BaptistWay Bible Series for September 4: Get together

A barbershop quartet singing with perfect pitch. An car engine that purrs like a kitten. A classroom filled with students quietly focusing upon their work. These are the sounds of harmony.

How about your workplace, school, home or church? Can the word harmony accurately describe these places in your life? The church at Corinth was anything but harmonious. Division best describes that church.

Unfortunately, the word division also describes many churches today. Disharmony, jealousy and even quarreling rear their ugly heads within congregations of God’s people. God, however, has a better way for Christians and for the churches they attend.

Live out holiness (1 Corinthians 1:1-3)
Paul described the discordant believers in Corinth as “sanctified.” They were made holy by God’s grace and called to continue a life of holiness. That was not the case. They did not live up to their calling to be holy as evidenced by their many sins.

Still, Paul was able to address the Corinthians as those “who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” That is a way of saying they claimed to be Christians. Isn’t it ironic that Christians are made holy by God, yet they don’t all live holy lives? Why doesn’t God make them be holy and act holy? Evidently, God allows free decisions by his followers. Some choose the way of holiness. Some don’t. Those who don’t choose holiness remain immature in the faith.

Perhaps the church needs spiritually immature Christians who never grow in the faith. These believers serve as a reminder that God’s salvation is an undeserved gift. A person does not deserve God’s gift of salvation at the moment of conversion or at any other moment in life. Now, that is grace.

Give thanks (1 Corinthians 1:4-9)
In light of such grace, Paul gave thanks to God. Thanksgiving signals Christian maturity. Such maturity moved the apostle to give thanks for the Corinthian church even with its deep divisions.

Divided churches with their immature believers have a problem with ingratitude. Any mention of thanksgiving appears cursory and trite, coming across as obligatory and never heartfelt. These Christians have lost connection with the seriousness of their own sin and the extreme remedy for that sin in the death of Jesus on the cross of Calvary. Indeed, it is easy to forget the seriousness of sin, and that forgetfulness logically leads to the presumption that the cross was just another work of God.

For mature Christians, they recognize that God enriches their lives in every way. They see that God equips them with everything necessary to function fully until the last day. Thankfulness characterizes their lives. Thanksgiving comes across as deeply heartfelt and genuine. These individuals recognize the seriousness of their own sin and the high cost Jesus paid on the cross.

Follow only Christ (1 Corinthians 1:10-17)
In these verses, Paul specifically addressed the divisions within the Corinthian church. Several groups existed within that church with each group following a different personality—Paul, Apollos, Cephas or Christ. Paul could not understand how this occurred. He exclaimed in verse 13, “Was Paul crucified for you?” with the obvious answer being “no.”

Thus, the very heart of the Christian faith was at stake. Would the church follow Christ, or would it develop a Christ-less Christianity? Without Christ, the faith focuses on people and not God. Note the repeated use of the word “I” in verse 12. This indicates a problem the Corinthian church had with pride. A church marked by divisions is a church that lacks humility.

Now, Paul understood that Christ and Christ alone saves. Acts 4:12 states, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” Here is the foundation of the Christian faith.

Of course, not everyone must agree with everything at church. Paul called for unity not uniformity. Some diversity of beliefs can and should be allowed in the local church. Diversity in beliefs among churches still exists today. Some differences between churches appear slight while others are more important; however, if any church does not agree Jesus is the only way of salvation, then in what sense can that church be called Christian?

Immature Christians divide (1 Corinthians 3:1-4)
For this week’s lesson, remember that immature Christians divide churches. They follow their own beliefs. Certainly their beliefs will be couched in spiritual language, “I follow Paul” or “I follow Apollos,” but they have devastating results on the church. Ultimately, focus is taken off Jesus Christ and off living a Christ-like life.

To be immature is a choice. A believer chooses not to grow in Christ. In the context of Paul’s argument, such a choice shows a lack of godly wisdom.

What do mature Christians do? They focus their lives on Christ and submitting to him. They seek to grow their faith by moving beyond simply nursing milk from the word of God to feasting heartedly on its riches.

The Corinthian church was a mess. Many churches today are a mess, too. What positives can God possibly see in his church? Perhaps the messy church is like a junior high orchestra. The screeching sounds at its first concert remind one of fingernails scratching across a chalkboard. Of course, the parents of the students don’t hear the screeching. Instead, they hear a moving melody that brings joy to their hearts. This melody has been adjusted by the love they have for their children much like the love God has for his children in the church.