6: NOT Who We USED to Be (1 Cor 6:1-11)

I just ran upon a message from a year ago that I didn’t share with you, but I want to now. Good evening my brother. My name is Carl Malcom. Me, my wife & our son visited with you guys several times during the month of March as we stayed in Madison. (We're the traveling family) I wanted to take a moment and let you know how much we appreciated the welcoming spirit & love shown to us by you and your sweet church.

Quite honestly, I find myself missing being with you guys. The worship was genuine. The preaching was empowered. The fellowship was sweet! I want you to know that though we're down the road, we continue to follow you guys online & more importantly, I want you to know that you & Fellowship are being prayed for faithfully. May Christ our King continue to use you guys & to bless your efforts for His glory.

For His glory, Carl Malcom

Church, I am SO GRATEFUL for so many of you that treat people with value, honor Jesus daily, and put your hand to the plow to SERVE on campus and in our culture.

PRAY (Lord, thank You for this precious church. I pray that you protect us from the enemy’s schemes to divide us and splinter our eternal impact instead of multiplying it…)

________________

We took a break from our 1 Corinthians series and now we’re back, a series entitled “A Beautiful Mess”,

If you’ve read this letter before, you might understand the title. The Corinthian Church was so similar to so many churches in our culture:

with maturing believers who loved Jesus,

and others who were very young in the faith with an immature understanding of what God wants.

Still yet, the Church in Corinth had rivalries and factions - where some in the Church were even taking one another to court - as we will talk about today.

Further, the Church had yet to discipline one of the members who was living in open sexual sin - as we talked about in the last teaching - go back and listen to them on our website: FOM.life (over 530 teachings).

And on top of all that this Church lived in a city that was full of idols and temples to false gods.

The Church in Corinth was...a Mess, but this church was also Beautiful.

Remember how Paul begins his letter:

1 Corinthians 1:2 (NIV) To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be his holy people, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours:

These people are the church of God in Corinth. As most of you know, the Greek term Ekklēsia is what we translate as “church” - a term meaning a gathering or “assembly”. It never refers to a building, but to the Body of Christ (a phrase Paul will use in this letter - 1 Cor 12:27). Let’s quit calling this PLACE “the church”. Instead, let’s refer to each other as “the Church”.

Remember - [point to the building] “This is NOT the Church” [then point to the PEOPLE] “This is the Church”.]

Turn to someone and say, “We ARE the Church.”

Paul also calls this assembly/church sanctified - meaning, set apart for service to God,1

These people are His holy people - often simply translated as “saints”.

1 Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 537.

These people have been changed by the good news of Jesus. So Paul points to their POSITION in Christ - set apart, God’s holy people. Paul reminds them WHOSE they are, and he reminds THEM…and reminds US that while followers of Jesus have participated in slimy, nasty, sins...

...we are NOT WHO WE USED TO BE. Followers of Jesus have been forgiven much!

And because of that...

[BIG TRUTH] We can’t live in sin, if we belong to Him.

Paul has already addressed this in the previous chapter where he told the church to discipline the man in sexual sin with his step-mother (1 Cor 5). They were to remove him from their fellowship…and they did, which ultimately led to his repentance and restoration (2 Cor 2:5-11)!

Now, let’s dig in as Paul addresses another messy issue among this beautiful church.

1 Corinthians 6:1–3 (CSB) If any of you has a dispute against another, how dare you take it to court before the unrighteous, and not before the saints? Or 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? Don’t you know that we will judge angels—how much more matters of this life?

1 Corinthians 6:4-6 (CSB) So if you have such matters, do you appoint as your judges those who have no standing in the church? 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? Instead, brother goes to court against brother, and that before unbelievers!

1 Corinthians 6:7-8 (CSB) 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? Instead, you yourselves do wrong and cheat—and you do this to brothers and sisters!

According to Paul, there is coming a day that the saints, followers of Jesus, will judge the world and even judge angels. How could this be, especially since we have sinned ourselves? The answer? As we will see later in this study of 1 Corinthians, when Jesus returns believers will be transformed into the image of Jesus - with no more sin and no more sin nature (1 Cor 15:49-55).

And…if believers are going to sit to judge the world and judge angels at the end of time, they should sure be able to handle the trivial cases on earth right now.

The church should be able to help handle these issues trivial cases and to keep from approaching the court as enemies rather than brothers/sisters. Instead, we should take care of some things in house. Otherwise, brother against brother communicates unrest & anger rather than the peace & love we are to have in Jesus.

Note: This doesn’t mean we should never bring judgement to our courts. We are bound by our United States law to bring cases of child abuse, assault, and murder to the governing authorities God has put in place to protect the innocent and punish the guilty (Rm 13).

But in lesser cases, we need to handle this within the Body of Christ. And what if we did! What if the offender and the offended actually humbled themselves before spiritual leaders, settled their dispute, and walked out of the room as brothers/sisters rather than enemies! What would that say to our vengeful culture?

The late Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia made this observation:

I think that this passage has something to say about the proper Christian attitude toward civil litigation. Paul is making two points. Paul says that the mediation of a mutual friend, such as the parish priest, should be sought before parties run off to the law courts.… I think we are too ready today to see vindication or vengeance through adversary proceedings, rather than peace through mediation.… Good Christians, just as they are slow to anger, should be slow to sue.

Stephen T. Um, 1 Corinthians: The Word of the Cross, ed. R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2015), 107.

Of course, no one wants to be wronged and no one wants to be cheated, and certainly not by a brother or sister in Christ! It is never okay for us to do wrong and cheat, especially to do so to people in our own family.

To do so would be unrighteous, and that can’t be us anymore because...

We can’t live in sin, if we belong to Him.

As we have said before, we can’t keep living for the sin that Jesus died to pay for.

Sadly, many in our culture have bought the idea that we can be Christians without denying ourselves, taking up the cross, and following Jesus.

Rather than crucifying their sin (Gal 5:24), many celebrate their sin (Rom 1:32). But...

We can’t live in sin, if we belong to Him.

Paul makes this Crystal clear with these next words.

1 Corinthians 6:9–10 (CSB) 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, no thieves, greedy people, drunkards, verbally abusive people, or swindlers will inherit God’s kingdom.

This isn’t an exhaustive list that mentions every possible sin, but it covers a bunch that are NOT to play a part in the lives of those who belong to Jesus. And while all of us can likely point to one of these sins that we HAVE participated in, we should no longer be living for the sin that Jesus died to pay for!

Those who say anything different, are not speaking the truth, so…do not be deceived by them.

Notice what always leads the list for Paul:

Sexually immorality comes from the Greek word porneia, from which we get our word - pornography. This term refers to any sexual activity outside of marriage, and in this context likely is targeted as those who are unmarried - as married folks will be mentioned in a moment. Sexual immorality is littered across our devices - TVs, phones, & computers. Rarely does a movie or show we like have unmarried people NOT participating in sex. Many who claim Christ live in sexual immorality with their significant other. I can’t tell you how many "Christians” who are talking about marriage who are already living together. NO!!! This should NOT be so!!!! For those who live this way - listen to the warning shot fired across your bow - the unrighteous will not inherit the God’s kingdom.

Idolaters are those who seek out other gods beside the real God.

Corinth was full of idolaters - where over 26 different sacred sites and 6 temples have been found, including this massive Temple of Apollo - which originally was supported by 40 massive columns. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UK4C44yuIBU

People in our culture might not bow down to statues, but many worship a false image of who God really is. Instead of worshiping the God in whose image we are made, many worship a god made in their image.

Adultery not only impacts the marriage, but it has the potential to blow up the family. Adultery often ends up in divorce and families that are splintered the rest of their lives. Thankfully, genuine repentance to Jesus and to one another means that marriages can be salvaged, restored, and even become examples to give hope to others!

Homosexual Activity is forbidden to the follower of Jesus. Some have attempted to sidestep the Scriptures using several different tactics. I don’t have time to go into that today very deeply, but we have before. Check our website for 2 teachings we have done on this:

What Does God Think About Homosexuality? https://bit.ly/3Oz4YRK

The Sexual Tsunami & the LGBTQ Agenda https://bit.ly/3xPNevK

Some have said that Paul was only talking about same sex relationships that were not loving & monogamous (between 2 people). This is just not true…ANYWHERE in the Scriptures. In the Scriptures, any sex outside of marriage is sin, and marriage is ONLY between a man and a woman.

Others might wonder where I got this translation, because they say, “There is no Greek word for homosexuality.” [as the ESV renders the terms] And they would be right. Instead, Paul uses 2 terms: One refers to the passive partner while the other is arsenokoites, a compound of 2 words: arsenos (men) & koites (sexual intercourse). Paul likely coined this phrase as it combines the same two words found in LXX in Lev 18:22 and Lev 20:13. The NIV and CSB both translate this well as males who have sex with males. The Scriptures do not allow for lesbianism, which is condemned in Rom 1:26-27.

We should love these people who live in these sins (sexual immorality, idolatry, adultery, and homosexual activity), but we should NEVER condone nor applaud such sin.

The local church must confront Christians who live in any of these sins, correct them, and restore them…UNLESS…they refuse to turn from this sin - for which they should be disciplined like the man in 1 Cor. 5.

Neither should followers of Jesus live in sin by being...

Thieves or Greedy. Followers of Jesus are to be image bearers of Jesus to others. Would Jesus ever steal? Was Jesus stingy with his stuff & acting like material possessions were more important than people? NOPE! Thieves steal what they wish they had and the greedy keep what they have to themselves, ever wanting more and more.

Drunkards live for the next party, buzz, or fix that blurs the line between reality and fantasy. The was the most readily available drug of the day but certainly is an umbrella for anything that would cause us to be out of control and not focused on making a spiritual impact. Paul writes the Ephesians saying:

Ephesians 5:18 (CSB) And don’t get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless living, but be filled by the Spirit:

Verbally abusive people hurt other people with their words. The old saying, “Sticks and stones make break my bones but words will never hurt me” is…a LIE!

Swindlers could be lumped with the thieves and greedy, because they lie, cheat, and take advantage of other people for financial gain. They don’t love others. They love themselves too much.

These people will NOT inherit the kingdom of God. WHY?

We can’t live in sin, if we belong to Him.

If you CAN live in...sexual immorality, idolatry, adultery, homosexuality, stealing from others, greed, drunkeness, abusing others with you mouth, or swindling people, then you CAN’T be a follower of Jesus.

And let me make this clear - people don’t live right to be made right with God, but people who have been made right with God, live right. The Holy Spirit inside of you won’t allow anything less. Because...

If you ARE a follower of Jesus, then you AREN’T who you used to be.

1 Corinthians 6:11 (CSB) 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.

This is fantastic news! If you have lived in those sins in the past, you don’t have to stay there, you CAN BE FORGIVEN! Your identity doesn’t have to be soldered to your sins. Jesus died to pay for ALL of that!

When you turn from your sin and trust Him...

Your sin has been washed away!

You have been sanctified - set apart and claimed by God as a son/daughter of His!

And you have been justified - set free from judgment - no longer viewed as guilty.

Following Jesus means that you have been washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ - by His authority and because of His obedience to go to the cross to pay for your sin. Now He lives in His followers by the Spirit.

Are you a FOLLOWER of Jesus? Have you turned from your sin and trusted Jesus?

Does your life demonstrate that you are washed, sanctified, and justified?

Mr. Sonny

One of my heroes was Mr. Sonny died a few years back. Mr. Sonny was a big burly man who invested in my life by taking my fishing and camping. He taught me in RA’s. He was a dear friend of my folks who was often in my house. And Mr. Sonny LOVED Jesus with every fiber of his being!

But that’s not who Mr. Sonny used to be. Before being married, Mr. Sonny was sexually immoral. After getting married, he ran around his wife. And Mr. Sonny was a greedy idolater who lived for money…and alcohol. Mr. Sonny loved to get drunk. He also loved to pick fights at bars and beat the snot out of several guys. He was verbally and physically abusive.

But then Mr. Sonny heard the good news of Jesus. He heard that Jesus was God in skin, who loved HIM…who died for…HIM! He surrendered his life to Jesus…and Mr. Sonny transformed into man who loved BIG! The BIG bruiser became a BIG teddy bear. His language changed. His relationships changed. Mr. Sonny changed.

In the very first few days of trusting Jesus with his life, Mr. Sonny invited my parents over to his house…to watch him pour all his alcohol down the drain.

Mr. Sonny understood that followers of Jesus Aren’t What We Used to Be. He has forgiven us much. And...

We can’t live in sin, if we belong to Him.

3 Questions:

Do you belong to Jesus?

Are you seeking Jesus & fighting to kill sin in your life?

Are you walking with other believers?

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STAFF

DEACONS

discussionquestions Take some time to discuss these questions with your family, friends, or group.

What challenged or encouraged you most from today’s teaching? Explain your answer.

Read 1 Corinthians 15. How significant is the resurrection of Jesus? If He didn’t rise, how should that impact a person who claims to follow Jesus? How should the Risen Jesus impact our words, thoughts, & actions this week?

Why should the conversion of people like James and Paul cause us to pause and ask, “What happened to those guys, that they would move from skeptics or enemies to become devoted followers of Jesus, who risked their lives to tell others about Him?”

Consider our BIG TRUTH: If He rose from the dead, we can trust what He said…on everything. If this is the case, why is it so important to spend time reading the Scriptures? Is there anything that Jesus teaches that you have had to trust Him with, even though you don’t necessarily like it? Explain your answer.

Share prayer needs and pray for one another. Continue to pray for our Supreme Court decision on Roe v Wade. Pray for Christians in Ukraine and Russia to carry the message of Jesus with them wherever they go. Also, PRAY that God will greatly use us during this Easter season, to impact people who need to follow Jesus.