Have you moved to a new church and wished the people would view you as a valuable new addition? Have you taken a new job and wanted your new employer and fellow employees to take you seriously? I recall when Karen and Bill Shea started attending my Sabbath School class in Manassas, Virginia. Karen came first, and then her husband showed up a few weeks later. This elderly couple sat quietly in my class as I taught the book of Daniel. What I did not know was that William Shea was the leading scholar in our worldwide church on Daniel. He had not only written a book on Daniel that was still being published, but he took the leadership role in writing hundreds of pages for the church’s position paper on Daniel and Revelation. When I realized who Bill was, I told him the wrong guy was teaching the class! He graciously told me that I was doing a fine job and should continue. Bill’s approach is not the same as that of Paul when he writes to the Corinthians. Is there a reason? Let’s dive into our study of 1 Corinthians!...
On the surface, our study this week seems incredibly odd. Last week, we learned why Paul was entitled to call himself an “apostle.” Yet his background was nothing like that of Jesus’ twelve disciples. Paul had a premier theological education (Acts 22:3), was a Pharisee, and wrote more New Testament books than any other writer. In Acts 26:24, Porcius Festus, the Roman governor of Judea, referred to Paul’s “great learning.” Paul was a smart, highly educated man. Yet in this week’s study, Paul openly attacks worldly wisdom and education. He seems to favor those considered unwise, foolish, or weak. What is going on? Is the gospel intended for people of low intelligence? Is it for the uneducated? Let’s dive below the surface to understand what Paul is really teaching us!...
Have you seen a divided church? Have you ever entered a church where you could see the division simply by observing where people are sitting? I recall as a young man attending my grandmother’s church in Ironwood, Michigan. It appeared that all of the professionals sat on the left and those whose work did not require a degree sat on the right. While I was in law school, I noticed in the cafeteria that all the black students sat at one table. I thought that was unfortunate, so I sat at that table. Those at the table harassed me. I did not leave, but I never did that again! As a young lawyer, my wife and I attended a church where the black members tended to sit on one side and the white members sat on the other side. After I transferred to another church, I returned to that church and preached a sermon on racial reconciliation. After my sermon, some black friends said to me, “I hope they were listening,” and my white friends confided, “I hope they were listening.” Is there any solution to divisions in the church? Or is that just the natural order of things? Let’s jump into our study and read Paul’s advice on that subject!...
Just before writing this introduction, I had a wonderful discussion with my granddaughter. She is about to become a teenager, and we spoke about the importance of choosing her close friends carefully. Everyone who is reading this has been influenced by friends. Some, because of bad influences during their youth, have had their lives permanently changed. I recall a mother calling me about her son. He had been in a car when his friends decided to bully another young man. Things got out of hand and the victim died. In circumstances like this, friends can get you convicted of murder. Life-altering choices are often made when a person is young. The influence of our friends continues throughout life. Our study this week is about the influence that tolerated sin can exert within a church and about how Christians should resolve conflicts with one another. Let’s plunge into our study of the Bible and see what lessons we can learn for today!...
Have you been in a situation in which you were absolutely right, but you ended up losing? In American law this is not supposed to happen. You have the facts in hand, you argue the application of the correct law, and if you are competent and logical you win, right? In my experience, the answer is, “Not always.” Biblical arguments can be even more uncertain. First, not everyone agrees on what a Bible text says. If there is no agreement on the law, which is the standard for judgment, how can you have a reasonable debate? Second, being right about what the Bible says does not always lead you to the correct conclusion. How can that be? We need to ask Paul! Our study this week begins with being right on the Bible, but wrong on our conclusion. Let’s dive into this worrisome idea to better understand what Paul is teaching us!...
Recently, a member of my church asked me, “Who chose you to teach the Sabbath School class?” It was a good question. I thought back to when I was in law school and my local church asked me to teach a class. In every subsequent church, someone in authority asked me to teach. At the same time, no one ever asked me to sing. Just the opposite. The academy teacher who invited me to join the choir disinvited me shortly thereafter. Do you know church members who insist on having a certain role in the church? Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 12:31 to “earnestly desire the higher gifts.” How should leaders and workers in the church be selected? Does it turn on our understanding of spiritual gifts? Does it turn on our goals? Let’s once again turn to our Bibles and see what we can learn!...
What does love mean? Today, it has so many meanings that the word is essentially meaningless. Take, for example, the phrase “tough love.” Doesn’t that seem to be a contradiction in terms? How can you be tough with someone you love? Yet most mature people know that being tough is part of love. Take, for example, when God moved Adam and Eve out of Eden. God still loved them to such a degree that He would sacrifice Himself for them. But on the surface the eviction did not look like love. The title of our lesson is “A Portrait of Love.” If you are unsure of what your subject looks like, how can you start painting it? That is the task before us. Our study this week is Paul’s description of love. Let’s dive into our study and better understand the meaning of love! ...
Logical arguments have a certain structure. That structure requires at least one premise, and more often two, before you can reach a conclusion. Here is an example. Murray is a grasshopper. All grasshoppers are insects. Therefore, Murray is an insect. The conclusion is that Murray is an insect, and the essential premises are that Murray is a grasshopper and all grasshoppers are insects. In our study this week Paul builds the argument for the conclusion that there is a resurrection of the dead. The critical fact for that conclusion is that Jesus was raised from the dead. Paul then argues that Jesus’ resurrection, as the “firstfruits” of those who have died, assures the future resurrection of those who belong to Him. Let’s explore Paul’s argument for the resurrection!...
Have you experienced times when your problems seemed overwhelming? What if the problems were not your fault? What if they arose because you were trying to do God’s will? If the problems had nothing to do with your poor decisions, you may have asked, “Where is God in this? Why is He allowing this?” In addition to your personal challenges, were there times when church friends faced hardships and you did not know what to say to comfort them? This week Paul explains the problems he and the Corinthian believers faced. His discussion will give us a deeper understanding of how to deal with problems. Let’s jump into our study of the Bible and learn more!...
This past week I attended a camp meeting! I had been invited to speak on religious liberty at a religious liberty conference. But the organizers decided to broaden it into several days of presentations about religious liberty and the gospel. Thus it became a “camp meeting.” The viewpoints of several of the speakers brought me back to my youth when I would regularly attend camp meetings that focused on personal holiness. This caused me to contemplate, once again, the faith versus works debate. Although I come down firmly on the faith side, it is always good for me to remain open to the possibility that my view needs correction. Because so many people read these lessons, getting this balance right matters. With that mindset, it hit me hard when Paul called the Ten Commandments “the ministry of death.” 2 Corinthians 3:7. Let’s plunge into our discussion of Paul’s letter to see if we can get this right!...
Is giving to others a matter of simple math? I give you five dollars and therefore I am five dollars poorer and you are five dollars richer. The Bible teaches that giving makes us richer, not poorer. And you hear that message all the time from ministries who want your money. What you do not hear all the time is that giving to someone or some organization might not make them any richer. Could the gift be a total loss to them? That total loss principle is also in the Bible. Let’s once again plunge into our study of the Bible to learn more!...
Who do you consider to be a false teacher? One who has teachings with which you disagree? One whose lifestyle is not what you think is appropriate? One who promotes a type of church service that you think is not sufficiently reverent? I think these questions are important because Paul’s definition of false teaching seems much different than the definition of false teaching that I hear today. I hear Bible teachers called “false teachers” simply because they disagree with the person calling them a “false teacher.” Let’s plunge into our study of the Bible and sort out the difference between those with whom we disagree and those who should be called “false teachers.”...
Our last study in our series on 1 & 2 Corinthians considers Paul’s closing remarks and warnings to the Corinthian Christians. His closing repeatedly refers to “testing.” As a professor, that is a term I understand. But Paul seems to reverse the normal testing process. He says the Corinthians are testing him, their teacher! Paul reverses this and asks them to test themselves. What is all of this about? The good news for all who go through a test is that Paul wishes them grace in testing. Let’s jump into our study of 2 Corinthians 13 and learn more!...
