I Corinthians 1:1-25        How to Live as a Christian in a Pagan Society       June 5, 2005

      “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” which each week featured strange tales of suspense.  Woman serving a life sentence in prison who would do anything to break free.  Over the years, she had become good friends with a prison caretaker who buried prisoners who died in a graveyard.  When a prisoner died, the caretaker rang a bell which could be heard by everyone.  The caretaker took the body to a coffin, then went to the warden’s office to sign the death certificate, then returned to nail the coffin shut, and finally buried the prisoner.  Knowing this exact routine, the woman devised a plan for freedom and she talked the caretaker into aiding her.  The next time the bell rang, she would leave her cell, sneak into the dark room where the coffin would be, and get into the coffin with the dead body.  Then when the caretaker returned with the death certificate, he would nail her into the coffin and bury her in the graveyard.  An hour or so later, he would return in the dark and dig her up.     The woman waited several months and then one night, she heard the bell ring.  She got free from her cell, went to the dark room, climbed into the coffin, and shut the lid.  Soon she heard footsteps.  The coffin was nailed shut, carried out to the grave yard, lowered into the ground, and dirt was thrown on top.  All was dark.  The woman was tightly uncomfortable in the coffin with the dead body.  But she smiled and thought, “Very soon the caretaker will come and I will be free.”  Then feeling curious, she wondered who had died at the prison and she took out a small flashlight to see.  The final scene is when the flashlight turns on and we see the face of the dead caretaker.  

     So many people in our society today think they have a great plan.  They have it all figured out.  They sin, live by their own rules, do their own thing.  And they think they are free.  But in the end, they will discover the grisly truth.  Such a life leads to destruction.  Where is freedom?  John 8:36 says, “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”   But the idea of doing my own thing is nothing new to America.  In fact, in the ancient world, there was a city named Corinth that was known for being a sinful, wicked, wild place.  Corinth was a large seaport city, prosperous and filled with immigrants from around the world who came to make a fast buck.  It was a well known city as the Isthmian Games, second only to the Olympic Games, were held here.   And it was a wicked city.  Over the city at 1850 feet was the mountain temple to Aphrodite—Venus—the goddess of love.  1000 temple priestesses who were prostitutes served at the temple. 

     Into this city of Corinth, around the year AD 50, a man named Paul came to practice his trade of making tents.   That is how he made his living.  However, his real mission in life was to tell people about a man named Jesus.  Paul traveled around the ancient world telling people about Jesus and starting new churches.  Corinth would be his greatest challenge.  The ultimate Pagan city.   Since the time of the Protestant Reformation in the 1500s, Paul’s letter to the Romans has been immensely popular for Church Bible studies to learn about salvation by faith.  But I would suggest that for those of us in the 21^st century in America, Corinthians may be a more important letter in the NT to study.  Our culture today is convinced it knows the way to be free.  Free from all constraints, all rules, and all restrictions.  But our culture is a culture of death.   And more and more, we are identified as a neo-pagan, a new pagan, society.  Walk into any bookstore and the shelves are filled with books of neo-paganism.  We too are prosperous and ever ready to make a fast dollar.  We too are surrounded by so many immigrants who come with different ideas about life.  And without question, Aphrodite, Venus, is well worshiped by modern Americans.  Every other commercial, every magazine, every movie drips with her worship.  America is much like Corinth.  But we need not despair, because the gospel of Christ could set free even ancient Corinth.

      Over the next eight weeks, we are going to study Paul’s letter to the Corinthians and see how these people, and how we, can be set free.  How we can live as true Christians even in a pagan society.  And that is the real calling.  In this letter, Paul was not overly worried about the Pagan society.  He loved those sinful people and wanted to reach them.  But his first concern was for those inside the church and how they were living up to the gospel.  You see, Paul knew that if the Christians were really living the life of the gospel, if they were living lives of purity and true freedom, if Jesus Christ was shining through them, then others would see.   Jesus said, “If I am lifted up, I will draw all people to myself.”  That was Paul’s concern.  That is the secret to winning the world.  We must let Jesus shine in us and then they will come.

     The problem was this.  Paul had founded this church around the AD 50 and helped it grow for about two years.  Then he left for other mission fields.  Well, about the year 54, Paul received word that all was not well back in Corinth.  Division.  Wealthy putting down the poor.  Even sexual sin.  The sin of the city had gotten inside the church.   I saw news article recently that at Penn State this year, students broke a world record by packing 27 students into an old VW bug.  It took several tries and rearrangements.  Two were even in the trunk.  But with some bending and twisting, 27 college students packed inside the bug.   There are always folks who seem ready to bend and twist the gospel.  They will shove it here and there.  And soon the outside world has come inside the church.  The ways of the world crowd the truth out until we Christians look no different from anyone else.  Let me ask you honestly—how is your life different from your non-Christian neighbors, family, co-workers?  Is there much difference at all other than you attend church on some Sunday mornings?   Paul was very concerned that these Christians remember who they were.

     What does he tell them about living as Christians in a Pagan society?  He reminds them of their calling.  He uses the word “calling” three times in the first two verses.  What is their calling?  They were called to be in a relationship with God and they were called to be a relationship with one another.  First, a relationship with God.  Look at verses 1-9.  They were set apart by God.  The word sanctified or saint means set apart.  It is like your good silverware that you keep in a separate drawer from the stainless steal flatware.  It is special and set apart.  Those who come to Christ are special, set apart, saints.  Following the death of Pope John Paul II, there was much talk if he would be made a saint by the RCC.  That is a tradition within the RCC.  But the NT teaches that all Christians are to be saints.  Set apart. Special.  Different.  Are you a saint?  If you know Jesus Christ, you are a saint—a special person in friendship with God. 

      What comes to us in this relationship when we are set apart from the world?  Look at verses 4-6.  Paul says we are enriched in every way.  That we will not lack in any spiritual gift.  That Christ will keep us strong to the end.  Too many of us are looking for riches, toys, and good times out there in the world.  But we are made rich, showered with gifts, and blessed when we live in friendship with Christ.  Paul reminds these Christians and reminds us that our life is in Christ.

      However, Paul knows that we need something tangible, touchable, and seeable in our lives also.  So we have the church.  We have fellowship with one another.  Look at verses 10-25.  We are called into relationship with other believers.  There are some Christians who think all they need is God.  Once in a while, we have people who visit our church and when I talk with them, they tell me they just cannot find a church that fits them.  They are so spiritually high that no church is right for them.  They are such spiritual folks, living high on God alone.  But the Bible calls us not only to love God but also to love people.  And this is the place where the rubber meets the road.  All the love talk and spiritual talk is easy while I sit alone in prayer.  It is with other people, real people who are not perfect, who disappoint me, who let me down; it is there that I will come to know the blessings of God and the growth into full sainthood. 

      The Washington Post newspaper recently ran an article entitled “Our Virtual Pals.”   Sociologists have discovered that our brains develop friendship with those whom we see regularly—even people we see on TV.  We feel close to them, and these friendships, even these virtual friendships, have a positive effect on how happy we feel in life.  We are drawn to TV programs about friends because our brains are wired to seek friendships.  God has made us to be in relation with others. 

     Now the Corinthian Church was divided.  They were fighting among themselves and breaking off into little groups.   I know that never happens in modern churches.  In verses 10ff, Paul urges them to agree with one another so that there be no divisions among you.  He calls them to be perfectly united in mind and thought.   That is a high calling.  But it is needed if we are to successfully live as Christians in our pagan society.

     Folks, that little church in Corinth was under attack by the city of Corinth.  And make no mistake; we are under attack by our modern culture.  And unless we unite together, we will fall.  Christians today cannot afford to be arguing over whether we take communion in little cups or one large chalice, whether we sing praise music or traditional hymns, whether the carpet is red or blue, or where the new gym will go.  We are under attack and we must unite.  We must pray with all our strength to be in right relation with God and in right relation with one another.  That is the only way forward to live as Christians in an increasingly pagan environment. 

      The church in Corinth was a church where sin had crept in and the people were divided.  They were surrounded by opposition.  All looked bleak.  But Paul wrote this letter to bring them hope.  In the next few weeks, we will see how it can bring us hope also and show us how to really live in the freedom of Christ.