Introduction
“Don’t you know better?” Have you had someone talk that way to you (besides your parents)? “Are you telling me that you don’t know…?” The Corinthians are getting the “don’t you know” treatment from Paul. Six times in chapter six he asks them the question, “Do you not know?”
Paul is using the question as a literary device to drive home the points he wants to make, but still, one can’t help but get the impression that the man who considers himself the spiritual father of the Corinthian saints is feeling somewhat exasperated as he talks to his children. “You are doing what? Do you not know…? Didn’t I raise you to know anything? And you think you are wiser than I am!”
What is aggravating Paul? First, he is annoyed with their spiritual pride. They think they have outgrown his simple gospel preaching about the cross; they have entered a higher plane of spiritual wisdom as evidenced by their spiritual gifts. Paul’s perspective is that they have regressed to childish thinking. In reality, they have retained the world’s approach to wisdom. This has led to inevitable division in the church as they compete with one another; in particular it has strained their relations with Paul who is diminishing in stature before their eyes.
This is enough to bother the most patient man, but still, Paul could have handled his feelings. We all know the tendency of young people as they gain the excitement of learning new things to think they know more than they really do. This is also true of young Christians. The thrill of coming into a new life in Christ and discovering spiritual truths that one could not grasp before is a heady experience. One can easily think that he is wiser than he is. Paul, as the Corinthians’ spiritual father would understand this. It is their foolish, dangerous behavior that alarms him.
It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father’s wife. And you are arrogant! (5:1,2). Are you out of your mind? What are you doing letting this go on? Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? (v. 6) Has it not occurred to you that letting such sin go on in your midst is exposing your whole church to infection with the same type of sin?
We learned from 1:11 that “Chloe’s people” are informing on the Corinthians to Paul. They tell him another thing: the church members are taking each other to court. When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints? (6:1). What is going on? You’ve got plenty of spiritual pride; don’t you have any pride for your Lord? You’ve got to turn to judges outside the church to handle your conflicts? Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? Do you not know that we are to judge angels? (2, 3) And what’s with the conflicts? How can it be that you are wronging and defrauding each other? Do you not know…?
Text
Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?
Paul raises the seriousness of his lecture. He goes beyond warning them that they are getting into trouble. Here is a sobering statement about who is in the kingdom and who is not, and he is certainly trying to make the Corinthians pause. They have too easily walked along the world’s path believing that they are okay with God. Wait a minute, he is telling them. Consider the consequences of your behavior.
The unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God. Sure, Paul, we know that. Jesus did the work of making us righteous on the cross. You taught us that. You can’t seem to get beyond that message, but we remember it. We are saints in Christ. We are spiritual people now. Haven’t you noticed our gifts?
Paul has noticed their gifts. He thanked God for them (1:4-8). What is lacking, however, is fruit of righteousness. Indeed, their behavior is that of the unrighteous. Do not be deceived. Don’t fool yourselves about this, he tells them. You cannot keep acting as you did under the old life and expect to inherit the kingdom of God.
What does Paul mean by “inherit the kingdom”? It is a phrase indicating salvation. In one sense to be a Christian is to have inherited the kingdom, i.e. already entered into it. Thus Paul speaks of having obtained an inheritance in Ephesians 1:11. There is also the sense, however, of a future time in which we will come into our inheritance. Right now, we have the promise, as when children are informed by their parents that the children are heirs of their estate when they die. The children may be heirs, but they do not come into their inheritance until Mom and Dad pass on. Meanwhile, they must bide their time and behave reasonably well so they are not excluded from the will. Paul is warning them about this very thing.
Consider his list of bad behavior: the sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, men who practice homosexuality, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, revilers, and swindlers. We will go through the list.
By the “sexually immoral,” Paul means what we would commonly think of – persons who engage in all forms of sexual activity that do not fit the Judeo-Christian ethic. “Adulterers” specifically apply to those who defile the marriage bed. In two weeks, when we study the second half of chapter six, sexual immorality will be the subject of the whole sermon. Thus, we will not go more into the subject now.
The same is the case for the sin listed as “men who practice homosexuality.” This phrase combines two words in the Greek. The NIV translate the words as “male prostitutes” and “homosexual offenders,” and other translations give yet other renders. The terms will be discussed next Sunday in a sermon on homosexuality.
Back up to the term “idolaters.” Paul probably has a specific situation in mind. Corinth was noted for its many temples. A common religious practice was to eat meals in the temples. This may be part of a religious festival or a private individual hosting a meal in celebration of some event. Paul will discuss the issue in chapters 8 and 10, which is when we go further into the matter. Suffice it for now to say that he is warning the Corinth saints not to fall back into idolatry by participating in these practices.
Thieves, of course, are those who steal. Greedy is translated “covetous” in other translations. It is clear that Paul is reciting sins from the Ten Commandments – idolatry, adultery, stealing, and coveting. We understand drunkards. Revilers or slanderers are those who badmouth others. Swindlers are thieves, but there is the added seriousness to such theft because it is accompanied by force, even violence. The thief sneaks an item; the swindler holds someone up; the thief takes advantage of an opportunity; the swindler plots means of deceiving or overpowering others.
Paul, as a good Jew, is turning to Old Testament law for his list. He is making the point that being freed from the guilt which the law places on an offender, does not mean that we are then free to keep our old sinful ways.
11 And such were some of you. 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.
These categories fit the Corinthians in their pre-Christ days. They don’t fit – i.e. they should not fit – now. Think, sisters and brothers; think what the experience of being saved in Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit means.
It means you were washed. The blood of Jesus Christ washed you clean from the sins that stained you. You were cleansed so that you might live clean lives. You were sanctified. You were called out of the world to live in the kingdom of God. Your old life belongs to the world. In your new life, you have been set apart for holy living. You were justified. You were counted as righteous so that you might live as righteous people. The idea of receiving such a salvation in the name of Christ is that you might live as Christ for Christ. The reason for being given the Spirit is that he might empower you to live the righteous life to which you are called.
Application
The Corinthians were guilty of the same attitude that Charismatics, Baptists, and Reformed Christians are prey to – separating spirituality from righteousness. It is the same attitude that we accuse the New Age devotees of possessing. Let’s consider how the different groups adhere to it. We will save ourselves for last.
For New Age adherents, what matters is spirituality. Our goal is to get in touch with the divine that is in us. We do that through meditation, channeling, crystals, and other forms of spiritual exercises. Mankind’s problem is not that it is bad and thus on bad terms with the Creator, but that it is disconnected with the creative force. There may be behavior we should not do, but that is because such behavior cramps our spirituality. Killing others produces bad vibes. There is no such thing, however, as immorality, definitely not sexual immorality.
Charismatics, of course, do believe in the morals of the Bible. Nevertheless, their primary test for possessing the Holy Spirit is the manifestation of gifts. This was precisely the Corinthians’ problem. Exhibiting supernatural gifts is a thrilling experience; it is easy to see how such gifts become the focal point. It is also easy for those gifts to crowd what is the real evidence of the Holy Spirit – sanctification. It is the Spirit’s work to convict, lead to repentance, empower to obey, and produce the fruit of righteousness. It is not unusual for Christians to speak in tongues and be gossips; to prophesy and to lie at work. As long as they manifest the gifts, though, they think they are all right with God.
What could be wrong with Baptists? Don’t they teach the importance of right living? Aren’t they the ones usually leading moral causes? If anything, they might be considered legalistic. All this may true, but they also teach that once saved, always saved, and they reduce salvation to a walk down the aisle. How many testimonies are made that go like this: When I was eight years old I walked down the aisle…? There are a lot of people who have abandoned church and completely embraced the world’s morals, yet claim to be Christians because of that one-time act.
And then there’s us – Reformed Christians. What could be our problem? We are the ones who have got theology right! That is our problem. As long as we’ve got our theology right, then we must be right with God. We are not legalistic, thinking that we have to make ourselves right with God. We don’t believe that being morally good will get us into heaven or even keep us in God’s favor. If we are honest with ourselves, what we do take pride in is our doctrine. The Charismatics may look to their gifts and the Baptists to their aisle-working; we look to our theological astuteness.
As you know, I do believe doctrine is very important. As to morals, I have taught that the gospel is not about being moral. I still stand by that statement. The gospel is about grace. We can never be moral enough to earn or retain God’s favor. By his grace alone, he extends his favor to us. By Christ’s righteousness alone, we are regarded as righteous. Jesus has done all the work for us; the Holy Spirit has applied that work for us.
But here is the point. The work of Jesus Christ and of the Holy Spirit is intended not merely to get us into God’s kingdom, but to make us people who reflect the kingdom’s values. This is Paul’s point. We are cleansed so we may live clean lives; we are sanctified, so we may live holy lives; we are justified, so we may live righteous lives. The bumper sticker is wrong which says, “Christians are not perfect, just forgiven.” We definitely are not perfect, but God’s intention for us is not to remain the same only forgiven. We don’t go around telling others, “Ha, ha, ha; my sins are forgiven; yours aren’t. I can do what I want.”
Jesus is clear about the place of right living.
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness’” (Matthew 7:15-23).
Being good does not save you, but being bad gives me no reason to assure you that you are saved. All anyone can go by is your fruit. I will never tell you that you must be without sin to be assured of your salvation; but I will never confirm that you are saved if you show no concern for your sin or the fruit you bear. And I have heard the stories.
Everybody sins; mine are no worse.
My sins aren’t hurting anyone.
I’ll change when I am ready and not because anyone makes me.
I know what I am doing is wrong, but God will forgive me.
All I can tell you is that is not the way someone who knows and loves Jesus talks. It certainly is not the way a person talks who has experienced the grace and mercy of Jesus. Such a person is never satisfied with his sin; being forgiven only fuels his desire to be more obedient. Whether your sin is drinking or cheating others in business; whether it is stealing or gossiping; whether it is sexual immorality or homosexuality; whatever the sin may be – loving your sin more than you love Jesus is not good testimony for your salvation. This is what it really boils down to, isn’t it. Which do you love more – your sin or Jesus? The answer reveals which you have experienced with greater depth – the pleasure of your sin or the love of Jesus. Which is it? Your sin or Jesus? You can’t have both. Jesus is a jealous lover.
