My Struggle - 1 Corinthians.............

My Struggle

As I look ahead at the rest of 1 Corinthians 7, and on to the next several chapters beyond, I find myself thinking,

‘But, Lord—I’ll lose readers. Some of this stuff seems mostly applicable to Paul’s first-century believers’ . . . and then, honestly, it runs through my head,

‘Lord, do you want me to teach on food offered to idols? Really? Can I just skip over those chapters which are right ahead?’

And then, I hear in my head what I think the Lord might say back to me, “Oh, I see, Child, so because some of my Word bores you, you are inclined to skip over it?”

Don’t get me wrong—in my heart I know it is preferable to read all of it rather than to skip over it, so I ask myself why I am inclined to do so. Here’s the reason: fear. I am afraid I will lose people—that if I can’t keep it applicable, current, and contemporary, people will tune out. True enough that in the last week, as I taught on 1 Corinthians 7, I did lose people! Literally. Several unsubscribed to Facebook “Morning Briefings” because I followed the hard line of Paul’s teaching on marriage and sexual relations. Somehow, that felt different though; it was God’s standards that offended them.

And so I went in search of support for the position that I believe God called me to take, that of teaching the whole counsel of the Word of God. For two years, as I have written and disseminated “Morning Briefings”, this has been my conviction, but now it is time for me to articulate that belief, and why I hold it.

Paul said in Acts 20.27,

‘I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.’

It is popular today, especially in ‘seeker sensitive’ churches to teach to the felt needs of individuals. In fact, many of these churches are leaving out central traditional Christian doctrines so as to have relevance for the contemporary listener. That is a good approach if the goal is to have the church seats full of satisfied people, but unfortunately their theology will have gaping holes in it, and their spiritual growth and maturity will be stunted.

For instance, the value in teaching all of Paul’s letters to the churches is quite considerable: we see the doctrine of grace grappling with the historical roots of the Law in Galatians; we learn from his teaching on the second coming of Christ in 1 Thessalonians; we see his correction of abhorrent behaviors, and his redirection of misplaced energies, such as suing other believers. We see Paul fully develop the doctrine of the Holy Spirit, including the gifts of the Spirit . . . and how can we leave out his treatise on true love? Ah, so much we learn from Paul’s teaching . . . so much that applies to living out the Christian life, though understanding the context in which his writing was set is of great value.

How about you, Christian? What is your opinion? Should we teach the whole counsel of the Word of God? Should we simply decide what we need to be taught, and then find the select Scriptures that address those topics? Actually, we could limit our Scripture support especially to that which reinforces our opinions. We could confine our instruction to popular topical sermons--sure winners include: Improving Communication in Marriage, Overcoming Conflict, Healthy Self Esteem, Recovery is Possible, Raising Your Gratitude Factor, Goal Setting, Steps to Peace, etc., which are all valuable. Yet . . . there is more! I think we need to bear in mind what Paul said to Timothy: “For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.” 2 Tim. 4.3

Then there is: 2 Timothy 3.16,17 - All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

2 Timothy 4.2 – Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. And have you thumbed through Psalm 119 lately? David, who God referred to as ‘a man after God’s own heart’, loved the Word of God.

So, in short, yes, I believe reading/studying all the way through 1 Corinthians is the correct course of action for me. That is what feels right in my heart. Besides, I do not want to be the arbiter of what seems relevant – really, that is God’s job. I love the insight of creative preacher/teacher Rob Bell: “I always assume that there is way more going on in the text than we see on the first reading.” He operates under the belief that ‘every text has something for us—even ones that make no sense the first time you read them.’ Would it surprise you that he took a year and a half to teach on the book of Leviticus at the inception of his Michigan church?? Dang.

So, let’s read it all. Let’s ask God what he has in mind for us . . . Are you with me?

Christine

podcast: www.pastorwoman.com