843 1 Cor.6.1-11 Winners Can Be Losers
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- In the 1994 World swimming championships, the Chinese women swimmers were dominant in just about every swimming event.
Date: 18-08-19 843 Echuca
- In the 1994 World swimming championships, the Chinese women swimmers were dominant in just about every swimming event.
- They won 12 out of 16 Gold Medals & set 5 world records
- There has been much speculation, suggesting that these swimmers had been using performance-enhancing drugs.
- If that were true, then they had an unfair advantage over the other competitors
- If that were true, they may have won the events but, in reality, they lost
- But we will never know – interestingly, that dominance has never happened again
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- Sportspeople have various views on competing, from winning at all costs, to just being a good competitor
- For Christians, in matters of life, it is not so much the winning, but the faithful perseverance towards the finish line
- For the Christian, it is not so much a matter of losing, but of who you are pleasing
- Who you please is the ultimate aim of every believer
- If what you do, irrespective of what you lose, pleases God, then you’re a winner!
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- The “space-time” continuum is divided into 2 eras – BC & AD
- In this diagram we see the two ages that are explained in the NT
- The Church is right in the overlap of these times - the old fallen age of Adam on the left & God’s new age as shown on the right
- The new began with the 1st coming of Christ & the old ends with His 2nd coming
- Jesus is the pinnacle of God’s plan to restore mankind back to Himself
- In the resurrection of Christ, God put the future in motion
- The future being resurrection – this is what God had ultimately planned
- With the fall of Adam & Eve, the world had become lost in sin & death
- But with God’s actions in bringing Jesus into the world – in Him dying for sins & being raised from the dead – a new order had begun
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- What God has planned for all His people had actually entered into the fallen world of Adam & Eve
- The power of God is here now & in His people
- When a person becomes a Christian, they enter into union with Christ
- We become partakers of the Holy Spirit – no one else has this privilege – only Christians
- As we know from the apostle Paul’s words in...
9 However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.
—9 However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.
- So only Christians are reconciled to God for only Christians have the Spirit of Christ & of God
- You cannot get any plainer that this
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- Christians are born again or born anew or born from above as they are touched by God, renewed, regenerated
- It is by grace that we have been saved & the word saved is in the perfect tense which suggests that salvation has been given at one point in time but there is an abiding effect that continues
- So a Christian remains in a state of salvation due to the fact that it is by grace, but we need to stay in that grace
- One sure way of losing that grace is to step out of Christ
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- Crazy to be sure – who would do that – but this is what happens & there are plenty of warning texts speaking of this, so it is a very real possibility, in spite of what some people say
—12 So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.
12 So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.
10 “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.
—10 “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.
- The reason we can have confidence is because of the POWER of God that keeps us in Christ
- By faith, we stay with the Lord & He commits to us & gives us all & every bit of POWER necessary for us to stay locked in with Christ
27 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; 28 and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. 29 “My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 “I and the Father are one.”
—27 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; 28 and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. 29 “My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 “I and the Father are one.”
- Do you notice here that the assurance is not a “once saved, always saved” cliché
- But, no one can snatch them away from Jesus or the Father because they will both be there to keep us
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- What happens, however, when a person walks away – which has indeed happened before?
- Well they cannot blame God
- It’s like me complaining that the lawn mover I have is useless but I don’t engage with it & start the engine
- Just because I have a lawnmower doesn’t mean I engage with it
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- The other side of the coin from turning your back on God is that we are or have been, a long way from God in our behaviour
- The Corinthian church is a typical example
- You couldn’t get a more worldly church than this one
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- If the future has begun with the resurrection of Christ & Christians have been brought into God’s future age, then, it stands to reason, that Christians ought to leave the behaviours of the fallen world behind
- Paul gives this principle in Romans
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.
- In baptism, the Christian demonstrates his or her death to the old fallen world, & his or her resurrection to new life with Christ into the new age of God
- There is this union with Christ & baptism ably displays this union with Christ & our transition with Him to the new age of God
- “With Him” is the key point – Jesus, in His death & resurrection – moved from the fallen age into the new age that God had ultimately planned
- What we know as the future age
- In baptism, a person believes & identifies with Christ in His journey from the old fallen age to the qualitatively new, special & superior age of God’s presence & power
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- It is an amazing thought, but what it does show, is that a Christian is not static
- With the movement from the old fallen age of Adam & Eve into the future age, our behaviours must correspond with our new reality
- Monkey’s act like Monkey’s; Cats like Cats; Spirit-endowed Christians, like Spirit-endowed Christians
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- The problem with the Corinthians, of course, is that they are still living as if they still belong to the old fallen world of Adam & Eve
- Metaphorically speaking, the Corinthians didn’t act their age.
- They were part of the future kingdom alright, but they lived as if they were still 95% part of the present evil age.
- They, like us, have a race to run & the finish line is the day of God’s salvation & judgement - when Christ comes again
26 ‘He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations; 27 and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of the potter are broken to pieces, as I also have received authority from My Father;
—26 ‘He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, TO HIM I WILL GIVE AUTHORITY OVER THE NATIONS; 27 AND HE SHALL RULE THEM WITH A ROD OF IRON, AS THE VESSELS OF THE POTTER ARE BROKEN TO PIECES, as I also have received authority from My Father;
1. The Competence of God’s People (v.1-6)
1. The Competence of God’s People (v.1-6)
- This is a bit of tricky section in today’s passage because my experience suggests that what the apostle says has limited application
Q. Can it be true that Christians are competent to judge between disputes that the Christian community may have?
- My concern is that Christians may lack the capacity to navigate the rights & wrongs of these disputes
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- Ever watched Judge Judy? She’s a cracker. No mucking around – there are clear distinctions of right & wrong with this woman
- I know it’s TV & entertainment & I know that any of her decisions are paid for by the Network – that’s why they get plenty of people to appear – even the audience is paid
- But she shows a certain competence in making sound judgements
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- But the apostle’s words here are not based on worldly competence, but other-worldly competence
- The other-worldly competence means those who have entered into, & belong to, God’s era
- This ability to be able to judge is because we are on God’s side & have His ways & His thoughts in mind
- It is true, however, that this church is really struggling to qualify
—5 I say this to your shame. Is it so, that there is not among you one wise man who will be able to decide between his brethren,
5 I say this to your shame. Is it so, that there is not among you one wise man who will be able to decide between his brethren,
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Q. How is it that Christians are qualified to make good judgements between themselves?
- It is because God has declared that we will not only judge the world, but judge angels
- If this is the case, how minuscule are the judgements we make in matters of this life – surely, we should be able to do that
- EG. It’s like saying, if you can push a car down the road, then surely you can push a Go-Kart?
- So if your going to judge the world and angels, how much easier to judge the trivial matters of this life
- It is such a shame that the word judgement is seen in such a negative way
- In saying judgements, I’m saying discernment
- It is such a shame that the word judgement is seen in such a negative way
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- Firstly, our society has downgraded the word judgement
- Judgement means determining between right & wrong
- In the social arena, we are told that we must not judge anyone
- That there is no truth other than what people want to make of it
- A guy can feel like a girl – sure, you can be a girl, our government tells them - & you can change your birth certificate once a year in Victoria to whatever sex you want to be, even one that we have never heard of before
- But secondly, Christians have followed the lead from their culture & started to reinterpret Jesus’ sayings so that we “should not judge, lest we be judged”
- That cannot stand up to scrutiny when we read that passage in context - Hypocrisy is what Jesus is criticising there
- Hypocrisy is what Jesus is criticising there
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- It is a sad legacy that the church sprouts all kinds of weird teaching & we all just accept it, under the banner of love & non-judgemental-ism
- When you read the Scriptures – again in their context – you will find that the church is called upon to be discerning & to make judgements of their situation & on matters that involve good & evil, right & wrong
- The Proverbs are all about making situational judgements
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- So instead of Christians taking each other to court, they should be able to decide together on the appropriate settlement of such issues
- To go before the courts of the land to find a settlement, Paul says, is to go before the unrighteous
- What he means here is that the unrighteous make decisions according to the wisdom of the world/age & not according to God’s will & purposes
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- It is not so much that the world is incompetent to judge such cases, but it’s a matter of perspective
- The believer has a “kingdom perspective” and judges in light of that
- The unbeliever makes judgements through his or her value system & that value system often opposes God’s
2. Better to Lose in the World, Yet Win with God (v.7-8)
2. Better to Lose in the World, Yet Win with God (v.7-8)
- Need I have to inform you about the tactics of politicians, who for the sake of winning office would cheat, steal, manipulate & even fabricate to get elected
- There is no doubt that it can be dog eat dog out there in the world
- You can be sued for this or that, at the drop of a hat
- Godless suits are filling our courts in order to extort money, to silence a critic, to establish an ideology or to gain power over someone – all in order to get one’s own way
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- The mark that should most characterise Christian brotherhood is love
- We are all “sons of God” & that includes the ladies
—9 The one who says he is in the Light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now. 10 The one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him. 11 But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
9 The one who says he is in the Light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now. 10 The one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him. 11 But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
- Love is the essential ingredient which was so lacking in the Corinthian church.
- Paul will later go on to tell them that without love, a person is just like a noisy gong or clanging cymbal which amounts to nothing
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- The apostle says that in disputes in the church, that it is better to be wronged or defrauded, than to defraud or wrong your brother
- It’s better to lose financially than spiritually?
“But I say to you, do not resist him who is evil; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 “And if anyone wants to sue you, and take your shirt, let him have your coat also.
39 “But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. 40 “If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also.
- Contrary to the world’s standards, it is better to be defrauded & lose, than to defraud & win
- It is better for a believer to protect his relationship with the Lord than his relationship with his possessions
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- When we are wronged we cast ourselves upon the care of our heavenly Father who is able to work all things for our ultimate good & for His glory
- God will ensure that all our needs will be provided for
33 “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
—33 “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
- Some might object and say: “If we all lived like this, people would take advantage of us”. They’s walk all over us!
- But remember that this is dealing with matters within the church
- Matters that are between Christians & Paul is encouraging resolution here amongst themselves & not in the pagan courts
3. The Age-Old Deception Exposed (v.9-11)
3. The Age-Old Deception Exposed (v.9-11)
Q. What is the age-old deception? The age-old deception is that you can live how you like & it matters not with God
- This deception has more to do with wishing & hoping, that as a Christian, bad behaviour is not a big deal to God – after all, God forgives
- The bar is set, then, to the lowest common denominator
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- But that is not God’s bar
- If a person is a thief, then they will not inherit the kingdom
Q. When is a thief, not a thief? Not when they become a Christian, but when they stop stealing!
- Here we are at the heart of what repentance means
- It matters not if they use the words “Jesus, oh Jesus” & say that they love him, adore him & yet, continue in their sin in disregard of His will
- What matters is transformation – that means that the Christian will not leave that bad behaviour unchecked – that they will work on it, hate it, detest it, until they control it
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- Under Plato’s influence, the world of forms – the likes of you and me (the body/material things) – is a shadowy existence to the realm of the ideals – which is the spirit & the spiritual
- Gosh, Plato described the soul as being trapped in the body like as in a prison, until death sets it free
- Under this influence, the body, & what you did in & with the body, was not counted as impacting your spiritual standing with God
- In other words, if the body is insignificant on the earth, then it is insignificant with God
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- But that is a false belief & it took the Corinthian church down a terrible path
- But Plato’s influence also laid it’s mark upon the likes of the faith versus works controversy in the church; on baptism – where somehow faith is the spiritual & is all you need & it doesn’t matter what you do in the body
- Baptism is relegated to the world of forms or matter (because it’s an action) but faith is the spiritual – but we do not find this dichotomy in the apostle
- All through Scripture, we find that physical actions altered spiritual outcomes!
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- Do not be deceived, he says! The unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God
- I hope that you all know this well – that this means that the unrepentant will not gain the salvation of God
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- In the passage where Jesus comes in His glory & there is, then, a separation of the sheep from the goats, He says these words to the sheep who are put to His right
—34 “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
34 “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
- It’s pretty clear here that we are to equate inheriting the kingdom of God with receiving the salvation of God
- If you are still not convinced, then Jesus goes on…
—41 “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;
41 “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;
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- Paul finishes this section by warning them of the dangers of not becoming in good behaviour, what they have become in Christ
- But he also encourages them to move forward due to the fact that God has already cleansed them from their pagan sins.
11 Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.
—11 Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.
(“such were some of you” - fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, effeminate, homosexuals, thieves, covetous, drunkards, revilers, swindlers – but you were washed)
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13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; 15 nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.
—13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; 15 nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.
- You are to be salt & light in the world!
- Salt is a preservative, which upholds the moral fibre of the world
- Light is that which illuminates the darkness
- Like Noah to the ungodly generation of his day
- Enoch, Elijah, Elisha, David, John the Baptist, Jesus
- They all lighted peoples minds to the things of God & challenged them to get right with God
- In the same way, Christians are to illuminate the world to the things of God
One day a hound was out hunting by himself, flushed a Hare from a thicket and gave chase. The frightened hare gave a long run and escaped. As the disappointed hound turned back toward home, a passing herdsman said jeeringly: “You are a fine hunter! Aren’t you ashamed to let a little hare one-tenth your size get the best of you?” “You forget,” replied the hound, “that I was only running for my supper, but the hare was running for his life!” [Aesop’s Fables, “The Hare & the Hound” p.25]
- It’s not a pleasant thing to consider, but it is a truth, that we are running for our life
- If we become complacent & allow the world to shape our morals & ethics – our obedience to Christ - then we open ourselves up to danger
- We cannot go wrong by adopting the apostle’s teaching that the Christian life is a race to be run & it is to be run like one who wants to win the prize
- Let us run that race like the hare who knows that, if he takes his foot off the peddle, the hound will start to catch him
- That’s why as Paul says...
14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
—14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
- God has entrusted the sorting out of disputes to the church because the church has a kingdom standard of righteousness
- However, the church should remember to take her eyes off themselves & on to what is truly important & that is God’s kingdom
- If we don’t do that, we are showing that our allegiance is more to the old fallen age of sin & death than it is to the kingdom of our God