BSFL Life Truths Sunday School commentary for the week of March 7, 2010
Tuesday, March 2, 2010 at 8:31AM Fractured? 1 Corinthians 1,3
I remember first discussing the options for writing this latest Sunday School material assignment for Bible Studies for Life - Life Truths. The Life Truths editor and I discussed writing on marriage or church conflict. We laughed at the similarities between the two! Although my wife and I will soon be celebrating 19 glorious and wonderful years of marriage, I still consider myself to be in a serious learning curve when it comes to marriage. Considering my past years of ministry, I really have more experience with church conflict!
That is not to say, however, that I have learned to deal effectively with every conflict that may arise in the local church. Sometimes churches can act and react in ways that defy rational explanation. Many of you reading this could supply examples from your own painful experiences. It is not my intention to air dirty laundry from the past or to tear down any local church. With the material I was privileged to author, and with these blog posts, it is my firm purpose to direct our attention to the Scriptures as our guide for healing from church hurts, and prevention from more of the same.
Paul wrote this first letter to a troubled church at Corinth. It is evident that he had received troubled news from this church that he had founded earlier, and so wrote to offer much-needed instruction to guide them through these rough spiritual and relational shoals. This week as we examine 1 Corinthians 1:10-15,26-29 it becomes clear that there were serious fractures in the Corinthian church. Misplaced loyalties and rotten human pride were evident in their words and actions. However, the crux of the problem is found in 1 Corinthians 3:1-4. Paul accuses the Corinthian believers as being "fleshly" and "living like ordinary people" (vs. 3). He uses a bit of creative word play to capture his readers' attention in verses 1 and 3. In 3:1 "flesh" (Greek sarkinos) is literally 'made of flesh'. In 3:3 "fleshly" (Greek sarkikos) is more accurately 'characterized by the flesh'. What is the difference? There is no blame attached to those who are babes in Christ (3:1) when they act like babes. It is expected. But when those who have been Christians for years still act like babes, "characterized by the flesh" (3:3) and not the Spirit, this is scandalous.
Earlier in 1 Corinthians 1:10 Paul expressed his desire that the Corinthians be "united". This is a word that means to restore something to its rightful condition. It is used of James and John in Matthew 4:21 when they are "mending" their nets after a night of fishing. He also expresses in verse 10 his desire that there be no "divisions" among them. This word is the Greek schisma, and is the origin of our word "schism", which means a division. In John 21:11 when the disciples caught an enormous amount of fish, the text says there were no "schisms" in the net; no divisions, tears, or fractures that would allow fish to fall through and be lost.
What a picture of what church conflict does to our efforts for Christ's Kingdom! When churches fight and divide, a rift is made in our witness and precious souls needing Christ are turned off by us and slip through the gaps. How important is it, then, to heal these fractures in the fellowship? It is vital!
church, conflict, divisions, immaturity, pride, strife in Sunday School Commentary 
BSFL Life Truths Sunday School commentary for the week of March 14, 2010
Poisoned? 1 Corinthians 5,6
"It says something about our times that we rarely use the word sinful, except to describe a really good dessert." - Willard D. Ferrell
How do you view sin? Most believers would respond to that question with the standard Sunday School answer. "It is bad"; "I stay away from it all I can"; or maybe "Mine is forgiven...". We cannot answer the question accurately unless we understand the definition of sin, and can define sin. Let's consider some personal questions: Is obesity sin? Is racism sin? Is swearing sin? What about sporadic church attendance? Coarse joking? Complaining? Not tithing? Are these big sins or little sins?
How did you answer these questions? What makes a sin a sin? Are there big sins and little sins? Sins that God will punish and sins what God will overlook? Many believers certainly act that way, as if God will excuse our sins because they are 'small' and 'unimportant'. Would you drink a quart of water if it had only a drop of strychnine in it? A church member said to me once, "Pastor Mike, you know that sin in the life of a believer is different than sin in the life of an unbeliever." I said to them, "Yes it is; its WORSE!"
In 1 Corinthians 5 & 6 the Apostle Paul talks about sexual sin. But his instructions and warnings are applicable to all sin; and there is one central truth we MUST embrace: There is no such thing as a little sin! We fail to be grieved by sin when we view it as insignificant or not as bad as something else. We tend to categorize sin according to what seems bad to us. What I habitually overlook in my own life isn't as bad as what I tend to see in the lives of others. This attitude reflects a skewed and thoroughly unbiblical view of sin.
We read of the sexual sin being tolerated in the Corinthian church in 1 Corinthians 5:1-2 and are shocked. But our abhorrence of sin should be parallel to God's; He is shocked and sickened by ALL sin. Any sin left to grow will lead to suffering, destruction, and death. It is the nature of sin to produce these things. This is what Jesus came to rescue us from, to provide deliverance from the power of sin, the punishment of sin, and one day from the very presence of sin. When we who are redeemed from sin choose to return and wallow in it, or passively allow it to remain in our midst, God is grieved and Kingdom work is stifled.
As disciples of Jesus Christ we are to emulate Him in all we do and say. He, the Sinless One, is our role model. Do not let sin gain a foothold! Wage war by the power of the Spirit in your mind. Flee from every hint of sexual immorality. Exercise the spiritual man by practicing the spiritual disciplines of bible study, prayer, meditation, worship, and witnessing. The believer should view sin as a serious allergy: even a hint of it is harmful! It must not be allowed to remain in our lives, or in our local faith community.
In 1 Corinthians 5:9-13 the Apostle Paul gives instructions the forbid fellowshipping with a fellow-believer that openly practices sin. The best-known process for dealing with sinful brethren is Jesus' own words in Matthew 18:15-17. Revulsion over sin and remorse over our brother should motivate us to rebuke their sin and seek to restore them to right fellowship with God and the church. Their own good, and the work of the Kingdom demands it.