“No Agreement to Disagree”

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:10-18

We have all heard the expression “Let’s agree to disagree.” It is usually offered as a calming pause for an otherwise tense situation, and in many cases, especially politics, it may be very appropriate. All too often, aggressive rhetoric adds nothing to a discussion, and more times than not, it harms important conversations.
But every once in a while, it becomes impossible to “agree to disagree” without sacrificing personal core beliefs. In those instances, we need to look to the truths of the situation, and let that guide us to our “agreements’!

Read 1 Corinthians 1:10-13a

Society is constantly trying to inject conflict into the church. Now don’t get me wrong – there are many societal issues that the church must take up. The elimination of racism and sexism, equal opportunity for all of our citizens, the advancement of peace and freedom throughout the world, the destruction of personal hatred for those who are different than we are, being welcoming to all who wish to come closer to Jesus Christ,
to name just a few. But there are also many issues in society that are diametrically opposed to the standards of Christianity, and for the church in Corinth, the differences were beginning to severely damage the standing of the church.
The people were beginning to identify with the apostles, with those who were representing Christ, instead of Christ Himself! And that, unfortunately, still happens today. Have you ever known someone who, when a very popular pastor is appointed elsewhere, decide that they are going to move right along with the pastor? It happens more than you know, and this is probably one of the reasons that new appointments, at least in United Methodism, are seldom to a church in the same or bordering community!
Is it because of some perceived allegiance? The fact that people do not readily embrace change? Because they just do not like the new pastor? Perhaps all of these reasons and more, but I believe that it is also because we begin to identify, in faith, with those who have been instrumental in leading us to Christ. The problem with this is that we are starting to worship the messenger instead of the One who sent the message! And the differences that these “exalted ones” exhibit begin to divide us. One emphasizes one aspect of faith, and another person takes a totally different approach, and our trust, and unity, and support of each other suffers. And even worse, when a person is placed in a position of such high esteem, the inevitable “fall” is now from a significant height, and the injuries, both spiritual and emotional, can be very traumatic to all involved!

But even after we commit to follow the Lord in faith, and put all personalities aside, differences will still develop and they will still divide us and they will still cause strife in the Church whenever we “agree to disagree” over differences in teachings regarding our core beliefs. We can differ in the ways we worship, in the ministries and missions that we support, in the music that inspires us, in the ways we pray but we must always strive to understand, through scripture and in particular Jesus’ teaching, what God wants us to know and do, and not how the world wants us to act. And we must also know that the divisions that inevitably rise up are never of Christ!

Read 1 Corinthians 1:13-17

Paul uses the example of baptism as a potentially divisive issue. It’s a rather extreme example, but appropriate, none the less. Both congregants and pastors have a way of placing credit for baptisms, weddings, confirmations, and even funerals, in pastoral hands, when in actuality, we are only the means of these services. I can’t even count the number of times that I’ve heard a colleague say “I’ve baptized so-in-so”, or “I received you into membership”, or “Remember when I married you?”, as if any of us has that kind of authority on our own! And I have to confess that my own pride has come out in that same way on occasion, thinking that I can baptize, or that I can consecrate the elements for communion, or that I can establish the marriage covenant for a young couple.
And we need to avoid these pitfalls for the very reason, as Paul puts it – “lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.” And that’s the crux of the matter – divisiveness and the resulting surrender of our Christian principles can weaken the ability of Christ to work in our lives. Whenever we begin to take ourselves too seriously, or when we take the leadership of the church too seriously, or when pastors are placed upon some ungodly pedestal, that’s when we begin to empty the cross of the power of Jesus Christ. And that is when we get into trouble, and that leads to the times when we are asked to ‘agree to disagree”. It’s a compromise, and compromise can only be established in a worldly context and sense. There is no compromise in Christ, “lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.”

So maybe we need to consider, for just a moment, what the power of the cross is, and what it can bring to us, and what we will miss if we begin to empty it!

Read 1 Corinthians 1:18

It is the power of God.
Esther looked to that power when she approached the King with her revelation regarding Haman, and she wasn’t disappointed.

Job survived the attacks of Satan for only one reason – he had claimed the power long before the attacks ever started, and he never let loose.

David knew the power when he came up against Goliath, and then again when he was being hunted by King Saul.

In Romans 1:16, Paul writes “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.”

It was the power of God that raised Jesus up and out of the tomb, and it is that same power that will raise us up in Christ.

That is what the power of God in Jesus Christ will do for us, and this is what we will miss when we allow the power of the cross to diminish.

It has nothing to do with us – it is all about the power of the cross that comes to us through God’s Divine will and the sacrificial love of Christ, and in this there can be no compromise – no “agreement to disagree”!

And that’s the problem with unchristian concepts such as universal salvation and the “pick and choose” approach to scripture - they empty the cross of its glorious power. You have probably heard the term “cheap grace”. When we begin to take the things of God for granted, or when we make His glory commonplace, or when we begin to develop an expectation that we deserve to have His best, it is then that we have cheapened the cross and we have cheapened our Lord’s good gifts.

Let the world “agree to disagree”, but may the church always – always - always agree on the power and teaching and blessing and salvation that is in Christ Jesus.