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FCC Memorial Day Video...remembering those who have gone before us

My body lasts forever??? 1 Cor. 6:12-20

Thanks for the awesome discussion in class on Sunday! It was great to see that so many were thinking and reading this passage during the week. It is certainly not a passage to read on a shallow level, or take lightly. There is too much within these 9 verses to dismiss out-of-hand. If you find it difficult to post a comment, just email it to me and I'll post it for ya! :)

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Here are some more questions for us to ponder and discuss this week, from the passage:

1. What should motivate us to live in purity? There are so many temptations that we know are wrong - but WHY should we say NO?

2. Why do you think God says to "flee" sexual immorality (vs. 18)? Most other temptations in Scripture we are called to resist. When it comes to immorality - we are told to flee...WHY???

3. What do you think about our bodies being permanent vs. temporary (vs. 14)? Is this new to you? Are there other cross-references or verses that might shed more light on this? Is the permanence of our bodies a motivator for purity?

4. What does it mean to be a temple of the Holy Spirit (vs. 19)? We all know we are a temple, but what does this mean? Is a temple just a dwelling, or is it also a place of worship? Does this make a difference?

5. Did Christ really buy your body, or just your soul, when He died for you (vs. 20)? What do you think Paul was arguing in this context? Why does this even matter? Does our discussion about philosophical dualism relate here?

Lots of questions to ponder. Interact with any of them - no need to try and answer all of them unless you are really ambitious! Dig deep in this passage.
- Do more cross-referencing using the center margin of your Bible.
- Grab a good study Bible (like MacArthur's or Ryrie's or Zondervan's) and read some of the commentary notes.
- Grab your Strong's Concordance (or buy one at Arrowhead or Amazon.com if you don't own one - I highly recommend every family have one in their home...if you want to try one out, I'd be happy to loan you my copy) - use the concordance to lookup "immorality" or "purity" or "sex" and see what other passages say.
- Or use an online Bible concordance for those same searches (here's a couple of the best: www.biblegateway.com and www.crosswalk.com)

Happy digging! Remember, the wealth of Scripture is often buried just beneath the surface. Only the diligent find buried treasure. Never settle for fool's gold! :)

"Tune your ears to wisdom,

and concentrate on understanding.

Cry out for insight,

and ask for understanding.

Search for them as you would for silver;

seek them like hidden treasures.

Then you will understand what it means to fear the Lord,

and you will gain knowledge of God."

(Prov. 2:2-5 NLT)

the skin we are in - 1 Cor. 6:12-20

By my count, the word “body” is used 8 times in these 9 verses. Paul seems to be infatuated with the human body; or rather he is upset that the Corinthians were so pre-occupied with their bodies. I think the latter is true.

Paul speaks for God in explaining the incredible need for physical purity. This is not a passage about lusting or mental desires, although he speaks about this in other places. It is a passage about your body, and mine. It is a discourse on how we are to treat this skin we are in.

Let’s break down what God is saying to me about my body, verse by verse:

1. Sin can enslave me (vs. 12)
2. God did not create my body for sexual impurity (vs. 13)
3. God intended my body for His pleasure (vs. 13)
4. My body is somehow eternal (vs. 14)
5. My body is part of God’s body (vs. 15)
6. My body must not be part of a harlot’s body (vs. 15)
7. Sexual impurity prostitutes Christ, and causes Him to be defiled (vs. 15-17)
8. Sexual impurity is more than physical, it is a spiritual and emotional bond (vs. 15-16)
9. The only solution to sexual sin is running…away!!! (vs. 18)
10. Sexual impurity destroys my body (vs. 18)
11. My body is where the Holy Spirit lives (vs. 19)
12. I do not own my body (vs. 19)
13. Christ paid for my body with His blood (vs. 20)
14. My body must glorify God, because it is God’s! (vs. 20)

I am not sure I grasp just how deeply sexual sin destroys Christ, the church, and my body. We are all afraid of STDs. Nobody wants Herpes, Gonorrhea, or HIV. These possible consequences of impurity scare some into purity – at least physical purity. But has the thought of defiling Christ ever stopped you from getting involved in an impure relationship? Has the thought that you can ruin the Holy Spirit’s house ever kept you from getting physical with another person? What motives you to remain pure?

There is an awful lot we could talk about in this passage. Some quick background issues that we have touched on before: the city of Corinth was a cesspool of immoral slime! Instead of the two nude strip clubs and one adult toy store like Kirkwood, there was a massive temple to Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love. Instead of a handful of gals who worked the 2^nd shift, they had 1,000 “priestess” who offered their services to visiting guys in the evening. I could go on, but you get the point.

Having a church in this sexual city should have been like having a lighthouse in the midst of a dark stormy inlet. Instead, the church at Corinth became part of the darkness and filth. Sure they worshipped God on Sundays, but during the week you could find Joe Christian visiting the temple and Sally Christian visiting the home of a lonely guy.

How did they ever rationalize their impurity? They were pretty good at it, just like we are. But they used some different rationalizations than we do. Some of them subscribed to something called philosophical dualism – where the body is viewed as evil and what you did physically made no difference. An immoral relationship is only temporary and biological. It has no permanent consequence.

Some of them thought of it this way – my stomach was made for food, and my body was made for sex (vs. 13). Sex is just a natural biological function. Humans are sexual beings. Ever heard this before?

I am going to stop this post pretty abruptly, and throw out a question. I have lots more to say, but will add more later. We have some things to think through first...

Based on this passage, why must I repress my body’s natural functions?

Quit walking all over me...or not??? 1 Cor. 6:1-11 continued...

We inflict injury on one another for the sake of our "rights". Paul says - this is WRONG! If we are considering taking a fellow believer to court, God gives us a big red light. Believers are not to give away to unbelievers our God-given authority to judge. We need to begin standing up and making peace.

This may mean giving up a fight.
It may mean arbitrating a dispute.
It may mean church leadership mediating between fighting members.

Whatever the case, peace does not happen - it must be made!!! To make peace, someone may need to stand up and judge - something we hate doing in our relativistic "what right do you have to tell me I'm wrong?!" culture. To make peace, we may need to stand down...

This brings us back to our discussion in class on Sunday. Mindy had asked if we should allow people to walk all over us: "...You spoke about letting others walk all over you, and I understand God wants us to be humble and take sacrifices for his sake - however, is there a point at which you allow this to happen that others may not be able to see the glory of God in your life?" Each of us in class cringed at the idea of letting someone walk all over us. What does God have to say????

"accept wrong"
"let yourselves be cheated"
- Vs. 7

I wish those words weren't in this passage. I wish God didn't say them. But he did. Now we must deal with them, and obey them, no matter how much they may hurt.

What amount of wrong must I accept from others?
How much should I let others cheat me?
There must be a price-limit, right?

I mean, if someone cheats me out of my shovel, so be it. But if someone cheats me out of my computer, my car, my cash...no way!

This is about fairness, rightness, justice! Must I give up justice now?

Listen to Jesus:
"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on the right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away." (Matt: 5:38-42 nkjv)

I don't think I am very good at this...I don't think our church is very good at this...I don't think our entire Christian community is very good at this. We have bought the lie that justice and fairness must be demanded now.

Yes, God is just and fair, we just need to wait until He sets the record straight.
Until then, I'm going to need a lot of something called forgiveness. What did Jesus have to say about that?

"Then Peter came to Him and said, 'Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?' Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven...'" (Matt. 18:21-22 nkjv)

Unlimited forgiveness, no justice or fairness - this is not sounding very fun right now. Yet the cost of being a follower of Christ is high - higher perhaps than some of us realize.

I was humbled by this high and costly calling this morning as I sat at the feet of a godly believer martyred by Hitler. Here is what he wrote from prison, unjustly accused by an ungodly government:

"Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross...costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field for the sake of it a man will gladly go and sell all that he has...it is costly becasue it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life."
(Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship, pg. 47)

Have I signed up up for this costly grace yet? Have you?

learning to lose...1 Corinthians 6:1-11

I love this text. I hate this text. Perhaps I need to take my morning bi-polar meds. Or perhaps I need to explain…

In principle, there is little in this passage I would disagree with. But in practice…ahhhh, I cringe at the very thought!

We all know that the Corinthian church was riddled with problems. Can you even imagine being a member of a church where...

1. there are constant power and leadership struggles
2. everyone disagrees about how to properly worship on Sunday
3. sexual immorality is common and overlooked
4. members have serious disagreements with one another
5. marriages are failing
6. immaturity and worldliness are more common than maturity and godliness

Wait...doesn't that sound like a lot of churches today? Perhaps even a tad like our church?

Ouch, let’s get back to the text.

Paul was very upset that Corinthian believers were taking their disagreements to court. Lawsuits were common…in the church! The Jews of Paul’s day considered going before a secular court blasphemy. They had their own court – the Sanhedrin – where they settled disputes and matters of law. The Romans allowed this court freedom to try almost any offense, and give almost any judgment, except the death penalty. This is why when Jesus was tried before the Sanhedrin and declared guilty of death, they needed to get the permission of Rome - via Pilate - to execute Him (Matt. 26:57-27:25).

Yet most Corinthians were Gentiles, not Jews. They grew up in a culture of litigation. What was that like? It was a bit like our sue-happy nation, only worse! Almost any disagreement was taken before arbitrators, and then a jury of peers. Disagreements were seen as challenges – and lawsuits made for good entertainment. However, Paul wasn’t entertained…

Allow me to quote from a Christian lawyer's perspective about this issue:
I have counseled dozens of Christians to drop lawsuits against each other. In some ninety percent of the cases, I have been successful. Without exception, those believers have been blessed. Also without exception, those who insisted on resolving their disputes in court became bitter and resentful – whether they won or lost their cases. If they went to court, they always lost spiritually.
(taken from John MacArthur’s NT Commentary on 1 Corinthians, pg 140).

These are sobering thoughts…and perhaps they apply beyond lawsuits. You see, Paul didn’t just say to stop suing. He said – learn to lose! Lose what? Arguments, disagreements, fights…. ARE YOU KIDDING???

We live in a culture that…
…honors winners and despises losers
…teaches us to stand up for our rights and to defend ourselves
…tells us to stop letting ourselves get walked over

Is God really opposed to all that? Look at verse 7:
Why not just accept the injustice and leave it at that? Why not let yourselves be cheated? (NLT)

God is calling Christians to create a culture that…
…honors others higher than ourselves
…teaches us to stand down from fights and give up our rights
…tells us to let others walk all over us

Better to take a loss of money, stuff, or reputation than to take fights to the next level and lose spiritually. You see, the issue is not about who is right. It is about who is wrong. And Paul is clear – if you take disagreements to the next level, you are wrong.

That’s pretty harsh. But isn’t that what the text says?

Let me end with a paraphrase of verses 7-8 from the Message:

These court cases are an ugly blot on your community. Wouldn’t it be far better to just take it, to let yourselves be wronged and forget it? All you’re doing is providing fuel for more wrong, more injustice, bringing more hurt to the people of your own spiritual family.

Let the comments begin…what do you think? Scripture, experience, thoughts…share them all!!!

fcc adult sunday school discussions...

Hello to FCC's adult Sunday School class! If you are reading this, you have successfully navigated your way through the blog-o-sphere jungle to my blog site. Yes, this is Justin’s site!!! I am not a car salesman or insurance broker! ;)

I hope that we can develop a vibrant and interactive community here at Treasure Coves.

My intent is to write at least one major post per week on our text for Sunday's discussion. We usually have excellent discussions during our classes. This is perhaps a tool to allow our discussion to take place during the week too. It will help us to be better informed by God's Word and each other by the time we meet on Sunday.

If this is your first time interacting with a blog - do not fear! It is easy, simple, and inter-generational (No Todd, you are not too old for this!). It’s simply, really. Just give it a shot, and ask your kid for help if you get stuck. :)

Simply create an account that will allow you to post comments.
Here's how:

1. Click on “comments” below the blog you wish want to talk about
2. Scroll down under “choose an identity” and click the blue “sign up here” link
3. Easily create a Google account (if you have gmail, you can just click “sign in first”)
4. Write your comment & enter the word verification below (Make sure to click “email follow-up comments to me”. That way, you know when someone replies to your thoughts.)

That’s it – your comment will be posted under your screen name, allowing others to see what you are thinking!! You have now joined a blog community – don’t you feel special now?!!!

I really would love at least a few people from class to comment each week. This helps me in many ways to think, prepare, and apply the text personally. Hopefully it helps you too in your spiritual walk.

Ask me hard questions. Disagree with me. Cross-reference and use context to struggle through the text with me.

We can all learn more if we interact, think, and meditate more. Thanks for visiting, and make sure to leave me a comment!!!

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If you would like to take a look-see around my church's site, check it out! First Christian Church
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