Disunity and Fragmentation

Posted on May 28, 2025 by Don Merritt

I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you.What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.”

1 Corinthians 1:10-12

As we enter the first section of the letter, we might notice that Paul hasn’t provided a thesis statement, a statement that tells us what he is going to talk about in this letter. If I were writing it, I might say it this way: “It has come to my attention that there are some serious problems in your community, and I am writing to you today in an attempt to help you to correct the situation.”

I point this out because this is the first level of context that we need to keep in mind as we continue through the letter: Paul wrote 1 Corinthians to identify and correct several major problems they were experiencing in Corinth, c. 55 AD. If we forget that, we may run into difficulty understanding Paul’s comments later on in the letter.

While Paul didn’t announce his overall reason for writing the entire letter, he does clearly mark his change from one topic to another, and here we can easily see that he has moved on from prayer and thanksgiving to a discussion of disunity among the members of the congregation beginning in v. 10: Quit fighting amongst yourselves! To add gravity to his appeal, he cites his source of information, eyewitness accounts from Corinth itself from members of Chloe’s household. According to his sources, people in the church are divided by their support for individual church leaders: Paul himself, Apollos, Cephas (Peter)… and Jesus. Ironically, Paul, Peter and Apollos are all on the side of Christ – they are not supportive of this division:

Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, so no one can say that you were baptized in my name. (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t remember if I baptized anyone else.)For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

1 Corinthians 1:13-17

Apparently, people were being divided along the lines of who was baptized or brought to belief by whom in a sort of rivalry between leaders that was concocted by followers. Could this thinking be like we might find when several people are fans of a sports team, but then divide over who the team’s best player is? Naturally scholars divide over whose theory on this subject is the best, but whatever the reason for the division Paul is telling the people to knock it off.

Paul then goes on, in an interesting way, to say that he’s glad that he personally hadn’t baptized very many of them so that his faction isn’t a big mover in this division and goes on to point out that many came to relationship with Christ through his teaching, which hadn’t been terribly eloquent, lest his performance should in any way, overshadow the cross of Christ, which is the whole point of everything.

This is a lesson that would be important for all of us to take notice of, particularly those who are leaders in the church: We must never overshadow the real reason for everything: Christ. We must never encourage people to become followers of us, for we follow Christ, and anyone who is influenced by our leadership or teaching, must be focused on Christ, for in the end our jobs are to bring others face-to-face with Jesus Christ, and then we must get out of His way.

Billy Graham, for example, taught a simple message of salvation through Jesus Christ. His message was simple, clear and centered only on Christ, and so must ours be simple, clear and centered entirely on Christ.

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Into the Breach

Posted on May 28, 2025 by Don Merritt

The reason I left you in Crete was that you might put in order what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you. An elder must be blameless, faithful to his wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. Since an overseer manages God’s household, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.

Titus 1:5-9

Paul opens his letter to Titus in a customary manner for his time, identifying himself as the author and Titus as the recipient, and giving Titus his greeting. After that, he comes right to the point: Get started appointing elders for each of the local churches they have established on Crete.

These verses are referred to as “qualifications of elders” (see also 1 Tim. 3:1-6) in many local churches that practice local autonomy, as opposed to denominational governance. Interesting conversations sometimes develop when church leaders discuss these verses: Are these exact “qualifications” that must be met by every single church elder, or are they guidelines to apply as appropriate?

Many who read this might be asking themselves why they should even care about that question, and I wouldn’t blame you; it’s a silly argument… except for this:

30 years ago or so, I was in a leadership meeting where this little detail came up in a discussion about appointing a very worthy young man to be an elder in a local congregation: Does a candidate have to be a father? Our candidate was a married man (must a candidate be married?) but he and his wife were unable to have children, and you saw it above, a man whose children believe (v. 6). The question is just how literal did Paul intend to be taken?

You still might be thinking this is a silly and pointless question; I’m not sure how many churches would still be asking it, but here’s one that churches still ask, one that has split several congregations that I could name here: Do they really have to be a man or can they be a woman who is above reproach? How about a trans-person? A gay person?

Far from being silly, this is one of the great challenges of our time. Tomorrow, May 29, I’ll have a Bonus Post with some thoughts on Interpretation.

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And so we begin

Posted on May 27, 2025 by Don Merritt

Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes,

To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be his holy people, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 1:1-3

Although he has followed his typical structure in beginning this letter to Corinth, we can see right away that this isn’t his typical greeting. Here he isn’t merely an apostle of Christ, he is an apostle “by the will of God.” As we have seen in the past, Paul often adjusts his greeting and thanksgiving to emphasize the message of his letters; Philemon provides a good example of that. Here, considering that Paul is writing to Corinth to correct a number of serious problems, he reminds them that God’s will stands behind him and his message.

I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have been enriched in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge— God thus confirming our testimony about Christ among you.Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

1 Corinthians 1:4-9

Paul reminds his readers that God has confirmed his (Paul’s) testimony to them about the Lord Jesus in that He has provided them with every gift they need to prosper in the faith. They have received all of the gifts of God to sustain them (there is no Greek word for “spiritual” in the original text).

Notice that Paul wraps this up telling them that God will see them through until the end, and they will be blameless in His sight. We might conclude that this is an important bit of encouragement before we get to everything they have messed up. Of course, Paul won’t just tell them where they’ve gone wrong, he will also tell them how to correct their problems, and the fact that he has just reminded them that God’s blessings upon them have confirmed his reliability is a nice touch as well.

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A Brief Introduction to Titus

Posted on May 27, 2025 by Don Merritt

We don’t know a great deal about Titus; he’s only mentioned a few times in the New Testament (2 Cor. 2:13; 7:6; Gal. 2:1; 2 Tim. 4:10; Tit. 1:4). We can glean a few things, however, from these mentions: He was a young man acquainted with Timothy and Paul and involved with them in their missionary work for quite some time. We know for certain that Paul left Crete and the new churches established there in Titus’ charge (Titus 1:5) to get the new churches organized and operational. As you might guess, this is the purpose of Paul’s letter, to give instruction to Titus regarding the proper organization and operation of the local church and the behavioral patterns of both church leaders and members so that they, in community with each other, might advance the cause of Christ.

The only other of Paul’s letters with such a purpose are 1 and 2 Timothy, for both Titus and Timothy were the only recipients of what has come to be called a pastoral epistle. As such, these are of great value to all of us who are followers of Jesus, particularly to those of us who are leaders within the local church, because they are the only three books of the New Testament that specifically speak to the issue of local church operation everywhere, as opposed to guidance for a particular city or region addressing their local and sometimes unique challenges.

So, as we prepare for our study of Titus, our contextual point of beginning looks something like this:

Author: Paul the Apostle

Recipient: Titus

Date of Writing: AD 64-67

Purpose: Instruction on the proper organization and operation of the local church, and the     behavioral patterns of both church leaders and members so that they, in community with each other, might advance the cause of Christ.

Covenant: The New Covenant

Armed with our book’s context, we are ready to begin our study. This study will run Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 6 am Eastern time (US).

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A Brief Introduction to 1 Corinthians

Posted on May 26, 2025 by Don Merritt

Paul, the Apostle of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, was in Ephesus right around the year 55 AD when he began to receive news that the church in Corinth was in trouble. These two cities really weren’t all that far apart, being on opposite sides of the Aegean Sea, and both being major port cities. Travel between the two was relatively easy in those days, and it would be no surprise that people from Corinth might make the trip to report their difficulties to Paul, and that Paul might dispatch associates to go over to Corinth to check things out. Upon confirming that there were indeed serious issues, he wrote his letter in an attempt to take corrective action.

Corinth had once been a proud Greek city, but in 146 BC it had been conquered and destroyed by the up and coming legions of Rome, and for the next 100 years it remained desolate and sparsely populated. All of that changed in 44 BC when Julius Caesar, shortly before his death, re-established Corinth as a Roman Colony. We know from history that the Romans established colonies for the purpose of projecting their power into the far regions of their Empire, but military force was not the only power they projected. These Roman Colonies also projected Roman culture, religion, economics, and trade throughout the Empire, and provided places for their soldiers to retire. One historian of the period wrote that Roman Colonies were miniatures of Rome itself.

Corinth however, was a special case, for it had been a strategically important port city when it was established originally by the Greeks, and it quickly returned to that status under Rome. As a result of its location, it was populated not only by Roman colonists, but also by Greeks, Jews, Syrians, Egyptians; peoples from all around the known world. Since ships could not yet navigate in open seas, they were forced to follow the coastlines around the Mediterranean Sea, and thus every ship that sailed from Rome to a destination beyond Greece had to call in Corinth− Corinth became an economic powerhouse.

As has been the case in major seaports throughout the ages, Corinth had a dark side; the streets late at night might be populated by sailors far from home looking for good times of drinking and female companionship, sexual practices of whatever sort were… shall we say… easy and free-flowing, as was drink and violence.

It would seem from Paul’s letter, that some of these factors may have crept into the church.

Scholars often disagree about Paul’s intentions in writing to the church there, and certainly he could have been a bit more explicit in setting out the exact problems he was writing to address. Yet we must remind ourselves that he was writing to people who were there on the scene and who knew exactly what he was talking about without any special introduction. While this might make our task slightly more difficult, Paul wrote the letter in a highly structured literary style that makes his purpose clear to anyone who cares to notice it. Looking carefully at the structure of his writing, we clearly find that he addressed eight major issues facing the Corinthian church:

  1. Disunity and fragmentation of the church community (1:10-42).
  2. Sexual immorality (5:1-6:20).
  3. Sexuality, celibacy and marriage (7:1-40).
  4. Foods offered to idols (8:1-11:1).
  5. Problems in Worship (11:2-34).
  6. Misunderstandings about spiritual gifts (12:1-14:40).
  7. Misunderstandings about resurrection (15:1-58).
  8. Misunderstandings about giving (16:1-11).

Of course, his letter is written in the typical format, including his greeting and prayer at the beginning, and a few personal comments at the closing. We will dive into the next time; see you then!

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Not Forgotten

Posted on May 26, 2025 by Don Merritt

Today is Memorial Day in the USA, a day in which Americans pause to honor those men and women who have given “their last full measure of devotion” for our freedom and liberty.  All Americans, and even many others in various places around the world, should pause to ask themselves what the world would be like today had these heroes not been willing to sacrifice for freedom.

I disagree with those who say that these honored dead are the source of our liberties, for Liberty comes from God.  However, this in no way diminishes their sacrifice or their service.  On the contrary, it could easily be argued that in defending freedom from tyranny, they have been the very agents of God.

Personally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every man and woman of our Armed Forces for what they do for this Nation in difficult times and often terrible circumstances; you are all an inspiration to freedom loving Peoples everywhere.  I hope that each of us will take the time this day to reflect upon those who cannot hear our thanks and praise, for their selfless devotion  in the service of their country and of decency, peace and liberty, which  must surely humble us all.

Finally, I would ask all who read this to approach Almighty God in prayer today, asking that such sacrifices may never again be required of the young men and women of any nation, that His mercy and justice would prevail on the earth forever.

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Sunday Sermon Notes: May 25, 2025

Posted on May 25, 2025 by Don Merritt

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Romans 12:1-2

As all of you know, whenever we see the word “therefore”, we are reading a passage that draws a conclusion from what has preceded it. While that is certainly true here, this one isn’t just referring to the verses just concluded, for this is the beginning of a new unit (12-15) and thus, “therefore” is drawing a conclusion from the preceding unit (1-11), which is a very important distinction. The first unit in Romans discussed grace; the second unit discusses our response to grace. Thus, Paul is telling us that in response to God’s amazing grace, we are to offer ourselves as living sacrifices to God.

Verse 1 is, in a sense, a counterpoint to the Old Testament worship in which animals were sacrificed and rituals were observed. Notice the presence of the words “offer”, “sacrifice” and “worship”, all three of which are terms that pertain to worship in the Old Testament. The old system of worship involved symbols and ceremonies, but worship in the New Testament involves “spirit and truth”. Consequently, the proper and true manner of worship for the Christian is for us to offer ourselves to God as living sacrifices. Please understand: This is no platitude; it is an imperative. A fair question right about now would be, “OK, but just exactly how do I do that?”

You will no doubt be relieved when I tell you that Paul has provided the answer in verse 2: Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. 

My goodness, how we love to quote this, but how many of us actually do it? How many of us actually believe that it is possible? Surely this is nothing more than an abstract ideal, a goal that cannot be realized in this life!

Maybe we should all pause and re-read it; look carefully at the words, the grammar…

Holy heart attack! This is no abstraction; it too is an imperative!

So, here’s another question: Would the Apostle Paul command us to do something if it is impossible? Perhaps we need to think about this some more. Do you recall what Paul told us regarding Israel’s failure to attain righteousness? Yes, that’s right: They never obtained righteousness because their faith was in their ability to conform to the Law, but what God wanted was for them to put their faith in Him… and with God, all things are possible.

Notice that in the imperative of verse 2, there is a contrast, a duality that is set up by the word “but” “Do not be conformed… but be transformed” Thus we have a choice to make: Either we live as the world does with its values, activities and ways of thinking, or we allow the Holy Spirit to transform our minds so that we have an entirely new way of thinking with different values that lead us to a different way of life; this is our choice, and to be quite candid with you, it is very much like the choice that Israel had to make.

For additional study, see Romans 12:3-13:14…

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A Little Reflection

Posted on May 24, 2025 by Don Merritt
lifeprojectblog.com

It’s Saturday again; what better day for a little reflection?

Has God been filling your life with blessings?  Has he given you peace in a tough situation?

Well, you see what I mean by reflection…

We spend so much time and energy running ourselves ragged these days, and so much of our lives just rush by in a sort of blur; we need a moment, so it’s time to seize the moment.  Let’s give thanks to God for all He is doing in our lives, let’s thank Him for all of the ways He’s blessed us.  Let’s recall the great things He has done, like sending His Son to die for our sins.  Let’s take a minute to give Him the praise that is His due for all He is doing in His Body, the Church.  Let’s praise Him for all of those who have come to know Him recently, and for those who continue to grow in their faith, stepping up to lead His people forward to accomplish His purpose.

Let’s take another minute or two to ask Him for the gospel to continue to move forward, that hearts and minds everywhere would be changed, that lives would be given over to Him.

Most of all, let’s take a few moments to sit by His side and ask Him to give us continued strength to go forward in our walk with Him.  Let’s be refreshed in His presence and be renewed in His love.

Hey!  I’m thinking this is going to be an awesome Saturday!

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Appearances

Posted on May 23, 2025 by Don Merritt
Picture 178-crop

Some time ago I was walking along on a beautiful morning when I came upon this view. As you can see, I was out in the country, walking along a quiet path when I saw these fowl doing their duck thing in the grass.  I was surrounded by trees, fields, and peacefulness, far from the hustle and bustle of the city.

It was a rather warm morning and I was glad to be in the relative quiet of the countryside…

The only problem with that scenario is that I was in downtown Washington, DC. In fact, these ducks were only yards from the Lincoln Memorial and had just climbed out of the reflecting pool that stretches from the Lincoln Memorial to the World War 2 Memorial, and this scene is right in the middle of thousands of people.  As I took the picture, I could hear traffic roaring nearby, a siren in the distance and all of the racket of the city; apparently these guys took no notice.

So much in our world is like this. So much around us isn’t really quite what it seems to be. Certain institutions might at first appear to be wonderful and nice, and then turn out to be rotten to the core, and let’s be honest, the same can be said of certain people.

I’m not writing this to be cynical or negative, quite the opposite as a matter of fact, but the smart person keeps these things in mind.  Can we always trust others? Sadly, no.  Can we always trust our institutions to be magnanimous and benevolent?  Surely we know better! Can we always trust God?

Yes!

While people may let us down from time-to-time, and while our culture, society and institutions may also let us down periodically, God does not let us down; He keeps His promises always.  So then, since we’ve all known this for years already, why do we so often put our trust where it shouldn’t be?  Why do we sometimes forget to trust God?

Well, it’s something to think about, don’t you think?

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To God be the Glory!

Posted on May 23, 2025 by Don Merritt

 Be merciful to those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.

Jude 22-23

This is Jude’s final instruction to his readers.  It is a message of love and mercy… and caution.  Many will be confused and misled by false teaching, and to them we need to have grace and mercy. We need to help them in love, to recognize the error of the falsehoods they may have fallen prey to, lest they should face an eternal consequence. These are not the teachers; they are the false teachers’ victims.  Yet in doing this, we should take care that we aren’t ourselves victimized by those teachings, for false teaching is contagious. To hammer down this point, Jude engages in a bit of hyperbole when he tells us to hate the clothes stained by “corrupted flesh.” I really don’t think his intention is to have us “hate” inanimate objects, but rather to take caution as though we were dealing with an infectious disease.  If the person had smallpox, they would need care; love and lots of help, for example, but the caregiver would need to be careful to avoid catching the infection themselves.

To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.

Jude 24-25

Jude concludes with a short Doxology, which is an expression of praise to God.  He is the One who can prevent us from stumbling and falling prey to false teaching. He is the One who will cause us to appear before God holy and pure. Glory, majesty and power to Him through Jesus Christ!

And no more of these false teachers and their nonsense!

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