Paul and the Main Thing

Good morning, everyone! The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. It's the kind of aphorism you might see in your grandfather's workshop or on grandmother's cross stitch sampler. Put your mind and energy into what matters most; don't major in the minors. When you desperately need a car, color is unimportant. When you need a job, the coveted corner office is the last thing on your mind. If the person you fall in love with is shorter/taller/heavier/louder than you always imagined-who cares? At the church level what issues come to mind? -hymns or modern worship, videos or PowerPoint, liturgy or spontaneous praise, written prayers or impromptu prayers, drums or no drums, wine or grape juice-these debates have gone on forever-pretty much since the start of the church. In this letter to believers in Corinth, Paul was trying to get the church to keep the main thing-the gospel-the main thing. 1 Corinthians 9:16-23 (ESV) 16 For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! 17 For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward, but if not of my own will, I am still entrusted with a stewardship. 18 What then is my reward? That in my preaching I may present the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel. 19 For though I am free from all I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. 20To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. 21 To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. 22To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. 23 I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings. Paul found himself right in the middle of a paradigm shift in the way God was relating to humanity. The summation of the rituals and practices of the Israelites-held faithfully for thousands of years-had served their purpose. There was understandable tension in making a change, and that's what we'll explore today. Let's consider this seemingly minor but powerfully symbolic discussion in this corner of 1 Corinthians. We'll look at this-like the old shorthand way of summarizing school lessons-as a matter of three R's. * Rituals * Rights * Relationships 1. Rituals As Christians, we tend to underestimate and misunderstand how influenced we are by our Israelite (primarily Jewish) heritage. There is an important bit of theological and historical context we need for this section of 1 Corinthians to make the most sense to us. Paul uses the word "law" throughout his letters. Often what he refers to is the distinctive practices of Judaism-strict Sabbath-keeping, dietary restrictions, circumcision, and a strong sense of the ethnic Hebrew lineage. There were many rituals and identifiers given to Israel by God to show their distinction. These ritual laws worked in conjunction with moral/ethical laws to form Israel's identity as God's people. There was nothing trivial about these practices in the Jewish mind. Only a few generations earlier, the Jewish people had been brutally persecuted for keeping them. Their great grandparents had been killed and tortured for insisting on Sabbath and circumcision. For a somewhat transient and occupied Israel, cultural practices held their identity together. Along comes Paul and company to say these practices are no longer necessary. The gospel message declared faith in Christ as the connection with God, stating that Jesus fulfilled all these signs of his coming. They taught that the moral and ethical law is still in place, but to keep the ritual law after the coming of Christ is like wearing your wedding dress after you're already married. We need to be sympathetic to how important these rituals were to Paul's audience. Add to this that the early church was a patchwork of Jews and Greeks-two cultures that could not be more different and often had difficulty communicating. One of Paul's consistent pastoral issues was that Jewish believers wanted to add old practices to what it meant to be a Christian. Yes, you believe in Christ they would argue, but you also have to get circumcised or, in this section here, avoid meat served to idols. Paul emphatically says no, the main thing and the only thing is a relationship with Christ through faith. On the other hand a consistent pastoral issue with the Greek community was their casual worship of other gods-they might have a whole cadre of gods and goddesses they worshipped, and they were ready to give Jesus a place on the shelf. To which Paul says: No, clear the shelf, Jesus should be the only one worshipped. Greco-Roman culture also had a relaxed sexual ethic compared to the Jewish and Christian standard. Paul encouraged them to live out their new identity by the power of the Spirit in a healthy and pure sexuality. All these intense pressures are at work here in Corinth-a port city of several different cultures known widely as a licentious and fast-living place. There is also a long-embedded, distinct Jewish community living within all this. The discussion in this section of the letter concerns a common practice in Corinthian culture-eating food offered to idols. The regular practice was to eat in the temple as an act of worship to the pagan gods. You burned part of your meal in front of the idol as an offering and ate the rest of it in its presence as worship and a sign of allegiance. But there was always too much meat, and this became a source of income for the priests. They sold the remaining meat back to the community. Jewish citizens, as a safeguard against involvement with the idols, avoided food offered to idols. This became a mark of Jewish identity. Paul tells them that such things aren't important anymore. The idol has no power, or even existence, and the meat is simply meat. This became an issue, understandably, for those of Jewish heritage. Paul's repeated message to them is that those who are in Christ-not those who follow certain practices-are the people of God now. 2. Rights 1 Corinthians 9:1 ESV 9 Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are not you my workmanship in the Lord? This emphatic question, Am I not an apostle, comes in a discussion Paul has through his writing. The thumbnail-sketch background of this is that orators and teachers like Paul were routinely paid for their services by their followers. Paul talks often in this section about preaching the gospel "free of charge" among them-meaning that he has not imposed his rights as a teacher. Rights are a huge discussion for Paul-this or that is my "right"- but he maintains that he would immediately put his "rights" aside if any right got in the way of the gospel. i.e., Paul is saying, "My rights do not matter that much." The issue with some in the Corinthian community was that they were flaunting their right as free children of God in this practice of eating food offered to idols. In their joy in freedom from old restrictions, they were indulging their rights in a way that hurt the community. The Corinthian community was obsessed with being the most spiritual and the most knowledgeable, to the point that the community was splintered. Paul's letter starts out spoofing their divisions: 1 Corinthians 1:12-13 ESV What I mean is that each one of you says, "I follow Paul," or "I follow Apollos," or "I follow Cephas," or "I follow Christ." Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? Whether it's new Greco-Roman believers flaunting their freedom or Jewish believers clinging to the past, the name of the game was division. And Paul says that is the main problem, and the way to fix that is the main thing. Or, as he said it, "Now I will show you the most excellent way..." and he follows that with a brief essay on love. 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 (NIV): 13 If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. As we read these words from Paul's first epistle to the Corinthians, I hope it brings to mind our congregation's mission statement which the leadership team formulated a few years ago: Loving God, loving one another, loving all. Now that distills the main thing into an easily remembered single sentence! 3. Relationships 1 Corinthians 9:19-22 ESV 19 For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. 20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. 21 To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. Here's where the discussion has taken us. There's an issue in the church with Christians eating food offered to idols. Some want to hold to tradition and others think they have a corner on what Christian freedom means. Paul says, "You're both wrong." First of all-eating food offered to idols is irrelevant. The association doesn't matter. On the other hand, you also have to be careful when practicing your freedom from this obsolete cultural requirement. Here's where Paul lays down an example. The problem was not the meat itself, but the worship ritual it was used in. Christians were sternly forbidden from taking part in this worship and Paul has strong words for it later. So, if you are eating said meat around believers who are solidly strong in their faith, that's fine. If one of them has an issue with it, they need to re-evaluate what "saved by grace through faith" means -- but tell this truth in love of course. However, if you are eating this meat in front of a new or on-the-fence believer, that's a problem. They can be tempted to go back to those pagan temple rituals or even put themselves back there mentally and emotionally, causing spiritual damage. Your so-called "right" to freedom in Christ isn't worth that. As Paul says elsewhere: 1 Corinthians 8:13 ESV Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble. He will never eat meat again if it causes his brother or sister to stumble back into their old life. That's love. He doesn't want to nudge anyone even an inch in a wrong direction. The guiding principle here is relationship. It's not your obsolete rituals, it's not your rights to Christian freedom. Relationship in the family of God is the determining factor and the only one worth preserving. "To the weak, I became weak..." The weak are the people who may slip back into the old life if they are still learning how to live in their Christian freedom. The old ritual and the old additions to the law, like the idol-food prohibition, are not relevant anymore. We are free in Christ. Paul says you can take or leave these things, even practicing old rituals if it might help clear the way between someone and Christ. He concludes this passage as follows: 1 Corinthians 9:22-23 ESV I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings. Paul's identity was in Christ, and which meat he ate or days he practiced doesn't affect that one way or the other. He would drop such practices if he were ministering to the non-Jewish community. However, Paul would even respectfully take on the obsolete practices if he were ministering to the Jewish community. Let's consider one example of this. Acts 16:3 ESV 3 Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. When Paul was on his second missionary journey, he was at Lystra and he wanted to take Timothy along with him. Timothy was born of a Greek father and a Jewish mother, and he wasn't circumcised. Timothy's background might become a stumbling block to the traditional Jews that they were reaching out to. Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a gentile. To prevent that becoming a hindrance, Paul circumcised him. What was at stake was how unbelieving Jews in that area might best be won to Christ. Like Paul, let us... • Identify what is worth fighting for - disputing and debating vigorously over the essence of the Gospel, the essentials of our faith. • But know what is not worth fighting over - like circumcision or eating food offered to idols. • And pray for wisdom to know the difference. But here we are in the 21st century. In Western nations, it's rare that we will run into an issue of eating meat offered to idols! But the principle comes through, which is why the Holy Spirit has given us this passage. Examples: We are free to wisely drink alcohol; it's not a theological issue. But if someone joins your table who is only one-week (or weak, spell it both ways!) sober, you should have your beer or wine another time. Your relationship with that person and their relationship with God is more important than your choice of beverage. It's always a good idea to avoid alcohol unless you already know the other person is okay with it. A new believer catches a ride with you. You are best to turn off your radio and join in a conversation. You may like heavy metal music, but what if your brother just came out of a lifestyle in which this music accompanied drug use, sexual irresponsibility, and violence. Your music can raise questions he may not be ready to ask. Your brother's spiritual health matters more than your right to pick the tunes. Ask him what type of music he prefers before turning on your radio. Consider politics for a minute. One brother is a life-time Liberal; another has been a staunch Conservative since his teens. They've both carefully and prayerfully made their political choices and ended up at different destinations. They disagree, no doubt, but they must never believe the other to be less spiritual or mature in Christ. Theologically, political affiliation itself is a matter of indifference. A millennial brother considers classical hymns to be outdated, irrelevant and "dead." A retired senior in the faith grew up on the classics, and he finds new praise choruses distracting and obnoxious. He thinks that Phil Wickham is a misplaced rock star. They create a blended service of worship and gradually come to appreciate-even worship through-each other's musical choices. The tempo of the music doesn't matter, the relationship between these brothers is what matters. Let's consider another example. Suppose you were raised in a Protestant church from your childhood. If so, you have probably become quite familiar with several books in the Old and New Testament. You may have memorized several scriptures from both testaments. However, one day a brother or sister comes to faith who is rom a Roman Catholic background. You quickly realize that their knowledge of the bible is quite limited. Does this become a source of division between the two of you just because you know that John 3:16 is not the room number for the men's washroom on the third floor where you work! No, you overlook their elementary knowledge of the Bible and trust they will gain in knowledge over time. During the past few weeks, we have launched three different life groups that are using Philip Yancey's book, What is so Amazing about Grace? as a focus for several weeks of group study. We are months away from completing our study of the subject of grace, but we don't have to wait until we are finished to start showing grace in our relationships. Allow me to share one personal example. When we moved from Ontario to BC a little over 11 years ago, we bought a home in Sidney on Vancouver Island. It was a duplex and at some point, we learned that the other side of the building was occupied by a Lesbian couple. Although we did not agree with their live style, we certainly did not shun them or avoid them. We were good neighbours to them. We kept an eye on their unit when they were away. On one occasion their lawn mower needed maintenance. I took care of it and changed the oil in the mower. They seemed appreciative. When we moved from Vancouver Island to Abbotsford, we parted company on a positive note. But what about your environment? Do you have neighbours or even close relatives who are members of the LGBTQ community? Without endorsing their life style, are you able to show grace to them? The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. The main thing is the gospel; the main thing is the supernatural love between brothers and sisters in the faith. While Paul's main point here was "so that he might win some", he never compromised the gospel. He does not say to preach what others want to hear, or to move from grace back to focusing on the law. His point is to start by meeting people where they are in order to bring them forward to a relationship with Jesus. There's a great old quote from Oliver Wendell Holmes: "My right to swing ends where the person's nose begins." If your freedom in Christ is causing a brother or sister spiritual damage, then it's not worth it. On the other hand, if you make what works for you spiritually (Christian music or abstinence from alcohol) a litmus test of someone else's faith, then you've also missed the point. It's a tall order; our categorizing brains don't like it. But this is what God has called us to. Don't exclude a brother/sister, and don't cause them to stumble either. D.L. Moody once shared this interesting story: A blind man in a great city was found sitting at a street corner with a lantern beside him. Someone went up to him and asked him why he had the lantern since he was blind and the light of it was the same to him as the darkness. The blind man simply replied, "So that others can see, and no one may stumble over me." We who know Christ, of course, are not blind. But like this man, we too must provide the light so that those who are lost can find their way to Christ. Without the light of Christ shining through us, others can stumble in their search for Him. Let us keep the light shining! So the bottom line is: "Will our actions draw people nearer to Christ, or push them away?" Let's keep the main thing-the gospel--the main thing. Let us pray. Sermon Paul and the Main Thing0Page 1 of 1 Keith M. Roberts0New Life Christian 0February 7, 2021