H. Michael Brewer
Crescent Springs Presbyterian
25 January 2004
FLEX YOUR FAITH
1 Corinthians 10:14
We’ve said that 1 Corinthians is a letter about congregational health. Paul writes to the Christians
in Corinth to help them overcome some of their difficulties and become a healthy and vital church for
Jesus Christ. We’re going to be skipping around in the letter, looking at a few tidbits here and there,
and the advice we want to take to heart today is, “Flex your faith.” To become strong Christians
within a strong congregation Paul encourages us to flex our faith.
Not that the apostle uses those words. Instead, Paul repeatedly reminds the Corinthian Christians
to be careful where they put their trust. You see, the Corinthians are convinced that if they can find
the right leader or the right program or the right code of conduct, they can turn their congregation
around. So, for instance, they spend a lot of time arguing about which apostle to follow. Some honor
Paul, who was their founder. Others favor Apollos, who was an eloquent, powerful preacher. Still
others want to throw in with Peter who was a personal friend of Jesus and a leader in the Jerusalem
headquarters.
Paul could easily get defensive at this point, but mostly he avoids getting drawn into a fight about
who is the best apostle. Instead, he says, “Peter, Apollos and I all have gifts that we have shared with
you. We’ve all contributed something to you, but if you think finding the right apostle is going to save
your church, you’re dead wrong—because none of us apostles matter at all. Peter is nothing. Apollos
is nothing. Paul is nothing. The one you must trust is not Peter. The one you must believe in is not
Paul. The one you must follow is not Apollos—it is Jesus alone!” (See 1 Corinthians 1:10-17; 3:1-
23.)
Paul refuses to be put on a pedestal. “When I first came to you,” says Paul, “I preached the message
of Jesus and his cross. I didn’t use big words and complicated theology. I didn’t try to dazzle you
with everything I know. I preached to you in weakness and in trembling, and I did so on purpose so
that you might put your faith not in my preaching, but in the one I preach about. I deserve some
respect from you because I brought you the gospel. Even so, I urge you to put your faith in the
message, not in the messenger.” (See 1 Corinthians 2:1-5.)
Paul knows that the Corinthians are looking for someplace to put their faith. Everyone lives by
faith, everyone in the world. The only question is this: In what will we put our faith? In what or whom
will we trust?
Let’s be clear before we go any further. We’re not talking about the daily trust we place in one
another. When I was sick recently, I trusted my doctor and my pharmacist, and I was glad for their
help in getting well. But you know, someday I’ll come up against something that a doctor can’t cure
and a pill won’t chase away. Then what?
That’s what Paul is really talking about. Where do we turn when there is nowhere else to turn?
What or who do we trust above all else, no matter what? Let’s call that our ultimate faith. That’s what
Paul means when he warns the Corinthians not to put their ultimate faith in any leader or any apostle.
Nor should they put their faith in themselves, as some of them were inclined to do. Understand that
some of the Corinthians claimed to have so much wisdom that their salvation was assured. They were
counting on their ACT scores to save them. Paul says, “You’d better think again. You folks just aren’
t that smart. In fact, God called you even though you aren’t wise or wealthy or powerful or influential.
By saving people who are lowly in the eyes of the world, God reminds us that wisdom and wealth
and power are not enough to save us.”
Okay, Paul if we can’t count on our leaders, and we can’t count on ourselves, and we can’t count
on money and connection, what’s left? Where do we put our faith and trust?
And Paul answers, “You may put your faith in the power of God and the wisdom of God. And if
you’re not sure what the power and wisdom of God looks like, it’s right there in Jesus Christ hanging
on the cross. And that’s why you’re having trouble, because you are still thinking in worldly ways.
The world looks at a man dying on a cross and the world sees weakness. The world looks at the Son
of God sacrificed for sinners and the world sees foolishness. But believe this! The foolishness and
weakness of God is the power of salvation for those who trust God.”
Faith. Trust. These are little words for a huge challenge. We’re being asked to do something that
the rest of the world thinks is stupid. We’re being asked to put all our hope and trust in something we
can see or touch or guarantee.
The world says, “Show me your credentials. Show me your credit record. Show me your
diploma.”
The Bible says, “Faith is the conviction of things unseen.”
The world says, “Let me see the money. Let me see the warranty. Let me see some proof.”
The Bible says, “We walk by faith and not by sight.”
The world says, “How do I know I can trust you?” and Jesus extends wounded hands and waits
for us to decide. At that moment, we either take him on faith or we don’t take him at all. In practice,
we make this decision again and again, day after day. Do we trust Christ or not?
I once saw a television program about blind skiers training for slalom skiing, impossible as that
sounds. Paired with sighted skiers, the blind skiers were taken to the slalom slope, where their
partners skied beside them shouting, "Left!" and "Right!" As they obeyed the commands, they were
able to negotiate the course and cross the finish line, depending entirely on the guidance of the sighted
skiers. It was a case of either complete trust or utter failure.
It sounds a lot like Christianity. We Christians don’t pretend to see what’s coming next or to be
able to handle every curve, but we trust the one who guides us. Do you remember that promise from
the prophet Isaiah? When we walk on God’s path, we will hear a voice beside us saying, Turn left,
or, Turn right, so that we will not lose our way (Isaiah 30:21).
I suppose it’s risky to rely on the guidance of someone we cannot see, putting our trust in the
intangible and improvable. But the other option of putting our faith only in what we can see and touch
is even more dangerous.
A 16th Century Japanese warlord named Hideyoshi commissioned a colossal statue of Buddha
for a shrine in Kyoto. It took 50,000 men five years to build, but the work had scarcely been
completed when the earthquake of 1596 brought the roof of the shrine crashing down and wrecked
the statue. In that same earthquake, Hideyoshi’s home was destroyed. Hideyoshi was enraged. As
the story goes he shot arrow after arrow at the fallen statue, shouting “I put you here at great
expense. But you can't even look after your own house, much less mine.”
When we put our faith in anything but God, we have built an idol, and idols can’t protect
themselves or us. I’m not going to ask for a show of hands, but in the last couple of years how many
of you have lost money in a falling stock market and shaky economy? If your money can’t preserve
itself, do you really think it will preserve you?
That’s why Paul writes to the Corinthians, “My dear friends, flee from the worship of idols,” (1
Corinthians 10:14 NRSV). Paul doesn’t advise us to simply turn our backs on an idol or to stroll
away. He says, “Flee!” That’s a strong word in Greek, a word that means to run for the purpose of
escaping something dangerous.
Flee from idols! Run away from anything that competes with God in your life. Sprint in the
opposite direction from any false god that calls for your faith. As foolish as it may be in the eyes of the
world, your faith is safe only in the scarred hands of an unseen and crucified Savior.
The apostle Paul was a sports fan. He writes often of the spiritual importance of practice and
persistence. If we really want to flex our faith, we will work at it every day. We will practice fleeing
from idols at every opportunity. We will cultivate the habit of obeying God’s guidance, especially
when it seems foolish. We will do rep after rep of lifting our weight and laying it upon Christ.
Each time we shun an idol, each time we turn a problem over to God, each time we calm our
frightened hearts with prayer, we flex our faith. When we give our faith a workout, it grows stronger.
The good news is that you and I will probably have many opportunities this week to affirm our trust in
Christ and to flex our faith.
During the dark days when German planes were blitzing London, a father, holding his small son by
the hand, ran from a building that had been struck by a bomb. In the front yard was a deep shell hole.
Seeking shelter as quickly as possible, the father jumped into the hole. Looking up, the father could
see his young poised on the edge of the crater, backlit by the burning building.
“Jump, son,” the father yelled, holding out his hands.
The boy peered into the hole, but stood frozen.
“I can’t see you, Daddy!” the boy cried.
“That’s all right,” the father said, “because I can see you!”
Did the boy find the faith to leap into the dark? What do you think? Did he jump? Would you? Will
you jump into arms you cannot see?
Soli Deo Gloria!