(1 Cor 13 - Gal 6)
This week we finished off 1 Corinthians, then added 2 more Pauline letters: 2 Corinthians and Galatians. The total number will only continue to increase as the length of each letter gets smaller, making it challenging to find one common theme to journal about. We'll see how it goes. But, this week we lucked ut, because there is a common thread that runs through all three of these letters: warnings against false teachings from within.
We see this in the closing chapters of 1 Cor in chapter 15 referencing those who were proclaiming that there is no resurrection from the dead. It's all over 2 Cor, but especially in reference to a group Paul twice mockingly refers to as "super-apostles" (11:5, 12:11). And in Galatians, of course, it came from the group called the "circumcision party" (2:12), i.e. Jewish Christians who were insisting the Gentile Christians must be circumcised.
What piques my attention the most about all of these references is that obstacles to gospel ministry do not always come from without. In fact, we could argue by the frequency Paul had to deal with these issues in all his letters that it may come more often from within. Personally, I believe these issues are not always from wolves in sheep's clothing, i.e., false believers in our midst whose agenda is to damage or destroy. Often, it can be from those who, with the best of intentions, think that what they are doing is right, but are misguided.
Although we do not struggle with the same issues that caused churches to stumble in Paul's day, ours are no less destructive. This is why it is important for us to be sure that the issues we're wrangling over have a biblical basis. If not, it's more likely to be based on our own preferences or a non-essential that we have elevated beyond its importance. And, even here we need to proceed with caution. As we learned back in Rom 14, even matters of Biblical convictions can have room for differences of opinion.
Because of this, it is well we began the week with the admonition of 1 Cor 13 to make sure we do all things in a spirit of love.