Spiritual Life-handout

Top Ten Reasons That Your Spiritual Life is Flat

 Scripture: 1 Corinthians

1.  You are still worldly.

1 Cor. 3:3 You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men?

2.     Sin tolerance. 

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. [2] And you are proud!

3.     Adopt worldly methods to achieve your own ends.

1CO 6:7 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.

4.     Sexual immorality.

1CO 6:18 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. [19] Do you not know that your body is a temple 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 body.

5.     Marriage.

A matter of commitment.  Chapter 7 is full of directions related to marriage and sexual propriety.

6.     Exercise of personal freedom without consideration for those whose convictions differ from your own.

1CO 8:7 But not everyone knows this. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat such food they think of it as having been sacrificed to an idol, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled. 8 But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.  9 Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak.

7.     Failure to learn from the mistakes of the past.

1CO 10:6 Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did.

8.     Unworthy participation in church ritual.

1CO 11:27 Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. [28] A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. [29] For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself.

9.     Failure to appreciate the diversity of gifts and roles of those within the body of Christ.

1CO 12:21 The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!" [22] On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, [23] and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, [24] while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, [25] so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. [26] If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.  27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.

10.           Failure to recognize that which takes precedence over all other things.

1 Corinthians 12:31 But eagerly desire the greater gifts.  And now I will show you the most excellent way.