GRINDIT podcast

Paul has chased a rabbit in the previous chapter when he confronted the man having sex with his stepmom but in chapter 7 he comes back to the questions the church has asked him in a letter. That question must have asked something about all the sexual sin that is happening in the church in Corinth. Paul says, “It’s not good for a man to touch a woman, but since yall have such a sexual desire for one another, get a wife! Get a husband! Because it is better to marry than to burn with lust. Why? Because Jesus says, “If you look at a woman with lust, you are sinning!” Our culture isn’t any different than the culture in Corinth when Paul started the church there. Same problems! Same solutions!

One of the issues with the church at Corinth is they do not realize who they are in Christ. They have forgotten the old, sinful man was dead and they are allowing sin to be in the church. Paul keeps naming some of the sin they are contending with and in this particular instance, they are boasting about a sexual sin that is happening within the church between a man, his wife, and his son. It’s not just a one time thing, but a many time thing! Paul reminds them they are the Temple of the living God, that He dwells inside them through the Holy Spirit! How can they continue to live in sin when they should be led by the Spirit of God who they carry into their sin?!?!? They died to sin when they came to Christ and they should continue to die to sin on a daily basis but they are choosing to sin and boast about it!

The church at Corinth had many issues and the one Paul has been discussing in chapter 5 and now in chapter 6 is sexual immorality, in particular, a man was sleeping with his dad’s wife better known as his stepmom. At the beginning of chapter 6, Paul discusses the church taking one another to court and suing one another which makes me think the dad has taken his son to court in order to get him separated from his wife. They way this chapter reads is many of the believers at Corinth were taking one another to court and Paul’s response to them is, “What are you doing? You should be ashamed taking the stuff you can handle yourselves in a court where unbelievers will be making the decisions.” In other words, “You belong to Christ so what are you doing?”

Due to a family emergency, we are not able to record this week. If you would, please keep my mother in law in your prayers. Her name is Janet and her cancer has been in remission for over a year but it has returned in three different areas. We appreciate you!

There is a major sin issue Paul addresses in 1 Corinthians 5 and he tells the church, who is boasting about this particular sin, that this man should be banned from their assembly, he should be turned over to Satan, and they should not even eat a meal with this guy! Sin is serious and is not a toy to be played with! We are to repent of our sin, which means turn away from it, and we must die to sin (Romans 6). When we give our lives to Christ, the old man is buried and we come out of that water a new creation, filled with he Holy Spirit. He begins to transform our lives into he image of Christ...if we let him. Do not choose sin over righteousness!

Sin is serious business. It comes with great consequences and the one being the worst is separation from God for eternity. Praise God, if we know Jesus, we have an advocate with the Father! Someone like a lawyer who pleads our case before God and says, “They are not guilty because they know me.” But that’s just it...do you KNOW Jesus? No really? Do you KNOW Jesus? Do you have an intimate relationship with him? Or do you continue to practice sin? Paul tells the church at Corinth that this man who is sleeping with his stepmom has to be disfellowshipped and put back into the world where Satan is his god. He does not belong in the body of Christ! It is strong language and we dive in deep in these podcasts!

Has someone told you, “Don’t judge me.” Or something like that? Are we to judge others? Paul makes it clear that he has already judged the man who is having sexual relations with his stepmom and he isn’t even present! The church at Corinth was boasting about this sin instead of dealing with and Paul tells them to get rid of the leaven because it is affecting the entire lump of dough. Jesus talks about judging others. He says we will be judged by the same measure we judge others. What is that measure? It is the word of God! God has set the standard and guess what...we all fall short! We are all guilty and we all need a Redeemer!

The church at Corinth was boasting and their heads were swelling with pride as we say but not over a good thing! There was a man having a sexual relationship with his stepmom in the church and the church was boasting about this sin instead of putting an end to it. Paul says, “What are yall doing? I’m not even there and I have already judged the guy. Get him out of your fellowship, turn him over to Satan, and don’t even have a meal with him.” We can learn a great lesson from the church at Corinth...Sin is serious and it should not be tolerated.

God designed sex and made man to have sex. He made a male and a female in the garden of Eden and told them, “Be fruitful and multiply.” When we go outside of God’s design for sex, a male and female being married and having all the sex they want, it is sin. Sin brings separation between us and God which is why we are told over and over again to “Repent” from sin, or “turn away” from sin. Sex is the only sin that we commit against our own body. Why is that? Because we are making ourselves our own god!

Remember the childhood song, “Be careful little eyes what you see...Be careful little ears what you hear...”? It’s simple but so profound! In our culture, we have become desensitized to sin and its consequences, especially when it comes to sexual sin. Sex is everywhere and easily accessible! It seems to literally everywhere we look! From billboards, tv commercials, to cell phones, things that arouse our sexual pleasures are right before our eyes 24/7! We may not be tempted to look at fruit and desire it, but we are certainly attracted to a different kind of fruit and we desire it. When we are pulled away by our own desires and lusts, it becomes sin and sin separates us from God. We are called to live holy and separate from the world. We are the image of God!