We sometimes think of the New Testament era as the golden age of the church compared to which our own era is more than a bit rusty. Paul’s correspondence with the Corinthians should help perish any such thought, for few New Testament-era congregations were as spiritually malformed and morally degenerate as theirs. Few modern congregations are. Remember, the Corinthian congregation was divided by a pride that was embarrassed of “Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1:10-4:21). This congregation tolerated the incestuous relationship of one of its members (5:1-12), sued one another in pagan law courts (6:1-11), and thought little against … Continue reading A False Theology of Freedom (1 Corinthians 6:12-14)

  In 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, Paul writes about the reality of hell, the variety of sin, the possibility of change, and the necessity of grace. Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ … Continue reading Inheriting the Kingdom (1 Corinthians 6:9-11)

  In my experience, there are two kinds of conflict: the kind that can’t be stopped and the kind that never should’ve started. An example of the first kind of conflict is Paul’s conflict with the Corinthians. It concerned vital matters of Christian faith and practice, such as a false spirituality based on something other than Christ crucified (1 Corinthians 1:10-4:21), sexual immorality (5:1-13, 6:1-20), abuse of Christian fellowship (11:17-34), misuse of spiritual gifts (12:1-14:40), and denial of Christ’s resurrection (15:1-58). It couldn’t be stopped without harming the Corinthians’ spiritual life or compromising their testimony to Jesus Christ (e.g., 15:12-19). … Continue reading Two Kinds of Conflict (1 Corinthians 6:7-8)

  In 1 Corinthians 6:1-6, the Apostle Paul writes: If any of you has a dispute with another, dare he take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the saints? Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life! Therefore, if you have disputes about such matters, appoint as judges even men of little account in the church!  I say this to shame … Continue reading The Saints Will Judge the World (1 Corinthians 6:1-6)

  An old Christian song for children begins with these lyrics: One door and only one And yet its sides are two Inside and outside On which side are you? The song takes its cue from Jesus, who said, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture” (John 10:9 KJV). We moderns don’t like the distinction between insiders and outsiders. We don’t like divisions of any kind, for that matter. They strike us as elitist, judgmental, and dangerous. The Nazis drew lines between Germans … Continue reading Insdide/Outside (1 Corinthians 5:9-13)

  In 1 Corinthians 5:1-13, Paul admonishes the Corinthians to discipline a member of their congregation for gross sexual immorality. The discipline is redemptive, not punitive (verse 5). In other words, it aims to reconcile the man to God and the church. It is also protective, however (verse 6). Its aim is to guard the congregation from falling into sin themselves. Paul uses the imagery of Passover to explain the protective function of church discipline: Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old yeast … Continue reading Unleavened Lives (1 Corinthians 5:6-8)

  For Christians, the norm of sexual behavior is simple: fidelity within marriage, chastity without it. Because of the current debate over same-sex marriage, that norm has been clarified by making explicit the traditional understanding of marriage as a lifelong heterosexual union. This norm is rooted in the creation narrative (Genesis 1:27, 2:24) and reaffirmed by Jesus Christ (Matthew 19:4-5, Mark 10:6-8) and the Apostle Paul (1 Corinthians 6:15-16, Ephesians 5:31). New Testament authors use the word porneia specifically in reference to prostitution (1 Corinthians 6:15-18) and broadly in reference to any violation of the norm, whether premarital sex (1 … Continue reading What Is Our Reaction to Sexual Sin? (1 Corinthians 5:1-2)

  Search through Amazon.com’s offering on books using the word leadership, and you’ll find 60,530 results. Perform the same search using the word followership, and you’ll find 149 results. Even the more common word follower only nets you 2,099 results. Though most of us follow, or precisely because most of us follow, we crave better leaders and seek guidance to find them or become them ourselves. There is a crisis of leadership in our country. Church leaders overlook child sexual abuse among their peers. Political leaders write laws they fail to follow themselves. Business leaders make a buck even as … Continue reading Five Characteristics of a Christian Leader (1 Corinthians 4:17)

  Parents, when caught by their children in some hypocrisy, often say, “Do as I say, not as I do.” I haven’t said that to my 18-month-old son yet – mostly because he doesn’t speak English and I don’t speak gibberish. But I will say it someday. Imperfect a father as I am, I know that I will need to uphold the authority of life’s rules even as I occasionally (and inadvertently) break them. Of course, it would be better by far for me to say to my son, “Do as I say precisely because I say as I do.” … Continue reading Do As I Do (1 Corinthians 4:14-16)