4/26/26 “I Pledge Allegiance to the Lamb”
“I Pledge Allegiance to the Lamb”
1 Corinthians 1:1-17
This past Thursday was a day that many football fans look forward to each year...
It was the first round of the 2026 NFL draft....
....The night when 32 of the best college football players from around the country hear their name called....and find out what team they’ll suit up for in the National Football League.
The NFL Draft has become one of the most-watched televised spectacles each year....
....with thousands of people attending the event in person...
Last year – when it was held at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, over 200,000 people attended the first round of the draft...
The total population of Green Bay is only 100, 000 people....so, obviously, loads of folks came in from outside the area....
Every year, it’s always interesting to see what player will be drafted first overall...who will go #1?
This year, it was Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza....
...A young man who is quite outspoken about his faith in Christ.
The interesting thing is that he was drafted by the Raiders....
....The Las Vegas....Raiders.
This young man of faith will be going to an organization located in what most people consider to be the most immoral city in the country...
Las Vegas – of course – is known for partying....gambling...sexual immorality.... drunkenness....lewd entertainment....drugs....
You name it....it happens - with regularity - in Las Vegas.
It’s no wonder they say ‘what happens in Vegas...stays in Vegas’....right?
Well....today we begin a new sermon series in the book of 1 Corinthians...
It’s a letter inspirationally written by the Apostle Paul...to the church he planted in the Greek city of Corinth...
A city that was the “Las Vegas” of its time.
A city that had a reputation around the known world as being...”Sin City”
A city that reveled in debauchery, lewdness, corruption, and sexual immorality...
...So much so, there was even a name given to blatantly immoral people of the day that referenced the city of Corinth...
To ‘Behave like a Corinthian’ was to live in such a way as to be an absolute hedonist...to prioritize pleasure & sdelf-gratification over everything else...
Every kind of immoral pursuit could be found in the city of Corinth.
It was there one could find the famous ‘Temple of Aphrodite”....where over 1,000 “priestesses” (Today we would call them Prostitutes) were housed....
....selling themselves to local men....as well as to the many sailors who would frequent the port of Corinth on a regular basis...
Corinth is located in southern Greece on a very narrow Isthmus where ships would often be dragged over land in order to avoid having to navigate the long and dangerous passage around the southern tip of Greece....
This meant that sailors would be in town for 3 or 4 days in a row....and the Temple of Aphrodite – named after the Greek goddess of love – was a popular place for many of these men to frequent while in the area....
...In many ways, Corinth reminds me of another city a bit closer to home that also sits on an Isthmus....and is also known for its ungodly atmosphere....
...can you guess what city I’m talking about....?
Some of us have lived in that city....and we can vouch that it does indeed live up to its hedonistic & self-indulgent reputation.
And yet...there are many genuine believers who live in that city....including our keynote speaker for our 150th Anniversary Celebration on June 6th....
....Brad Davison is very outspoken about his biblical faith in Jesus Christ – while living in a city that has a reputation for its unbiblical atmosphere....
Likewise, there were also genuine believers in the sin-infested city of Corinth...
...Believers who Paul knew personally – as he planted the church there on his second missionary journey about 3 years prior....
Paul lived in Corinth for a year and a half....long enough to experience the city’s unique depravity firsthand....
....And he knew how the city’s atmosphere would pose a unique challenge to the church there, as many congregations – at least to some degree – tend to reflect aspects of the culture around them...
The letter of 1st Corinthians is actually the second letter that Paul sent to this congregation...the first letter – referenced in 1 Corinthians 5:9 – was lost to antiquity somewhere along the way....
....but the good news is we still have the 2 other letters that Paul wrote to this congregation....
...And - remember – nothing happens by accident.
For whatever reason, it was God’s Will that the first letter be written only for the Corinthian church....and not for any other congregation....
....and that’s ok....we need not worry about this long-lost communication between Paul and the people in Corinth...
So....Paul writes 1st Corinthians as a follow-up to the lost letter.....
...And it addresses many of the issues that were concerning to Paul regarding things he heard were going on in the church there...
Issues such as division in the church, immorality, marital problems, food, worship, and doctrinal deficiencies....
This was – indeed – a church that had absorbed too much of the sin and depravity from the culture around it....
....and the letter of 1st Corinthians is meant to recalibrate this congregation back to a pure devotion to Christ alone.
Their allegiance was to be toward Jesus....the lamb of God....and not toward anything else....including their own fleshly desires.
So...Paul begins the letter with a familiar salutation of his apostolic identity in Christ...
Verse 1 (1 Corinthians 1:1) reads, “Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes.”
This man Sosthenes referenced here was originally the Jewish leader of the synagogue in Corinth – and had converted to Christianity after initially opposing Paul’s preaching there....
Sosthenes’ eventually coming to faith in Jesus is a good lesson for us.....it reminds us that we should never give up on anyone.
Keep praying for those friends and family members who don’t know Jesus....
Don’t simply think of them as “unbelievers”....
Rather....think of them as “having yet to come to faith in Christ”
Let’s hold to a hopeful disposition when it comes to others in our circle of influence that need Jesus in their lives....
In verse 2 (1 Corinthians 1:2) Paul refers to the Corinthian believers as ‘Sanctified’ and ‘Holy’....
...Some translations use the term ‘Saints’
By the way....the biblical definition of ‘Saint’ is anyone who believes in Jesus Christ....people who are set apart by God for His purposes...
Despite what you may have heard, the term saint is not meant to refer only to very holy people who are also very dead....
Biblically speaking, YOU are saints (Saint Camille...Saint Jeff...Saint Caleb...Saint Mary!....That’s a popular one!)
...You are saints through the reality of Jesus being in your life....it doesn’t mean that God gave you an extra dose of practical holiness when you came to Christ....
....You can be called a saint because you’ve placed your faith and trust in a Holy savior.
About 20 years ago, our pastor at the time began his sermon by saying, “All of God’s Holy people, please stand up”
....We all looked around....no one stood up.
The pastor then went on to tell us that we should have all stood up....that - despite our occasional sinful behavior – that we are seen by God as Holy....through the work of His Son on the cross...
It was a great way to teach the truth about our positional standing in Christ....
....As opposed to our practical lives that are subject to moments of sinful disobedience...
Getting back to the text....the next few verses chronicle how Paul reminds the Corinthian believers of God’s infinite faithfulness toward them....
....And then in verse 10 (1 Corinthians 1:10)....he begins to address one of the problematic issues within the Corinthian church....that of divisiveness.
Verse 10 reads, “I appeal to you brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.”
Now – obviously – church congregations are made up of very different people...Right?....with very different interests, skills, personalities, and life experiences.
Paul is not saying that individuals in a congregation need to all be in perfect agreement about every little thing....
For instance....I believe that turtles are by far the best animal....
....I mean, they carry their own house everywhere they go...they win races against rabbits because they don’t get distracted....they’re quiet...they’re relatively friendly....they live a long time....they’re just a cool animal....
I also really love that turtles aren’t full of drama....they’re laid-back creatures who don’t complain about other turtles...or life circumstances...they take things in stride....
(Kind of like Charlie....Charlie, I think you’re part turtle! 😊)
But not all of you would agree with me that turtles are the best animal.
Some of you think dogs are the best animal....some of you – like my daughter – think Kuala’s are the best animal....some of you like eagles...some of you like bears...some of you like giraffes....sadly, some of you like cats....
You do know that cats want us all dead, right?
Did you hear about the new AI program that can read a cat’s thoughts...
...The program concluded that every single cat studied dreams of eating its owner....they just lack the size and resources to make that desire a reality....
No – I'm just kidding – There’s no cat-mind-reading AI....AND....I actually do like cats....
I’m a cat guy....much to the chagrin of my dog-loving wife...
....But, no, there’s no doubt cats want to eat us.....we don’t need AI to figure that one out!....
.....Some of us just find 15-pound bundles of fur with homicidal tendencies to be kinda cute.....not so much, though, when they get to be a few hundred pounds...NOT Cute!
Paul is not saying that church members must agree on trivial things in life...like animal preferences....
But he is saying that when it comes to teachings within the church...there needs to be unity.
Unity is defined as “Harmony of thought through the shared purpose of diverse individuals working together, while allowing for differences”....
Unity is different than Uniformity, which is defined as “enforced sameness where everyone thinks, acts, or looks identical.”
Now...there is one exception....
....When it comes to the essential doctrines of the faith, there does need to be uniformity....
.....we should all be on the same page when it comes to who Jesus is....and how we are saved through his work on the cross....
But in non-essential matters.... there should at least be unity....there should be noticeable harmony within a diverse church body....
Local church bodies are a collection of people with many different personal preferences....and sometimes people begin to treat those preferences as if they should be binding upon everyone in the church....
The members of the Corinthian church were experiencing disharmony over members who were forcefully advancing their individual preferences in regard to particular leadership styles....
Some were saying that Paul was their favorite pastor - and not only that – but that everyone should follow only the teachings of Paul....
....others were saying that Apollos - the gifted speaker and apologist who was their second pastor after Paul -
....Some said he was “Their Guy”....and that if others wanted to truly understand the faith, he was the only man to listen to...
...Others were saying that the Apostle Peter was the only voice to obey....he was – after all – the leader of the original 12 disciples....
While yet another group seemed to say the right things about following the teachings of Christ....but, apparently, they expressed their allegiance to Jesus alone in a condescending and prideful manner....
It seems that the congregation was so fractured over these deeply held beliefs concerning leadership style, that quarreling broke out – and it broke Paul’s heart to hear this....
It also made him angry to see such immaturity within the Corinthian church.
Whenever a leadership style – or personality – becomes more important than the message that person is proclaiming....it becomes a problem.
We humans are naturally prone to follow certain leaders because their style resonates with us....or we like the way they think....or we like their personality....or we like their specific ministry focus.
We all experience this to one degree or another.
Believe me, I fully understand that my preaching and teaching style resonates with some of you more than it does with others....that’s just reality....and that’s ok.
....As long as your opinion regarding my ministry style (positive or negative) doesn’t promote problematic divisions - or quarreling - within the church....
There’s a pastor I listen to on a regular basis....his name is Skip Heitzig – he's the senior pastor at Calvary Chapel in Albuquerque, New Mexico....
I suppose you could call him my ‘favorite pastor’.....I appreciate how Skip teaches and preaches in a laid back, yet biblically accurate style.....it just resonates with me.
But I would never tell any of you that Skip Heitzig is the only preacher worth listening to....and that if you don’t listen to him – you are making a huge mistake...
That would be elevating my personal preference to the level of.....Law.
Kind of like saying that if you don’t think turtles are the best animal...you’re making a huge mistake....and you need to change your opinion to match my preference!
The church in Corinth was allowing their partiality to eclipse their unity....
People were choosing character charisma over corporate cohesion....
We – also – need to be cognoscente of the fact that....if we’re not careful....we too can fall into that same trap of forcefully advancing our preferences on others....thereby causing division....
Our allegiance needs to be to the message of Jesus Christ....not to a particular vessel proclaiming that message....
My prayer is that someday when a new pastor comes to lead this congregation...
....that they are shown the same grace and love you’ve shown to me....
.....even though their leadership style will undoubtedly be different than mine....
Remember...it’s not about the messenger as much as it is about the message.
Finally, beginning with verse 14 (1 Corinthians 1:14) Paul expresses gratitude regarding his specific calling - and limitations - in ministry....
....and by so doing, he provides deep insight into the greater importance of faith over that of baptism.
Because Paul was one of the most well-known Christians of the day, he was worried that if he were to baptize people, they might be tempted to brag about the fact that they were baptized by the mighty Paul....
...thereby lording it over others who had not been baptized by someone famous.
We can fall to this temptation as well if we aren’t careful.
I know a few people who’ve been over to the Holy Land and – while there – they decided to get baptized in the Jordan River....
Now...how tempting would that be to continually remind others that you were baptized in the same river that Jesus was baptized in...?
“Oh...You were baptized in a baptismal pool by some unknown small-town preacher?....that’s nice. Me?....I was baptized in the River Jordan....the same waters that flowed over the head of my savior flowed over mine....administered by Franklin Graham himself!”
We laugh....yet within all of us lives the old self who desires to be that prideful person.
The human heart has the capacity to hold a disgustingly huge amount of pride, arrogance, and self-promotion....when not held in check by the Holy Spirit within us....
Paul knew this.
That’s why he says in verse 14 (1 Corinthians 1:14-15) “I am thankful that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, so no one can say that you were baptized into my name.”
The church in Corinth had an issue with self-promotion, pride, and boastfulness...among other things.
....therefore, Paul was happy that his celebrity status could not be used by individuals to brag about their baptismal credentials...
The truth is, it doesn’t matter what body of water you are baptized in...or who administers the baptism....
The important thing is that you have been obedient to Jesus in expressing your faith through the ordinance of baptism....not the specifics of where, or by whom.
Verse 17 (1 Corinthians 1:17) wraps up our passage for today with Paul saying, “For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel.....”
This comment helps to cement the truth that we are not saved through the act of baptism itself....
There is nothing magical about the process of baptism....you don’t come up out of the water a completely different person....
You become a different person the moment you give your life to Jesus...and begin following Him....that’s when your heart changes....your desires change....your attitude changes....your worldview changes...
That is the moment when – as 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “The old has gone, the new is here.”
Paul’s statement in verse 17 by makes it clear that it is by faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ – not by the act of baptism – that we are saved.
If baptism had any salvific value whatsoever, Paul would have been baptizing every individual he possibly could!
Rather, he understood that baptism is just the outward symbolic act of what has already taken place in the heart of the believer....
Baptism does not save...but the saved will desire to be baptized.
Jesus told us to do it....so we do it. Simple as that.
So....In conclusion, the church at Corinth had some issues....some of these issues were very concerning to Paul....
Over the next 6 months or so, we’ll be taking a deep dive into this book...
...hopefully learning from some of the Corinthian church’s mistakes....and also....learning from things they did well.
My prayer is that – through this incredible letter – we grow in our faith individually....and corporately....
That in 6 months, LaValle Advent Christian Church will be spiritually healthier...more knowledgeable about our savior....
....and even more equipped to serve God more effectively than ever before.
And that our allegiance will always be devoted to the Lamb.
Let’s Pray.
