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When you read in the bulletin this morning that I'm going to preach
on "Stop Trying To Be Spiritual," you may wonder what's going on.
Pastor Hamrick preached a sermon two weeks ago called, "What It
Means To Be Spiritual." Now I come along and announce that I'm
going to tell you to stop trying to be spiritual!
Then again, some of you may have felt a great sense of relief. If
you're like most Christians in the world today, you've found out
that trying to be spiritual doesn't seem to work too well. I
remember as a young Christian being terribly discouraged trying to
be spiritual.
This was the problem the Corinthians were having. They were trying
to be spiritual, but it didn't seem to do any good.
Now don't jump to conclusions. The Pastor and I are on the same
page. I'm not going to try to persuade you to give up on
Christianity. I want to show you what your problem may be.
Trying To Be Spiritual Is Bound To Fail
As we look at 1Corinthians 3:1-4, I want you to see, first of all,
that trying to be spiritual is bound to fail.
Paul opens Chapter 3, with this rebuke:
Brothers, I could not address you [about the factional problem]
as spiritual [people] but
as worldly--mere infants in Christ (1 Cor. 3:1).
He is telling them that trying to be spiritual is bound to fail.
You may ask where I get that from verse 1. Look at the word
"worldly."
Unfortunately, the word "worldly" is a poor translation. The Greek
word literally means, "fleshly." Fleshly doesn't mean "outrageously
immoral." In fact, a very prim an proper church member can be
fleshly. Fleshly means running your life by your own effort. It
stands in contrast with "spiritual" where God is running your life
by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Fleshly behavior is usually the result of spiritual immaturity.
Many Christians think that spirituality is achieved by trying to
obey the Ten Commandments. And if they fail, they assume they are
not trying hard enough. They don't realize that's not how you
become spiritual. And they don't know how to be spiritual because
they're spiritually immature.
This was Paul's dilemma with the Corinthians. How do you solve
spiritual problems like factionalism, jealousy and quarreling with
people who don't know what it means to be spiritual?
Think about it. Many pastors today face this problem today.
Perhaps I can illustrate it this way. Let's say we have a problem
of spiritual immaturity here.
I go around to each member and ask these questions.
I ask, Are you a born-again Christian? Have you put your faith in
Jesus Christ as the way, the truth and the life--the way of
salvation? If you truly are a believer, you'll say, Yes.
Then I ask you, Will you tell me, as a Christian, how a person is
supposed to live a spiritual life? If you're the average Christian
you will probably tell me, Try hard to obey the Ten Commandments.
Now you'd probably be irritated with me if I were to tell you that
your last answer is a big problem. It shows all the signs of
spiritual immaturity to say that you live a spiritual life by trying
hard to obey the Ten Commandments. That's not the way to the
spiritual life.
This is the problem that Paul had with the Corinthians. He is
saying, I can't speak to you as spiritual people because you have
the wrong idea of what it means to be spiritual. You are
fleshly--you think that the spiritual life is achieved by your
trying. At this point in our interview, I probably wouldn't sound
very friendly telling you that.
And if that's how I came across, you would probably say, with some
irritation, Well how do you think you're supposed to live a
spiritual life?
The word "spiritual" gives us a clue that it has something to do
with a work of the Holy Spirit and not a work of our own. Let me
explain the difference between running my own life and letting God
do it. The Bible tells us,
Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man,
with
his deeds; and have put on the new man, which is renewed in
knowledge after the image of him that created him (Col. 3:9-10).
What's this putting off the old man and putting on the new man?
Paul is describing specifically what happened when we were saved.
The old man, the old nature we received from Adam, was crucified
with Christ. He's not dead, but put out of business. The old man
was put off when we were saved. The new man, our born-again spirit,
was put on when we were saved.
Now follow me closely. This is an accomplished fact. Nothing more
needs to be done except believe it!
When the Bible tells us, then, that we are to put off the old man
and put on the new man, it's not saying, Try to be spiritual. It's
telling us that just as Christ did everything necessary to save us,
He has done everything necessary to give us a holy, spiritual life.
Now believe it! It is by faith we appropriate our salvation. It is
by faith we are released from the power of the old man and receive
the power of the new man! We put off and put on by faith in what
Christ has already done.
The Bible uses the expression, "obedience by faith," which means,
"obedience that comes by faith."
Yes, we are to be obedient. But how we are obedient is crucial. It
is not I, but Christ.
No doubt, you're acquainted with the name Frank Sinatra, the
vocalist. In 1968 he recorded a song that is still popular today.
It's called, "I Did It My Way."
The first stanza of the song goes this way:
And now, the end is here
And so I face the final curtain
My Friend, I'll say it clear
I'll state my case, of which I'm certain
I've lived a life that's full
I've traveled each and ev'ry highway
And more, much more than this, I did it my way.
Frank Sinatra died May 15, 1998. Bill Clinton, president at the
time, eulogized Frank in the news and said this: "Frank will be
missed profoundly by millions around the world. But his music and
movies will ensure that 'Ol' Blue Eyes' is never forgotten. Today,
I think every American would have to smile and say he really did do
it his way."
The Bible lets us know that the way of salvation is not by doing it
our way. Christ is the door to the sheepfold.
But let's say that Frank was saved before his death. And let's say
he really wanted to obey God and be a spiritual Christian. Yes,
he'd have to give up "my way." It would have to be obedience to
God's way.
But that's only half the problem. Frank also would have to give up,
"I Did It."
You see, there are two parts to being spiritual. One part is
obedience to God's way. The other part is how we are obedient. Do
we say with Frank, "I did it . . ."? Or do we say, "Christ has done
it through the obedience that comes by my faith, not by my trying"?
The Corinthians didn't understand this. They were fleshly--they ran
their lives by their own power. They did it their way.
Paul speaks of their immaturity further in verse 2:
I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it.
Indeed, you are still not
ready (1 Cor. 3:2).
Milk and meat have to do with the level of instruction, not
different doctrines. There are not some doctrines that are milk and
others that are meat. They are all milk or meat depending on how
deep we go. The doctrine of salvation is often regarded as milk,
but it is a very profound doctrine, and there is much meat in it.
When Paul initially was in Corinth teaching the church, he was there
for a year-and-a-half. He had difficulty taking them deep enough to
understand how to be spiritual. Now, perhaps two to five years have
passed since these people were saved, and word comes back to Paul
that they are in the same spiritual condition as when they were
first saved. They still didn't know that we live the spiritual life
by faith in what Christ has already done instead trying hard to do
it by ourselves. "I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not
ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready."
You may ask, Where does Paul get off saying this? He's judging
these people.
This is not the kind of judging Christ condemns. Paul is a fruit
inspector.
But you will say, That's still judging. Yes, it's the kind of
judging that the church should have done. Paul looks at them and
inspects the fruit of their lives. Paul sees their quarreling and
jealousy as something that they should have judged--which brings me
to my second point.
Trying To Be Spiritual Leads To Sinful Behavior
Not only is trying hard to be spiritual bound to fail, trying hard
to be spiritual leads to sinful behavior.
Yes, you heard me right. Trying hard to be spiritual leads to
sinful behavior.
You'll say, Well, I'm not going to try to be spiritual any more. I
hope so. Hear me out.
Look at verse 3.
"You are still worldly [fleshly, running your own lives]. For
since there is jealousy
and quarreling among you, are you not worldly [fleshly]? Are
you not acting like
mere [fleshly] men? For when one says, "I follow Paul," and
another, "I follow
Apollos, are you not mere [fleshly] men (1 Cor. 3:3-4)?
Their factional behavior betrays their spiritual condition. You've
heard the old saying: If it walks like a duck and quacks like a
duck, it must be a duck. If it walks like a fleshly man and quacks
like a fleshly man, it must be a fleshly man who runs his own life.
I know that it sounds paradoxical, but trying to be spiritual
actually leads to sinful behavior. How can that be? How can trying
to be spiritual lead to sinful behavior?
In Romans 7, the Apostle Paul recalls that when he was a baby
Christian he had the same problem. He knew he was saved by faith,
but he didn't know that Christ had already delivered him from his
sin nature and given him a new nature. So he tried to keep the
law. When he tried, the law showed him that he couldn't do it.What
was happening? He says, Sin took advantage of the situation. Sin
used the law to show me that I couldn't be spiritual by trying. It
showed me that I was still under the power of sin (Rom. 7:8).
This was the Corinthian problem. They couldn't be spiritual by
trying. Sin took advantage of their attempts at keeping the law by
goading them into the sinful behavior of quarreling and jealousy.
It showed them that they still didn't know how to deal with the
power of sin in their lives.
If you've ever been in a church that had a problem with factions--I
am of Paul; I am of Apollos--you will understand jealousy and
quarreling. In his sermon two weeks ago, the Pastor gave us a good
picture of Paul and Apollos.
Apollos was eloquent and learned. And I think that the Corinthians
were awed by his style and manner. This may be why Paul says in 1
Corinthians 2:1, "When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with
eloquence or superior wisdom . . . ." He wasn't putting down
Apollos. I think that Paul in his humility would say, Apollos
certainly outshines me in eloquence and wisdom.
Men like Apollos, whether they are good-looking or not, often have
powerful personalities that people find beautiful. Look at your TV
preachers. All of them have powerful personalities that draw
people.
Paul wasn't this kind of person. What is more, he probably had an
eye disease that disfigured his face. In fact, Paul may have been
downright ugly. The one thing Paul had going for him was his
apostleship--he was uniquely chosen by God to write much of the New
Testament. Though Apollos was well-versed in the Old Testament,
Paul, as an apostle, was getting new revelation from God.
Now when you put Paul up against Apollos, you get a hint of what the
quarreling and jealousy was about--not between them, but between the
Corinthian factions. In fact, Paul had a lot of confidence in
Apollos and sent him to Corinth to minister in his absence. But I
can image that the quarreling between the Corinthian factions was
over which one was smarter. The Paul faction would point to his
apostleship. The Apollos faction would point to his knowledge of
the Old Testament. The Apollos faction would also point to his
eloquence and tremendous personality. The Paul faction was probably
jealous that Apollos did have that over Paul--but they wouldn't
admit it!
Spiritual people wouldn't do this! They wouldn't make these
comparisons. They would be glad that God was so rich in his gifts
to the Corinthian church that they had two wonderful men: Paul and
Apollos. And in verse twenty-two, Cephas, the Apostle Peter, is
also mentioned. Praise God; the Corinthian church had three
wonderful teachers.
But the Corinthians were worldly--fleshly. The Holy Spirit was not
influencing their judgments. Their judgments were based on the
fleshly question, Who's the best!
A church that is a unified body of Christ, together in the power of
the Holy Spirit, is glad for all of the members of the body. As
Paul says later in his letter to the Corinthians, comparing the
human body to the body of Christ, One member of the body doesn't say
to the other, I have no need of you.
Many years ago I knew of a situation that was very much like the
Paul and Apollos situation. A seminary professor, whom I believe to
be one of the outstanding preachers in this country, was invited to
candidate for a church. The church did not give him a positive vote
and turned him down. It certainly couldn't have been because of his
preaching. He is outstanding. The only thing I can imagine is that
he is a rather homely fellow.
As providence would have it, he recommended one of his students to
the pulpit committee. The church voted to have the student fill
the vacancy. The only thing I can conclude is that the vote was
basedon appearances and not on the quality of preaching.
Conclusion
Spiritual immaturity is still a scourge in the church today. We
need to deal with problems like factionalism, where quarreling and
jealousy are a spiritual problem. But we first need to know what
"spiritual" is in order to deal with our spiritual problems.
Spiritual immaturity stands in the way.
I invite you today to stop trying to be spiritual. Let Frank
Sinatra's philosophy die with him. It's not, "I Did It My Way."
It's not even, I did it. Being spiritual is through obedience that
comes by faith.
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