The Farmville herald. (Farmville, Va.) 1957-current, 1960-02-05

4: !; !!
ABOUT place long 81 ~ 4
ago is the names ssS:.ss
of some very good b $50.
people who lived s4
there, we suppose s....s.'I1
everybody was ll' 81
cut from the same q
cloth. DR.. Foreman.
The plain fact is, Christianity
had to fight for a toe-hold in the
world in which it was born. It was
not an irreligious world, the place
was swarming with religions. It
was not world that felt hungry
for the gospel" It was not a world
where the "higher values" were
much sought after. In short, it was
a pretty discouraging place to
start.
corinth, Cross Roads Capital
This was specially true at Cor
NTH. Paul started the Christian
church going in that city. He has
been known SO long as an apostle
that it is easy to over-rate his
reputation at the time of his peak
years. If you had got one citizen
of Corinth, any citizen at all, by
the corner of his toga and told him
the Paul the Apostle, yes sir a real
apostle, think of that, was coming
to the city and intending to start
a h 1-ty nj, III
citizen would have said something
like
Apostle what's that? Paul
who's he? Never heard of one or
the other. Oh, religionist is he?
We've more than enough Of that
kind here. ! hope he's not from the
east? He is? From Jerusalem p
Ola jew Well. outside of
being a superstitious lot, those
people are rioters by nature. Mark
my words, therell be rioting in the
synagogue before that mans been
here long. You can have him"
That wouldn't exaggerate a bit
the scornful reception Paul might
expect in Corinth-and he knew it.
He wrote some years afterward
that he came to Corinth in weak
ness (probably i'll healthD, and in
much fear and trembling mod
ern slang, he was all shook up.
Paul the DauntIess
Nevertheless Paul was deter
mined to start a Christian church
going in that big booming indiffer-
ent city of Corinth Not only were
there all the difficulties of making
a dent on a large commercial city,
but Paul himself had good reason
for not feeling at his best. He had
Just come from Athens, where Ito
be blunt about IT'D he had been a
flop Indeed he had been chased out
of more cities than he had been
invited back to- He had not stayed
anywhere long, he had to battle for
the chance to be heard. Would he
do any better at Corinth? No
Corinthians would bet on it.
AS matter of fact, in spite Of
the riot that did occur just as you
might have expected. in spite of
being ignored, slandered, opposed,
threatened, ridiculed, he stuck to
it and won. When he left that
city he left behind him a Christian
church which for all it's faults had
enough Christians to keep the
church on it's way all their lifetime.
In Spite Of Everything
What kept Paul sticking to it?
It was partly his own stubborn
temperament, partly having friends
who believed in him. But the main
reason was that he was convinced
he was doing Gods work. People
who get discouraged about the
church ought to read about Paul
again. In spite of i'll health, active
and bitter opposition, riots and
threats of riots, in spite Of the
great difficulty he found in getting
members from the "better class"
in spite of the coarse materialism
of a city like Corinth, the poverty
of the church and its many prob
lens, Paul did what he believed
the Lord wanted him to do-Stay
with it till the job was done.
God surely wants his church to
succeed, today as at any time in
the past. But it is likely to sue
coed, in city or in country, Wher-
ever it is, only if the people who
are responsible for it share. as Paul
did, had something of the persist
ence of God.
Biased on outlines copyrighted ~
the Division Of Christian Education:
National Council of tho Churches OF
Christ in the q. S a. Released BY
Community Press ServiceD