| Introduction Last week we sang Timothy Dwight's the great hymn I Love Thy Kingdom, Lord. In it, he says, "I love thy church, O God! Her walls before thee stand dear as the apple of thine eye, and graven on thy hand. For her my tears shall fall, for her my prayers ascend, to her my cares and toils be given, till toils and cares shall end." Is that what you think of the Church of God? Why is the way we think about the church important? Why focus on what we, as Christians, think about the church. The threats to the church are out there, right? Actually, Paul teaches that the greatest threat to a church is usually found from divisive, antagonistic people and factions within its own ranks. As we have seen in chapters 1 and 2, Paul is dealing with divisions and disunity in the church that have at their root pride, particularly pride because of how wise they were. Remember that some of the people in the church at Corinth wanted to "Christianize" things from their culture, especially the ancient wisdom of the Greeks that demonstrated itself in rhetorical prowess. The problem is that the wisdom of this age does not acknowledge that God is sovereign and that Jesus is his Christ. Therefore, this wisdom magnifies man. Yet, humanity loses its value because it becomes just another species of animal that was not created in the image of God. So, the worldly wise begins to kill their young and old. So, Paul says that the wisdom of this world does not make you wise (18-20); therefore, don't glory in humanity, but in the God who created humanity (21-23). I. The Wisdom of This World Does not Make You Wise, 18-20. A. Don't deceive yourself into thinking that being well thought of by the world is the same as being wise, 18. B. By commanding us not be self-deceived, Paul is saying that we have a tendency to be self-deceived. C. So we deceive ourselves into thinking that approval by this age means wisdom that pleases the Lord. D. To this Paul says, "Let no man deceive himself into thinking that the wisdom of this world is compatible with what Christ says in his Word." E. Christian people who are self-deceived are more dangerous to the church than the bad people out there. F. The solution? Become a fool! 18b-19a. G. Becoming a fool has nothing to do with intelligence or what we know. II. Don't Glory in Humanity, But in the God Who Created Humanity, 21-23. A. Paul goes back to the same issue he was dealing with in chpt. 1. B. A large number of Christians in Corinth were proudly declaring their superiority based on the man they deemed their "spiritual" father. C. Paul says, "Don't boast in those men. That is foolishness. God gave all of them to each one of you. Why cheat yourself from all that God gave you by sticking to just one of them?" 21-22. D. So we boast in God! E. All of this under the sovereign lordship of Christ – you are Christ's Conclusion I ask you today, are you willing to be just a fool? A fool who is willing to stick to Jesus? Do you believe in the foolish notion that a virgin conceived and gave birth to the Savior of the world? If so, welcome to the club. Do you believe in the foolish idea that you are not good enough for God? As matter of fact, that you are the opposite of good? Then welcome to faithful Christianity. Do you believe in the stupid idea that your life is not your own and that Christ lives in and through you? Rejoice because that is heaven. Action Points · Take an honest look at your life through the glasses of the Bible and identify areas where you have deceived yourself into thinking that the wisdom of this age is what you should follow. · Having identified these areas, repent, confess them to God, ask him to forgive you, and to give you grace to change. · Start to work through them in the light of the Scriptures in order to change how you believe, think, or behave so that everything in your life can line up with the claim that Christ is your Lord. The Bible says, "Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!" So taste and see that the Lord is good by being a fool for him.  | |||
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Friday, September 21, 2012
No Self-Deception - 1 Cor. 3:18-23
