10 I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.
Paul wrote 29 chapters in 2 letters to this troubled church and wrote at least one other letter that is not in Scripture. He invested a lot of emotion in trying to bring unity to a divided body. His exhortation was for them to be the same in thought, loyalty, and mission. They were following men, Paul, Apollos, Peter, while some got it right in following Christ alone. Trusting in man will lead to disappointment and division, Paul wrote. Later in the letter we see they were divided on how to administer Communion and gifts. Maybe it’s time for The Letter of Paul to the Americans.
Churches can’t agree on much of anything today. The Tribalism that has divided American politics and culture has cleft the church as well. We follow celebrity pastors and deride others as “liberal” or “legalist”. We argue over doctrine while ignoring the real problem of an increasing post-Christian world. We can’t agree on Communion or the use of gifts. Does all this sound familiar? These are the same problems that plagued the church in Corinth. This is the very time that Christians should be the most unified instead of divided. We should be the model of racial and ideological harmony for the nation to follow but we are part of the problem. A few verses later, Paul wrote that the gospel is folly to the perishing. Could it be that we are making the gospel look like folly instead of the hope for mankind? By the name of our Lord Jesus Christ…
Love one another.
Pastor Brad Boyer
Cape Community Church