Don't Fight About Which Preacher You Follow

In one paragraph

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...

Read together

1. 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'
2. 1 Corinthians 3:1-3 cited to show Paul calling the Corinthians immature
3. 1 Corinthians 3:4-9 quoted at length on servants as farmers, planting and watering while God causes the growth
4. 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
5. 1 Corinthians 3:21-23 quoted to show that all things, including Paul, Apollos, and Cephas, belong to the congregation
6. 1 Corinthians 4:1-2 quoted on servants as stewards of the mystery of God who must be found trustworthy
7. 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
8. 1 Corinthians 4:6-7 quoted on not exceeding what is written and asking what anyone has that they did not receive
9. 1 Corinthians 12:2 cited to note that when the Corinthians were pagans they went after idols
10. Romans 14:4 quoted asking who are you to judge the servant of another, his own master will make him stand

Talk about it

1. 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?
2. 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?
3. Ray said the more we venerate our teachers, the more we will divide over them. Have you ever seen that play out, either in a church you were part of or from the outside? What did it look like?
4. Ray drew a line between judging a leader's actions and judging a leader's motives, and said motives belong to God alone. Is that a line you find easy or hard to hold in practice, and why?
5. Ray said that identifying yourself primarily as Reformed or Arminian or any other camp puts you in a bad place, and that John Calvin and Jacob Arminius are sitting next to each other at the feet of Jesus right now. Do you think the theological divides we inherit from dead teachers are worth the cost they carry? What would it actually look like to back up and just be a Christian?