Jan. 18, 2026 - 2nd Sunday after Epiphany - 1 Cor. 1:1-9

If you had to determine whether you were better than someone else, how would you go about doing it? It is a matter of how strong you are? How smart you are? Do you demonstrate how skilled you are at some task or another? Do you show off how much you exercise or how well you eat? Do you recite the list of US presidents in order or pull out some certificate or award or something like that?

For most of human history, you could say, “Men and women are different,” and everyone would agree with you without a thought. In the 1920’s, that idea began to change and now we have a situation where that idea isn’t so universal. Are men better? Are women better? That seems to depend greatly on how you define the word, how you demonstrate what “better” even means? Better how? Better in what sense? Does being better at one thing mean being better across the board? The discussion has changed over the decades, but it’s still there. Transgenderism still draws on this idea pretty heavily. If I’m a man and want to be a woman, I must think there’s something better about women, or vice versa.

So, what does “better” mean when it comes to your spiritual life? You look around the sanctuary here, are you better than these other people who are here in worship with you? As the good Lutherans you all are, you’ll probably say, “No, I’m a sinner and deserve nothing but condemnation and death.” Alright, true enough. We’re all sinners. We’re all in need of Christ’s sacrificial death to pay for our sins. We’re all dependent on him for eternal life. But that doesn’t make us all the same.

So, who is better? What is better? Is it better to be generous or compassionate? Is it better to be outgoing and engaging or a quiet listener? Is it better to be reliably in worship every Sunday or to know the Bible cover to cover? Looking over the various lists Paul makes of gifts God gives to his people, there are quite a few and they’re all described as good things to have.

That isn’t so easy to sort out. You should be in worship, but you should also know the Bible. You should be willing and able to talk to others and share the Gospel, but you should also be willing to listen to others and share their burdens. This list goes on and on.

But, let’s put aside the individual comparisons for a minute. What about our congregation as a whole? Are we better than other churches? In the world? In America? In Fort Smith? Sure, we can be good Lutherans and point out how we have God’s Word and the sacraments. We don’t follow the works righteousness plans that other church bodies espouse in all of its different forms and flavors. We know we are saved by the grace God gives us as an unmerited gift. We cannot earn it. We cannot work toward it. It is a gift in its entirety, as is everything related to our salvation.

Ok, so in terms of having the Gospel understood properly, that might be considered better, but does that mean we’re better in every sense of the word? Are we better at being involved in the community? Are we better at sharing the Gospel? Are we more generous? Are we more compassionate? Are we more kind, more patient, more helpful? Maybe. Maybe some of that. Probably not all of that. It gets even more dicey when you consider that we aren’t the only Missouri Synod Lutheran church in the country. We aren’t even the only one in town. Are we better than Bethel? Are we better than First Lutheran? What determines how we rate?

As St. Paul writes his letter to the church in Corinth, he acknowledges that he is writing to Christians. The Gospel has been preached among them and they have received it and benefitted from it. He is glad for them and gives thanks that this has all happened for them. But, how do they rate as a church? There’s a lot of discussion going on among them as to who is best, as Paul starts to address in the next verses, which we’ll hear next week.

Are they a good church? Are they really any better than anyone else? Sure, they have the Gospel. Paul says as much. That means they can at least say they’re better than all of the pagans around them. The Christians in Corinth have heard the Gospel. They know Christ has come. They know he died for them. They know he rose again. They know his sacrifice paid for their sins. They know they are saved because of what Jesus has done.

But that’s all a pretty low bar to be considered a church. Sure, there are a lot of organizations out in the world today that wouldn’t even qualify for that, but still, it’s about the minimum you’d need to actually be considered a church. Is that all they have? Is that all they are?

We have a hard time making good comparisons, especially when it comes to determining whether one thing is better than another. When there’s no set way to determine what “better” means, anyone can use any standard they want. We all then argue over who is correct. We end up looking down on ourselves, both as individuals or as a congregation. You aren’t as knowledgeable about the Bible. You aren’t as able to talk to people about your faith. You aren’t as patient a listener. You have a harder time being generous, being kind, being merciful.

If other Christians are better than you, if other churches are better than us, then what good are we? Maybe that’s a sign we don’t belong here at all. Maybe it’s an indication we shouldn’t be here at all. The inadequacy creeps in, the feelings of shame and worthlessness. What’s the point if we’re never going to measure up?

Satan loves using the Law to point out all of your flaws, all of the places where you fall short, all of the ways you are less than perfect. But, he also warps and twists what God says. The comparison we make to others, seeing how they are better in certain ways, becomes a blanket statement that they are just better overall and, if that’s true, then there isn’t much point in you being here. There is always another church, another Christian, who can do the job better.

St. Paul writes to a church that has a lot of problems. He’ll get into those problems later in his letter. But, for now, he wants to make one point very clear. They have received the Gospel. They are Christians who have been saved and sanctified by Christ. Because Christ is with them in grace, they already have everything necessary to be counted as righteous and holy in the eyes of God.

There is no comparison to make here. Every Christian is saved equally through Christ. God doesn’t deal with you in regards to your talents, your skills, or your accomplishments. None of them measure up, and none of them get you any closer to salvation. No, the comparisons highlight your sin. They highlight your inadequacy. They show you, rightly, that you don’t deserve to be here.

But you don’t have to prove your better than anyone else in order to be saved. The Corinthian church, despite its many, many flaws and faults, still had everything necessary for salvation. It had the grace of God, given to them as a gift. Christ offered himself as a sacrifice entirely on his own accord and with nothing added from anyone else. He paid for all sins for all people. That payment is given to them as a gift, just as it is given to you. No one is capable of earning it, and, by the grace of God, no one has to.

You are no different. This church is no different. Baptized and redeemed, our salvation is no less assured than any other baptized Christian. Because, the power of salvation doesn’t rest in you, but in the God who promises to give it to you. It is his testimony that has been preached among you and it is he that will continue to sustain you in his grace.

What do we do with this, now that we are saved? Certainly there are plenty of areas where we fall short. God’s grace and forgiveness do not make those things meaningless in this world. The different virtues God commends are all valuable. If you aren’t as kind as someone else, then there is room for improvement. Knowing that you aren’t as great a listening as you could be, means there is something for you to work on. Others may always be better at it than you, but any improvement you make in living out the love of Christ in and through your life will benefit others around you. God has given you some things that you are good at, tools that you use better than the people around you. Learning to use your strengths will help others in their weaknesses.

That is why God brings us together as a group, as a family, so that each of us shares in the strengths of those around us, and we share our strengths in return. The same is true for us as a whole. We may not have everything that other Lutheran congregations have, but God is with us and has given us everything we need to be saved. We are not special or significant on our own. We are special, we are set apart because God himself is with us. It is he who makes us special and grants us what we need to carry out his work in the world. We don’t need to compare ourselves to other congregations. We need only to give thanks for his salvation and then carry the love and grace of God into our lives, sharing them through what he has given to us.

God has given us his gift of grace. Because he gives it in such abundance, there is always more of it whenever we are in need. Share the gift that you have been given with others. Share the good news of the savior who has died, so that you will live. Share the news that he will sustain you until the Last Day and beyond.