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Inconsistent Testimony
1 Corinthians 6:9-11
March 4, 2018
Lord’s Day Worship
Sean Higgins
Download the bulletin.
Download the Kids’ Korner.
The sermon starts at 15:05 in the audio file.
Or, So Much for Such Were Some of You
One big reason that many professing Christians treat other professing Christians so poorly is that they aren’t committed to their future. They may answer yes if asked, but they do not care that they are set to inherit the kingdom of God, so they must make sure to get what they can today. On his way to the bank to cash a gargantuan inheritance check, one brother is filing an e-lawsuit against another brother for taking a piece of gum without asking, or something like that.
Believers may not have confidence in their future because they do not appreciate what has happened to them in the past, that is, what Christ and the Spirit of God have done to/accomplished for them. Or they may have doubts because they are living in the present no different from the unrighteous culture surrounding them. There are a lot of ways to mess it up, and the Corinthians had tried many of them.
In the first part of chapter 6 Paul questions their practice of taking one another to court before unbelieving judges over petty disputes. They had no good justification for their grievances, for having grievances with their brothers, or seeking resolution from unbelievers. Paul writes that it is not right to go before the unrighteous. That’s a loss for Christians and an inconsistent testimony about our spiritual family. He reminded the Corinthians about their future: in Christ they will judge the world and angels, so they should be competent to figure out lesser matters.
In verses 9-11 he adds to his concern about how they were treating one another. Not only is it not right to go before the unrighteous, they must make sure that they are not behaving like the unrighteous. To do so is a lie about what it means to be a Christian and an inconsistent testimony about our spiritual reality. In this paragraph he reminds the Corinthians of their future: in Christ we will inherit the kingdom of God, so we don’t need to worry about lesser matters. We also shouldn’t act like “men of the world whose portion is in this life” (Psalm 17:14).
While I am partial to taking one paragraph at a time, this is obviously a short one. Not only that, it belongs with the first eight verses as fleshing out the nature of the unrighteous as a reason not to trust them to resolve our disputes. And, it really is short. Why leave it to consider by itself?
1 Corinthians addresses problems propagating in our culture, 20+ centuries after Paul wrote. There are problems in our unbelieving zeitgeist, and there are problems in the defining mood of the church. As one local body of believers living in a 21st century Western culture, we don’t spend a lot of time taking one another to court, though we do find a lot of grasping in our hearts. When it comes to the issues in these verses, we should park, get our of the car, and take a closer look. What I mean is that some of us will need to repent from wrong thinking, wrong sympathies, even wrong imitations.
The Identity of the Unrighteous (verses 9-10)
Why do these verses matter? How does this paragraph belong with the instruction about brothers and small claims court in the first part of the chapter?
It matters because the unrighteous are living in a different world than we are, present and future. The unrighteous march to a different drum beat. Their lifestyle standards are not the same and so believing brothers should not lust after their system. We should not be courting their approval or accommodating their conduct. Why do Christians want to be liked, or to be like, the world?
Christians should know better. Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? The kingdom of God is the dominion of Christ’s rule and Christ’s blessing. His kingdom is a place where His will is done as it is[...]
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By Trinity Evangel Church1 Corinthians 6:9-11
March 4, 2018
Lord’s Day Worship
Sean Higgins
Download the bulletin.
Download the Kids’ Korner.
The sermon starts at 15:05 in the audio file.
Or, So Much for Such Were Some of You
One big reason that many professing Christians treat other professing Christians so poorly is that they aren’t committed to their future. They may answer yes if asked, but they do not care that they are set to inherit the kingdom of God, so they must make sure to get what they can today. On his way to the bank to cash a gargantuan inheritance check, one brother is filing an e-lawsuit against another brother for taking a piece of gum without asking, or something like that.
Believers may not have confidence in their future because they do not appreciate what has happened to them in the past, that is, what Christ and the Spirit of God have done to/accomplished for them. Or they may have doubts because they are living in the present no different from the unrighteous culture surrounding them. There are a lot of ways to mess it up, and the Corinthians had tried many of them.
In the first part of chapter 6 Paul questions their practice of taking one another to court before unbelieving judges over petty disputes. They had no good justification for their grievances, for having grievances with their brothers, or seeking resolution from unbelievers. Paul writes that it is not right to go before the unrighteous. That’s a loss for Christians and an inconsistent testimony about our spiritual family. He reminded the Corinthians about their future: in Christ they will judge the world and angels, so they should be competent to figure out lesser matters.
In verses 9-11 he adds to his concern about how they were treating one another. Not only is it not right to go before the unrighteous, they must make sure that they are not behaving like the unrighteous. To do so is a lie about what it means to be a Christian and an inconsistent testimony about our spiritual reality. In this paragraph he reminds the Corinthians of their future: in Christ we will inherit the kingdom of God, so we don’t need to worry about lesser matters. We also shouldn’t act like “men of the world whose portion is in this life” (Psalm 17:14).
While I am partial to taking one paragraph at a time, this is obviously a short one. Not only that, it belongs with the first eight verses as fleshing out the nature of the unrighteous as a reason not to trust them to resolve our disputes. And, it really is short. Why leave it to consider by itself?
1 Corinthians addresses problems propagating in our culture, 20+ centuries after Paul wrote. There are problems in our unbelieving zeitgeist, and there are problems in the defining mood of the church. As one local body of believers living in a 21st century Western culture, we don’t spend a lot of time taking one another to court, though we do find a lot of grasping in our hearts. When it comes to the issues in these verses, we should park, get our of the car, and take a closer look. What I mean is that some of us will need to repent from wrong thinking, wrong sympathies, even wrong imitations.
The Identity of the Unrighteous (verses 9-10)
Why do these verses matter? How does this paragraph belong with the instruction about brothers and small claims court in the first part of the chapter?
It matters because the unrighteous are living in a different world than we are, present and future. The unrighteous march to a different drum beat. Their lifestyle standards are not the same and so believing brothers should not lust after their system. We should not be courting their approval or accommodating their conduct. Why do Christians want to be liked, or to be like, the world?
Christians should know better. Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? The kingdom of God is the dominion of Christ’s rule and Christ’s blessing. His kingdom is a place where His will is done as it is[...]