Woe to him who covets
evil gain for his house.
That he may set his nest
on high,
That he may be delivered
from the power
of disaster!
You give shameful counsel
to your house,
cutting off many peoples,
and sin against your soul.
Habakkuk 2:9-10
Scripture is clear, so very plain, but so often misused: God hates evil, and as God is Holy, sin is repugnant to Him. Misuse of the words of God is nothing more than blasphemy. Yet, many are not teaching God's word and that the truth is hidden amongst practices, teachings, and their delight is not on the law, rather, for personal gain, whether it be fortune, or fame. Those who would desire to give poor counsel has done nothing more than give shameful counsel, and they seek evil gain. Sermons are often nothing more than psychological counsel, a person leaves feeling good about themselves but the truth of the Scriptures is void, null, and the principles applied by a Bible author are hidden. The Psalmist counsels: "The ungodly are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, no sinners in the congregation of the righteous, for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the ungodly shall perish" (Psalm 1:4-6). To know the truth then is most important.
Paul in his first letter to the Church at Corinth had great necessity to address error, for this Church had succumb to many practices that are opposed by God. This city/state had gain once again after their destruction, influence, power, and was known for their worship of Aphrodite, and Apollos, and other such pagan gods, a licentious city and the name of "Korinthiazomai," became associated with the Corinthian people, and as this name declares and labels the Corinthians as being morally corrupt, a Greek verb for fornicate; therefore this name was not a nice to name to be associated with, one to avoid. Paul would choose this city for his headquarters, for his mission to the west, a city dynamic, young, and not bound by tradition, a city mixed with dislocated people who had strong ethnic identities, people who were attempting to achieve social honor and material success.
Paul would arrive at Corinth around the years 49 or 50 A.D. and what he would have seen was rock piles from the ruins of ancient Corinth. This city having been rebuilt in 44 B.C. by Julius Ceasar was a young city and the city house many Roman people as this city was a Roman colony. Paul would be confronted with a city bustling with social, cultural, and religious diversity, including Jews. The Jews who had by means of the dispersion, having been cast out of Rome, many Jews settled in Corinth and had become cosmopolitan, and multicultural, unlike their counterparts in Jerusalem. Paul, a tentmaker, met up with Aquila and Priscilla (Acts 18:1-12) who were also tentmakers, therefore they could work together. Aquila and Priscilla had become important in the establishment of the Church in Corinth (1Corinthians 16:19). The Christian people were economically diverse with rich people, tradespeople, slaves, and former slaves, but the Christians did not have high status among the Corinthians. When Paul wrote to the Corinthian Church probably some 100-200 Christians lived in the city and worshiped in house Churches. With the almost 4 mile isthmus to transverse ships from all over the world joining of the Aegean and the Adriatic seas, this city was best situated for the spread of the Gospel. With all this diversity, religious fervor, people flushed with pagan rituals, and practices, it is no wonder that problems arose in the Church and Paul had to address those contentious problems and this he did by means of His first letter to them: "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" (1Corinthians 1:10-11). Paul then addresses each of the contentions and this we will do and bring to light the truth and hopefully the removal of those practices, doctrines, and misuse of Scripture, will be removed, if indeed they are your beliefs and practices, to a place where the truth of God's word fills your life.The next blogs will address the "sign" gifts.
That your faith
should not be
in the wisdom of men
but in the power
of God.
1Corinthians 2:5
Let No One Deceive You
Richard L. Crumb
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