This week, we have been looking how a man named Paul wrote a church in a city named Corinth about a major problem that plagued the church and still plagues churches today. We saw Paul reveal for us that Christians act unchristian when we follow the wrong leader. Paul has shown us that when we follow the wrong leader, we fail to demonstrate unity in community and end up with division over personalities. And it is these types of divisions that arise over personalities that reflect a failure to represent the message of the gospel.
Paul then reveals for us a third negative consequence that occurs when there are divisions that occur because followers of Jesus are following the wrong leader. We see this consequence in 1 Corinthians 1:17:
For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void.
Paul reveals for us the sobering reality that religion and religious people who are divisive cause the message of the gospel to be without power. The sobering reality is that when Christians act unchristian by following the wrong leader and cause division, the message and the witness of Christ can lose its power to transform lives.
That is why you will find those who reject the message of Jesus use as one of their primary arguments “why would I be a part of your church; you Christians fight and bicker just as much as where I work; so why would I want to be a part of that”.
So are you a christian who acts unchristian by emptying the message of the gospel of its power because you follow the wrong leader and end up causing division as a result?
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