And I brethren, could
not speak to you
as to spiritual
people but as to carnal,
as to babes in
Christ. I fed you with milk
and not solid food;
for until now you
were not able to
receive it, and even
now you are not still
not able; for you
are still carnal. For
where there are envy,
strife, and divisions
among you, are you
not carnal and
behaving like mere men?
1Corinthians 3:1–3
Paul had
come to Corinth before, and taught the Corinthian the deeper points of doctrine by Paul on his first visit to Corinth. Corinthians were, in part, well being sincere converts, yet they
were far from maturity of judgment and experience, therefore they were prone to
carnal passions. In the beginning pole
topped the Corinthian church in simpler terms so that they could understand and
by this time, they should have been able to understand the deeper things of
doctrine. This was not done by the
Corinthian church in this was seen by the carnality in the church. Even today, we see divisions, strife, envy,
and allowances of immorality seen in the forms of homosexuality, divorce
without Scriptural reason, and not putting away those who are unscriptually sound. Factious, which means in
unnaturalness, or pretensions, and so often a slavish love of fads acting upon
human principles, for those involved in such things are guided by their own
pride and passions and not by the principles of true religion that is
Christianity. As Matthew Henry recorded
in his work on first Corinthians: "It is to be lamented, that many who
should walk as Christians, live and act too much like other men".[1]is
evident that there is carnality in the church and this can be seen by the acts
of some professors, and preachers, who show themselves to be carnal, by a vain
-- glorious emulations, eagerness for controversy, and disposition to despise
and speak evil of others. This is
simply sin, and it is not of grace. It
is distasteful, yet it is a duty of God's servants to expose that which is
calculated to deceive and injure His people.
The effective way of doing this removal of carnality is to let in the
light of truth. You must first address
the problem so that you may know what may be the solution. This takes courage, and conviction. What is required in teaching is to hold to a
steady guidance of the mind and conscience of a believer about the foundation
of his peace and acceptance with God, and how to exercise his faith in this
life. To declare and vindicate the
truth and to give true instruction and edification is to show a love of
sincerity and to enable others to extricate from their minds those difficulties
that are leading them into carnality.
We are to direct their consciences so that they will inquire of God, and
seek after abiding peace with God and establish their minds in the truth. Nevertheless, no matter the difficulty
involved in teaching the truth, I respectfully urge each Christian to make real
effort to gird up their loins of their minds and to seek the truth prayerfully
and by the reading and study of God's Word.
Paul as did other Bible writers had doctrinal instruction as the
foundation by which they issued precepts to regulate and guide a Christian’s
walk. We are to be reminded that as
saints we have the exceeding riches of God's grace, and that the love of Christ
may constrain us so that we are urged to walk worthy of the vocation wherewith
you are called. the justice of God and his truth give us no cause to complain
because our full satisfaction was given to us by a mediator, Jesus Christ.
Think upon this: Jesus Christ is Lord
of all and yet was made subject to the law, not to just obey the law, also to
be subject to the curse of the law, and by this we are made righteousness of
God: "For He made Him who knew no
sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in
Him" (2 Corinthians 5: 21). should not we'd be in a in devout
meditation of these things, to break
out into the praises of a justifying God, and sing with the church? God has pardoned His elect, and teaches us
to grow in maturity: "Who is a God
like You, pardoning iniquity in passing over the transgression of the remnant
of His heritage" (Micah 7:18)?
Think upon this and you will be humbled; God chose rather than to punish
the sins of the elect made him righteous before Him by means of His Only
Begotten Son, rather than them to suffer and go unpunished. The abyss of God's love, a love by which He
spared not even His dearest Son, in order to spare sinners! The Corinthian
church while living in a culture of great immorality, idolatry, and various
theologies from men who came from all around the world to cross the isthmus had
not allow them to grow to maturity and allowed for certain worldly and carnal
exercises in the church. Take a look at
your church and see whether or not this is true of your church and if so what
can you do to eliminate the problem.
First, examine yourself and see whether, or not you are doctrinally
sound, not by what some men teach and preach, rather allow Scripture to
interpret scripture in teaching the truth.
If the problem cannot be resolved then you have the responsibility to
remove yourself to a church that is teaching the truth of God's Word. This will require great courage, and
commitment to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Behold, on the mountains
the feet of
him who
brings good tidings, who proclaims peace!
O Judah,
keep your appointed feasts,
perform your vows.
For the wicked one
shall no
more pass through you,
he is a truly cut off.
Nahum 1: 15
Proclaim good tidings: the Gospel
Richard L. Crumb
[1]
Henry, Matthew: Matthew Henry commentary on the holy Bible, 1 first
Corinthians; Royal publishers, Inc., Nashville, Tennessee: 1979; p, 90.
No comments:
Post a Comment