June 30, 2024

REPEATING HISTORY: THE IMPORTANCE OF PURITY

June 30, 2024

Pastor Jonathan Falwell

 

The city of Corinth was rife with sexual immorality, including the Temple of Apollo, which had one thousand prostitutes engaging in their form of “worship.” This had nothing to do with the type of worship God intended for His followers. Eventually, the world outside the church that Paul founded in Corinth made its way into the church, wreaking havoc on the lives of the new believers, who were still trying to learn what Christians were and were not expected to do. Paul had to address this, and it is as necessary today in the modern age as then, and pastors need to be clear and vocal about this controversial subject.

 

Focal Passages: 1 Corinthians 5:1-13, 6:1-20; Proverbs 6:27-29.

 

The Importance of Purity:

  • Read 1 Cor. 5:1-2. What has Paul been addressing about the church in Corinth, prior to this chapter? What were some of the difficulties in Chap. 1-4?
  • What has happened that he either knows of, or has heard about, the believers in the Corinthian church now? Why was it necessary that he speak of this openly? Who was involved in the problem? How were the believers responding to the sin?
  • Read verse 5. What did Paul say they should have done? Are you aware of any such sin going on in your church, and know no one is addressing it? What excuses are being given? Why should the believers be mourning this condition?
  • How does our world justify sexual immorality today? How is that thinking creeping into the church? How should parents, grandparents, or the church be responding to the “new” definitions? Read vv. 6-7. How does our reaction show our level of righteousness and Biblical knowledge of God’s perspective on this subject?

The Value of Reputation:                                                                                                                         

  • Read 1 Cor. 5:9-13. Who is Paul speaking to in vs 9? In verse 11, how far are we to withdraw from a believer who is being sexually immoral? Who does he include in the group? Why does he say withdraw from them?
  • What should happen if we cut off fellowship with those in sin? Have you personally known anyone who was shunned because of their sin? Did it restore them? Read Prov. 12:26. Why are those we call friends so important in our lives?
  • What happens to the integrity and reputation of the local church when it condones sin within—or worse, when the members know—and brag—about it?
  • What will the community label us individually and corporately if we allow flagrant sexual sin within the church? Isn’t hypocrisy a sin just as others?

The Actions We Take:

  • Read 1 Cor. 6:1-8. Why does Paul bring up another action that the world sees and rejects the church for? Who is bringing whom to court? What is the judge like? What should we do instead of going to court?
  • Why is the attitude of apathy in the church so deadly? What is apathy? Look at the world; could it be that fifty years ago, Christians had already become apathetic rather than on fire for seeing God as holy and therefore we, too, should be?

Playing With Fire:

  • Read vv. 9-11. Who are other groups who can ruin the reputation of the church. What is meant in verse 11? Read 2 Cor. 5:17. How is this the same as verse 11?
  • Paul lists sins that can control us, but we strive to live as a new creature in Christ; what is possibly the worst sin we can commit (other than rejecting Christ) and why? What are the consequences?

In what really matters:

  • Read vv. 12-20. List the different sins a person living for Christ should put away from them. Which is the worst? What long term damage is done by sexual immorality?

TAKE AWAYS:

  • Be aware of sin by being aware of the Word (Psa. 119:11).
  • Allow the Word and His work to protect you from the temptations of the world.
  • Focus on the good things that God gives, not destructive garbage Satan gives.

Close: 

The world is getting worse and worse. No longer do we have sins that are done in the privacy of a motel or a vacant room, now we allow our children to have their (girl/boy) friends over “to stay for the night.” With Mom and Dad’s approval, they then insist they are still virgins. How gullible are we to condone such behavior, and where will it lead? Sexual immorality is on the rise, and although we may not be at the point Sodom and Gomorrah were when God destroyed them, we are on our way.

Spend a little time online, research the new virginity, the poll results for those in the church who indulge in pornography, divorce in the church, children with one parent, and the age at which parents give their babies ipads and cell phones. Do they not want to parent anymore? Do they think the world will teach the children about Christ? Shame on us for fearing to face our children with the truth they need, rather than what the world shoves at them! If you don’t want to spend time in God’s Word in order to best train up your child, get counseling. Learn you, the parent, are the only one with a responsibility to teach your child the way to Christ.

By Sandy Day

June 30, 2024

 

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