Strong Church/Weak Church 7
by Stephen King
 |
| Fountain of Peirene, Corinth |
Corinth was rebuilt by Julius Caesar in 44 BC following its
destruction in 146 BC by Rome. The “new” city was a mixed multitude of Roman,
Greek, and Jewish citizens, and as a consequence the church was influenced and
affected by those cultures. There was a great opportunity for influence, and
the church had some great strengths.
However, the Corinthian church is best known for its
problems. It is, perhaps, a harsh thing to focus on a church’s weaknesses so
heavily. However, God has preserved a clear record of the failings of the
Corinthian church for our benefit, and we do well to learn from their flaws. In
two installments, then, let us examine the weaknesses identified in the Bible of
the church at Corinth.
1. They were divided
1 Corinthians 3:1-7
1 And I, brethren, could not speak unto
you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. 2 I
have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to
bear it, neither yet now are ye able. 3 For ye are yet carnal: for whereas
there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and
walk as men? 4 For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos;
are ye not carnal? 5 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by
whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? 6 I have planted, Apollos
watered; but God gave the increase. 7 So then neither is he that planteth any
thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.
The Corinthian church was divided. They envied each other.
They fought each other. They even sued each other.
1 Corinthians 6:1, 5-7
1 Dare any of you, having a matter
against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints? ... 5
I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no,
not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren? 6 But brother goeth
to law with brother, and that before the unbelievers. 7 Now therefore there is
utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law one with another. Why do ye not
rather take wrong? why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded?
The most visible source of the division was an exaggerated
effort by members to identify as loyal to either Paul or another preacher that
had spent time in Corinth, Apollos. The greater issue was simply their carnal
willingness to find a reason to be divided. If it had not been over loyalty to
Paul or Apollos, they would have fought over something else.
Some things never change. Today there are some people who can
readily be described as “a fight in search of a cause” people. They will take issue with
a policy, or with music, or with decorations, or with conduct in business
meetings. They will seek to find people that are on “their side” and identify
people that are on “the other side.”
Division has been a reality in some churches since the very
first, when the immense growth at Jerusalem resulted in neglect of Greek widows
(Acts 6:1). Even there, at a church filled with enthusiastic converts and
eyewitnesses of the resurrection, division occurred. And when it happened, the
church had to pause and deal with the issue before progress could occur.
Division in a local church attacks the very foundations of
what a church should be. Christ’s command to love one another (John 13:34,
15:12, 15:17) is tossed in the garbage. A place that should be a refuge and a
place of encouragement for God’s people in a wicked world is instead a place of
contention. Instead of a place that is the pillar and ground of the truth (1
Timothy 3:15), a place that is intended to be God’s embassy on Earth (2
Corinthians 5:20), the unsaved world sees a place that is, at best, no better
than the world the local church is supposed to reach.
Trying to function as a church in a divided state is like trying to
drive a car with the parking brake on. You will make a lot of noise and exert a
lot of effort, but you will not move very well.
2. They were guilty
of and tolerant of sexual sin
1 Corinthians 5:1 It is reported commonly that there is
fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among
the Gentiles, that one should have his father's wife.
Perhaps the most shocking of the sins of the Corinthian
church was the open sin within the church and tolerance of it by the people, a level of sexual sin that Paul describes as outrageous even for (presumably
unsaved) gentiles.
Sexual sin is pervasive in our society today, but it has
always been a presence in humanity’s landscape. It is telling that Paul spends
most of his time addressing not the sinner himself, but the church’s response
to it. Instead of addressing the sin, they tolerated it.
As our world has embraced sexual sin with increasing vigor, churches
have been put in the difficult position of ministering to large numbers of
people who are engaged in sins ranging from pornography to adultery to even
sexually abusive behavior. The responses have often fallen short of Paul’s
instructions to the church at Corinth.
It is not a problem of one stripe of Christianity or
another. Churches on the cutting edge of modernism and old-fashioned fundamentalist
churches alike have been guilty of placating sexual sin. The methods vary, but
the effect is the same. A number of progressive churches have redefined what it
means to be a member of a church so that people engaged in known sin may serve
in various ministries. Shockingly large numbers of conservative churches have
responded to sexual abuse (which, due to its harm to others, is worse by an
order of magnitude) by ignoring it, actively covering it up, or aggressively
rehabilitating unrepentant abusers back into public prominence.
It is not just the sin, it is the response.
3. They were Disorderly
1 Corinthians 11:17-22 17 Now in this that I declare unto
you I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better, but for the
worse. 18 For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that
there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it. 19 For there must be
also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest
among you. 20 When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to
eat the Lord's supper. 21 For in eating every one taketh before other his own
supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken. 22 What? have ye not houses
to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that
have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you
not.
1 Corinthians 14:34 Let your women keep silence in the
churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to
be under obedience, as also saith the law.
The Corinthian church was disorderly. In the Lord’s Supper,
in the role of men and women in worship, and in the use of spiritual gifts (see
chapters 12-14), Paul identifies many instances of chaos. The Corinthian church
appeared to have a very casual relationship with order.
Order can be as simple as organization and planning. It is
possible for a church service to be too thoroughly planned, but a church
service that is not organized at all is arduous for everyone involved.
Ministries need planning and organization. Church finances must be organized.
But order is more than just a schedule and a ledger. It is
an issue of respect. The Corinthian church’s disorder was actively disrespectful
to multiple parties. It was disrespectful to God, whom in correcting issues
regarding spiritual gifts inspired Paul to write, Let all things be done
decently and in order (1 Corinthians 14:40). It was also disrespectful to
people who attended the Lord’s Supper intending to worship and meditate upon
the death of Christ, to be distracted by those eating a meal. It was
disrespectful to people teaching and to people listening to teaching, as others
spoke out of turn.
Order in a church shows proper reverence to God. It shows
proper respect to a pastor who has prepared many hours to preach. It shows
respect to others in attendance who desire to be ministered to in worship and
preaching. And it shows respect to those who may not know Christ but are
seeking truth.
Order is respect.
No comments:
Post a Comment