Am I a sinner because I sin, or do I sin because I am a sinner? The confession’s account of original corruption presses into just how deep sin actually runs in us, whether any part of us is left untouched.

Are you actually spiritually mature, or do you just think you are? The Corinthians assumed they’d arrived, thanks to their impressive knowledge and spiritual gifts, while Paul’s letter shows just how far from mature they really were.

The doctrine of imputation was central to the Protestant Reformation, a pillar Luther championed to explain how we’re justified by faith alone, through the imputation of a righteousness that isn’t our own.

Ever come away from an argument with someone smarter than you feeling humbled and bamboozled? Paul’s claim is that the gospel operates on an entirely different kind of wisdom than the world’s cleverness.

Why do we die, why do we sin, why do we suffer? These are the questions forced out of every human heart by grief, cruelty, and loss. The confession traces how sin’s effects and guilt are transmitted from Adam to the whole human race.

Every generation feels pressure to reshape the gospel and its methods to suit the times, and Pentecostal evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson’s Hollywood-era showmanship is a cautionary example. Paul refused to preach with anything but the plain word of the cross.

Continuing the same lesson from last week, turn to its second half: the church’s historic, and contested, distinction between mortal and venial sin, and what it means for how seriously we take our own sin.

The gospel is like a Swiss army knife, useful for whatever situation you’re in. Struggling to believe God loves you in your suffering? Go back to the gospel. Paul’s reminder of what God’s calling looked like for the Corinthians still means the same for us.

Before continuing through the confession’s account of the fall, dig into the essence of sin itself: the different ways theologians have tried to define it, the Bible’s own vocabulary for sin, and the historic, and contested, distinction between mortal and venial sin.

Christianity isn’t symbolized by a manger, an empty tomb, or a basin of water. It’s the cross, with all its terrible connotations, that sums up the heart of God’s saving act. Paul’s account of the cross is both foolishness and the very power of God.