The message, not the messenger
You are in front of your maker, trembling, waiting for judgment. God says, (his voice like thunder) “ So! what do you have to say for yourself?”
You are probably trembling at this point, and you answer, “I am a Baptist.”
Or, “I am a Pentecostal or a Methodist. Maybe a Presbyterian, or a Lutheran. The list goes on and on, and yet the Bible is strictly against this kind of division.
Read what the Apostle Paul had to say along these lines:
My NKJV Study Bible had something in its commentary to add to this.
“One of the main problems facing the 1s century Corinthian church was division. When Paul wrote to Corinth, the church was divided into at least four factions, each of them aligned with one of the four prominent Christian leaders.
(1Co 1:10) Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
(1Co 1:11) For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.
(1Co 1:12) Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.
(1Co 1:13) Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?
(1Co 1:14) I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius;
(1Co 1:15) Lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name.
(1Co 1:16) And I baptized also the household of Stephanas: besides, I know not whether I baptized any other.
(1Co 1:17) For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.”
And:
(1Co 1:26) For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
(1Co 1:27) But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
(1Co 1:28) And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
(1Co 1:29) That no flesh should glory in his presence.
(1Co 1:30) But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
(1Co 1:31) That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.
One group identified itself with the Apostle Paul. The members of this faction may have been attracted to Paul’s emphasis on his ministry to the Gentiles.
A second group identified itself with Apollos, one of Paul’s fellow missionaries. He may have attracted followers because of his eloquent speaking.
The third group identified itself with Cephas, (the Apostle Peter).
A fourth group identified itself specifically with Christ.
Baptism does not align the believer with any human leader or any human leader of any faction of Christianity but with the Lord Himself.
What were you baptized? Pentecostal, Baptist, or whatever sects or factions exist. They do not agree, therefore the problem is they do not align themselves with Jesus Christ’s Church, his Bride. The Bible is left literally for us as a Guidebook, an Instruction manual for how to live happy during this spiritual warfare. We are to use it, putting it lightly.
The Holy Bible says we are baptized, not into a religious sect, but in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit!
I am a child of God, a bride of Christ. That’s who I am.
The Corinthians, who prided themselves on their wisdom and understanding, had misconstrued this truth.
They had begun to identify themselves with the men who had performed the baptisms rather than Jesus himself.
We might be tempted to write off this problem, but the result is still prevalent today.
Sound familiar?
We must guard ourselves against too closely with human leaders or placing much emphasis on them.
Pride will only land you in the Lake of Fire, better known as hell.
Our loyalty and identification belong only to Jesus Christ and His message.
(1Co 1:18) For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
(1Co 1:19) For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”
(1Co 1:20) Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?
(1Co 1:21) For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.
(1Co 1:22) For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom,
(1Co 1:23) but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles,
(1Co 1:24) but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
(1Co 1:25) For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
(1Co 1:26) For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.
(1Co 1:27) But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;
(1Co 1:28) God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are,
(1Co 1:29) so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.
(1Co 1:30) And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption,
(1Co 1:31) so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
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