The Church Has Issues
Sermon Notes
Introduction
Hey everybody my name’s Louis I’m the lead pastor here at City Awakening, it’s great to gather with you both onsite and online. At this time we can dismiss the children to children’s church. If you didn’t get to check your child in, please see our children’s ministry leaders in the back and they’d be more than happy to assist you with that. Today we’re continuing our teaching series called The Story where we’re going through the biblical narrative from the very beginning in Genesis 1 to the last amen in Revelation 22, and today’s text brings us to the time in history when the early church is having issues. It’s a time in history when Christianity’s spreading, new churches are getting started, and these new churches are having issues, they’re having conflicts. Church issues, church conflicts are the reason some of you left your previous church...Church issues, church conflicts are the reason some of you are hesitant about coming back to church, and hesitant about becoming members of a church...Church issues, church conflicts are the reason some of you became skeptics of the church, you became skeptics of Christianity. You don’t have issues with Jesus, you have issues with his followers...There’s an old story told about how Gandhi read the 4 gospels in the bible and became very intrigued by Jesus. So he decided to go to a church service in Calcutta to learn about Jesus, but they rejected him at the door and didn’t let him in. His response? I would’ve become a Christian, if it wasn’t for the Christians I’ve known.
My point is we can’t deny the fact that Christians and churches have issues. It’s both a historical and biblical fact! When I say it’s a biblical fact I mean the biblical writers didn’t hide these issues, instead they recorded the truth about these issues. The bible’s way more trustworthy than CNN and FOX news, because it doesn’t give us news with a spin. The bible isn’t fake news, it’s good news, truthful news, honest reporting even about issues in the early churches. It’s both a historical and biblical fact that churches have issues, and it’s a historical and biblical reality based on some of our own personal experiences. But there’s still beauty in the church despite all the issues. The church has issues, but there’s still so much beauty in the church despite all the issues, and that’s what we’re talking about today. So let’s turn to 1st Corinthians 1 and get into it. You’ll find 1st Corinthians in the last quarter of the bible. We’ll be in 1st Corinthians 1:10-17, and the title of today’s message is The Church Has Issues. The big idea is the church has issues, but it’s still incredibly beautiful...The church has issues, but it’s still incredibly beautiful...
Context:
Here’s your context. In Acts ch’s 1-2 we learned Jesus promised to fill his followers with the power of the Holy Spirit, so his ministry would keep spreading through his followers. One of the places his ministry started spreading is the city of Corinth, which was considered one of the most thriving cities in the Roman Empire. It was considered a vacation destination, an economic powerhouse, a place that attracted entrepreneurs, and where companies like Apple and Amazon would’ve set up their headquarters. It was a thriving city full of diversity, including diversity in their beliefs and worship of different Greco Roman gods. Well the Apostle Paul and a few other Christians started sharing their faith in Jesus, some of the Corinthians became followers of Jesus, and so Paul starts the Corinthian church around 50 A.D. It’s one of the 1stchurches in history, and Paul writes this letter to address some of the issues they started having, so let’s check it out.
The Word:
1st Corinthians 1:10 states, “Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree in what you say, that there be no divisions among you...” This is one of the major issues Paul’s addressing with the Corinthians, it’s that they’re allowing certain issues to divide them. We’re not talking about JV issues like who’s chicken sandwich is better, Chick-fil-A’s or Popeyes?...Who’s chili is better in today’s chili competition, mine or yours?...Who’s right when it comes to which way the toilet paper goes, which we’ll all need after today’s chili competition? So it’s an important question! Does the toilet paper go this way or this way?...Those are all JV issues! But what the Corinthians are dealing with are major varsity level issues! It’s issues over personal things like sex, singleness, marriage, divorce. It’s issues over ceremonial things like worship, and people interrupting church services shouting whatever they want in the middle of worship. It’s also issues over theological things like the importance of the resurrection of Jesus. They’re having all kinds of issues, and those issues are causing divisions. It isn’t surprising considering the Corinthians were a diverse people with diverse beliefs. So think about what happens when you’re leading diverse people groups to faith in Jesus? What happens when you’re leading different ethnicities to faith in Jesus? What happens when you’re leading vaccine and non-vaccine people to Jesus? What happens when you’re leading Democrats and Republicans to faith in Jesus? It can create divisions in the church, especially if we allow secondary beliefs to replace our primary belief in Jesus. We should definitely address any un-biblical beliefs, but do it in a way that keeps the gospel primary. The Corinthians are allowing their secondary beliefs to divide them, instead of allowing their primary belief in Jesus to unite them.
Again vs. 10 states, “Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree in what you say, that there be no divisions among you, and that you be united with the same understanding and the same conviction.” So Paul’s encouraging them to be united not divided, and just to be clear he isn’t talking about uniformity. He isn’t talking about uniformity where everybody needs to agree on everything. When he says be united with the same understanding, he’s saying be united with the same understanding of the gospel. He’s saying we need to be united in our belief that the gospel is primary, that Jesus is primary. One of our codes, one of our core values at City Awakening is the gospel’s our common ground. We value cultural diversity but gospel unity. Despite our ethnic, socioeconomic, political, or any other differences we believe the gospel’s our common ground, Jesus is our common ground. This means we’re to view each other as family, submitting our lives, beliefs, issues to Jesus as the head of our family. Yeah but I’m white? You’re family. I’m black. You’re family. I’m Hispanic. You’re family! I’m old. You’re family with wisdom. I’m young. You’re family with fresh ideas and the energy to help implement those ideas. I’m a Giants fan, you’re a Cowboys fan. That’s a family feud...but it’s still family! When Jesus is our common ground it means we’re to view and treat each other as family, submitting our lives, beliefs, issues to Jesus as the head of our family. So this isn’t about uniformity where everybody has to agree on everything. It’s about the church having cultural diversity but gospel unity, because Jesus is our common ground. It’s about the love of Jesus becoming so primary to us, that secondary issues become less important and divisive to us.
For Paul unity isn’t uniformity, but it also isn’t relativism where everybody just believes whatever they want. Some people think the way to achieve unity is by accepting everybody’s beliefs, and never taking a stance on anything. But that isn’t good because some beliefs are evil. Some beliefs are harmful to us, our relationships, our society, and we have to speak up against those beliefs. We have to speak up against beliefs causing harm, injustice, theological errors like Paul’s doing. Paul’s speaking up against harmful beliefs while taking a stance on his gospel belief. He’s like “Let’s talk about these issues and bring our different perspectives to the table, but let’s not allow any secondary beliefs to divide us. Instead let’s view all the issues we’re dealing with through the primary lens of Jesus, remembering the gospel is our common ground!”
Vs. 11, “For it has been reported to me about you, my brothers and sisters, by members of Chloe’s people, that there is rivalry among you. 12 What I am saying is this: One of you says, ‘I belong to Paul,’ or ‘I belong to Apollos,’ or ‘I belong to Cephas,’ or ‘I belong to Christ.’” This is another issue Paul’s addressing, it’s a prideful division over who the Corinthians are following. In the Greco-Roman culture the art of rhetorical persuasion was highly valued. It was an intellectually prideful culture that loved great oratory skills, and they’d even claim allegiance to certain speakers like what’s happening in the text. Some are like “I follow Paul, because he’s a deep theology preacher.” These are Christians who only want deep theological teaching. They love following 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John preachers. John Calvin, John Piper, and John MacArthur... Others are like “Well I follow Apollos, because he’s such a great speaker, a great charismatic preacher.” These are Christians who want an engaging speaker, a practical application preacher, who can also make you laugh, instead of a serious deep theology preacher...But you also have those who are like “Well I follow Peter, because he’s just a raw, blunt, kick you in the pants preacher who doesn’t hold back.” And this is what the Corinthians are doing. They’re claiming intellectual pride over each other based on who they’re following, and it’s leading to divisions.
In fact it’s possible some of you are doing the same thing with the pastors in our church. You might not be claiming intellectual pride, but are you clinging to us as pastors more than you are to Jesus and the church? I mean if I died tomorrow, would you still come to this church?...If Zack or Alex died tomorrow, would you still come to this church?...If your answer to that is no, or if you aren’t sure, then your allegiance is misplaced. Your allegiance isn’t to Jesus and this church, it’s to me and our pastors. This a major problem with Orlando Christians, because we’re a Disney entertainment culture that wants to be entertained, and if we aren’t entertained we’re out! A lot of Orlando Christians treat the church like it’s a restaurant, they keep coming as long as the food is good. They keep coming, but they keep bouncing around to other restaurants to see if they have a better menu. The church isn’t meant to be treated like a restaurant you bounce around to, it’s meant to be treated like a family you commit to. There’s nothing wrong with looking for a gospel centered church that fits your preferential style, but if you aren’t willing to eventually commit to a local church family, it’s a sign you’re placing your allegiance on something other than Jesus and his church. The Corinthians are claiming an allegiance to their pastors, it’s creating an intellectual pride that’s leading to divisions, and here’s how Paul responds.
Vs. 13, “Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in Paul’s name? 14 I thank God,that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so that no one can say you were baptized in my name...” Paul isn’t minimizing the importance of baptism, because clearly he thought it was important since he baptized Crispus and Gaius. Instead he’s saying he’s glad none of them can claim intellectual pride, by saying they were baptized in the name of the great oratory speaker Paul. Paul’s point is it shouldn’t matter who baptized them or who they’re following, as long as their pastor is preaching the gospel and pointing to Jesus. If their pastor is preaching the gospel and pointing to Jesus, then we should celebrate that instead of being divided by it. He has a great mic drop moment when he asks, “Was Paul crucified for you?” It’s a great mic drop moment because the answer to that question is no! Paul wasn’t crucified for you, and neither was Apollos, Peter, Louie Tamburro, or any other preacher! The only one who was crucified for you, the only one who died for your sins is Jesus, and the greatest preachers regardless of their oratory skills are the ones who point you to Jesus. There shouldn’t be any celebrity pastors in Christianity. But unfortunately we’ve created celebratory pastors just like the Corinthians, by clinging to the gifts of the preacher, instead of clinging to the gospel message of the preacher.
Early in ministry I used to have an idol in my heart to be a mega church pastor. But the Lord ripped that idol out of my heart to where I don’t want that anymore. In fact I actually fear that now, because I’ve seen what being a celebrity pastor does to people. I’ve literally seen it change people. There’s people I know who started out well, but as soon as they got to a celebrity pastor status, they started wrestling with the pressures of having to put out the next catchy post on social media, the next one liner they can write in their message to cause people to go “Mmm, that was good.” They started to get a high off hearing people say “Mmm, that was good.” It’s the Greco-Roman addiction to oratory speaking, and it still exists in our culture today. For the sake of our pastors, for the sake of our churches, for the sake of the gospel we have to quit putting pastors on a red carpet celebrity status that only Jesus deserves! Like Paul said Jesus is the only pastor who was crucified for you, so he’s the only pastor who’s worthy to be clinging to.
Vs. 17, “For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with eloquent wisdom, so that the cross of Christ will not be emptied of its effect...” Notice Paul’s pointing to the gospel again, he’s pointing to Jesus again. In fact he points to Jesus 14 times, he uses Christ’s name 14 times in the first 17 verses of his letter to the Corinthians. He’s constantly pointing to Jesus as the answer to all the issues and divisions they’re dealing with. It’s because he knows the more we accept the grace of Jesus in our lives, the more the spirit of divisiveness will leave our lives. When Jesus becomes primary, the things that divide us become secondary. Like I said before it isn’t about uniformity or relativism, it’s about having real life transformation where the love of Jesus that unites us, becomes greater than the secondary things that divide us. Our society gets close to this kind of unity sometimes, but it’s short lived. In fact our culture will get close to this kind of unity today at 1:00 pm when football starts. When the games start what we’ll see is different people gathering together in a stadium united by their team name. We’ll see thousands of people with different ages, ethnicities, professions, financial statuses, but all united by their team name. They set all their differences aside to start cheering their team on together. Cheering their team on has become so primary, that their differences are an afterthought! The things that usually divided them, have become secondary to cheering their team on together.
This is how the love of Jesus is supposed to work in our lives. The love of Jesus is supposed to become so primary in our lives, that the things dividing us become an afterthought. The glimpse of this unity our society gets at a football game doesn’t last, because that unity will end when the game ends, and many of them will never be united to each other gain. Instead they will go back to being a divisive society again. What makes the church so much greater than a football game, is our unity doesn’t end when the game ends! We have the beauty of seeing each other every week, and checking our differences at the door to worship Jesus. We can check our differences as the door, because the love of Jesus has become primary in our hearts. The love at a football game will end when the game ends, but the love of Jesus will never eternally end. Every week the love of Jesus will be here ready to greet you. Every week you and I can gather with all our issues, and every week the love of Jesus will be here to help us work through those issues.
The Big Idea:
The big idea of the message is the church has issues, but it’s still incredibly beautiful...It's a historical and biblical fact that churches have issues, but it’s also a historical and biblical fact that there’s still a lot of beauty in churches. Do those of us gathered here have issues? Yes we do, but the beauty of the church is we can help walk through those issues together. Do those of us gathered here have hardship issues? Yes we do, but the beauty of the church is we can help walk through those hardship issues together. Do those of us who are gathered here today have sin issues? Yes we do, but the beauty of the church is we can help each other walk through those sin issues together. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 states, “Two are better than one...10 For if either falls, his companion can lift him up; but pity the one who falls without another to lift him up.”
If you’re a skeptic you don’t have to go through life alone. If you’re a believer you don’t have to go through life alone. Jesus has gifted us with the local church, so we don’t have to walk through life alone. He died for our sins on the cross so his love would unite us together with him, and unite us together as a church family. So let’s not be cynics and critics of the church, instead let’s help to beautify the church. Let’s help to beautify this church, by walking this life together, and helping each other with whatever issues we bring into this church. The love of Jesus is right here ready to meet you every week, if you’re willing to commit to him, and his church family.