November 20, 2011
Essentials Of The Faith / Sunday Morning Sermon Series / 1 Corinthians: Building God's Church
1 Corinthians: By living like we are saved
Sermon Series: 1 Corinthians: Building God's Church
Title: By living like we are saved. Text: 1 Corinthians 6:1-11
Message: Living like we are saved
Text: 1 Corinthians 6:1-11
Introduction: Bill Gaither wrote a song called ‘Thanks to Calvary.’ It goes something like this.
Today, I went down to the place
where I used to go.
Today, I saw the same old crowd I knew before.
And when they asked me what had happened,
I tried to tell them,
Thanks to Calvary, I don't come here anymore.
Thanks to Calvary I am not the man I used to be.
Thanks to Calvary
things are different
than before.
And as the tears ran down my face
I tried to tell them.
Thanks to Calvary, I don't come here anymore.
Perhaps most of us here today can say along with Bill Gaither, Thanks to Calvary, I’m not the person I was before.
John Newton, author of the hymn ‘Amazing Grace’, once said
‘I am not at all what I should be
or what I want to be, but thank God
I am not what I used to be.’
We often forget that we are not who we once were. And we are not alone. The Christians in the church in Corinth had a bad memory too. That’s what Paul addresses in our text this morning.
Transition: Turn in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians 6:1. For it’s there we will see that we are to live like we are saved.
1. 1 Corinthians 6:1 Settle your disputes in
the church
Read: 1 Corinthians 6:1
1991, Richard Overton sued Anheuser-Busch for false and misleading advertising. The complaint specifically referenced ads involving fantasies of beautiful women in tropical settings that came to life for men who drank Bud Light. The case…was dismissed.
In 2000, Cleanthi Peters sued Universal Studios for $15,000. She claimed to have suffered extreme fear, mental anguish, and emotional distress due to visiting Universal Studios’ Halloween Horror Nights haunted house, which she said was too scary. The case… was dismissed.
In October 1998, A Terrence Dickson of Bristol Pennsylvania, was leaving a house he had just robbed by way of the garage. He was not able to get the garage door to go up, because the automatic door opener was broken. He couldn't re- enter the house because the door connecting the house and garage locked when he pulled it shut. The family was on vacation, so Mr. Dickson found himself locked in the garage for eight days with only a case of Peps, and a large bag of dry dog food. This upset Mr. Dickson, so he sued the homeowner's claiming the situation caused him undue mental anguish. The case…was not dismissed and the jury awarded the thief a half a million dollars.
Did you know that:
94% of the world’s lawsuits are in the US.
70% of the world’s lawyers live in the US.
The ‘great American pastime’ may be baseball, running a close second is litigation (lawsuits.) Our national motto seems to have gone from ‘In God We Trust’ to ‘I’ll see you in court.’ It’s fair to say we live in a litigious society.
The Greeks and the Romans of Paul’s day were also prone to litigation. Unfortunately so was the church in Corinth.
So Paul begins by asking If any of you has a dispute with another, do you dare to take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the Lord’s people? (1 Corinthians 6:1, NIV)
A couple of things here.
First, Paul was saying look, you should have known suing your brother/sister in Christ was wrong. Jesus talked about how to deal with disputes between Christians in the church (Matthew 18.)
Second, the Greek construction of the verse, implies Paul’s blood pressure going up as I give a more literal translation: How dare you go to the courts before non-Christians when you have a dispute with a fellow Believer, keep it in the church.
The church in Corinth was really messed up. They were:
Showing favoritism to certain leaders and dividing the church.
Seeking to be wise according to the worlds standards.
Not dealing with open sin in in the church.
And now they are:
Suing one another.
One of the problems, other than airing the churches dirty laundry in front of an already skeptical world, is that the church has a different value system when it comes to disputes between people.
Courts look to assign blame. The church seeks reconciliation.
Courts have winners and losers, and losing leaves scars that hurt. The church strives to resolve the problem fairly so relationships can be restored.
Transition: Paul is saying look, on so many levels this is wrong…stop acting like the world.
II. 1 Corinthians 6:2-6 Do what you were
called to do
Read: 1 Corinthians 6:2-6
First, notice Paul calls the immature, sinning Christians in Corinth…saints. I want you to know that the Greek word used here is plural and in the Bible it’s always plural. Why? To be saved is to be part of a community of Believers.
You can’t be a growing, healthy Christian isolated from the church. What each Christian does or doesn’t do, affects us all.
Second, did you hear that we, Christians, will judge the world and angels one day? Paul is speaking about the Millennial Kingdom, the 1000yr reign of Christ on the earth. Paul’s point is…if we have been called by God to judge the world and angels, can’t we settle our disputes with one another?
In verse 4 Paul implies that because of the indwelling Holy Spirit, even a new Christian is more capable of deciding disputes then the courts are, so don’t go outside the church.
Then Paul lets them have it in their pride when he says, Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between Believers?’ Remember, they wanted to be wise by the worlds standards and Paul shames them in that sinful pursuit.
Paul’s point here is this: God said you to judge the world and angels…He will help you judge your disputes now. Trust Him!
Transition: In verses 7-8 Paul says something I don’t think you are going to like.
III. 1 Corinthians 6:7-8 Be willing to ‘lose’
Read: 1 Corinthians 6:7-8
Paul big idea here is this:
Our rights are not as important
as our testimony before the world.
Let’s go back a bit. Paul says when you take a Christian to court…you have already lost. Remember ‘saints’ is plural, so this means not only you as an individual Christian have lost, but you plural (we, the church) have lost. Two ways:
There will be further division in God’s church
And people outside the church who are watching will want nothing to do with Christians and the church because they’ll see us as no different than the rest of the world.
So.. Paul says it would be better for the Church
If you to just let your dispute go
for you to be wronged, cheated, to lose this one
then to let the world see 2 Christians in court.
Come on Pastor Bob, I didn’t sign up for that. No one told me about that before I became a Christian. I have my rights. I worked hard for what I have and I won’t just let someone, even a Christian cheat me out of it. I have my rights!
Here are some of the possible reasons behind that objection.
We don’t want our pride hurt.
We don’t want to let the other person get the better of us.
We just don’t want to lose.
We protect and exercise our rights, no matter what the cost to others.
Truth is…
Our rights are not as important
as out testimony before the world.
Scripture tells us that if we watch our testimony, God will watch our rights.
Read: Matthew 5:38-10 You have heard that it was said, Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth. But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well.
Read: Romans 12:19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.
When Jesus invites people to follow Him, they are told to “take up their cross daily” and follow Him. That means the Christian is a person whose life is dominated and directed by the cross of Calvary.
Not let this sink in: It was on the cross of Calvary that Jesus was wronged, and this brought about our salvation.
Jesus gave up His rights for the greater good…our salvation.
Pauls’ idea here is that it’s better for a Christian lose money or some other material thing, then to lose his/her testimony and the church lose its effectiveness in the world.
Transition: Paul goes on to remind the Christians at Corinth something they have forgotten.
IV. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 You are NOT who
you were
Read: 1 Corinthians 6:9-11
Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Of course they knew that. It was a rhetorical question.
Paul hits them in the head with a spiritual 2x4 when he reminds them of their life before Christ. And it wasn’t pretty. And I might add, what he says applies to each of us here this morning. They and we WERE:
sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers
homosexuals, thieves, greedy, drunks
slanders, swindlers
That’s who you once were. But PTL!
You are a new creation in Christ,
you are a child of God,
you are a join heir with Christ,
you were washed of your sins by the grace of God’s forgiveness
you were sanctified (made holy) by the Holy Spirit
you were justified (made right with God) by Jesus’ death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead.
For God’s sake and for the sake of His church… live like it!
Conclusion
Paul is actually elaborating on what he said in chapter 5. Remember from last week he told the Christians in Corinth:
Look, you had a lot of sinful things in your old life before you placed your faith in Jesus…leave it in your past…don’t bring it into your new life in Christ, it will mess things up.
See the connection? Remember who you were before Christ so you won’t go back there.
Christian, you are not who you once were…
live like you are saved!