Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/Sermons/zz20070722.htm

THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION
1 Corinthians: Discipling Believers With Very Sinful Backgrounds
VII. Overcoming Sinful Dishonor And Disorder
G. Pursuing The Excellent Life And Ministry Of Godly Love
(1 Corinthians 12:31b-13:13)

Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

For several weeks now in our Adult Sunday School Class, people have asked how to disciple others amid a complexity of hurdles due to the sin and weaknesses they face in the process!

Today, I face your same challenge! Before writing this sermon, I had been astounded upon reading Mary Zeiss Stange's July 9, 2007 article, "When it comes to gays, What would Luther do?'" in the nationwide paper, USA TODAY. To get her readers, especially evangelicals who admire the courageous, Biblical stands of Martin Luther in history, to sanction same-gender unions, she implied the Protestant Reformer would support same-gender unions were he alive today! Her argument utilized Luther's call in his era not to heed those Bible verses that she held called for such exclusive stands as abstaining from eating pork or circumcision for a more inclusivisitic pose. Stange argued Luther would similarly call us now to put aside verses that oppose same gender unions so as to be inclusive and condone them!



I knew that her words from the platform of a nationwide paper stood to be corrected at least by what I could post on our web site. I wanted to keep as many believers as possible from being swayed to condone same-gender unions if they thought from Stange's article that Martin Luther of all people would ever condone them!

However, while all set to clarify Luther's actual beliefs on the subject, I was loaned a study guide to review and noted its authors open the door for Luther's errant consubstantiation view! It holds the presence of Christ is with the elements so that ingesting the bread and cup causes one to ingest Christ (Chafer/Walvoord, Major Bible Themes, 1974, p. 271). This is a false gospel where one can be saved by partaking of the elements opposite what Ephesians 2:8-9 teaches!

So, like those of you who seek to disciple others, I face a dilemma today: I want to defend the sterling moral stance of Martin Luther before the many who read Ms. Stange's errant article, but also feel obligated to critique Luther's own grave consubstantiation error that dilutes the Gospel, and yo do both without being inconsistent or appearing to be hypocritical in any way to anyone at any level!

Thus, we ask, "With all the complexities of evil and human weaknesses we face in the process involved, HOW can we BEST SERVE the Lord to EDIFY in making disciples of others?!"

(We turn to the sermon "Need" section . . . )

Need: "In view of the complexities of spiritual darkness and human weakness in our world and even in Christians, and the hard job it then becomes to disciple, how can we best disciple others for God?!"
  1. In the midst of Paul's 1 Corinthians 12:4-14:40 address on spiritual gifts and ministries, at 1 Corinthians 12:31b, he called his readers to a ministry pathway that surpassed any other path:
    1. In 1 Corinthians 12:4-31a, Paul had countered the thrust of carnal, self-centered believers at Corinth who misused their gifts of tongues (cf. 1 Cor. 14:1-4) for selfish attention out of pride, 1 Cor. 12:28 et al.
    2. Yet, realizing his readers needed to know a good alternative path in ministry, in 1 Corinthians 12:31b, Paul introduced a lofty ministry route to take that excels any other type of effort in Christian service:
      1. The phrase "a more excellent way" (KJV) ["the most excellent way" NIV; "a (still) more excellent way" ESV] comes from the Greek phrase, kath' huperbolayn that, in the vernacular speech of Paul's era, meant "beyond measure, exceedingly," U. B. S. Greek New Testament, 1966 ed., p. 607; Moulton & Milligan, The Vocabulary of the Greek New Testament , 1972, p. 652.
      2. So, Paul revealed that what he shared in 1 Corinthians 13 described a path of Christian service that far excelled all other service paths!
  2. That SUPREME ministry PATH is GODLY LOVE, 1 Cor. 13:1-13:
    1. Godly love is necessary in all the gifts and ministries, 1 Cor. 13:1-3:
      1. His readers exalted tongues (ch. 14), so Paul noted that were he to speak with the tongues of men, or even of angels, but had not godly love (agapayn), he would be as "a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal" that was "associated with pagan worship," 1 Corinthians 13:1 NIV; Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, 1978 ed., ftn.!
      2. Applying his point to the greater gifts, Paul held that if he had a prophetic gift to understand God's yet unrevealed truths, and had all knowledge of them as a teacher and all faith to believe them to remove mountains, but had not love, it would all be in vain, 13:2.
      3. Paul turned to great works of ministry, claiming that if he gave away his goods and died as a martyr, but lacked godly love, he would gain no reward [from God], 1 Corinthians 13:3!
  3. Then, in 1 Corinthians 13:4-13, Paul described this love that makes service for individuals and a church so invaluable. [For the sake of PRACTICAL USE, we have arranged this material in the form of a discipling "checklist" to use to gauge the quality of our ministries]:
    1. Good disciplers patiently wait for the suffering (makrothumein) that comes for upright life and service, (cf. F. W. Grosheide, 1 Corinthians (NICNT), 1980, p. 306, ftn. 3), 1 Cor. 13:4a; 2 Timothy 3:12.
    2. Good disciplers are kind, 1 Corinthians 13:4b.
    3. Good disciplers are not envious, boastful or proud, i.e., they are not competitive with other people for fame or fortune, 1 Cor. 13:4c.
    4. Good disciplers do not act "indecently", (aschaymonei), 1 Cor. 13:5a; Ibid., U. B. S. Greek N. T.; Arndt & Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament , 1967, p. 118.
    5. Good disciplers are "not self-seeking," 1 Corinthians 13:5b NIV.
    6. Good disciplers are not easily angered, nor do they keep a record of wrongs suffered at the hands of others, 1 Corinthians 13:5c.
    7. Good disciplers do not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoice with the truth, 1 Corinthians 13:6 ESV.
    8. In relationships with others, good disciplers always bear up under difficulties (Ibid., Grosheide, p. 307), and they always protect, always trust, always hope and always persevere, 1 Corinthians 13:7 NIV.
  4. Indeed, the love that makes one a good discipler is so valuable in God's plan that it will follow him into eternity after his present gift and ministry is long outdated, 1 Cor. 13:8-13; Ephesians 1:3-6.
  5. Galatians 5:16, 22-23 reveals such godly love is produced by God in the believer when he depends upon the Holy Spirit to produce it.
Application: May we (1) trust in Christ to be saved and indwelt by the Holy Spirit, John 3:16; Romans 8:9b. (2) Then, to EXCEL in ministry as individuals and as a body in the face of great evil or human need we face in making disciples, may we walk in love!

Lesson: The BEST route to take in the ministry of discipling regardless WHAT spiritual GIFT one has -- indeed, the ONLY path of VALUE -- is GODLY LOVE. It is activated by God in the believer when he relies on the Holy Spirit, and it causes the believer to wait patiently for the suffering his godliness will bring; it leaves him kind, not jealous, boastful or proud; it keeps him from unfit, self-seeking action, from being easily angered or keeping a record of wrongs suffered; it leads him not to rejoice in sin, but in the truth; in relationships, it causes him always to bear up under hardships, and always to protect, to trust, to hope and to persist.

Conclusion: (To illustrate the sermon lesson . . . )

Following the "checklist" of this sermon provides direction for the discipling challenge mentioned in our introduction. I can apply 1 Corinthians 14:4b that calls us to be kind, and 1 Corinthians 13:6 that calls us not to rejoice in unrighteousness, but to rejoice in the truth, and in doing so find solutions to that challenge (as follows):

First, I must be kind toward Mary Zeiss Stange in critiquing her July 9, 2007 USA TODAY article that suggested Martin Luther would sanction same-gender unions were he alive today! I must also be kind to Luther himself and defend his morals opposite Stange's article, and be kind to all who read our notes on the web and might be swayed from the Stange article to condone same-gender unions! Thus, I report that Luther "castigated mercilessly . . . the whole of Germany for its drunkenness, gluttony, immorality . . ." according to James Atkinson, Professor of Biblical History and Literature at the University of Sheffield (The Great Light, 1968, p. 119). If Luther stood this way for Scriptural morality against the immorality of his nation in his era, he would never yield to today's "politically correct" view of same-gender unions versus what Romans 1:24-27 and Jude 7 candidly teach!

As for the verses Luther called believers no longer to heed, verses like abstaining from eating pork or circumcision, opposite what Ms. Stange held in her article, they deal with life under Mosaic Law, and Scripture itself in Colossians 2:11-17 and Galatians 5:1-3 calls us no longer to heed that Law! Besides, no Bible verse anywhere tells us to lay aside any of its verses that oppose same-gender unions!

Clearly, Mary Zeiss Stange's July 9, 2007 USA TODAY article on Martin Luther deeply errs and stands to be corrected!

On the other hand, though Luther had sterling biblical morals and deserves to have them defended before Ms. Stange's article, since his view of the Lord's Table errs, I wrote a critique of the Bible study guide's tolerance of the view, and am giving it to the study leader who originally loaned it to me to review. Our respect for Martin Luther who did us Christians a great service in his era by the courageous stands for God that he took must be tempered by our dedication to the truth versus his errant view of consubstantiation!

May we pursue GODLY love as clarified in 1 Corinthians 13 in facing the complexities of evil or human weaknesses we do in discipling others! God WILL make us effective if we do!