Once a church member
was discussing with her pastor about an uncle of hers who was baptized
after a lifetime of sinful living. "Will my uncle's sins be forgiven?"
she asked. Oh, certainly!" the pastor replied. "Remember, the greater
the sins, the greater the saint." She thought silently about what he
said for a moment. Then she said, "Oh, Pastor, I wish I'd known this
50 yrs. ago."
Part of the problem in the church is there are far too many people who
wished they could still live like a sinner. What Paul is saying is that
you can't be a sinner and a Christian at the same time-v. 9(a).
Let me give you some background information to what Corinth was like
at the time Paul wrote this letter. Outside the city, on the top of
a mountain, was the temple built to the Greek goddess of love, Aphrodite.
And from this temple, thousands of temple prostitutes would descend
upon the city every night. Also, there was a temple built to the Greek
god Apollo, who was the god of music & art. It had become the place
where homosexuals would hang out. Obviously Corinth was not an ideal
city to raise a family.
The city of Corinth was so ridden with sin that the Greeks used the
word Corinth as an adjective to describe people who were living an immoral
life. In today's world, we also use adjectives to describe people. In
our minds we have formulated opinions of what a geek is, of what a preppy
is, of what a jock is, and what a thug is. When I was a teenager, I
wanted to be known as a hippy. That's because the word described someone
who was into drugs, sex, and rock & roll. During Paul's day, if you
called someone a Corinth, you were saying that that person was immoral.
Notice that once again Paul uses the rhetorical question, "Do you not
know?" The implied answer is, yes, we know that the wicked will not
inherit the kingdom of God. This brings up an interesting theological
question: Who is Paul speaking to in this part of his letter, believers
or non-believers such a question? The answer is, he's talking to non-believers..
At this point in his letter, Paul is writing to those who spend the
first 6 days of the week sowing wild oats, then go to church on Sunday
and pray for a crop failure. Seriously, Paul is writing to those that
Jesus referred to as the tares that were part of the wheat & the goats
that were mingling with the sheep. Paul refers to them as the unrighteous
that were trying to hide among the righteous. To fully understand what
Paul means by unrighteous, we need to discover what the Bible has to
say about being unrighteous.
The word unrighteous is a compound word which has a root word that spiritually
means a person who has received the righteousness of God, and whose
behaviors conform to the imposed standards of God's Word. The Bible
tells us that the Old Testament saints & prophets, and those who are
in Jesus Christ are called righteous people. Therefore, an unrighteous
person is someone who has not received God's righteousness, which is
clearly seen by the fact that he or she is choosing not to live by the
standards of God's Word.
Paul uses this word only in reference to those who are not Christians.
It is the same word he used in v. 1 in which in contrasted sinners &
saints. The way he uses it here shows us that Paul is aware that in
the church there are those whose profession doesn't match their possession.
When Jesus was alive, he had people who followed him, but were not his
disciples. They followed him because they wanted to hear his profound
teachings. They followed him because they wanted to see him before a
miracle, or be the recipient of a miracle themselves. But as soon as
Jesus started to talk about going to the cross, they started to fall
away.
What was true of Jesus, is also true in the church. There are people
who attend worship services but never give their heart to Jesus Christ.
They come because of the love & acceptance they find in a church. They
come because they are seeking some miracle in their lives. But they
are not willing to let Jesus be the lord of their lives.
These kind of people are hard to spot. For they may be some of the most
faithful attendees, and they may be some of the hardest workers. And
they know & use all the right Christian words. But just like going to
Macdonald's will never make you a hamburger, neither will going to church
make you a Christian.
The thrust of what Paul is trying to teach us is that if we profess
to be genuine followers of Jesus Christ then we should not be living
like an unsaved person. So the people that Paul is talking to are not
those who commit isolated acts of sin. Paul knows that none of us will
ever live sinless lives. He is referring to people who continually pursue
those things that are specifically forbidden in God's Word. He is talking
to people whose live declares that they want nothing to do with God.
What Paul is saying is that if you are persistently choosing to disobey
God's Word, while at the same time you are coming to church, then you
are not a citizen of God's kingdom. So when Paul uses the word unrighteous,
he is not talking about backslidden Christians, but to those who have
never been born again. Jesus told us that "Unless one is born again,
he cannot enter the kingdom of God." (John
3:3)
When we were in the realm of our mother's womb, we were able to do whatever
we wanted to. We slept as long as we wanted to. We ate whenever we wanted
to. We could even scream & kick without ever getting spanked. But, when
we came out of the womb, we became subject to our parents' rules, and
the laws of the land.
Likewise, when we are born again, we are placed in the realm of our
heavenly father, what Paul calls the kingdom of God, and we become subject
to God's rules. I think it's important that we understand what Paul
means by the phrase "inherit the kingdom of God."-v. 9.
The kingdom of God that Paul is talking about here is not enjoying God's
presence while we are here on earth. He is talking about the place where
God lives, the place we all hope to go when we leave this world. I say
this because the word "inherit" is in the future tense.
The logic that Paul is trying to get you to see is that if don't want
Jesus to be your final authority in this life, then quit kidding yourself
that just because you went to church that you're going to get into heaven
when you die. Jesus, "I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no
one comes to the Father but through Me." (John
14:6) Jesus also said, concerning trying to get into heaven, "Many
will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your
name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many
miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from
me, you evildoers!'" (Matthew
7:22-23)
Next we need to discern what Paul would have taught concerning conforming
to the rules God has imposed upon his children. We know that Paul talked
a lot about living holy. The reason Paul talked so much about conforming
to the righteous standards God set forth in his word is because he knows
that by keeping them we show that we love God.
Jesus said, "If you love Me, keep My commandments." (John
14:15) And those commandments would have been to "Love the Lord
your God with all your heart and with all your soul, with all your strength,
and with all your might. And love your neighbor as yourself." (Luke
10:27) For if you love God, if you love your neighbor, and if you
love yourself, you won't do anything that might hurt God, that might
hurt your neighbor, or that might hurt yourself.
Just in case you're wondering what the life of an unrighteous person
looks like, Paul gives us 10 examples-v. 9(b)-v. 10. Since we already
looked at most of these when we studied ch. 5, I want to talk briefly
about a couple he introduces here for the first time. They are the adulterers
& the homosexuals. I find it interesting to note how the Holy Spirit
inspired Paul to sandwich idolatry between 2 types of sexual sins.
In our country sexual immorality has become a god or an idol. It has
become the chief end of man. It is being pursued with the same religious
zeal that is reserved exclusively for God. If you don't think that sexual
misconduct hasn't become an idol in this country, then you need only
look to the attitude that many people have towards the sin of adultery.
For instance, most Americans didn't seem to give it a second thought
as to accepting what Clinton did was O.K. After all, he convinced, not
only his own wife, but far too many Americans, that since he only had
oral sex, he didn't commit adultery. Any of you wives who agree with
that statement please stand up.
The cry went out from Washington and the media; that what Clinton did
in his private life was none of our business. Never mind the fact that
this misconduct went on at the workplace in the capital while the President
was at work. Never mind the fact that the other person involved was
a 21 year old young woman who was not discouraged by the President from
making advances. But the spin was to make it look like they were both
consenting adults which made everything just fine, and none of our business.
Sexual immorality of any type may not be pleasant to talk about, or
even listen to, but Paul has no problem calling it what it is: sin.
And those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Paul also raises the issue of homosexuality. The word for effeminate
was only used in reference to "A boy kept for homosexual relations,
or a male who submitted his body to unnatural lewdness." The word for
homosexual describes "One who lies with a male as he would with a female."
Since homosexuality is one of the major headlines of today, let me spend
a few minutes talking about it.
We need to keep in mind that in Paul's day homosexuality was a normal
and accepted behavior, and was rampant throughout the Roman Empire.
Historians tell us that 14 of the first 15 Roman Emperors were homosexual,
and most of them practiced it openly. In fact, most Bible historians
say that Nero's insanity, which caused him to burn Rome, was due to
Paul's preaching that homosexuality was a sin.
Paul's world was not unlike our world today. Our kids are being taught
in public schools that homosexuality is normal. They are also being
taught that a homosexual relationship is an alternative lifestyle. And
if you don't think that homosexuality is to be viewed as normal, just
tune into a program and watch someone make the comment that homosexuality
is a sin according to God's Word, and see how fast that person is labeled
a "homophobic."
In the past 2 decades, one of the most amazingly successful campaigns
for public opinion by a small minority has unfolded before our eyes.
The gay and lesbian community is conducting an all-out assault on biblical
morality. And they will not be satisfied until every negative voice
against their lifestyle is silenced. They intimidate, manipulate, and
even terrorize to promote their agenda. And as we are seeing now, they
are even promoting same sex marriages as a civil rights issue.
But let me also give you a word of caution here. While we must condemn
homosexuality, and strongly protest that homosexual marriages are wrong,
we must never forget that God hates the sin but loves the sinner. Jesus
loves & died for people who commit homosexuality just as much as he
loves & died for any other sinner.
There is a movement which, over the last 30 or 40 years, has taken certain
types of these sins and turned them into diseases. Thievery for example
has been turned into chleptomania. Drunkenness has been turned into
the disease of alcoholism. Sexual immorality is now known as sexual
addiction. This is one way in which the world can excuse sin and make
themselves feel like victims in the process.
The problem with these attitudes is that if sin is a disease, in the
same sense as the flu is a disease, then, for instance, a person who
never drinks a drop of liquor ought to get alcoholism even if they never
drink a drop in their life. Please don't think that I don't have any
compassion on drunks, for I was one for over 12 years. And never once
did I get drunk merely because I was in the same room where others were
drinking. I only got drunk because I made the choice to get drunk as
a skunk.
In fact, if these sins described here, really are diseases like we find
in the Bible, then God is a most cruel God for punishing people who
cannot help what happens to them. But, if these behavioral problems
are in fact sins which can be forgiven, then labeling a person who is
a sinner as one who has a disease, is to misdiagnose the problem. Which
will also mean that the solution to the problem will be missed as well.
As I have said before, the answer to overcoming sin is not some 12 step
program. The answers to overcoming sin is to confess it, turn away from
it, and look to God for the happiness you are finding in sin.
The reason I am against most 12 step types of programs is that they
put a label on a person that they are stuck with for the rest of their
lives. For instance, AA tells a drunk that he will be an alcoholic the
rest of his life. This is wrong for it takes away all hope of deliverance.
And the Bible promises us that Jesus Christ is our deliver. Jesus himself
said "If the Son has set you free, you are free indeed." (John
8:36) The Bible promise us that the moment we give our lives to
the lordship of Jesus Christ, that not only are our sins forgiven, but
the power that sin has over our lives is broken as well. Therefore,
sin no longer has dominion over us. This is what we look at next week.
My final point is that this nasty catalog of sins not only describes
the world of Paul's day, but it also describes the world in which we
live! Sometimes we ring our hands in despair of all the sin that is
around us. Especially since sin is not only getting worse and worse,
but it is also becoming more open. Never before have so many people
called good bad, and bad good. On the other hand, the world in which
we are now living is probably the most fruitful soil for the planting
the seed of the gospel we've had in many generations. Since our world
is just like the world was like in Paul's day, I think we should study
the tactics Paul used to get these sinners set free from the bondage
of sin.
In the book of Acts we learn that when he was first went to Corinth,
"Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews
that Jesus was the Christ." (Acts
18:5) Paul's strategy for turning the tide of society in Corinth
was not to outlaw sin, but to preach Jesus Christ. Paul didn't look
to the government for salvation, he looked to Jesus for salvation. Paul
knew that the only hope for any society was Jesus Christ. What we need
in our land is not just godly men & women holding political offices.
What we need the most is a revival.
During revivals bars have been converted to prayer halls. Prostitutes
have had to leave town for the lack of business. Some of the best impulses
for social reform in America's history have come from revivals. The
anti-slavery movement was mainly in part of the reform movement generated
by the Second Great Awakening, as were movements for prison reform,
child labor laws, and women's rights.
Surely you will agree with me that the only answer to sin is Jesus Christ
and him crucified. It is only through faith in Jesus Christ that a thief,
or a prostitute, or a cheat, or an adulterer, or even a homosexual,
can be set free from their sins. It is only when a person comes to the
cross and exchanges his or her sins for the righteousness of Jesus Christ
that they can ever find the happiness they were looking for in the sins
they were committing.
This is why our predominant message is that Jesus Christ died to take
away the power & penalty of sin. Our message is that Jesus died that
we might be forgiven. Our message is that Jesus died so he could give
us the goodness we need to make it into heaven. Our message is that
Jesus died so he could save us by his precious blood.
So as we go through this election year, vote for godly men & women.
Look at their voting records on moral issues. Investigate where they
stand on issues that the Bible clearly addresses. But don't look to
Bush or Kerry to save this country. Look only to Jesus Christ.
Let me close by saying that these verses are designed as a stringent
warning to all whose life styles would be characterized more as a Corinthian
then a Christian. Sure all of us will mess up. None of us have arrived
to where we can say we have no sin. But also don't think you can fake
God out.
If sin is dominating your life, and these stinging words are causing
you to reevaluate your behavior, perhaps you need to give your life
over to the lordship of Jesus Christ. If that is you, won't you please
turn away from your sins, and to run to God so you can experience his
forgiveness. May we always appreciate our salvation in such a way that
we never use it as an excuse to continue to sin.
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