Week 12, Day 5: Judged to Be Good Stewards
Today’s Reading: 1 Corinthians 6:1-7:40
Some thoughts from yesterday’s reading…
Any passage that talks about judging, or not judging, draws a lot of attention when it comes to religious discussions. Recently, when I was called to jury duty, there was a woman who objected to being on the jury because she “was a Christian, and the Bible tells Christians not to judge.” I believe that this is a misinterpretation of scripture, and yet there are many who believe the Bible condemns any type of judgment on our part. A passage that can be similarly used to make such an argument is found in 1 Corinthians 4.
Paul, as he addresses the way in which the Corinthian Christians were addressing the teachings of the various evangelists, tells them in verses 1-2 that they as messengers had to be trustworthy. But, trustworthy to what? They had to be found trustworthy enough to deliver the message of the gospel to them! To do that, they had to be beyond reproach. They had to be beyond corruption. They had to teach what was revealed by God, regardless of how it might be received by their audiences. In the midst of establishing the need to be trustworthy, Paul tells the Corinthians that it is a “very small thing to be judged by you…” (1 Corinthians 4:3)
Some may consider Paul’s words to indicate that it was wrong for them to judge him. But, that is not the subject of his instructions. Paul is pointing out that he had to be faithful to the revelation of God, even if they didn’t want to accept it as such. They could judge that Paul’s message was something other than what had been revealed, or they could doubt Paul’s honesty and sincerity in the delivering of the message. But, in the end, their judgment wouldn’t really mean anything to him. He was dedicated to teaching the truth because he knew that in the end, it would be Christ that would be judging him, and it would be that judgment that counted. How could he teach something contrary to God’s will?
Interestingly enough, Paul stated that he would not even judge himself in this matter. He said that he could think of nothing against himself, but even in that he could not declare himself to be innocent. It was not his own judgment against himself that mattered. It was the judgment that came from the Lord that was of the greatest importance.
The lesson that we can learn from these verses is that we cannot rely upon the judgment of others, or even our own judgment to determine if we are doing and teaching what is right. Others may judge that we are doing well, or not doing well. However they may not have enough information to determine that accurately. Sometimes we rely upon our own judgment, really based upon our own emotions (how we feel) to determine if we are acting correctly or teaching the right things. But, the answers cannot come from “within ourselves.” We have to turn to the word of God and allow it to identify what is pure, what is holy, what is right, and what is good.
If we are going to be judged to be good stewards of the mysteries of God, then we must be trustworthy. We must restrict ourselves to the pure gospel message, neither adding to, or taking away from what God has revealed. We cannot be influenced to change the gospel message because of those that would think it too harsh, or because we are not converting as many people as we would like. We must continue to teach what has been revealed, trusting God to provide the increase.
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Week 12, Day 4: The Revelation of God’s Mind
Today’s Reading: 1 Corinthians 4:1-5:13
Some thoughts from yesterday’s reading…
For us to have any idea what God wants of us, He had to reveal His mind to us. We can certainly understand this principle when we are talking about people. I cannot possibly know what you are thinking, or what you would like for me to do, if you are not willing to reveal your mind. God has determined, according to 1 Corinthians 2:10-13, to use the Holy Spirit to reveal His mind, which would be recorded in the pages of the New Testament so that people of all generations would be able to know how to act in obedience to God.
This passage should make us realize just how important the revelation of God is. If God, in all of His power and might, has decided to record for us His mind, we should pay attention. We should realize that He has not recorded anything that is not important for our understanding, for our ability to conduct ourselves with “life and godliness.” There is nothing that we can or should ignore in the pages of His word!
This should also make us recognize that we are limited in action to what God has revealed. How can we read the revelation of the mind of God Himself and then think that maybe he forgot something that He meant to give to us? When He tells us Himself that He gave His revelation once for all, it should make us realize that He made sure to provide whatever was necessary for us to be able to be obedient to Him. If I restrict my practices to only those things that He revealed, then I know that I am not violating His will. If I go beyond what is written, I have no idea whether it is something that God approves of. In fact, I think it is much safer to assume that if God has not told us to participate in an action, then it is not something He approves of!
We need to stay on the straight and narrow path. It should not be an option to stray off to the side. This is an idea that was expressed even under the Old Testament covenant. God demanded that His people not turn to the “right hand or the left”, and neither should we today!
Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go.
–Joshua 1:7Therefore be very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, lest you turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left,
–Joshua 23:6
It is not our responsibility to follow the law of Moses as Joshua was commanded to do. But, we should follow the New Law in the same manner. Do not turn to the right hand or to the left.
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Week 12, Day 3: Contend Earnestly for the Faith
Today’s Reading: 1 Corinthians 2:1-3:23
Some thoughts from yesterday’s reading…
Jude encourages his audience to “contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). There are at least two elements to take into consideration with this verse. The first is that God has delivered “the faith” (which is singular) to the saints in His revelation. Sometimes, we may struggle to understand why God has been so limiting in the revelation of His will. He gave us one faith, which we must abide by to be pleasing to Him. Why would God not just save all men, or at least all “good men”? I don’t know why God chose to do what He did, but my desires, and my thinking on the matter don’t really have an impact. No matter what I think God should do, I must accept what He said that He did do (and is doing) for the salvation of men’s souls. I can only teach that which has been revealed!
That brings us tot he second important element of this verse. We as the children of God have to “contend earnestly” for that one faith that has been delivered! We cannot change the gospel message to try and attract more people. We can not make changes, allowing sin to remain because people simply do not want to give it up in their lives any more. We have to teach that one gospel, which leads to the one faith of the New Testament. To earnestly contend means that we are willing to take up the fight, defending the will of God just as it has been delivered. We are not going to be so brass as to make changes. We are not going to make excuses for the revelation of God. We are simply going to teach what we have been given.
Will we contend earnestly for the faith? Will we take our stand on the side of God? May it be our daily determination to do just that!
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