The Grateful, Grounded, Gracious Confidence of Faith

Introduction

It has been said that blind optimism, for a Christian, is naive - blind foolishness. These days, it is getting harder and harder to be naive. But on the other hand, to be pessimistic is ATHEISM - blind unbelief.

For which it is getting easier and easier to fall into.

But Paul would have nothing of either. He is neither a naive Pollyanna, nor has he been black-pilled - that is, has he become so darkened by his trials and tribulations, that he feels nothing but fatalistic pessimism. That’s because Paul was living by FAITH.

And by his own example, he calls the Corinthian church, and us, to do the same. To walk by faith, in GOD, and therefore, in grateful confidence. Today we look at the second part of the introduction to 1 Corinthians, chapter 1 v. 4-9.

In these verses we see the source of Paul’s confidence - the OBJECT of his faith - the place where his faith RESTED, that produced this confidence. As we do, we will gain the courage to consider where we have misplaced our own faith. And we will apply it then to three spheres of our lives.

First, let’s look to the passage itself.

Gratitude from Confidence in God’s Sanctifying Work

I’m going to walk through its, but here is a summary:

Paul feels constant gratitude for the Corinthians

BECAUSE of the grace God gave them in Jesus

WHICH enriched them for everything they need

To endure faithfully until Christ’s return.

Paul begins in v. 4

1 Corinthians 1:4 ESV

I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus,

by saying that when he thinks about them, he feels a joyful gratitude. Which, as we said last week, is remarkable, considering what a mixed up church this was.

The name of the city, Corinth, had become a byword in ancient times for depravity and debauchery, and yet Paul says in

1 Corinthians 5:1 ESV

It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father’s wife.

That this church was tolerating sins that even the pagans of Corinth would not tolerate.

1 Corinthians 11:21 ESV

For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk.

Some of them were showing up for Communion feasts with the same attitude they would have before when they went to orgies at the pagan temple.

They were devouring each other, chapter 3, suing each other in the pagan courts, chapter 6. Their worship services, chapter 14, were so disorganized by pride and one-upping each other, that outsiders had no idea what was going on.

As we will see today, the Spirit had dumped out the bucket of gifts on them, chapter 12, but they only spent those gifts to enhance themselves.

And lastly, they had shown great disregard to Paul, the man who had given them their spiritual rebirth.

Yet Paul says, I feel gratitude, every time I think of you.

But how can Paul feel this way, and not understandable pessimism, and yet without self-deceiving naïveté?

Only because he is thinking, v. 4

1 Corinthians 1:4 (ESV)

I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus,

, of the GRACE God gave TO them, IN Christ Jesus.

Whenever anyone comes to Christ, it is nothing less than bringing our whole self to the altar. We lay ourselves on the fire, and we are consumed by His Spirit. We die. But whatever Jesus takes possession of, he raises from the dead. And more than that, just as Jesus was DIFFERENT, glorified, after his resurrection, so all whom He raises he also transforms, by giving each of us GIFTS. That is, grace.

He takes us FROM the world, and then he GIFTS us with grace, which makes us GIFTS back TO the world. Paul puts it this way elsewhere:

Ephesians 4:7–8 ESV

But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.”

(ESV): . . . grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore it says,

“When he ascended on high he led a host of captives,

and he gave gifts to men.”

The gifts to men ARE the captives, to whom he gives gifts. To the Corinthians, v. 5

1 Corinthians 1:5 (ESV)

that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge—

, he especially gave the gifts of ALL SPEECH and ALL KNOWLEDGE. No coincidence, since these are the very things the Corinthian culture prized - good speakers, with a lot of pithy quotes. Just like modern America.

And they should remember that this came with some of kind of confirmation, v. 6

1 Corinthians 1:6 ESV

even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you—

, that these gifts came from the risen Lord Jesus. We don’t know WHAT this confirmation was, but they know.

Regardless, v. 7

1 Corinthians 1:7 ESV

so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ,

is the kicker. They do not lack ANY gift, spread among the people of their congregation, for each and every person, and their church as a whole, to endure to the end of time. Think about that.

They were, as we will see later, very impressed with outside speakers, who were much more eloquent than Paul, and who came with dazzling knowledge. And Paul says, you don’t need ANY of them. You don’t need to look outside the congregation; you need only have faith in what God ALREADY planted within you. And then MINE it, by faith.

Faith in GOD, v. 8,

1 Corinthians 1:8 ESV

who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

that HE will sustain you to the end. Not the new tactic of that dazzlingly successful preacher with the pearly whites that sells all those books. No, GOD will be your sustainer.

Because only GOD can sustain you so that you stand GUILTLESS on that day. The word guiltless is an Old Testament concept, that surely means BLAMELESS. Which, in the Old Testament, does not mean “without sin.” But without HIGH-HANDED rebellion. It implies a heart that is pointed towards God not in perfection, but in continual, humble repentance and growth.

Only God can do this, and v. 9

1 Corinthians 1:9 ESV

God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

, He WILL do this. This is because, when they were saved, they were welcomed into a partnership, a union - fellowship - with Jesus. And as Jesus said,

John 10:27–30 ESV

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”

(ESV): 28 I give my (sheep) eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”

The Grateful, Gracious, Grounded Optimism of Faith

Paul is confident in the Corinthians, with all their failings and insanities, because he knows what’s been implanted IN them - the grace of God. Paul is confident of God IN them, because Jesus is RISEN. And His power WILL sustain them, just as it sustains himself in resurrection life.

Paul sees them with the eyes of FAITH - as they truly are - that is, as they WILL be, not as they are today. Who they are today is actually NOT, by God’s grace, who they ARE. Paul can see a vision of the future version of them, by God’s grace, and this is why he’s so grateful for them. As he will say in the next letter, 2 Cor. 5:16

2 Corinthians 5:16 ESV

From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer.

, he regards NO ONE according to the flesh, but according to FAITH.

But that does not mean that he does nothing. That future self WILL come, but only by grace. Which is why Paul writes this letter. This letter is nothing more or less than faith working itself out in love.

Love is affection, informed and governed by the Word, worked out by FAITH.

That’s all that Paul is doing here, carried along by the Spirit. He has affection for the Corinthians, which he pairs together with the truth of the Word, and he puts it in letter form, which is an act of confident FAITH - faith that God’s grace WILL change them.

Change will not come magically, but by them taking the grace of the words of this letter, believing it, humbling themselves UNDER it, and then REPENTING, FROM the OLD SELF, TO the NEW self - to who they actually ARE.

They don’t need MORE than that. They only need to take hold of what’s already been given to them. Because that grace WILL be sufficient. They are to BELIEVE that too, and then ACT.

So let’s consider, as we did briefly last week, the TONE of this letter. Yes, there is correction and chastisement, some of it very strident. But the TONE is the exact opposite of pessimism. It is grateful, joyful confidence. It is optimistic, without being naive. If Paul were ruled by pessimism, no letter would have been written, or it would not have been worth putting in the Bible.

Now, as the men heard at the Men’s Bonfire last week, pessimism IS understandable, in this fallen world. There’s a lot of CAUSE for pessimism. And more than that, pessimism keeps you alive. If you’re on a hike, and you come across a dark circular object that’s rattling, naive optimism could get you bit and maybe killed. Pessimism instead says, I wouldn’t touch that, and keeps you alive. That’s wise pessimism.

But so much of our pessimism is not wisdom applied correctly. It is an earthy assessment of things that is decoupled from the promises of God. And therefore, it is just atheism with shoe leather. Say that again: pessimism decoupled from the promises of God is just atheism with shoe leather.

And then this atheistic pessimism leaves two cruddy, dismal results. First, it leaves us depressed and despairing. We lose hope - for our selves, our families, our church or our culture. And this leads to the second cruddy, dismal result: we become inert. We stop taking the constructive action that, if we would take it, God might just bless and turn into the miracle that we were hoping for all along.

And the atmosphere that that pessimism creates is just ugly and unattractive. It’s judgy and fearful and resentful and divisive. It’s like, “Hey come to my church, where no one has any hope, and nobody does anything, except the spiritual equivalent of moving the deck chairs on the Titanic.”

But again, this is a horse that you can fall off of on TWO sides. Paul does not call them or us to a naive Power-of-Positive-Thinking, Name it and claim it, put positive thoughts out into the air and they will come back to you, kind of philosophy.

It’s not a philosophy at all. There are an assortment of FACTS operating here. We are to BELIEVE these facts, and then ACT on them, with faith. Jesus died, and paid for our sins. And he is risen from the dead, the power of the ages in his hand. And he raises us with himself, and gives us gifts by his power, for the mutual aid and endurance of the saints, until the end. The central gift of grace is His Word, which contains his promises. And by the power of these gifts, these graces, He promises to SUSTAIN us until the end, and to make all things new, by that same power.

Let’s consider HOW we are to believe and act in several spheres of life.

Parenting by Faith

This paragraph that we are studying is itself a mini-course in PARENTING. It is so easy to parent by fear and pessimism, because we only see the child as they are today. But parenting by FAITH believes the promises of God. And believing those promises, their develops in the mind of the parent a vision of the 25-year old version of this child. And then GRATITUDE develops.

Which changes the whole atmosphere around the child. Now adults are no longer suspicious and down on the child, but they are optimistic and joyful.

And then, Faith ACTS. Because of that vision, the parent then does what Paul does with this letter, and GIVES grace and peace to the child, raising them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord,

Ephesians 6:4 ESV

Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

No longer then does FEAR reign in parenting. Now it’s faith. And now our aims get bigger. Now we aim for OUR children, to quote Toby Sumpter, to be the ones that OTHER parents are fearful will THEIR children - with OUR kid’s infectious faith and joy.

This faith-filled vision is definitely hope in what we cannot see, especially with boys. Girls are generally more conservative, and sit in their desks and give the impression of spiritual compliance. Meanwhile the boys are hanging from the ceiling and drawing attack helicopters on their coloring sheet about John the Baptist.

But FAITH says, Gabe Demers will be a strong and courageous man in his generation, the kind of man a community can be built around. Faith says that Jacob Scheuerlein will be that singular man with the cool head to land the plane safely when the second engine flames out, saving 400 souls aboard. Faith says Jensen Anderson will stand in the city gates, before magistrates and judges and kings, courageously proclaiming Christ and him crucified. Faith sees Cash Thornsberry raising a family that loves the Lord and holds closely to Him. I could go on, saying the same for the girls, and the older teens.

Regardless, then seeing this vision, faith acts by feeding the children the grace and peace they will need. Faith turns into constructive action. Faith BECOMES the miracle, not because of us, but by the God Who gives the grace its power.

Churching by Faith

But the same goes for YOU and your relationship with others in this church. Faith views people by their trajectory towards God, not the point that they are at right now ON that trajectory. If the other person’s nose is pointed towards God, faith sees a vision of how God can transform that person, and is filled with gratitude.

To be clear: faith does not ignore where people are at this moment. Faith does not ignore sin. It is not naive. After all, Paul will later tell them to purge an UNREPENTANT man and woman from their midst. But Paul will do even this in HOPE - hope that even that grievous, tear-filled action would lead to their redemption.

Faith in the powerful grace of God is what keeps us from judgy pessimism, where we leave church after church because we’re always finding something wrong, or from silly pollyanna-ism, where we ignore all sin. Instead it keeps us centered on the Word, and keeps us moving confidently forward, sometimes in constructive conflict, but always towards that vision of a new and renewed future, for the other person, and for the church.

Culturing by Faith

And it’s this attitude that should then govern us, as we consider our nation and culture.

Let’s take this upcoming election cycle. Personally, I have no hope for a fair and honest election, because the regime is already, today, perp-walking its opponents and interfering with said election. Which could very easily lead you and me to great, deep pessimism.

Except for the fact that this country was NEVER founded on, say, George Washington’s greatness. This country was the product of FAITH - of mostly Puritans fleeing persecution and believing that their God would still be God in that wild land across the ocean.

And God WAS faithful to them. In other words, America will not be saved by having the right man in the Oval Office, but by having the God-Man reign over our land. And whatever comes to him, he raises from the dead, be it a person, a county or a country.

Pessimism then will lead us to throw up our hands, and say there is no hope for this country to exit from its death spiral. But faith says, why cannot God make our nation even MORE Christian, than it ever has before?

And then, filled with that vision of a renewed, CHRISTIAN nation, faith preaches the gospel. Jesus is YOUR KING, believe and repent.