Hello ladies!
I have been thinking about you so much over the past two weeks. I so hope your Christmas was wonderful and that your time with your family and friends was precious. Ours was great -- We enjoyed some down time and special time with family.
The Christmas season just got me thinking all about Jesus, I must admit. We sat through a Christmas Eve service that encouraged us to sit at the feet of Jesus more. To be more about Him than about this world. Something that as believers we claim to live by often, but are we really portraying that type of dedication on a daily basis? Some heavy stuff, if you ask me.
I have to apologize in advance for the video not being posted. I am feeling terrible -- Have been all day and it's not getting better. I'm actually laying in the bed right now as I type this. Husband is in the other room playing his guitar -- some good tunes, if I might add -- and the dog is at my feet. It's been a long day and with not feeling well, I am thankful for some solitude to just sit here and type to you with my ginger ale in hand. To type about all the many interesting things Paul reveals to us in his letter to the Corinthians in the fifth chapter. And I sure do hope you can forgive me for not posting a video this week -- Believe me, if you saw me right now you would thank me that I spared you (wink).
So with that being said, I'm going to do my absolute best to try to condense my video notes into a post:
"Getting Serious"
I. 1 Corinthians 5:1-5
II. 1 Corinthians 5:6-8
III. 1 Corinthians 5:9-13
I. 1 Corinthians 5:1-5 - We must take sin seriously.
Paul begins this passage by addressing an issue of sexual immorality in the church. Side note that I will share: The Greek word for "immorality" here is the root of the English word "pornography." Paul indicated his astonishment here in the first verse or so. He was appalled to hear that the church tolerated sexual immorality - this type which even pagans found morally repulsive. The Corinthians had rationalized or minimized the sin of this particular man.
And you can guess what my first personal application question to myself was as I studied just this first verse: What sin am I rationalizing or minimizing in my life, or those around me?
The problem here was that the Corinthians took pride in their willingness to accept the unrepentant, immoral man. And do you think we do that today? We take pride in our own acceptance or tolerance to the point that we are completely overlooking the root issue of sin. Tolerance becomes too much of our focus. Here is the deal: The Corinthians should have been grieving this sinful behavior, not accepting or tolerating the action. Why? Because this type of immoral behavior was proving destructive to both the individual and to the church corporately.
What happens next is that Paul encourages the church to remove the man from Christian community. This sounded a bit harsh to me at first, but let's see the motivation for this particular rebuke: In verse 4, Paul states that action against unrepentant sinning in the church is serious business. The purpose of "giving the person over to Satan" (v. 5) is destruction of the sinful nature. In other words, this person needs to deal with their sin. One cannot deal with their sin if the church makes them feel as if their sin is tolerated and acceptable.
And it's the same way for you and today. You and I must first come to grips with our sin. Once we do that, we need to allow God to destroy that particular sin nature. The end result has to be destruction of our sinful nature and freedom in Christ. Does anyone get that? And furthermore, when we are given the authority to bring to the attention of someone else the blatant sin in their lives, allow us to be filled with grace, making sure the end result is also to see them come to repentance. Not just to declare ourselves "right," or " more holy," or [forgive us, Lord] "better."
Is our tolerance level too lenient? Are we declaring particular actions as acceptable, that we should be sorrowful over? Are we taking our sin seriously? Do we understand that our sin weighs us down as individuals and the church corporately? Will we repent?
II. 1 Corinthians 5:6-8 - We must take separation seriously.
In verses 6-8, Paul expresses his jealousy to protect the church from corruption. The church did not realize that their tolerance was coming in the way of their holy calling. Do you and I realize that today? By dumbing down our Gospel and allowing sin to creep in disguised as tolerance, you and I are undermining the holy calling set upon us by our God Himself.
The church was being challenged by Paul here to remove everything sinful in order to be separate from the old life. This included the influence of sinful church members. As Jews celebrate Passover do so with unleavened bread, so believers celebrate their continual Passover with unleavened lives.
Paul is reaching out to the Corinthians here to remind them that they are supposed to be living lives free of the influence of sin. That was their old life!
Are you and I intentionally separating ourselves from sin? Are we free from the influence of our old lives? Are we taking separation from sin seriously?
III. 1 Corinthians 5:9-13 - We must take salvation seriously.
What Paul addresses here is a possible misunderstanding. The church had misunderstood one of his points in a previous letter. Their misunderstanding had caused them to stop having contact with unbelievers - with the unsaved world. They had no contact with the unsaved worlds, but they continued to tolerate the sin of those in the church. Weird? Weird. And yes, we still do this today.
What Paul had indeed instructed them to do was to disassociate themselves from all who said they were believers, but had a consistent pattern of sin.
When you and I came to know Jesus - at the point of salvation - you and I inherited a calling to evangelize to a lost world. But what you and I also inherited was a very serious calling to adhere to the lifestyle outlined by God in His Word.
Here's the thing: Does anyone else read this Scripture and think, "Wow, we are held to a high standard"? As believers, you and I are held to a higher standard than the world. Do we get that? Are we aware of that? It is serious business when you and I fall into a trap of sin, y'all.
Do we long to be intimately acquainted with our Savior? If so, repentance must be at the forefront of our mind. If so, we must be serious about our salvation. Are we taking salvation seriously?
Whew ... What a lesson!
More than anything in the world, this has been the common theme for me throughout my personal study of 1 Corinthians: We are supposed to look different than the world. I don't know about you, but I am especially thankful for Paul's message. Because I, like the Corinthians, believe I needed a reminder that my life is to exemplify my Savior. Holy cow, that's a lot to take in on. [Especially with a throbbing headache.]
Oh Jesus, make us more like You. Give us the ability to discern what is of You and what is just plain not. Teach us through Your Word -- through Your blueprint -- what it looks like to be a child of Yours. And allow us to throw everything else to the wayside and to run hard and fast after You. That we truly would sit at your feet more ... and love you more than this world. That we would say it ... And mean it. With all of our hearts.
Here is next week's reading and additional study questions:
Week 6 Reading Guide
Day 1 - 1 Corinthians 6:1-6
Day 2 - 1 Corinthians 6:7-11
Day 3 - 1 Corinthians 6:12-15
Day 4 - 1 Corinthians 6:16-17
Day 5 - 1 Corinthians 6:18-20
Additional Study Questions:
Day 1: What is my motivation for justice? Do I believe that my vindication will come from God or from man?
Day 2: Have I been cleaned up and given a fresh start by Jesus? Am I living like it? Have I thanked Him for that fresh start recently?
Day 3: Do I understand that not everything is beneficial to me, and that I must make decisions that are pleasing and honoring to God? Do I understand that there will be things I must abstain from for the glory of God?
Day 4: Do I believe that my body is God-given and that I should honor Him with my body, not allowing my body to become the subject of sin?
Day 5: Do I fully grasp that I have been bought with a price? That because I have committed to live for Jesus, I cannot live however I want to? Am I surrendered to living for Christ ... and not for myself?
Love to you!
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