A rant on applying 1 Corinthians 1

Over the next few weeks I am preaching through 1 Corinthians 1-4 at Unichurch.

In preparation I have listened to about 5 or 6 sermons on 1 Corinthians 1. These have been from leading evangelical preachers in leading churches from across the world. I have benefited from all of them, and most are no doubt better sermons that the one I’ll be dishing up on Sunday.

And yet…One thing really bugged me. Without exception I think, in all the sermons I listened to, the main application of the passage was to people who weren’t there. And I don’t think that’s particularly helpful or healthy.

The typical application went something like this: “1 Corinthians 1 speaks of the power of the message of the cross. Some demand signs and wonders (like John Wimber and Joel Austin); others look for wisdom (like liberals and tractarians). But we (=evangelicals) preach Christ and him crucified.”

All the sermons I listened to gave the impression (no doubt unwittingly) that the abuses addressed in 1 Corinthians 1 were all ‘out there’. In here, the main application of the passage was “Steady as she goes. Just keep preaching, and avoid the abuses I mentioned earlier.”

Some reflections:

First, the issue in 1 Corinthians 1 is how we line up behind leaders and teachers (1 Cor 1:12). I would have thought that (given our emphasis on teaching) that this was more of a home truth for us evangelicals that almost anyone else, right?Because we love teaching, we love teachers. And because we love teachers, we are at least at risk of lining up behind them in the wrong way. Right? Surely therefore there is a better application to us that “keep it up! You’re doing super.”?

Secondly, even if the main abuses are out there, I don’t think it makes for healthy preaching habitually to apply the Bible to people who are absent at the time of the message. I grant that occassionally some preventative teaching is necessary, or movements come through that are publicly prominent and need to be addressed. But, as someone once told me, as a general rule in preaching ‘never criticise something that isn’t a live option for your hearers.’ It’s just not healthy; it feed arrogance and complacency.

Thirdly, if we want others to repent, surely the best first step is to show them how.

Here endeth the rant.