Nothing Bigger than God's Love

The scripture I used for this sermon is 1 Corinthians 1:10-18:

10 I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. 11 My brothers and sisters, 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[b]”; still another, “I follow Christ.”

13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so no one can say that you were baptized in 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 wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.  18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

 During the course of my class for the CMEP program last week we discussed the issue of the relevance of the church in today’s world.  It wasn’t that long ago that people went to church because that is what their parents and grandparents had stressed of being of the utmost importance.  People went to church because they felt obligated and it was born into them that church was the “right” thing to do.  I do not think it is a bold statement to say that this is not the case anymore.  The church’s role in our country and many others across the globe, has definitely been diminished.  Does this mean that God is not as evident in our world today?  I don’t think so.  Does it mean that the church’s leaders are less capable than those of the past?  I would like to think not.  Does it mean that the world no longer needs God?  I don’t think this is the case either.  So what is it?  Why has the role of church been so severely diminished?  It would be easy to go political and say that it is the fault of political correctness, but that is not the answer.  It would be easy to blame God and say that He is not at work in our world like He used to be, but this is not the answer either.  So what is it?  Can we even put our finger on exactly why our world seems so different than the world we are used to?  There are still so many people who claim to be Christian yet they also claim to be spiritual but not religious.  And I think the word “religion” has become somewhat of a dirty word in our society.  The structure, dogma, and “rules” of the church do not seem to apply to that many people anymore.  It works for us here at Fairview and I think we are so incredibly blessed that it does.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with one way or the other.  If we are going to stray away from the structure we have established here (I don’t think it is necessary that we do) we still have to find away to remain relevant.  We must find ways that appeal to those who believe a little differently than we do.  

In our scripture this morning, we find Paul appealing to the people of Corinth trying to help them through some of the divisions they are struggling through.  Paul mentions a couple different leaders that the church has begun to follow and the implications that has had in the church.  Paul knows and understands that there will be division along the lines of differing ways of thinking.  I don’t know that Paul would argue against these differing opinions as long as the message of the Cross remained the same.  In Christianity today, there are more divisions than what we could spend an afternoon counting and I still don’t think Paul would have a problem with it.  Paul’s message is not a message of uniformity.  Paul understood that the love and grace of God is much larger than can be put into a nice, uniform package.  Paul wouldn’t argue for or against any particular worship style (contemporary music vs. hymns).  Paul wouldn’t argue for or against communion on a weekly basis vs. once a month.  Instead, Paul is calling us together in the name of fellowship with believers.  But this too can be difficult.  Our relationship with God is different from person to person.  The sin and struggle in your life is different than mine which makes Jesus dying on the cross different for each of us as well.  How do we stand unified through all of these differences?  

It is Paul’s goal in our scripture this morning to strip down the cross into the simplest form possible.  While it is easy to get caught up in the differences that separate us, Paul is reminding us to not get caught up in those differences.  I know that is much easier said than done but if we strip everything else away that the world says has made us different there is only one thing that remains: God loves.  God loves you, God loves me, God loves the child in Africa, God loves the Muslim woman in the Middle East, God loves the Buddhist man in the Far East.  The world tells us that we are so different based on our ethnic background, based on our political views, based on our economic status.  But when all that is stripped away, we are left with nothing accept a human being that God loves, a human being that God’s grace has touched whether they realize it or not.  There are thousands upon thousands of adjectives that people will use to explain God, or even the lack thereof, and it is those words that keep us divided.  William Barclay, a biblical commentator, says, “To decorate the story of the Cross with rhetoric and cleverness would have been to make men think more of the language than of the facts, more of the speaker than of the message.  It was Paul’s aim to set before men, not himself, [nothing] but Christ in all his lonely grandeur.”  Paul is showing us that the message of the Cross does not need words, it does not need a description.  The definition of the Cross can only be found in the impact it has had in your life.  It can only be defined in the parameters of how it has changed your life.  It is foolish to try to make others believe in your comprehension of Christ for they must make the investment of faith for themselves.  It is better to live a life that imitates that of Christ than it is to try to explain it with words.   

In closing, instead of constantly concentrating on what makes us different, let’s look at what unifies us: the love of God.  When we take the time to approach our lives with this as our focal point then, and only then, can we remain relevant in our world today.  God’s love is bigger than any of our imaginations and we need to take time to realize that.  The only way to keep faith and church relevant in this world is make others aware that God’s love is big enough for them and we do this by living out our lives as living proof.  There will be those that we personally deem “unsavable” despite our greatest efforts but we should be reminded that the Jesus dying on the cross is big enough to leap any hurdle if given the opportunity.  This brings to memory a story I was once told about a man who claimed to be an atheist.  Some of you may remember when chatrooms were an internet sensation.  For those of you who don’t, there were the chatrooms that you go into and talk about any number of topics and one of the options was of course, religion.  Pastor John would go into these chatrooms and discuss religion with whomever would listen.  One day, a man who claimed to be atheist struck up a conversation with John and that conversation lasted over two years and ultimately ended with the man giving his life to Christ.  I have no idea all that was said, but John kept at it until the man realized that the message of the Cross was bigger than he was despite his past.  John could have easily given up on the man, but he didn’t and we shouldn’t give up on those who have little or no faith either.  As you leave here this morning, know that nothing is too big for God’s love and we should strive to be light that cannot be ignored by living in ways that cannot help but show God’s love to the world.  Amen.  

God Bless,

Clinton