What Should I Do? - 1 Corinthians 7:1 - 40

The seventh chapter of 1 Corinthians gives us an understanding about what Paul thought about the status of a Christian marriage. The content of this chapter is far more important than any commentary that I can write, so I beg you to please take the time right now to read carefully the entire chapter—read the chapter before you study any commentary pertaining there to.

Paul was a highly educated Jew and a well established Roman with all rights. He grew up, and lived and worked in some of the wealthiest, busiest, and most ungodly cities of the apostolic times. He more than likely was a married man during his prosperous antichristian days. She may have died, but I tend to believe that she divorced Paul at the time of and probably because of his conversion on the Road to Damascus. The bible frowns on divorce, but there is one thing for sure—[the life of Paul after his conversion, on the road constantly moving from one city to another, shipwrecked, snake bitten, stoned and left for dead]—he would have been a hard man for a wife to remain loyal to, and be happy with, even have trusted. When and where would he have found the time to drop in at home and be a good husband? One thing is for sure; Paul’s life taught him much about what a good marriage should be about.

So, you are a young family and some thing has just happened that has you stressed-out to the limit, and your question is; “What should I do? Ha, this is not unusual and it will happen again and again down through life. Juanita and I were married in 1944, at ages 20 and 21. We own our home in Heber Springs, have lived here for thirty five years and would like to remain here with our church family and friends until God calls us home to Glory.

Some recent serious illness has reminded us that neither of us is able to care for the other during trying times like this. Our girls want us to sell our home and move close to one of them so thy can be of more help. They love us, they want to help, and are not selfish in their desire. They even suggested that we move into an assisted living quarters, where personal and immediate help would be available on notice. This approaching milestone has caused us to reflect together on some important questions. Where have the years gone and how so soon? How are we to deal with and use the remaining years to the best advantage. Should we plan our future to insure that we continue doing what we want to do—or should we think about how we can affect other lives and do the greatest good for all?

We are older and have already lived most of our lives and the future problems that we face are much different from those that most young families face each day. I realize this and it is this difference that I wish to address at this time. Corinth was a booming trade center and the opportunity for promiscuity was wide open—and serious problems were frequent among the young families. Then came the days of Hollywood and all of the promiscuity that has blighted the lives of young people through the 1960’s until today when many people do not consider sexual purity as a necessity in the Christian life. When I take all of these matters into consideration, then it is very important for me to ask again—WHAT SHOULD I DO?

My first piece of advice to the younger that are to be married, or just married couples is quiet harsh and unbending. God created man and woman. God created the act of being married or united and caused it to make two people as one. When children are born, now there are always three or more people involved, and the destruction of the marriage is something like taking a life. What God has united, you—man has no right to tear apart.

The New Testament reflects the teachings of Christ as being the right ways set apart for Christ like people to follow. The do right rule was established by Christ and there is no doubt that The Lord considers each one of us as our brother’s keeper. We are even responsible for a wayward stranger who has fallen by the way and needs help. Those of us that turn our heads aside and walk by the broken and needy one will pay for our sin of neglect. If this be so, then think how much more harmful and important for one to turn aside from a wife or child simply to satisfy a personal desire.

Let us go back now and look at the overall lesson that we are trying to present in this presentation. Starting at the first thought of sexual desire that one may have for another, the scripture makes it very clear that the misuse of another person in order to satisfy a personal desire is a sin and anyone committing the sin will be punished. God created the solemn marriage vow as a way for two Christians to be united in marriage. Marriage was never intended to be a situation or condition provided to solve the desire of a man or woman for sex. God created the act as a gift of pleasure to his people who were ordered to populate the earth making it possible for God to have many children on this earth to praise and worship Him. The culmination of true sex comes when many Christians are populated and their place on earth is to do unto their neighbors [friends, family, children, spouses, etc.] as they would like to be treated.

Getting personal, I go back to the selling of our home for the last fifteen years, and moving away from our friends of thirty-five years. Juanita and I do not wish to do this at this time and if we remain very selfish, we probably will not make the move. The truth is that it would make things easier for our immediate families, and their feelings are also important, therefore it is something that we must seriously consider. We are not our own—we were bought with a price—and we are obliged to honor that precious one that paid the blood sacrifice for each one of us.

As children growing up, we must honor our mother and father and trust in our Savior. As young adults considering marriage, we must do so realizing that it is a God created, God given position of partnership between man and woman providing for the enjoyment of sexual relationships for the purpose of inhabiting this earth for Christ. We have no right to alter or destroy the marriage relationship, and will be punished if we do so in defiance of God’s teachings. If you are among the crowd in today’s world that seem to believe you can treat marriage as dirty clothing and put it on or pull it off at your own desire, the bible teaches that you will be one of the ones that pay a heavy penalty.

The lesson title asks the question—“What can I do?” I tell you to start early, learn God’s will and plan for your life and follow His teachings. Marry the right person at the right time for all the right reasons and live as if the word divorce had never been spelled much less practiced.

1 Corinthians 5 -6

My life got its start in the last house that was one half mile off of the mail route loop that ran from the Paul Ean’s store on high way 11, north to the White Oak school house. There was just a wagon trail the last half mile, with no drainage ditches, and woods’ trail was never graded…even until this day. There were no other homes north or east of the William Turner Vandiver place. All of our neighbors lived south toward Des Arc and west toward Griffithville, and I doubt that there were as many as fifty families in this twenty square mile area.

My family and I did not know anything about illicit drugs, not even marijuana and so my parents had fewer things to worry and warn me about. Times have changed and parents today have much more to concern them. The sins of my day were probably led by the most important one immorality. It involved every teenage boy and girl from their first date on the rest of their lives. The rest of the list of common sins were ‘cussing’ or using the Lord’s name in vain, lying, stealing, and smoking Bull Durham; then there are several more including suing your neighbor. Our lesson today suggests that we find different reasons why we should practice Christian Morality.

The most common immoral practice is no doubt promiscuity. God made man and woman to be his helpmate and God gave them the desires that are natural cravings that if left uncontrolled will lead to complete disaster in the life of a person, or home including children. There has never been a pregnancy out of wedlock that did not wreck havoc in the lives of the parents [mother especially] and the child who actually had nothing to do with the mistake that was originally made. After serving in the public school system for forty two years, in seven different school districts and a total of thousands of homes and many thousands of children, I can attest that the problems caused by sexual immorality grew each year I worked in education. Problem number one is that as time went by, the general public grew to accept illicit practices causing the problem to increase.

Today in good schools like the one here in Heber Springs it is not uncommon for 60% of the students in a given class to be from broken homes. In the larger cities the percentage is higher and conditions much worse, to the point that some of the children do not even know their parents. So, let me just say up front that the main reason for the practice of Christian morality is protect innocent children from homes absent of parental love.

Juanita and I married in 1944, and back at that time one of the main reasons for abstinence was to maintain a good character and not be known as a promiscuous person. For the same reason, honest Christian like people did not steal, rob, and lie. It was important that we maintain a flawless reputation and we be known as people of good character. It should be that way today—and I suppose it is in most cases; however there seems to be less feeling for the need of a good character.

I have already drawn the picture of our vastly rural area in Prairie County and tried to make the point that most people knew everybody within miles of their home. If there was an immoral act committed that became public knowledge, the girl suffered most…and usually the entire family was adversely troubled. In larger cities the problems were more adverse, open, and more frequent.

This lesson is dealing with the time when Paul was trying to minister to the city of Corinth. Corinth was a metro area, the hub of transportation, the center of trade and travel, and occupied by numerous groups with different backgrounds, especially non-religious influences. Some, a few, of each different nationality, with varied religious thought and lack of Christian training made up the congregations of the new churches being formed.

Of such was the population of the new church at Corinth. It had been planted by Paul and was now under leadership of his followers. The short period of Paul’s teaching influence had begun to fade away as new members of the church began to try to do their own thing and this was the reason they were having problems in Corinth. There were divisions of all kinds cropping up in the church and one of the most devastating was the promiscuous practice of sex even in some phases of church worship. Bible history relates that even by first-century standards, Corinth was infamous for its sexual permissiveness. Available in Corinth was the Corinthian temple of Aphrodite [a pagan love goddess, featuring sexual rituals with ‘so called sacred priestesses’ available at the “worship” services. The soldiers, sailors, and travelers looking for a good time knew where to go, and this made it hard for a new Christ Like church to grow without doing some of the same things.
What is the Christian teaching about sexual morality? I think most of you know! I can not make it any plainer than this statement does. “God’s intention is for the sexual relationship to be enjoyed only by a married husband and wife.” This simply eliminates premarital marriage, adultery, and all kinds of illicit sexual activity including homosexuality and sex with animals.

Allow me to change the thought to a question at this time. Think back over the last few years at the great number of highly elected officials; governors, senators, representatives, and a president; and also several leaders of mega-churches and denominations that have made headline news about their promiscuous sexual ways. [I do not want to call names to hurt people] I simply want you to realize the number of United States citizens that have been hurt, betrayed, caused suffering and pain because of the sinful acts of people who held offices of trust. Is one of our worst problems in America today the fact that “People do not trust their leaders?”

Here is my number one reason for practicing Christian Morality. If we could manage somehow to elect only those who are morally competent officials during the next few years we could regain our old and true Christian nation. So, yes it is my business when officials commit immoral acts; it lets me know that they are not competent, can not be trusted, and should not be holding office for the people.

The change in time from 1924, my birth day until today 2010, has resulted in many people drifting away from the teachings of the word of God. But those teachings are the same yesterday, today and will forever be. No foreign power could ever destroy a God loving, God fearing America. So, as predicted by the Russians only a few years ago—America is destroying itself from within by those who are denying the God of creation his rightful place in our history books, and within the walls of our congress, and on the bench of our national courts.

All we need to turn the troubling tide away from our shores is about 500 good people in the White House, in Congress and on our courts. The word good is simply defined as men and women who believe in and practice CHRISTIAN MORALITY. We just need a few good men! Will you help me pray that this may happen even in our lifetime? Thank you.

Four Ways to Promote Church Unity - 1 Corinthians 1:10,21-31; 3:9-10,16-17

All of the Apostles were outstanding men; each was unique in his own way but Paul must be the most unforgettable and most appreciated of all the disciples. He was not one of the original dozen Apostles called by Christ who usually said simply “follow” me, and I will make you fishermen of men. He was the one that was struck by lightening [or the Holly Spirit] while on his the highway as he traveled to Damascus in search of Christians which he considered as criminal law breakers. If you will think about his experience on the day of his call, you may decide that this call was the loudest and most demanding call ever received by any man. Paul surrendered immediately and went on to become the leader in establishing new churches. He dedicated the rest of his life on earth to being a church planter.

Not only did he become the most prominent church planter of all time, but he became the most prolific writer of the New Testament. He would establish a new church and move on. Then he would write letters to the churches he had established in order to answer their questions, or give directions in regard to their church government and operations. These letters are rich and interesting, just like this one to the church at Corinth.

You may not have thought about the problems that have arisen because much of the New Testament writings are in the form of “letters” written to a church or to individuals. And there is a reason for the difficulties that have cropped up. You see…a letter is one half of a conversation between two people. A church or a person would write to Paul and ask for his advice regarding some difficulty that they had confronted. Then Paul would write and answer their question or address their problem. WE DO NOT HAVE A COPY OF THE LETTEER HE IS ANSWERING. WE HAVE TO ASSUME WHAT THE PROLEM WAS AND HOW WELL HE ANSWERED THEIR INQUIRY. I realize that Paul’s writings were called epistles, but they appear to me to be more like personal letters.

We also know that Paul did not personally write most of these letters—but he dictated the letters to another person who did the writing. In Romans 16: 22, Tertius was the writer and slipped his own greeting into the letter. In this letter to 1 Corinthians, Paul says it bears his signature [my autograph] so you will know that it comes from me.

As we start our study of the church at Corinth it is important that you know something about the city. Space limits us, but you should know that it was a wicked city with a reputation for commercial prosperity. It was a city with rapid growth at the time and with the combination of rapid growth, prosperity and sin, it made it a difficult city to win for Christ. Paul had not been gone long before he started receiving calls for help from those who were having trouble holding the church together.

Paul makes it very clear in this book that the problem was disunity in the church. He had not been gone long before some began to argue that they should follow Paul…some said Apollos and some Christ. He hammered them hard saying that I did not baptize you…you were baptized into Christ. He makes it plain that he established the CHURCH OF GOD at Corinth—and not the CHURCH OF CORINTH. Paul made it clear that a church divided could not stand.

Wherever Paul went he laid the same foundation. It was that Salvation comes through Christ alone, and there is no other way. Through Christ, man finds forgiveness for past sins and in a new relationship with his Lord. It was that man finds strength for the present and the future: and comes to realize that he can not be sustained by any other power than that of God. Man also will find his hope in Christ for the future including life forever in heaven. You will never be asked a more important question than this: How strong is your hope? Can you see yourself sitting at the right hand of God…in heaven some day soon…at the end of this brief life?

We as Christians are now serving as God’s temple who prepared ourselves to receive the Holly Spirit and give him a place of abode in our hearts daily. But if we choose to introduce dissension and divisions into the fellowship of Christ’s church we are actually destroying the temple of God.

The Spirit can not operate in a divided church! The different divisions will simply become a series of disconnected ruins, and the church as a whole will soon fall. By nature it can not stop criticizing and grow. It will always be disputatious. A divided people cannot remain silent and admire the good that is present…but must talk and criticize and tear down.

The intellectual pride of a split group is usually exclusive and they tend to look down on their opponents, rather than to sit down beside them and worship. The most of us older Christians have gone through a split in a church, and we know how devastating it can be to all concerned. When a split occurs, one of the sides will beseech the other by the Blood of Christ to sit down and realize that it is possible that they just might be mistaken. But I am telling you that this is exactly what intellectual pride cannot think! It can not believe that I am wrong. Men are more likely to be cut off from each other than they are to be reunited. Paul had a problem on his hands. Today’s churches like this have a big problem on their hands.

Paul urged the man who thought he was wise…to be a fool. This is a hard way for me to say that it is important for one who thinks he is wise to realize that he could be wrong and that it is he that needs to learn. Plato once said that no one could teach a man that thinks he already knows everything. I have tried to teach students in school who thought they already knew everything. It is impossible because they will not stop their own thoughts long enough to listen to you get started. There is an old proverb that will do to close this thought. “He who knows not, and knows not that he knows not is a fool: avoid him. He who knows not, and knows that he knows not is a wise man; teach him.” Did you know that the only way you can become wise is to realize that there are some things you do not know. The only way to knowledge is to confess ignorance.

Friends, this I know. My formal public education has taught me how to learn—but formal education has a drawback. It teaches how to learn things you do not need to know even more quickly than it teaches positive things. My bible has taught me the things that I need to know—how to live and let others live by me without imposing myself on them. My bible has taught me how to live in a world or even a Baptist Church when I do not completely agree with others I deal with.

Paul confronted divisions in Christ’s church at Corinth. He tried to solve the problems by teaching them that the church is made up of Christian bodies that serve as the temple of the Holly Spirit: and that if the church tries to worship any thing or anyone else [even Paul or Apollos] they are cultivating a division that will not easily heal.

Three Ideas for Encouraging Church Leaders - 1 Corinthians 4:1-5,9-20

Good church leaders including pastors, music directors, deacons, teachers and the janitor all have traits and dispositions that are much in tune with a good coon hound or squirrel dog. If you have ever hunted squirrels using a dog to locate the game and keep it in sight you know that you must encourage the dog, lead him on, and tell him to go get-em; or sick-em every few minutes. If you can whistle, there are several sounds that encourage a dog to hunt faster and father. The one thing that you can not do is yell any kind of discouragement toward a dog that is already not doing what they should do. If you make that mistake, the old dog just quits all-together. You had better not try it on your pastor unless you want the same results.

The emphasis of this week’s lesson is on the question of how Christian people can help their church leaders to be more effective in the Lord’s work. The point has already been made that you do not encourage greater leadership by constantly criticizing the work now being done. Paul was already being bothered by factions in the different churches that looked on the leaders as factional leaders rather than workers for the Lord’s church. He emphasized the fact that all of the workers were about the same job—interested in the same outcome, whether it was Paul, Timothy, Peter, or Apollos.

Paul wanted the members to look upon them as leaders, workers and above all servants in the church. One of the best ways for you to reduce any criticism you have of a church worker is to just remember that they are servants of Christ. They are His ‘slaves’ and expected to work but not to be perfect.

Any time a church body starts dividing into different worship groups, each with a different ax to grind, there is sure to be problems occurring very soon. For this reason I have always contended that it is important for a church to know and follow the same standard of rules making church policy. There should be a standard constitution and set of by-laws. Sunday school should be based on the same set of biblical materials from the children’s department through adult classes. A strong church demands unity from the preacher to the janitor with every department working to promote Christ and his teaching. If you are fortunate enough to have a church like this, then it is your place as a member to support it always with a positive attitude.

We have already warned that you can not be openly critical of your leaders without causing problems that will result in a weak witness. You can always find good things that are going on and great things that your leaders are doing to talk about and you should use every opportunity to let good workers know that they are really appreciated.

Talk to others in your church about what you like about it and point out the things that make it a great church. Do not criticize its leadership, but join them and help them overcome any weakness that you may know about.

A good work can always use additional helpers…make yourself available and if you are not chosen to help, then just step in and volunteer. By the way, do not try to start at the top…you probably will cause a bigger problem than is already there if you try to start as the pastor of the church.

There are never all the funds that a good church needs. Therefore one great way to support your leaders is to help with funding where it is needed. By the way have you every handed one of your church workers fifty or a hundred dollars just as a love gift as a way of saying that you appreciate them and approve of what they are doing in the work of your church? I will make you feel good. And it just might be a way of saying thank you in a vocabulary that is seldom misunderstood.

These are specific biblical steps you can make to encourage your church leaders. Brag on them. Give them a gift. Pray for them. Tell others about their work. Attend and support their work. Encourage. Never discourage. Learn to follow.