March 13th, Friday, 1 Corinthians 4&5

1 Cor 4
Life is a stewardship, so be faithful.
We judge ourselves and others judge us.
But the final judge is the Lord.
So live to please Him alone.

Life is a gift, so be humble.
Your abilities and blessings come from God – you cannot take credit for them.
They're God's gift to you, and your use of them is your gift to God.
It is sinful to contrast various Christian workers, because only God knows their hearts.

Life is a battle, so be courageous.
If the apostles who were the greatest Christians who ever lived – and they were the filth and the scum of the earth, where did that leave the boasting Corinthians?

Life is also a school, so be teachable.
Paul saw himself as a father in the Lord who had to instruct and discipline his children.
Our Father in heaven uses many hands and voices to teach us.
And we must be willing pupils as we go through life.

1 Cor 5
Separation.
The background of the chapter is the Passover Feast.
The presence of the immoral man should have turned the feast into a funeral.
But the church was boasting about the sinner instead of weeping over him.
Tolerating known sin in the church is like putting leaven into the Passover Feast – it does not belong.

Celebration.
Paul saw the Christian life as keeping the feast – that is feeding on Christ, being ready to move, and being sure we're not defiled by sin.
The Lamb has set us free, and we're on our way to our promised inheritance.

Isolation.
Sin in the life of the believer is far worse than sin in the life of the unbeliever.
We cannot isolate ourselves from the world.
But we can separate ourselves from disobedient believers, so that God can discipline them.