15 All Things Are Lawful? What Paul Says About Sin and Freedom (1 Corinthians 6:9-14)

Krisan Marotta: Thank you for joining me today for the Wednesday in the Word podcast. I'm Krisan Marotta, and this is the podcast where we explain not only what Scripture means but how we figure it out. Today we're gonna study First Corinthians chapter 6, verses 9 through 14. This is the 15th talk in our series on 1 Corinthians. The lecture notes for today's talk are on the link below the podcast, or you can find them on the website. Just go to wednesdayintheword.com slash 1 Corinthians 1 5. And while you're there, take a moment to check out the website. There's no charge, no spam, no ads, and only Bible study materials. I'm really glad you joined us today. Let's get started. We're in the middle of chapter 6 of 1 Corinthians, and we're in the middle of an argument that Paul began in chapter 5. Paul has been challenging the Corinthians that some of their choices are not in keeping with the gospel. In fact, choices like their casual attitude towards sin are pretty big red flags. The Corinthians, or at least some in the Corinthian church, are unwilling to use a Christian perspective to evaluate their circumstances. That was the deeper problem we saw behind their strife and divisions that Paul addressed in the first four chapters. It's still the underlying problem in this issue of their not confronting the man who's having an affair with his stepmother. And it was the underlying issue in their going to secular courts to reconcile their disputes. The string that has tied everything together so far is their refusal to use a Christian worldview to evaluate their circumstances. And that's what's going to continue through our passage today. Let me read the passage to get us started, and then we'll dive into the issues. This is first Corinthians chapter six verses nine through fourteen. Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you, but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God. All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable, all things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything. Food is for the stomach, and the stomach is for food, but God will do away with both of them. Yet the body is not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body. Now God has not only raised the Lord, but will also raise us up through his power. This is a significant section in chapter six, and it's the transition into the issue we're going to look at next week, which is one of the more explicit teachings on sexuality in the New Testament. But this passage also confronts us with one of the fundamental questions of Christian theology, and it's a question that determines how we think about ourselves and what it means to be a believer. Well what does that mean? What's supposed to be true of genuine believers? What should I think if I find myself wrestling with some of the qualities in the list? Is my salvation in doubt if there is a trace of any of them in my life? Well some folks would say no. Paul is saying we used to be sinners, we used to be the things on this list, but now Jesus has forgiven us and this list no longer applies to us. End of story. Others would say, Well, genuine believers are those in whose life you will find no sin at all, or at least not these sins. Well, how do we sort this out? I want to begin by comparing this passage with one of Paul's other letters. I want to look at Titus three because I think the Titus passage brings up some ideas that help us understand Paul's perspective, and having understood that perspective we can take that back and apply it to Corinthians. So this is Titus chapter three verses three through seven. For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace, we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Now Paul in this section in Titus makes some very definitive statements about what God is doing for his people. Paul is talking about believers, and he says we used to be foolish, disobedient, deceived, enslaved, but we are no longer. We were these things once, but were not anymore. So one of the things that was true about us is that we were guilty and without hope. We had no right to make any claim on God or to expect to receive eternal life. But because of what Jesus has done for us, we have been justified, that is, we've been made right with God, so that we now stand to inherit eternal life. Because of the blood of Jesus Christ, we now hope to receive forgiveness and mercy and a place in the kingdom of God. And what caused the change? Nothing we did. Notice he says not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness. The change in our status, the change of moving from no hope to having hope, of moving from being guilty to being justified, came about because of God's mercy, the work of Jesus Christ, and the pouring out of the Holy Spirit, not because of anything we did. In three five he says, He saved us not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit. And notice that he describes us there as more than people who've been forgiven, those who stand to inherit eternal life have gone through this washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit. So we were not just guilty, we were foolish, rebellious, disobedient people who were set against God. But God reached out to us to rescue us from that, and we are no longer foolish, disobedient, enslaved, rebellious people. We no longer reject God. We no longer have that unwilling, stubborn resistance to the truth and the gospel. Our hearts have been washed from that hardness to God. We have been reborn so that we are no longer hostile to God. I think this is the same idea that we see in Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus. Jesus told him, You must be born again. Something so significant about us needs to change. It's as if we have to come into the world again. So we were lost, we were set against God, we were headed for destruction, and we need to be changed such that we no longer find ourselves rebelling against God, instead we seek Him and we want to obey Him. We are still sinners, but there is a fundamental bottom line heart attitude change. And I think that's the key idea, that those who stand to inherit eternal life are not just those who have been forgiven, we have been forgiven, but we have also been reborn and regenerated by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is now at work in our lives, teaching us, maturing us, and changing us so that we become more and more people who choose to follow God and want to obey Him. Now that is not to suggest that believers are going to be perfect and going to be sinless. If you've been listening to this series, you know that I don't agree with the theology of victorious Christian living or higher life philosophy or Keswick philosophy or any other theology that says we believers have all the tools we need to be totally righteous now. We just need to learn how to use them. I disagree with that perspective. I think experience and scripture teach that everyone still seriously struggles with sin and evil, but now when we sin, we eventually repent. Now when we fall into temptation or leap into sin, we regret it and we mourn over it and we seek God's grace and forgiveness. Ultimately, over time we will admit we were wrong because of this fundamental attitude that has changed. And why? Why do we repent? Why do we cling to the promises of God and the hope of eternal life when the world dangles all these other options in front of us? Because something very big has changed. We have been washed by the Holy Spirit so that we don't view sin the same way anymore. We don't enjoy it the way we used to. We don't justify it the way we used to. We're not enslaved to it the way we once were. Eventually we will repent of that sin and admit that we were wrong because of the activity of the Holy Spirit in our lives. So being justified leads to being sanctified. You can't separate those two ideas. Being justified, being made right with God leads to a changed life. That does not mean believers will lead lives of sinless perfection, but it does mean that you should see changes in the way we speak, the way we think, and the way we act over time. And we've already seen Paul rebuke the Corinthians for their choices and their values. He treats them as believers who are sinning. Many of them are in the wrong. They still have a lot of learning and growing up to do. He doesn't treat them as if they are now perfect or that they have the ability to be perfect. But neither does he say to them, you know, because you failed in this area, you can't be believers. You're not believers. The issue with the Corinthians is are you going to respond? Are you going to learn and grow and bow your knee to God and accept what he says is true? It's not a question of have you earned your salvation by being sinless and perfect. Rather, the question is, is your heart open to the things of God? Are you willing to be taught and corrected and learn? Will you admit the error of your ways or not? He's saying to them, ultimately, if you're a genuine believer, you should see your life change. And how you respond to these issues matters a great deal because it reveals whether or not the Holy Spirit is at work in your life bringing about those changes. I think that's Paul's perspective, and it informs our section in Corinthians. So let's go back and read chapter six verses nine through eleven again. Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you, but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God. So by inherit the kingdom of God in six nine, I think that's just a way of saying believers When Jesus returns there will be those who will stand with him and be ushered into eternal life, and there will be those who will be cast out. There are those who will inherit the kingdom of God, and there are those who will not. Paul is saying this is the dividing line. Which side are you on? Whether or not you will inherit the kingdom of God is determined by whether or not you have been justified, and if you have been justified, you've been sanctified. The question of which side of that line are you on is the most important question of your life. And your attitude towards sin reveals a lot about where you stand. Are you clinging to this immoral lifestyle or are you seeking the things of God? Do you grieve over the sin you find in yourself and long to be changed? Or do you pursue that sin with stubborn abandon? Are you open to learning and being corrected by Scripture and wiser believers? Or could you care less what God thinks? That's the issue Paul's confronting them with. And we've seen him address that in two other issues. First, their attitude toward the man having an affair with his stepmother, so he's living an openly immoral lifestyle and they're excusing it as hey, progressive intolerant, and we're so open minded, and Paul's saying, This is serious stuff. This is sin. You can't take a casual attitude toward it. And then the second issue he addressed was whose judgment are you counting on to settle disputes between you? And in both of those cases, the underlying issue is believers view the world differently from the way people who reject God view the world. There's a difference between the way believers act and think and respond and the way non-believers act and think and respond. And he's challenging them to consider their responses and what it says about the state of their faith. He's basically saying, which are you? Which side do you align yourself with? Believers are called to be something different. Do you embrace that difference or not? What's more important to you, the things of God or the things of the world? God's opinion or the world's opinion? Is there in fact a difference in your life now that you've made a claim to faith? As part of this discussion, he questioned why they were so proud of accepting the man who is living in rebellion to God. His argument has been God's people don't cling to sin and try to justify it forever. We are people who have been washed and renewed. Our fundamental attitude towards sin has changed. While this man claims to be one of God's people, he is defiantly clinging to a sexual immorality. He's acting like an outsider. To be a believer means believing certain things about sin and seeking repentance, and you don't want to encourage him in that hypocrisy. In the second issue, he rebukes them for acting as if winning a lawsuit is more important than winning a brother. The people of God have a wisdom that the rest of the world lacks. Why seek the world's so called wisdom? They don't have the right perspective. In both cases, the Corinthians were acting as if there was no real important difference between their choices and the choices of the rest of the world. They were acting as if they could accept the world's values on sexuality, wealth, property, and so forth and reject God's viewpoint. So Paul starts out, do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? That do you not know is like have you forgotten? Don't be deceived. Those who do not belong to God and set their lives on a different course, they are not going to inherit the kingdom of God. There is a line, and these are the kinds of people who are on the wrong side of that line. In fact, you were on the wrong side of that line, but you were washed, you were changed, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. The folks on the wrong side of the line who are truly set against God and rebel against him are not going to inherit the kingdom of God. Don't take this casually, don't wink at sin. This is a matter of eternal life and death. And then he gives them this list. And notice that each item on this list is in the list we saw in 511. So everything from 511 is repeated in this list in 69 and 10, but chapter 6 contains some additions. In chapter 5 he was talking about the person who claimed to be a believer but lived a life set on these things. He was talking about a so-called brother who's lives a life dedicated to pursuing the things on the list, and he claims to be a brother, but he doesn't really care what God thinks. Now here in chapter six he starts, do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Let me remind you, as I said in chapter five, anyone whose heart is set against God in such a way that he would rather have the things on this list than an inheritance in the kingdom of God, in the end that person is not going to get an inheritance in the kingdom of God. I think this helps us put Paul's statement in perspective because who among us is not convicted by the items on this list? The very first item is sexual immorality, and who among us can say that they have lived a totally chaste and pure life in both actions and thoughts? If we're going to be ruthlessly honest with ourselves, all of us fail this list. When it comes to idolatry, sexuality, coveting, none of us can say, oh yeah, I'm I have only said and done and thought what I ought to. None of us can say that. Then Paul clearly and unmistakably says these people are not going to inherit the kingdom of God, and that's kind of a terrifying statement. But when we put it back into the context of the argument he's been developing since chapter five, you can see his line of thought. The person who lives his life in pursuit of and dedicated to and desiring these things over and above the kingdom of God is not going to be in the kingdom of God. I don't think Paul is describing the person who randomly struggles with thoughts of theft or coveting. Rather, he's describing the person who is in rebellion against God, who with premeditated willful disobedience pursues things like theft and coveting. The person Paul has in mind is the person who doesn't care what God says is true. He's going to live his life the way he wants to. That person may be clearly outside the community of believers by his own statement and lifestyle choices, or it could be a so-called brother, as Paul has confronted them, someone who claims to be inside the community of believers, but his life choices tell a different story. I don't think Paul is talking about a person who agrees with God's standards of morality, who strives to live by them and grieves over his failure to do so. Paul's not describing someone who acknowledges before God that he or she is a sinner in need of forgiveness and grace and mercy. But he is reminding them you can't take a cavalier attitude toward this stuff because your attitude towards sin matters. There is a choice to be made about who you're going to follow, what your life is going to be all about, what you're going to strive for, what your goals are, how you're going to live your life, and those choices matter. You can't live as if they do not matter. Now we find the word homosexuals in this list, and this word has become the subject of much debate in our modern climate. You're probably aware that in today's American culture, homosexuality is now openly embraced and practiced. In my lifetime, we've gone from a place where sexuality wasn't discussed at all in any way in public to a place where sexual behavior of any kind is acceptable and nothing is out of bounds. And if you think there are rules and boundaries, then you are branded a bigot. In the church, there's been a lot of debate about what the Bible says about homosexuality, and a lot of people would like it better if the Bible didn't have anything to say on the subject at all. In addition to this cultural shift, the word translated homosexuals in 6.9 has become highly debated. Paul uses an unusual Greek word here, and it is so unusual that some scholars think that Paul made it up from a verse in Leviticus. Leviticus 2013 reads If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. And Paul takes the two Greek words that are used to translate that Hebrew of Leviticus and he puts them together as one word. And it's very rare so People debate what it means. It is literally something like with a man as a woman. But even if we debate exactly what the word means, it's on Paul's list, and we can conclude that Paul sees this as one of the many ways we can rebel against God and one of the many ways of rebelling against what God has intended for sexuality. But remember it's just one of the things on a very long list. Sin is sin and rebellion as rebellion. And it's just one sin among many that Paul includes here with other things like covetous, greed, and adultery. He has a very broad list here, and his point is what are you about? Are you a person who realizes that you're a sinner who will stand before a holy God or not? Do you recognize that God calls you to live a different way of life than the way the world lives? And do you want an inheritance in his kingdom or not? The question he's posing is not do you struggle with these sins? Because we all struggle with sin. We all have desires we shouldn't have about all kinds of things, and all of us do evil and selfish things. The question is, are we willing to see ourselves the way God sees us? Are we willing to repent and to follow Him? Because look where He goes with this list. In six eleven he says, Such were some of you, but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God. So he says we were foolish and rebellious, but God has washed us. And he uses these words washed, sanctified, and justified. And you could argue from these three words that the only thing that has changed about believers is our legal status. We were guilty and now we will not be found guilty. Or you could argue from these same three words that everything about believers has changed and that we're now morally perfect. You can emphasize your legal status, or you can emphasize the change that occurs. The words in and of themselves can refer to either one, and it is context that sorts that out for us. I think Paul's argument in Corinthians counts on the fact that we have been changed, that Christianity, that coming to faith in the promises of the gospel of Jesus Christ makes a difference, and that our lives ought to start looking differently after coming to faith. I think Paul's argument depends on the fact that we will change, but we don't change perfectly all at once. So we are not just sinners whose sins and transgressions have been overlooked. We are that. We are now sinners whose sins will be forgiven because of the blood of Christ. But we are also people who have fundamentally been changed. We want to be different now. We want to follow and listen to God and obey Him where before we rebelled against Him. And Paul is calling the Corinthians to consider where they stand precisely because if they have been washed, sanctified, and justified, they should begin to see these kinds of changes in their lives. Not that they will be perfectly changed, as evidenced by the issues they're struggling with, but they will begin to see changes as they go through their lives. He doesn't address them as if they are innocently confused about these issues. They're not wrestling with how or when or whether or if they should confront this man engaged in open immorality. They aren't wrestling with it at all. They're boasting about it. They think it's kind of cool. They think they're sophisticated and open minded to be so tolerant. That's the attitude he's challenging them about. And he continues that into the next verses. He's basically saying what led you to conclude that it is okay to tolerate all kinds of behaviors. So look at six twelve through fourteen. All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything. Food is for the stomach, and stomach is for the food, but God will do away with both of them. Yet this body is not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body. Now God has not only raised the Lord, but will also raise us up through his power. Many scholars believe that Paul is quoting the Corinthians here, and I agree with them that he is quoting back to them a statement they have made to justify and explain their behavior. So I would put in quotes, all things are lawful for me. That's a statement that the Corinthians have made to Paul, and Paul is now addressing it. They believe all things are lawful for me is an implication of the gospel, and they're using that claim as a justification for their behavior. I think they also would argue food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will do away with both, and they're using that to defend their actions. Now it's always an interpretive challenge to determine when Paul is speaking or when he is quoting what his readers have said. The original text does not have that kind of punctuation. Paul is responding to people he knows well, he lived among them for over a year. He's responding to a letter they have written to him, and they're familiar with that letter, but we're not, so we can't definitively point to the letter to say, oh, this is how they explain themselves because we don't have that letter. But the argument does seem to flow better if you understand that Paul is quoting arguments that the Corinthians have made. So we reconstruct their thoughts something like this. Why do we take the attitude towards sexuality that we do? Well, here's two arguments. All things are lawful for me, and food is meant for the stomach, and stomach for the food. Both of those statements imply a justification for taking a certain kind of action. And Paul's responding to that argument, and he basically says, I see your point, but you've missed the boat here. This is not how you should be thinking about this issue. So let me read 612 again. All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything. The Corinthians are running with this idea that we as believers are no longer under the law. So we have been rescued and redeemed from the guilt of our sin by the blood of Jesus Christ, and we are now justified on the basis of faith in him and not on the basis of how well we keep the law. Therefore, since we are no longer under the threat of the law, we can do whatever we want, right? That's the argument they're making, and that may be a familiar misunderstanding to some of you if you've studied Romans. Paul deals with the same idea in Romans six and seven. Some objected to Paul's gospel saying, If you're right, then I can live whatever way I please because I'm forgiven. Since it doesn't matter whether I keep the law or not, I can do whatever I want, and I'll be forgiven no matter what. It's the same kind of argument I think going on here in Corinth. But for the Corinthians, the situation is not hypothetical. They have a so-called believer having an affair with his stepmother. And they could look at that and say, Well, all things are lawful for me. We know the blood of Jesus covers all sins. We've been saved by grace through faith. So, Paul, you're not going to suggest that God's going to reject me now because I commit this one particular sin. All things are lawful for me. All those distinctions and rules and regulations, they don't apply to us anymore. We're free in Christ to live the way we want to live. So this man among us who's living with his stepmother, well, we get it. It's all things are lawful. We're enlightened. He's saved by grace, he's free to do what he wants, we accept him, we get it. What's wrong, Paul? I think it's that kind of an argument. And Paul responds by saying there is a sense in which all things are lawful, but in a deeper sense, not all things are profitable. He's not saying, okay, I'm free to do anything I want, but some things are just better than others. Some choices are better. Like sleeping around, you might get some kind of disease, and that's a less desirable outcome and a less desirable or beneficial use of my freedom. I don't think that's his argument. Paul's not saying some things are just less beneficial. I think he's making a much stronger argument here. I think he would say true, my justification is not on the line, but living my life in rebellion to God is to my peril. It's true that because of the cross God can forgive any sin I might commit, but if I live my life in rebellion to God, that calls into question whether or not I have faith at all. Because part of being saved is not just being forgiven, it's being given the desire to be righteous. It's being given the desire and the longing to be free from sin. Saving faith is not just forgiveness, it is forgiveness, but it is also wanting to be freed from sin and asking God to change us and make us free. So the question is not whether I have committed a sin, the question is what is my heart set on? If my heart is set on the things of this world, such that I pursue them with glee and abandon, and I never repent and I never mourn over my sins, then it calls into question whether or not I really have faith. Because if I believe the gospel, then I ought to follow the things of God. Believing the gospel makes a great deal of difference in how I choose to live. I think that's the idea behind his phrase, I will not be enslaved by anything. Ultimately, I am either serving God as my master or I am enslaved to my sin or an idol. Again, I think Paul is speaking there to the question, what is my heart set on? What do I really want? Have I truly embraced and understood this idea that I am a sinner before a holy God and that I need something really radical and fundamental about myself to change such that it's like I need to be born again? This idea that I'm no longer under the law does not justify selfish immoral behavior or a lifestyle of sin because part of faith and belief is that I now want to live in obedience to God. Part of the gift of saving faith is the desire to be holy and the longing for righteousness and the mourning and grieving over my sin and repenting when I fail. His first argument then is being justified does not excuse any type of selfish or immoral behavior I might want to pursue, and how I live my life is crucially important. And then he makes a second point. This is thirteen and fourteen. Food is for the stomach and the stomach is for food, but God will do away with both of them. Yet the body is not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body. Now God has not only raised the Lord, but will also raise us up through his power. So the Corinthians are making the argument, well look, God made me with a stomach and he made food. Clearly, he designed my body to eat. Food and the stomach have been made for each other, but in the end, all that physical stuff is going to be done away with. I've been designed to eat, and in the end the body doesn't really matter. God's going to give us new ones, so I should just eat. Likewise, my body was designed for sexuality. The body's for sex, sex is for the body, and so sex with whoever and w whatever kind I want ought to be appropriate. When I get hungry, I eat. So if my body desires sexual fulfillment of some sort, I should satisfy that. Doesn't that make sense? Because after all, the body's been designed for that, right? Just like the stomach was designed for food. And Paul says, look, you've applied this analogy wrong. True, the stomach was made for food, but the body was not made for sexual immorality. That's not the purpose of having a body the way you might say digestion is the purpose of the stomach. God did not give you a body for you to use it for immorality. There's no analogy between the body and the stomach that way. Why did he give you a body? So that you might serve him and obey him and worship him in that body. He gave you a body to honor him and praise him, and immorality is not compatible with that. I think that's what's behind this idea is my body is for the Lord and the Lord is for the body and God will raise us up as He raised Jesus. Of course God cares what you do with your body. He made you a physical being, and your physical body will be resurrected. Now later in the letter we're going to find that many in Corinth don't believe in a physical resurrection. When the body and the physical are seen as evil while the spirit is good and right, it leads to two kinds of errors. It leads to licentiousness or asceticism. Licentiousness is the idea that I can do with my body whatever I want because it doesn't matter, it's all gonna burn in the end. And the other extreme is asceticism, that I should avoid physical pleasures at all cost and deny and abstain from everything. Later in the letter, that issue is gonna come up, but right now he's dealing with this error that says, since the physical body is unimportant, then I can do whatever I want with it. And he counters the body is not going to be thrown away. Jesus had a body and he was raised up and we are going to be raised up with him. The body, having a body, is part of God's design for who I am. I am not just a disembodied spirit, I am a person with a body, and my body is intended to be the medium by which I live out my faithfulness to God. How do I live my life as a spiritual person? I only have one way to do that, and it is in this body. I have to use the body I have been given to live out my faith and express my obedience to God and reveal what I believe. Yes, God made the body to need food and he made the body to desire sexual fulfillment, but it is also the place where we live out our faith and our commitment to God. He died to rescue our bodies from death and to bring our bodies into the resurrection. So I have a body that has been made for certain purposes, and all those purposes fall under the umbrella of how I follow God. It makes a great deal of difference how you live in your body now because your choices and the way you live reveal whether or not you have faith and what you're committed to and what your heart is set on. So what are we to do with this section? Well, remember to keep these verses in the context and the flow of thought. If we just read verses nine through eleven in isolation from the rest of Corinthians or the rest of the New Testament, then we'd all better be worried. But these verses don't occur in isolation, they occur in the midst of an argument that runs two to three chapters. Paul is not claiming here, nor does he ever claim to my knowledge, that once you're saved you will lead a life of perfection. He never claims that having been justified we must now measure up. In fact, he argues against that very idea in Galatians. But he does argue, as I think does James and Peter, that becoming a believer matters. That belief can and should change your life, your values, your attitudes, your actions, the way you speak, the way you think, and the way you respond. And if none of those things ever changes, then it calls into question whether you have actually believed. Nowhere in this argument to the Corinthians has Paul discussed a person who agrees with God, wants to do the right thing, but struggles with what's the right thing to do. That's not the issue the Corinthian church was struggling with. Their issue was, does belief make a difference? Their issue is am I going to humbly submit to the things of God and let him change me, or am I going to run headlong after the things of the world? So a member of their church is living an openly immoral lifestyle and expects everyone in the church to say, no big deal. And Paul says, that's a problem. Why should there be such an acceptance of sin in your community? It ought not to be so among you. I think he's warning them you need to take this seriously. There is a dividing line, and your attitude towards sin and pursuing a sinful lifestyle is a big indicator of which side of the line you're on. Now, it's not my job to decide who's on which side of the line, nor is it anyone's job on this planet to decide who's on which side of the line. That's not our place. That's up to God and his spirit. But it is my job to know that such a line exists and to take it seriously in my own life. We ought not to take a cavalier attitude towards sin. We are neither to self righteously judge our fellow believers and expect them to measure up to our own personal standards, nor are we to excuse blatant immorality and encourage people to be deceived. We know Paul thinks it matters how you live your life. Paul never teaches that your behavior after coming to faith is irrelevant. The theme underlying the arguments we've seen in this letter so far is that your choices matter. And he's warning the Corinthians, you folks are making choices that call your faith into question, and your actions are not consistent with your claim to faith. And the reason they're not consistent is because the desire to be holy is part of the gift of saving faith. Thank you for listening to Wednesday in the Word, the podcast that explains not only what a passage means, but shows you how to figure it out. I really appreciate your listening, and I have three favors to ask. Please subscribe to the podcast, leave a positive rating and review on your favorite podcast platform, and tell a friend. It really does make a difference. If you leave a review, it helps others find the podcast. And if you only have time to do one of those three, telling a friend is best.org. I'm Chris Almirata, and I'll see you next week at Wednesday in the Word.