Paul wrote two letters to the church at Corinth that we have preserved in the New Testament, and both contained sharp rebukes for some of the situations going on at that church. Corinth was already city of some infamy, being a centre of commerce, so problems were bound to arise even in the Christian fellowship there. Thankfully, Paul sorted them all out, right? Wrong! The church at Corinth continued to be a vexing source of controversy such that Clement, who was one of the church leaders in Rome, wrote the Corinthians yet another letter rebuking them, this time for chasing much of their their clergy out of the church! In the midst of his letter, there’s one particular chapter where Clement lays on the sarcasm (a frequent device of Paul) in identifying where persecution is supposed to be coming from, rather than from your fellow Christians…
Ye are fond of contention, brethren, and full of zeal about things which do not pertain to salvation. Look carefully into the Scriptures, which are the true utterances of the Holy Spirit. Observe that nothing of an unjust or counterfeit character is written in them. There you will not find that the righteous were cast off by men who themselves were holy. The righteous were indeed persecuted, but only by the wicked. They were cast into prison, but only by the unholy; they were stoned, but only by transgressors; they were slain, but only by the accursed, and such as had conceived an unrighteous envy against them. Exposed to such sufferings, they endured them gloriously. For what shall we say, brethren? Was Daniel cast into the den of lions by such as feared God? Were Ananias, and Azarias, and Mishael shut up in a furnace of fire by those who observed the great and glorious worship of the Most High? Far from us be such a thought! Who, then, were they that did such things? The hateful, and those full of all wickedness, were roused to such a pitch of fury, that they inflicted torture on those who served God with a holy and blameless purpose [of heart], not knowing that the Most High is the Defender and Protector of all such as with a pure conscience venerate His all-excellent name; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. But they who with confidence endured [these things] are now heirs of glory and honour, and have been exalted and made illustrious by God in their memorial for ever and ever. Amen. (Clement to the Corinthians, Ch.44)
Tune in next week, 9:15 at New Minas Baptist Church! I said we’d be covering Polycarp, but I jumped the gun a bit. We still might get to introducing him, though. In the meantime, you can peruse the rest of Clement’s letter here.
