* Love is compassion with standards.
* You can’t have one without the other.
* Compassion - “to suffer together.”
* Marriage vows include “in sickness & in health.”
* You’re saying, “Whatever life throws our way, I want to share it with you.”
* Standards - the rules of relationship.
* Paul’s letters open up with fatherly salutations.
* He really feels genuine compassion for the people to whom he’s writing.
* But he showed what true love looked like as well.
* Vs 1-5 - this is what a true father looks like.
* Tony Evans - “What was the Corinthian church to do (with this man)? They were to gather in the name of our Lord Jesus and with the power of our Lord Jesus, acting on Jesus’s behalf, under his authority, to exercise his kingdom power by handing over this man to Satan—that is, kick him out of the church, so that God’s covenant protection was removed from his life. With that umbrella gone, the man would have no defense against the devil’s schemes. But the goal of this move was not punitive. Rather, the goal was for the destruction of the flesh so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord. In other words, Paul wants the man to be driven to repentance and even allows the devil to be used as the instrument to accomplish this so that the man could be delivered from this sin before facing Christ’s judgment seat.”
* This was Paul exercising the “standards” side of love.
* But then he went right back to compassion.
* 2 Corinthians 2:6-8 - “The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient. Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him.”
1 Corinthians 5:5 (8/24/22)
Two Sides of Love
August 24, 2022 • Benham Brothers • 1 Corinthians 5:5
1 Corinthians 1:17 (8/22/19)
August 22, 2019 • Benham Brothers
* Baptism was a good thing, something God called some to do. * But Paul knew he was not one of them - he was called to evangelize. * Paul knew his primary thing, so it limited his options. * Often times our lives get out of balance with busyness because we’re not operating according to our calling. * This increases our options and weighs us down. * Are you operating out of guilt in doing some things that are outside your calling? * Too many of us operate out of a CAUSE rather than a CALL. * If we are cause-focused rather than call-focused we lose our ability to see Christ. * We are all called to do certain things - stand up for the defenseless, give to the poor, etc. * But when it comes to our vocation - the thing we spend our lives for - we operate according to a call, not a cause.
1 Corinthians 1:18-25 (8/17/17)
August 17, 2017 • Benham Brothers
* vs 18 - those without the spirit of God inside them believe the gospel is nonsense. * Testimony of Bill Maher. * vs 21 - it’s not foolish to those who “believe” - faith unlocks understanding. * vs 22-23 - it’s foolish to the Jews and nonsense to the Gentiles. * The same boiling water that hardens the egg softens the carrot. * We preach the gospel regardless of the response. * Why is the cross offensive? * 1) Because of what it says about us - we’re sinners in need of a Savior. * 2) Because of what it says about other religions - Jesus is the “only” way. * 3) Because of what it says about God - He is a God of love and justice - He punishes and He forgives. * 4) Because Jesus divides humanity - He separates the wheat from the chaff. * vs 24 - our faith leads us to the power and wisdom of God. * Wisdom is the marriage of knowledge with understanding - and our faith w/works unites the two. * Faith with works is our testimony - it shows how God worked through us and/or for us in a situation.
1 Corinthians 2:1-5 (8/17/17)
August 17, 2017 • Benham Brothers
* Warren Wiersbe shares these three points to keep in mind when we’re sharing the gospel: * 1) Our Approach (vs 1-2) - this has two facets: * * We shouldn’t try to focus on eloquence and being attractional - this will get people to focus on us and not God. * * We don’t need to shy away from speaking because of our lack of eloquence - we should speak regardless. * 2) Our Attitude (vs 3-4) - two facets: * * We should have reverence toward God. * * We should have humility toward others. * Our job is not to persuade - it’s to present the truth so the Holy Spirit can do the persuading. * 3) Our Aim (vs 5) - for others to experience God’s power in their lives. * The best way to do this is by sharing our own testimony.