What's In A Name?

My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: one of you says, ‘I follow Paul’; another, ‘I follow Apollos’; another, ‘I follow Cephas’; still another, ‘I follow Christ.’ Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptised in the name of Paul? 1 Corinthians 11-13 NIV

Paul wrote to the church at Corinth because they were a troubled and divided group. Their idea of the gospel was coloured by the teachings of various people. The apostle started his letter with the warning in the verses above. Their difficulties individually and collectively stemmed from the truth of these words, and we would do well to take heed of the same pitfalls today.

The internet makes it easier to pay pick ‘n’ mix with preachers who sound good, and whose teachings are apparently sound. It’s not uncommon to hear some church folks say, “I like the way ‘X’ speaks”, or “It’s good that ‘Y’ doesn’t mince his words”, or even “ ‘Z’ is a false teacher and an antichrist”. Have you heard these words? Or more to the point, have you said them? We are told that the folks in the Corinth ‘church’ group quarrelled about who was the best. Paul makes it clear that this attitude was all wrong, and the Apostle was in the preferred list of preachers!

These three preachers would not all have been speaking at the one time, and in the same place. So it follows that each man had his own followers. These ‘disciples’ would follow whoever they thought was best, and it is striking that Christ is at the end of the list. Christ is reduced to one person in four. Small wonder that Paul starts his letter by addressing and correcting this important issue right up front. I trust we are of Christ and no other preacher, no matter how good we think they might be. Maybe it’s time to change our language!

Forgetting and Straining

Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on towards the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Philippians 3:13-15

You are an athlete, and you are in the race of your life. This time you aim for gold! What does the athlete do? According to this verse, it all comes down to: "This one thing I do, pressing toward the prize of the high calling in Christ Jesus". That's it. What, that's it?? Just aim for the finishing line, and Paul confirms that this is enough for God and Heaven's entry. Sounds simple, doesn't it. Not a lot of other things to bog you down.

Let's look at it from another angle. As with any other Olympic race, there are some things the athlete does NOT do. He/she doesn't:

>Look at the crowd of spectators at the side of the race. Some may not be Christians, but they are watching how you run this race. You don’t run to please them, but your Heavenly Father.

>Look at, or concentrate on, the men and yes women who may be in front leading the pack. Perhaps they are straining even more muscle and sinew than you are, and so deserve their place. The aim is not to win, just finish well.

>Look at the ones who are level with him/her because they are brothers and sisters in Christ, and they are your encouragement, not the opposition. You can’t compare yourself because you are all in this race together.

>Turn round and look at those you are faster and better than. The end result can come down to pride because you are ahead, and pride comes before a fall. The ones behind are still in the race, and like you, their aim is to finish.

>The last thing a runner in this race does NOT do is check out any of the runners, or the spectators, to see if they should be anywhere near this race. The sincere runner is too busy straining, and looking forward to the end goal so that he/she cannot afford to look around to check on everyone’s eligibility. That is not our job. They are all there for a reason and by God’s sovereign will, whether in the race or on the sidelines. We must get used to that idea, and not take our eyes away from the goal, or our attention from the prize!

The athlete's focus in this, the most important race of his life, is to finish. It is not acceptable to stop, falter or faint on the way, because then it is impossible to finish. It is also worth remembering that even the Apostle Paul hadn’t reached the goal. He was there in the race striving, just like you and me.

Follow, Follow

Social media is a wonderful way of keeping in touch with far off friends and family, sharing our little life’s incidents and surprises, and to some others who look on it might seem to be a bit of nonsense. I’m ok with a bit of nonsense, and some might say I AM a bit of nonsense. Sadly at the other end of the scale lies the fake news. In other words lies parading as truth. We are so easily led to believe such nonsense as well. We don’t seem to have good filters to sift out the fun from the harmful nonsense.

One of the most harmful ways to spread fake news, or lies, for the Christian is to cloak it in a little kernel of truth. We swallow the whole thing, while only seeing the bit we like, or in other cases, dislike. In other words we rush to our own false opinion, or fake news, and we then spread it around like a self fulfilling prophesy.

Paul had a situation where some folks, taken by his style of preaching and teaching, would pick the leader they trusted to believe. The essence of the gospel was missed. The author of the gospel, and the Saviour we worship is not a man, no matter how good we see him or her to be, but Jesus the Christ. Anything or anyone less is fake news and not the good news of the true gospel. The fault did not lie with the charismatic leaders in Paul’s day, it lay with gullible and easily led people who placed their trust in the wrong place, and with the wrong person.

Why do you go to church? Is it because you like the pastor? Does what he or she say, chime with your own thoughts, feelings and beliefs? Is it for the friends you have made there? The singing of your kind of songs or hymns? These are all the wrong reasons for being in church. There is only one reason for worship, one person worthy of that worship, and that is Jesus the son of God, our only Saviour. Until we see past the other ‘nonsense’ we cannot enter His courts with gladness, and in truth. There are still many who say, “I follow ______”, or “I follow ______”. I will let you fill in the blanks. If you or I CAN fill in the blanks, we are not there yet.

Brothers and sisters, some members of Chloe’s family told me that there are arguments among you. This is what I mean: One of you says, “I follow Paul,” and someone else says, “I follow Apollos.” Another says, “I follow Peter,” and someone else says, “I follow Christ.” Christ cannot be divided into different groups. It wasn’t Paul who died on the cross for you, was it? Were you baptized in Paul’s name? 1 Corinthians 1:11-13

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Philippians 2:12,13