A HOUSE DIVIDED CANNOT STAND
*Main information for this lesson is once again taken from the following source.
Bertolini, Dewey & Larry Richards. 1 & 2 Corinthians: the Smart Guide to the Bible series. Thomas Nelson Press, GRQ Incorporated, 2009.
INTRODUCTION: ABRAHAM LINCOLN
It’s been 150 years now since Abraham Lincoln uttered the famous words, A house divided against itself cannot stand when addressing the issue of slavery prior to his Presidential run, and 150 years later the same can be said of churches that are not of clear thought and mind.
The Corinthian church was obviously split in a number of different ways, and had to deal with tons of serious issues, this lesson will continue to deal with a number of the issues, for some of those issues are still having to be dealt with today.
BIBLE VERSE: 1 Corinthians 1:10-11
Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe’s household, that there are contentions among you.
ISSUE #1: DIVISION
Evidently, there was something going on inside “Chloe’s household,” evidently Chloe was a prominent church member and whatever this action is it was enough to cause an uproar in the church (and it must have been pretty bad from my point of view, for if the Corinthian church said nothing about a person getting drunk at the Lord’s Table, than whatever the issue inside of Chloe’s household must have been severe).
What were the problems?
A) The church was divided doctrinally (the were no long speaking the “same thing” so there was a doctrine error going on).
B) The church was divided organizationally (the translated “divisions” comes from the Greek word schisma which means a tearing of a piece of cloth, sort of like tearing the church body in two).
C) The church was divided organically (no longer were they perfectly joined together, a medical term for a broken bone).
HOW GOOD IS A RUNNING BACK WITH A BROKEN LEG?
HOW GOOD IS A DUET IF ONE OF THE SINGERS IS SINGING OFF KEY?
HOW GOOD IS A LONG SLEEVE SHIRT IF ONE OF THE SLEEVES HAS BEEN RIPPED OFF?
The answers are obvious, but the word pictures describe the state of the church caused by divisions among them.
ON A YOUTH LEVEL: HOW TO IF FIX A DIVIDED RELATIONSHIP?
Youth leaders: please let the youth talk a bit here, their wisdom is probably as good as anyone’s. But after the conversation ceases, I do have a basic step by step answer for it (not that it will work in all circumstances, but I would hate to ask the question and not provide an answer).
A) Explain what you did to cause the division in the relationship. Let the person know what you were thinking and why you did. You may have been right or wrong, keep in mind, you do not have to have been wrong to explain actions that hurt a relationship.
B) Be honest and accept responsibility. If something went south, admit it. Sometimes when something is said apologetically, the other party will also apologize for something they said and the relationship will be corrected from there. It is important to note that this is not always the case, apologies are not always reciprocated.
C) Try to stay positive. Here’s the point, feelings have been hurt. To be honest, feelings are going to get hurt more during the recovery. So resist the urge to add anything else negative to the argument. So even if something comes up, I suggest to let it roll of your back a bit.
D) Let your friend have time to grieve. Okay, so you’ve said what has to be said, you’ve apologized for what you have to apologize for, everything is going good. But then you blow it. What happened? It blew up because you demanded that the relationship be fixed NOW. That is not the goal, the goal is to have the relationship fixed. Seldom will that happen on your time table. Time is a great healer, let time work as your friend has time to swallow the information well.
*This step by step above isn’t magical. I have just read a lot and these 4 steps seem to be overlapping often which is why I detailed them here.
ISSUE #2: CLAIM THAT SAINT
Mashed Potato Assault:
Receiving cold food at a restaurant was no small potatoes for one Florida woman.
Manatee County deputies have their eyes peeled for an unknown female assailant who allegedly beat the manager of Cody's Roadhouse in Bradenton after being served cold mashed potatoes.
Officials say the attack was rooted in the customer's visit to the restaurant on Sept. 14, when she complained that her potatoes were cold and requested a 50 percent discount on her meal, the Bradenton Herald reported.The manager on duty gave the woman a credit slip to be used at another visit.
That visit came Monday, when the woman entered the restaurant and asked to speak with the owner.
The same manager from the woman's previous visit approached her and, according to the police report, the two started arguing. The customer then allegedly grabbed the manager's hand and put her other hand around the manager's throat. After a brief scuffle, the unknown assailant fled the scene in a blue Saab.
Food is a basic necessity for survival, but it's also been the inspiration for many attacks and assaults -- and even the weapon of choice.
In June, James Hackett was arrested after he allegedly threw a container of McDonald's french fries at his 11-year-old stepdaughter…..
That same month, a jewel thief in Mussafah, Abu Dhabi, threw chilli powder at a jewelry shop salesmen before fleeing with gold ornaments worth around $4,300.
TRANSITION: Arguing over French fries, chilli powder, & mash potatoes are stupid. But believe it or not, the people of Corinth argued over something I think even more stupid than that: WHICH SAINT TO BELIEVE IN!
THE SAINT ISSUE: The people in Corinth were deciding which elder to follow? Peter? Paul?
WHO ARE WE SUPPOSED TO FOLLOW? Obviously, we are supposed to follow Jesus.
BIBLE VERSE: 1 Corinthians 1:12-16
12 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.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so no one can say that you were baptized in my name. 16 (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t remember if I baptized anyone else.)
DOES OUR NATION HAVE A SAINT ISSUE TODAY? Though it is a matter of opinion, I believe that it does. Ever met a Catholic who prays to Saints?
*I went on a Catholic website wanting to figure out how many Catholic saints there were, and I counted 89…but then stopped because I had just passed AC in the alphabet. What I mean is that between AA and AC, there were 89. The doesn’t include AD-Z which is pretty much the rest of the alphabet.
SO WHY DO YOU I NEED TO LEARN THIS? Youth leaders, let the youth talk here a bit, they will probably come up with the right answer.
But the obvious answer is that the “thinking I am important because I follow a certain saint” issue is NOT DEAD in the life of Christianity.
*By the way, technically, according to the Catholic doctrine, the Catholic believer doesn’t technically pray to a saint. They technically ask the saint to pray for them. The thinking is that the saint is more righteous than the regular person, therefore the prayers could be heard better. So you can take that for whatever you want to take that for.
BUT WHAT ABOUT US SOUTHERN BAPTISTS? DO WE HAVE A SAINT ISSUE?
Well, since we believe that every saved person is a saint, no we as a doctrine do not have that problem. But, there are many people who blindly follow a person or a specific man in the same manner that those in Corinth follow.
In my lifetime I have met people who essentially worshipped:
Bill Hybels, Rick Warren, Josh O’Steen, John MacArthur, The novel Blue Like Jazz, The theory of a Red Letter Christian, Benny Hinn, The Pope, Amway and many others. Some of these men are legit, others are not. But the truth is: JESUS IS TO BE FOLLOWED!
ISSUE #3: MARS HILL
The people of Athens were very similar to the people of Corinth, so during his journeys, Paul travels there and is somewhat bewildered by the number of gods represented and worshipped throughout the city (us historians tend to look at Athens as the great democracy of the ancient world, but God has a different view and it has nothing to do with the form of government).
DO YOU KNOW WHAT MARS HILL IS? Youth workers, there is probably no way the youth know what it is but give them a chance to see what they know.
The Areopagus, otherwise known as the Rock of Ares or Mars Hill, was a place of holy worship done by the polytheists of Athens, it is the site in which Paul finds a monument to “the unknown god.” It lies just below the Acropolis and just above the agora, the hill rises some 380 feet above the ground below. It had an ancient stairway.
And on this place is where Paul preached about the Lord Jesus. He did it among non-believers and it was clear what stance he was taking.
So what’s the point (leaders, here are the most important questions):
HAVE YOU STOOD ON YOUR MARS HILL AND MADE A CLEAR STATEMENT ABOUT JESUS?
DO YOUR NON-CHRISTIAN FRIENDS EVEN KNOW YOU ARE A BELIEVER?
HAVE YOU INVITED YOUR NON-BELIEVING FRIEND TO YOUTH GROUP?
HAVE YOU INVITED YOUR NON-BELIEVE FRIEND TO CHURCH?
WHAT IS YOUR MARS HILL?
Youth leaders, what I am going for here is for students to recognize that they need to have a moment in their life to stand up to your friends and let them know what they believe in and what that looks like.
Sources:
Bertolini, Dewey & Larry Richards. 1 & 2 Corinthians: the Smart Guide to the Bible series. Thomas Nelson Press, GRQ Incorporated, 2009.
Catholic.com. Saint Worship?
Moye, David. Mashed Potato Assault: Officials Have Eyes Peeled For Suspect in Attack Over Cold Food, Huffington Post, 9/26/2012
Glossary: In this lesson, I dealt with the issue of Saint Worship to an extent. In order to be fair, I have included an answer from the Catholic perspective here. The following narrative is taken off of a Catholic website that addresses this issue. Just because I post it does not mean that I agree with it entirely.