825 1 Cor.1.1-3 Saints by Calling
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Q. Am I, as a Christian, basically a sinner who is forgiven, or a saint who sins?”
Saints by Calling
Saints by Calling
Date: 17-03-19 825 Echuca
Q. Am I, as a Christian, basically a sinner who is forgiven, or a saint who sins?”
Q. There is truth in both, but which is more correct?
- This is an important question, insofar as it goes to the heart of every Christian's motivation
- If you consider yourself a sinner who is forgiven, you tend to brush off the possibility that real & lasting change can take place in your life
- If you consider yourself a saint who sins, then you start from a position of positive identify about yourself
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- You will hear plenty of voices affirming that we are “miserable sinners” & a number of church catechisms express that
- Martin Luther's short catechism teaches the believer to say,
“I, miserable sinner, confess myself before God guilty of all manner of sins.”
- Now you may say that this is true & to a degree you may be correct just as many half truths present themselves as truth, yet overall, they show to be false
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- There are subtleties that you should be aware of
1. In the core of your being, are you happy to sin?
- A Christian cannot say, that he or she is happy to sin
- If you say that you are happy & delighted to sin, then you cannot claim to be a Christian
2. Are you transformed?
- Has Christ transferred you from darkness to light, from the kingdom of Satan to the kingdom of Christ?
- If you haven't been transferred, then you are a sinner that needs the salvation of Christ
3. When we consider that the apostle Paul divides his letters up with first theology & then practise, what theology does he present with respect to the believer's identity – a positive one OR a negative one
- Is it one whose identity is on the winning side, or one whose identify is on the losing side?
- I'm sure we would all agree that he speaks positively of the believer's position in Christ & God
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Q. When the apostle Paul, in his Epistles, talks about a change of clothing, what does this relate to?
27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
—27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
- The person who becomes a believer, who is baptised into Christ, is clothed with Christ – new clothing is envisaged here & the new clothing signifies the change of identity
—20 “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
20 “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
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- We looked at that interesting passage in Romans which speaks about the person's transition out of the present evil age & into the “age to come”
- In , Paul says that, in baptism – and he uses baptism since it is the Christian's point of conversion being expressed – that the person is transferred into the age to come, to where Christ is, having already gone before
3 Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; 7 for he who has died is freed from sin.
—3 Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; 7 for he who has died is freed from sin.
Q. Did you pick up what that says there?
- Old self was crucified with Him...in order that...our body of sin might be done away with... & he who has died is freed from sin
- Wow! That is an incredible statement!
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- Too often in reformed circles, the emphasis is on the pardon & not the transformation – get what I mean here?
- The emphasis is on Christ who died for your pardon so that you are, in principle, free
- Your life may not change at all – but you are pardoned & forgiven!
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- Surely, we cannot believe that God went to all the trouble of the cross, - the pain & agony – the hideous nature of the cross
- He cannot have planned this from eternity past all just so a person can be forgiven & pardoned – is this the purpose of the cross?
- Never, never, never – forgiveness & pardon are a means to an end – they are not the end in itself – reconciliation is the end!
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- The original problem of sin which led to the expulsion of the pair in the Garden of Eden was their disobedience & disloyalty to God
- From there, the human race inherited their independent streak that led to further alienation from God
Q. How could mankind be brought back to God?
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- This question suggests the original intention of God, for the people He created – fellowship, relationship, loyalty, faithfulness, obedience!
- We ourselves want these same things – we are relational beings
- We crave for loyalty – yes? True enough. We hurt deeply when people have been disloyal to us
- So too with God
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- Now, I guess, God could try law & force – “obey me or else” – that might work, except for the fact that the “or else” would probably end in zero population left
- Already, in early Genesis, we see this being revealed
1 Now it came about, when men began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them, 2 that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose. 3 Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.”
—1 Now it came about, when men began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them, 2 that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose. 3 Then the LORD said, “My Spirit shall not strive [put up with] with man forever, because he also is weak flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.”
- One hundred & twenty years is all he had left until God destroyed the world with a flood & He began again with Noah & his family
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- The plan of God is to win the heart of man
- You do not win the heart of man through law – God knew that, but we had to learn that too, which is why He used THE law to show us sin
Q. And how do you win the heart of man who is so lost & so weak that he finds himself in a place where it is impossible for him to crawl out?
Q. And how do you win a person who is so laden with guilt that he cannot bear to look God in the eye?
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- You win him through grace & mercy
- Grace is giving a person what they don't deserve & mercy is not giving them what they do deserve
- Both of these beautiful virtues are seen mounted on the cross of Christ
- So in truth, the cross does pay the price of our sins, in truth, through the cross, we are pardoned
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- But with the express purpose of reconciliation
- To achieve reconciliation, the cross was used to provide pardon for guilt which kept man from coming close to God
- The cross provided the reconciliation that granted the very presence of God in the believer's life
- No longer under the dominion of weak flesh, he & she is under the dominion (control) of the Spirit
- No longer a slave to sin & alienation from God, the believer is a willing slave to Christ & says “no” to sin & “yes” to God
- One who is done with the sinfulness, with the disobedience & with the disloyalty of the world & says with the beatitudes of Jesus
—6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
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- Finally, God has achieved what He ultimately desired...
- Fellowship, obedience, loyalty & love from the heart of man to Himself
21 Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death. 22 But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
—21 Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death. 22 But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free transformational gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
- This passage is saying exactly that – that the gift of God is all encompassing as a way to transform the very heart of man back to God
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- Can I suggest to you, then, that a positive outlook is needed
- You are no longer a miserable sinner who is forgiven
- You are a saint of God who, until Christ comes, sadly, can & does sin
- The reason we sin – stems from the fact that whilst we have been moved into the “age to come” & experience the power of God in our lives, we are still tied to the world of flesh – a fallen & corrupt world that throws temptation after temptation at us
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- But realise this – that you have the power of God to bear, what the apostle calls, the “fruit” of the Spirit
- In other words, our new behaviours are not brought about through the power of flesh, but the power of God's Spirit (this is an objective change – a real change that came into our world because of Christ)
- God dwells with the Christian & empowers the Christian, supernaturally, to live a life that submits to God & glorifies Christ
—7 For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.
7 For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.
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- This has been a lengthy introduction, but it should serve to help you better understand this letter of 1 Corinthians
- This letter shows us some terrible failings of Christians when they get caught up in the world & start listening to the world
- What they end up doing is they bring the world into their Christian life & understanding & in the end, it corrupts the truth of the Gospel & perverts the purposes of God
- WARNING here – never think that this does not, nor will not, happen to you
- The church throughout history has been led to a greater or lesser degree by the worldliness coming out of secular culture
1. The Setting of Corinth
1. The Setting of Corinth
On the ABC website posted on 1st August, 2006 we read this article:
Former Echuca brothel 'historically significant'
“The National Trust had classified a former brothel at Echuca as a historically significant Victorian building. The six room brick building in the historic wharf precinct operated when Echuca was one of Australia's busiest inland ports, in the late 1800s.
Heritage Victoria will decide whether it should be given statutory protection. The trust's conservation manager, Martin Purslow, says the Echuca brothel is a rare survivor of its time. "It was a bustling, important place with a lot of single men working hard on the docks down on the river there ...and it fits in with the picture that you would have probably expected from a busy urban area at the time," he said.
- In other words, there were plenty of clients for prostitution
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- Likewise, Corinth was a unique port placed on an isthmus adjacent to another smaller port, called Cenchrea
- Merchants who sailed those waters believed it was more advantageous to pay a toll charge to tow their ships across between Corinth & Cenchrea than to try & sail around the dangerous waters around the southern shores of Achaia & add another 688 klms
- Perhaps they had some kind of trailer that they loaded the ship on & towed to the other side – the stone pavement on which they did this, still exists
- Emperor Nero lent an effort to complete the digging of a canal that was started centuries before, but he abandoned the huge project & it wasn't completed until 1893
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- Corinth became a Roman city with its roots back in Greek culture
- They were an extremely religious lot, like the Athenians, who were wanting to worship at the altar of an unknown god just to make sure they didn't miss any
- There were the rich & the poor – the idea that there were the haves & the have nots
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- In many ways, as we view the various cultures of the world, that there are many commonalities amongst the human race
- Sin is sin, men & women are always prone to looking in the wrong places for the answers to life
- In the midst of this lost city, the Gospel of Christ enters & God saves some of their number & a number of house churches form in Corinth
2. A Sanctified Church
2. A Sanctified Church
Q. Who are these people now?
Q. What is their status, now that they have come to know Jesus as Lord? Are they sinners or are they saints?
- We find here that Paul makes it clear, in his introduction, that they are, indeed, saints
Q. Could we say that this is also true of us?
- I would say, yes, since the introduction is to the church of God – in Corinth & to all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours
- The important aspect is that this applies to the churches of God & is a result of the grace of Christ & His death on the cross
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- We are talking here about a “sanctified” church
- Of course, no one uses this language anymore so if you use it, say, at school then there is a good chance that the response will be, “huh”!
- At best, they might think your talking about golf & that you have “shanktified” your shot into the bushes
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- To be sanctified is an incredibly rich word with a lot of history & meaning
- If I could boil it down to common language, I would say that the person sanctified has now come under the ownership of God
- It would not be good enough to say that the person sanctified has joined God's club, because a person who joins a club can still do what they like because the club doesn't tell them what to do – at least, not in the totality of their life
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- To be sanctified means “to be given over to God”, “set apart for His exclusive or sole use”
- You could consider the wooden spoon illustration I use regarding the temple in the OT
- All the instruments of the temple were made holy, were set apart for God's exclusive use in His temple
- The spoons used in the temple were covered in gold to match the splendour of the temple, the splendour of God & the spoons were “sanctified” to be used solely for use in God's temple
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- If the priest got a phone call from his wife late in the day, saying that she broke the wooden spoon & needs him to bring home one from the temple because she didn't have time to go & get another from the supermarket, he would have to say, “NO WAY”!
- He knows that that spoon in the temple is now special – it could not be used for common use anymore, because it has been sanctified – given over to God for His exclusive use in the temple
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- Holy instruments were solely owned by God which means that when King Belshazzar was feasting with the vessels from the Jerusalem temple that the finger of God wrote on the wall
- On the wall was written, “The days of your kingdom are numbered (& at an end); you have been weighed & found wanting”
- Belshazzar was guilty of profaning the sovereign of all the earth & he knew it – read the account in
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- This is the meaning that we transfer over to Israel – they were a sanctified people, but even more now, those who belong to Christ are a sanctified people
- We, in a deeper way, are the true sons & daughters of the living God & to be one of the redeemed, means to be one of those who were bought with a price – that you are no longer your own – you died & your life is now hidden with Christ, in God
3. Whose Members are “Saints”
3. Whose Members are “Saints”
- If one has been sanctified, it means that that person has become a saint
- Saint means, holy one, or separated one
- The wooden spoon covered in gold & sanctified to be used in the temple is now designated as a holy instrument
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- Now, no doubt, some of you are thinking that you are far from being a “holy instrument”
- Perhaps, it is because you are carrying some baggage from teaching that was off course in understanding of what holiness means
- Perhaps, you are not yet a Christian & have yet to understand what happens when you become one
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- A saint is not one who is declared one, by the church, nor one who is proven by a miracle
- The church has no authority to declare some people saints & not others
- We have been deceived by this false teaching long enough – it is time to challenge these teachings & expose them for the lies they generate
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- Look at this introduction in 1st Corinthians...
Q. Is a saint someone who has proven themselves a tireless servant of the church for many years? No
- A saint is a Christian & a Christian is a saint
- A holy one – one that possesses the Spirit of God & is the dwelling place of God
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- God is not confined to a temple – Solomon knew that, but God still wanted him to build the temple
- God dwelt, first, in the tabernacle, when the “temple” was as a tent & then in the temple proper when it was made a permanent structure
- The Israelites would see the glory of God, the shekinah, that radiated out from the tabernacle
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- That same imagery is applied to the church
- God dwells with His people & His glory is in them
16 Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 17 If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.
—16 Do you not know that you are God's temple and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 17 If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.
- Could it be any clearer!
- The church is said to be God's temple & individuals are also said to be building blocks of that temple
- We are both part of the temple & are that temple
- On the one hand, it shows that Christians are not separate from the body, but on the other, it also shows that the body is made up of indispensable parts
19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?
- Therefore, your body is not used for immorality, but for God
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?
- Therefore, your body is not used for immorality, but for God
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- And as Paul speaks to the Ephesians about Gentiles being equal members with believing Jews in the church, he says...
-- 19 So then you [Gentiles] are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.
19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.
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- All this speaks to us of the status of being a saint
- A saint is not a saint because of the level of a squeaky clean life, although, that is desirable
- A saint is a saint because he or she belongs to God & is set apart for God's exclusive use
- This is what a person has agreed to, when they come to Christ & if you came on another basis, you were sold a false Gospel – perhaps, a Gospel of easy believism
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- When you come to Christ, you die – you have given yourself totally to God
- Your life, it's control, it's ambitions, have been reoriented towards Christ
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- This is what you chose when you were baptised into Christ
- Buried with Him in baptism, says Paul
- You died with Christ, only to be reborn with Him in resurrection life
- You have made the wisest decision in the world to follow Christ & even though the gate is small & the road is narrow, you knew, that life was found in no other
- Like the apostles who, when confronted by Jesus' words, “do you want to leave Me too”, said to Him
—68 “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. 69 “We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.”
68 Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. 69 “We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.”
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Q. Which is more true: “Am I, as a Christian, basically a sinner who is forgiven, or a saint who sins?”
- I hope you will agree that the latter is so & that you will glorify God for that which He has done in reconciling you to Himself so that you can now truly belong to Him
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