Sermon Tone Analysis

Robbing the Cross of its Power

1 Corinthians 11:17-22

Jim Davis

When the Corinthian believers came to Christ their pagan religious practices naturally overflowed into their fellowships.

It was the natural result of their pagan mindset.

It was all they knew—chaos reigned.

Paul writes to them about their chaotic fellowship.

1 Corinthians 11:17-22

17 In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good.

18 In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it.

19 No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God's approval.

20 When you come together, it is not the Lord's Supper you eat, 21 for as you eat, each of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody else.

One remains hungry, another gets drunk.

22 Don't you have homes to eat and drink in?

Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing?

What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you for this?

Certainly not!

NIV

The Corinthians witnessed God’s presence as they spoke in tongues and exercised their supernatural spiritual gifts.

God was present.

The Corinthians had everything needed to build a spirit filled fellowship.

1 Corinthians 1:4-9

4 I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus.

5 For in him you have been enriched in every way — in all your speaking and in all your knowledge— 6 because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you.

7 Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.

8 He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

9 God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.

NIV

Yet, chaos reigned.

1 Corinthians 1:10-17

10 I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.

11 My brothers, some from Chloe's household have informed me that there are quarrels among you.

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 into the name of Paul? 14 I am thankful that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so no one can say that you were baptized into my name.

16(Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don't remember if I baptized anyone else.) 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel — not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

NIV

The fellowships were doing more harm than good.

Those at odds with each other were not challenged to start new fellowships as followers of Apollos or Peter.

They were not even told to leave their wine skins at home.

Some were told they might be better off to stay at home.

Corinthian believers were lining up behind their favorite leaders touting their spiritual wisdom, gifts and oratory skills.

It was common practice in the Roman world to line up with the greatest orators.

Great orators were actually paid by their listeners for their wisdom and skill.

This mindset bled over into the Corinthian fellowship.

Impotence reigned.

They were powerless to cross socio-economic lines to simply share their food in Christian fellowships.

Drunkenness, egos and immorality reigned.

Their worldly mindset reigned.

1 Corinthians 3:1-4

3:1 Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly — mere infants in Christ. 2 I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it.

Indeed, you are still not ready.

3 You are still worldly.

For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly?

Are you not acting like mere men? 4 For when one says, "I follow Paul," and another, "I follow Apollos," are you not mere men?

NIV

The Corinthians were much like the Hebrews in the wilderness.

The Hebrews had visible signs of God’s presence.

They ate manna as God led them in a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.

Yet, they brought their Egyptian mindset and their idols with them.

They were always looking for a new leader or another idol.

So it was with the Corinthians.

They fell behind in no spiritual gift; it all was a sign of God’s presence.

Yet, they were endanger of dying in their spiritual wilderness.

Paul’s letters to the Corinthians sought to place Christ in the center of their fellowships.

He mentions the name of Christ 104 times.

Paul sought to place Christ in the center of every problem.

Of course they believed in Christ.

They were sanctified and justified.

Christ was the foundation upon which they stood, yet chaos reigned.

According to the second Corinthian letter Paul’s instruction worked--unity was restored.

Amazingly, many of our postmodern churches can’t read the Corinthian letters today without dividing.

For many—the books raise more questions than we seem to have answers.

One can only wonder why Paul’s advice brought healing to the Corinthians and brings division to the postmodern religious movement.

Today’s Religious Smorgus Board

The problems going on in the Corinthian fellowships are prevalent today on a much larger scale.

Religious division is at an all time high.

The religious smorgasbord of today seeks to make the church appealing to individual tastes.

Apparently our religious tastes are running wild as evidenced by the multitude of strip mall churches springing up.

It’s not much different than the Corinthians who were initially seeking to follow their favorite leaders.

They followed those who appealed to their personal desires and tastes.

No doubt they were seeking to fit the message of Christ into their preconceived mindset of the kind of leaders, and religious atmosphere they desired.

The postmodern religious world is much like the Athenians who were very religious; they were continuously on a religious quest for something new and exciting.

Acts 17:22-23

22 Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: "Men of Athens!

I see that in every way you are very religious.

23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.

Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.

NIV

The Athenians remind me of the new churches springing up in strip malls all across the country.

The inscriptions on their signage describe a quest for something new and more exciting—more meaningful.

Sadly, most only discover new and exciting ways to be religious.

It is usually only a temporary diversion until the excitement wears off and the pursuit begins anew.

Many tiring in their search to find something new and more exciting are simply dropping out.

Others simply settle for a new way to be religious failing to move beyond religion.

Now there is a new church movement afoot to form “organic churches” for those tired of the postmodern religious movement.

This is an excerpt from one website.

“Word on the street is that people out there are fed up with organized religion.

Rather, they are longing for a genuine connection with "the supernatural" and with a community of friends.