Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 11:29 “For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.”

The early Church used to meet for regular pot-luck dinners. They were called “agape” meals — “love-feasts”. Ideally they were supposed to include everyone and highlight no distinction between the well-to-do and the poorer believers. But here is what was happening:

The upper-income believers were getting to the dinners before the lower-income workers. Rather than wait for their poorer brethren, these early arrivers were going ahead with the food and drink — not only getting  the best on the “menu”, but depleting the supply for the latecomers. Some were drinking too much and becoming drunk. (v.21).

The effect, of course, was the humiliation of the poorer believers (v.22), causing socioeconomic division — discrimination of the basest kind. And, all this was happening in the name of a “love-feast”, meant to glorify and remember Jesus! Paul was angry, and rightly so.

As Paul was about to teach (chapters 12, 13, 14), the “body of Christ” was made up of many members, all with differing, yet complimentary gifts. There was to be interdependence in the body — just as the hand and the eye need each other, so, too, the various members of Christ’s body need each other.

When one member refuses to acknowledge another, he is cutting himself off from that person’s gift. And suppose that, upper-income member needs healing and the one possessing the gift of healing is a lower-income member? What happens? The rich member gets sicker and dies because he refused to “discern” or “recognize” the gift Christ had given for his healing — “For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep” (v. 30). The “Lord’s Supper” is a time to recognize our interdependence. You nee my gift and I need yours.

Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 10:13 “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”

Why do you suppose Paul warns us about imminent failure just when we think we’ve got temptation beat? “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!” he says. Would he prefer that we be insecure, lacking confidence and uncertain in our convictions? No. What he’s warning us agains is lack of caution — knowing oneself and one’s weakness, yet guilty of wrong thinking and being caught with our guard down. Just because we “think” we’re standing firm doesn’t necessarily mean we’re thinking correctly. It is better to be cautious — especially when everything looks good.

And when the temptation comes, we’d do well to remember that it isn’t custom-designed just for us. “Designer temptations” don’t exist. You’ve got a sexual temptation? A money temptation? A power temptation? Join the club — there are thousands facing the same thing right now.

The thing to remember  is that “God is faithful”. That is, he always responds to those who cry out to Him in the face of temptation. He never fails.

And, if you’re truly serious in your call for help, it will come. God will provide an escape route. Nine times out of ten, the escape plan will be dependent upon a choice of yours. You’ll have to grit your teeth, turn away from the potential pleasure, and step into the unfamiliar territory of self-denial. Otherwise the game of “sin, confess, sin” just goes on. And on.

Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 9:22 “… I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.”

In so many ways the apostle Paul was way ahead of his time. You might even call him a “renaissance man”. He was remarkably free, and admirably mature. And he had absolutely no trace of superstition in his makeup.

For instance, he had no problem eating food that had been offered to idols. Food was food and had no intrinsic moral value (8:8). But, if he was at table with former idolaters to whom meat offered to idols brought memories of pagan ritual, he was careful not to touch it. Not for the sake of his conscience, but for theirs (8:10,11).

Then there was his view of apostles’ rights. As he saw it, an apostle had a right to have a wife (and take her with him on his travels — 9:5), to have food and drink, and to be supported financially by those to whom he ministered (9:11). “But I have not used any of these rights,” Pauls says. Why? So that “in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not make use of my rights in preaching it” (9:18). Paul preaches a free gospel; free of charge and free of financial obligation. That sounds definitely “renaissance”!

Essentially, Paul was committed to what we today call “cross-cultural ministry”. He recognized that there was cultural baggage in every sub-cultural group to whom he ministered. Ex-idolaters had it. Ex-emperor- worshippers had it. Gentiles, Jews, and heathens all had it. Fighting it or disdaining it would be counter-productive. So instead he was sensitive to it, and even adopted some of it from time to time if it was “helpful” (6:12)

He had one goal — to present the Gospel of Jesus Christ as free from hindrance as possible. To do this he was prepared to be a Gentile to Gentiles and a Jew to Jews. He was free to be — and free to preach a free Gospel.

Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 7:29a, 31b “…the time is short…the form of this world is passing away.”

I’d like to caution you before reacting to Paul’s apparently low view of marriage in this chapter. First of all, read 9:5, “Do we have no right to take along a believing wife, as do also the other apostles, the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas (Peter)?” Apparently, as he delineated the rights of apostles, Paul felt the need to defend his and the others’ right to take a wife along on missionary travels. Whether or not Paul actually did so remains unestablished. But there is, at least, room to believe that he was married.

Secondly, look at those key verses (29 & 31). Paul had a very-real expectation that the end was near. Jesus was coming back soon, and life for the believer should be as uncomplicated as possible — “I would like you to be free from concern”, he says. Marriage brought concern about this world’s affairs, whereas singleness brought the potential for single-mindedness in the “Lord’s affairs”. (vv.32, 34). He wanted as many believers as possible to “live in a right way in the undivided devotion to the Lord” (v.35). So it wasn’t so much a low view of marriage that fuelled Paul’s words in chapter 7, but an urgent view of the shortage of time before the Lord’s return.

Theologians call the hope of the soon return for Christ the doctrine of “imminence” — meaning that the Lord’s return could be today, so be ready. Anticipate the Day of the Lord; live in the light of it and look forward to it. Do this, and your values will be altered. Your eyes will rise from the immediate concerns to the far horizon, where the dawn of the kingdom of Heaven is about to break.

Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 6:12 “All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.”

Have you a pet sin? Once that’s been with you for years? Perhaps It’s relatively secret (apart from any “shared” sinning it may have precipitated with other secret partners). You’ve brought it to God many, many times, but it’s still there. You haven’t mastered it yet. In fact, if the truth were known, it has mastered you.

When you read Paul’s words in the second half of chapter 6, there’s a tendency to react immaturely to his hymn of freedom — “if all things are lawful for me, then lets get on with sinning!”, something inside you cries. But the very thing you think of doing is probably the very thing that has mastered you, or would if it could. Paul, on the other hand, after declaring that “all things are lawful for me,” goes on to quickly add, “but I will not be mastered by anything (v.12b NIV).

Maturity is an elusive thing. We assume a person is mature because he/she is “adult”. They’re in their 40’s or 50’s and have had time to develop — they’re refined and objective. They’ve got their act together; their judgment can be trusted. Not necessarily so.

Some of the most immature people I have known are “up in years”. All their lives they’ve demanded and got their own way. They’ve specialized in making life meet their own needs — often at the expense of the needs of those closest to them. Indeed, their needs have mastered them.

Contrast these self-absorbed ones to the truly free spirit. Here’s someone who has recognized the potential tyranny of his own needs, and has determined, rather, to meet the needs of others at the expense of his own short-term satisfaction. He’s a soul with eyes fixed on the far horizon. Under God, he is master of his own destiny. Truly free and truly God’s.

Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 4:41 “My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. “ (NIV)

Paul appears a touch arrogant here. “I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court,” he says. Not only does he have little regard for what people think of him, he doesn’t really care what he himself thinks of himself, “I do not even judge myself” (4:3). He refuses to succumb to false guilt.

Psychology tells us there are two kinds of guilt: false guilt and true guilt. False guilt occurs when you accept the blame for not meeting the expectation of others, or yourself. True guilt occurs when you transgress moral law. One is subjective in its orientation, the other objective.

In the final analysis, there’s only one Judge who should concern us. It’s this Judge that Paul fears — “It is the Lord who judges me.” (v.4b).

But here’s the sticky part. Why be subject to judgement at all? Why not eat, drink, be merry, and die — blissfully extinct and obliged to no one?

If you’re at all like me, you probably have had moments when you wished you weren’t constantly accountable — not just to self, family, and friends, but to God. Sometime you just want to be free to be selfish.

Well, for the Christian, that’s not how it works. The Lord is coming. That truth is our hope and our discipline. We’re going to be called to account. We’ll be facing the ultimate court. Without further appeal.

Thank God we’ve got a good lawyer — Jesus Christ Himself, ever living “to make intercession” for us (Hebrews 7:25). He knows what it’s like to be human. And He pleads a good case.

Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 3:3 “For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?”

That key verse begins (in the NIV), with, “You are still worldly” (carnal). And, if it were up to some of us to complete the verse we might say, “For where there are the wrong kind of music, sexual misdemeanours, and substance abuse among you, are you not worldly and behaving like sinners?” And there would be a lot of justification for us to think in those terms; after all, sin is sin.

Paul, in fact, addresses these sins in other places. But for now, he’s talking to a congregation — a group who are by definition supposed to be following Jesus’ great command that they “have love one for another”. Here he is talking about relationship sins: sins that a church commits.

It’s too easy for you and me, when talking about the Church, to think in generic terms. The “church” becomes a general abstraction with which we specifically have little to do. We stand apart and judge.

But the church is you and me; and our relationship sins are sins we commit. We look at the other guy and covet; or fight; or separate.

It’s amazing, really, especially in terms of the magnitude of life and the triviality of our conflicts. Here we are, fighting about whether or not to pave the church parking lot, and thousands are dying in Ethiopia. Or we’re seeking to drive so-and-so off the church board, while hostages in Lebanon enter their fourth year in captivity.

Let’s call it like it is. Envy, strife, and division are characteristics of political parties. Isn’t the church above such stuff? Let me rephrase that. Aren’t you and I above trivial conflict? Let’s choose to dwarf our differences with a common commitment to the kingdom of heaven.

Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 2;9 “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”

“Pie in the sky when you die by and by.” That’s how the Christian hope is cynically described by those who have a low view of heaven. It’s easy, of course to make fun of adults who hope for a glorious future with God, just as it’s easy to make light of adults who believe in leprechauns or any other mythology. Why? Because heaven is not available to the senses. And in a world where the empirical is king, any hope-defying scientific verification is seen as foolishness.

Paul says, “the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1:18). Those who embrace the hope are those who believe the Messenger, and who is He? Later, Paul says, “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned” (2:14). The Messenger is the Spirit: God Himself. The hope has God as its initiator. So heaven has meaning only to those who have heard from heaven.

So what kind of mind is open to talk of heaven? The Christian mind — “we have the mind of Christ” (2:16b). It’s a mind that embraces the realities of heaven, hell, God in the flesh, resurrection, sin, and salvation. A mind that accepts dependence rather than seeking independence. Yet, even in its childlike dependence, it soars mentally and loves practically, It stretches out to the far horizon and cares for the beggars at the door. It joins an orchestra of fools and plays the rocketing music of eternity. It is deep responding to the call of Deep.

Key Verse: Romans 16:22 “I, Tertius, who wrote this epistle, greet you in the Lord.”

Tertius? Who’s he? And Lucius, Jason, Sosipater, Gaius, Erastus, Quartus? Who are these people?

Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater were relatives of Paul. Erastus was head of Rome’s public work department. Gaius was a local church member with the gift of hospitality. Quartus was simply a “brother” in the Lord. And Tertius? He was Paul’s secretary, the man who took dictation as Paul wrote this letter to the Romans.

But they’re all “unknowns” as far as we’re concerned. Paul, we know. Peter, we know. But Tertius? We tend to give these lesser lights short shrift.

Obviously we’re wrong. You and I are lesser lights; Who’s ever heard of us? In the light of history we’re not only unknowns, we hardly even exist. Does that make us unimportant?

Have you ever seen your liver? or your kidneys? Not likely! All you ever see of yourself is your outer appearance: Your skin, face, torso, arms, and legs. Does that make your skeleton and organs unimportant?

The bible refers to the Pauls, the Peters, and the Sosipaters as the “body of Christ”. Jesus is the head, we’re the body; He commands, we obey. Yet our role, behind the scenes though it may be, is vital.

There would be no Christian history if there weren’t a you and a me. We’re part of the story, part of the plan. And The message of Christ’s life and love would have no meaning whatsoever if it weren’t heard and acted upon by real people, big and little. Jesus came because He loved us: Us — you and me — the “unknowns” who make Him known.

Key Verse: Romans 15:4 “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.

” Do you enjoy reading the Bible?” someone asked me recently. “Sometimes, yes. Other times, no.” I answered. “Why the fluctuation?” he questioned. ” Because the Bible is a teacher, and I don’t always like to be taught,” I said. “Why?” he asked. “I guess it’s because teaching always includes challenge to change. And sometimes I want to stay just the way I am. Or at least I’d rather not put out the energy that transformative demands.” Maybe I just should have referred my friend to today’s key verse — it says it all.

The bible was written “for our learning”. It’s a teacher. It records history, “things written before…”, and it expects to be taken seriously. It tells it like it was, and in this honest presentation of the past, it implies that the response of the reader should be just as honest in the present. What’s more, it assumes we’ll learn today from yesterday’s lessons. This, of course, is not always the case.

The Bible encourages us to be patient. To take life a day at a time in light of the ultimate “Day” when we’ll stand before our Maker. It recognizes the ups and downs of daily living but challenges us in the midst of the immediate to dream of the imminent — Jesus is coming again. The kingdom will be established. Take heart! Have hope! Our present sufferings are only for a moment. Nor can they be compared to the glories the await us!

Little wonder the Bible is the best-seller of all time. It is magnificent literature, trustworthy history, and, most of all, a record of God’s revelation to mankind. It’s a word about the Word — Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.

Key Verse: Romans 14:10 “But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgement seat of Christ.”

Paul begins this chapter with, “Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters” (v.1). He’s face to face here with the cultural, sub-cultural, and religious sensibilities of a rich mosaic of backgrounds in the early church. Some were strictly observant Jews, others were secular Jews, and still others were Gentiles newly won from paganism and emperor-worship. You can be sure there was a clash of traditions on several levels. You can also be sure the the feelings were strong!

The Apostle puts it all in perspective: “we will all stand before God’s judgment seat”. At that moment of major judgments, all our minor, trivial judgments on earth will seem comical if not tragic.

We’re to put tolerance before dogma. We’re to put ourselves into the other guy’s shoes. We’re to understand and be compassionate. This posture sits far better with our heavenly Judge that intolerance and bigotry.

There’s another point. As convinced as we may be of some secondary truth (as contrasted to primary truths like the unity of God, or the deity of Christ, etc.), we’re to keep our conviction to ourselves if it will be misunderstood by another believer. Or, at least, limit your freedom to those moments when the “weaker” brother will not be exposed to your “flagrant”” behavior.

And don’t be smug or uncritical about your liberty “Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves” (v.22b). As we mature in Christ, we should always take stock of our standards and submit them to the ultimate standard: the standard of love.

Key Verse: Romans 13:14 “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.”

He was an over-eater. He came into my office grossly overweight and self-disgusted. As he told me his story, I received an education in the devastating bondage of “gradualism”. What’s that you ask? Well, you might call it suicide by degrees.

Just like a chronic smoker or pill-popper, he was destroying himself in incremental measure — numb to any short-term effect, but literally degenerating over the long-term. This is what “the flesh” will do if you let it. It’s bent on self-destruction.

Even under the best conditions and the most committed self-moderation, the flesh eventually give out. Wrinkles, aches, pains, cholesterol, and decrepitude of one form or another eventually lay you low. The old body expires, and we fly away.

But the question is: to where are we Flying? The Bible makes it very clear, tough as it seems, that our spiritual well-being has a lot to do with the moral choices we make on earth. It may seem unfair, but if we yield to the “works of the flesh”, the Bible says we won’t “inherit” eternal life — we’ll “fly” to a Godless eternity.

That’s why we’ve got to starve our lusts. Feeding them will only hasten our self-destruction. That’s not to say that our physical appetites are wrong; if we indulge them according to God’s word, we’ll bring blessing not destruction. But the key is obedience. And obedience is usually hard on us — at least in the initial stages.

On the other hand, if we choose to ignore the long term and simply enjoy the short term, we may find ourselves one day, like my fat friend, overwhelmed with self-indulgence and self-disgust. It’s only an extra piece of pie today — tomorrow it may be plugged arteries.