In Paul’s day, Corinth was already an old city, a commercial center with two busy. Because of its busy economy and many visitors, Corinth had a remarkable reputation for loose living and especially sexual immorality. In classical Greek, to act like a Corinthian meant to be sexually immoral, and a Corinthian companion was a prostitute. This immorality was permitted (even encouraged) under the widely popular worship of Aphrodite (also known as Venus, the goddess of fertility and sexuality).

When Paul came to such a challenging field of ministry, he did the only thing he could: preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Only Jesus could be the answer for such an immoral place. Preaching to entertain wouldn’t work. Preaching the gospel of self-help couldn’t help. The messages of salvation by good works or noble intentions wouldn’t change lives.

That’s why Paul didn’t come to Corinth as a philosopher or a salesman, worried about the excellence of his speech. Paul came as a witness (declaring to you the testimony of God). Paul was a smart man who could reason and debate persuasively, but he didn’t use that approach in preaching the gospel. He made a conscious decision (I determined) to put the emphasis on Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Paul was an ambassador, not a salesman.

In taking this approach, Paul understood he didn’t cater to what his audience wanted. He already knew the Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:22), but he didn’t care. He was determined to preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

If a preacher is not careful, he will get in the way of the gospel instead of being a servant of the gospel. Paul could say, “All I know is Jesus Christ, and Him crucified for me.”

There’s a story of a little girl who went to a traditional church with her family every week. The church had stained glass windows, and there were beautiful images of different Bible characters in the window behind the preacher. One day a very short man was the guest preacher, and because he was much shorter, the girl could see the stained-glass window with Jesus behind the guest. She wanted to know where the regular pastor ways, so she asked: “Where’s the man who usually stands in the pulpit so we can’t see Jesus?” Whether you’re a preacher or not, make sure you don’t get in the way of Jesus. Proclaim Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

There are important things to learn from a long list of names.

First, it teaches us that this was a letter written to real, everyday people. It’s true that Paul’s letter to the Romans is worthy of the deepest, most intellectual attention. I wonder how many PhD dissertations have been written examining Romans! Yet the original readers words were ordinary people. They weren’t qualified as professional theologians, but they were people who loved the Lord. This teaches us that God’s word is written for ordinary people. There are depths in God’s word that the most brilliant can’t fully reach, but its main message is accessible to everyday, simple people.

Second, notice the women mentioned in this chapter: Phoebe, Priscilla, Mary, Tryphena, Tryphosa, the mother of Rufus, and Julia. Junia (16:7) is also possibly a woman’s name. These women served the Lord in wonderful ways and were noted by Paul. We can be sure they served according to the pattern given by the New Testament, giving honor the Lord.

Third, notice their work for the Lord. Among these 26 there are servants, helpers, fellow workers, fellow prisoners, those who labored, and those who labored much. In God’s family there are all different kinds of servants, with different roles, and who do their work to different degrees. It’s good to be among those who labor for God’s cause; it is even better to be among those who labor much.

Fourth, of the 26 names, 13 also appear in inscriptions or documents connected with the emperor’s palace in Rome. We know that there were Christians among Caesar’s household (Philippians 4:22). Paul may be writing many of the servants who worked for Caesar who became Christians. God has His people in unexpected places.

Finally, the 26 names show us how much God loves common people. It is perhaps unavoidable that our attention is drawn to those thought to be important, or prominent. We’re quick to think of people as celebrities and stars, and to think they should be first in line. That’s not how God thinks. As a group, these weren’t prominent leaders, and only a few of the 26 of are mentioned in the Book of Acts. Yet Paul, and the Lord Jesus he served, took note of them.

God must love everyday believers – He made so many of them!

The strict Christian found it easy to judge his brother, regarding him as an unspiritual compromiser. The freeChristian found it easy to show contempt against his brother, regarding him as an uptight-legalistic do-gooder. Essentially, Paul’s answer was “In these matters, stop worrying about your brother. You have enough to answer for before Jesus.”

All this does not apply to things that are clearly right or wrong according to the Scriptures. What the Bible says is sin is certainly sin. Yet there are many things about which the Holy Spirit deals with believers individually. He may say “Yes” to one and “No” to another for His reasons and as He pleases.

In these matters, it wasn’t right for believers to judge their brother. It wasn’t right to show contempt for theirbrother. Those who did those things forgot that they themselves would stand before the judgment seat of Christ. We shall all do this; every Christian will stand before Jesus. Paul used the idea of the judgment seat, sometimes called the bema seat, where the judges sat in the ancient Olympic Games. When a race or competition was over, the winners came to the judgment seat to receive their reward.

Paul also reminded believers of this judgment seat in 2 Corinthians 5:10. This judgment is only concerned with the believer’s reward and responsibility in the age to come, not with salvation. The point in Romans 14 is emphasized with the quotation from Isaiah 45:23, explaining that we all must appear before God in humility, and give account of himself before God. If this is the case, we should let God deal with our brother.

Knowing we will face the judgment seat of Christ adds importance to everything we do. Every day gives the opportunity to honor God and do things that matter for eternity. Knowing we all give account to God, we should live each day to His honor and glory.

The opposite of being conformed to this world is to be transformed by the renewing of your mind. The battleground between conforming to the world and being transformed is in the mind of the believer. Christians must think differently. “I don’t want to be conformed to this world. I want to be transformed. How do I do it?” By the renewing of your mind. The problem with many Christians is they live based on feelings, or they are only concerned about doing.

The life based on feeling says, “How do I feel today? How do I feel about my job? How do I feel about my marriage? How do I feel about worship? How do I feel about the preacher?” This life by feeling will never know the transforming power of God because it ignores the renewing of the mind.

The life based on doing says, “Don’t give me your theology. Just tell me what to do. Give me the four points for this and the seven keys for that.” This life of doing will never know the transforming power of God, because it ignores the renewing of the mind.

God is never against the principles of feeling and doing. He is a God of powerful and passionate feeling, and He commands us to be doers. Yet feelings and doing are completely insufficient foundations for the Christian life. The first questions cannot be “How do I feel?” or “What do I do?” Rather, they must be “What is true here? What does God’s word say?” This is how minds are renewed and lives are transformed.

As we are transformed on the inside, the proof is evident on the outside, as others can see what the good and acceptable and perfect will of God is through our life.

Here is how to live out the will of God:

– Keep in mind the rich mercy of God to you – past, present, and future.
– As an act of intelligent worship, decide to yield your entire self to Him.
– Resist conformity to the thoughts and actions of this world.
– As you focus on God’s truth and follow Jesus, God will transform your life.
– Your life will prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Don’t conform – transform by the power of God’s Spirit and His truth.

We find an example of this from the Book of Numbers. In Numbers 13, Moses sent twelve spies into the promised land. They each saw the same things as they surveyed the land, and all twelve spies came back to report to Moses and the nation of Israel. Ten of the twelve spies said the land was indeed good, just as God had said – yet they said that the enemies of the land were too strong and taking the land would be a suicide mission.

Among those twelve spies, two objected. They presented the minority report. They also agreed the land was good, just as God promised, but they believed God would work through them to conquer even the strongest enemies in the land of Canaan. Those two faithful spies knew if God’s word was right about the land – the LORD said the land was good and it was – then God’s word would also be proven right about the promise to give them the land despite the strong enemies. Seeing God’s word fulfilled gave them the faith to believe God’s promise for the future.

The ten unfaithful spies and the two faithful spies saw the same things – they saw the same grapes, the same men, the same land, and the same cities. Yet two of the spies came back singing in faith, and the other ten were filled with a sense of certain doom. It wasn’t their experiences that made the difference – all twelve spies had the same experiences. It was something more profound than what they had experienced.

Ultimately, faith does not come from circumstances or environment, but from our heart – specifically, from the work of God’s word in our heart. We often want to blame our unbelief on the difficult times in life, but faith or unbelief are not connected to our circumstances.

A story illustrates this principle. There were two sons who had a terrible, alcoholic father, but the sons were different from each other as adults. One was a responsible, godly man, successful in family, business, and life. The other became an abusive alcoholic just as his father was. When asked why they turned out the way they did, each had the same answer: “With a father like mine, how could I have turned out any differently?”

Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.

Today, bring yourself to God and His word, with their faith-building power, and don’t wait for an environment or circumstance to build faith in you.