What did Paul really mean when he wrote, “It is good for a man not to touch a woman”? 

In this episode on 1 Corinthians 7:1–7, Krisan Marotta looks at the first of the Corinthians’ written questions to Paul and argues that he is responding not to people desperate to marry, but to believers flirting with an extreme, “super-spiritual” celibacy—even within marriage. Paul’s answer offers a balanced, positive vision of both singleness and marriage, and a richer understanding of sexuality as part of the promises spouses make to one another. 

In this week’s episode, we explore:

• How the phrase “now concerning” signals a shift to Paul answering specific questions from the Corinthians, and why that matters for reading chapter 7
• The likely background of the slogan, “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman,” in a Greek culture that viewed the body as inferior to the spirit
• Why Krisan understands 1 Corinthians 7:2–4 as addressing married couples tempted to abstain from sex altogether in the name of holiness, not singles deciding whether to marry
• The significance of the phrase “have his own wife / have her own husband” as a common way of referring to sexual relations, and how that shapes our reading of the passage
• Paul’s emphasis on mutual obligation in marriage: each spouse giving themselves to the other, rather than claiming the right to demand what they want, when they want it
• A careful look at “the wife does not have authority over her own body… and likewise the husband,” and how these verses have been misunderstood and misused as weapons rather than calls to self-giving love
• Why Paul allows for temporary abstinence “by agreement for a time” for prayer, while insisting it be mutual, limited, and not treated as inherently more spiritual
• How the realities of Corinthian culture—temple prostitution, low expectations of marital fidelity, and sexual temptation—help explain Paul’s concern about deprivation in marriage leading to greater immorality
• The contrast between asceticism (seeing all physical pleasure as suspect) and Paul’s positive view of marriage and sexuality as good gifts from God within a covenant commitment

After listening, you’ll come away with a more nuanced understanding of 1 Corinthians 7:1–7 and a clearer sense of how Paul holds together the goodness of celibacy and the goodness of marriage. You’ll be encouraged to see marital sexuality not as a bargaining chip or a spiritual liability, but as one way spouses live out the promises they have made—to share their lives, their bodies, and their futures with one another in a spirit of mutual honor, love, and faithfulness before God.

Series: 1 Corinthians: Pride & Prejudice in the Church

Sexuality is not a casual pastime or a private indulgence; it is a language God designed to express covenant love and belonging. 

In this episode on 1 Corinthians 6:15–20, Krisan Marotta explores Paul’s claim that our bodies are members of Christ and temples of the Holy Spirit and why that makes our sexual choices inseparable from our allegiance to Jesus. 

In this week’s episode, we explore:

• How Genesis 2 shapes Paul’s thinking: “the two shall become one flesh” as God’s definition of marriage and the purpose for which sexuality was created
• Why sexuality is “the language of marriage,” meant to embody a lifelong, exclusive, one-flesh commitment rather than momentary pleasure or self-expression
• What it means that believers are “members of Christ”—belonging to him because he bought us with his blood, not autonomous individuals free to write our own rules
• Paul’s stark contrast between joining oneself to a prostitute and being “one spirit” with the Lord, and how sexual immorality mocks the very meaning God gave to sex
• A thoughtful explanation of how sexual sin is both like and unlike other sins, and why Paul says the immoral person “sins against his own body”
• The image of our bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit, places where God is at work displaying his grace, patience, and transforming power
• How modern views of sex as recreation have traded lasting joy and rich covenant meaning for momentary pleasure—and why that ultimately harms us
• Practical encouragement to “flee immorality” not out of shame or fear, but out of a renewed understanding of whose we are and what our bodies are for

After listening, you’ll see 1 Corinthians 6:15–20 with fresh clarity and weight. You’ll be invited to view your body not as raw material for self-gratification but as Christ’s own possession and the Spirit’s dwelling place, and to see sexuality as a beautiful, costly gift meant to express lifelong faithfulness. The episode will help you think more clearly about desire, identity, and obedience, and to ask what it might look like, in very concrete terms, to glorify God in your body. 

Series: 1 Corinthians: Pride & Prejudice in the Church

Christian freedom is not a license to do whatever we want; it is the fruit of being washed, sanctified, and justified so that our lives begin to change. 

In this episode on 1 Corinthians 6:9–14, Krisan Marotta looks at Paul’s sobering list of sins, his warning about those who “will not inherit the kingdom of God,” and his reminder that believers have been fundamentally changed by the Holy Spirit—even as we continue to struggle with sin. 

In this week’s episode, we explore:

• How 1 Corinthians 6:9–11 fits into the larger argument of chapters 5–6 about the Corinthians’ casual attitude toward sin
• What it means that the “unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God,” and why Paul’s words are meant to wake us up, not drive repentant believers to despair
• The connection between Titus 3:3–7 and 1 Corinthians 6:11, and how “washed,” “sanctified,” and “justified” describe both a new status before God and a new heart posture toward him
• The crucial difference between a person who struggles with sin and grieves it, and a person who defiantly pursues a sinful lifestyle with no interest in repentance
• Why Paul’s list—including sexual immorality, greed, drunkenness, and the debated term translated “homosexuals”—highlights many different forms of rebellion rather than singling out one special class of sinners
• How the Corinthian slogans “All things are lawful for me” and “Food is for the stomach and the stomach for food” twist the gospel into an excuse for self-indulgence
• Paul’s response: not everything that is “lawful” is profitable, and true freedom in Christ means refusing to be mastered by anything
• Why our bodies matter to God, how the resurrection shapes our view of physical life, and what it means that “the body is not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body”

After listening, you’ll have a clearer framework for understanding Paul’s warnings without losing sight of grace. You’ll be better equipped to examine your own attitude toward sin, to distinguish honest struggle from stubborn rebellion, and to see your body—and your everyday choices—as the place where faith is lived out in response to the God who has washed, sanctified, and justified his people in Christ.

Series: 1 Corinthians: Pride & Prejudice in the Church

When a community makes peace with rebellion against God, it is not being kind—it is losing sight of what the gospel is for. 

In this episode on 1 Corinthians 5:6–13, Krisan Marotta unpacks Paul’s leaven and Passover imagery, his instructions about “not associating” with certain people, and his concern that the Corinthians are boasting in their tolerance instead of mourning a destructive pattern of life. 

In this week’s episode, we explore:

• Why Paul says “your boasting is not good,” and how the Corinthians’ pride in their open-mindedness reveals a deeper refusal to submit to God’s truth 
• What Paul’s leaven analogy really targets—not one “bad apple” corrupting an otherwise healthy church, but a casual, rebellious attitude toward sin itself
• How the Passover images of clearing out old leaven, the lamb’s blood, and a “new lump” come together to picture leaving pagan life behind and receiving a new identity in Christ 
• The difference between believers who still struggle with sin and grieve it, and those who openly justify and celebrate what God clearly calls wrong
• What Paul meant (and did not mean) when he previously told them “not to associate with immoral people,” and why withdrawing from the world was never his point
• How “not even to eat with such a one” likely connects to the early church’s fellowship meal as a visible expression of shared faith and unity
• A careful look at the phrase “so-called brother” and why Paul insists the church must not affirm as Christian someone who defiantly rejects Christ’s authority
• A richer vision of the church as an extended family of fellow travelers in faith, rather than an institution that either ignores sin for the sake of harmony or cuts people off to protect its image 

After listening, you will have a clearer sense of what Paul is—and is not—calling the church to do in hard situations like this. You’ll be invited to take sin seriously without forgetting your own need for mercy, to resist both easy-going compromise and harsh exclusion, and to love others enough to be honest about the path they are choosing—whether it leads toward life with God or away from him.

Series: 1 Corinthians: Pride & Prejudice in the Church

When a church treats ongoing, defiant sin as acceptable, it is not being gracious—it is quietly undermining the very gospel it claims to believe. 

In this episode on 1 Corinthians 5:6–13, Krisan Marotta unpacks Paul’s leaven and Passover imagery, his instructions about “not associating” with certain people, and his concern that the Corinthians are boasting in their tolerance instead of grieving over rebellion against God. 

In this week’s episode, we explore:

• Why Paul says “your boasting is not good,” and how the church’s proud tolerance of blatant immorality reveals a deeper problem of arrogance toward God’s truth 
• What the leaven metaphor means in context—and why Krisan argues that the “leaven” is not one bad apple in an otherwise healthy church, but a casual, rebellious attitude toward sin itself
• How Paul’s Passover imagery—cleaning out old leaven, Christ our Passover Lamb, and a “new lump” of dough—paints a picture of leaving pagan ways behind and embracing a new life shaped by the gospel
• The difference between believers who still struggle with sin and grieve it, and those who openly justify, celebrate, or refuse to repent of what God clearly calls wrong 
• What Paul clarifies about his previous letter: why “not associating with immoral people” cannot mean withdrawing from the world, but does mean taking a clear stand with so-called brothers who defiantly reject God’s commands
• How “not even to eat with such a one” may relate to the early church’s fellowship meal that symbolized unity in Christ—and why that matters for how we think about church discipline today
• A thoughtful vision of the church as an extended family of fellow travelers in faith, not an institution that protects itself by cutting people off, yet also not a social club that affirms everyone’s choices without discernment
• The two extremes churches can fall into—ignoring sin for the sake of harmony, or wielding discipline like a scalpel—and what it might look like to stay humbly committed to both mercy and moral truth

After listening, you’ll come away with a clearer understanding of what Paul is (and is not) asking the Corinthians to do in this challenging passage, and how his counsel speaks into modern questions about tolerance, judgment, and church discipline. You’ll be invited to take sin seriously without losing sight of your own need for grace, to refuse both self-righteous harshness and easy-going compromise, and to care enough about others’ eternal good to be honest about which path leads to life and which leads to death. 

Series: 1 Corinthians: Pride & Prejudice in the Church