Sexual Sin and Lessons from the Corinthian Church

1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 

“It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honourable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God.”

One of my humble ways of surviving intra- personal struggles with sin is by constantly meditating on two fundamental scriptures that completely opened the eyes of my heart in my proselytic days.

Luke 4 5 The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendour, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7 So if you worship me, it will all be yours.”

1 John 5

19 We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.

When I first encountered the Luke scripture, I doubted Satan’s claim [John 8:44] until I saw the 1 John passage. Our contemporary society is like Corinth - a highly respected economically prosperous port city-state and a political centre in the ancient Greek world. It was the capital of the Roman province Achaia, which covered most of ancient Greece south of Macedonia. Apostle Paul's letters to the church in Corinth [1Cor and 2Cor] show how secular issues seeped into the church and affected the faith of the congregation. Among the many problems in the Corinthian church were public lawsuits against one another, disunity and sexual immorality, etc. It is thought that many of the difficulties in the Corinthian church were traceable to a fundamental theological misunderstanding of the significance of Jesus' death and resurrection. For example, the Corinthians believed that they had died and resurrected with Christ and therefore were enjoying the full benefits of salvation.

I recently learned from an individual that their spouse had stopped attending church and now living like a non-Christian, which truly broke my heart. After hearing how their spouse currently presents, I considered the possibility of the dominance of sin. However, a third party in the conversation interjected and said “we all are sinners”. I was disappointed at this individual’s perspective because while I am perfectly in agreement with the fact that we all are sinners, I felt their comment was out of context. Anyhow, I simply re-echoed the interjector’s ‘slogan’ and asked the initial individual for their spouse’s contact details. The interjecting individual’s perspective immediately brought Romans 6:1-3 to mind [the ‘Grace' cover]. Apostle Paul, on the other hand, insisted that salvation was not yet accomplished but rather that it would occur when Jesus returned [1 Cor 15:2]. Rather than being content with our salvation, we need to recognize that this world will continue to be ruled by evil forces and as a result, life will be full of pain, challenges, struggles and falls until the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. To therefore ensure our election, 2 Peter 1: 5-11 must be our manifesto.

It is understood that Apostle Paul viewed the Corinthian problems as the consequence of the disciples’ mistaken belief that they had already been saved. They therefore failed to take seriously the power of evil while their behaviour caused divisions in the church and led to a lack of concern for other members.  

An enduring but disheartening church trend is captured in Jeremiah 50: 6 “My people have been lost sheep; their shepherds have led them astray and caused them to roam on the mountains. They wandered over mountain and hill and forgot their own resting place. 7 Whoever found them devoured them; their enemies said, ‘We are not guilty, for they sinned against the Lord, their true pasture, the Lord, the hope of their fathers.’”

Lack of unity in the Corinthian church opened the door to all sorts of beliefs and practices that contaminated their observance of gospel principles and ordinances. Also, converts struggled with reverting to their past beliefs and practices. What happens in today’s church regarding purity? The young ones are like sheep without a shepherd [Matthew 9:36], yet the only life they know is that of discipleship. Christ warns us that we already are among wolves [the world] - good shepherding therefore will help us in being shrewd as snakes while retaining our innocence as doves [Matthew 10:16]. Harsh shepherding, on the other hand, will push the ‘vulnerable’ sheep into the arms of a wolfish world - the young, credulous and neophyte Christians become easy preys. They are happily welcomed by a satanic and evil world that corrupts their good character in no time [1 Corinthians 15:33]. The Bible tells us not to associate with anyone who is sexually immoral because we may be tempted and become sexually immoral as well [1 Corinthians 5:11]. When there is a lack of concern for the rest of the flock after we have ‘secured’ our own sons and daughters, then I do not see how we can escape Matthew 18:6. What does 1 Corinthians 10:12 say? 12 “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!”.

Of course, this is no excuse for recklessness on our part because each person will be accountable for their sin on the day of judgement [Ezekiel 18:20]. We are also cautioned by Apostle Peter to not use our freedom in Christ as a cover-up for evil [1 Peter 2:16]; this is corroborated by Apostle Paul in Galatians 5:13-15. Is the Bible still our standard, or are we covering up our sins and the sins of our sons and daughters [Proverbs 28:13]? Are we diluting Christ’s standards [Revelation 22:19]? Are we confessing our sins [James 6:16]? Are we broken [Acts 2:37]? Have we repented [2Cor 7:10-11]? God strongly condemns sexual immorality and makes it clear that all sexual relationships outside of marriage are immoral. A scripture that challenged me in my early Christian years was Job 31:1 “I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl”. The Messiah also taught that lusting after someone is just as sinful as committing adultery with the person [Matthew 5:28]. God makes it clear that we should remain sexually pure and faithful to our spouses [Exodus 20:14]. Have we become a church that finds it difficult to overcome the sins of its culture? We are warned in 1Cor 6:18-20 to not only flee from sexual immorality, but to note that it is a sin against our body the temple of the Holy Spirit. This scripture scares me till eternity!

Conclusion

Who do you spend most of your time with aside from God, family and your hours in work/college, etc. - in sum, who are your friends [Psalm 26:4-5; Proverbs 13:20]? Are you friends with individuals you have consistently invited to church to no avail, yet you enjoy their company and laugh at jokes made about their promiscuity? Do you hang around married men who joke about passing their ‘ex’ to you because of the threat posed to their marriages? Do you still associate with such individuals? What does 2 Corinthians 6:14 say? 14 “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?” What are you still doing around such people? What does Matthew 5:29-30 say? “29 If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.”

Isaiah 50

4 "The Sovereign Lord has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught. 5 The Sovereign Lord has opened my ears, and I have not been rebellious; I have not drawn back. 6 I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting. 7 Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame. 8 He who vindicates me is near. Who then will bring charges against me? Let us face each other! Who is my accuser? Let him confront me! 9 It is the Sovereign Lord who helps me. Who is he that will condemn me? They will all wear out like a garment; the moths will eat them up."

Shalom!

Greater Baltimore Church of Christ, 21/08/2016