In my experience, there are two kinds of conflict: the kind that can’t be stopped and the kind that never should’ve started. An example of the first kind of conflict is Paul’s conflict with the Corinthians. It concerned vital matters of Christian faith and practice, such as a false spirituality based on something other than Christ crucified (1 Corinthians 1:10-4:21), sexual immorality (5:1-13, 6:1-20), abuse of Christian fellowship (11:17-34), misuse of spiritual gifts (12:1-14:40), and denial of Christ’s resurrection (15:1-58). It couldn’t be stopped without harming the Corinthians’ spiritual life or compromising their testimony to Jesus Christ (e.g., 15:12-19). … Continue reading Two Kinds of Conflict (1 Corinthians 6:7-8)

  In 1 Corinthians 6:1-6, the Apostle Paul writes: If any of you has a dispute with another, dare he take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the saints? Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life! Therefore, if you have disputes about such matters, appoint as judges even men of little account in the church!  I say this to shame … Continue reading The Saints Will Judge the World (1 Corinthians 6:1-6)

  An old Christian song for children begins with these lyrics: One door and only one And yet its sides are two Inside and outside On which side are you? The song takes its cue from Jesus, who said, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture” (John 10:9 KJV). We moderns don’t like the distinction between insiders and outsiders. We don’t like divisions of any kind, for that matter. They strike us as elitist, judgmental, and dangerous. The Nazis drew lines between Germans … Continue reading Insdide/Outside (1 Corinthians 5:9-13)

  In 1 Corinthians 5:1-13, Paul admonishes the Corinthians to discipline a member of their congregation for gross sexual immorality. The discipline is redemptive, not punitive (verse 5). In other words, it aims to reconcile the man to God and the church. It is also protective, however (verse 6). Its aim is to guard the congregation from falling into sin themselves. Paul uses the imagery of Passover to explain the protective function of church discipline: Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old yeast … Continue reading Unleavened Lives (1 Corinthians 5:6-8)