1 Corinthians 6:7-11 The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers. Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
In the above passage, Paul begins by telling the Corinthians their desire for fair treatment in their interactions with fellow believers has caused them to wrongly seek out justice in the outside community. Rather than to allow others in the church to take advantage of them, they have brought their complaints to the secular courts to win their cases. The very fact that they would do this means their hearts are in the wrong place. Paul says they have been completely defeated already. Their Christian testimony of love and mercy towards others has been discredited by their actions to seek fairness and justice above all else in these insignificant disputes. This is wrong. God is always concerned about our hearts. When Jesus spoke to the Pharisees who criticized his disciples for eating with unclean hands, He said, You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: "These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me." Paul asks the Corinthians, Why not rather be cheated? Regardless of their complaint against another, Paul does not condone their attitude of taking advantage of others in the church. Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? He categorizes those who are impure or unjust within the church with other more obvious sinners: sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, homosexual offenders, thieves, greedy, drunkards, slanderers, swindlers. Taking advantage of others is a sensual sin, a sin of the flesh, a sin of self-will. This kind of sin is as bad as any other sin, for it fulfills the definition of sin: We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6)
Paul warns the Corinthians not to have a cavalier attitude toward impure actions within the church, for this attitude of cheating others will creep into their relationship with God. For the sake of the cross and their Christian testimony within the city of Corinth, Paul instructs fellow Christians to endure injustice, to allow themselves to be cheated or to suffer humiliation from another believer. However, in the context of eternal life and holiness, they must know they cannot cheat God, for their heavenly Father demands obedience and purity. They cannot claim to be right with God and go right on practicing behaviors, such as sexual immorality, idolatry, prostitution, thievery, greediness, drunkenness, slandering, and swindling. God will not allow such actions, for these behaviors do not reveal Christ and his love. We cannot fool God by pretending holiness while behaving poorly when it counts. Paul told the Galatians: Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. (Galatians 6:7-10) A fleshly life reveals darkness, sin, and death to the world. Jesus came into the world to manifest the light of God in the darkness. Just as Jesus is the light of the world, we Christians are the light of the world. When we separate ourselves from God's purity, when we cheat, lie, steal, and the like; we function in the carnal world of the our senses: living life for ourselves, for our own feelings, whatever we think is appropriate. This kind of sensual life is far removed from God's holiness and perfection. God will not bless this lifestyle of self, for it is the opposite of servanthood, of our Savior's nature. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! (Philippians 2:5-7)
We cannot live a life of cheating God and others and expect to please our Father. We might think we get by with double-mindedness here on Earth. For unity's sake, God asks us to forgo judgment and retaliation when we are cheated within the church, but in the eternal matters of our soul, unrepentant cheating and impurity of any kind does not lead us on the road to eternal life. Yet, praise God, Paul concludes this passage with hope, that is what some of you were, basically sensual in your lives. You were once cheaters, deceivers, living your lives as you desired, believing God did not notice or care. But no longer are your souls established that way, for you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. Your hearts are no longer darkened by sin. God has made you clean and holy: and his works, not yours, are acceptable to him. Therefore, when we temporarily fail God and ourselves by our sinful actions, when we have cheated God and ourselves by living wrongly, let us remember our Savior and the price He paid. He saves us continually from the effects the flesh by his ever-flowing blood. He has sanctified us, justified us. John wrote: If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. (1 John 1:6-7) God promises to accept his Son's life for our lives. However, we are not to be cheaters. Our lives of sinful behavior should be our past lives, not our present lives. If we sometimes fail because of the sensuous nature of the flesh, let us run quickly to the cross with a contrite heart. Let us rest in Christ's completed work, while we hate sin. Whether overt or covert, manifested or hidden, let us hate it. Praying: God heal us, heal that which we don't even know exists in us. Let our lives be a living testimony of your grace and mercy. Let us rest by faith in the work of the cross, trusting in your great love for us, your sons and daughters. Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine. (Isaiah 43:1)
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