SINS THAT EQUAL NO SALVATION: SEXUALLY IMMORAL & SWINDLING
BIBLE VERSE: 1 Corinthians 6:9-11
9 Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 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 and by the Spirit of our God.
TRANSITION: We learned last week that this verse has 9 specific sins mentioned that were in the way as hurdles for people from coming the Lord Jesus Christ: sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, homosexuals, thieves, greedy, drunkards, slanderers, & swindlers. But what are these things?
Leaders, last week we talked about them in general. And I am guessing that the HS focused on the obvious, glaring one here (homosexuality). But we are going to spend one more week so that we can cover a couple of these in more detail.
*Leaders, you may want to skip all or parts of the following topic with Middle School, we have some young ones so tread carefully please.
THE ISSUE: SEXUALLY IMMORAL
A) Revelation 22:14-15
14 “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. 15 Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
Okay, so those who are sexually immoral are also specifically mentioned in the last times (hmm…what are you thinking). And being sexually immoral is so hurtful that God even refers to them as dogs (for those that didn’t know, calling someone a dog in those days was one of the worst insults ever created).
*Leaders, I am not advocating using a curse word (we should never ever do that), but a word that literally means a female dog is still one of the most hurtful words of our vocabulary in 2012.
The term sexually immoral (fornication) comes from the Greek word ‘porneia.” We get our word “pornography” or “porn” from the term. It is sometimes used to apply to sexual relations between non-married people. In addition, the term in Matthew 5:32 and Matthew 19:9 has more of a broad term that includes adultery, incest, and even bestiality.
If one applies the use of Leviticus as a legitimate moral compass (remember, there are those people out there who would want to throw out every rule in the Old Testament. I am not saying we have to provide animal sacrifices, but the only specific non-animal sacrifice verifiably ruled clean in the New Testament is that all food is clean). But if we are to apply Leviticus to it (as I would by the way), it would include oral, anal, and touchings of the genitalia outside the confines of marriage as well (Leviticus 13, 14, 15, 16, & 20, Romans 1).
So, how does one NOT get to be called a dog by God in the last days? How does someone avoid having a life as bitter as wormwood (Proverbs 5)? The answer is to NOT be sexually immoral.
*By the way guys, if a sworn believer is active in sexual relations outside of marriage (it is possible, King David is our best/worst example of this type of sin), when notified of the sin by a sincere brother, the true believer repents and ends it (can’t really have a repentance without an end).
The Honest Transition:
Leaders, as we bring this issue closer to home, I am not sure if anyone is pursuing sexual immorality. But let’s ask some tough questions…how close are you? Meaning on this issue, how close do you look like the rest of the world? Following are some sincere questions…
What was the last thing you did NOT do because the Lord convicted you of it? (if the Holy Spirit is alive and well in somone’s life, they have turned something down…and I am not talking about a party here, I mean more like an activity that probably would be considered just fine by most students).
If someone looked at your facebook, could they tell you were a Christian? (let’s face it, one of the key differences between Christian and Non-Christian facebooks tends to be the amount of cuss words used & the romantic images or party pics put online).
How do you dress when you are not around your Christian friends? (being honest, a lot of youth attending students throughout the ages have two entirely different wardrobes when they are a way from their Christian friends.
How are your grades? (do you think Christ is okay with the number of zeroes and half-completed work performed by the typical HS student?
How do you treat people of the opposite gender? Would you be excited to tell your future husband/wife about how you have treated people of the opposite gender? (this is a double-edged sword here, on one hand, a lot of guys in society treat women poorly and without much respect, this goes on in the church as well. On the other hand, a lot of women latch onto guys…lots of different guys over the course of time because they desire companionship…that can lead to devastating effects in their future marriage and don’t even know it).
THE ISSUE: SWINDLER
Definition of Swindler: to cheat a person or business out of money or other assets, to obtain by fraud & deceit
Charles Ponzi: Charles Ponzi was a 1920’s businessmen that promised unbelievable profits on returns made from investments. He told his clients that he was investing in some type of postal coupons overseas and reselling them, essentially he told people he could double their money in 90 days. In reality, he wasn’t investing in anything. In order to pay Person A, he took money from Person B and Person C. Then to pay Person B, he took money from Person D, Person E, & Person F. In doing this, he actually conned people into profits for himself in excess of $4,000,000 in today’s money. Despite a whole history of theft, gambling, and swindling, some people who even knew about his past still gave over their money to him. We actually get the term Ponzi scheme from him. Technically, investors lost $20 Million of their money to him (and that amount is in 1920’s income, about 10 times that today).
Bernie Madoff: Another massive example of this has occurred recently (and to be honest, it really never stops for this type of crime goes on constantly). He created a wealth management business by using his stock brokering business to accumulate wealth. The actual amount of money swindled we honestly will never know, but one court-appointed trustee could verify the theft of over $18,000,000,000 (yeah, 18 Billion). Yet, it’s possible that the amount of money taken and maneuvered was actually somewhere around $75 Billion. Either way, Bernie Madoff is the greatest/worst swindler in the history of the world (by the way, he was active in his church the whole time).
Bringing it Back to Us: Now, most of us will never be involved in harming people financially through a self-organized ponzi scheme. I get that. But, the issue of theft is as old as the 8th Commandment and is just as vital to our spiritual growth today as anything else.
Let me explain something to you that is unique in the Bible and hit this is a roundabout way.
BIBLE VERSE: Acts 20:35
In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”
Did you read what Paul wrote, it is more blessed to give than it is to receive. What’s funny about this is that nowhere in any of the gospels does Jesus ever actually say these words. Paul is quoting a statement of Christ here that is not recorded directly from any of his words specifically. Pretty cool huh? It’s sort of interesting, Jesus refrains from making any comment on the 8th commandment at any point of time during his ministry as its recorded, but Paul makes a conversation about GIVING. Why?
Is it because we are so good at GETTING?
Is God kidding about these things? If we think so, read the following verse. What command is given to us concerning this issue? Do you think you could pull this off?
1 Corinthians 5:11
But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people.
The Big Issue:
We could break down each one of these sins one by one and explain why they’re bad and why we shouldn’t do them. But here’s the gosh honest truth. The truth is that God hates sin. And the closer we get to sexual immorality or swindling, or slandering, or any of the above or others for that matter, the closer we move a way from the heart of God and toward the world.
Below is a devotional from the Dare2Share.org website on this topic. It makes an amazing point and brings up yet some more awesome questions (leaders, if we actually get to this far, spend some time on the following questions).
Jesus Hates Sin, This I Know
"Thou hatest wickedness." (Psalm 45:7)
Perhaps most of us picture Jesus as a meek and mild man who was unassuming as a bunny rabbit. The media has long portrayed Him as a slightly anemic and feeble religious guy who showed about the same level of anger as a houseplant.
To be sure, He was cool under pressure, and demonstrated more self-control than any of us could ever imagine. Jesus also had more love in His heart for people than anyone who ever lived. Yet by the same token, He also had more hatred for something than anyone who ever lived: sin.
Why? Well, to understand this, it would be helpful to go back to the definition of sin. The Bible has many terms for sin, but essentially there are two word pictures that depict the nature of sin. The first image is that of an arrow being shot and completely missing the target. Perhaps the archer meant to miss, or maybe he was just a lousy shot. Either way, the mark was set up, and he failed. Thus, one side of sin is the fact that all people "miss the mark" of God's holy standard (Romans 3:23). The second image is that of someone stepping over a clearly marked boundary that no one is allowed to cross. Perhaps that person accidentally stepped over, or just flat wanted to see what would happen. Either way, the line was crossed, and full penalties apply. So the other side of sin is the fact that all people willfully break the clear boundaries that God has set, thus they are destined for hell.
Enter Jesus: God's Son. He created the world, set up the standards and drew the boundary lines. He was not willing that any should perish, so much that He gave up paradise to live in putrescence and die in disgrace. No wonder, then, that His hatred of sin runs so deep! It is sin that has separated His beloved creation from their Creator. It is sin that breaks the heart of His Father and brings joy to His demonic enemies.
What would Jesus do? He would hate sin. Do you? The goodness in people is directly connected with their detestation of disobedience; he who loves truth must hate every false way. Do you have a burning abhorrence towards any and all things that miss the mark and step over the line? Or is sin more like a big weed in your yard- you really don't like it, but you're just too lazy to get off the couch and do something about it. If you truly understood the devastating nature of sin, you wouldn't see sin as a weed- but rather as a hornet about to attack. People about to get stung don't casually stand by and do nothing about it.
Jesus did something about sin: He died that it might die; He was buried that He might bury it in His grave; and He rose from the dead that He might forever crush it beneath His feet.
This week, take inventory of your emotions to see if you truly detest wickedness in yourself and others. It is sin which destroys your life, your family, and your friendships. It is the reason that the innocent One died a guilty death and people are bound for hell. If you can't muster up hate for something that does all that, check your pulse- you may be dead!
Questions:
. On a scale of 1-10, how high would you rate your hatred of sin? Would your friends and family agree with your assessment?
. Do you see sin more like a weed, or a hornet?
Do you hate sin enough to tell your friends about Christ?