Posts Tagged ‘Contention’
A Warning Against Contentious Behavior
The Apostle Paul thanked God greatly for the evident grace in the lives of the Corinthian believers (I Corinthians 1:4). Even so, as often is the case with every Christian, they had just as evident a need for correction as well. Consequently, Paul rebuked them for the contentions that had arisen among them as reported…
Read MoreContention Over Spiritual Elitism
Our understanding of the first two chapters of 1 Corinthians rests upon a contrast between human wisdom and God’s wisdom. Christ became for us wisdom from God (1.30). He is the power of God and the wisdom of God (1.24). We preach Christ crucified because we rest in Christ crucified. We cannot use persuasive words…
Read MoreContention in the Church
One issue dominates the first four chapters of 1 Corinthians. It’s contention in the church. The Reformer, Ulrich Zwingli wrote: How does it happen that we Christians who are united by such powerful agencies have much greater quarrels than unbelievers? And how does it happen that in a Confederacy in which until now a fraternal…
Read MoreJ. C. Ryle on The Place of Controversy and Religious Strife
A man who relishes controversy and religious strife is surely not a spiritual man. But what of a man who refuses controversy and religious strife? J. C. Ryle comments:
Read MoreCulture is the Battleground
Don Johnson Is it just me, or are the issues we most argue about today in the separation debates largely focused on cultural questions? Whether the argument is over music, motion pictures, dress, the use of alcohol, or any other issue you care to name, the argumentation is largely a matter of “culture” and the…
Read More