BBC Sermon Cast

Paul is exhorting his readers to faithfully run the Christian race (9:24). Christians are like runners seeking the victor’s prize. To finish the race, we must bring our body into subjection and do whatever is necessary to persevere to the salvific end. We must run as though our lives depend on it—for they do! The Corinthian believers needed to run away from idolatry. As do we. We will study how to do so under three headings:

1. The Inspiration of Command (v. 14)

2. The Illustration of Communion (vv. 15–20)

3. The Impossibility of Compromise (vv. 21–22)

First Corinthians 10 refers repeatedly to both the books of Exodus and, particularly, Numbers. Paul uses the history of God’s old covenant people to help God’s new covenant people. In vv. 1–13, Paul uses the past to point to the future, which is now the present. His purpose is to make the church aware so it will beware of present danger. It is for this reason that he takes them back to the future. We need this same awareness. We will study this passage under three headings.

1. Be Aware (vv. 1–5)

2. Beware (vv. 6–12)

3. Be Assured (v. 13)

Worship is the only appropriate response to the revelation of God’s deepest truths. Paul begins with adoration of the heart, then theological praise, affirming that all things were made by God for God, then concludes with devotional worship. Our spirit, soul, and body belongs to the Lord, and we are no longer slaves to sin, for he paid a high price to buy us back from the slave-market of sin. We owe glory to God because of his great gracious loving sacrifice on our behalf. God gave his all for us and the only appropriate and respectful response from those he gave his all for is to glorify him. We study these verses under three headings:

1. Adoration of the Heart (vv. 33–35)

2. Theological Praise (v. 36a)

3. Devotional Worship (v. 36b)

Orienteering is a sport in which participants must use clues and follow instructions, while making use of tools like a map and compass, to reach a particular destination. Orienteering is very often a team sport. In many respects the Christian life can be compared to orienteering as we together follow our leader, the Lord Jesus, speaking the truth in love to reach the destination of Christian maturity. We will consider Ephesians 4:15–16 under three broad headings:

1. The Destination

2. The Route

3. The Leader

The local church is the custodian of the gospel, which of course is a matter of life and death—eternal life or eternal death. Properly stewarding the gospel includes dying to one’s rights in order to remove unnecessary obstacles to believing the gospel. In 1 Corinthians 9 Paul provides a personal example of what dying to self looks like. His example is a powerful argument for the urgency of adorning the gospel, practically demonstrating the Christian’s responsibility to live for the sake of the gospel. We will study the chapter under four broad headings:

1. The Christian’s Rights (vv. 1–14)

2. The Christian’s Restraint (vv. 15–18)

3. The Christian’s Rationale (vv. 19–23)

4. The Christian’s Race (vv. 24–27)

Paul was concerned that the church in Ephesus guard the gospel deposit entrusted to it. He expressed this concern in three ways:

1. Paul’s Thankfulness for Gospel Heritage (vv. 3–7)

2. Paul’s Confidence in Gospel Suffering (vv. 8–12)

3. Paul’s Charge to Gospel Ministry (vv. 13–14)

The extended sections of greetings at the end of Paul’s letters hardly strike most of us as conveying applicable meaning. However, Colossians 4:7–18 reveals the kinds of relationships that exist not only between Christian ministers, but all Christians. Paul was deeply dependent on others for his edification and support. We, likewise, ought to connect ourselves to the web of relationships Christ weaves us into if we are to glean support and encouragement from others.

We need to learn and live out the principles of 1 Corinthians 8–10 as we wrestle with how far to exercise our personal liberty as Christians. The principle of Paul’s exhortation is simple: Your liberty to do what is permissible ends where your brother or sister’s spiritual well-being begins. In other words, permissible liberty is to be governed brotherly concern. We will unpack this as we study vv. 4–13 under three major headings:

1. A Settled Confidence (vv. 4–6)

2. A Sensitive Conscience (v. 7)

3. A Selfless Concern (vv. 8–13)

Wrapping up the body of his epistle, Paul gives two final exhortations to the Colossians. First, he exhorts them to pray with open eyes, thereby keeping up their prayers of thanksgiving and their prayers for gospel expansion. Second, he exhorts them to walk the talk, living in such a way that helps rather than hinders their witness in the world. We all need these exhortations to keep on keeping on and so walk in Christ.

In the Corinthian culture, and in much of the Graeco-Roman culture of the day, one could not escape the ubiquitous presence of idolatry. So, how should Christians respond? Rather than merely chapter-and-versing, Paul pastorally exhorts the congregation to build one another up to overcome idolatrous participation. He begins by warning of the limitations of knowledge (vv. 1–3) and pointing to the lordship of Jesus Christ (vv. 4–6).