THE HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT. 1 Corinthians 13.

What is your greatest success? Your highest achievement? What is the highest achievement you dare dream of? History is filled with inspiring stories of inventors, writers, founding fathers, Olympic athletes, and record-holders, men who championed great causes, made great sacrifices, and changed the world: Luther, Shakespeare, Washington, Monroe, Franklin, Edison, George Washington Carver, Churchill, MLK, Jesse Owens, Henry Ford (affordable cars), Fleming (penicillin and antibiotics), Jenner and Salk (vaccines). So many amazing accomplishments!

But 2,000 years ago, Paul (a brilliant achiever himself, who wrote the most books of the Bible (14)) said LOVE is the highest achievement. In fact, nothing you will ever do even matters if you don’t do it with love:

“If I speak in tongues but do not have love, I might as well be an idol worshiper. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries, and have great faith, so I can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I donate all my possessions to feed the poor, and surrender my body to be burned at the stake for a noble cause, but do not have love, I will receive no reward! 

“Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not make people look bad; it is not selfish, is not provoked, does not keep record of wrongs, does not laugh at unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

“Love never fails; but in heaven gifts of prophecy will be done away; tongues will cease; gifts of knowledge will be done away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part; but when the perfection of heaven comes, the partial will be done away…. In heaven only faith, hope, and love will remain. But the greatest of these is love” 1 Corinthians 13:1-13.

Dear God, may we work to be loving first, and may all our achievements be done with Your love. Keep us humble and helpful, loving and kind, to our family, friends, and strangers.

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ROLL CALL. Hebrews 11: 32-38.

A fun way to study the Bible is to learn the popular parts. What would you put on the list? Psalm 23 is huge: “The Lord is my shepherd….” And Genesis chapter 1:”In the beginning, God created….” John chapter 1: “In the beginning was the Word….” There’s 1 Corinthians 13—the “love” chapter. There’s Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 “There is a time for everything under heaven….” Definitely Luke 2, the Christmas story. I also love the stories of Noah, Joseph, Moses, and David. Anything else?

I would add Hebrews 11. This chapter is called “the Roll Call of the Faithful.” It is a great reminder of heroes who have gone before. The writer (Paul, IMHO)** reports on all the saints who endured because their eyes were on the Messiah who was to come.

“By faith, Abel offered a better sacrifice… By faith, Enoch did not experience death… By faith, Noah built an ark to deliver his family… By faith, Abraham journeyed… By faith, Sarah conceived… By faith, Abraham offered up Isaac… By faith, Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau… By faith Jacob blessed each of the sons of Joseph… By faith, Joseph predicted the exodus… By faith, Moses chose to suffer as a Hebrew rather than live as the prince of Egypt… By faith, he instituted the Passover… By faith, they crossed the Red Sea… By faith, the walls of Jericho fell down…” Hebrews 11:3-31.

The writer tries to conclude:

“What more can I say? Time will fail me if I try to tell about Gideon, Samson, David, Samuel, and the prophets, who by faith conquered kingdoms, … shut the mouths of lions, quenched raging fire, escaped the sword, … women received loved ones back from the dead, some were tortured, mocked, scourged, imprisoned, stoned, sawn in two, MEN OF WHOM THE WORLD WAS NOT WORTHY….” Hebrews 11: 32-38.

Read and study Hebrews 11, THE ROLL CALL OF THE FAITHFUL. What an inspirational passage. Then look back at paragraph one above and read the other passages that you may not know.

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** The book of Hebrews does not include a byline. No one is certain who wrote it. But I side with those who believes it to have been written by the Apostle Paul.

TAKE HEED… 1 Corinthians 10:12.

Never congratulate yourself for being a great Christian. When you let spiritual pride creep in, you fail.

“Let him who thinks he stands, take heed, lest he fall” 1 Corinthians 10:12.

Consider the exodus. Israel has witnessed 10 incredible plagues. They have seen God rescue them from slavery in a miraculous fashion. God says, “You have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I CARRIED YOU ON EAGLES’ WINGS” Exodus 19:4.

Then he reveals himself with a blast of heavenly trumpets, and a cloud of fire and smoke descends onto Mount Sinai, and God speaks for ALL to hear (not just Moses). But the booming voice of the Almighty God is terrifying, and the people beg Moses to ask God to STOP speaking:

“All the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain surrounded by smoke. When the people saw it, they trembled and stood at a distance. ‘You speak to us, and we will listen,’ they said to Moses, ‘but don’t let God speak to us, or we will die’” Exodus 20:18-19.

Then God told Moses to bring 70 elders to the mountain, “and THEY SAW THE GOD OF ISRAEL. Beneath His feet was something like a pavement made of sapphire stone, as clear as the sky itself. God did not harm the nobles; they saw him, and they ate and drank” Exodus 24:10-11.

Yet, within a month—Israel betrayed God by worshipping an idol made of gold. Not only that, they donated their own gold jewelry to be melted down and fashioned into the calf idol. WHAT?! After the ten plagues? After the Red Sea? After God carried them on eagles’ wings, delivered them from generations of slavery, revealed Himself and His voice on the mountain, and showed himself to the 70 elders? (What more could he have done?)

How could that happen?

“Let him who thinks he stands, take heed lest he fall.”

Take heed. Be humble. Never let yourself think you have arrived or that you are no longer subject to temptations. TAKE HEED.

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Can You Resist All Temptations? 1 Corinthians 10:13

Oscar Wilde said, “I can resist anything except temptation.” That’s funny. What a great line.

Have you ever faced a difficult temptation? (All temptations are difficult, aren’t they?) Do you make excuses? Do you give in because you had a bad day? Or because you are sick, or tired, or hungry? Do you tell yourself you can’t help it?

Don’t lie to yourself. You can ALWAYS help it.

Not only that, God promises to provide a way to escape the temptation:

“No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it” 1 Corinthians 10:13.

What an amazing promise! No temptation is EVER too much for you. AND, God promises to provide an escape hatch.

Never tell yourself you can’t help it. And when you are tempted, start looking for the way out. If (when) you fail, look back and figure out where you went wrong. (Review the game film, so to speak.)

I strongly encourage you to memorize this powerful verse, so you can never again lie to yourself: the temptation is NOT too hard for you. You can ALWAYS resist. And God ALWAYS creates a way to escape, you simply have to look for it.

Pray that God will transform your thinking, so you can be honest with yourself: ‘I could have said no, but chose to rebel,’ is more honest than saying to yourself, ‘I was weak and couldn’t help it.’

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A VENN DIAGRAM. 1 Corinthians 9:19-23.

A Venn Diagram is two or more overlapping circles. One of the most memorable uses of a Venn Diagram involves communication. If my life is the circle on the right and yours is the circle on the left, the only experiences we will be able to talk about are those where our two circles overlap. In other words, people communicate best about things with which they are both familiar.

If my world and yours are completely different—alien—how will we find common ground?

The Apostle Paul understood this and used it in his preaching. He was intelligent enough to have insight into things he had not experienced and could speak to people with that kind of empathy.

“Although I am a free man and no one’s slave, I have made myself a slave to everyone in order to win more people. To the Jews, I became like a Jew, to win Jews; to those under the law, like one under the law—though I myself am not under the law—to win those under the law. To those outside the law, like one outside the law (though I am bound by the law of Christ)—to win those outside the law. To the weak, I became weak, in order to win the weak. I have become all things to all men, so that I might by all possible means win some. And I do this because of the gospel” 1 Corinthians 9:19-23.

The best use of your time is to spend it sharing the Good News about Jesus.

Talk about your faith the same way you discuss everything else in your life—faith IS part of your life, right? It makes sense to naturally bring it up sometimes. And when you talk about it, find ways to connect your faith to the circumstances of those around you: become “all things to all men.”

Dear God, give us opportunities to talk about our faith in You—and teach us how to make it relevant to those who listen. Use us.

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WHAT’S WRONG WITH COMMUNISM? 1 Corinthians 9:10.

Communism sounds good: workers pool resources, then divide things up so everyone gets what they need. Each player sitting at the poker table puts in what they have. Then the all-seeing government divides up the “kitty.” The man with eight kids gets eight shares more than the man with no children. The widow who lives alone gets a token to meet her needs. And the government takes only what it needs. Allegedly. There are those among us to whom Communism sounds ideal.

Here are the problems.

  1. “Humanism” says people are not sinful but good. The Bible says all men are sinners. America’s founders chose a wiser approach: capitalism understands that people are motivated by “enlightened self-interest” and the system works because each person works hard to provide for his own family.
  2. Workers bringing resources to the table in a Communist system will not turn everything over to the government but will hold some back.
  3. Remember “GROUP WORK” in school? That’s Communism in a nutshell.
  4. Workers who know their resources will be taken from them, will not work as hard, because there is no motivation to pour your life into a crop if you can’t keep your harvest. (Communism destroys INCENTIVE.) When the entire nation works with no incentive, the nation’s output is MUCH smaller—and there will not be enough to go around.
  5. No one’s needs will be met.
  6. A government that must collect 100% of the resources, then redistribute them to the people “according to their needs,” ends up being a MASSIVE and EXPENSIVE government. The government becomes the biggest, most wasteful drain on the nation’s economy.
  7. The government is NOT honest, but filled with corruption. Leaders skim money off the top every chance they get, leaving LESS to go around.**

Not only does the Bible warn that men are sinners, but the Bible also says that people work best when they get to keep what they harvest. The advantage of working alone, versus group work, is that you reap what you sow. If you work hard, you will be blessed by the results.

“When the plowman plows, and the harvester harvests, they ought to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest” 1 Corinthians 9:10.

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**By the way, this list only reports some of the problems with the lack of incentive created by Communism. The system’s other terrible features, such as Communism’s use of mass-murder and even genocide to achieve its aims are beyond the scope of 1 Corinthians 9:10.

Cherish the Opportunity of Your Youth. 1 Corinthians 7:32-35.

Josiah was 8, David and Jeremiah were youths, John the Baptist and Jesus were young, John Calvin was 25, George Whitfield was 21, the “Jesus Movement” of the 1970s swept through American youth …

Every great movement of God began with YOUNG PEOPLE.

Yet Christian singles are usually more concerned about finding a spouse than growing closer to Jesus. (Do you know anyone looking for an M.R.S. degree? Not only does that miss the point of a university education, but it is an incredibly expensive dating service.)

Marriage will not make you happy. Real JOY comes from Jesus. Focus on Him. Focus on Him especially WHILE YOU ARE YOUNG.

“An unmarried man is concerned about the things of the Lord—how he may please the Lord. But a married man is concerned about the things of the world—how he may please his wife—and his interests are divided. An unmarried woman is concerned about the things of the Lord, so that she may be holy both in body and in spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the things of the world—how she may please her husband. I am saying this … so that you may be devoted to the Lord without distraction” 1 Corinthians 7:32-35.

Take advantage of single-ness while you can! It seems to drag on forever—but it won’t. You have limited time to dedicate yourself to Christ. Do it while you are single or it may never happen.

IT IS HARD TO BE SINGLE-MINDED WHEN YOU ARE NO LONGER SINGLE.

Paul is right: unmarried people have the freedom to be concerned only about the things of the Lord. Focus on Him alone while you have the chance! One day you will be married. One day your interests will be divided forever, and you will never again be able to devote yourself to Christ in quite the same way. Do it while you can.

Give Jesus your time and devotion. Do it while you are single. That door will close soon. NOW IS THE TIME.

“Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before hard times come…” Ecclesiastes 12:1.

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COLLEGE STUDENTS: There Will Never Be Another Time Like This. 1 Corinthians 7:32-34.

A Sunday school teacher once told us that college would be a special time: “You will never again have so much freedom and so little responsibility.” He explained that we would have so few hours in class and so much free time to play or study or work or whatever.

He added: “Use your time wisely.”

Few of my friends were diligent. They were kids, right? They watched TV, listened to music, went to concerts, dated, and generally goofed off. I won’t name any names—but my brother was my only close friend who studied more than I did and he did not often have to balance work and school. I studied AND worked. Thirty years later there remain movies, songs, and TV re-runs from those years that I have no memory of: I was too busy for pop culture.**

On top of that, I started reading through the books of the Bible. I did not read them in order—just whatever interested me. But I read a lot and kept a written, daily prayer list. Throughout five years of college, I spent about an hour a day in the Word, in prayer, and memorizing verses. In the years since, I have rarely been able to match that. Paul explained that it’s different when you have a family:

“An unmarried man is concerned about the things of the Lord—how he may please the Lord. But a married man is concerned about the things of the world—how he may please his wife—and his interests are divided. An unmarried woman is concerned about the things of the Lord, so that she may be holy both in body and in spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the things of the world—how she may please her husband” 1 Corinthians 7:32-34.

You will never again have so much free time. Have fun! But use your time well! Spend time in the Word every day. You will NEVER regret time you spend with the Bible—and God will bless you!

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**(I know this sounds like bragging, but I was studying because I was trying to make up for lost time. I had ignored school and failed classes for years, and I knew if I did not study as hard as possible, I would fail college classes too. In the early years, I considered my situation one of sink or swim, do or die. I studied madly, desperately, a man running for his life.)

Are You Strong Enough to Be Weak? 1 Corinthians 9:19-22.

Are you fiercely independent? Are you strong and strong-willed? Do you insist on doing your own thing—on being “true to yourself” no matter what? There may be a place for such traits, particularly among those who have suffered bullying, abuse, and shame. When others have destroyed your dignity and self-worth, you may find your self-esteem rehabilitated by a dogged commitment to always doing what you want. During the years you spend overcoming the trauma of living like another person’s slave, perhaps it is natural for the pendulum to swing the other direction and you spend time serving only yourself. I am not a therapist but a pragmatist; I believe you should do what you must to find healing.

But eventually we must recognize that insisting on your own way is the reaction of a child, not an adult.

A growing believer in Christ, one who has been born again into a new life, is a person strong enough–through the power of Christ in you–to forgive, love, and serve others with selfless humility, see Colossians 1:27: “Christ in you [is] the hope of glory.”

If you hope to make a difference for Christ, you must operate from selfless strength. Not the insecure, wobbly strength of someone committed to being “true to self.” To reach people for Christ, you must be so strong that you can set your SELF aside. Are you that strong? Paul was:

“Although I am a free man and no one’s slave, I have made myself a slave to all, in order that I might win some. To the Jews, I became like a Jew to win Jews. To those under the law, I became like one under the law—though I myself am not under the law—to win those under the law. To those outside the law, I became like one outside the law—not being outside the law, but under Christ’s law—to win those outside the law. To the weak, I became weak, in order to win the weak. I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some” 1 Corinthians 9:19-22.

Paul does not merely set aside his own will. He sets aside his point of view.

This is a man who can talk to those with whom he disagrees—and he can wrap his mind around their point of view. He can enter that point of view, inhabit the other person’s perspective. Can you? Some Christians are unwilling to consider alternative points of view, and their “black and white” position renders true conversation almost impossible. A good conversation requires some give and take, a volley like a tennis match. Imagine Paul—he can meet Jews in their obsession with Mosaic law and guide them to the cross. He can meet pagan Greeks in their pantheon of powerless idols and guide them to the One True God of Christianity. Paul can talk to the weak as though he too is weak. He can talk to the slave as though he too is a slave.

Have you had much success sharing your faith?

Consider Paul’s advice: don’t compromise your principles or doctrine, but learn how to see the world through someone else’s eyes. Meet them there. Become one of them.

“I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some” 1 Corinthians 9:22.

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How Do You See Yourself? 1 Corinthians 7:17.

Most of us take our cues from our friends—if they think you’re special, then you think so too. If they tell you you’re mean, or selfish, or too sensitive, then you will begin to agree. And if they see you as someone else’s “better half,” then that will be what matters to you.

But the only thing that matters is how Jesus sees you.

Does He decide your worth based on your gifts and talents (which came from Him), or based on your personality (also a gift), or your relationship status, or—what nearly every man builds his identity on—his job?

No. Jesus looks at who you are IN CHRIST.

Consider this paraphrase of 1 Corinthians 7:17.

“God, not your marital status, defines your life.” You might also paraphrase it as: “God, not your relationship status, defines your life.”

We should find our worth, our self-esteem, in Jesus: He loves you, He has a plan for you, He made you for a purpose, He died for you, forgives you, and declares you blessed. That is what matters. The opinion of the Creator of the Universe is the ONLY opinion about you that matters.

Are you married? It doesn’t matter.

Are you single? Doesn’t matter.

Dating? Doesn’t matter.

Are you a huge, famous, wildly admired success story? Doesn’t matter. (And many who are super-successful can tell you that it does not satisfy.)

Are you a failure? Doesn’t matter.

Are you rich? Doesn’t matter.

Are you poor? Doesn’t matter.

Are you strong, weak, talented, average, genius or not?—None of that matters.

The only “metric” with which to measure your life is who you are in Christ.

Read His word. Study His word. Memorize His word and ask Him to help you see yourself the way He sees you: redeemed, blood-bought, sanctified, given gifts, and destined for greatness and glory in heaven.

“And don’t be wishing you were someplace else or with someone else. Where you are right now is God’s place for you. Live and obey and love and believe right there. God, not your relationship status, defines your life.” 1 Corinthians 7:17, The Message.

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