I have always prided myself on not being a workaholic. Unlike the majority of ministers of my acquaintance, I do not work all the hours God sends. I like my leisure. I enjoy family activities. My work-life balance generally errs on the side of 'life' rather than 'work'.
But there is a danger here. At worst the danger is that I become self-indulgent and lazy. A more subtle peril is that I make achieving the right work-life balance my overarching aim. When I remember what Jesus went through, and what he expects his followers to go through, I realise that I am in danger of lacking the passionate drive which causes people to throw themselves wholeheartedly into a cause whatever the personal cost. So let me remind myself of my main aim in life - to live for Christ. Yes I do this by working in the church, but also by caring for my family and even by enjoying all the good things God has given (including MarioKart Wii). But whatever I'm doing I ought to be doing it enthusiastically and to the best of my ability because I am doing it for Christ.
Wednesday 23 September 2009
Thursday 17 September 2009
ABR#5 One Corinthians
I have begun to read the Bible alphabetically (see here for my rationale), reading each book at least three times (in this case four) and trying to get into the mind of the original author and readers as well as listen to God’s message for today. Here’s what I’ve discovered from reading 1 Corinthians.
Style:
Although Paul is communicating with the church in writing rather than speaking to them in person, there is a strong resemblance between this letter and a series of sermons preached to a known congregation. a) Theological and practical issues are addressed. b) The subject matter is sometimes in response to the congregation’s need for clarification and sometimes out of the preacher’s own perception of what desperately needs to be said. c) Sometimes one key point is hammered home, sometimes a topic is considered from various angles. d) The message is presented with reasoned argument so that the congregation not only grasp the key point, but understand why it is so. e) Scripture is used to support what is being said. f) The message is liberally sprinkled with illustrations, nuggets of wise insights and occasional long diversions into related issues. g) The preacher speaks from his own experience, sometimes passionate and urgent, sometimes calm and considered. h) Just like in a modern sermon there are times when the hearers would want to disagree with him, or at least pursue the argument in a different direction.
In at least two cases Paul seems to make a pronouncement and then have to qualify it as if he’d realised what he was saying.
Example one: “God has shown up the world’s wisdom as mere foolishness.” (thinks: whoops! I don’t want my own teaching to be devalued.) “But there is a wisdom which is worth something. It is the secret wisdom which the Spirit reveals. Since you are too immature (as proved by jealousies and factions) to be really in tune with the Spirit, I have to treat you like children and explain this wisdom to you.”
Example two: “Don’t judge people, but leave it to God’s final judgement. But I’ve heard of a man who has committed such an appalling sin he should be expelled from your fellowship.” (thinks: whoops! I’ve just passed judgement, and based on hearsay at that!) “What I meant about not judging was to do with people in general, but of course members of your church ought to have their failures judged by their fellow Christians.”
Why should we accept what Paul teaches?:
Paul employs logic and reasoning. He argues his case carefully, justifying his conclusions. He uses illustrations to help make his point. He anticipates objections. He looks at the issue from different sides. He deals with wide-ranging principles and specific instances, including those exceptions to the general rule. Occasionally there are other influences than reason. In the section about marriage he distinguishes between the principles he feels have been inspired directly by the Lord and those which are merely his own considered opinions. In the section about what men and women should wear on their head in church, he resorts to an appeal to tradition – “the bottom line is that this is the way everyone does it.” (Which is clearly not true – if no-one was disturbing the status quo he wouldn’t have bothered to raise the issue.)
He appeals to tradition in other more important places – passing on what he has learned about the Lord’s Supper and the simple basics of Christ’s death and resurrection. He sometimes appeals to Scripture, even though he is writing to Greeks. The church has presumably taken on board the Hebrew Scriptures as some kind of authority for the Christian faith.
Background:
Athens and Corinth were (allegedly) like Edinburgh and Glasgow. One was a refined centre of culture and learning, the other was a seedy sea-port with loose morals.
In his travels Paul visited Corinth (east coast of Greece) more than once. He writes to them from across the sea in Ephesus (west coast of Turkey). There is a brief reference to something he didn’t make clear in an earlier letter, which shows that Paul wrote more letters (to more churches) than we have preserved in our Bibles.
The church at Corinth had some major faults. The factions in the church made them boastful and conceited over their own self-importance, envious towards those who seemed to have spiritual gifts they lacked, impatient to have those gifts, rude and unkind towards those they perceived as inferior, easily offended and prepared to hold grudges, delighted when those in the opposing factions did something wrong, twisting the facts to suit themselves, and altogether uncaring of other people’s needs or feelings. This description of the Corinthian church is based on the fact that when Paul urges them to love, he describes love as ‘none of the above’. “Love is patient and kind. Love envies no one, is never boastful, never conceited, never rude; love is never selfish, never quick to take offence. Love keeps no score of wrongs, takes no pleasure in the sins of others, but delights in the truth.”
Content:
If this were a series of sermons, what would their titles be?
“Who knows best?” – The church is torn apart by factions each claiming the truth, but true wisdom is found in the folly of the cross.
“Judge for yourselves” – Don’t tolerate shameful behaviour within the church, but deal with it yourselves rather than going to secular courts.
“To marry or not to marry” – How to cope with sexual desire, singleness, marriage and divorce.
“Flaunting your freedom?” – Even if what we eat is essentially irrelevant to our faith, be considerate to others and don’t upset them by your behaviour.
“Yo! Respect, man!” – In matters of worship, such as the covering of the head and the conduct of the Lord’s Supper, it is vital to show due respect to God and one another.
“The bounty of the Spirit” – The church has been given a wealth of spiritual gifts, each of them contributing to the well-being of the whole body, but they are worthless without love.
“It’s life, but not as we know it” – Of course people rise from the dead (otherwise our faith is meaningless) but that life will be very different from this.
“... and finally, the notices ...” – Fund-raising, future plans, and news from friends.
Miscellaneous insights:
Paul’s attitude to women – in writing about marriage he is very even-handed, applying the same principles to wives and husbands; his later description of the differences between men and women (which lie behind the difference in hair and hats) sees women as subject to men’s authority; he is appalled at the thought of women asking questions publicly in church instead of from their husbands at home.
Paul’s view on marriage could be paraphrased as ‘marriage is a high-maintenance responsibility and you need to be careful about adding complications to your life’. He is right to be concerned that taking on lots of responsibilities (however good they might be) could make it harder to live for God. Being married, having children, running a house, keeping a car, using a computer, building a music collection, owning a dog – all these are worthwhile and enjoyable, but they add up to a lot of time and effort. I can sympathise with Paul’s concern to keep one’s lifestyle as simple as possible.
On passing judgement – Paul chides the Corinthians for not having anyone prepared to exercise their judgement and say ‘this is clearly wrong’. Even if the final judgement belongs to God (who is the only one who knows and understands the full situation), yet we can’t sit on the fence on every issue. There are times when we (especially leaders in the church) are required to use what wits and what spiritual discernment God has given us and actually make a decision.
On worship – contributions to worship should be controlled, a preacher shouldn’t get carried away with delivering a prophetic message any more than with he (or she if we ignore Paul’s views) should get carried away speaking in tongues. A warning to those of us who like the sound of our own voice – sermons and extempore prayers should be measured and controlled!
Conclusion:
Paul is a clever man with an analytical mind. He recognises the key issues facing the church in terms of behaviour and doctrine, he examines them using his powers of reason and then shares his conclusions by writing to the church. But he is also a human being and not immune to muddled thinking or biased attitudes or even holding two contradictory views at the same time. There are some arguments here where I wouldn’t want to let Paul have the last word (for example regarding women), but he is a deeply spiritual and caring leader and he manages to shed a great deal of light on those issues he tackles.
Style:
Although Paul is communicating with the church in writing rather than speaking to them in person, there is a strong resemblance between this letter and a series of sermons preached to a known congregation. a) Theological and practical issues are addressed. b) The subject matter is sometimes in response to the congregation’s need for clarification and sometimes out of the preacher’s own perception of what desperately needs to be said. c) Sometimes one key point is hammered home, sometimes a topic is considered from various angles. d) The message is presented with reasoned argument so that the congregation not only grasp the key point, but understand why it is so. e) Scripture is used to support what is being said. f) The message is liberally sprinkled with illustrations, nuggets of wise insights and occasional long diversions into related issues. g) The preacher speaks from his own experience, sometimes passionate and urgent, sometimes calm and considered. h) Just like in a modern sermon there are times when the hearers would want to disagree with him, or at least pursue the argument in a different direction.
In at least two cases Paul seems to make a pronouncement and then have to qualify it as if he’d realised what he was saying.
Example one: “God has shown up the world’s wisdom as mere foolishness.” (thinks: whoops! I don’t want my own teaching to be devalued.) “But there is a wisdom which is worth something. It is the secret wisdom which the Spirit reveals. Since you are too immature (as proved by jealousies and factions) to be really in tune with the Spirit, I have to treat you like children and explain this wisdom to you.”
Example two: “Don’t judge people, but leave it to God’s final judgement. But I’ve heard of a man who has committed such an appalling sin he should be expelled from your fellowship.” (thinks: whoops! I’ve just passed judgement, and based on hearsay at that!) “What I meant about not judging was to do with people in general, but of course members of your church ought to have their failures judged by their fellow Christians.”
Why should we accept what Paul teaches?:
Paul employs logic and reasoning. He argues his case carefully, justifying his conclusions. He uses illustrations to help make his point. He anticipates objections. He looks at the issue from different sides. He deals with wide-ranging principles and specific instances, including those exceptions to the general rule. Occasionally there are other influences than reason. In the section about marriage he distinguishes between the principles he feels have been inspired directly by the Lord and those which are merely his own considered opinions. In the section about what men and women should wear on their head in church, he resorts to an appeal to tradition – “the bottom line is that this is the way everyone does it.” (Which is clearly not true – if no-one was disturbing the status quo he wouldn’t have bothered to raise the issue.)
He appeals to tradition in other more important places – passing on what he has learned about the Lord’s Supper and the simple basics of Christ’s death and resurrection. He sometimes appeals to Scripture, even though he is writing to Greeks. The church has presumably taken on board the Hebrew Scriptures as some kind of authority for the Christian faith.
Background:
Athens and Corinth were (allegedly) like Edinburgh and Glasgow. One was a refined centre of culture and learning, the other was a seedy sea-port with loose morals.
In his travels Paul visited Corinth (east coast of Greece) more than once. He writes to them from across the sea in Ephesus (west coast of Turkey). There is a brief reference to something he didn’t make clear in an earlier letter, which shows that Paul wrote more letters (to more churches) than we have preserved in our Bibles.
The church at Corinth had some major faults. The factions in the church made them boastful and conceited over their own self-importance, envious towards those who seemed to have spiritual gifts they lacked, impatient to have those gifts, rude and unkind towards those they perceived as inferior, easily offended and prepared to hold grudges, delighted when those in the opposing factions did something wrong, twisting the facts to suit themselves, and altogether uncaring of other people’s needs or feelings. This description of the Corinthian church is based on the fact that when Paul urges them to love, he describes love as ‘none of the above’. “Love is patient and kind. Love envies no one, is never boastful, never conceited, never rude; love is never selfish, never quick to take offence. Love keeps no score of wrongs, takes no pleasure in the sins of others, but delights in the truth.”
Content:
If this were a series of sermons, what would their titles be?
“Who knows best?” – The church is torn apart by factions each claiming the truth, but true wisdom is found in the folly of the cross.
“Judge for yourselves” – Don’t tolerate shameful behaviour within the church, but deal with it yourselves rather than going to secular courts.
“To marry or not to marry” – How to cope with sexual desire, singleness, marriage and divorce.
“Flaunting your freedom?” – Even if what we eat is essentially irrelevant to our faith, be considerate to others and don’t upset them by your behaviour.
“Yo! Respect, man!” – In matters of worship, such as the covering of the head and the conduct of the Lord’s Supper, it is vital to show due respect to God and one another.
“The bounty of the Spirit” – The church has been given a wealth of spiritual gifts, each of them contributing to the well-being of the whole body, but they are worthless without love.
“It’s life, but not as we know it” – Of course people rise from the dead (otherwise our faith is meaningless) but that life will be very different from this.
“... and finally, the notices ...” – Fund-raising, future plans, and news from friends.
Miscellaneous insights:
Paul’s attitude to women – in writing about marriage he is very even-handed, applying the same principles to wives and husbands; his later description of the differences between men and women (which lie behind the difference in hair and hats) sees women as subject to men’s authority; he is appalled at the thought of women asking questions publicly in church instead of from their husbands at home.
Paul’s view on marriage could be paraphrased as ‘marriage is a high-maintenance responsibility and you need to be careful about adding complications to your life’. He is right to be concerned that taking on lots of responsibilities (however good they might be) could make it harder to live for God. Being married, having children, running a house, keeping a car, using a computer, building a music collection, owning a dog – all these are worthwhile and enjoyable, but they add up to a lot of time and effort. I can sympathise with Paul’s concern to keep one’s lifestyle as simple as possible.
On passing judgement – Paul chides the Corinthians for not having anyone prepared to exercise their judgement and say ‘this is clearly wrong’. Even if the final judgement belongs to God (who is the only one who knows and understands the full situation), yet we can’t sit on the fence on every issue. There are times when we (especially leaders in the church) are required to use what wits and what spiritual discernment God has given us and actually make a decision.
On worship – contributions to worship should be controlled, a preacher shouldn’t get carried away with delivering a prophetic message any more than with he (or she if we ignore Paul’s views) should get carried away speaking in tongues. A warning to those of us who like the sound of our own voice – sermons and extempore prayers should be measured and controlled!
Conclusion:
Paul is a clever man with an analytical mind. He recognises the key issues facing the church in terms of behaviour and doctrine, he examines them using his powers of reason and then shares his conclusions by writing to the church. But he is also a human being and not immune to muddled thinking or biased attitudes or even holding two contradictory views at the same time. There are some arguments here where I wouldn’t want to let Paul have the last word (for example regarding women), but he is a deeply spiritual and caring leader and he manages to shed a great deal of light on those issues he tackles.
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