5/24/26 “Sacrifice Memorialized”
“Sacrifice Memorialized”
1 Corinthians 4:1-21
I’d like you to meet Anthony.
According to the Wounded Warriors website, Anthony Villareal was on his last patrol before leaving Afghanistan. This was his third Middle East deployment in four years in the U.S. Marine Corps.
But on his FINAL mission, a roadside bomb blew up the truck he was driving, leaving him with third-degree burns over 70 percent of his body....a broken back....and many other injuries.
After 3 months in a coma....amputations of his right hand and left fingers....2 years in the hospital..... and more than 70 painful surgeries....Anthony finally went back to his hometown of Lubbock, TX.
Life was not – and never will be – easy for Anthony.
Support from family members, friends, and various military organizations has helped him to center himself in the new normal....
...and to focus on the blessings in his life....rather than the challenges.
Many would say that Anthony suffered a fate worse than death.
To live with permanent pain, dismemberment, and disfiguration would be more than many people would want to endure....
Yet...Anthony has endured.
...And Anthony’s story of selfless sacrifice for others is a model of perseverance, patience, and love.
On this Memorial Day weekend as our hearts and minds are directed toward those men & women who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our country while serving in the line of duty....
We are also reminded of the heavy sacrifices that people have made for their faith in Jesus Christ....
...Throughout history, Christians have endured persecution from a variety of political and cultural institutions and individuals...
...Sometimes giving their very life for their faith in Christ.
Going all the way back to the first Century....almost all of the disciples died as martyrs for the faith...
There was also Stephen.... then Paul....a bit later was Justin Martyr...
There were countless Christians killed for their faith during various persecutions in the Middle Ages....
....moving up to the reformation we have the likes of William Tyndale & John Rogers.
Familiar names from the 1900’s include many missionaries such as Jim Elliot and Nate Saint....
Martyrdom unfortunately continues here in the 21st century in many places around the world where Christianity is illegal....
....or where believers endure persecution from other religions – primarily Islamic
We remember the 21 Coptic Christians who were beheaded for their allegiance to Christ in Libya back in 2015....
We know of entire Christian communities that are being wiped out right now in 2026....many of which are in African countries such as Nigeria, where martyrdom is at an all-time high.
Since the time of Christ, it is estimated that 70 million Christians have been martyred for their faith....70 Million!
Take the entire Metropolitan areas of New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago....now double it!.....That’s 70 million people.
It’s tragic enough that 1.3 million US military personnel have lost their lives for this country....but 70 million....
....simply for following the person and teachings of Jesus Christ....teachings that are based in love, forgiveness, and truth.
Today’s passage of scripture – the 4th chapter of 1st Corinthians - deals with a few important concepts, with one of them being how Paul & other pastors continually sacrificed for the Church....
....with Paul eventually giving his life for his faith in Christ.
A central theme that runs through this chapter is the concept of sacrifice...
Whether it be sacrifice through service to others....or sacrifice through maintaining a spirit of humility....or sacrifice through a low position of cultural power & prestige....or sacrifice through a lack of materialistic goods....
All of these central components of following Jesus come from a heart position of sacrifice.
When Anthony Villareal was asked why he served this country in the first place, his answer was “Because I wanted to give back”
He wasn’t talking about giving back because he had been given a great deal of cultural power....or that he had been able to acquire a load of materialistic “toys”....
He was speaking of the freedoms and liberties that had been granted to him by merely being a citizen of this country.
Brothers & Sisters in Christ – as redeemed children of God who’ve been delivered from the power of sin and spiritual death...
....how much more should we – as believers - be defined by a desire to “Give Back” to God?
....to “Give Back” our time, talents, and treasures because of what Jesus did for each and every one of us on the cross.
...To “Give Back” our personal aspirations and goals....and adopt God’s Will in our lives.
....To “Give Back” our selfish priorities of comfort and self-indulgence...and take on the nature of people who are – at their core – full of selfless service and grace.
This kind of sacrifice is what Paul is reminding the Christians in Corinth that they needed to adopt in their lives.....
....Believers who had become too attached to the things of the world.
....Too attached to sinful pleasures....too attached to cultural relevancy and respect.
Paul begins chapter 4 by continuing the theme from Chapter 3...
....namely that he...and Apollos....and Peter...and Timothy....and all of the shepherds of the early churches....were merely servants.
They were selflessly “Doing their Job”, so to speak.
Have you ever been given a compliment at work and responded with the phrase “I’m Just Doin’ my Job”
That ought to be our attitude toward any effort that we put into ministry...
We’re “Just Doin’ our Job”....to “Give Back” what we can to the God who saved us from condemnation & an eternity in hell.
Paul makes an interesting statement in verse 3 (1 Corinthians 4;3) when he says, "I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself.”
Continuing in verse 4 (1 Corinthians 4:4) My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.”
What Paul is saying here is that – as sinful human beings – we lack the ability to correctly know & judge the motives of others....
Only God knows the position of one’s heart that is behind a person’s actions.
Now...scripture does tell us that we are able to use discernment – a form of judging – as to the visible fruit in other believer’s lives....as well as our own life.
But judgments of motive and intent are solely God’s dominion...and no other.
Verse 5 (1 Corinthians 4:5) speaks to this when it explicitly warns us against judging the heart of others....that God alone will disclose these things when we someday appear before Him.
Here’s an example....this past week, our granddaughter Evelynn was staying with us while her Mom and Dad were in the hospital with Evelynn’s new baby sister Loretta.
We also were dog-sitting their little Cavapoo Lucy....
At one point, Evelynn was sitting in her highchair at the dining room table where she could see out the window - while I was in the kitchen putting things away in the dishwasher...
All of a sudden, Evelynn begins yelling at the top of her lungs - and moving every limb of her body....
Well....from my vantage point....I just think she’s acting up for no reason...
....here I’d just fed her a nice meal...and all she can do is yell at me for it.
Well...It wasn’t until I came over to her vantage point at the window – and saw what she saw - that I understood why she had gotten so upset.
Lucy – the dog – had found her way to the front yard where she was very close to the busy road along our property....
Evelynn was worried about her doggy! She wasn’t ungrateful for the lunch I’d made her...
In fact, her display of sound and movement had nothing to do with me whatsoever.
Evelynn’s motives were not what I thought they were...
Here she was concerned about her furry getting hit by a car....her motives were pure...
...But I was making a judgment about her motive & actions....a judgement that was completely off base.
Don’t we sometimes do that with other people as well?
....so and so...they left the family get-together early...they must be mad about something!
(Or....maybe they had a headache...or had another commitment they needed to attend to)
My spouse didn’t come find me in the house and say “I Love You” before heading off to work....they must be really upset about something!
(Or...maybe they were running late for work and had to conserve as much time as possible)
....That one actually happened in our house this past week!
My friend hasn’t responded to my text in over 2 days....I must have done something to offend them!
(Or...maybe they’re dealing with a family issue that needs to be prioritized above your text)
My cat barely acknowledged me after I returned from a weeklong vacation....It must really hate me!
(Or.........Well.......Actually that one would be true, cats just hate human beings in general! 😊)
But....in all seriousness....many of us fall victim to judging the motives of others without having the full picture in view....
As Believers....Let’s remember not to do this.
Paul even says that – because God knows his heart even better than he does – Paul himself abstained from judging his own motives...
That – from his own perspective – his conscience was clear....but he wanted the all-knowing God to have the final word on the matter.
He was sacrificing his own opinion about his own motives....while in submission to God’s perfect knowledge about them.
In verse 6, the text shifts to one of admonition, chastisement, and – what I like to call – sanctified sarcasm.
Yes....the Holy Spirit – through the pen of Paul – is using a dash of sarcasm to drive home an important point about pride and self-centeredness.
The Corinthian believers had become arrogant and prideful as they had split into various factions – each wanting to follow a leader who most appealed to their preferred style...(Paul, Apollos, Peter, etc)
So, to reveal their stunted hearts, verses 6 through 10 are dripping with sarcastic statements concerning their perceived positions of power, spirituality, and prestige.
Verse 8 (1 Corinthians 4:8) describes how the Corinthians had the idea that they were culturally high & mighty.
It reads, “...You have all you want... (and)....You have become Rich...(and) .....You have become kings!
Verse 10 (1 Corinthians 4:10) reads, “We (the teachers) are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored!”
The sarcastic language we see here is meant to admonish....it's meant to expose the foolish and prideful attitudes of the Corinthian believers...
It’s meant to hold a mirror up to their hearts...and expose their selfish motives...
It’s meant to be a reminder of how they were not valuing the Christian virtue of sacrifice...
They were not sacrificing individually – and they were not sacrificing corporately...
So...sarcastically...Paul writes that they are now Kings!....They are Rich in thought and spirituality!....that they are full of honor and strength!
...while he – and the other teachers – were somehow spiritually inferior to these parishioners in Corinth who “Had it all Figured out”
Have you ever met someone who thought they’d figured this whole Christianity thing out...that they had reached the stratospheric heights of knowledge and spirituality when it comes to following Christ?
If you’ve met that person...then you’ve also met someone who is struggling with the sin of pride....and who has inherently fallen short of their own preconceptions about themselves...
The Corinthians were much like the Laodicean church that we read about in the book of Revelation...
The Church at Laodicea may have had some genuine believers....but many in the congregation had become enamored with their own riches, comfort, and self-sufficiency.
This made them prideful Christians....two words that simply don’t belong next to one another...
The Church in the coastal town of Corinth was in the same boat.
Theirs was a boat carrying pride, self-indulgence, divisiveness, and self-flattery.
Paul makes the point in these verses that true disciples of Jesus Christ were to be characterized by the opposite of these things....
Believers are NOT to be prideful...NOT to be self-indulgent...NOT to be divisive...NOT to be full of self-flattery...
...and NOT displaying these worldly attributes will NOT sit well with those outside the faith...
To the unbelieving world, Christians will NEVER be culturally relevant...they will NEVER be fully admired in the public square for their beliefs...they will NEVER be people with an abundance of societal power and authority....they will NEVER be rich with the things of the world.
In fact, Paul says in verse 9 (1 Corinthians 4:9) “For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like men condemned to die in the arena....”
The Romans had a penchant for humiliating their prisoners of war before executing them....in what was typically a very gruesome manner.
The victorious Roman army would come parading back to town with POW’s in chains at the end of the ‘Parade’....before being taken to their deaths.
Paul is informing the Corinthians that this is how true followers of Jesus will be seen by the world around them.
The lost world will always hate the message of the gospel...
Why?....because it calls for self-sacrifice...and submission to a greater authority than ourselves.
Most people will never be able to give up being their own god...
Most – we are told in scripture – will continue down the wide, heavily trafficked, road to eternal destruction....
...Rather than sacrificing their own wants, wishes, and desires to Christ.
The world will always revile the name of Jesus – because, if Jesus is the only way...and the only truth...and the only life....
........Then all other ways are NOT the way...and the truth....and the life.
This kind of message of exclusivity is simply not accepted in a world of inclusivity...
A world that has been deceived by Satan to believe that everyone’s version of truth is valid and legitimate....no matter what that truth happens to be.
For instance...If your truth is to identify as a green pig named Oliver from the planet Venus...
Many people will address you as a green pig named Oliver from the planet Venus...
If that is “Your Truth” , then it will be my truth as well as it pertains to you.
Do you see the blatant deception here, folks?
In the latest ACGC magazine, there’s a really good article called “You Do You”
Have you ever heard that phrase before? “You Do You”?
That’s the mantra of today’s world...whatever you feel like doing – or being – then go for it....just do it!....as the Corinthian worshippers of Nike would say.
If it’s true for you...then live out YOUR truth.
Well, unfortunately, this idea of pluralistic – or, multiple – truths violates a basic tenet of logic...
If something is true...then all other contradictory statements or ideas must be false...there is no “Middle Ground” when it comes to truth.
As a wise 800-year-old Jedi once uttered in a galaxy far-far away, “To be Jedi is to face the truth, and choose. Give off light, or darkness. Be a candle, or the night.”
Basically, Yoda is saying that we have a choice to make concerning the truth...
We can either believe it – and act according to that belief by emitting the light of correct understanding...
...Or we can disbelieve the truth – and act according to a belief that is not the light of correct understanding....
A candle is either lit...or it is not lit....you can never have a candle that is “somewhat lit”
A pregnant lady is either pregnant...or she’s not....there is no such thing as a “Somewhat pregnant” lady....
The same thing holds true for truth.
The Teen Connection group has been going through material that speaks to this fact, and they can tell you about something called the ‘Law of the Excluded Middle”
(Any of you guys want to tell us what that is?)
The law of the excluded middle is a principle of logic stating that a propositional statement is either true, or its negation is true....
....there is no possibility of there being a middle ground when it comes to truth.
A flipped coin will either land on heads or tails...there is no third option.
A deer on the side of the road is either dead...or its not dead...no third option.
...NO middle ground.
Getting back to the point...the world will always want there to be middle ground when it comes to being right with God.
But Jesus doesn’t offer any middle ground when it comes to obtaining salvation.
He gives us one option...through faith and trust in Him....and Him alone.
Not through Buddha...Not through Muhammed....Not through Scientific Inquiry...Not through Aliens!...
....Not through man's own abilities or philosophies of any kind.
Acts 4:12 states “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”
This is the truth.
There is literally no other option for mankind to be saved...but through the blood of Jesus Christ.
This is the story of the greatest sacrifice of all time...
This is the story of our redemption...
This is the story of truth.
Let’s Pray.
