Word of Salvation – Vol.14 No.12 – March 1968

 

Followers Of Men

 

Sermon by Rev. G. I. Williamson (B.A.,B.D.) on 1Corinthians 1:17-29

Scripture Reading: 1Cor. 1:10-29

Suggested Hymns: Psalter Hymnal: 122 (5-8); new 90 (1,2); 266; 196; 211 (2,3)

 

Congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ,

The Church at Corinth was a true Christian Church, but it was certainly a long way from being perfect!  As a matter of fact, there were some very disturbing things going on in that Church.  There was the distressing fact that here in Corinth, within a few short years after the Church had been founded, divisions were beginning to appear.  People were no longer speaking the same thing together.  They were no longer “perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.”

And there was no denying this unpleasant fact – there was no hiding this evil – since there were now open contentions among them.  For some were saying “I am of Paul,” or “I am of Apollos.” While others were saying “I am of Cephas,” or even, “I am of Christ.”

Now the cause of this evil – this evil of ‘the party spirit’ – was the tendency on the part of these Corinthians to become the followers of men.  Instead of seeing these Apostles as humble helpers of their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, they were in danger of forgetting Christ himself by becoming the disciples of these men – either that, or else by rejecting these ministers of the gospel, they were in danger of thinking that they were sufficient unto themselves!  And what Paul goes on to talk about in the rest of this first chapter of his Epistle, are the various types of error that lie at the basis of this evil.  There are three reasons for which men become the followers of men, says Paul.

1)  First, men become the followers of men BECAUSE OF SOME SPIRITUAL CONNECTION.

2)  Secondly, men become the followers of men BECAUSE OF THEIR INTELLECTUAL ATTAINMENTS – and….

3)  Thirdly, men become the followers of men BECAUSE OF THEIR STANDING IN THE WORLD.

And the thing that the Apostle is zealous to teach us is that none of these are of importance in the Church of Jesus Christ.

I.  BECAUSE OF SPIRITUAL CONNECTION.

In the first place, then, let us consider the way in which supposedly spiritual connection can influence men to become the disciples of men.  “I thank God,” says Paul, “that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius; lest any should say that I had baptized in my own name.  And I baptized also the household of Stephanas; besides I know not whether I baptized any other.  For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel.”

Now the plain indication of these words of the Apostle is that he was reluctant to baptize even those people whom he had converted to Christ.  And when we remember the command of our Lord Jesus Christ to his Apostles, we can hardly fail to be greatly impressed by this fact!  “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth,” said Jesus.  “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”

If we simply assume that the Apostle was obedient to the Lord, then, we can never for one moment imagine that he would have neglected this ordinance.  I think we can say with complete certainty, that whenever there was no-one else present to administer the sacrament of baptism, the Apostle himself would perform this sacred rite.

No doubt this is the reason why he did baptize the household of Stephanas, and also Crispus and Gaius.  No doubt this is also why the Apostle admits the possibility that there may even have been a few others that he cannot remember.  But as soon as there were others – such as, perhaps, Crispus himself, who could perform this sacrament, the Apostle carefully refrained.

So the question naturally arises: why did he do this?  Why did the Apostle go out of his way to avoid performing this ceremony, even though it was commanded by the king and head of the Church?

1)  Well, for one thing, it is very interesting to observe that in this very matter Paul was following the example of Jesus.  For Jesus himself, you will remember, refrained from baptizing those who came to confess him as the Messiah of God.  In John’s gospel we read how “the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John.”  So it is perfectly evident that Jesus insisted upon baptism for all who confessed his name.  We can say that Jesus “made and baptized… disciples” because He made this a condition of all who confessed his name.  But then we go on to read these very interesting words, “though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples.”  So in spite of the fact that Jesus commanded this ordinance, he himself was careful to refrain from the rite himself!

2)  This leads us to see why Paul, in the same way, refrained from baptizing disciples whenever he could.  For he clearly recognized the danger that they might “say that I had baptized in my own name,” to quote his words.  Or in other words, he saw how easy it would be for these particular people who happened to be baptized by him to imagine that this somehow gave them some spiritual standing or blessing that did not belong to others who were only baptized by elders of the Church.

And all we have to do to see how great this danger really is, is to take a look at the history of the Church.  For some of the most important movements in the history of the Church have had nothing more than this at the foundation of their claim.

Take, for example, the Roman Catholic Church.  The Roman Church boldly insists that it is the one true Church of Christ.  Time was when the Roman Church had almost nothing good to say about those who were “outside the fold.”  And today, there is such a change of speech and manner toward those who are in other communions, that we might almost imagine that Rome has given up this claim.  But this is not so.  Not at all.  The Roman Church still claims that it is the only complete Church.  It is now willing to admit that other denominations have at least some true treasures of real spiritual value.  But it still says that even so, these can never have full meaning and effect except when there is a happy reunion with the one true Church, which is the mother of us all.

And what is it that lies at the basis of this tremendous claim?  Well, it is just the idea of special spiritual connection.  For according to the teaching of Rome, the only people who can possibly be a true Church are those who are directly connected by sacramental grace in an unbroken line running back to the Apostles.  Only those who have had the hands of the Apostles laid on them, can pass along this treasure by laying their hands upon others.

But the Reformers took their stand on a very different basis.  “No,” they said, “it has nothing to do with a succession of persons having a special spiritual connection.  That is not what makes a true Church of Christ.  The only thing that really makes a true Church of Christ is complete faithfulness to the gospel.  It is not the man who says that he has some direct line of connection with some Apostle, who really represents Christ.  But it rather is the man who preaches the gospel of Christ according to the revelation of God in Scripture.”

And isn’t that what Paul himself is saying to the Corinthians when he says, “I thank God that I baptized none of you… for Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel”?  For it is not the touch of a sacred hand that brings salvation.  It is rather that “the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us who are saved it is the power of God.”

Have you ever noticed how easy it is for people to fall into this error?  And it sometimes gets hold of people even though they do not suspect it themselves.  There is the story of an old man talking about the old days in Holland.  There he was, talking about the fact that he had once been in direct association with Dr. Kuyper, It almost sounded as if, in his mind, this somehow gave him a certain standing in the Church which didn’t belong to others.  And it is surprising how often this idea can crop up among us.  If we have been baptized – or catechized – or brought to confession of faith, by someone of great importance or reputation, we seem to feel that this has something to do with our own standing before God.  And how easy it is, then, to go one step further and become followers of these men!  Our spiritual connection with these men is such that we begin to take their part, even when we should not.

II.  BECAUSE OF LEARNED SCHOLARSHIP

In the second place, we notice that men can become followers of men because of their intellectual attainments.  For “it is written,” says the Apostle, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.”  And then he goes on to ask: “where is the wise?  where is the scribe?  where is the disputer of this world?  Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?”

It is universally admitted that Paul was a very learned man; very well educated, and blessed with the highest intelligence.  And who could possibly deny that these wonderful abilities of the Apostle were greatly used of God?  Just think what a different book our New Testament would be without the Epistles of Paul!  And just think what we ourselves owe, under God, to this mighty Apostle to the Gentiles.

Doesn’t this prove beyond all question that there is a very vital need in the Christian Church for the highest intellectual attainments?  Doesn’t this show beyond all doubt that there is no necessary conflict between the glorious mysteries of the gospel, and the highest powers of a consecrated intellect?

Yes, the Church has been greatly blessed by the devoted work of these wonderfully gifted men, such as Paul, and Augustine, and Calvin.  But the thing that we must never forget is that, before God ever called this great intellectual giant named Paul, he had already upset the wisdom of the world by the foolishness of the gospel!

It was not by accident that the first disciples of our Lord were men of a common walk of life.  Remember what the learned Scribes and Pharisees said when they first heard these ‘fishermen’ preach: “When they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.”

So you see: the simple power of the gospel of Jesus Christ – the mere telling of the facts of how he died and rose again – was far more wonderful and glorious than the speculative wisdom of men!

And have you ever noticed how often, in the history of redemption, God has chosen the unlearned to do his great work in preference to those who are wise?  You sometimes hear these people protesting because they do not think they are big enough for the task: “Ah, Lord God,” says the prophet Jeremiah, “behold I cannot speak: for I am a child.  But the Lord said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for you shall go to all that I shall send you, and whatsoever I command you, you shall speak.”

And so, up from the field of sheep comes David, to rule God’s people Israel.  And up from the “herdsmen of Tekoa” comes Amos the prophet of the Lord.  And up from the fishing fleets of Galilee, come the first Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ.  But why – if it is not that God might make it as clear as noon-day – that “the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men”?

One thing is certain: and that is that Paul himself learned to humble himself in this respect.  He learned that true wisdom for him consisted, not in magnifying his intellectual attainments, but rather in forsaking all thought of such boasting for Jesus’ sake.  “For I determined not to know anything among you,” he says to these Corinthians, “save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.  And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.  And my speech and my preaching was not in the enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.  That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.”

For almost a hundred years, Princeton Seminary in America was a faithful witness to the Reformed Christian faith.  And there were some intellectual giants there in former days.  Sometimes these men were ridiculed, however, because they were never original!  Men would laugh at Princeton, and say, ‘Why, those men have never said anything new.  They have never come up with any revolutionary idea!’  How then could they really be men of intellectual greatness?  Well, the men at Princeton had only one answer.  “We are not seeking to be original: we do not wish to be revolutionary: we just want to be children, listening to the voice of our Lord, as we find it written in scripture.”

But then, sad to say, there came a time when all this changed.  Men came in at Princeton who cried out for “intellectual freedom.”  They didn’t want to be placed in the same restrictive category with the ordinary people in the Church.  So they began to be intellectually respectable.  They began to try to be original.  And soon there were various schools of thought, and it became a mark of a man’s greatness how many disciples he had!

And how easy it is for a Church to fall under the blight of this thing!  How easy it is for God’s people to submit to the tyranny of the learned!  Clever and learned men come to occupy high office in the Church.  They begin to think that this places them in a position apart from the people.  This was precisely the evil that doomed the Old Testament Church.

For you know what the officers and the chief priests and the Pharisees said: “Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him?  But this people who know not the law are cursed.”

And isn’t this exactly what has happened – and is happening – in much of the Protestant Church?  The scholars – yes, the learned scholars – they are the ones who are saying the Bible isn’t infallible, that Genesis 1-3 cannot be historical, and so on and so on!  And so often, alas, the people are willing to have it so.  They somehow feel that it is safer to stand with a majority of the experts than to stand with the Lord himself!

Yet, thanks be to God, it is often the simple and unlearned believer who has kept the holy faith!  And isn’t this clearly the intention of the king and head of the Church?  What else can explain the fact that, from the beginning, it was the people – the humble people of God just like ourselves – who were given the responsibility of choosing out from among them those who were to be officers in the Church?  And isn’t this the basic reason why there have been reformations in the Church?  We look back on the times of the Reformation, and we think about the greatness of men like Luther.  But the fact of the matter is that when Luther began his work, the whole weight of the learning and scholarship of the Church was against him!  Remember how they taunted him at the Diet of Worms?  “Do you really believe that you are right, while all the Doctors of the Church have gone astray?”  But the common people took knowledge of him and said, “he has been with Jesus.”

III.  BECAUSE OF INFLUENTIAL STANDING –

In the third place, men can become the followers of men because of influential standing.  For “you see your calling, brethren,” writes the Apostle, “how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called.  But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty: and base things of the world, and things which are despised, has God chosen, yes, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: that no flesh should glory in his presence.”

Have you ever noticed how often the appeal is made to-day to men of status and influence, as if this were somehow an argument for a certain cause?  When the liberal or modernist clergymen in America want to convince people that it is wrong to resist Communism in Vietnam, how do they go about it?  Well, quite often they place an advertisement in the paper with a long list of names of influential men.  And isn’t the idea clear?  People who read the advertisement are not supposed to think.  They are not supposed to ask, “Now what are the arguments from the Bible?”  No, they are just supposed to see this list of famous names, and say, ‘Ah, if so-and-so is behind this, then it must be a good thing.  After all, look how important a man he is.’ And the sad thing is that we so often see this same evil among the evangelicals as well.  One of the things that Billy Graham often does when he has one of his crusades, is to bring some famous actor or singer onto the platform with him.  And right away people begin to say, “Well, this must be a very good cause, for there is so-and-so in the midst of it.”

But this is not the Biblical view of things, is it?  “My brethren,” writes the Apostle James, “have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.

 For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; and you have respect to him that wears the gay clothing…are you not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?  Hearken, my beloved brethren, has not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he has promised to them that love him?”

In the Church of Jesus Christ, in other words, a man’s standing in the world is simply not supposed to count when it comes to his standing in the Church.  He may be a big man out in the world, and count for nothing at all in the eyes of the Lord Jesus Christ.  And he may be nothing at all in the world, and yet be a mighty servant of Christ the King.  And when we forget this in our thinking about the Church, we fall into the danger of becoming the servants of men.

The great evil that brings disunity upon the Church, then, is this all-too-human tendency to become followers of men.  We forget that the only spiritual connection that will help us is personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  We forget that the only intellectual attainments that will ever profit us anything are those that we find in the inspired word of God.  And we somehow fail to realize that standing in the world has nothing whatever to do with our standing in the Church of Jesus Christ.

But thanks be to God, there is a remedy for this evil – there is safety from these dangers – if we will only follow the example of the blessed apostle Paul.

If we take our stand on the gospel of Jesus Christ, as Christ himself has enabled us to understand it —

If we refuse to be moved one inch from that gospel by the most brilliant display of human scholarship and wisdom —

and if we fear the face of no man in our steadfast defence of the faith,

then the Lord himself will be with us and will give us the victory that overcomes the world.

Amen.