Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/Sermons/zz20070114.htm

THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION
1 Corinthians: Discipling Believers With Very Sinful Backgrounds
II. Overcoming Human Personality Followings
A. Critiquing Human Personality Followings
(1 Corinthians 1:10-17)

Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

Human personalities are often so exalted in religious circles that they have quite a devout following (as follows):

(1) A believer recently told me that at an Evangelical College she once attended, its President was so upheld as a "little god" that she once confessed to him a sin she did to gain forgiveness, and he (thankfully) had replied: "You need to confess that to God, not to me!"

(2) The canonized saints of the Catholic Church are very elevated. In the August 6, 2001 issue of the Foothills Trader, a novena to "Saint Therese" claimed: "Glorious Saint Therese . . . So powerful are you in obtaining every need of body and soul, our Holy Mother Church proclaims you . . . The greatest Saint of modern times.'"

(3) Peter is also highly exalted in the Roman Catholic Church: its Confraternity Version of the Bible claims that he has "the power to admit into the Church and to exclude therefrom . . . In heaven God ratifies the decisions which Peter makes on earth . . .'" (p. 36, 37 as cited in Loraine Boettner, Roman Catholicism, p. 104-105)

(4) The Roman Catholic Church also very highly extols Mary: one of its canonized saints, Bishop Alphonse Liguori, in his book, The Glories of Mary that James Cardinal Gibbon, Archbishop of Baltimore approved, claimed: "Our salvation is in the hands of Mary . . . He who is protected by Mary will be saved, he who is not will be lost.'" (Ibid., p. 169, 170 as cited in Boettner, Op. Cit., p. 139) Liguori added that "All power is given to thee in Heaven and on earth,' so that at the command of Mary all obey -- even God'" (Op. cit., Liguori, p. 180-181 as cited in Boettner, Loc. cit.)

(5) Islam also highly exalts Mary: T. A. McMahon notes in the November 2002 issue of The Berean Call, p. 1 in his article entitled, "Catholicism & Islam: Ties That Bind," that Mary "is esteemed above the most revered women of the Muslim faith, including Muhammad's two favorite wives, Khadija and Aisha, and his daughter Fatima. The hadith teaches that Muhammad selected Mary as his first wife upon entrance into Paradise . . ."

We may then ask, "What does GOD think of this lofty exaltation of human personalities in religious groups to where they have a following, and WHY?!"



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

Need: "Does God condone elevating human personalities in the Church to the point that they have a following? If NOT, WHY?!"
  1. Paul addressed the subject of human personality followings in his first letter to the Corinthian believers, noting it was WRONG:
    1. Paul urged the Corinthian believers to say the same thing and have the same judgment so that they would not be divided, 1 Corinthians 1:10.
    2. This admonition was given due to the rise of human personality followings where believers had split into cliques to follow various men, and these splits had led to quarrels, 1 Cor. 1:11-12 NIV, ESV.
  2. Paul taught personality followings USURPED CHRIST'S GLORY and POTENTIALLY DETRACTED from His GOSPEL, 1:13-17:
    1. Paul critiqued personality followings as they usurped Christ's glory:
      1. Paul's three questions in 1 Corinthians 1:13 are rhetorically formed to require a negative answer, Bible Know. Com., N. T., p. 508.
      2. Thus, he held it was errant for believers to be divided into personality followings, for (a) CHRIST was NOT divided, (b) it was wrong to extol anyone who had NOT been crucified for the salvation of men as had Jesus, and (c) it was wrong to exalt those by whose names believers were not baptized! (1 Corinthians 1:13)
      3. Extending his argument, Paul reported how thankful he was that he had not even baptized any of the Corinthians except Crispus (the initial chief synagogue official of Acts 18:8) and Gaius lest anyone might say Paul had baptized them in his name, 1 Cor. 1:14-15!
      4. [Paul then recalled his readers knew he baptized the household of Stephanas as his first converts from their own province of Achaia before he had arrived at Corinth (1 Cor. 16:15; Acts 18:12a), so he mentioned their baptism and any other he might not specifically recall having performed to quell future arguments from his readers, 1 Cor. 1:16! (F. W. Grosheide, 1 Corinthians (NICNT), p. 39]
    2. Paul critiqued personality followings as they potentially detracted from Christ's true Gospel of salvation, 1 Corinthians 1:17a,b:
      1. Having introduced the subject of baptism, Paul added that Christ had not even sent him to baptize, but to preach the Gospel, 1:17a!
      2. This statement reveals that water baptism does NOT save, for God saves us by faith alone in Christ alone, cf. Ephesians 2:8-9!
      3. So, in the context, Paul revealed that human personality followings can lay such an emphasis on mere men that they may detract from the focus on the simple Gospel of salvation by grace through faith alone in Christ alone! (1 Corinthians 1:17b with 1:13-15)
  3. Applying Paul's words on human personality followings to OUR era produces PROFOUND CRITIQUES for OUR time (as follows):
    1. Paul critiqued human personality followings at the local church level: in 1 Corinthians 4:6, we learn Paul's readers were not actually divided over Paul, Apollos and Cephas, for Paul had condemned divisions in the local church at Corinth via his illustration that used these names!
    2. However, applying Paul's illustration ITSELF to OUR era, we have a profound critique on personality followings at the universal level:
      1. Besides his own name, Paul used "Cephas" in his illustration, the Aramaic word for "Peter," Ibid., B.K.C., N. T., p. 276; 1 Cor. 1:12.
      2. Well, The Catholic Encyclopedia (1987) holds Paul and Peter to be canonized saints (p. 463, 473), so, by application, Paul in 1 Cor. 1:12-13 showed such canonized saints are not to be exalted as they were not crucified for our sins, nor are we baptized in their names!
      3. Peter is exalted as the first pope in the Catholic Church where (allegedly) "God ratifies the decisions which Peter makes on earth" (Ibid., Boettner, p. 104-105); thus, by application, Paul in 1 Cor. 1:12-13 taught that Peter and all the popes are not to be elevated as none were crucified for us, nor are we baptized in their names!
      4. Then, Mary, the Mother of Jesus was also not crucified for us nor are we baptized in her name, so by application, 1 Cor. 1:12-13 denies that she is to be extolled as controlling our salvation or ruling God as has is held in Bishop Liguori's work (Ibid., p. 169, 170, 180) or that she is not to be exalted as Mohammed's first heavenly wife as is claimed in Islam! (Ibid., T. A. McMahon)
    3. In countering personality followings, Paul also implied that if baptism does not save as Paul taught in 1 Corinthians 1:17, then no other ritual or work can save, but only faith alone in Jesus alone, Ephesians 2:8-9.
Application: May we (1) believe ALONE in CHRIST ALONE to be saved (John 3:16; Eph. 2:8-9) and (2) be baptized in the NAME of the Triune God, Matt. 28:18-20. (3) Then, may we EXALT JESUS ONLY as our SAVIOR and so (4) UNIFY around HIM!

Lesson: God does NOT condone EXALTING human personalities other than JESUS CHRIST at ANY level of the Church, for doing so usurps Christ's glory as our SOLE crucified and risen Savior and can detract from His TRUE Gospel of GRACE! We are to respect those who lead in the Church, (Heb. 13:17), but EXALT ONLY CHRIST in blessed UNITY!

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

Exalting Jesus alone and heeding His true Gospel unifies folk from vastly different religions as is seen by the following testimonies:

(1) The first testimony is from a former Muslim in Algeria who wrote a letter to Radio ELWA upon trusting in Jesus as his Savior. He wrote: "I was in a desert where there is no plant, no life, lost and sick. Blind, I could not see my way. Dumb, I could not speak and ask for help . . . Suddenly the wilderness turned into a garden and my bent back became straight. Then I could see and talk, and I was healed . . . Today I want to speak in a loud voice to everybody . . . : Come, O you people . . . to God. He is the real hope . . . He is a merciful and loving God . . . He is the Savior . . .' Is there any man who has seen Jesus face to face or even in a dream nowadays? What shall I do to see Him? I am so keen to see Him!" (SIM NOW, July-August 1989, p. 8)

(2) The second testimony is from a former priest who was born in Biscay, Spain, an area so strongly devoted to the Roman Catholic faith that it is called the Ireland' of Spain. He testified: " . . . on May 21, 1921, I was ordained a priest in Segovia, Spain. Sadly enough, the one thought that occupied my mind was that I was no nearer to receiving the holiness my soul longed for than when I had been a small boy back in my hometown dreaming of the religious life . . . one day the thought came to me: If you die, where will you go?' I had to answer, I do not know' . . . [In relating that he then spoke with Marion H. Reynolds, a Bible-believing Christian, he reports that Mr. Reynolds told him:] Christ died on Calvary for you, for me, for the whole world, but His death is of no use to you until you go to Calvary, take His blood and let it wash away your sins' . . . At that moment the scales fell from my eyes . . . I prayed, Oh Lord, may thy precious blood fall on my soul and wash away my sins.' At that moment a flood of cleansing invaded my soul and made me a born-again Christian. I found real happiness for the first time in my life . . ." (John Joseph U. Arrien, "A Priest Goes To Calvary," Biblical Evangelist)



As God took a Muslim from Algeria and a Roman Catholic priest from Spain and UNITED them in spiritual unity around the EXALTATION of JESUS as SAVIOR by FAITH ALONE in His work on the CROSS, may WE believe in Jesus as Savior by FAITH ALONE and exalt HIM ALONE in TRUE UNITY!