Eyes Wide Shut

Good morning,

We need to keep in mind that in his letter to the Corinthians, Paul was dealing with and addressing specific sins that he had learned were being practiced/permitted in the Corinthian church.  It was a highly personal letter.  It should not be interpreted as an "all-inclusive sin list".  Elsewhere in the Bible, there are also lists of sins, again, pertinent to each situation.  But, the bottom line is....sin is sin, and all of it separates us from God.  If a person is an unbeliever, he or she is spiritually dead, because of his or her sins.  If a person has become a Christian, he or she has (positionally) had all his or her sins washed away; he or she is justified (positionally forever made right with God), and is in the process of being sanctified ("set apart", consecrated for Christ's kingdom work).

Even with that very verbose last statement, Christians sin, and are in need of regular confession, repentance and restoration through the Holy Spirit.  Positionally, Christ's finished work on our behalf makes us right with God forever; in this present reality, however, our flesh continually wars with our new nature.  This titanic struggle often results in the flesh's triumph.  With that in mind, let's consider
1 Corinthians 6:9-20.  As I did yesterday, I'm using the New English Translation (NET) here.

9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! The sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, passive homosexual partners, practicing homosexuals, 10 thieves, the greedy, drunkards, the verbally abusive, and swindlers will not inherit the kingdom of God. 11 Some of you once lived this way. 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.

12 “All things are lawful for me”—but not everything is beneficial. “All things are lawful for me”—but I will not be controlled by anything. 13 “Food is for the stomach and the stomach is for food, but God will do away with both.” The body is not for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 Now God indeed raised the Lord and he will raise us by his power. 15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Should I take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! 16 Or do you not know that anyone who is united with a prostitute is one body with her? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.” 17 But the one united with the Lord is one spirit with him. 18 Flee sexual immorality! “Every sin a person commits is outside of the body”—but the immoral person sins against his own body. 19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body.

So, in the Corinthian society, there was a very permissive attitude toward sexual sin, much as it is in American society today.  In addition, sexual acts were often linked with acts of "religious worship". The pagan Gentiles combined prostitution of various kinds with their pagan worship.  This was, of course, diametrically opposed to the will of God and to the Way that the new Corinthian Christians had been taught by Paul and other Christian leaders.  Still, the pull, the allure of that pagan society's accepted practice was great, even as it is today.  As a result, sadly, some in the Corinthian church were practicing not only yesterday's blog post "sin-of-the-day" (suing each other, that is GREED) but also various forms of sexual immorality.  In today's scripture passage, Paul addresses both.  Since I exhausted the former in yesterday's post, today I'm honing in on the latter.

The bottom line here, if you'll excuse the bun...er, pun, is that ALL sexual immorality is wrong.  We must not be deceived by cultural sensations, such as "the Caitlyn Jenner phenomenon". We must not allow ourselves to be deceived (vs. 9) into thinking that such practices are "ok" or even righteous. These are powerful deceptions of the Evil One.  Instead of considering or (worse) embracing such behavior, we should run from it (vs. 18).  Paul mentions two types of sexual immorality here in (vs. 10): adultery and homosexual practices.  Again, however, this is not an inclusive list, merely what was troubling the Corinthians at that moment.  Paul goes on to emphasize that God's ordained and sanctioned use of our bodies for sexual enjoyment is one: and that is between one man and one woman (vs. 16).  Any and all sexual practices outside of God's clearly prescribed way are sin.  And, when we fall prey to them, we are sinning against not only Jesus Christ, but against our own bodies.

This is not a popular teaching in today's American society.  It was not a popular teaching in the day Paul wrote this letter either.  In fact, today, those who take a scriptural stand against sexual sin are vilified, called "haters", intolerant, etc.  I need to emphasize that love and truth cannot be separated. The former is built upon the latter.  Jesus Christ was the very essence of God's love, and because of His being God-With-Skin-On, He was also utter and complete Truth.  He was thoroughly "intolerant" of people's sins, while at the same time loving them completely.  The most unloving thing we, His Truth-bearers, can do is to cower under the criticism of the unbelieving world and refuse to take a stand for Truth.

Now, I want to highlight for just a moment verses 12, 13 and 20.  These verses sum up our overall and entire treatment of our bodies.  Paul uses the topic of nutrition to illustrate that even the food we eat should be consumed for God's glory.  Just because as Christians we are positionally right with God forever, through our acceptance of Jesus as Savior, we still must be on our guard against sins that defile our bodies, whether it is sexual sin or other mistreatments of our bodies.  Our bodies are to glorify God. Period.  If we are doing something to or with our bodies that does not bring Him glory, but instead brings ourselves glory, it is a misuse of a substance, practice, our bodies, etc.

Let's be honest here, my beloved friends.  You know when something is controlling you, when a substance or practice is "out of control", whether that be alcohol, vaping, piercing, overeating, immodesty, smoking..... I'm not trying to pick on a particular practice here, because that is not the point.  WE KNOW when we are doing something with our bodies that is wrong.  The Holy Spirit, who continually lives within us Believers gives testimony to it in our hearts.  He tells us.  You know this.  So, let's not dishonestly continue to deny that there is a problem, if this is a besetting sin area for you.  Let's not allow ourselves to be deceived.  We must be honest before God in these areas.

Y'all, this is hard to write about.  It's convicting to me personally.  The resplendent walk....sometimes, it isn't so very resplendent!  But, remember, God's very Spirit lives inside each and every believer. He is there to walk beside you, comfort you, and give you peace.  He knows every struggle we face and has compassion on us.  He prays to God the Father on our behalf, when we don't even know what to pray.  We are SO loved by God!  He knows our hearts. Don't feel as if your particular sin struggle is a "hopeless case", because it is not.  Don't give up.  God has not and will never give up on you.

Dear Father, open the eyes of our hearts so that we can more fully know the fathomless depths of Your love for us. We have been "bought with a price" (vs. 20), a price we could not even begin to pay, that being Your precious blood, Your very human life.  Help us, Holy Spirit.  Plead for us. Show us how to tap into Your everlasting strength, Your bottomless grace, that is ever-present to help us in our times of greatest temptation. There is no beauty like Your beauty... such that we can only begin to see.  What an eternal "smack-down" we will experience when we are face-to-face with You in all your beauty and holiness, on that glad day.  We will be flat on our faces in worship so fast....we won't even know what hit us, because Your amazing love will overwhelm us.  Thank you, Jesus, for eternally rescuing us, that we have no need to fear the future, because our eternal security is in You. In Your Name I pray, amen.  

Cleaning House

Good morning,

There is something wrong with my dishwasher.  It cleans the dishes, sort of, but only after I've mostly washed them by hand.  A repairman said I only need a rinse aid product.  I have my doubts.  I am not a huge fan of cleaning house; every modern convenience is treasured.

1 Corinthians 5 presents a shift in Paul's emphasis.  He moves on to spiritual "house cleaning", addressing another concern observed among this fellowship of believers.  It had apparently been reported to Paul that sexual immorality was occurring in the local church.  He uses this example to emphasize that ongoing, sinful practices in the lives of professing believers should not be tolerated. Frankly, this is not a pleasant chapter to study, because the topic is difficult.

First of all, Christians do not want to admit to their own sin, habitual or occasional.  Pride comes into play here, although there is also the genuine element of not wanting to tarnish Jesus' name.  Yet, when "one of our own" is committing sin repeatedly, and especially in a very public way, something should be done to address it, whether we are comfortable doing so or not.  I remember, several years ago, in another church far away, a church member (also a prominent member of the community) was committing adultery; everyone knew about it.  The spouse was still attending the church.  The pastor and deacons visited their fellow deacon and urged him to repent, to reconcile with his wife.  Well, the man refused.  So, he was told that his membership was going to be rescinded until he changed his ways.  During a church conference, this was prayerfully handled.  It was not fun at all, Y'all.  It was downright awful, in fact.

The Corinthian church did not want to confront their "situation".  Remember, they were "pretty new at all this"; so, one could guess that they were perplexed as to what to do. However, in verse 6, Paul calls them "flippant" and "arrogant" about it.  They did not see that to allow this type of continual sin to go on would soon contaminate the entire congregation.

Your flip and callous arrogance in these things bothers me. You pass it off as a small thing, but it’s anything but that. Yeast, too, is a “small thing,” but it works its way through a whole batch of bread dough pretty fast. So get rid of this “yeast.”

1 Cor. 5:6 (MSG)

Today, there is wholesale cowardice, rampant "looking the other way" going on in many churches. Pastors, leaders and people in the pews are often unwilling to take a stand for righteousness in a godless society.  Taking such a stand often comes at a steep price, one that many are not willing to pay.  Today, for instance, I was reading that a so-called Baptist church in an adjacent state is planning to ordain as ministers those who live a sexually immoral lifestyle, by biblical standards.  This is heartbreaking to me, because it tarnishes the name of all Baptists (in a way similar to those Westboro Baptist Church folks do).  Obviously, not all who call themselves Baptists believe anything close to the same thing.

In chapter 5, Paul was not preaching condemnation to the man living in sin. He was condemning the man's sin.  There was always room for the man to repent and to be restored to the fellowship.  This is clear in verse 5.

I’m telling you that this is wrong. You must not simply look the other way and hope it goes away on its own. Bring it out in the open and deal with it in the authority of Jesus our Master. Assemble the community—I’ll be present in spirit with you and our Master Jesus will be present in power. Hold this man’s conduct up to public scrutiny. Let him defend it if he can! But if he can’t, then out with him! It will be totally devastating to him, of course, and embarrassing to you. But better devastation and embarrassment than damnation. You want him on his feet and forgiven before the Master on the Day of Judgment.

1 Cor. 5:3-5 (MSG)

Paul's earnest desire (and Christ's) was for the man to repent of his sinful practices and be restored to God and to the community of faith.  The whole point of the censure was the sinner's restoration. God's grace is greater than all our sin.  It still is, today.

The other big reason that Christians shy away from confronting sin in the community of faith is because they individually are not walking in holiness.  And, in fact, Jesus railed against this hypocrisy in Matthew 7:1-5 (MSG).  (also recorded in Luke 6.)

7 1-5 “Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults— unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. It’s easy to see a smudge on your neighbor’s face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, ‘Let me wash your face for you,’ when your own face is distorted by contempt? It’s this whole traveling road-show mentality all over again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor.

Dishwasher or not, "cleaning house" had better start at home, yes?  Hebrews 12:14-17 tells us that when we harbor sins that have not been confessed to God, a bitter spirit (spiritual weeds) can take root in our souls. We are wise to be very vigilant about our own shortcomings, our own "failures to hit the target", which is the Greek origin of the word "sin".  Swallow a big old "pride loogie"; confess (to God and to others as needed); repent (turn away from the sin and leave it in the dust); be restored (by the Holy Spirit) - - - the path to holiness, to Christ-likeness.

Remember this important point.  Paul was talking to Christians here about their behavior.  He was not preaching to the non-Christian folk outside the Corinthian fellowship of believers (5:13).

I’m not responsible for what the outsiders do, but don’t we have some responsibility for those within our community of believers? God decides on the outsiders, but we need to decide when our brothers and sisters are out of line and, if necessary, clean house.

It is a distortion of the enemy to portray all Christians who stand on biblical truth as hateful or unloving. Now, granted, some are, ranging from the hate that Westboro spews to implicit condescension or to casual disregard.  However, nothing is more unloving that leaving a person enslaved to sin or on the highway to Hell.  Love isn't wimpy; love must be tough.  Speaking the truth in humility and love is exactly what Jesus did.  It is exactly what we must do.

Father, you know that I did not want to study or blog about 1 Corinthians 5.  Examining my life is not my favorite pastime.  It's so much easier and more fun to just...."la-la-la-la-LA" down life's path, looking the other way.  Save us from this "counterfeit discipleship", Lord.  Give us the courage, the power, through Your Holy Spirit, to be honest about our own sins and to help our brothers/sisters who are floundering in a mud pit.  Such is love.  In Jesus' name, amen.