Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
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Young Adults
I want to talk today about being a spiritual father.
This is important for understanding this idea of being a spiritual father.
Paul sets the groundwork here - he says, the role i’m asking you to follow,
we’re not talking about being judgmental
SIDEBAR - And this is a radical idea, ‘judge nothing’.
Now, paul’s not saying, ‘let everything slide’.
He teaches in 1 Corinthians 5 that there’s circumstances that require a judgment.
But he narrows the scope.
In some scriptures, Paul says ‘if you disagree on things like, which days or holy or not, which food you can eat or not - keep those beliefs to yourself, and don’t condemn others’.
But in other parts he says,
So he’s saying, if you have a person who claims to be a brother, but they do these things- don’t count those people in your association.
But he also specifically says, this doesn’t apply to people in the world - otherwise you’d have to just flat out leave earth.
So anyways - Talking about Paul’s understanding about when to do or say something and when not to is a big topic, and it’s copmlex, but suffice it to say - in this section, he’s speaking AGAINST being judgmental.
He says, there’s a better way to do this then just deciding to cut people out.
‘Do not go beyond what is written’ - otherwise you will be puffed up
What does that mean?
Have you ever met a person who prides themselves on how judgmental and strict they can be?
How many rules they can put in place and follow?
Basically - how much they can make other people do it the way they think is the right way or the only way?
It SOUNDS holy, but the problem is, Paul is saying, what is WRITTEN is to keep us close to Christ.
Keep us humble.
But with being judgmental, with being rule based and legalistic - it puffs US up instead.
When we ADD to what the Bible teaches us, with stuff that we think is wise - It lifts US up in our own eyes - and that’s dangerous.
The pharisees did this.
But then he says - what do you have that you weren’t just freely given?
Faith, salvation, eternal life - it’s all free, and none of it depends on what you did.
So why do we act like reaffirming how good we are is the final goal?
We say that it’s all by grace, and we act like it’s all by merit.
Paul says, being judgmental, it leads us to putting ourselves back on the throne.
It causes us to say, ‘i’m a better believer than this other person’.
And that’s not what is needed.
Paul and the Corinthian Church
Paul has this contrasting scenario right after these verses - the corinthians, and himself / the other apostles.
CORINTHIANS - Starting to prosper.
They are experiencing riches.
Wisdom.
Strength.
Honor.
PAUL - Suffering.
Considered fools by many.
They are hungry, poor clothes, no home.
Treated brutally.
Persecuted.
He calls himself ‘The scum of the earth’.
If you asked me to pick out which ‘list’ seems like it was more blessed by God, which group sounded like it was doing God’s will - I’d pick the corinthians here.
It’s obvious (EXAMPLES)
But then Paul says this:
Paul is saying, ‘I see these things happening.
And I’m warning you, this isn’t good’.
And Paul here, he sees the church going astray.
He sees them puffing themselves up, building up their own kingdoms and their own thrones.
He sees them facing the wrong way.
But he also wants to speak out against judgmentalism.
Because he knows that
Being judgmental is our default way of dealing with things
There aren’t any problems if I just kick out all the people who I don’t like!
And who don’t do things like I do.
To Paul, the solution isn’t taking the judgmental road
- for the Corinthian Church the solution is in finding more people he calls
Spiritual Fathers
And he says - there aren’t many people committing to this way of life.
You have PLENTY of guardians.
This word in the greek refers to a servant who was a child’s tutor or instructor.
It’s their job to impart info.
Lots of people want that.
Because it’s easy.
But paul says to them, what the church needs is ‘spiritual fathers’.
People who are committed to, without judgment, walking alongside them and helping them put word to practice.
Helping them to take what they’re taught and apply it to what they do.
The corinthians, they were setting themselves up for one kind of failure - the failure of prosperity.
There’s plenty of other kinds of failures that seem holy at the beginning.
There’s three things I want to talk about with this idea of being a spiritual father.
Be there for people no matter what
If you want to see how much Paul lives this point, just read chapters 5 and 6.
The Corinthian church had hit a REALLY hard time.
They had cases of sexual immorality and TERRIBLE ones at that, believers were suing each other, you name it.
There are many big, famous churches in the world that have been absolutely rocked by issues like these.
And Paul is just trying to walk them through it.
Trying to help them understand how to get back on track.
He calls the church his ‘dear children’.
Paul is loving the Corinthian church through a level of trouble that would cause most other people to flee.
I’ve seen people leave a church over the floor color, or the length of service, or the type of seating, or a shift in musical style.
Paul is sticking through a church that has dealt with really serious sinful behaviour.
Being a spiritual father is about being there for your family no matter what happens.
Second
Be a compass, not a GPS
This is a particularly important point.
Because spiritual fathers are here to help people learn how to navigate.
I’ve noticed there’s two types of directions.
TAKE THIS STREET / GO THIS FAR, and Hey you’re just looking for this big white building, when you see that you’re near, turn when you see this one kind of house, etc etc.
Using a compass means having to pay attention to a lot more things.
Picking landmarks, gauging distance.
You consult the compass randomly to ensure you’re still facing ultimately the same way - but after that, you’re navigating using your own skills and senses.
You’re learning to recognize your surroundings, see the signs, and make your own way to the destination.
GPS is different.
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