Christians and Culture: Applications from 1 Corinthians
“Consistently through this letter, we are taught the choice of humility is necessary for unity”
1 Corinthians is an example of how the Bible is always relevant to current culture. Being alive on this earth requires interaction with culture — thank God — because culture is cultivated by people and shouldn’t be avoided. However, the confusion that entered the church in Corinth began with culture compromising Christian character. The Corinthians consulted Paul because they wanted to do what was right by God, but didn’t know what that entailed. Some sin is based in rebellion against God, while other sin comes from our ignorance of the Word. I was saved two years ago, so I spent almost twenty years accustomed to the world’s teachings. Through discipleship, I was taught how to practically use the Word of God to live according to Christ’s standard and not man’s. Men only know the things of men till they encounter the Spirit of God. Holy men of God by inspiration of the Spirit made it so that we could compare spiritual things with spiritual (2 Cor. 2). I’m so grateful for this formula of comparing scripture with scripture because it shows the Word of God is a complete guide for life. There’s no situation too complicated that God’s Word can’t simplify. God’s opinions are made clear to us by consistent teaching. As Pastor Sam says, repetition is the price of learning. Okay, just for a sec, isn’t that rad that God gives you access to His thoughts and has made it possible (and free) for us to know the mysteries that have been hidden since the beginning. Sit on that. What a privilege to know the mysteries of the gospel!
2Ti 1:9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,
However, with that privilege comes responsibility. This series as well as the Apologetics class taught at LFBI is showing me how to examine culture without warring against people. Arguing or complaining is not the solution, but preferring one another is. This preference for others extends to lost men and especially unto them who are of the household of faith. The Corinthians had a lot of dysfunction among themselves because love and pride cannot coexist. Consistently through this letter, we are taught the choice of humility is necessary for unity. The quickest route to humility is a good look at the gospel.
These messages have been a call for me to address the things I’ve considered culturally okay, but gray biblically.
Humility has been a constant study for me as I realize it's a part of charity (1 Cor 13). Charity vaunteth not itself, and being puffed up in knowledge only deters anyone from heeding it, be it in a discipleship relationship or evangelism. The natural man who has yet to receive the Spirit of God cannot receive the things of God, as seen in 1 Cor 2:14. In other words, I cannot hold men in bondage to sin, to the standard of scripture. Instead, I am to prefer them. Being frustrated at a blind man for not wearing sunglasses is foolish. Don’t condemn him, but rather show him light, preach the gospel with words and deeds, then one day you can teach him how to protect himself. We're never fighting a culture war but we are constantly battling 2 Cor 10:3. We have a King and He has a Kingdom in which we are called to be soldiers. The war is being raged over souls, and that includes your own! It’s important to warn those in and out of faith that Satan wants you on his side. If you’re not actively serving the agenda for God’s Kingdom, the only other option is Satan's, there is no spiritual Switzerland. 2 Tim 2 gives excellent advice on how to be a good soldier.
2 Tim 2:4 No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. Are there any affairs you’ve found yourself tangled in? It goes on to say, 5 And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully.
Mastery and maturing cannot be accomplished without obedience to God. Just as the mission cannot be fulfilled unless the messenger lives by his message
2 Tim 2:6 The husbandman that laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits.
Now someone prideful like myself would read this and think: “Welp I’m doing pretty good.” I don’t currently have a ‘huge’ problem like ‘being in a relationship with my mom’ that seems so obvious. However, the Corinthians needed this letter because not everything seemed so obvious to them. These messages have been a call for me to address the things I’ve considered culturally okay, but gray biblically. As I’ve said before, God makes His opinions clear but some areas may not seem so clear. Some questions to ask yourself in order to stay within Biblical principles are:
1. Can I enjoy this with a clear conscience?
2. Am I being brought under the power of anything but the Holy Spirit?
3. Does this make me stronger in my relationship with the Lord?
4. Will this bring God glory?
5. Will this help me in sharing the gospel with the lost?
This and more information can be found in lesson 11 in the Discipleship 1 book.
“By divine design, we get to use our liberty to show Christ our love for Him, preferring Him with the choice to do so”
Oh man, what a joy it is that we have liberty in Christ! When I first got saved, I made up all these regulations for myself, from myself, because I never wanted to sin again (as you can see I was very immature). I knew that I loved God, but I also knew how to make a mess. The mess I created then was an entanglement of my own rules. By God’s grace and discipleship, I’ve learned about the liberty we have in Christ. Otherwise, I would’ve been the extremest vegan teacher Paul warned the Corinthians about. However, by divine design, we get to use our liberty to show Christ our love for Him, preferring Him with the choice to do so. The beauty of liberty also allows us to be all things to all men, which we’ll talk about soon in 1 Cor 9. Overall, studying 1 Corinthians has called me to consider the culture I’m a part of as a student at the Kansas City Art Institute, a resident of Missouri, etc. It also calls me to question which customs are curating my life and thus our church. Pridefulness is something the world praises, and I’ve allowed pride in my own understanding to hinder my relationships with Christ and my spiritual family. Pridefulness hinders our ability to prefer one another and display Christ’s character. As I’ve been pondering my freedom and heart for others I’ve been praying for Romans 13:10-14 to be seen in my life.
Rom 13:10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. 11 And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. 12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.13 Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. 14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.
Rom 12:10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;
Autumn Andrews is a member of Midtown Baptist Temple and a part of C&YA. She serves in Kidtown and is a part of a midtown KC women’s Bible study.
