Useful Bible Studies > 1 Corinthians Commentary > chapter 14
Some people have an idea that, in order to serve God well, a person must first do many evil things. Their idea is wrong and foolish. They tell young people to enjoy themselves in this world. Really, they want young people to behave like their friends who are not Christians, for some time. But they hope that, after those experiences, those young people will decide to serve God.
These people have misunderstood Luke 7:47. Of course, a person whom God has forgiven loves God very much. But God has shown great kindness to everyone who has trusted him. He has forgiven each one of them; they all should be very grateful.
The Bible never encourages anyone to behave wickedly. It urges Christians to encourage even little children to trust Christ (Mark 10:14). Experience of evil things does not make people into better Christians; only the goodness of God makes any person into a Christian. Paul told the Christians in Corinth that they should be like babies in their lack of experience of evil things (14:20). They should have a simple attitude towards anything evil: evil things are wrong, and people should avoid them.
At the same time, Paul urged Christians to think in a mature manner. He had already explained that he did not consider the Christians in Corinth to be mature Christians yet (3:1-4). They cared too much about their own thoughts and desires. The result was constant arguments between them. When they became mature, they would care about other people. Then, an attitude of love would guide them in everything that they did (1 Corinthians chapter 13).
Next part: Unknown languages as a sign of God’s judgement (1 Corinthians 14:21-22)
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© 2014, Keith Simons.