Sermon Tone Analysis

How to Excel Still More in Loving Our Brothers & Sisters

How to Excel Still More in Loving Our Brothers & Sisters

How to Excel Still More in Loving Our Brothers & Sisters

1 Corinthians

The church in Corinth had a bunch of very serious problems.

Preacheritis

Incest

Turning the church into a “Judge Judy” court with the members of higher status making a mockery in the community of the Christians with lower status

Some were trying to rationalize fornication (and adultery ?)

While others were trying to push celibacy

Some “knew” they could eat at the temple restaurants and were therefore

Causing others to sin and fall

Having fellowship with demons

Women who were trying to dress and act like men

Some who were scarfing down all of the food and drink meant for the Lord’s Supper leaving none for those who didn’t show up early

Fighting about who gets to lead in worship

Some teaching that there is no resurrection

You know, kind of like the problems in the church here.

(joke)

Which of these problems would you address first or seem as if it was the most important?

Paul chose to address the problem of preacheritis because it resulted not just in arguments and hurt feelings, but because it caused division in the group.

Division had to be addressed first:

1 Corinthians 1.10

And Paul spends more time addressing this subject than any other subject in the letter (4 chapters on unity, 3 on temple restaurants, 3 on leading in worship).

1 Corinthians teaches us that more than any other problem, we must address any division and be united as brothers and sisters in Christ.

We normally turn to this chapter to discuss the works of the flesh vs the fruit of the Spirit, and we then normally apply this to our lives out in the world.

But this is not what Paul is discussing in the context.

The problem (singular) being addressed was the division some Christians were causing by pushing their scruples about the Law of Moses on other Christians, ,

,

Especially notice:

v4, you are severed from Christ

v12, I wish the troublemakers would castrate themselves

v15, bite and devour, consumed; language used of animals attaching and eating other animals; in other words, spiritual cannibalism

What would you do—how would you react or feel if someone came into the assembly here, snatched up your little kids and started eating them?

When we divide over scruples, we are doing the same thing only from a spiritual perspective.

The solution given by Paul is love.

Notice v6, faith working through love.

And then notice vv13–14.

v6, faith working through love

It is this context that is the basis for the discussion on the works of the flesh vs the fruit of the Spirit.

Let’s continue reading.

v

Galatians 5.

Notice the connection between “the desires of the flesh” in v16 and the “opportunity for the flesh” in v13.

This is only one of several connections here that cue us in to the fact that, despite the pericope heading in many Bibles between vv15 and 16, Paul was talking about the same subject in vv16–26 as he is in vv1–15.

Then notice how he took the descriptions of their bad attitude toward their brothers and sisters—enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy—and sandwiched them between things like sexual immorality, idolatry, and drunkenness and orgies!

Why?

Because he wanted them to see, and we need to see, that having bad attitudes toward our brethren who don’t have the same scruples we do is just as sinful as adultery, idolatry, and orgies.

Let that sink in for a second.

The solution, again?

Love.

The fruit of the Spirit (singular) is love.

I believe the other attitudes beginning with joy are describing what love looks like, but that the fruit (singular) of the Spirit is love, especially when you notice that he said in v14 that the whole law is fulfilled in one word: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

The works of the flesh vs the fruit of the Spirit teach us that we must love our brothers and sisters and be united with them and we must not cause division of any sort, including division caused by pushing our scruples on them.

In Paul described the blessings and benefits that God gives to those who are in the body of Christ.

Then because of and in reaction to those blessings and benefits, he instructed the Christians then, as well as us, to live and act in certain ways.

Notice the “therefore” of 4.1.

What would you put at the top of such a list describing how we should live and act in response to all that God has done for us in Christ Jesus?

Belong to a sound solid church?

Attend services every time the doors are open?

Worship God in spirit and truth?

What does Paul put at the top of the list?

Let’s read.

The primary point Paul addressed in how the Christian should respond to all that God has done for us in Christ Jesus is unity.

vv1–3 describe the right attitudes needed for this unity (incl.

love)

vv4–6 describe the right anchor or foundation needed for this unity

vv7–16 describe the right actions needed for this unity, namely everyone doing their God-given part in building up the body in love

Before addressing problems of morality, worship, family life, work life, and our daily fight with evil, Paul emphasized that we must bear with one another in love, being eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

How are you doing with that?

In Paul said,

He then chases a few rabbits and comes back to this in 3.1.

He then describes the putting off of the old person and putting on of the new person in 3.1–17.

What attitudes and actions would you think were most important to include in describing the putting off of the old man and putting on of the new man?

Let’s read what Paul included in such a description.

Did you notice that Paul describes the putting off of the old person and putting on of the new person in terms that describe the wrong and right relationship with our brothers and sisters in Christ?

Regarding the things put off with the old person Paul joined the bad attitudes toward our brothers and sisters—anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk—with the really ugly sins of sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

Then Paul said that in putting on the new person we put on love and the right kind of attitudes toward our brothers and sisters in vv12–17.

Have you truly put to death bad attitudes toward your brothers and sisters?

Have you truly put on love toward your brothers and sisters?

Practical Suggestions

scruples

So, what is a scruple anyway?

It is not an opinion about something such as the color of the carpet at the church’s meeting place.

Preachers and teachers who have defined it as such have done a great disservice to the cause of Christ.

No, a scruple is “an ethical or moral principle that inhibits action” (“Scruple” WordNet 3.0), or “a strong belief about what is right and wrong that governs your actions” (“Scruple” Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary).

In other words, it is something that you strongly believe to be wrong because of various principles (based on Bible passages).

However, scruples are non-essential to “the pattern of sound words” (); that is, while we strongly believe them to be wrong, they are neither right nor wrong in and of themselves.

scruples, ,

We need to know what our scruples are.

Do you know yours?

Do you know the things you believe so strongly to be right or wrong that for you or your family to cross these lines would be sin, but that those same things would not be sin for other Christians?

Once we know what our scruples are, we cannot bind them on anyone else.

If they ask, we can discuss.

Otherwise, we keep it between us and God and our immediate family.

And we must absolutely be ok with our brothers and sisters having scruples that are different from ours.

This is the way the body of Christ is supposed to work when we love each other.

preferences

We all have preferences and things we desire to see take place in the church.

But we must not look to our interests, and instead must look to the interest of others.

preferences,