Don't Fight About Which Preacher You Follow
July 5, 2026 · 1 Corinthians
Scripture referenced 10 passages
The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.
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1 Corinthians 1:12 quoted to show the Corinthian church dividing into camps saying 'I am of Paul,' 'I am of Apollos,' 'I am of Peter,' 'I am of Christ'
12 Now I mean this, that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” “I follow Apollos,” “I follow Cephas,” and, “I follow Christ.”
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Keep this verse
1 Corinthians 3:1-3
cited to show Paul calling the Corinthians immature
1 Brothers, I couldn’t speak to you as to spiritual, but as to fleshly, as to babies in Christ.
2 I fed you with milk, not with meat; for you weren’t yet ready. Indeed, not even now are you ready,
3 for you are still fleshly. For insofar as there is jealousy, strife, and factions among you, aren’t you fleshly, and don’t you walk in the ways of men?
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1 Corinthians 3:4-9
quoted at length on servants as farmers, planting and watering while God causes the growth
4 For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” aren’t you fleshly?
5 Who then is Apollos, and who is Paul, but servants through whom you believed; and each as the Lord gave to him?
6 I planted. Apollos watered. But God gave the increase.
7 So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.
8 Now he who plants and he who waters are the same, but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor.
9 For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s farming, God’s building.
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1 Corinthians 3:10-17
quoted at length on servants as builders on the foundation of Christ Jesus, with fire testing each man's work
10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another builds on it. But let each man be careful how he builds on it.
11 For no one can lay any other foundation than that which has been laid, which is Jesus Christ.
12 But if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or stubble;
13 each man’s work will be revealed. For the Day will declare it, because it is revealed in fire; and the fire itself will test what sort of work each man’s work is.
14 If any man’s work remains which he built on it, he will receive a reward.
15 If any man’s work is burned, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, but as through fire.
16 Don’t you know that you are a temple of God, and that God’s Spirit lives in you?
17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is holy, which you are.
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1 Corinthians 3:21-23
quoted to show that all things, including Paul, Apollos, and Cephas, belong to the congregation
21 Therefore let no one boast in men. For all things are yours,
22 whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come. All are yours,
23 and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.
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1 Corinthians 4:1-2
quoted on servants as stewards of the mystery of God who must be found trustworthy
1 So let a man think of us as Christ’s servants, and stewards of God’s mysteries.
2 Here, moreover, it is required of stewards, that they be found faithful.
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1 Corinthians 4:3-5
quoted on not judging leaders before the time, waiting for the Lord to disclose the motives of men's hearts
3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you, or by man’s judgment. Yes, I don’t judge my own self.
4 For I know nothing against myself. Yet I am not justified by this, but he who judges me is the Lord.
5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each man will get his praise from God.
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1 Corinthians 4:6-7
quoted on not exceeding what is written and asking what anyone has that they did not receive
6 Now these things, brothers, I have in a figure transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes, that in us you might learn not to think beyond the things which are written, that none of you be puffed up against one another.
7 For who makes you different? And what do you have that you didn’t receive? But if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?
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1 Corinthians 12:2
cited to note that when the Corinthians were pagans they went after idols
2 You know that when you were heathen, you were led away to those mute idols, however you might be led.
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Romans 14:4
quoted asking who are you to judge the servant of another, his own master will make him stand
4 Who are you who judge another’s servant? To his own lord he stands or falls. Yes, he will be made to stand, for God has power to make him stand.
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Recap
The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.
The message this week came from 1 Corinthians 3 and 4, and it dealt with something Paul called out in the Corinthian church: dividing into camps over favorite teachers and preachers. Ray is in Spain, so the sermon was preached by another teacher filling the pulpit. The argument was that putting teachers on pedestals is not only unbiblical, it is the first step toward the kind of religious tribalism that has started real wars.
What was said
The Corinthian church was an unusual mix. Most members had no background in the Old Testament, they came out of heavy idol worship, they were educated and philosophically minded, and they were morally out of control. Paul called them immature. Into that setting, they imported something already common in Greek culture: dividing loyalties over teachers. Some claimed Paul, some Apollos, some Peter, and some said they followed Christ alone, which apparently was its own form of pride.
That pattern, a community splitting into camps over who leads them after a founder dies, is not unique to Corinth. The sermon pointed to how it happened in Islam after Muhammad died, and in the LDS church after Joseph Smith died, producing rival factions willing to fight each other. Paul wanted to stop it in the church before it ever got to that point.
The first thing Paul corrected was the inflated view of what teachers actually do. Farmers plant and water, but they do not make anything grow. That is God's work. A pastor can share the gospel and teach, and those things matter, but he cannot save anyone and he cannot make anyone grow. Giving a teacher credit for either of those things sets him up as something he is not.
The builder image added a layer of accountability. Every teacher builds on the foundation of Jesus Christ, and that work will be tested. A teacher who tears down the congregation rather than building it up is answerable to God for that. The point was not to make pastors feel threatened but to remind the congregation that their pastor belongs to them and works for them, not the other way around. Several people in the room were reminded that Ray answers the phone at any hour, and that is not an accident. That is what it looks like for a pastor to be owned by his people.
The steward section shifted to the question of judgment. Paul said he did not even examine his own motives, and he told the Corinthians that judging a servant's motives was not their job. Actions can be evaluated, and the congregation does have legitimate accountability when something is visibly wrong. But guessing at why a pastor does what he does, or why a fellow church member gives or serves, is something Paul said to leave alone until God surfaces it himself.
The sermon closed by naming the three forms this pride takes in the church today: division between believers over whose teacher is acceptable, public criticism of the other person's teacher, and personal arrogance about having chosen the best one. The specific examples were living and dead, from John Piper and Alistair Begg to John Calvin and Jacob Arminius. The point was that Calvin and Arminius belong to the whole church, are useful to the whole church, and would not want their names used to separate brothers and sisters. They belong to us. We do not belong to them.
Doing a Bible study?
Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages in order, questions for the group, and room to write.
- Ray described the Corinthian church as gullible, very educated, and immoral all at the same time. Where do you see those same combinations showing up in churches today, including our own?
- Ray said a pastor cannot cause you to be saved and cannot make you grow, that planting and watering are all a pastor can do. How does that change the way you think about what you expect from Ray or any other teacher?
and 3 more questions in the guide
Read the full transcript 6,891 words
0:00
Not happen in other organizations. It doesn't really happen in politics. It doesn't happen in the business world. It happens in religion. It is not limited to Christianity.
0:12
It's every religion is subject to it, and it can happen in the church as well. When it does happen in religion, I'm just gonna set this over here, it can get ugly, It can get bloody. It can get tribal. Wars have been fought over this issue, not just a few, but many, many, and they are ongoing today. We continue to see fights over church tribalism, religious tribalism.
0:43
Think of your whatever religion you want, and think of the divisions that are there, and what happens when they just go awry, when they go too far. That's what we're gonna talk about today. Don't fight about which preacher you follow. Now that doesn't sound like a big deal. Anybody here fight with other believers over the fact, whatever.
1:04
I'm nuts. I love you, Jeff. It's okay. I was kinda glued to that Yeah. Now you're free.
1:14
There you go. Thank you. Any other you know That's good. That's it. Decaf.
1:32
Alright. Don't fight about which preacher you follow. Now I don't know anyone, honestly. I don't know anyone who fights over Ray McDaniel's my pastor. You know, we don't feel all superior to everybody else because Ray is our pastor.
1:48
I don't get that vibe from you, but it does happen over other pastors, both living and dead. Doesn't it? And we become a little bit tribal. Pretty soon, we don't like this group over here because they don't follow our leader. Right?
2:03
And it goes worse and worse. The Corinthian now this is written to the Corinthians. The Corinthian church was fighting, was dividing over which leader was the best, over which leader most aligned with their views or their doctrine, or just their politics or their preferences. What was the Corinthians church like? I just wanna talk about this for a second.
2:25
Corinth was a city in Greece. It's modern day Corinthos. You know, lot of these cities that we look at in the Bible, they have crazy names today. They're totally different, but Corinth kept the old name, which we appreciate. It's in the Peloponnesian Peninsula.
2:39
Predominantly, it it was well, what was the Corinthian church like? I've got some bullet points here. Now this was not easy for me to do. So predominantly, it was a Gentile church. There was not a lot of Jewish believers there, but there was some.
2:52
And they were very helpful to the church in giving them a background about what the Bible said. But most Corinthians were not very familiar with the Old Testament. They had a lot of basic questions. If you go and look through Corinthians each chapter and say, what was the question they asked Paul here? You can get it pretty easy and you think, well, I knew that answer, you know.
3:14
And and so they had some very basic questions because they didn't know the Bible. Number three, they were very idolatrous. Chapter 12 verse two says that when you were pagans, you went after all the idols. We know that in Athens, just I think it's less than 20 miles from Corinth, in Athens, said they had a an idol on every street corner, everywhere, to every God, and even one to the unknown God. Because just in case we don't know exactly who he is, we're gonna have one to the the unknown God.
3:43
It was amazing. They were very idolatrous. They were in darkness when it comes to God, and they were very, listen to this, gullible, like primitive groups. Now I don't like that word primitive groups. I worked with a primitive group in Mexico.
3:57
So if you're uncomfortable with that term, I am too. But it is descriptive. Alright? And if if it's very remember, you have some primitive people in your own home if you're a parent, so you can understand that. But I worked with a group that did not read and write.
4:14
They didn't have a written language. They did not go to school, and they didn't know a lot of things. Now they worked hard, and they learned things, and they learned just like anyone else. I found them to be very intelligent in certain ways that we're not because we've gotten used to whatever. But they didn't know about God.
4:33
They had a lot of gullible ideas. Okay? So the Corinthians were gullible, like primitive groups, very educated, like university professors, and they loved science. They loved philosophy. Lastly, they were very immoral.
4:48
They're wild like Vegas. So they were gullible, very educated, and out of control. Paul called them immature in chapter three verse one through three. How does that compare to the American church? Don't answer it yet.
5:03
Let's keep going. Now the Corinthian church was fighting and dividing over which leader was the best, which leader most aligned with their views. Look at Corinthians first Corinthians one twelve. Here's what it says. I put it on board for you.
5:16
Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, I am of Paul. And someone over here said, I am of Apollos. And someone over here said, I am of Peter, and somebody over here said, I am only of Christ. Right? They had little camps.
5:29
They were dividing into little tribes. The Corinthian church was becoming tribal. That's a popular word in America today, isn't it? In what context do we use that word tribal? Somebody blurred it out.
5:41
Politics. Who said politics? You had to bring it up. That's where we use it today, isn't it? We haven't used that a lot, but we're using it now.
5:52
Does that mean is that good? Does that mean we're positive? Woah. We're becoming tribal. That means we're dividing more and more and more.
6:00
K. The Corinthian church was becoming tribal over adherence to Peter, veneration of Paul, just adoration of Apollos, and some who says, I don't listen to any man. Right? You've got all four groups, and they're dividing and they're fighting. They fought over which leader was the the acceptable one.
6:27
If allowed to continue this, dividing the camps leads to a much larger fight. Now here we go to religion in general. That is common to religions and it's called a caliphate. Have you heard of that word, a caliphate? There's a few of you that have been to The Middle East, and that's where we generally use that word.
6:43
But it is not limited to Islam. Every religion can break up into caliphates. Now if you've been to The Middle East or if you've watched the news, if you've kind of studied out the issue, you've gotten to know some Middle Eastern people, they're wonderful. But this caliphate idea causes them to break out into tribes. And let me name you some of those tribes in Islam.
7:03
Okay? I'm not picking on well, I am picking on Muslims right now, but we're gonna get to more our neck of the woods. We're gonna get to America very soon. Shia, Sunni, I'm looking to Van and Lauren because they know more about this than I do. What's the ones that Dervish?
7:19
Shia. Shia. Did I say that? Shia. Isn't that Shia?
7:24
Give me a break, Van. Alright. Just say yes. And what are the Shias, the Shiites and the Sunnis do to each other? They kill each other.
7:35
Now I don't wanna throw all the cold water on the Muslims. K? Because it happens in America too. If you have LDS friends, and I do, I have many, grew up on the LDS town, enjoy those folks very much, but they broke up into a caliphate just after Joseph Smith died. And they broke up and divided into four main groups.
7:58
There's a few other splinters now, but over who would succeed the dead prophet. And that's what happened to Islam. After Muhammad died, they all they said, well, I follow this this imam over here. I follow this imam over here. He should take over for the dead prophet.
8:15
It's exactly what happened to Mormonism, is that they broke up into four different divisions over whether they should follow Joseph Smith junior, Brigham Young, and the other guys that we don't know the names of. Has it happened in the church? It happens, doesn't it? We follow this, we follow that. Hopefully, we haven't gotten into too many wars over that.
8:42
If we go to war, I hope we go to war against the Methodist because they don't, you know no. They're they're the nice guys. They're not gonna hurt us too bad. Right? I I don't want that to happen in the church, and Paul did not want happen to that happened to the church.
8:54
Poor Van and Lauren. You guys are on the hot seat this morning. Alright. The Corinthians already had a culture that venerated and divided over their teachers. Think Plato, Socrates, you're a stoic, or you're a hedonist, those kind of things.
9:08
They were very prone to this already and very educated so they could learn all about this stuff. Now I'm gonna this is a quick I shouldn't even put this up here. This is my outline. The Lord helps us put our teachers in their proper place because we should not be dividing over who is our favorite teacher, whether Ray McDaniel or someone outside this church that you listen to. Sober thinking about our teachers in chapter three verses four through nine, our teachers are servants.
9:33
The Bible gives us a picture of farmers. The next several verses, teachers are servants, a picture of builders. And then the last one, our servants are the picture of stewards. In the middle, don't boast in our teachers. We own them.
9:47
We'll we'll talk about that, how you own Ray McDaniel. And I can say that he's in Spain right now, but we do. And I'm gonna share how that is. This is what it says in verse four through nine. For when one says, I am of Paul, and another, I am of Apollos, are you not mere men?
10:05
What then is Apollos? And what then is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one. I planted, Paul says, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth.
10:25
Now he who plants and he who waters are one, but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow workers, you are God's field. Now this first part, our teachers are servants, they are like farmers. This section emphasizes what servants actually accomplish, what they actually do and what they don't do. We're gonna emphasize both, what teachers do and what they don't do for us.
10:52
We've gotta know both. Alright. Through our servants I'm gonna read that colorful first paragraph. Through our servants, we first believed in Christ. That's Ray.
11:04
That's Van, our pastors. Our farmer servants plant the gospel in us who believe in God's field. That's who we are. And they water it so it can grow. But they do they actually cause the gospel to sprout?
11:17
Now, those colors are corresponding to colors in the text. Do they cause the cause the gospel to sprout grow? Look at the red letters down there in the are there any red letters? Oh, right up top. But God was causing the growth.
11:33
Paul planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. A pastor cannot cause you to be saved, and he cannot make you grow. He can plant the seed, he can water it, but it's up to you and the Holy Spirit to do that. And God is the one who's accomplishing that, not the pastor. Remember that.
11:54
What credit can we give our teachers, and what credit can we not give them? Any credit that we can give our teachers? They came here. They showed up. Right?
12:05
And they and they and they went to work and hopefully they, you know, they answer the phone when you call, answer your email, come and see you when you're sick, things like that, and they share God's word with you. That's the main thing that a pastor does. We can give them credit for coming here and showing up, but they we cannot give them credit for our salvation. We cannot give them credit for our growth. That is the Holy Spirit himself.
12:28
We can't give him that credit. So our pastors, number one, they're not as important as we think. I am not here to denigrate your pastor. I'm here for us to think realistically about our pastor, so that we don't put him up on a pedestal. Ironically, the more you put your pastor on a pedestal, the more you're gonna divide over that pastor.
12:50
You ever been to a church where the pastor's so powerful? Oh, he's he's he's he's the only one I'll ever listen to. You ever in church like that? And people fight over that and and they divide and and God help us if one of their comes and pastors the congregation then splits it wide open because these ones wanna follow that leader and these ones don't. That happens.
13:11
And I don't want it to happen to us because where it leads is war. Alright. According to verse eight, the planner and waterer, Paul and Apollos, are one. Look at verse eight. Now he who plants and he who waters are one.
13:28
Let me go back to to where I was writing. They are not separate individuals whom we can follow individually. In other words, if you say, you know, I I this guy online, John Piper, I'm a what do they call John Piper followers? Piperites? Be like, you okay.
13:46
Yeah. Have you heard of a a MacArthurite, maybe? Someone who who likes John MacArthur. I like John MacArthur. I like John Piper.
13:53
I like Jack Hayford. Whoever did you know, I like these guys. But they're not these individual pastors that we follow. They are part of our leaders in the church, and we esteem them. They are one.
14:08
Paul Apollos is one. You can't split them up and follow one and not the other. So at first b, you can't follow John Piper, for example, and leave Ray McDaniel out. You can't do that. They are one.
14:22
John Piper and Ray McDaniel, they're one. K? So we can't split them up and say, well, I just follow this pastor over here, or I just follow Ray, and I don't listen to anybody else. There's there's no, you know, great thing to be said about that either. We have to consider them one.
14:43
This is the next section here. For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field. Now we're gonna get to the builder part. The the this is where our servants, our pastors, our builders.
14:53
God's building, verse 10, according to the grace of God, which was given to me like a wise master builder, I laid a foundation and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Christ Jesus. Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, each man's work will become evident. Who are these people building on the foundation?
15:21
Teachers. Pastors. Right? And some are building with gold, silver stone, others wood hay and stuff. Okay.
15:30
Let's keep going. Verse 13, each man's work would become evident for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire. The fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. If any man's work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss.
15:47
But he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. Do you not know that you are a temple of God and the spirit of God dwells in you? If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy and that is what you are. Now our teachers are servants.
16:03
They are like builders. Farmers first, now they're like builders. This section emphasizes what servants get paid. Alright? Keep that in mind.
16:11
Our builder servants build up or edify God's building on top of the foundation. What is the foundation? You can see on the pink words there. I laid a foundation, Paul says, and then later on where it says foundation. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Christ Jesus.
16:27
That is the foundation. What happens if someone tries to build on another foundation? There is no other foundation. Now we're not gonna build a church over some, you know, philosopher who died thousands of years ago in China or wherever. We can't we can't that's not a foundation.
16:49
No human on earth is a foundation. Only the God human, Jesus Christ is our foundation. So we have to build on that. All the different tradesmen working on the building must be careful how they build on God's temple. Now look at these verses, the red words.
17:04
Okay? Verse, let's see, 10, the end of verse, but each man must be careful how he builds on it. And then go back down at verse 12. You can build on it, but some of it's gonna stand withstand the fire, some of it's not. And then you go back verse 13, each man's work will become evident for the day will show it because it's to be revealed with fire.
17:24
Fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. We have to be careful as teachers and pastors how we build on God's temple. What happens to the man who rather than building up God's building, he tears it down? What says there, verse 17, the last verse, if any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy and that is what you are.
17:54
You are important to God. And the shepherd and the pastor had better be careful how he builds on the foundation Jesus Christ, how he builds the temple, how he builds you up, what he teaches you. There is some accountability there for a pastor. We tend to sometimes treat our leaders as kings, but rather they are our servants, and they are accountable to God for what how they treat us. We are the Lord's people.
18:28
Verse 23 says that. Ironically, the more we venerate our teachers, I said it already, the more we'll boast in them. Our teachers, verse 21 through 23, are our servants. Let me read that at the bottom of the page. So then let no one boast in men.
18:46
For all things belong to you, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas, that's Peter, or the world or life or death or things present or things to come. All things belong to you and you belong to Christ and Christ belongs to God. This section emphasizes who owns the servants. You do. It says it right there.
19:09
Whether Paul or Apollos or Peter or the world or life, they all belong to you. And you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God. Now we don't usually say that as pastors. You guys own us. What do we mean by that?
19:22
I mean, some of us were were bristling a little bit, like, don't treat Ray like that. We don't own him. In what way do you own Ray? I can guarantee you, Ray believes that you own him because he acts like it. What happens when you call Ray in the middle of the night?
19:40
He answers. He answers. It doesn't matter what time. Ray doesn't have that kind of boundary. You know?
19:51
You own Ray. And as pastors, you own us. We belong to you. We are here for you, and we're ministering to you in the stead of Christ. You own us.
20:08
We don't own you. Now that's important, isn't it? A pastor that owns you and manipulates you and and makes you do this and and and that you know, that's not the pastor that we need. We need one that we that he belongs to us. Pastors belong more than to each of us as as as people, but to the church.
20:30
Pastors belong to the church. A good pastor does. A pastor that's, you know, got all these, he's got so many boundaries that you can never get through to him. I'm not sure that pastor belongs to us but Ray does. He is an excellent, excellent person at visitation.
20:48
I've never seen a, I don't wanna brag on this church or Ray but I've never seen a pastor who visits like Ray does. Have you? Yeah. So don't boast in us. We really do belong to you.
21:04
That's not always easy for us to be owned by the church. Don't make it harder. But whether Ray McDaniel, Chuck Smith, Alistair Begg, Van Jones, John Calvin, Jacob Arminius, or even Peter or Paul, you own them. They belong to us. We don't put them way up here.
21:28
We may esteem them highly in certain ways, but they are our servants. And we have to think rightly about them or we'll be mean to other people. Don't boast in men. Our teachers are servants, chapter four verse one through two, they are like stewards. Now a steward is not a word that we use very often anymore.
21:47
Have you ever had a fund manager or someone who manages your money? Or maybe you've had several through JPMorgan or or what I don't even know. Those are stewards. They are in charge of something very valuable. This section emphasizes how servants are evaluated or judged.
22:06
You ever judged a pastor? I'm ashamed to admit it. I saw one hand there. We'll discipline you later. Listen to that.
22:15
I think all of us have judged judged pastor. We've even judged Ray, haven't we, at times? And sometimes we've been unkind. How do we judge them in the right way? Let a man regard us in this manner as servants of Christ and stewards of the mystery of God.
22:33
In this case, moreover, as required of stewards, that one be found trustworthy. Steward has to be found trustworthy. He has been entrusted with very valuable things, and they must be distributed and invested in exact accordance with the owner's commands. I mean, you guys, if you've if you've got a fund manager, you can tell them, I want this much and this. And they said, well, I put it in this because I like that company.
22:57
It makes me feel good. You're like, your face is turning red. Just do what I say with my money. The steward is not judged, however, by us. Let me say that again.
23:07
The steward is not judged by us. We'll back get back to that in a second. In the Corinthian church, they were fighting, dividing over which leader was the best, which leader most aligned with their views. They would exalt their favorite teacher, Paul, Peter, whoever, but denigrate your favorite teacher, John Piper. Give me a break.
23:29
Guy's so short. And they were divided into different tribes, Paulites, Apollosians, Peterists. Would the new church fall in the same trap as other religions? Alright. Here comes the antidote, chapter four.
23:44
The antidote to church pride and division. Verse three through five, proper evaluation of our leaders, and verse six through eight, proper evaluation of ourselves. I don't think we're gonna get past verse seven. So the others listen, if you're struggling with judging your pastor and being a jerk to him, start serving others. Become owned by the church like your pastor is.
24:05
Start that process. I've had about seven people in the last eight days come to me and say, I would like to get more involved in this part of the church. That person is seeking, those people are seeking to be owned by the church. One of them put it this way, I just wanna be part of the team. Praise the Lord for that.
24:25
I think it's incredible. And lots of you are coming forward. Some of you are just doing it on your own. It's incredible. Lot of people are doing it out there this morning.
24:34
Alright. The antidote to church pride and division, proper evaluation of our leaders, proper judging, proper evaluation of ourselves. Proper evaluation or judging of our leaders. When should we judge our leaders and what should they do in response? We're gonna talk about motives versus actions.
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Our leaders are not judged by us. We can judge actions. If our pastor were to embezzle money from the church, do we just have to say, well, they're our pastor. We can't question them. Oh, we can we can talk to that pastor and say, well, you know, this is kinda criminal.
25:09
Right? So that's a good accountability that we do have to the congregation. We can't steal the money and get away with it. And Nick and I have talked about it. But we we can't do that, and we can't abuse people in the congregation.
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That's something that that you do need to keep us accountable on. Sometimes, Nick and I, what one of the things we do is the the benevolence fund. It's enormous. And Nick and I, along with Diane, Geek, and Ray, are tasked with giving that money away to people who need it and not to be defrauded as much as possible. If you send a friend to us and they come back and you said, how much did they give you?
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Well, was it was this much. And it's not enough? Come tell us. We want you to be a part of of this benevolence fund. It's wonderful.
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But you can feedback. We we need your help. Okay? But motives, what we'd rather not, Nick and I, for you to do is say, those guys are so chintzy. All they think about it's not even their money.
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We'd rather you not think about us that way. That may not be the most appropriate it may be true, but it's it may not be the most appropriate thing. So we'll talk about motives versus actions. Our leaders are not judged by us, we judge actions, but by God. We can keep our judgments of leaders' motives to ourselves.
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Romans fourteen four says, let me right over here. Who are you to judge the servant of another? If you've got employees, and I come and say, Casey, you got this guide, I can't stand him. He's doing this, this, this, this. That's not really my place, is it?
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Casey and Brian will judge that that guide. I don't have anything to do with it. Who are you to judge a sermon of another? To his own master, he stands or falls, and he will stand for the Lord is able to make him stand. Here's the verses, verse three through five.
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This is gonna say some surprising things, by the way, about motorists. But to me, it is a very small thing that I'd be examined or evaluated or judged by you. Paul says, you're judging me. I don't really care. Or by any human court.
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In fact, I don't even examine myself. Is that surprising? It is. It's surprising to me. For I am conscious of nothing against myself.
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That's why he doesn't examine himself, by the way. Yet, I am not by this acquitted, but the one who examines me is the Lord. We don't judge our pastor's motives, God does. Therefore, verse five, do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men's hearts. And then each man's praise will come to him from God.
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We should talk about when it's appropriate to judge other people's motives. Alright? Put it on your calendar, Thursday. And when it's appropriate to judge our own motives. You ever judge your own motive?
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What does that look like? Usually, do something good. Right? Yeah. And then all of a sudden, your conscious, oh, but I think I might have done that for personal glory or or or maybe I did that because I what, you know, whatever.
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I don't think there's a lot of value in that. Just do the good thing. Don't don't sit there and worry. What if I was looking for my own you know, just do the good thing. Do the good thing.
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Don't sit there and judge yourself to death. Not everybody struggles with that. If you struggle with that, the the old army chaplain Oswald Chambers, called that morbid introspection. In fact, he got it from a different author. Morbid introspection, where you're doing good things, but then you're always wondering that'll drive you crazy.
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Don't get into it. Paul didn't get it. I don't even examine myself. What else does it say here? When is it appropriate to judge other people's motives, our even our own?
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When can we indulge in motive judging? Look at the red down here. Don't go passing judgment before the time. Wait until the Lord comes. When can we judge motives?
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When we're dead. It's gonna be a great time. We can judge each other's motives all we want. Why? Because it'll be put up on the big screen, and God will disclose the hidden things in darkness and the motives of men's hearts.
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Then each man's judgment will come to him from God, each man's praise. Don't judge other people's motives. Now it is a very popular thing to do in the world today. Start listening. If you haven't started listening, just listen to the media and how they talk about politicians.
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Sometimes, they're accusing politicians of actual actions. If it's true, thumbs up for the media. Very good. We need our media to do that, don't we? Sometimes, they're saying, well, I think this motive this guy's doing it for money.
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This guy's doing it for, what what do they call that presidential thing after your your legacy. Or or they're doing it for now guys, that is a cheap accusation. If I say, John Hammond, that guy, everything he does for money. How could I know that? I could not possibly know that unless he told me.
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If he came up and said, actually, everything I do is for money. You know, we can talk about it. Right? But I don't know that, And I don't know that about you. I can't say, well, your motive.
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Yeah. You gave, but your motive I I don't know that, and I have no business doing that. And I have no business doing that to myself. When I am giving or whatever, don't second guess it. Just give.
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Just serve. Say, well, but I what what if I just wanna be noticed? Just do whatever it is that the Lord is having you do. And don't worry about it. Alright?
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And don't worry about your pastor's motives. God knows them and he's the only one. Ray doesn't know his motives. Oh, yeah. And I don't know his motives and you don't know his motives unless he tells us.
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Even then, we can have an overly sensitive conscience that says, well, I sometimes I do good things for oh my goodness. Don't ever let me hear you say that. Alright. When we do that? We do that when we're dead.
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Does any good come out of judging others motives or our own? Now sins, we need to evaluate that. But motives, there's not much good that comes out of that. Maybe you'll think of a time, you know, maybe you're doing something evil and you're trying to figure out your motive. Okay.
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I'm all for that. What makes us tick? Why do I do this? Well, that's fine. But for for doing good things, don't judge your motives.
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Evaluate your teachers fairly. So how do we judge our pastors? We don't judge them this way. We don't judge your motives. If you if you really have huge concerns about your past and you say, I think something's off with this guy.
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It'll come out if it needs to. Wait until then. And if not, it'll come out when we're dead, and then we won't really be interested. Now the proper judging of ourselves, verses six and seven, says, now these things, brethren, I have figured it now, by the way, this passage is gonna be hard on your ego. It's hard on mine.
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It makes me feel pretty deflated. Alright? But maybe that helps me be filled a little easier with God. So let God fill that deflated space and puff you back up with himself rather than with ourselves. Here's what it says.
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Listen this. Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively applied to myself and Apollos for your sakes, so that in us you may learn not to exceed what is written. So that no one of you will become arrogant in behalf of one another against the other. For who regards you, this is hard, as superior? I do.
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Right? I you know, we think of ourselves, well, I'm a little bit better than Emily, you know, or whatever it is. Not really. Who regards you? I don't think anybody else regards us as superior.
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What do you have that you did not receive? If you got it, praise the Lord, he gave it to you. And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it? In the context of, I follow the best teacher in the world, and if you don't, you're not as good as I am. Nobody else thinks about you that way.
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Oh, I follow Jack Hayford. He's so, you know, he's so godly. He's so spirit filled. I I like Jack Hayford. I don't make him my the leader.
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Right? Who regards you as superior because you follow Jack Hayford? Guy's not even alive anymore. What do you have that you didn't receive? If Jack Hayford has taught you something wonderful, you just received it, and it was God that made it possible.
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And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received as if you detained it? That's what he's saying. We haven't attained anything. What we have that's good, it's God. You ever say that to somebody?
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This somebody says, oh, I just love the you know, what you did this morning in church, and you say, well, if it if it was good, it's God. If it fell flat, it's me. It's true. Alright? If it's good, it's God.
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Pride on our behalf of our teachers takes three forms. Now these are little words. Division this is the main three that I see in the in the Christian church. Division between brothers and sisters over whose teacher is the best, whose teacher is acceptable. I don't even accept this other teacher over here.
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Now, by the way, there are there bad teachers in the church? Yeah. There's people building on the foundation, and they're building garbage. They're hurting God's people. God will destroy that person.
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You can have a conversation with your brother or sister about that. If they're following somebody who's taken them way over here, you're like, wow. What what's going on here? Help them. But of the of the of the teachers that are kinda within orthodoxy and they're and they're good and stuff like that, if I judge John Hammond because he follows Tim Keller, and I'm like, Tim Keller, oh my gosh.
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You know, are you serious? That that you know, I'm I'm I'm saying to John that he's less than I am because of who he follows. How lame. Number two, judgment of the other person's teachers. Tim Keller, that guy?
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Don't don't let Tim Keller see this sermon. Tim Keller. Is he really? Yeah. I'm sorry.
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You believe that? I guess I gotta follow the news a little bit more. And number three, arrogance over having chosen the best teacher for myself. I follow so and so. I follow Peter.
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Right? That's the three main ways I see pride on behalf of our teachers in the church. That sounds harmless enough, but again, we will go to war for those guys. And we must not. We have to nip it in the bud way down here at the low level of church pride.
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These things exceed what is written in the Bible. That's what that's what that passage says. In other words, it's simply unbiblical to fight over our teachers. And it's a bit ridiculous, but we do it. Paul applied these figurative things, verse six, to he and Apollos.
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What things? The word pictures of number one, the farmer who plants and waters, but God does the real work. Number two, the builder who has to be careful when he builds on Jesus' foundation because he is accountable to God for what he builds. Number three, a steward who must be trustworthy, but will be judged by the master, not by us. Alright, friends.
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Little application time. Do we struggle with feelings of superiority because Ray is our pastor? I really have never gotten that vibe from people from first b. And I've been an outsider of first b for fourteen years before I finally came in. Right?
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But I've never gotten that vibe from first b people that we just esteem our pastor so highly and everybody else is garbage. But do we split into other tribes based on other leaders that we read or listen to their sermons or podcast? Do we ever do that? Maybe. It's my favorite slide.
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Who are the Bible teachers we are feeling superior about today and maybe even splitting the camps over? You think of a radio preacher that that we do that too sometimes? Our favorite one? Alistair Begg. Right?
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Let's form our own Scottish camp. Here's who we deaf here's who we tend to divide over in the church, leaders who are dead, leaders who were dead a long time ago. John Calvin, Jacob Arminius. That's caused a huge rift in the church, and it's my opinion that the rift is not helpful. It's not helpful.
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And I don't think that the rift is over actual, real, problematic doctrine. I won't go into that. I don't have time. But we do split and and we split over whether we're we look at the Bible through a dispensational lens or a covenant lens. If you don't even know what I'm talking about, praise God.
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I'm grateful. But whether it's John Calvin or Jacob Arminius who died in the fifteen hundreds, fourteen hundreds, fifteen, somebody said, thank you, Emily. Remember, those guys belong to you and I. They belong to the church. They belong to us.
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They are useful to us, and they have taught us useful things, but we ought not divide over them. I don't think John Calvin and Jacob Arminius would be happy today if we divide it with our brother. If you're calling yourself an ist and identifying yourself as that, one of your primary, you know, I'm a Christian, but I'm a I'm reformed. I'm a Christian, I'm a Baptist brother. That's not a good place to be.
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Back up. Be a Christian. Be a Christ follower. You're not gonna care about the other stuff. And by the way, those dead teachers don't care either.
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They just love Jesus. Jacob Arminius, John Calvin, they are sitting at the feet of Jesus, and they love him, and they love each other. They sit right next to each other. So they belong to us. Let's have the band come up.
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I'm gonna pray, and we're gonna sing the last song and be dismissed. Do remember that the first beat barbecue is going on outside. It's gonna be ready for you. If it's not quite ready, it's worth waiting for. Lord, we thank you for this morning for our chance to get around your word, get around each other, and grow.
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We love you, Lord. We love our pastor. We'll think rationally about him. We'll think rightly and fairly about him, Lord, and we'll continue to praise the Lord under his leadership, and we are grateful for it. I ask you continue to water us.
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We continue to grow. Lord, be with us as we spend the rest of the day worshiping you.
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