Do You Believe?

They discovered they both believed in God.

1 Corinthians 7:17-24

Reference: “Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God’s commands is what counts.” ‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭7:19‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Explore: Two men were sitting next to each other on a plane. As they struck up some introductory conversation they discovered they both believed in God.

Excited to have found a kindred spirit they started to explore each other’s beliefs.
“Do you believe God created the world?”
“Yes.”

“Do you believe in the trinity?”
“Yes.”

“Do you believe in the Virgin birth?”
“Yes.”

“Do you believe Jesus rose from the dead?”
“Yes.”

“Do you believe in the second coming?”
“Yes.”

The men were getting quite excited and animated about finding someone so connected to their own faith.

“Do you partake in communion during your church service?”
“Yes.”

“Do you sing Hillsong in your worship?”
“Yes!”

“Do you sit on the left side of your church auditorium?”
“No, I sit on the right.”

“Oh,” said the other man disappointedly. And with that he summoned the air host and asked to move seats.

Application: While this story may be a little extreme, often we focus on the differences we have with other believers rather than the similarities.

This was certainly the case in one of the early churches Paul helped plant. There were people from all walks of life and so differences were very evident.

Paul reminds them in 1 Corinthians 7 that instead of all being the same and getting rid of their differences it was more important to just follow God.

We are often quick to put boundaries around what is or is not acceptable when it comes to church and faith. And yet, that is not the way God looks at it.

The essentials are much more simple – love God, love others. That’s what counts.

Prayer: Lord, forgive me when I judge others for being different to me. Expand my mind to see all God’s children the way You do. Amen.

What differences are we still focusing too much on?

1 Corinthians, beliefs, church, differences, faith