TEXT : 1 Corinthians 13:4-7
TITLE: The Properties of Christian Love #3 : How boasting, pride and rudeness kills the spirit of love in the church
TEXT : 11 /09 /2011
Christian love(Gr. agape) produces a positive, constructive, uplifting attitude and atmosphere in the church.
The apostle Paul, in trying to describe the nature of such biblical love has to use 15 verbs to help us to understand what this biblical love is like , and what it is not like. Seven times he describes love positively (what it is) and eight times he describes it negatively (what it is not). In order to help us to understand a positive attribute better, we are often helped by stating also what it is not. So when I tell you that Mary or John are wonderful examples of godly love, patient and kind, I might also tell you that they are not boastful or proud or rude people - and by saying this, their loving Christian spirit is made even clearer!
We are currently studying the nature of biblical love as we work through these 15 verbs which qualify the character of Christian love. Verses 4 – 7 constitute the true marks or criteria by which we ought to define a biblical church [1]. I am deliberately going slow on this, because I want us to meditate prayerfully on these traits in the hope that we will see this kind of attitude firmly established in our church and in the greater Christian community.
Today, I want to cover three ‘love killers’: boasting , pride and rudeness. Each one of these, if allowed to persist in the life of the church, will threaten the life of the church, and will diminish the effectiveness of the use of our spiritual gifts in the church.
1. Love does not boast (ESV) ; “ vaunteth not itself…” (KJV) :
The word used here (Gr. perpereuomai) means to speak conceitedly - to brag – to parade one’s achievements. This action or attitude is related to envy (or jealousy). If envy is wanting what my neighbour has, then boasting is trying to make others envious of what I have. It is not difficult to see that “ boasting” is an intensely self centered activity. This was a great problem in the Corinthian congregation. It can be a problem in every congregation from time to time. We must be able to identify it quickly, because if unchecked it will kill the most precious commodity in the church - our love for God and for one another!
To illustrate this in context of Paul’s letter to the Corinthians: In 1 Corinthians 14:26 in the context of the subject of orderly worship Paul pointedly asks the Corinthian church members: 26 What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up.
What happened here is that each one in the church came with his/her own idea, and wanted to press their own agenda upon the congregation as it was assembled in worship. It wasn’t that these activities (bringing a hymn, a lesson, a revelation , a tongue , an interpretation) were wrong in themselves in this context. It was that they were being used to boast, brag, or show off. Unfortunately, this easily happens when a bunch of thoughtless worshippers comes together. The church easily transforms itself into a stage where people may boast and exalt themselves thus killing the spirit of Christian love in the church.
2. Love is not arrogant ( ESV) ; proud (NIV) ; "puffed up" ( KJV)
The Greek word “phusioutai “ used here literally translated as - to puff up, to inflate – lit. windbags or bellows. This same word is also used in 1 Cor 4:6,18,19 ; 5:2; 8:1. Everything good that the Corinthians had, their knowledge and their spiritual gifts in particular came from the Lord, and yet in focusing upon their spiritual gifts they had become so arrogant, so puffed up, so proud, so self opinionated that they were beginning to think themselves wiser than what was written in God’s Word (1 Cor 4:6); they were thinking that they were wiser than the Lord’s apostle – Paul (4:18,19); they were even arrogant and puffed up in their sexual sins (1 Cor 5:2). Such arrogance leads to a blindness in which those who are proud like this cannot see this in themselves.
We see this well illustrated in Scripture. In his pride, Moses lost his temper and was kept from the promised land (Num 20:1-13). Pride kept Joshua from seeking God’s will at Ai, and he lost the battle (Josh. 7). King Nebuchadnezzar’s pride turned him into an animal (Dan. 4), and Peter’s pride led to his denial of Christ on the night that He was betrayed .
Pride is a potent ‘love killer’ . It may be called the root of all sin. C. S. Lewis in his book “Mere Christianity” has a chapter entitled, “ The great sin” in which he refers to the sin of pride. He writes :
“ …the essential vice, the utmost evil, is pride. Unchastity, anger, greed, drunkenness, and all that, are mere fleabites in comparison: it was through pride that the devil became the devil: Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind.”[2]
“ …the essential vice, the utmost evil, is pride. Unchastity, anger, greed, drunkenness, and all that, are mere fleabites in comparison: it was through pride that the devil became the devil: Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind.”[2]
Pride or arrogance – this “puffed up state of mind” transforms all the wonderful gifts that God gives to His children into utterly useless, empty gongs and clanging cymbals.
Some prominent missionaries understood the dangers of pride, and they knew how to deal with it. William Carey ( 1761-1834 ) an Englishman, was trained as a cobbler (repairing shoes) in his youth. Later he became a Baptist missionary to India, and there he became one of the greatest linguists the church has ever known. It’s reported that Carey translated parts of the Bible into as many as 24 Indian dialects. When he first went to India, some regarded him with contempt. One prominent man apparently once said to him, “I suppose, Mr. Carey, you once worked as a shoemaker.” Carey responded, “No, your lordship, not as a shoemaker, only a cobbler.” Carey didn’t claim to make shoes, only to mend them. Carey was not a proud man. He knew where he came from, and he knew who he was by the grace of God.
Just before he died at age 73 William Carey apparently said out to a missionary friend, "Dr. Duff! You have been speaking about Dr. Carey; when I am gone, say nothing about Dr. Carey; speak about Dr. Carey's God." William Carey's tombstone in Serampore, India has these words inscribed: William Carey: Born August 17, 1761 ; Died June 9, 1834 - "A wretched, poor, and helpless worm, On Thy kind arms I fall." Dr Carey was buried in India. He greatly loved the people he ministered to !
Hudson Taylor (1832-1905), founder of the China Inland Mission was once scheduled to speak at a large church. The moderator of the service introduced the missionary in eloquent and glowing terms. He told the large congregation all that Taylor had accomplished in China, and then presented him as “our illustrious guest.” Taylor stood quietly for a moment, and then opened his message by saying, “Dear friends, I am the little servant of an illustrious Master.” [3]
He wrote: “I often think that God must have been looking for someone small enough and weak enough for Him to use… he found me…” [4]
He was buried beside his wife in China on the banks of the Yangtze River, in the land of the people he had loved, lived for. On his gravestone is this simple inscription - James Hudson Taylor - a Man in Christ. No pride or arrogance there! Just humble love!
3. Love is not rude (ESV) ; "it does not behave itself unseemly “(KJV)
The Greek “ouk ascheimonei” literally means “acting contrary to form” ("a" = negative; "schema" = a form). When pride rules then self rules; and when self rules our life is lived without any regard to any one. That is the essence of rudeness. A rude person acts without regard, respect, honour or consideration to others. Now clearly this is contrary to biblical love. Agape love by way of contrast frequently forgets itself and thinks firstly of others. The apostle Paul is a good example of this. In 1 Corinthians Ch 9 we saw how he laid down his own rights for the sake of the gospel (e.g. 1 Cor. 9:18,19)
The Corinthian Christians were models of rude behaviour. The ate and drank in the context of a communion service without regard to anyone else. This is seen particularly in 1 Cor 11:21 where Paul comments: “… for in eating and drinking, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk!” That is being rude!
When Jesus was once dining in the home of a Pharisee named Simon, a woman came in and washed his feet with her tears, dried them with her hair, and anointed them with expensive perfume. Simon was embarrassed and offended and thought to himself: “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.”
Jesus who knew his thoughts then said to him: “Simon, I have something to say to you.” Jesus told him a parable:
” 41 “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” 44 Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. 46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. 47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.”
” 41 “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” 44 Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. 46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. 47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.”
Simon the Pharisee is plainly a rude host. He is loveless. Jesus contrasts the humble love of this woman and he links the difference in her attitude to the Christian experience of forgiveness: She loves much because she has understood the extent of the love of God for herself! That is profound! Agape love or biblical, Christian love is a gift from heaven. It is not natural, learned behaviour. It is the love of God pored into our hearts by the Holy Spirit (Rom 5:5) .
Conclusion :
At the heart of these three “love killers “ is a lack of humility, just as at the heart of envy there is really a lack of contentment. And it all comes from a heart which is unregenerate or which has become cold and out of touch with God.
Why can we so easily become proud , boastful and rude? It is a lack of God- the presence and experience of God in our lives. John Calvin says: "It is certain that man never achieves a clear knowledge of himself, unless he has first looked upon God's face, and then descends from contemplating Him, to scrutinize himself."
We need to pray that we would understand, comprehend and feel God's personal love for US! That is the essence of Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3:14-19 - that they might be rooted and grounded in love!
What we have to learn in the church is this love. We need to also learn those things which kill our love, and in so doing we shall truly see the Kingdom of God advanced, making the Lord Jesus attractive to an unbelieving world.(Jn 13:35)
We should be sick and tired of all the current attempts to cure the ills of the church and to promote church growth through superficial techniques.We should be eager to make it our aim to practise these properties of love.
How about committing this matter to the Lord your God right now ?
[1] It is disconcerting that most modern Christians would not use this criteria to establish the marks of a biblical church . They would far sooner look for the manifestations found in 1 Cor 13:1-3 as evidences of a biblical church .
[2] C.S. Lewis : Mere Christianity , p.107
[4] Kennedy and Newcombe: What if the Bible had never been written ?
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