Sermon Tone Analysis

BE CATCH THE CONTEXT

We have covered a lot of ground in the last 19 teachings of this series that we have entitled...

A Beautiful Mess

The Corinthian Christians were...

But, as we will see today, Paul was expecting these people to...

BE THE CHURCH

Truth is, while there aren’t many specific commands in this chapter, there are implications that point back to what Paul has already stated throughout the writing.

so, let’s dive in and be reminded what it means to

BE THE CHURCH - giving, accountable, relational, encouraging, faithful, loving, submissive, & obedient church - expecting the return of Jesus.

A GIVING CHURCH

1 Corinthians 16:1–4 (CSB)

Now about the collection for the saints: Do the same as I instructed the Galatian churches.

On the first day of the week, each of you is to set something aside and save in keeping with how he is prospering, so that no collections will need to be made when I come.

When I arrive, I will send with letters those you recommend to carry your gift to Jerusalem.

If it is suitable for me to go as well, they will travel with me.

Notice that the Corinthian Church was meeting on the first day of the week - that’s a Sunday, the day that Jesus rose from the dead (Mt 28:1; Mk16:2; Lk 24:1; Jn 20:1).

The Church of Troas met on “the first day of the week” as well (Acts 20:7).

God didn’t change the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday, but the day of Jesus’ resurrection was so significant that it became the primary meeting day for the early Church.

This collection for the saints was meant to bless the mother church in Jersualem, the place from where the Gospel went out.

If it weren’t for faithful Jewish followers of Jesus who carried His message from Jerusalem, the Church in Corinth would not have existed (Rom 15:25-28).

This mother Church has faced persecution, as James the apostle was beheaded and Peter was thrown in prison - right there in Jerusalem, and the Church ran from Jersualem (Acts 8:1-3).

Who was persecuting them?

PAUL!

Jews who followed Jesus were written off from their families, fired from their jobs, and pressured by their culture to leave Jesus and return to B.C. Judaism.

These people needed food, a place to live, and a job.

We also know that there were many widows being taken care of by the Jerusalem Church (Acts 6:1).

Some had even sold possessions & property to help take of other Christians (Acts 2:44–45; 4:34).

Further, just a few years before Paul penned this letter, a massive famine that impacted the entire Roman Empire, including Jerusalem (Acts 11:28).

Where do people head when they are starving?

LARGE CITIES to get help.

Lastly, there been been a wide divide between the Gentiles and Jews even among the Church of Jesus.

This sacrificial gift from Gentile Christians to Jewish Christians went a long way to demonstrate that the Church of Jesus is not divided by ethnicity, color, culture, nor social status.

How much were the Corinthians to give?

It depended on how a person was prospering.

In other words, everyone wasn’t expected to give the same amount.

They were to give what they could.

While all Christians should give consistently and generously for Kingdom work as taught in the New Testament, this passage is not a command for all believers to give, as it is specifically meant to address financial needs in Jerusalem at the time.

Further, while many of us grew up with the idea of giving our “tithe,” this is not a New Testament Practice.

You can hear more about this in a teaching from a few years ago entitled:

Giving & the New Testament (https://bit.ly/GivingandNewTestament)

John MacArthur says it well: “Despite the claims of those who advocate mandatory tithing, Christian giving is entirely voluntary.

Paul did not require a fixed amount or percentage from either the Macedonians or the Corinthians, nor does any other New Testament writer.

The argument for tithing is based on a misunderstanding of the Old Testament.”

[F1]

A Christian’s giving corresponds to that in ancient Israel.

We are required to give taxes to support the government under which we live (Rom.

13:6), just as the Israelites were to give tithes to support the divinely ordained system under which they lived (Matt.

17:24–27; 22:15–21).

And we are to give to the Lord whatever we purpose in our hearts, “not grudgingly or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor.

9:7), just as the Israelites gave out of their hearts to the Lord.

The Lord has always loved a cheerful and sacrificial giver.

No amount or percentage is ever required in the New Testament.

Rather, each believer is to give from his heart.

[F2]

Does God want you and me to give?

YEP.

Consistently and generously.

How much?

That’s up to you.

Maybe you CAN give 10% of your income or more.

Maybe it’s less right now, based on how you’re prospering, but it ought to be significant - rather that giving God our leftovers.

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU for those who give to the work on Fellowship.

Thank you for your graciousness and consistency.

For those who AREN’T giving anything, would you start?

If God is using this Church to impact your spiritual needs, will you join us in giving of your time, talents, & treasure - to further the Kingdom?

Now, back to our text, we need to be...

AN ACCOUNTABLE CHURCH

Finally, regarding giving, it is obvious that Paul is super careful to make sure there is accountability regarding this gift, asking the church to recommend people to travel with him to carry the gift to Jerusalem.

Regardless of his integrity, Paul does not want to be the one man who is being trusted with this large amount of money.

Paul wants this accountability and so should we.

Accountability - where others know what is going on in our lives - is not a lack of trust, but a road block that keeps us from losing trust.

Do you have anyone who you are being accountable to - how you spend money, keeping your thoughts & actions pure, etc? OR, are you the LONE RANGER - remember even he needed TONTO.

Further, if we’re going to BE The Church, then we must be...

A RELATIONAL CHURCH

1 Corinthians 16:5–9 (CSB)

I will come to you after I pass through Macedonia—for I will be traveling through Macedonia—and perhaps I will remain with you or even spend the winter, so that you may send me on my way wherever I go.

I don’t want to see you now just in passing, since I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord allows.

But I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost, because a wide door for effective ministry has opened for me—yet many oppose me.

While this isn’t a command from Paul in this text, it has been through the entire writing, and is what Paul modeled to the Corinthians.

He didn’t just want a place to stop for the night, but wanted to spend some time with his brothers & sisters in Corinth.

The key to all relationships is making sure to spend some time with one another, rather than just a “How you doin’?” in passing.

Making time for people is the difference between friendships/family and acquaintances.

The early church was built on the apostle’s teaching, fellowship, eating and celebrating the Lord’s Supper, & prayer.

All of those took TIME TOGETHER.

So too, Paul modeled a relational approach to the churches he started.

Listen to the relational language he uses in writing the Thessalonians...

1 Thessalonians 2:7a–8, 12 (CSB)

we were gentle among you, as a nurse nurtures her own children.

We cared so much for you that we were pleased to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us...As you know, like a father with his own children, we encouraged, comforted, and implored each one of you to walk worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.

Every person under the sound of my voice NEEDS relationships with other believers, but that CAN’T HAPPEN if we don’t make time for each other outside of this event.

Schedule a time to eat or hang out with another family.

Show up to one of our GROUPS on Sundays at 10am, Wed nights at 6:30, or ask a Christian friend here if they have another group they meet with off campus.

Regular folks at Fellowship - REACH OUT and invite those who are new or those who aren’t plugged in.

AN ENCOURAGING CHURCH

1 Corinthians 16:10–12 (CSB)

If Timothy comes, see that he has nothing to fear while with you, because he is doing the Lord’s work, just as I am.

So let no one look down on him.

Send him on his way in peace so that he can come to me, because I am expecting him with the brothers.

Now about our brother Apollos: I strongly urged him to come to you with the brothers, but he was not at all willing to come now.

However, he will come when he has an opportunity.

Why did Paul have to write this about Timothy?