8. How NOT to be a Corinthian! 1 Corinthians 6

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Spiritual Retreat - September 24-26, November 5-7

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I am breaking my own rule today. I try to keep away from songs that are too self focused and placing our attention on our feelings more than on God. When we are alone sometimes these songs really speak to us but what is appropriate for our alone time with God is not always appropriate for worship times. The one I am about to open our service with is not one I would approve as a congregational worship song but I felt it was okay to open our service. It is actually a good one for personal retreats and since we have some of those in the works, I decided to give it a shot today. This song is based on scripture and I would encourage you to notice the references to communion. That is what she is alluding to when she talks about the cup and leaning against His chest. :-)

The More I Seek You, Kari Jobe

Stand with me as we open our worship with scripture this morning.

Psalm 119:41-48

Opening Scripture:

Psalm 119:41–48 NIV

41 May your unfailing love come to me, Lord, your salvation, according to your promise; 42 then I can answer anyone who taunts me, for I trust in your word. 43 Never take your word of truth from my mouth, for I have put my hope in your laws. 44 I will always obey your law, for ever and ever. 45 I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts. 46 I will speak of your statutes before kings and will not be put to shame, 47 for I delight in your commands because I love them. 48 I reach out for your commands, which I love, that I may meditate on your decrees.

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Worship Set

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Worship Through the Word:

How NOT to be a Corinthian!

One of my biggest pet peeves about myself is how quickly I forget some resolution I have made.  I see an issue in my life, and I give thought to it and come up with a solution.  I may be successful for a time but a few months down the road I realize that I have slipped out of the routine.  This is the same reason New Year resolutions often fail.  Without some stimulus to hold us to the new pattern we often soon forget and fall back into old patterns.  How many of you struggle with the same thing?     

It is so frustrating how fast we slip back into those old patterns of living.  This is exactly what has occurred in Corinth.  Throughout these first few chapters, Paul says several times, “Do you not know...?” and he proceeds to remind them of the new life they now have in Christ.  You see, they fell back into the old patterns.  In chapter 6, Paul questions their remembrances 6 times.

We all need to be reminded at times because we are living in a world that doesn’t understand us, and they live in the old way we are used to.  We are surrounded by neighbors, co-workers, family, and friends that live out before us those old patterns and before long we find ourselves following suit.

This is why alone time with God is so important.  Into our silence, God calls us back.  He illuminates for us where we have slipped into old patterns and in His loving gentleness, He urges us back to the path of freedom and light.

When we left off the week before last, we heard Paul addressing the sin that was being allowed to continue among them.  A man had taken up with his father’s wife and the congregation had turned a blind eye to it.  Paul talked to them about how sin is pervasive like yeast.  Sin would spread and had indeed spread throughout this congregation.  As we read chapter 6, we find that there were other sins occurring; there were lawsuits happening within the congregation, there were integrity issues, and there were other immoral issues occurring.  Stand with me as I read 1 Corinthians 6.

1 Corinthians 6CSB

1 If any of you has a dispute against another, how dare you take it to court before the unrighteous, and not before the saints? 2Or don’t you know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the trivial cases? 3 Don’t you know that we will judge angels—how much more matters of this life? 4So if you have such matters, do you appoint as your judges those who have no standing in the church? 5 I say this to your shame! Can it be that there is not one wise person among you who is able to arbitrate between fellow believers? 6 Instead, brother goes to court against brother, and that before unbelievers! 7 As it is, to have legal disputes against one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? 8 Instead, you yourselves do wrong and cheat—and you do this to brothers and sisters! 9 Don’t you know that the unrighteous will not inherit God’s kingdom? Do not be deceived: No sexually immoral people, idolaters, adulterers, or males who have sex with males, 10no thieves, greedy people, drunkards, verbally abusive people, or swindlers will inherit God’s kingdom. 11 And some of you used to be like this. 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. 12 “Everything is permissible for me,” but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible for me,” but I will not be mastered by anything. 13“Food is for the stomach and the stomach for food,” and God will do away with both of them. However, the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 God raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. 15 Don’t you know that your bodies are a part of Christ’s body? So should I take a part of Christ’s body and make it part of a prostitute? Absolutely not! 16 Don’t you know that anyone joined to a prostitute is one body with her? For Scripture says, The two will become one flesh. 17 But anyone joined to the Lord is one spirit with him. 18 Flee sexual immorality! Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the person who is sexually immoral sins against his own body. 19 Don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought at a price. So glorify God with your body.

The Word of God for the people of God.  Thanks be to God!

Pray

I.  Dealing with Sin in the Church, Pt 2 1 Corinthians 6

Someone mentioned to me this week that they struggled with reading and understanding Paul’s letter.  I will just say, “I hear ya!”  It is difficult.  It is twice as difficult to preach since this was one long continuing conversation.  It is not easy to break it down into shorter parts (ergo sermons with continuing themes!).  Paul has this habit of circling around the same subject, and each time he comes around, he adds something new to the subject, but he is still on the same point.

I have used this illustration before, but it is the best way I know how to make it understood.  Fortunately for me, you are all old enough to know what I am talking about!  :-)

Do you remember those old children’s books or even map books that had several transparency films, each with a different detail on them?  I actually have one with me today.  Pam wanted a Bible map.  This book has a map and you place one film over the map and it shows lines that show the Old Testament land boundaries.  You flip another over and you see a different colored line which designates boundary changes in New Testament times.  A third film then shows the boundaries today.  This is how I feel about Paul’s writing.  He reiterates what is already said and adds something more. 

When we come to chapter 6, Paul is still addressing the subject of the moral sin occurring, but he adds that if that were not shocking enough, he finds there is more.  You see, it has come to Paul’s attention that the people in the church do not just argue with each other at church, but they are also taking each other to court.  There are...

A.  Lawsuits Among the Believers. 1 Corinthians 6:1-8

Let me begin by saying, sometimes lawsuits are necessary when we are dealing with people outside the church.  As Christians, it should never be our first choice but we live in a sinful world and so we sometimes need to fight. We need to be careful and prayerful when we do so. 

At other times, we just have no choice.  When a person files a suit against us, we just need to pray and move forward trusting God regarding the outcome.  Sometimes we win and sometimes we lose.  When we win, we do not gloat.  When we lose, we trust in God. 

However, as Christians dealing with Christians, it is different.  We should be able to resolve these issues without a public court system.  Paul then shares with them why it is important to keep these matters in house.

1.  The secular world has different values than we do.  V 1

1 Corinthians 6:1 NIV

1 If any of you has a dispute with another, do you dare to take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the Lord’s people?

We make decisions based on God’s Word.  Our world does not.  After centuries of having the Ten Commandments on the walls of our courtrooms, they have no interest in even displaying them anymore.  The public courts make decisions on the laws of our land, good or bad.  Do we really want them making decisions in Christian matters?  I think not! 

2.  We are called to judge , not be judged .  VV 2-4

Here we find the first two “do you not know” statements of this chapter.

1 Corinthians 6:2–4 NIV

2 Or do you not know that the Lord’s people will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? 3 Do you not know that we will judge angels?How much more the things of this life! 4 Therefore,if you have disputes about such matters, do you ask for a ruling from those whose way of life is scorned in the church?

Paul’s remembrance takes us all the way back to creation.  Genesis 1:28

Genesis 1:28NIV

28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule overthe fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

God created us to rule on earth.  One day, we will fulfill this plan.  We are called to live in peace and unity.  When Jesus returns, we are told through multiple scriptures that we will rule with Christ.  Are you curious about the angels we will judge?

The angels are God’s messengers, but they were not made in the image of God as was mankind.  Jesus does not call them co-heirs with Him.  The scriptures make it clear that mankind will have a unique authority in eternity.  We are co-heirs with Christ and as such we will have a part of judging the angels who defiled mankind in Genesis 6.

Paul then draws his conclusion.  Note the “THEREFORE.”  Paul is about to say something important. 

Paul reminds us that we were created to be a people of order, unityand peace.  We, through the Spirit of God within us, should be able to address such issues in the church in a Godly manner without the worlds help.  We should be able to do so in an orderly and peaceful manner.

The next reason we do not want to make these issues public is because we must…

3.  Consider our reputation before the world !  vv 5-6

1 Corinthians 6:5–6 NIV

5 I say this to shame you. Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between believers? 6But instead, one brother takes another to court—and this in front of unbelievers!

We are God’s ambassadors to the world.  But if we cannot even solve our own issues, what kind of ambassadors and witnesses can we be?  They should be ashamed of the black eye they are giving the church to those in their community.

Several years ago, I was annoyed when one Christian musician was complaining about another Christian musician on a public news program.  She was wrong to do so publicly before the world.  Her whole demeanor was self-righteous and inappropriate.  She condemned publicly with no sign of love or concern for this other person (who was really going through a tough time at the time).  Her attitude and her actions were not Biblical.  She was proving she was no more righteous than the person she cried was unrighteous!  A better way would have been to go to that other artist alone, and in love, voice her concern over the situation.  The world never needed to hear about it.  Not to mention the opportunity she lost to perhaps help that other person get the help and support that was needed to rectify her spiritual situation, if there even was one.  There were assumptions being made that are unclear if they were even valid.

In Bible times, lawsuits were public events as they were presented and presided over at the city gate.  Everyone there doing any business was privy of what was occurring.  Of course, it then carried by word of mouth to all those who were not at the city gate.  However, the city gate was the place to be most days.  Our courts may be more closed, however, the notices of such are made public through the news and newspapers.  In small communities like ours, word of mouth (or FB), make such news quite public as well.  We do not need to go to the city gate.  All we need to do is read FB, talk to a neighbor or relative and voila!  Soon everyone knows!

Last Sunday, when I got home, I turned on the television and saw a “Breaking News!” flash on the homepage.  A large church, with several venues, was being raided for human trafficking as well as larceny and various other charges.  Because of the high morals and values professed by Christians, there are those who will exploit our reputation for their own personal gain.  You know what I mean, “wolves in sheep’s clothing” as the saying goes.  There are many in this world that will not believe that we are not all like that.  However, we can help people to see that there is a difference by living by good example.  But if we cannot in loving and gentle ways take care of our own issues, we only feed the bylines. 

I have been hard on pastors and churches lately.  It is important to remember that where there are high standards, there are many hypocrites as well.  Sin will always try to use the innocent to achieve their evil designs.  However, when we live closely with God, living the right example, it gets harder for them to get away with their deceptions.

I want to add a quick word of warning here.  Be very careful about who you watch on television and who you send money to.  Always be prayerful about giving money to these outside sources.  It is difficult to know where the money is going to.  Be careful if you ever receive an email from me asking for funds.  This is a common ploy by swindlers.  They send emails saying they are your pastor and request you send funds or gift cards for some need.  I recently had an email that I suspect was phishing to get my name so they could do just that.  I will never have you send money electronically.  Any funds I request, I will do in person and have it delivered to the church.  So, please be careful!

Now, back to Corinth and we find that this was Corinth’s 3rd reputation buster.  Their first was the division over teachers, the second was the man living with his father’s wife, and this is strike 3.  It is a good thing our Christian Walk is not a game of baseball!  If it were, Corinth would be out!

The fourth reason Corinth should have been able to solve this internally was because…

4.  Christians have nothing to prove !  1 Corinthians 6:7-8

1 Corinthians 6:7–8 NIV

7 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? 8 Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers and sisters.

Now, I believe we find the very heart of the matter right here.  It comes down to a fight over what we feel are our rights and what we feel is fair.  There is a key component here that we often forget about and it is trust in God!  Do we truly trust God?  If we do, we have nothing to prove.  We cannot lose anything that God cannot give back to us.  If a brother or sister in Christ is too immature to do the right thing, we should just drop it and trust God, praying for the immature to grow up.  This should be done with an attitude of love and concern, not pride over our maturity.

The lawsuits reveal Corinth’s immature and selfish natures, and God is not in the picture.  However, it is better to take a bloody nose for God and for God’s church then it is to defend oneself.  The Corinthians were not working for the good of each other.  They were not working out of love or compassion.  They were living just like any other sinner of the world.  So, Paul reminds them again.

B.  Do Not Forget the Good News ! 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

Here we find the 3rd, “do you not know?”.

1 Corinthians 6:9–11 NIV

9 Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 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.

Why are they bickering, cheating, and stealing from each other?  Those are the actions from which they were saved out of.  When they carried on in that way, they were destined for hell, but God has done a work on their behalf.  Christ died on their behalf and now they are flinging it back in His face by returning to that kind of behavior.  They have something so much better waiting for them if they will only stay the course!

God had washed them.  They were made clean, both inside and out.  The Spirit had sanctified them by setting them apart from the world, and they were justified cleared of all sentences of wrongdoing and death.  Why would they return to the enemy by taking up that sin in their life again?!

Paul now begins a new circle of discussion on this topic.  He is about to lay down another transparency film on the page, if you will.  You see, the Corinthians are justifying their actions based on their wrong idea of what “freedom in Christ” is all about.  So, Paul now turns to address this issue of Christian freedoms and he tells them that…

C.  Christian Liberty is Not Freedom to Sin !  1 Corinthians 6:12-20

This is a subject that Paul had to address with others as well.  Many misunderstood the change from law to grace.  This subject gets deep, and Paul will recircle this subject more over the next few chapters.  So, I am not going to get too deeply in it just yet due to time constraints.  However, you need to understand some key things about this topic. 

The Old Testament, which is under the Old Abrahamic covenant, was governed by the Law.  That entailed living according to the Ten Commandments and other Laws of God provided the people on Mount Sinai.  It also included the old sacrificial system for salvation from sin.  That is, the animal sacrifices that had to take place continually to cover their sin.

When Jesus came, we moved from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant instituted by Jesus.  We no longer live under the law (judged by law), but we live under grace (judged by our relationship to Christ).  The final sacrifice has taken place.  There is no longer a need to offer up animal sacrifices for our sin.  Jesus’ perfect blood covers our sins past, present and future. 

However, this brought much misunderstanding and even today, there are many who misuse the idea of grace.  There are those who see this as meaning it no longer matters how we live.  They believe no matter how much they sin; they are still perfectly safe under the covenant of grace.

We see Paul addressing this issue in Romans 6. 

Romans 6:11–18NIV

11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Thereforedo not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13 Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. 14 For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace. 15What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! 16 Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. 18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

Before Christ’s sacrifice and the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we were sinful creatures who tried (while failing miserably) to follow the rule of the written law.  For example, a teenager who begrudgingly comes home by curfew when he really wants to stay out.  Sooner or later, his desire overcomes so that he disobeys and stays out despite the consequences.  This teenager is living by law.  However, now we live by grace.  We are freed from the law not because the law is wrong, but because of the love within us changes our desires so we more naturally live the law.  This is the ongoing process of sanctification performed by the Holy Spirit within us.  As we mature spiritually, we increasingly satisfy the law naturally.  I wish I could give you an example of a teenager living under grace, but I am not sure that is possible.  😊

This brings us to Paul’s last three “do you not know?” statements.

1 Corinthians 6:12–20 NIV

12 “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything. 13 You say, “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy them both.” The body, however, is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also. 15Do 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! 16Do 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.” 17 But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit. 18 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. 19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

Paul is showing Corinth, and us, that as Christians, we are free from sin, and we have now been joined with a holy God.  We are united to Him in Spirit so when we sin, we bring sin into His presence.  God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow!  God cannot mix with sin.  The entire Old Testament was devoted to the subject of a holy God who cannot have a relationship with an unholy people. 

God sent is Son to die so that we can be made holy.  When we repent, we are turning from that old life.  We are living a new life with new values.  We are not living based on a list of laws, but we are living from a place of new desires.  However, if our old desires continue, we need to question where our loyalty really is.  Are we truly saved?  Did we mean it when we repented and asked Jesus into our life?  If we did, it should break our heart to bring sin into our union with God. 

Conclusion:

Throughout the Old Testament, even though there was an entire nation that called themselves the people of God, there were only a remnant of people who faithfully and legitimately tried to serve God.  Have things changed today?  I do not believe they have.  Jesus Himself indicated that things would not change when He said...

Matthew 7:13–14NIV

13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

The people Jesus is addressing here are those following him.  They are people seeking and trying to find their way to God.  The people not seeking God are not present as they are not even trying to find a gate or God.  So, these gates are what the people seeking God are going through.  The narrow gate and the wide road and gate are paths people are taking to get to God. 

However, there are many seeking that are not open to the full truth.  They want God but they want God on their own terms.  They are following the broader path and entering the wide gate because it is easier.  They do not want to make sacrifices.  They do not want to make hard choices.  They listen to pastors who promise only blessings.  They go to larger churches where they can be served instead of serving.  They enjoy mission trips for the adventure, but they would never consider being a missionary.  They are like the rich young ruler in Matthew 19 who asked...

Matthew 19:16NIV

16 ...“Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”

This young man was asking a question he thought he already had the answer to.  What he really wanted was Jesus’ public approval of all he had already done.  However, Jesus knew his heart.  Jesus knew that he loved his wealth more than he loved God.  He was still too attached to this world, to truly give what was required.  Jesus answered the man and instead of the approval he expected, he went away sorrowful because he was not really willing to do what was required.  I believe that is what prevents many from experiencing the Pentecost experience of the Spirit in their life.  The Spirit’s full power can only be unlocked in our life when we are ready to surrender everything for God.  Full surrender is the narrow gate.  We serve and follow Him completely, holding nothing back.  There will be fewer who go through this gate.

When we do go through that narrow gate, does that make us perfect?  No!  Does that keep us from slipping backward?  No!  We are imperfect humans.  We get distracted at times.  Sometimes we need Paul’s in our life to shake us up and remind us of what we were saved for and what we must look forward to.

Where are you in your life today?  Are you like that rich young ruler?  Maybe you need to re-assess your priorities.  Are you like the Corinthians?  Do you need to be reminded of what it cost God for you to be saved?  Do you need to be reminded of what you can look forward to and the plans God has for you both now, and eternally?  Do you need to be reminded that your body is now Spiritually linked with God and that everything you take into or do with your body is done to God?

Take a moment to evaluate where you are with God today as I sing this song.

Sing: Bring Back the New Again

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