July 21, 2020<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over the next 16 days we will be reading through the book of 1 Corinthians together. The church in Corinth was an absolute mess! They were plagued by serious issues of arrogance, division, sexual immorality, and confusion concerning doctrine as well as the particulars of their moral living under the gospel. This church needed a wake-up call, a call to repentance and purity, to renewed devotion to Christ, to love and unity, and to zeal for the gospel. The church has changed little over the last 2,000 years, but praise God that there is abundant grace for the mess! Each of us needs this same call to humility faithfulness, unity, and fervor today as much as they needed it then. Let\u2019s heed this call which God gave the church at Corinth through the apostle Paul and let it shape the way we live as Christ\u2019s body!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Paul is here distinguishing between the supposed \u201cknowledge\u201d the Corinthians possess, which he says only puffs up in arrogance, and love, which builds others up. Paul\u2019s point here is that, even though there is nothing inherently sinful about eating the food offered to idols, since idols are not true gods, it becomes wrong as soon as it becomes a stumbling block in the spiritual life of another believer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The problem is not that the Corinthians were wrong in their knowledge or that they did not have the right to do as they pleased in this matter. The problem was that they were asserting their rights in a way which hindered the growth of other believers! In the church, we are to be those who put the interests of others before our own, and sometimes that means laying down our rights for the edification of our brothers and sisters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
We who live in a culture obsessed with having our rights acknowledged and honored by others. In the midst of this, we are called to follow after the One who laid aside all His rights, even His rights as God, to serve and to love and to give His life for the good of others (Philippians 2:5-11).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
May we be a church full of people who look to the good and the upbuilding of others before ourselves, who take our eyes off of ourselves and lay down the rights we cling to so tightly for the sake of seeing the gospel advance in other\u2019s lives! <\/p>\n\n\n\n