeemed for a life of hope.
The Bible does not command Christians to sacrifice truth and pursue unity among people in the church, and neither does it command us to pursue only truth and not unity. Fundamental truths of the Bible and unity are different sides of the same coin. It is ultimately the gospel which unites us to Christ and His church. In this sermon, we learn about the nature and the need for Christian unity.
