Christian Adventages

Mark Dunagan
03/08/09 - Sunday Morning

“But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no man” 
1 Corinthians 2:15

The person who is “spiritual” is the person who accepts the things revealed by the Holy Spirit (2:13-14), or, in other words, the person who embraces the teachings found in Scripture. Paul then says the Christian “appraises all things”, or as one translation renders this expression, “Can find out the real value of everything” (Beck). God here asserts that the child of God can find out the real value, not merely of some things, but of “all things”. This would certainly include all things that pertain to salvation, or all things that are vital for his relationship with God. He is equally able to properly evaluate the importance of many common things in everyday life – such things as money, relationships, spouses and children, and earthly accomplishments (Hebrews 5:14; Psalm 119:99-105; Philippians 3:7-8). The key to this ability is not any inherent wisdom in the Christian, but his or her acceptance of the Word of God and the willingness to apply what it teaches to daily living. Thus, the Christian knows the real value of all earthly and spiritual things. He or she knows that the value of some things is temporary or limited, while the value of other things is eternal and priceless (2 Corinthians 4:16-18). Paul then adds, “Yet he himself is appraised by no man”. “He is properly valued by none” (Ber). The world does judge the Christian – and it may judge him or her harshly, yet in a sense, the world is clueless about the child of God. “That is, those who are not Christ's do not know how to understand him. The natural man regards him as an enigma... the spiritual man is marching to another drummer” (First Corinthians, McGuiggan p. 47). In other words, not only is the world wrong in its assessment of the value of earthly things, it is equally wrong about the value of a Christian. In this lesson I want to explore some areas in which the Christian is an expert concerning “the value” of things.

Understanding What Sin Really Is

“The profane person cannot understand holiness; but the holy person can well understand the depths of evil” (First Corinthians, Gordon Fee p. 118). The Christian is qualified to talk about the life of sin, but the non-Christian is not qualified to ridicule the life in Christ. “You do not understand the gravity of the most trivial wrong act when you think of it as a sin against the order of Nature, or against the law written on your heart, or as the breach of the constitution of your own nature, or as a crime against your fellows. You have not gotten to the bottom of the blackness until you see that it is a flat rebellion against God Himself” (Psalms, Volume 1, Boice p. 278). David grasped the reality of sin when he said that his sin was against God (Psalm 51:4).

Skills Learned in Fighting Temptation

We understand the power of sin and temptation better than anyone else because we are those who are seeking to resist. In our daily fight we have picked up very valuable skills, these would include the ability to:

• See the difference between the temporary and the eternal, the true and the false.
• Chose what is right over immediate gratification.
• Fear only God and be released from the fear of men.
• Humbly admit when we sin and ask for help.

Our Wisdom and the Ability to Help

We might be tempted to think of ourselves as unskilled, unknown, unimportant and amateurs; yet listen to what God says about us:

“Does any one of you, when he has a case against his neighbor, dare to go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints? Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is judged by you, are you not competent to constitute the smallest law courts? Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, matters of this life?” (1 Corinthians 6:1-3).

Consider what God says about Christians:

• We are holy – He calls us “saints”. Christians understand and know the standard of righteousness. We know what is true justice and true mercy.
• We will judge the world in the sense that our wise choices expose the foolishness of the world. “I think the world will be judged in light of the choices the saints made. In choosing Christ the saints have charged the world that it is foolish. They have rejected the world's wisdom as nonsense, its priorities and values as upside down and its goals as madness” (First Corinthians, McGuiggan, p. 70). In choosing Christ and eternal treasure over temporary gain, we, like Moses, have demonstrated ourselves more in touch with reality than the world (Hebrews 11:26). By laying up treasures in heaven, instead of upon the earth, we have demonstrated that we can assess and determine "true value" better than the world (Matthew 6:19-20). By choosing God's ethics over the world's, we have demonstrated that we can tell the difference between good and evil, truth and error, reality and a sham (Hebrews 5:14).
• We are qualified and competent to help brothers and sisters in Christ with their problems.
• We will judge angels! “In choosing Christ the saints have wisely placed themselves under authority to God whereas the angels rebelled and kept not their ‘places of authority’ (NIV on Jude 9). The saints will be a standing condemnation of angels. If then, the saints by their choice of Christ, have placed themselves as judges of the world and angels how can they be negligent when it comes to making decisions concerning congregational behavior?” (McGuiggan, p. 70).

Priceless Skills

We might not consider ourselves highly skilled at times, but every Christian has the opportunity to possess the following invaluable skills:

• Honesty and truthfulness
• Impartiality
• Compassion and Mercy
• Forgiveness
• Unselfishness
• Genuine love
• Patience and forbearance
• Gentleness
• Self-control

The Value of Our Speech

We have the ability to share with someone the message that will bring them eternal life, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring glad tidings of good things” (Romans 10:15); “Go your way, stand and speak to the people in the temple the whole message of this Life” (Acts 5:20). And in the process we can bring words that cool heated arguments (Proverbs 15:1) and bring peace into troubled relationships. We have the ability to bring words that reconcile, not only man with man, but man with God. We bring words that heal and can unburden one of his or her guilt, and that can remove even the most stubborn human prejudices. On one occasion when the gospel message came into a city the text says in the aftermath, “And there was much rejoicing in that city” (Acts 8:8).

The Value of Our Time

This present moment is priceless for in this present moment a man or woman can hear the gospel, believe it, repent, confess Christ and be baptized. This moment is a moment of opportunity, the time of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:1-2).

Our Seemingly Small Yet Powerful Blessings

Every day we experience things that are small in the eyes of some, yet they are blessings that the unrighteous dead would give anything to possess. To someone who is eternally lost, like the rich man in Luke 16:24, what is the value of:

• An ice cold drink?
• A new day?
• A hug from a loved one?
• A smile from a friend?
• A kind and encouraging word?
• One minute of earthly time?
• The warmth of family and brethren?
• One moment knowing that one is right with God?
• One single chance to be saved?
• The ability to sleep?