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Why do we ignore 1 Corinthians 14:26?

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As I sat with my brothers and sisters in Christ last Sunday morning doing what it is we’ve come to do for “church” I couldn’t help but wonder again, “Why will we do almost anything to defend our traditions, but do almost nothing to obey God’s Word?”

I’m back to 1 Corinthians 14:26 again:

“What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church.”

Almost no church I know of actually practices this. It’s as plain as day that, “All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church” yet it’s almost never done by any church I’ve known or been a part for the last 26 years!

When it has been done I’ve seen the fruit of it.  I saw my wife grow more in the 2 years we were part of a home group that practiced this, than she had in all the previous 10 years combined!  (And we had a somewhat dysfunctional home church in my opinion.)  And yet, it proves the point of just how important every member ministry is.  The church at Corinth could also be described as “dysfunctional”.  They were immature in many ways, but they were alive and growing!  I am absolutely convinced that one of the keys to growth is participation in our gatherings and we are utterly failing in this regard.

Why do we find it so easy to disregard God’s Word when it comes to 1 Corinthians 14:26?  It’s beyond me how any Pastor or church can ignore this clear word.  If this is the word of God then why aren’t we doing it?  We have no trouble doing all sorts of things that aren’t in God’s Word and act like these manmade things are scripture themselves.  We refuse to depart from our own traditions and hold to them as though they’re sacred.  Did you know the bible never mentions worship teams or choirs?  That it never talks about senior, associate, or youth pastors?  It never mentions Sunday school or VBS?  The list of things we do that aren’t actually in the bible could stretch a mile long, and I’m not saying many of these things aren’t ok, but how in the world can we justify doing all this stuff that’s not in the bible, but refuse to do this simple thing that is in God’s Word?  There’s really no excuse for it!

When will we begin to put into practice 1 Corinthians 14:26?

“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.“  (James 1:22)

Tags: 1 Corinthians 14.26, body of christ, every member ministry, how to strengthen the church, obeying God's Word, participating in church