1 Corinthians 6:12-17 Everything Permissible, Not Beneficial!

1 Corinthians 6:12-17  “Everything is permissible for me” — but not everything is beneficial.  “Everything is permissible for me” — but I will not be mastered by anything.  “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food” — but God will destroy them both.  The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.  By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also.  Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself?  Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute?  Never!  Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body?  For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.”  But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit.

Because Christ has paid the price for our redemption and because Christ has set us free from sin and death, EVERYTHING IS PERMISSIBLE FOR US: 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.  (1 Corinthians 6:11)  Because God's plan does not fall short of completing his work in us, we are free.  As Jesus said, So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.  (John 8:36)  The harness of the law with it concomitant bit does not have to drop over our heads to direct us for us to please God.  No, we are not governed and guided by the work of the law, but by the work of the cross.  Faith in Christ's work makes us completely pleasing to God.  But Christians must consider who we will serve daily.  Do we allow sin to creep into our daily lives or do we place our lives in the Originator of life, Christ himself?  This is our choice.  As Paul said: Everything is permissible for me.  As with Joshua, we choose God: But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living.  But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.  (Joshua 24:15)  Christ alone is our complete holiness, our eternal life.  His finished work pleases the Father; allowing us to cry Abba Father, as God's sons and daughters in Christ's image.  Paul expresses this eternal truth of a new creature in Christ by alluding to the body's basic function of eating: Food is for the stomach and the stomach for food, but eventually God will destroy them both, for they have no eternal value.  They are only worth something on this earth.  He then implies that even though we are sexual beings, sexual activity will cease, for it has only temporary, earthly value.  However, he warns, illicit, improper sexual activity points to where your heart is as far as serving God.  For example, joining yourself to a prostitute illustrates your lack of commitment to the God who has set you free from the works of sin and death.  Because we are free from sin and death, we should treat our bodies well, exemplifying the one who has freed us, Jesus Christ.  We should not ally ourselves again to what was previously destroying us, the lust of the flesh.  

As part of the body of Christ, our redeemed lives are meant to express God to the world.  Through the power of the Holy Spirit, God raised Jesus from the dead; he will raise us also.  Paul tells us we should be cognizant that our bodies are members of Christ himself.  Even though we are free because of Christ's completed work, we are obligated not only to appreciate his work in us, but also to dedicate ourselves completely to his authority in our lives.  We read in God's word: And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.  (Romans 8:11)  That life in the Spirit gives us power over sin.  Sexually, we are not to unite ourselves with a prostitute or with any other person outside of marriage for two will become one flesh.  "Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name — the name you gave me — so that they may be one as we are one."  (John 17:11)  Unholy sexual activity interferes with the sacred bond of oneness that God has with his people.  This eternal bond, WE IN HIM AND HE IN US, brings resurrection power to these mortal bodies.  In compromising this relationship of oneness, we jeopardize our eternal existence with God.  God has said from the beginning that He has a jealous love for his people: Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.  (Exodus 34:14)  If we look at the children of Israel, we can extend the thought of illicit affairs breaking oneness with God beyond sexual activity.  The Israelites were often charged by God of prostituting themselves by chasing after other gods.  Rather than being content with serving the Creator God, they chose to serve gods of the heathen world.  Of course, our gods in this present age are not idols made of wood, stone, and precious metals: they are the gods of the secular and materialistic world, gods of ideas, activities, special interests, and possessions.  Where do we, followers of Christ, prostitute ourselves, separating ourselves from following God in oneness?  Where do we go to find our prostitutes?  What prostitutes are consuming our thoughts and activities?  If we unite ourselves exclusively with the activities and interests of the world, we unite ourselves with the prostitutes of this world.  We unite ourselves to that which will carry us away from God.  Our fleshly pursuits can eventually carry us away from the oneness we have in Christ.  

We know from studying God's Word that Christ must be our everything. We must not follow after these diversionary temptations, for our redemption is in the Lord.  Jesus said, For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  (Matthew 6:21)   Paul fully understood this; therefore, he told the people: But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit.  WE ARE FREE, FREE INDEED.  But we must use our freedom to lift up Christ in our daily lives.  Our activities and interests should reflect Christ.  We don't need the harness of the law to make us do right.  We do not require a bit in our mouths to force us to the right or to the left; but we do need the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit actively within us.  We live by the Spirit, not by the law.  Our basic desire should be to serve Christ.  That is why we should be praying constantly, meditating upon him, loving him.  This kind of life is true freedom--free to be all God wants us to be in him.  When we seek God wholeheartedly, when we establish our lives around him, He will come near to us.  We will speak with him, face-to-face.  His voice will become real to us.  He is a good God who wants to comfort and to nurture his children in this alien land.  Turn to him daily dear breakfast companions; open your lives to him.  Know him as he is: He is merciful, even to his enemies.  When we feel we have failed him miserably, turn to him, for He is a God of mercy and grace.  There is not one of us around this breakfast table who does not need his grace and mercy; not one of us can go it alone in our own strength.  We thank you Lord for your completed work in us.  Give us the strength and knowledge to follow you in oneness with you.  But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.  (Isaiah 40:31)  

1 Corinthians 6:7-11 Washed, Sanctified, Justified!

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)  

1 Corinthians 6:1-6 Do Justice, Love Kindness!

1 Corinthians 6:1-6  If any of you has a dispute with another, dare he take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the saints?  Do you not know that the saints will judge the world?  And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases?  Do you not know that we will judge angels?  How much more the things of this life!  Therefore, if you have disputes about such matters, appoint as judges even men of little account in the church!  I say this to shame you.  Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between believers?  But instead, one brother goes to law against another — and this in front of unbelievers! 

Paul clearly expresses that Christians possess the unique wisdom and knowledge to judge the disputes and arguments within the body of believers.  With the indwelling Holy Spirit and his attributes, believers should be able to decide what is right and wrong and to mete out justice within the church.  As we read in God's Word: He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?  (Micah 6:8  NRSV)  Of course, serious crimes among believers such as sexual abuse, manslaughter, murder, assaults, and the like must be dealt with in the larger community; and adjudicated by the system of justice within that society.  But, within the above context, Paul is talking about disputes that do not rise to the level of horrific criminal activities.  His ideas could apply to the general conflicts that occur within any organized group of people, regardless of their reason for gathering together.  People are people, and when they interact closely, in a corporate way, there will be conflicts, some rising to the level of having others decide who is right or wrong.  Paul beseeches the Corinthians not to take these basic disputes outside of the church's jurisdiction, for to do so brings disrepute upon the body of Christ.  Rather than being different from the world, the Christians will be criticized for being just like the world without the ability to trust in God to solve their problems.  Their reputation will be tarnished.  They will be seen as hypocrites who claim righteousness, love, peace, and other good qualities because of their belief in Christ while their actions reveal discontent and clamor within the church.   Jesus said for us to solve our problems with others such as before taking an offering to God to go to our brother who has something against us and to settle the problem.  Then He went on to say, Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court.  He said do this on the way before you even get to court.  (See Matthew 5:23-26) 

Believers are filled with the wisdom of the Holy Spirit who is able to teach us all things.  We are alive IN CHRIST the risen Savior.  We have the mind of Christ; we are part of his body.  We should have enough of Christ within a body of believers to make right decisions about disputes within our community.  Christ can judge the angels.  Paul says, Do you not know that we will judge angels?  The body of Christ on Earth is made up of many members.  We come from many backgrounds, different experiences in life, and possess differing levels of knowledge and training.  As individuals within the church, we must rely on each other's love in an intimate way.  We must believe that others are looking after our interests as well as their interests.  We want to be able to depend on the servanthood of the believer.  If we are immersed in Christ, our disputes and differences with each other will pale in significance to our love for each other.  Paul gives this picture of the body of Christ: He says we should no longer be unstable infants.  Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.  From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.  (Ephesians 4:15-16)  On the other hand, if we are carnal, we will want our own way, thinking our problems and concerns should rise to the top of any discussion.  This leads to divisions within a church.  People who do not want to seek a compromise or take the role of a servant desire to rule and to control.  When the church is infested with this virus, the world sees our lack of love for others.  Even today, churches split over simple, nonessential reasons, such as how we arrange the pews or how we decorate the church or what the altar should look like or does the pastor wear the right uniform or are we singing the correct songs.  The list goes on and on.   Disputes such as these have hurt Christians throughout the ages, scarring the faith of the believers, and turning away those who are seeking an authentic faith in God.

Paul says they should be able to appoint even the weakest among them, the most uninformed, ill-prepared congregants to judge these disputes and concerns.  Therefore, if you have disputes about such matters, appoint as judges even men of little account in the church!  He tells them, I say this to shame you.  Then he sarcastically adds perhaps they do not have anyone in the church wise enough to make decisions in these disputes.  He is trying to wake them up to his main observation: This church has gone astray!  Believers are attacking each other in court, and unbelievers are reaching the conclusion that Christians are no different from the world.  He knows that people who represent Christ within the community should have the understanding that their testimony to the world should be of the love of Christ, the mercy of Christ.  Jesus said, By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.  (John 13:35) Even the weakest believers among them know love should identify them; therefore, they would judge these conflicts rightly if they were full of the knowledge of Christ.  Of course, adjudicating any conflict within the church depends, relies upon, the Holy Spirit's demeanor, which is his fruit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  (Galatians 5:22-23)  Any other attitude within the courtroom of opinions will bring division; described in the Bible as the acts of the sinful nature.  (See Galatians 5:19-20)  Paul asks the church to BE THE CHURCH, to reflect Christ in all situations, to allow his authority to enter into all its disputes and conflicts.  If Christians do so, we will be known as the light of the world for we will be reflecting THE LIGHT, Christ Jesus, Savior of the world.  Jesus said, I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.  (John 8:12)  Yes, Good News comes to the world when we reflect the Light of the World in all situations.    

1 Corinthians 5:12-13 Come to God; He Will Come to You!

1 Corinthians 5:12-13  What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church?  Are you not to judge those inside?  God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked man from among you.”

Paul asks the Corinthians to deal with the sin within their congregation rather than to be so concerned about the world around them.  God will judge those outside the church.  He wants them to realize how they must look to the people of Corinth who knew this sin existed within the church.  By allowing the sin of incest within their congregation, they compromised their testimony of a Christian life of righteousness and purity to those who did not know Christ.  Paul was concerned especially about this open practice of incest within the church because of its deviation from even the secular community's sexual mores and acceptable behaviors.  Even the pagans of Corinth were uncomfortable with this kind of sexual activity: It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that does not occur even among pagans: A man has his father’s wife.  (1 Corinthians 5:1).  Paul wanted the church to judge this behavior within the church, knowing it is irreparably wrong and, consequently, must be dealt with by removing the people who practice this sexual deviation from their community.  Expel the wicked man from among you.  However, Paul is also concerned about other sinful practices tolerated within the church: But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler.  With such a man do not even eat.  (1 Corinthians 5:11)  He wants the Corinthian church to realize they should be light in the world, salt to a sinful people.  If they are like the unbelieving Corinthians in their behavior and attitude, they cannot be light or salt to them.  They cannot bring life to the dead souls of the lost, for they will be viewed by the unbelievers as just another way of thinking and living and not as the only way to everlasting life.

Of course, we find numerous scriptures in the New Testament telling us to put off the sinful nature and to resist the old way of living.  Paul clearly asked the church at Colossia to turn from the wicked ways of their former lives: Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.  Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.  You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived.  But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.  (Colossians 3:5-8)  The Word is strong and clear here.  You put to death the sins from your carnal nature, and you get rid of all the things that keep you from showing forth the light of Christ in your life.  Of course, Paul is writing to believers, and he knows they have the Holy Spirit within them to empower them to walk by faith and to overcome the evil one.  Yet he expects them to seek God earnestly and to reject sin wholeheartedly in their lives.  As James said: Submit yourselves, then, to God.  Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.  Come near to God and he will come near to you.  Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.  (James 4:7-8)  Again, James is asking something from the believer.  He is asking submission and yielding to God, not a part-time faith.  We will find this message throughout God's Word, where people of faith are exhorted to turn away from the things of the world and towards God.  Peter wrote a message similar to what we read from Paul when he said: Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.  Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.  (1 Peter 2:1-3)  These men of God knew that it was important for believers to rid themselves of the old sinful nature of man that is prone to give in to temptation and is easily led astray.  They encouraged the church to hold fast to their faith and to keep their eyes upon Jesus.  This is our goal: Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.  (Hebrews 12:2 KJV)

Paul not only reminds the church they must remove such open sin from their congregation, but he tells them they must leave judgment of the rest of the world to God: God will judge those outside.  Sometimes when we see so much open sin around us, we want to begin to judge everything, but that is not our job.  We read in the Bible: For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.”  It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.  (Hebrew 10:30-31)  As this scripture says, it is a terrible thing to fall into God's hands.  We can trust God to mete out fair judgment.  If it were up to us, we would not be impartial, consistent, or capable of judging correctly, for we do not have the mind of the Lord.  In addition, God has asked us to love and to forgive.  That would be difficult if we simultaneously were judging people.  Jesus said, But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.  If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also.  If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic.  Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back.  Do to others as you would have them do to you.  (Luke 6:27-31)  Jesus goes on in this passage to tell us to do good to others, expecting nothing in return.  He says be merciful as God is merciful and to forgive as we have been forgiven.  This is the nature of Jesus.  He is the One who is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to eternal life in him.  Remember, the reason Paul wants the people who are openly glorying in their sin pushed out of the church is that their souls might be saved.  Whatever we do, whatever we say, our motivation should be for the glory of God and his kingdom.  As we close this breakfast today, we ask the Holy Spirit to work in our hearts, to renew our first love, to make our lights shine brightly for Jesus wherever we go.  Bless you dear brothers and sisters. 

1 Corinthians 5:9-11 We Shine For God In Darkness!

1 Corinthians 5:9-11  I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people — not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters.  In that case you would have to leave this world.  But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler.  With such a man do not even eat.

Paul addresses a people who lived in a very licentious city.  The people of Corinth worshipped many Greek gods, and the temple of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, was a primary structure in this city.  This was a place where many prostitutes both male and female worked their trade.  Because of the prevalence of sexual immorality within the community of Corinth, Paul accentuated the wrongness of this wanton sinfulness to the Christians and its negative effects upon the church of God.  He wanted them to separate themselves from people who still practiced this kind of lifestyle, yet claimed they were followers of Jesus Christ.  He wanted the church to know, of course, they could not leave this world completely, for they had live peacefully in the community, and they had to make a living.  He realized they had to associate with the world, so they could carry on with their daily lives, but he did not want them to connect themselves with people who brazenly lived the lifestyle of the sinners around them: you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler.  He knew this nascent church must represent a different lifestyle, a different purpose for living, than the community around it.  He wanted them to do exactly what he told the church at Ephesus: So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.  They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.  Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.  (Ephesians 4:17-19)  If they did not reject this wayward living, they would be assimilated into the sinful environment in which the Corinthians Christians found themselves embedded.  Their testimony of the Light of Christ and his righteousness would disappear within the darkness of the Corinth world if they continued to compromise with sin.

A manifested and openly glorified lifestyle of profound licentiousness or self-gratification cannot be allowed within the community of believers.  We know that Christ came for the sinners of this world, to redeem them to a righteous God.  The Bible tells us all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.  (Romans 3:23-24)  We cannot approach God with our own righteousness; therefore, we need a savior, an advocate, before the Father God.  But, we cannot claim to be brothers and sisters IN CHRIST if we brazenly involve ourselves in debauchery, lying, deceitfulness, drunkenness, thievery, brutality, and the like.  If we participate in these sinful activities or if our minds are filled with thoughts of the spirit that rules the flesh and the world, we must question whether we are truly saved, truly committed to Christ and his life.  Paul knew an immoral, unregenerate life would eventually lead to destruction, death away from God forever.  Therefore, he wanted the church to separate themselves from sin and to put out from their community anyone who was practicing openly the old Corinthian lifestyle of wickedness.  He wanted the act of ostracizing people from the community of believers to bring them back to repentance, so that their souls might be saved from eternal perdition.  In his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul asked them, For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common?  Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?  He goes on to say, As God has said,  “Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord.  Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.  I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”  (2 Corinthians 6:14 & 17-18) 

We know Jesus associated himself with sinners and seemed more comfortable with them than with the outwardly righteous religious leaders.   While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and “sinners” were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him.  When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the “sinners” and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?”  On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.  I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”  (Mark 2:15-17)  The Bible says Jesus came into the world to save people from their sins, not to condemn them.  He wanted lives to be changed, changed from the natural pattern of sin to lives acceptable to God, relying upon the works of Jesus Christ and his righteousness.  Jesus was and is the Light of God, shining in the darkness.  He brought this light into every environment He entered.  We read in the New Testament that Jesus fulfilled prophecy when He walked this earth as the light of God to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah: “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, along the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles — the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.”  (Matthew 4:14-16)   Jesus brought healing, forgiveness, grace, and mercy.  The people knew that no man since the beginning of time did the marvelous works HE did.  They had to say, "This man is different from us; He performs acts beyond what any of us can do."  Many listened to his message, for He must be of God.  Paul, in his warning to the Corinthians, reminds them that this man, Jesus, is different, and He requires a different way of living from his followers, a separation from the world's mindset.  We live in the world to survive, but we are not of the world.  We were purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ, so we remind ourselves to  carry ourselves every day in such a way that people will recognize us as children of God, joint heirs with Christ Jesus. 

1 Corinthians 5:6-8 God Desires Sincerity and Truth

1 Corinthians 5:6-8  Your boasting is not good.  Don’t you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough?  Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast — as you really are.  For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.  Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth.

In the above verses, Paul beseeches the Corinthian church to rid themselves of the sinful lifestyle of the unredeemed.  He identifies an example of this sin in their midst: incest.  He warns them that the open sin, old yeast, that is tolerated in their community, will eventually corrupt them as a body of believers.  In addition, this sin will despoil their witness of holiness and goodness within the city of Corinth.  Don’t you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.  This yeast of sin does not reflect God, but consists of malice and wickedness.  Open sin that parades itself as light will eventually blot out the true message of Christ as the light of the world.  Even Jesus said, No servant can serve two masters.  (Luke 16:13)  A Christian cannot serve God and the devil and remain true to the Lord.  Therefore, Paul tells the Corinthians, Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast.  He tells them not to go back to the lifestyle of slavery to sin; instead, they should know who they are, free IN CHRIST to serve the living God who has given them the blessed promise of eternal life.  He says, as your forefathers were freed from slavery by the Passover lamb, so are you free in THE PASSOVER LAMB: Jesus Christ.  Paul wants them to understand the significance of what has happened to them; they are no longer slaves to the passion of this world, but they have been set free to live lives of holiness, lives for God's glory.  If they go back into the world of their past experiences, they will once again enter into Egypt, under the control of the Pharaoh, who epitomizes Satan.  As Paul told the church in Galatia: It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.  Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.  (Galatians 5:1)  He did not want them to be in a place of weakness where they would once again live lives of darkness, doing the will of Satan and not the will of the Spirit. 

As we look at Paul's admonitions to the Corinthian church about open sin in their community of believers, we must also look at our lifestyles today within our communities of believers.  Do we display more of the world than of God?  Are our hearts captivated by the secular world and its view about life, what is real and what is not real?  We must be aware of the yeast of sin within our own lives.  Sin is as a prevailing wind; it will bend you to its will a little at a time until you no longer look as you once did.  If you have ever looked at the trees on a cliff overlooking the ocean, you will notice how bent they are.  The prevailing wind has made its mark on them.  The constant pounding of the wind has distorted the trees, even greater than their DNA or the pull of natural forces such as gravity.  They live their lives at the will of the wind.  Are we living our lives at the will of sin?  Are we so embedded in this environment, that we feel right at home with it, not realizing the wind, the yeast, has contaminated us to such a point that we have bent to its will?  Paul is concerned that the conditioning to the will of sin will bend the Corinthians away from God and toward slavery to sin.  If we are not eating of the bread of sincerity and truth, we can easily become captive to the world's interests, not to God's interests and his plans for our lives.  We are no longer slaves to this world but love slaves to the Lord: But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.  For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.  (Romans 6:22-23)  Paul is contending for the faith of the Corinthians, making sure they do not reject this great and precious gift in their foolish and wayward actions that pull them toward sin and darkness.  

What does God desire for his sons and daughters?  How should we live our lives?  As the redeemed of God, we should not be living the lifestyle of slaves to Pharaoh, attending to his interests.  As members of the body of Christ, we should not behave as slaves to Pharaoh, seeking out the pleasures of his kingdom.  Do we not understand when we live as if we have not been delivered from the hands of Pharaoh, as if we are not free IN CHRIST, we are living the life of slaves to sin?  As Christians we should know we have crossed over the Red Sea and the Jordan River to live IN CHRIST, who is literally the Promised Land.  We are living resurrection life RIGHT NOW, for He was raised from the dead, and we are alive IN HIM.  WE SHOULD LIVE HIS LIFE OF LOVE, HIS LIFE OF SERVANTHOOD.  This is God's desire: to show his face to a lost and hurting world THROUGH US.  If we do not really believe we are newly created IN CHRIST for God's purposes and look forward to eternal life with him, we might as well live as the heathens do, for life is short and we should make the most of it.  If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”  Paul goes on to say, Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”  Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God — I say this to your shame.  (1 Corinthians 15:32-34)  Paul asks the Corinthians to live a life of holiness, a life that reflects Promised Land dwellers.  We must all rid ourselves of the old lifestyle of Egypt, of malice and wickedness, as we learn the new way: peace and love in Jesus our Lord.  The Passover Lamb has freed us from slavery to sin.  Paul wrote this beautiful prayer that fits so well with our study today, and we pray it with you, dear brothers and sisters: May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you.  May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.  (1 Thessalonians 3:12-13)  

1 Corinthians 5:1-5 We Are God's Temple!

1 Corinthians 5:1-5  It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that does not occur even among pagans: A man has his father’s wife.  And you are proud!  Shouldn’t you rather have been filled with grief and have put out of your fellowship the man who did this?  Even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit.  And I have already passed judgment on the one who did this, just as if I were present.  When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord.

Sin that openly invades the sanctuary of the church has the potential to destroy that body of believers, which is the body of Christ.  Paul can say I am with you in spirit because the Spirit of God is one of unity, not of disunity.  Sin is a cancer, and as with the physical body, cancer comes to destroy not build up.  Cancer cells spread and permeate healthy cells, despoiling them, preventing the normal functioning of the cells.  Sin in the church destroys the normal functioning of the church, which is to reveal a loving and holy God to the world.  Paul knew this particular sin in the Corinthian's church was lethal to the health and well-being of the body of Christ in Corinth.  He also knew, A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.  (Galatians 5:9)  Sin is lethal to a body of believers.  Rather than being proud and tolerant of this darkness, the Corinthian church should have condemned it by removing this man from their fellowship who was openly practicing an evil lifestyle.  Why is Paul so black and white with his judgment of the situation?  Why not encourage the church to work with this man, to counsel him, to help him to extricate himself from such a relationship of darkness?  Paul is intolerant because this man's sin is a frontal attack on the body of Christ.  His lifestyle is a conscious choice: an affront to holiness, to righteousness, to eternal life, to a holy God, to the cross.  Such a lifestyle and incorrect ideas about God's grace and mercy brings death to the spiritual man, not life.  Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?  If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple.  (1 Corinthians 3:16-17)  This life of open sin, without repentance, was bringing death not only to the temple of the man who practiced it, but also to the temple of the body of Christ.  If the man had problems with lust or was tempted to sin, he could have come to the church for prayer, encouragement, and support; but he acted out his sin openly before God and man.  This left Paul no choice but to pass judgment on his sin.

As believers, we know Christ paid the price so that we might be holy before God and within our communities.  Our attitude and lifestyle should not be just like the world.  But who should judge whether we are living a good life or a sinful life?  Who should determine whether we are faithful Christians of light or Christians who portray a lot of darkness in their lives?  Who is the judge?  Should not God alone be the judge?  Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts.  At that time each will receive his praise from God.  (1 Corinthians 4:5)  Yes, God will judge each of us; He will judge not only our actions, but the intents of our hearts.  The writer of Hebrews says, For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.  Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.  (Hebrews 4:12-13)  God alone knows our secret lives; He alone knows how holy our thoughts are.  He will judge rightly.  We often judge wrongly, from the outward appearance not what is within a person: The LORD does not look at the things man looks at.  Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.  (1 Samuel 16:7)  Is Paul wrong then by saying this man should be removed from the church?  Should he not have said this troubled man should be counseled to do better, to forsake this sinful life, and to live a better, more upstanding life within the community, for Christ's sake?  Why should this man be handed over to Satan rather than helped?  Only the Lord knows the heart, but Paul knew the church had to deal with this flaunting lifestyle and open rebellion to the Word of God.  Such rebellion against God could lead astray those in the body who are not established in the Word.  Flagrant, open sin has to be dealt with by the leaders of the church.  The rest of us must love and pray for all of our brothers and sisters, even the wayward.

Even though Paul's attitude seems to be very judgmental towards this man, we see that his concern is based on his love for this man, not on anger against him.  He asks the church to remove the man from their fellowship so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord.  This should also be our cry when we see a brother or sister wantonly slip back into a sinful lifestyle.  God wants his children to be faithful and true to their calling in Christ.  He wants them to commit every part of their lives to him in righteousness.  We all know God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  (John 3:16-17)  Yet we will eventually face judgment if we are not committed to him in love, revealing his light in the darkness.  We are not bastards, we are of his lineage.  Therefore, our lifestyles should reflect him as we face the different situations of our lives.  Today is the day to seek the Lord.  Today is the day to be faithful to God, to change wayward lifestyles.  Do not let sin destroy your spiritual person.  Let God bless you with his everlasting love.  He wants to cover you with his mercy and grace.  God said, "Plant the good seeds of righteousness, and you will harvest a crop of my love.  Plow up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the LORD, that he may come and shower righteousness upon you." (Hosea 10:12)