Giving the members of the Corinthian Church the benefit of the doubt, they came out of paganism and idolatry. (6: 9-11) They had to make a major transition as Christians with a number of preoccupations that were quite different from what they were accustomed. The new concern was about Jesus who was a real human that walked this earth. It was so unique for them to turn their devotions away from a god made with hands.
In our text Paul had the desire to address them as spiritual but called them babes. The unfortunate thing was they had not grown beyond their original profession of faith. They allowed cliques to occur within the congregation for loyalty to a particular leader. They also tolerated immorality within the ranks. Paul pointed out the bad trend of taking each other to court instead of dealing with matters in the church. They abused the practice of Communion. One other example was Paul had to teach them about spiritual gifts. They were a great disappointment to Paul. It is a wise choice to evaluate our spiritual maturity without assuming that we are in the place God wants us.
Examine what you have done to further your devotion. How often have you shared your own experience with others? Have you had the privilege to lead someone to Christ? What have you given up for Christ in the way of habits? What costs have you had to pay as a believer? Has God led you to a new situation, occupation, or opportunity? In short, how has your life changed since becoming a Christian?
It is important that each of us be affected by and led by God’s Spirit so that every day our lives are a little bit different, a little bit more effective in representing Jesus. It is so easy to compromise what God would have us to do and what Scripture says for us to do in favor of what we want.
I remember one time when I was leading a midweek Bible study. I made a comment about a particular Scripture. Several women in the church openly objected. They said that is not something that they would accept even though it was plainly written in the Bible. When we make our decisions that is contrary to Scripture or the leading of God’s Holy Spirit in favor of ourselves, is a direct confront to the Lord. He cannot help us, lead us further, advance us, or bless us. If we put our thinking ahead of Scripture, we are the losers.
Even the most advanced believers have room to grow. We should always see ourselves on an upward climb. Our attitude must be that we want God to be proud of us. We should always ask ourselves at any given moment would God be pleased with what we are doing or saying. Any shadow of compromise must be something that we will not tolerate for ourselves. The Lord expects us to monitor ourselves as devout followers because someday we will answer for ourselves before him.
Christian Writer 